Gisele Regatao

I’ve lived in the East Village, in lower Manhattan, for twenty years— in a narrow railroad apartment that I like to think of as quaint, where the living room is only eight feet wide. My walls are lined with bookshelves from the living room to the kitchen, because I’m a critic and a translator. If I’m home, which I often am, I’m either reading or writing. When Hurricane Sandy approached last October, and the skies darkened and the wind started howling, I rubbed my hands in anticipation, remembering the tornadoes of my Midwestern youth. This one, I thought, unlike Hurricane Irene, was truly going to hit.  Curling up in an armchair by the window, I started reading, listening as branches thrashed and trash cans clanged like cymbals on the sidewalk below. And then the power went out. It stayed out for five days.

I was born and raised in the Red Hook projects and we’ve weathered a few storms. The last one — Sandy — has people pooling resources to brace us for future disasters.  I believe I know the biggest resource that should be in any storm-plans.

There are thousands of artists is New York City. Some are famous internationally, while others are scratching out a living while perfecting their craft in basements or on stage. WNYC is bringing a few of them to the spotlight, in their own voices.

There are thousands of artists is New York City. Some are famous internationally, and others are scratching out a living while perfecting their craft in basements or on stage. WNYC is bringing a few of them to the spotlight, in their own voices.

There are thousands of artists is New York City, some scratching out a living while perfecting their craft in basements or on stage. WNYC is bringing a few of them to the spotlight, in their own voices.

This Sunday, New York City Opera will perform at City Center on West 55th street for the first time since 1965. The homecoming happens as the company looks to forge a new identity.

Almost 90 percent of artists were killed in Cambodia in the 1970s, when the extreme communist group Khmer Rouge was in power.  Arn Chorn-Pond was a child then, and he survived in a labor camp, ironically, by playing music. "The Khmer Rouge asked, 'someone want to play music for us,' so I raise my hand, I know probably they will give me more food," he said.

There are thousands of artists in New York City, some scratching out a living while perfecting their craft in basements, or on stage. WNYC is bringing some of them to the spotlight, in their own voices.

“I like to study music and I like visuals. I think that there’s nothing better than telling a story that’s authentic about the real human condition, about people who are trying,” she said.

The work of one of the visionaries of 20th-century music is being presented in an unusual setting in New York City.

There are thousands of artists is New York City, some scratching out a living while perfecting their craft in studios, basements and on stage. WNYC is bringing a few of them to the spotlight, in their own voices.

There are thousands of artists is New York City, some scratching out a living while perfecting their craft in studios, basements and on stage.  WNYC is bringing a few of them to the spotlight, in their own voices.

Director Michel Gondry has worked with Bjork, Kanye West and Radiohead, as well as A-list actors like Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, but for his latest project, "The We and the I," he opted to cast a bunch of non-actors: regular kids living in the Bronx.

Museums are places to see art, attend lectures, and perhaps print a plastic toy.

Midtown Manhattan is experiencing an above-normal concentration of art dealers, collectors, or simply art lovers. They are taking part in two large annual art fairs that close this Sunday.

There are thousands of artists in New York City perfecting their craft in studios, basements and on stage. WNYC is bringing some of them to the spotlight, in their own voices.

The flatiron building, in black and white, upside down. That's what visitors to Madison Square Park can see as they enter a new art installation.

Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Bette Midler. These are some of the big stars landing on Broadway this spring season. And even before the stars come out, a number of other shows are drawing attention.

A 28-year-old New York City police officer is on trial this week on charges he conspired to kidnap, kill and eat women. Attorneys for the so-called "Cannibal Cop" say Gilberto Valle's online musings were simply fantasies, but federal prosecutors say his actions represented a real danger.

For three hours on Wednesday, New York's Archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, sat before lawyers and answered questions about the 575 people who claim they were molested by priests in Milwaukee. Dolan led that archdiocese for seven years, prior to coming to New York in 2009. Attorneys for the victims claim Dolan was part of a long standing practice in Milwaukee of shielding church finances and subverting justice.