Margot Adler

Discovering A Family Member's Lost Time In Amsterdam

Margot Adler — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000

When I found out that one of my cousins — now 88 — had hidden from the Nazis in Amsterdam, just like Anne Frank, it was a revelation. It made me want to know more about my cousin's life and story.

"I like to analyze what happens and to put it in writing; that gives you neatness in your head, and that is what I'm after," says my cousin, retired Judge Suzanne Hoogendijk. She was 87 at the time, and was talking about why she loved being a judge.

Court Case Winds Down In New York's Stop-And-Frisk Challenge

Margot Adler — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:59:00 +0000

Closing arguments are set to take place Monday in the federal class action trial involving New York City's stop-and-frisk policy. The trial has been going on for two months in Manhattan.

Plaintiffs in Floyd v. City of New York claim the New York Police Department, its supervisors and its union pressured police officers to stop, question and frisk hundreds of thousands of people each year, even establishing quotas.

Times Square's Naked Cowboy Wrangles Some Co-Workers

Margot Adler — Sat, 04 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000

In the bustle and craziness of New York's Times Square on a busy afternoon or night, you will see scores of costumed figures: Batman, Elmo, the Statue of Liberty.

But for more than a dozen years, arguably the most original of these is the Naked Cowboy. His fame has now spawned a franchise, with eight different cowboys and cowgirls.

Almost anytime you go to Times Square, you will see the original Naked Cowboy in a white cowboy hat, white boots and white underwear briefs, with the words "Naked Cowboy" written across his butt.

New York: A Concrete Jungle And 'City Of Trees,' Too

Margot Adler — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:13:00 +0000

You expect to find great trees in city parks and botanical gardens. But you might not expect to find ancient or unusual trees in the inner city or smack dab in the middle of a highway.

Benjamin Swett has a love of trees so deep that he's written pamphlets about them, created photo exhibits and now has a new book, New York City of Trees.

You Can't Put A Headline On William Klein

Margot Adler — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:45:00 +0000

Try to put him in a box and he'll find his way out. Still working at nearly 85 years old, William Klein has gone rogue in at least four different fields: abstract painting, photography, filmmaking and commercial copy writing.

Klein now lives in Paris but I caught up with him in New York City — the place where he was born, but no longer has much affinity for. He's just here to promote a new book, William Klein ABC.

When I ask him what he thinks about the city, he says:

"One thing that annoys me is the talk. I went into Starbucks, and I wanted tea — and there was a cookie.