NYC NOW - October 11, 2023 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: October 11, 2023

New York City officials unveiled its first monument to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that killed nearly 150 workers in Greenwich Village. Plus, a new exhibit at the New York Public Library features photos from subways of the 1970s. Also, WNYC’s David Furst and Catalina Gonella discuss the back and forth drama ahead of the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade. And finally, we’re nodding to Breast Cancer Awareness month by sharing wisdom from people in the New York region who've been impacted by the disease.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. I saw the fire in the tables where they were all filled with lingerie material, you know. And that come up in a flame. When I saw that, I ran out. I went to the door we go out with, but the fire was there. It's been more than a century since the Triangle Shirtwaste Factory fire killed nearly 150 workers. in Greenwich Village. Now, the tragedy is finally getting a memorial.

City officials unveiled its first monument to the Blaze Wednesday in Greenwich Village. During a commemoration of the disaster back in 1987, longtime labor writer Leon Stein said the death's debt day ushered in a new era for workplace safety in the U.S. Not just the story of their agony and death, but also the recognition that by their death and sacrifice, they want some measure of decency and safety at the workplace for all workers. Many of the victims died because of locked doors and broken fire escapes in the building. A new exhibit at the New York Public Library's main branch features photos from the gritty subways of the 1970s. The images are made with a unique darkroom technique, and it's the first time

they've been put on display. WMYC's Stephen Nesson has more. On the top floor in a corner of the 42nd Street branch of the library is a long, narrow room, not unlike a subway car. On the walls are long, narrow, disorienting photos. They're black and white time capsules from another era with a twist. Two women deep in thought stare in opposite directions, as two trains converge in the background. So you think you're looking at one picture, and then suddenly you realize you're not.

You're looking at two. That's Dublin-born photographer Alan McQueenie. He created these surreal images by printing two negatives on the same paper in the dark room. He says he came up with the idea after shooting hundreds of photos in the subway for one year in 1977. I just found that it was almost like a theatrical confrontation, and that was ripe for photographs. So we started making diphtics, printing two pictures side by side on the same paper, revealing something entirely new. And that's done entirely emotionally. You don't make the obvious connections.

You make the ones that seem to come alive. McQueenie cut his teeth working as an assistant for Richard Avedon. He shot photos for Vogue. His 42 subway prints are on display at the New York Public Library through January 7th. Stephen Nesson, WNYC News. Stick around. There's more after the break. There's been a lot of drama in the New York City Dog Parade World these days.

After initially being canceled, the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade was saved with less than three weeks to go before showtime. And now it's officially back on. My colleague David Furs talked with WNYC's Catalina Gonella for all the furry details. I know we don't have photos in front of us right now, but can you describe this annual event? We are talking dogs in costumes. That's right. I was looking at some pictures earlier, and last year there were dogs as spotted lantern flies and dogs as trains, even sandwiches. There was one as a bodega cat. So it's very fun. Oh, that's a tough

one for a dog, I would imagine. Yeah, but you know, he looked, well, he looked a little grumpy, but he was playing the park. So at first, it was canceled this year. What happened? Right. So not only was their construction inside of Tompkins Square Park, but also more than 8,000 people are expected to go there. And that's just too big for a small park. They wanted to put it on the street. And, this year, which complicated logistics. Now they needed street closure permits, and it quickly snowballed to more than $50,000 in street closure permits. And the lead organizer, Joseph Bordoon, he just decided it was too much for a small community group to handle. But then that cancellation was reversed. Right. So once news got out that this beloved parade was canceled, New Yorkers were

outraged. Eventually, all of that reached City Hall, and Bordoon was. suddenly put in touch with the mayor and the heads of several city agencies, which made planning a lot easier, as you might imagine. And now it's happening through the Open Streets program, which brings the costs down by tens of thousands of dollars. And it also got a sponsor. A Connecticut-based company called GetJoy is covering the rest of those costs. You know, there are a lot of things to be concerned about in the world. Why do you think so many people were upset about this cancellation and got to be. involved and wanted to rally to save this Halloween dog parade. You know what? I asked Joseph

Baudun just that, the lead organizer, and here's what he told me. You know, people love their dogs. I mean, they are a part of your family, especially in New York City. A lot of us don't have kids, and these are our children. We just want to have that one day where we can go out and act silly and have a good time together. People do love these dog parades. This is probably, you know, shockingly, one of my most popular stories this year. And tell us what it's going to be like this year. The format is a little different this time, right? So usually there was a stage and people would come to the park, crowd around the stage, try to get a peek at all of the dogs in their costumes. This year, it's actually going to resemble more of a human parade. So there's going to be street closures.

There's going to be crowds along the sidewalks and a whole procession of dogs in costumes. So it's a much bigger deal this year. That's WNYC's Kathleen Gonella talking with my colleague David First. It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we're tapping into the wisdom and experience of people from our area who've been impacted by the disease. My name is Roslyn Critchlow, and I live in Jackson Heights. I'm a two-time cancer survivor

diagnosed with triple negative both times, one in the right breasts and one in the left rest. And I'm still here. I've survived it. One of my church members, she would call me just about every other day. And before I got off the phone, she would have me laughing because she knew I was so sad. It was just hard, hard to go through when you have cancer.

I just can't. It's too hard to even explain what your mental attitude is. I was always looking for a better day and it did come. I just kept pushing thinking that, you know, it was going to get better. I have a great grandson

that just turned 18. He pushed me. I had to be there for him. That's the only thing I could say. I had to be there for him. He's very important in my life because I take care of him. I'm like his second mom.

And I'm so thankful and I know that I have been blessed because both times it was stage one and that gives you a lot of hope. You know that you're going to be better. It's just going to take a little time, but you will get there. You'll feel better.

You'll be able to go out and do things that you were doing even before. I'll be 82 in November. I have friends that I have, that I have known since, maybe since I was 11 years old and we still keep in touch. We go out, we have dinner every now and then

and a nice glass of wine. I think the most important thing is getting tested to make sure that you don't have cancer. And if you do, you have still a chance to survive. And if it comes again,

I'm going to do treatment again. I want to live. Rosalind Critchlow is a two-time breast cancer survivor from Jackson Heights. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.