This was my first time conducting an interview using video and I made some mistakes. Regardless, I know for next time and was able to use the audio on Pavement Pieces.
Music was provided by Paul Karam. He is a Detroit musician and I really dig his stuff. Hopefully, I can use his music again when I get better at video.
When Jeremy Bridgman moved to the Big Apple he had one dream: to run the New York marathon. He completed his mission yesterday. All it took was four years, four months of training, and waking up at 6:30 a.m. on a frigid fall morning.
“This is the quintessential New York experience,” said 26-year-old Bridgman about the 38th annual ING New York City Marathon.
“For some people, that [New York] experience it is going to the Empire State Building or Statue of Liberty. For me, this is it.”
Bridgman moved here four years ago from Cincinnati, Ohio. He ran one marathon in his home state, but that was nothing compared to this.
The New York Marathon is the largest in the world, with 37,000 participants, and runs through all five boroughs.
The race is so popular that potential participants must enter a draft. After three years of not being selected in the draft, Bridgman was granted entry. On marathon morning, Bridgman stared off across the water as he rode the Staten Island ferry. He wore his favorite yellow “where’s the beef?” t-shirt, checked his iPod’s classic rock playlist, and anxiously drank blue Gatorade.
He was chatty and excited.
Once the ferry docked, he took a 20-minute bus ride to the starting line. His usual talkative nature was replaced by silence.
Hundreds of runners piled out of buses into Arthur von Briesen Park.
Bridgman’s nervousness took hold. He began frantically wandering around the park looking for where to put his clothes, struggled to tie his ChampionChip (penny-sized device that tracks his time), and talked mainly in fragments: “stay loose”, “that’s not it.”
It was four months ago he began training. Running 5-7 miles each weekend, one or two short runs during the week, and not going out on Halloween had all led to this. At 9 a.m., he left for the starting line.
As Bridgman ran, his girlfriend, Lauren Buller, 24, went to Central Park. She would often run with him over the past months. Now she struggled through the thick crowd to find him. Bridgman’s friend Scott Iwata, 30, was also there.
“I’m excited to see him…and hear all his stories,” said Iwata.
The spectators were in the thousands. “I think the crowd appreciates seeing someone push themselves to an obscene limit,” said Iwata.
Ingrid Edwards, a 50-year-old volunteer and former marathon runner, understood the attraction: “It’s that New York feeling – so exciting.”
Iwata and Buller waited for a half hour. Buller was concerned she had missed him. Then, out of the crowd of tired runners, came Bridgman stumbling over. His face was blood red, his eyes watery, and shoulders were wrapped in a blanket.
Buller and Bridgman passionately kissed.
“I’m just happy to be done,” said Bridgman who finished in four 4 hours and 33 minutes.
The hardest part for him was running by his apartment in Harlem: “I knew I had my keys on me. I could have just run in there. I had cold beer in the fridge.”
With his goal of completing the marathon over, he thought ahead to his future: “Now I drink.”
Last night Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States. In New York City, the residents surged with excitement.
After Obama was projected winner at 11 p.m., the streets and bars filled with smiling, excited faces. Shouts of "Obama!" could be heard late into the night all over the East Village.
The state of New York had one of the biggest gaps in percentages: Obama had %62 of the vote to McCain's 37%.
Long lines could be seen all over the Big Apple in the early election morning.
“This is fantastic, incredible,” said 62-year-old polling volunteer Milagros Vendimo about the long line at 7:00 a.m.
Vendimo has been polling sites for 25 years. But, this one was different: “The other [presidential elections] were slower…no one was interested.”
The Village View Housing Co-Op had been opening as a polling site since 5:30 a.m. Vendemio, bound to a wheelchair, helped direct voters to the correct booths. She said in the first two and half hours there were at least 250 people.
“It’s important to vote because of the state of the country,” said 26-year-old Attorney Joanna Lucashak in line at 7 a.m.
Lucashak thought Obama was going to win: “He has really energized people.”
Nora Pelizzari, 27, also woke up early to vote: “I said to myself, this has to be the first thing I do today.”
