Hot Town, Summer in the City

Crime Scene, NYC. Image © Weegee Estate. Click for larger view.

Crime Scene, NYC. Image © Weegee Estate. Click for larger view.
Map pinpointing murder locations in N.Y.C. See below for link to interactive map. Click for larger view.

OK, CHECK THIS OUT. THE CITY OF NEW YORK HAS BEEN PINPOINTING THE EXACT LOCATION OF MURDERS IN THEIR 5 BOROUGHS since 2003. The map above shows all the murders since that time, and what is even more informational is that they have posted an interactive map online. There, you can mouse over any dot and see:

(1) Month and time of day of murder (2) Race and ethnicity of victim (3) Race and ethnicity of perpetrator (4) Sex of victim (5) Sex of perpetrator (6) Age of victim (7) Age of perpetrator (8) Weapon used

Since 2003, 3,402 murders have occurred in the five boroughs of Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island. And since this is powered by Google Earth, you can zoom into to the very streets where the crimes occurred. Interestingly, but not unexpected— most murders occur at night and the summer months record the most murders.

Click here to see the interactive map.

For a little morbid fun, I have posted some vintage crime scene photos by the great Weegee, who shot his photos in New York City during the 1940s and 50s.

All photos by Weegee (Arthur Fellig) are © The Weegee Estate.

A Chocolate Revolution in Brooklyn

(Above and below) The Mast brothers.


Using Florentine brand papers from the Italian paper-maker Rossi, the Mast Brothers have given a quality look to their packaging. For a new business just getting off the ground, it’s a good move.










MICHAEL AND RICHARD MAST MAKE CHOCOLATE THE OLD FASHIONED WAY. And this is no hollow advertising slogan. These guys make their chocolate like 19th century artisans, a small shop making small batches. According to their Website, Mast Brothers Chocolate is the ONLY “bean to bar” chocolate makers in NYC and one of only a handful of chocolate artisans who do this in the entire United States. I call that significant.

Why is this significant? Part of what this blog is all about is passion. Passion to do something that you believe in; moving ahead at the risk of failure—something done in spite of others who say you can’t. I have showcased artists and dreamers, products that inspire not only me but others, architecture that dares to be different and sustainable products that recognize our ever pressing need to save our planet. Forgive the play on words, but Mast Brothers Chocolate fits that mold for me. What they are doing is about passion and we need more of that. Here’s a company who’s original intent is about making the best chocolate a person might taste. The brothers may find success beyond their wildest dreams if they never compromise on the quality of their product. Of course, “success” to these young entrepreneurs will have its own definition—and it may not be about money.

Speaking of chocolate, what have we Americans grown up on? Hershey’s chocolate would be the most common answer, if you can call it chocolate. Did you know that an actual Hershey’s “chocolate” bar contains only between 4% and 10% chocolate? Yep. The rest of it is various sugars, emulsifiers, milk solids, and other fillers.* (WikiAnswers.com)

The Mast Brothers chocolate is described as “handmade in delicate batches,” with 70% cacao! To accommodate this statement, their Brooklyn shop is only open on weekends and they ship (small batches, of course) to a handful of small shops around the country. In terms of packaging, they have simply wrapped their fine chocolates in pre-existing Florentine papers, by the Italian paper maker Rossi (who has been making fine papers since 1931)—not a bad choice for a new business like theirs. This is not to say that they will not need to create their own, uniquely branded packaging someday—but for now they have made a sound choice.

Bio: Rick Mast is a classically trained musician, playing piano and as an amateur—the banjo. He culled his culinary craft in heralded NYC kitchens such as Gramercy Tavern, Soho House, the Outermost Inn on Martha’s Vineyard and under Jacques Torres at his Manhattan chocolate factory.

Michael, prior to his career in chocolate, spent many years in finance for independent film and television in New York. Making chocolate was a studious hobby. Now, combining his love for cacao, travel and photography, he makes many trips to South America—selecting only the finest chocolate beans for his shop. Most of the cacao beans are sourced from small family farms in places such as Madagascar, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Ecuador.