Amy Dewan (pictured above)
Lawyer, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Did you have a good day before you got here?
I went to Burlington Coat Factory to look for something to wear. It was really crazy there. The checkout line was all around the perimeter — like, in a spiral. I almost thought about stealing. Obviously, I didn’t do it, but I wondered if maybe I could leave the money in a box and walk out. I’ve been buying a lot of stuff recently because I just submitted my application to transfer my bar credentials from Maryland to New York. My outfit is an “I’m going to be a lawyer in New York” acquisition. I’m leveling up because life is gonna be different soon.
Did you come with anyone tonight?
My good friend Elon, who is the DJ. Most of my friends are artists. I don’t really have any lawyer friends, or at least close lawyer friends. I like to write and make art too, and I’m also a DJ. I kind of feel like everyone’s an artist, in a way. I mean, I know some people just don’t have the inclination, but it’s such a human thing to want to make art, and I would consider many things art. I consider myself an artist even when I’m taking a nap, you know?
Maya Martinez
Writer, Sunset Park
Isaiah Davis
Artist, Chelsea
Whitney Mallett
Writer and editor, Chelsea
What book are you currently reading?
Lauren Berlant’s On the Inconvenience of Other People. It’s from ten years ago — or four years ago. [Ed. note: It’s from 2022.] Given I’m supposed to be an authority on literature, people might be like, Oh my God, she hasn’t read that yet? But I think it’s fine to be public about all the stuff I’ve never read.
Tom Jackson
Editor, Bedford-Stuyvesant
Taylore Scarabelli
Writer and editor, Lower East Side
Have there been any readings tonight?
No readings. It’s strictly schmoozing, which is nice because if you’re having a bigger launch, it’s kind of intense to do a reading. Not everyone can hear you. Also, there are just too many readings. I want to read at home in the privacy of my bathtub.
Trey Taylor
Editorial director and perfumer, South Bronx
Drew Zeiba
Writer and editor, Chinatown
Candystore
Poet, Crown Heights
How’s the party going?
It is very hot and sexy. There are a lot of beautiful people here. The bar is very small, so it feels kind of crowded. My drink came in a frog cup, which was cool. It felt like a weird surprise to be drinking out of a ceramic frog.
Liara Roux
Writer, Chinatown
Gala Prudent
Artist and creative strategist, Prospect Heights
Naveed Hussain
Creative coordinator, Lower East Side
Liam Creamer
Musician, Bushwick
You’re working as a server tonight. What’s the crowd like?
Since Frog Club is in the West Village, I always assume the people are going to be very millennial. And the crowd is very millennial, but I mean that in the best way possible. These people have lived here awhile and seem wise and have something good to say. They are people who are stable.
Roselee Goldberg
Chief curator, Gramercy
Devin Hentz and Zaïre Diop
Stylist-writer and first-grader, Crown Heights
Baldassarre Ruspoli
Artist, Chinatown
Steven Phillips-Horst
Comedian, Ridgewood
Arjun Ram Srivatsa
Animator, Gowanus
What brings you here?
I contributed to the last issue. I wrote about the misuse of music in public, specifically the mind-numbingly bad soundtrack they play at Crunch Fitness in Tribeca. The first song I ever heard there was an EDM tropical-house cover of “Mr. Brightside.” The front-desk person told me they can’t turn off the music.
Chase Mathey
Botanist, Ridgewood
Photographs by Frankie Alduino
