BY BEN VERDE
Former Brooklyn Paper reporter
Noah Hurowitz, a selfdescribed
“local idiot,” has
pledged to tattoo the distinct
visage of storied Streetsblog
reporter Dave Colon onto his
own body as part of a stunt to
raise funds for homeless New
Yorkers.
“I feel nary a drop of regret,”
Hurowitz said when
reached for comment. “Dave
Colon is the heart of this city.”
The exercise in altruistic
idiocy began when Hurowitz,
whose name graced the pages
of this very newspaper in 2015,
began contemplating a New
York-themed tattoo that he
plans to add to his fl esh canvas
once the state’s ban on non-essential
businesses is lifted.
When fellow journalist
Rebecca Fishbein began contemplating
a similar tattooed
tribute to Gotham City, she
suggested a series of iconic
New York symbols, including
a bagel, a pigeon, and of
course, the exemplary face of
Dave Colon — who hates cars
and loves Citi Bike.
That’s when Hurowitz
penned the tweet that would
seal his fate.
COURIER L 24 IFE, APRIL 17-23, 2020
“I will 100 percent get a
tattoo of Dave’s face if other
people pay for it, this is not a
joke,” he wrote on April 9.
Within hours, bike advocates,
excited Twitter creatures,
and diehard Colon fans
had set up a GoFundMe page,
where hundreds of dollars
started pouring in towards
their projected goal of $500.
Yet, as the funds began
perplexingly piling in, the
duo of cycling stooges decided
that the money would
best be used toward a more
worthy caus.
“Raising $500 in the middle
of a pandemic when everyone’s
hurting… that’s not a
great look,” Hurowitz said.
Hurowitz and Colon settled
on donating the funds to the
Homeless Can’t Stay Home
campaign, which aims to provide
homeless individuals
with shelter in hotel rooms,
rather than in shelters —
which have become hotbeds
for the disease, which the city
has been slow to do, according
to Hurowitz.
“It’s unconscionable that
the city has moved so slowly
in putting people up in these
hotels,” he said. “This is a crisis,
the government is there to
respond to crises.”
Hurowitz will now cover
the cost of the tattoo himself,
which he is considering placing
on his calf.
“If I’m running away from
someone all they will see is
Dave’s face laughing at them,”
he said.
BY ROSE ADAMS
The Brooklyn Public Library
has moved its popular
Drag Queen Story Hour programming
online, and its latest
installation saw more than
40 Kings County kids tune in
from home to hear their favorite
drag queen read picture
books and sing songs.
“The story hour was really
cute,” said Miz Jade, who
hosted an online reading on
April 14, and has participated
in the beloved library tradition
for almost two years.
Drag Queen Story Hour,
which the Brooklyn Public Library
has hosted since 2016,
typically features readings
about identity and acceptance,
which the queens read to children
between the ages of 4 and
10. The hour-and-a-half event
also includes music and activities
to keep youngsters engaged,
Miz Jade said.
During Tuesday’s event —
one the library’s fi rst online
story hours since its coronavirus
related closure — Miz Jade
took to Instagram Live to read
four books. First came “The
Dragtivity Book,” a guide that
helps parents talk to kids about
gender expression and drag,
followed by “Maybe Something
Beautiful,” a picture
book about letting artistry fl ow
freely, and “The Princess and
the Pony,” the story of a princess
who wants to be a warrior,
but receives a pony instead.
Miz Jade also sang songs,
including “The Heels of a
Drag Queen” to the tune of
“The Wheels on the Bus,”
and a well-timed ode to handwashing
during the virtual
read-aloud.
BY JESSICA PARKS
The show must go on!
A Brooklyn College pianist
scoured the globe to recruit
a soulful orchestra of
would-be Beethovens for a
virtual concert that quarantined
music buffs can enjoy
from the comfort of their living
rooms.
“Being back home and not
being able to collaborate with
my fellow artists, I wanted to
create an opportunity that I
could still collaborate from
the safety of my own home,”
said Harrison Sheckler.
The Brooklyn College
campus closed in March
to help curb the spread of
novel coronavirus, forcing
the 23-year-old Iowa native
to complete the fi rst year of
his master’s degree in piano
performance remotely —
and miss his opportunity to
perform with the New York
Philharmonic as part of the
Brooklyn College Choir.
“I left Brooklyn on the
14th and I fl ew home,” Sheckler
said. “The Brooklyn College
Choir had been preparing
for performances with
the New York Philharmonic,
and then that was gone.”
To try and turn the situation
around for him and his
fellow musicians, Sheckler
decided to bring their musical
talents together online
with a virtual rendition of
“You’ll Never Walk Alone,”
a three-minute composition
from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
“Carousel.”
Sheckler, who began by
reaching out to friends and
classmates, quickly got in
contact with more than 200
schools in Iowa, and also
shared the project on musical
Facebook groups, calling
on professional and amateur
instrumentalists alike
for help — which instantly
spawned responses from
Chile, Brazil, Germany, the
UK, and more!
“I thought, there are so
many musicians and artists
out there that I could reach
out to,” Sheckler said. “We
have musicians all over the
world participating, playing
violin, viola, cello, bass —
any symphonic instrument.”
Sheckler’s self-made
project is reminiscent of one
conducted by his Brooklyn
College professor Jeffrey
Biegel, who, decades prior,
pioneered classical livestreams
in Amsterdam and
New York.
“I think it’s wonderful,”
Biegel said. “Any way
we can inspire others to
do something is a fabulous
thing and that is a part of
teaching: inspiring others
to think for themselves so
they can then teach others.”
Biegel is also entertaining
during his lonely months
of isolation. The Brooklyn
College professor is streaming
“Stay at Home” concerts
from his Long Island home
on Saturday nights, and
has also composed a pair
of waltzes during the pandemic.
Biegel’s next live performance
is slated for April 18.
Meanwhile, Sheckler, who is
no longer accepting submissions
from the public, plans
to release his completed production
on May 1.
Noah Hurowitz with the visage that will
one day live on his skin.
Photo by Noah Hurowitz
Harrison Sheckler, a pianist at Brooklyn College, is arranging a virtual
orchestra. Photo by Harrison Sheckler
Miz Jade read four picture books during
the virtual Drag Queen Story Hour on
April 14. Photo by Miz Jade
Brooklyn pianist
launches ‘virtual
orchestra’
WERK! (FROM HOME)
Brooklyn Public Library’s Drag Queen
Story Hour goes virtual
Former Brooklyn Paper reporter plans
tattoo of friend’s face, citing homelessness