July 9, 2010

Hi all!

This has  been one heck of a hot summer so far, right? One of the biggest challenges  being just hangin’ onto my  guitar  pick while I’m soaking wet from the heat Underground 🙂

Yesterday as I came up  from Herald Square I  noticed theair above ground had finally cleared, all the way down to the 80’s – “ahhhhhh…” so the coolness is  bound to trickle down to the trains sooner or later…we hope!

Along with the recent influx of comparatively refreshing air  comes  some strong  rays of hope from the Underground. This past week,  City Lore’s Executive Director Steve Zeitlin had a productive meeting with the new NYPD Transit Chief, Raymond Diaz and all NYPD transit borough commanders. At issue was latest Police harassment of street performers. I spoke with Steve today and I’m very encouraged at  both the appointment of a new chief of Transit  Police and his responsiveness to our ever escalating plight of harassment over the past few years. Steve and City Lore had requested a meeting for over three years and only with the  appointment of a new chief did the meeting happen.

But happen it did.

Rays of hope with Diaz

Catch you in the cool breeze when the train doors open underground  🙂

Heidi

A fascinating glimpse into a world that few really understand. In this book, Heidi Kole presents a first-hand account of performing in the New York subway system in an honest and elegant voice. From her initial fright at the idea of performing to gradual understanding of the ‘code of the underground’ to her acceptance and befriending of fellow performers, this book is filled with interesting insights and philosophy. Each chapter reads like a short story, and those short stories are beautifully woven into a compelling narrative that I found impossible to put down.

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