News

I am always inspired by dreamers and doers, those who have a vision and go after it. Today, I chat with Steve and Sergeo,  friends not only shared a dream but also have worked together to make it a reality. For the past year they have developed The Restore Collection and in a few weeks, they will be ready to ... Read More »

I will always remember one of our first family vacations in the late 1990’s with our son, Jordan when he was about a year old. My wife, Norma Jean and I, were thrilled about our planned winter trip to Aruba with our baby boy. Norma and I were domestic partners then, as same-sex marriage wasn’t legal yet in New York. ... Read More »

César Vargas is a writer, producer, activist, and social media PR and marketing strategist. He founded UPLIFTT (United People for Latinos in Film TV and Theater) and was named one of 40 under 40: Latinos in American Politics. I met him back in 2013 when he played the male role in a poetry video directed by Erik Maldonado, a/k/a Advocate of Wordz ... Read More »

I like to think that love is a garden that I grow. It goes through its cycle. And eventually, I learned that it has to die and disappear in order for regrowth. He was that one flower despite all the dead love around him that produced a light that never allowed death in. For me, he was the rain that ... Read More »

I met him when I was 21, my heart had been broken for the first time. I was still in love with my ex, but we couldn’t be together. I say this to impart that I wasn’t looking to meet anyone. I was introduced to Jean via my hair stylist who was married to his brother. When we met, he ... Read More »

“When the sins of our fathers visit us We do not have to play host. We can banish them with forgiveness. As God, in his Largeness and Laws”  August Wilson, Fences “Rose: I done tried to be everything a wife should be. Everything a wife could be. Been married eighteen years and go to live to see the day you ... Read More »

Shame is the universal companion of women, nipping at our heels, feeding on our deepest fear that who we are is not enough. Shame is beyond annoying. It is debilitating. In order to unpack the shame that is immobilizing us from living our best life and from accessing our true power, we must analyze it like a glass slide under ... Read More »

Miscarriage is a distinct kind of heartbreak that cannot be defined. What do you do when you’ve miscarried a child you weren’t ready for? How do you get over the grief of a loss so profound, your heart can’t fathom it? And how do you consolidate two opposing emotions and console yourself through the pain? As much as I love ... Read More »

For the past few months, I have been contemplating the idea of gathering a group of women to discuss Shame and how this emotion has shown up in our lives at specific times, how it affected us and how we let go of it. I am always the one in a group observing and paying close attention to what is ... Read More »

For about a year, I came across an Instagram page titled “Queenscapes” which depict various pictures of the beauty of Queens not only the landscape but also its community. The organization curates numerous events throughout the year around Queens neighborhoods. About a month ago, I was invited by its founder Adolfo Steve Vazquez to join them alongside Five Boro Story ... Read More »