Writing by Gia Miller Photography by Justin Negard When you think of Somers, you probably think of the circus and The Elephant Hotel (see our Sept./Oct. 2024 issue) and Heritage Hills and even Muscoot Farm, but Somers is changing. Now, thanks to the Somers Land Trust, there are restored hiking trails and public land, Bobo’s Café has become a destination ...

Writing & Photography by Justin Negard Map pran yon lòd griyo,” says a man in Kreyol Flavor, a restaurant on Church Avenue. He’s placing an order for griot, a traditional Haitian dish of fried pork, which comes with rice and beans. This Brooklyn takeout restaurant is crowded with customers, and many are ordering the griot, a local favorite. Church Avenue ...

Writing & Photography by Justin Negard It all starts with a bowl of grapes. “Is that it?” you think to yourself. “I came here for a handful of purple grapes and a bottle of water on a lunch tray?” After all, this is the Culinary Institute of America (CIA)—the oldest, and some would argue the best, culinary school in America, ...

Writing & Photography by Justin Negard What does an idea look like? It might be a crumpled piece of paper on a cluttered desk or a line of code on a computer screen. Or perhaps it’s  a metal filing cabinet with wheels and wires screwed into the bottom or a team discussing and debating someone’s lightbulb moment. Take a walk ...

Writing & Photography by Justin Negard It’s a hot day on Roosevelt Avenue. The midday sun beams between the slats of the elevated train tracks, casting stripes of shadows across the sidewalk. Hot steam wafts from a nearby Colombian food cart as a man cooks strips of beef, peppers and onions on an open grill. He yells a few Spanish ...

Writing by Kaitlyn Hardy  Artwork by Marilena Perilli When planning your next vacation, the entire world is at your fingertips. The choices are endless and complicated. Stressful travel is almost as inevitable as death and taxes. But it doesn’t have to be. We’ve enlisted the help of some local experts to break it down for readers in different stages of ...

Writing & Photography by Justin Negard There are several good “New York rivertown” comeback stories in our area. Places like Beacon, Tarrytown and Nyack have reinvented themselves against the backdrop of dying industries and forgotten commerce, weaving their past into something entirely different and fresh. Hudson is another one of those stories. A small city with a rich past, the ...

Writing and photography by Justin Negard For this issue, we thought a travel story to someone’s home was appropriate. However, rather than drag you to a glitzy mansion with a multi-car garage, we decided instead to show you a home with history, personality and a little bit of the bizarre. If you are an animal lover, as we are, please ...

Writing and photography by Justin Negard In 1950, Sterling and Francine Clark made a decision. It was time to give back. As heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, the Clarks spent much of their life avidly collecting artwork from around the globe. Their passion was for Italian, Dutch and Flemish paintings dating back as far as the Renaissance. They ...

Writing & photography by Justin Negard When you think about Saratoga Springs, odds are, you think of charging racehorses. You probably imagine the horns of the race track blowing and the roaring crowds cheering their stallion of choice. And that makes sense because this town has become synonymous with horse racing. It’s a well-deserved reputation, as a trip to Saratoga ...

Writing & Photography by Justin Negard A gray concrete building sits at the center of a field of wildflowers. It’s a smooth, rectangular structure of modern design, standing firmly in stark contrast to the lush, tall grasses around it. Along the sides are large windows revealing clear views of the avant garde artwork housed within. Silhouettes of human statues can ...

Writing & Photography by Justin Negard For over 180 years, the Fulton Fish Market in lower Manhattan was a true center of New York City commerce. Founded in 1822, this bustling market was one of the busiest fish markets in the world, and it holds a nearly two-hundred-year history that began before the Civil War and lasted through its mafia-laden ...