Author Archives: ANGELICA TEJADA

Latinx artists shine in Papergirl Brooklyn’s Buswhick exhibit

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Papergirl-Brooklyn’s Bushwick exhibit features Latinx artists like 3 Gatos and La Mecánica Popular. Photo by Angelica Tejada.

Papergirl-Brooklyn (PGBK) is a public participatory art project taking place in eight Brooklyn neighborhoods. Submissions of original art were accepted by PGBK and collaged for the public to see around these neighborhoods.

Bushwick is one of the neighborhoods where PGBK has implemented community voices and Latinx artists in their program. The exhibit is at Mayday Space, located at 176 St. Nicholas Avenue, which is a community center and organizing hub that hosts various events for grassroots organizations and groups.

“We really admire the work that Mayday Space is doing, and we are like pretty big fans and wanted to have them in the audio program. It was also amazing to have the chance to do the installation there,” PGBK Project Developer Annie Del Hierro, 32, said.

Each exhibit has an accompanying audio episode from Papergirl Radio. The Bushwick episode features Justin Lin, founder and director of BKC, a learning-focused community center and activist and member of Mayday Space Pati Rodriguez. Continue reading …

‘It could start from just three people interested in making a difference,’ says Bushwick Ayuda Mutua’s admin

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Juan Perez joined Bushwick Ayuda Mutua in August after hearing of the organization through social media. Photo provided by Juan Perez.

Juan Perez, 23, is a volunteer coordinator and administrator at Bushwick Ayuda Mutua (BAM), which is a grassroots organization dedicated to helping those in Bushwick impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Perez recently moved to Bushwick but has dedicated his time to BAM and has helped support hundreds of Latinx families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a Q&A with Perez on his perspective of BAM and the Latinx community in Bushwick. Continue reading …

Gente de Bushwick: Melo’s Block Shop offers educational tools for bilingual toddlers

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Gente de Bushwick: Melo’s Block Shop

Melodi Conze, owner of Melo’s Block Shop, wants to offer services to bilingual children no matter their background. Photo provided from Melodi Conze.

This monthly feature on Soy Bushwick introduces the faces in the Latinx community of Bushwick. 

Who: Melo’s Block Shop is a Bushwick-based online retail store that sells educational posters in both English and Spanish on Amazon. Melodi Conze, founder and owner of Melo’s Block Shop is also an English teacher at a high school in Bushwick.

What: Melo’s Block Shop focuses on offering educational tools for toddlers to learn the alphabet, days of the month and more that can be used both at home and in the classroom. The Bilingual Bear is a cartoon that’s featured on the products and resembles the shop’s mission. Conze combined both her teaching and Afro-Latinx background to create this small business.

Here we speak to Conze, on Melo’s Block Shops background and connection to Latinx culture. Continue reading …

Bushwick Hoy: Historic Queen Anne home will be demolished, Mexican restaurant getting attention for serving authentic pueblan tacos, and more

by ANGELICA TEJADA

It’s Tuesday, November 24, 2020. Here’s what you need to know:

Taqueria Al Pastor serves authentic Mexican dishes on the corner of Wyckoff and Stanhope. Photo by Angelica Tejada.

Demolition permits were spotted outside of the Charles Lindemann House, a historic large Queen Anne home located at 1001 Bushwick Avenue, and permits filed in 2019 show that the house will be replaced by a new six-story building, according to Brownstoner.

Taqueria Al Pastor opened at 128 Wyckoff Avenue just six weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City and had to close to protect its employees. Now they are open and their menu is 100% authentic Mexican cuisine, read Bushwick Daily‘s profile of the restaurant for more details.

Bushwick food pantries are doing their best and serving the community during Thanksgiving in the face of rising COVID-19 cases, the Bushwick Daily reported. Metro World Child, Bethany Food Pantry, Haitian Evangelical Clergy, Family Services Network of NY, Inc. and Make the Road New York will be open on Thanksgiving for donations or volunteers.

Nene’s Deli Taqueria, a new Mexican deli and taco shop located at 54 Irving Avenue, has made its mark in making birria tacos and other traditional Mexican dishes. The owner, Andrés Tonatiuh Galindo Maria opened his business during the COVID-19 pandemic after struggling to find a job as a chef, Grub Street reported.

A private developer has revealed proposals for a large mixed-use affordable housing building at 1250 Willoughby Avenue and 349 Suydam Street. The residential building would be a nine-story building containing 125 rental apartments, according to New York Wimby.

