Category: New York City

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A High School Student Came out in His Valedictorian Speech and Was Greeted with Wild Applause

It takes a lot of courage to simply get up and speak in front of a large crowd of strangers. It really takes a lot of courage to come out as bisexual in a speech – especially in a valedictorian speech at your high school.

Which is exactly what a young man named Mason Bleu did when speaking at his graduation in New York City. During his speech, Bleu told the audience, for a “long time, I have struggled with my sexuality. I’ve dodged it and ignored it because I wasn’t proud of who I am. But today I’m changing that. I’m proud to be a bisexual man.”

In a Twitter post, Bleu said, “So I came out during my valedictorian speech. It was definitely the scariest thing I’ve ever done but the reaction was amazing. Thank you to everyone who supported me!”

The reaction from parents, friends, faculty, and fellow students: a standing ovation. Take a look at the video.

In a follow-up tweet, Bleu said, “The overarching theme of the speech was about being proud (it is pride month) so I decided that I couldn’t tell people to be proud of who they are when I was in hiding for so long. Anyways, I did this not only for me but for anyone else who has struggled being closeted.”

And Bleu followed up his big coming-out party with a trip to the New York City Pride parade.

 

And he offered up a sympathetic ear to anyone who needed to talk.

Good work, Mason! You’ve undoubtedly encouraged many young people to feel comfortable with they are and where they’re headed in the future.

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New York City is one of four major…

New York City is one of four major cities in the United States whose drinking water is pure enough not to require purification by water treatment plants. The city is supplied with drinking water by the protected Catskill Mountains watershed.

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“Overheard New York” Instagram Account Is Just Too Funny

I’m not sure why it took someone this long to come up with this brilliant idea, but at least we have it now, right?

The Instagram account Overheard New York is exactly what it sounds like, and that’s a good thing. No, it’s a great thing.

Because who doesn’t love New York, New Yorkers, and the things they have to say?

I know I do!

1. Absolutely heavenly

2. Forget about the taste

3. The daily grind

4. Absolutely not

5. Uggghhhh

6. Hey, it happens

7. That’s how it goes here

8. Oh…

9. You bet it is

10. Help each other out

11. Very specific

12. Roommates

13. Hahaha

14. Regular ass, please

15. Constant struggle

I love New York! Don’t you?

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Check Out the 10 Most Expensive Cities in the World

Is the cost of living absolutely insane in your city? I live near NYC, and yeah, it’s pretty brutal.

That said, I was actually pretty surprised by some of the entries on this list of the world’s most expensive cities. San Francisco didn’t even make the cut, which seems kind of insane given the horror stories I’ve heard about rent in SF.

As recently reported, there is actually a three-way tie for the most expensive city in the world right now between Hong Kong, Singapore, and Paris.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

This analysis of the world’s most expensive cities was done by the Economist Intelligence Unit and this is the first time in the Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living report that three cities tied for first place.

The group took over 400 items into consideration to compile the list, including the cost of food, school, recreation, clothing, household fees, etc.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Singapore has been named the world’s most expensive city for five years in a row but this year it has company with Hong Kong and Paris. A strong U.S. dollar means more expensive American cities. New York moved up six spots and Los Angeles jumped four spots on this year’s list.

Take a look at the top 10 below.

1. (3-way tie) Hong Kong, Singapore, and Paris, France

Photo Credit: Public Domain

4. Zurich, Switzerland

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

5. (2-way tie) Geneva, Switzerland and Osaka Japan

Photo Credit: Good Free Photos

7. (3-way tie) Seoul, South Korea, Copenhagen, Denmark, and New York City

Photo Credit: Pixabay

10. (2-way tie) Tel Aviv, Israel and Los Angeles, California

You can download and study a full copy of the report HERE.

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10 of the Most Badass Names for Street Gang Names of the 19th Century

You may not know it, but street gangs have been around for a long, long time. They were even the central theme of Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York.

While the main gang featured in that film was called The Dead Rabbits (which is an awesome name), they were hardly the only ones running the streets at the time. As a matter of fact, there were plenty of 19th-century gangs with colorful names, many of whom operated in New York’s notorious Five Points neighborhood.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Here are 10 that roamed the streets many years ago.

1. Crazy Butch Gang

A gang of teen pickpockets.

2. Molasses Gang

These boys used to bet a shopkeeper he wouldn’t fill up a hat with molasses. When the poor fool did, they’d slap the hat on his head and take all his money.

3. Tub of Blood Bunch

Photo Credit: Public Domain

This gang made the Tub of Blood bar their headquarters and they worked the East River waterfront.

4. Yakey Yakes

The leader was called him “Yake” (mistaken for “Jake”) by a German immigrant and the name stuck.

5. Plug Uglies

Photo Credit: Public Domain

The Plug Uglies were active in New York City and Baltimore and played a prominent role in the 1863 Draft Riots in New York.

6. Kerryonians

Made up of Irishmen from County Kerry.

7. Boodle Gang

They were known to hijack wagons and raid food stores.

8. Corcoran’s Roosters

This crew was known to rob cargo ships. Also known as the Charlton Street Gang.

9. Daybreak Boys

Possibly the coolest name ever for a gang. Like many other gangs of this time period, they worked the waterfront in New York.

10. Baxter Street Dudes

Photo Credit: Public Domain

This gang of thieves consisted of teenagers who formerly worked as newsboys or shoe shiners. They also ran a theater where they performed. You could say they were multi-talented.

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Check Out this Nutella ‘Slot Machine’ in New York, with 20 Flavor Combinations

Earlier this winter, people in New York City were gambling away at a new slot game… and everyone was a winner!

The machine in question was made by Ferrero, the parent company of Nutella, and it was filled with – yep, no surprises here, Nutella! All it takes to play is hitting one single button and, depending on how the slots land, you end up with one of 20 possible variations on a Nutella breakfast snack, with choices like sliced bananas, pistachios, or cherries, served on toast.

Photo Credit: This is Insider

This promotion debuted in late November, and Ferrero has since (tragically) closed down the machine. But don’t fret, my Nutella nuts, because Ferrero recently opened a whole Nutella café in New York City. There you can satisfy your sweet tooth with Nutella smeared between a brioche bun or in a bowl of pound cake, fruit, and a generous drizzle of Nutella.

I’ll Nutell-ya, this looks like heaven. YUM!

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New York City’s Taxi Drivers Have Their Own Calendar, and It’s Awesome

One of the many iconic symbols of New York City is the abundance of yellow taxi cabs. They’re an essential part of life in the city, so why not consider bringing this calendar into your life to honor them?

I mean, is there anything sexier than the road warriors who navigate the mean streets of the Big Apple day in and day out?

1. Oh no!

2. Stylin’

3. Pit stop

4. En fuego

5. I’m melting

6. Hook it up

7. Okay, interesting choice

8. A little Say Anything homage

9. Gettin’ some sun between rides

10. Never enough

11. All wrapped up

12. Nice pasties

13. Cool off

14. Lassoed a banker

15. Taking a break…from being sexy

16. Now we’re talking

17. Suggestive

18. Quite a threesome

19. This one takes the cake

20. He loves me…he loves me not…

Hot!

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A Queens man, Raffi Stepanian…

A Queens man, Raffi Stepanian, has mined the cracks in the sidewalks in Midtown’s Diamond District, New York City, for bits of diamonds, rubies, platinum and gold to make a living. Over six days, he says he collected enough gold for two sales totaling $819. 00