Pelizzari was so nervous that she wasn't going to watch the polls until the evening. She planned on having an election party after work.
As the day went on, nervousness continued to grow.
Will Healey, a 24-year-old NYU employee, had been a huge Obama fan since 2004. He first saw him speak at the Democratic National Convention that year and wondered why it wasn't him who was running for president.
"I'm nervous, very nervous," said Healey."I think it's going to be a lot tighter than people are anticipating."
Today, Healey woke up to a new America.
He was still bursting with excitement at 3 p.m.: "I feel freaking awesome."
The presidential candidates opposition to full-fledged marriage equality has kept many gay and lesbian New Yorkers from wholeheartedly jumping on the Obama or McCain bandwagon.
“You won’t get it with either one. I feel bad saying this, but I’m still undecided,” said Michael Cooper, 28, at Stonewall Inn in the West Village where a smattering of gays gathered to watch the third and final debate between Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. John McCain (D-AZ).
“For the most part, they sound the same,” said Cooper as he sipped some liquor at the famed bar.
Stonewall Inn has been a political focal point for decades. In the late 1960’s, when gay bars were often terrorized by police officers with nightly raids, the patrons of Stonewall fought back.
It was on June 28, 1969, when eight police officers attempted to raid the bar, the ensuing “Stonewall riots” ignited the modern gay rights movement. Throughout the debate Cooper would criticize Obama and McCain equally.
He said Obama’s “pay as you go” plan for new budgeting rules in spending sounded like he was ignorant of the rest of America already living paycheck to paycheck.
He said McCain’s policies sounded like the Bush Administration’s and derided him as “McSame.”
“They are just as silly as the rest of them,” said 48-year-old bartender Chuck Streeper about both of the senators’ policy toward marriage equality.
Both candidates have said they support civil unions, but refused to support marriage, much to the dismay of many in the LGBT community.
Streeper acknowledged that most people that came into the bar were voting for Obama, but he had to follow his own heart: “I’m voting for Nader.”
Rick Street, 50, who was visiting from Washington the bar with his partner, felt marriage for gays would be legalized under an Obama presidency.
His friends and PFLAG (Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays) parents, Kathy and Robert Reim, didn’t agree. “We think [civil unions] are serious head roads.”
As the debate drew to a close, Michael Cooper got closer to a decision: “I’ve flip-flopped so many times, but I think I’m actually leaning towards McCain.”
Citing McCain’s plan to drill in Alaska, Cooper summed up his feeling: “The guy just makes more sense.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has closed 17 child care centers since coming to office, and according to the union protesting outside City Hall three weeks ago, he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“We want Bloomberg to know we are frustrated,” said 72-yeor-old District Council 1707 Executive Director, Raglan George Jr.
George, speaking with four children surrounding him, told the packed crowd of Local 95 Head Start employees, Local 205 day care employees, and supporters that it was time for The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) to give the union what it wants.
Both locals were together in protest against ACS, who has not given either union a contract in almost three years, and better healthcare for them and their children.
“[We are together] for unity. We can make a bigger difference together,” said Linda Gomez, 39-year old director of administration for DC 1707.
They have introduced a plan for better heathcare coverage to the ACS, which is posted on their website (www.dc1707.net), that they feel will keep health care costs low, even with child care centers staying open and providing better coverage.
In 2006 ACS tried to close 13 more centers because of, what they claim, is under-enrollment.
Suzy Bonny, a 27-year member of DC 1707 and Head Start, said she is concerned about parents not getting child care they need.
“Without child care, parents get up-tight. They need that three, four, six hours away from the children. Parents can’t get anything done when they are up-tight,” said Bonny, who has raised seven children.
George also felt parents who didn’t have child care would have to stay home and miss work, thus leading them to welfare.
Several other unions, SCIU and UAW, were also there to show solidarity. “It’s a good turnout, but we were expecting more,” said Vickie Littlejohn, 54-year-old DC1707 staff organizer, referring to the 70-80 protesters outside City Hall.
This was the second demonstration by the DC 1707 this year. According to George, “we will be out here everyday if we have to.”
