WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 13, 2022 3
Middle Village residents plan to host sports convention in Manhattan
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
A Middle Village duo will be
hosting their fi rst large-scale
sports convention where participants
can trade cards ranging in
monetary value at the New Yorker
Hotel later this month.
The event will be held Saturday,
Jan. 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ivy Silberstein, also known as Ivy
Supersonic, and Michael Carbonaro
are moving away from their usual
Comic Con events to host a sports
card-trading event, which is expected
to draw a crowd of 2,000 people. Typically
about 10,000 come to an event,
but with the high COVID-19 transmission
rates, they are expecting fewer
attendees.
Silberstein is an artist known for
creating everything from hats to
paintings to comics. Carbonaro grew
up in Middle Village and started his
business, Big Apple Convention, in
1996, aft er he held his fi rst Comic Con
in the basement of St. Paul’s Church
in Manhattan. Twenty-five years
later, Big Apple Convention hosts
thousands in Manhattan every year.
Silberstein has spearheaded this
upcoming event and taken the reigns
by reaching out to her contacts to
bring big names to the day. Among
those invited are Dwight Gooden, a
former professional baseball player
for the Mets; Jimmy Hart, a wrestler
manager signed with WWE; and Bob
Backlund, a retired wrestler.
“I’ve been working with people
from the sports industry in diff erent
ways and the Comic Book Conventions,
so it just seemed like a nobrainer,”
Silberstein said. “They’re
going to trade cards, buy cards, sell
cards and the value can go from $1 to
$1 million.”
Participants can also expect the
celebrities to sign memorabilia.
Carbonaro and Silberstein also
opened a pop-up store for six months
last year in Middle Village. The paranormal
art and comic book store was
on Metropolitan Avenue and 74th
Street. Silberstein said that they
may open another similar store in
the area.
The store was opened during the
pandemic since the usual Comic Con
events weren’t taking place. Now,
the company is back to planning and
hosting full-scale events and Silberstein
is excited to run her fi rst show.
“It’s really fun. It’s good to be back
in action instead of sitting here trying
to fi gure out what are we gonna do,”
Silberstein said. “I like the challenge.
Diff erent people are into sports and
sports paraphernalia than comic
books, it’s a diff erent animal. But it’s
exciting.”
The pair are also working on a
Comic Con and pop culture event
in March at the New Yorker Hotel.
Tickets can be found at their website,
BigAppleTradingCardShow.com.
Middle Village duo Ivy Silberstein and Michael Carbonaro will host a
sports card-trading convention on Jan. 29 in the New York Hotel.
Photo courtesy of Ivy Silberstein
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