New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC)
The New York International Fringe Festival began in 1997, fifty years after Edinburgh, Scotland festival (where "fringe" was coined). It takes place in Manhattan's Lower East Side…
Search
Searched for . Search results: 37582
New York Film Festival; Tribeca Film Festival
The New York Film Festival began in 1963 and takes place in Lincoln Center in the fall. The Tribeca Film Festival was conceived by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal soon after the September 11,…
Dog Walker
Jennifer Lopez played a "dog walker" in her movie Monster-in-Law (2005). New York City has had "dog walkers" (usually women) for about a century. The first citation is in the…
“Going all city” (graffiti slang)
"Going all city" means putting your graffiti on trains in every borough. Two movies -- Style Wars (1983) and Bomb the System (2005) -- have profiled "graffiti artists" or…
Bears (New York Institute of Technology teams)
The New York Institute of Technology has three locations: Manhattan (near Lincoln Center), and Old Westbury and Central Islip on Long Island. The NY Tech teams are named the "Bears"…
Big Apple Barbecue Block Party
The "Big Apple Barbecue Block Party" began in 2003 and looks to be an annual event. Barbecue and New York City don't have a long relationship, but in the past few years several…
Blackbirds (Long Island University teams)
It is not known when or why Long Island University called its sports teams the "Blackbirds," but the nickname had been used since at least 1935. In 2019, the "Blackbirds"…
Terriers (St. Francis College teams)
St. Francis College in Brooklyn ("The small college of big dreams") has some competitive sports teams. For reasons that its website does not explain, those teams are nicknamed the…
Singles Bar
New York City can probably take credit for the first "singles bars." in the mid-late 1960s, Friday's and Maxwell's Plum opened on the Upper East Side and were termed…
TGI Friday’s (1965); “Thank God It’s Friday” or “TGIF” (1934)
T.G.I. Friday's restaurant started in 1965 in New York City and, with Maxwell's Plum, was one of the nation's first "singles bars." ("Singles bar" has been cited…
“From a Hot-Dog to a National Habit” (Nathan’s Famous)
Nathan Handwerker began selling hot dogs at Coney Island in 1916. Now, "Nathan's Famous" hot dogs can be purchased all over America and in some foreign countries. "From a…
Develop Don’t Destroy
"Develop Don't Destroy" was an early (2003) chant of the people who opposed the Nets building a new arena in downtown Brooklyn. It later (2004) became the name of an organization. 22…
“No justice, no peace!”
Al Sharpton's supporters often shout: "No justice, no peace!" You'll hear it outside of courtrooms. It appears that the chant comes from the Howard Beach racial incidents of…
Paralegal
The "paralegal" (or "para-legal") is not a lawyer, but helps lawyers as a "para-professional." The term began use in the 1960s. The New York Law Journal is not…
“The Man in the Brooks Brothers Shirt” (1942)
"The Man in the Brooks Brothers Shirt" was the title of a 1942 short story by Mary McCarthy. The title is famous, but the story itself is less so. The Brooks Brothers company used the…
Tree of Hope
The "Tree of Hope" in Harlem stood before the old Lafayette Theatre at Seventh Avenue and 131st Street. Actors who stood beneath it would gain employment. The tree was cut down in 1934 to…
Civic Virtue (Big Boy, Fat Boy, Rough Guy)
"Civic Virtue" is not to be confused with "Civic Fame" (the statue, modeled by Audrey Munson, on top of the Municipal Building). "Civic Fame" debuted in 1922 in front…
Senior Citizen
"Senior Citizen" was essentially coined in California in the late 1930s. The pensions for "senior citizens" became a political issue on the west coast in 1937 and 1938.…
“Wall Street” (1968)
"Wall Street" is a tap-dancing number that opens the musical Dames at Sea (1968). The musical is a 1930s parody; 'Wall Street" is direct homage to "42nd Street." The…
“Taxi” (1972); “Mr. Cab Driver” (1989)
Neither "Taxi" nor "Mr. Cab Driver" is a New York City song, but both are about taxi drivers (something New York is known for). Also, the singer-songwriters of both songs have…