As David Blaine was more than half way through accomplishing his latest stunt, risking blindness and massive internal bleeding, he had one thing keeping him going: the support of his fans.
“They’ve really helped make this go by in a way that I could never thank them enough for,” said Brooklyn-born Blaine, 35, of his supporters and added: ““I know I will make it to the end.”
As Blaine talked he sounded fatigued, and at a loss for words. He said, “I have adapted to the situation somewhat.”
A crowd of 50 people surrounded Blaine. Some are fans, others on vacation in the Big Apple.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said 24-year-old Alana Kane from London, England. She came to Big Apple to shop, but had to see Blaine after hearing about his stunt.
“Hang in there!” yelled Kane up at Blaine.
A fan since Blaine’s first ploy, Patrick Barr, 44, said, “I think he is a shaman” and felt Blaine’s stunts take “intestinal fortitude.”
Blaine has been a fixture in New York since 1999, when he entombed himself underground for seven days across from Trump Place. Since then, he stuck himself in a block of ice at Times Square (2000), has balanced atop a 90 ft high pillar in Bryant Park (2002), submerged himself in water in front of the Lincoln Center (2006), and shackled to a rotating gyroscope near Times Square (2006). Barr had some criticisms of this event: “I was more impressed by his other stunts…I wish he didn’t keep standing up,” referring to the five-minute break Blaine took every hour to stand up, go to the bathroom, and get checked out by doctors.
“I don’t think it is realistic that the TV audience (the finale was to be carried live on ABC) will know he is taking breaks,” said Melissa Vink, 39, on vacation from Michigan.
Regardless, even Vink says she thinks Blaine has “superhuman abilities” and has admired his stunts for years.
Before Blaine could even unharness himself, the rumor mill had already started for his next event; Barr heard it involved staying awake for a long time, but Blaine spokeswoman Sarah McDonnell denied that.
Blaine hasn’t said anything about what is next but did divulge his secret formula for deciding: “I like to imagine me as a little kid growing up in New York and the things that would make me come and watch.”
Three weeks ago, leaders from every corner of the globe descended on New York for the United Nations General Assembly. The businesses surrounding the U.N. building in Midtown East weren’t looking for world peace – they just wanted more customers.
“We are hoping business picks up,” said 19-year-old hostess, Jesena Duton, at Mediterranean restaurant Don Veitia.
For Don Veitia, located at the corner of 46th St. and 2nd Avenue, business has been a lot slower this year, like most of their neighbors.
The 192 U.N. member states meet every year at this time in New York City for the general debate in which they discuss their views on international issues. Now in its 63rd meeting, the U.N. planned to tackle the global food crisis and the need to democratize itself more.
“We anticipate it will be very busy,” said Saygi Akca, 29, an accountant for the Amish Market grocery store located on 45th St just steps away from the U.N, headquarters . She knows from last year that they will be making a lot of much-needed money from catering orders.
The owner of John’s Café Restaurant on the corner of 44th St. and 2nd Ave., Gus Argyros, was also getting ready: He is stocking up his restaurant with extra supplies.
Argyros, who has owned John’s since 1991, has seen business boom in the area during assembly weeks. In years past, he fed TV broadcaster George Stephanopoulos and the former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland; “She had like 10 bodyguards,” he said. Argyros was worried about barricades going up in the area because delivery people woudn’t be able to get food supplies to him.
“People won’t be able to get anywhere: there will be barricades and people checking I.D.’s,” said NYPD Police Officer Louis Claudio, 30.
Ripson Syed, an employee at a candy/ice cream/novelty shop, Heavenly Delights on 2nd Ave., was looking forward to the barricades cutting down on foot traffic: “People can’t walk around here during the week…now people will be able to get here.”
Syed has felt the pain of a poor economy in Bangladesh, where he is originally from, and here in New York. He hopes a U.N. diplomat will come into Heavenly Delights so he can ask them: “What are you going to do about the economy?”
“When America is affected the whole world is affected,” he added.
The U.N. General Assembly ran from Tuesday, September 23rd and concluded Wednesday, October 1st.
