— Katy Schneider, features editor, New York
| We were fairly stunned to find out that just a few miles from Flushing, there exists a co-op complex called Electchester that is overrun with electricians. We had to know more: How did there come to be such a place? The answer is fairly straightforward, writer Kayla Levy discovered. In the early ’50s, like many other unions at the time, the Local No. 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers built affordable housing for its members. (The International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union had housing back then, as did the Meat Cutters.) What’s not so common is that — though residents like to say otherwise — in 2023, Electchester seems to operate a lot like it did 70 years ago. There’s still a bowling alley on the ground floor of the union hall. An annual Christmas-tree lighting, wired by resident electricians. And a Cub Scout troop that convenes Friday evenings in a basement “rumpus room” to practice reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. |
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| Photo: The Archives of the Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry |
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| For the first edition of her new column Making It, Emily Gould speaks to Casey Johnston, the unlikely weight-lifting coach making a killing by arguing that pumping iron can be for everyone. |
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| Will New York ever see snow again? Intelligencer’s Benjamin Hart speaks to the founder of New York Metro Weather about the odds that this winter’s trajectory will change and how climate change plays into all these 50-degree days. |
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| On Vulture, Genevieve Smith takes a close look at what makes a Justin Peck performance a Justin Peck performance, according to the New York City Ballet’s principal dancers, soloists, pianist, Peck’s wife, and Peck himself. |
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