Street mural in Bushwick honors Mexican icons

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Mural on Stanhope Street and Irving Avenue includes various Mexican figures. Photo by Angelica Tejada

Bushwick, which has many artists and creative types among its newer gentrifying residents, is filled with street art. Street art in Bushwick is utilized as a symbolization of social issues and self-expression. On the corner of Stanhope Street and Irving Avenue, the neighborhood’s Latinx residents get their due with a mural that showcases various well-known cultural figures.
Continue reading …

Mil Mundos Books: a space dedicated to the Latinx community in Bushwick

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Mil Mundos Books on 323 Linden St. is open as a community center during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Angelica Tejada.

When Mil Mundos Books opened in Bushwick in March 2019, founder and co-owner Maria Herron wanted to create not just a bookstore but a place where Latinx New Yorkers could celebrate their culture through cultural events and indulge in activist activities.

But when COVID-19 hit in March of this year, Herron – like many small business owners – had to close and its services went online including its six-week Spanish classes workshop.

Herron converted the bookstore’s location on 323 Linden St. into a community center to help those in need during the pandemic.

“We connected with people on mutual aid efforts, and I really have to give it to them, I still remember seeing the vans,” Herron, 33, said in a phone interview. Continue reading …

4 non-profit organizations in Bushwick that you can support right now

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Non-profit organizations are community-driven and in Bushwick, they support, empower and help the Latinx community. Many of them have been established for decades and need the support to keep offering vital services and programs for the community. Read more to find out how you can give your support. Continue reading …

Bushwick Hoy: Wyckoff Heights nurse named in TIME 100, Trump ‘Wall of Lies’ vandalized, and more

by ANGELICA TEJADA

It’s Tuesday, October 13, 2020. Here’s what you need to know:

Intrepid ER nurse, Amy O’Sullivan, at Wyckoff Medical Center, was included in Time’s Magazine’s TIME 100 list. Photo by Angelica Tejada.

Intrepid ER nurse at Wyckoff Medical Center, Amy O’Sullivan, who treated the first COVID-19 patient at the hospital and battled the virus herself a few days later, was named one of the Top 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

The massive “Wall of Lies” mural by Radio Free Display on 12 Grattan St. that showcases over 20,000 lies told by President Donald Trump was vandalized with “Vote Trump or Die” and “Stand back & Stand By.” The Bushwick Daily reported on the incident and spoke with Radio Free Brooklyn Executive Director Tom Tenney.

Council Member Antonio Reynoso, who represents parts of Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood, has obtained key progressive endorsements for his Brooklyn Borough President campaign, the Greenpoint Post reported. The endorsements included Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, State Sen. Julia Salazar and Assemblywoman Maritza Davila.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams joined Bushwick residents and local stakeholders to launch a series of neighborhood corridor cleanups in Bushwick, in response to the budget cuts at the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). Read Patch for more details on the event.

The program for the 13th annual Bushwick Film Festival was announced and due to COVID-19 event restrictions, the festival will be held online from Oct. 21-25 and will feature more than 100 independent films. For more information on the event visit Broadway World.

Gente de Bushwick: The Brujas of Brooklyn utilize their Afro-Latinx heritage to help women heal

by ANGELICA TEJADA

Gente de Bushwick: Brujas of Brooklyn

Dr. Griselda Rodriguez-Solomon (up) and Dr. Miguelina Rodriguez (down) of Brujas of Brooklyn tap into their own experiences to help other women of color. Photo provided by Dr. Miguelina Rodriguez.

This monthly feature on Soy Bushwick introduces the faces in the Latinx community of Bushwick. 

Who: Brujas of Brooklyn is a wellness and spiritual business founded by Afro-Dominican identical twins, Dr. Griselda Rodriguez-Solomon and Dr. Miguelina Rodriguez, that live in Bushwick. Both are also professors of the social sciences at CUNY schools.

What: Brujas of Brooklyn has a focus on womb healing and hosts YONI workshops for women of color to feel safe and open as they begin their journey to healing from past traumas. On their Instagram page, they also advocate and have conversations on gentrification, Afro-Latinx representation, and racism in the Latinx community.

Here we speak to one of the brujas, Dr. Miguelina Rodriguez on Brujas of Brooklyn’s background and connection to Latinx culture. Continue reading …