The Kindness of Strangers (Well, One Anyway)

Today was supposed to be my first full day on my beat. As it happens, there was a block party scheduled in the neighborhood, and I figured it would be a great way to get my feet wet – you know, lots of happy, really approachable people just waiting for an intrepid reporter to chat them up.

Well, I got my feet wet all right. When I got out of the subway, it was raining. Oh, and the block party was nowhere to be found. Turns out it conflicted with another community event and was cancelled. And after I was all set to be intrepid!

So . . . I pounded the pavement a little bit and found my way to the offices of South Bronx Concerned Citizens, Inc., a local community-based organization. The founder and executive director was exceedingly kind – he talked to me for a good two hours. Turns out he’s a member of the local Community Board, too, so I ended up with a twofer. Hooray!