BY Jenni Ruiza (@RuizaJenni)
A glass breaks – everyone cheers. Immediately, you’re exposed to the fun and relaxed atmosphere as soon as you walk in. The place is packed to the brim, making it a very successful opening day. The patrons at the bar graciously squeeze in, giving way to find space at the bar to order your Jonas Bronck brew. After a few minutes, you may just become a regular – and that is fully the intention of The Bronx Beer Hall owners, Anthony and Paul Ramirez. At the opening of The Bronx Beer Hall, I was immediately won over – it reminded me like something right out of the set of “Cheers”. But, my true distraction? Besides the amazing assortment of beer (and wine for those who have a different fancy) – I was stopped in my tracks by the food. Mounds of cheese and meat all across the different tables. It was pure heaven for a fat-kid-at-heart like me. Anyone who visits The Bronx Beer Hall is truly in for a treat; not only are you surrounded by the defining history of Arthur Avenue, but you are in the presence of two young, intelligent, and insanely hospitable entrepreneurs who are purely interested in making sure that your experience at their establishment is full of refreshing beer, delicious foods, and memorable laughs.
Anthony and Paul were kind enough to save a few moments to discuss The Bronx Beer Hall, their latest endeavor and what their hopes are with this venture.
Q. How would you describe opening day for The Bronx Beer Hall?
[Anthony] I can describe opening day at The Bronx Beer Hall in one word – overwhelming. We were overwhelmed by the incredible turnout (over 300 people!), the incredibly positive Bronx vibe and all of the positive things the crowd had to say about the space, the bar selection and our eclectic menu by Chef David Greco.
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Feb 15, 2013 | Categories: That's What's Up | Tags: Boogie Down, Inwood, Jenni Ruiza, Photography, The Bronx, washington heights | Leave A Comment »
Filmmaker Jonathan Ullman Talk.. The Uptown Tweet of the Week.. The Best of the Boogie Down: T.. The Farewell To Will Teez In P..Presenting the Uptown Tweet of the Week, our pick that represents the good, the bad, and the lovely in this week’s UC Twitterverse…
Feb 15, 2013 | Categories: Framed | Tags: In the Heights, Instagram, Inwood, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Photography, The United Palace, The Uptown Tweet of the Week, Twitter, Uptown Manhattan, Wahi, washington heights | Leave A Comment »
By Melanie Votaw
I love the opportunity to champion new filmmakers. There are so many wonderful independent films that are seen by too few people, and many of these films are as good, if not better, than the studio movies that get so much attention. One such film is “Trouble in the Heights,” the first feature by screenwriter and director Jonathan Ullman.
It may seem odd for a Jewish filmmaker to make a film that is populated primarily by Latino characters and actors, but the seed of the story was planted when Jonathan moved to Washington Heights, an uptown New York City neighborhood with a large number of Latino residents, especially from the Dominican Republic. The story came to him one day while walking the streets of his adopted neighborhood.
“There’s something very cinematic about the lay of the land to me,” he says, “the architecture, the [George Washington] Bridge, of course. Also, it doesn’t look like any other neighborhood in New York…. It has its very own unique identity.”
Still, this film came as a surprise even to its filmmaker. “Five years ago before or even after I moved up here, I would never have thought in a million years that my first feature film would look like this,” he says.
Jonathan also feels that the neighborhood has been neglected in films. “This neighborhood adopted me,” he says, “and I wanted to do something to return the favor.” The area has begun to get a bit more attention, however, since the Broadway musical “In the Heights” by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the new reality TV show on MTV titled simply, “Washington Heights.”
Read more: Exclusive: Filmmaker Jonathan Ullman Talks Trouble in the Heights.
Check out:
Trouble In The Heights @ The United Palace – The Recap
The Trouble In The Heights After-Party @ La Marina
Trouble In The Heights @ The United Palace: Social Media Edition
Trouble In The Heights @ The United Palace: A First Look
Trouble In The Heights – The Review
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Feb 15, 2013 | Categories: Events | Tags: Film, Inwood, Jonathan Ullman, Photography, Reel Life With Jane, Trouble in the Heights, United Palace of Cultural Arts, washington heights | Leave A Comment »
BY Led Black (@Led_Black)
Q. Where does your love of fashion come from?
A. To be honest, I am not sure because no one around me ever taught me anything about fashion. Since I was 13 years old, I have self-taught myself everything and I am still learning. I design, sketch, sew and create every one of my pieces. I was born and raised in Washington heights and my mother was a social worker, so I was supposed to be a doctor. I truly believe I was just given a gift to make women feel ok with being different. I want every woman to wear my designs and feel alive and special, that is my goal. I would read stories about famous designers like Coco Chanel and Betsey Johnson all day long. I have always loved fashion because fashion, art and music have been my escape. I just have an obsession with creating beautiful things, and that’s how I express myself as an individual. I guess that’s why I hate when people restrict me creatively.
Q. Why is the name of your company Wierdo Ink?
A. I came up with the name when I was 17 years old. My many sketchbooks have pages and pages of notes about WeiRdo InK designs and the “WeiRdo girl”. People don’t know this but I was born with a cleft plate, thousands of children are born with this and I was one of the fortunate to have survived my many surgeries. As a child, growing up I got teased a lot and my only outlet was drawing and poetry. By the time I got to high school, I accepted that I was always going to be the odd ball. What was interesting is that by the time I matured into a woman, I realized that being different was beautiful. Traveling the world and meeting many different people helped me to embrace the things that were different about me. I truly love people who are different and stay true to themselves. Life for them is so much more harder because they have to deal with mental and sometimes physical abuse everyday just because they’re different. That sucks, like let people live. Weirdo ink designs is not for the everyday women, I design for the inner women who wants to live her fantasy. My models and my clients feel like supermodels when they wear my designs, they feel special.
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Feb 14, 2013 | Categories: Estilo | Tags: Fashion, Inwood, Miss Nunez, Photography, Style, Uptown Fashion Week, Uptown Manhattan, washington heights, Weirdo Ink | Leave A Comment »
BY Led Black (@Led_Black)
Q. How did this event come about?
A. The Uptown Fashion Week idea was to create a fashion bridge between the Downtown fashion industry in NYC and the Uptown Area. Our intention was also to highlight the talent of o