Siddhartha Mitter

New York, NY —

When gentrification comes to a neighborhood it isn’t just the residents who can feel like like they’re being pushed away. It’s also the local history. So how can a community’s past contribute to its future? WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter reports from Bedford-Stuvesant.

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New York, NY —

Up from the Deep South...all the way to Brooklyn. A two-week festival is underway that celebrates the culture of the Mississippi Delta. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter reflects on the birthplace of the blues.

More on the Mississippi Blues Festival

New York, NY —

Ardeshir Mohassess: Art and Satire in Iran is the first major U.S. retrospective of Mohassess's work. The self-taught artist presents 70 monochromatic ink drawings that comment on Iran’s social, political and cultural life before and after the 1979 revolution.

Slideshow: Ardeshir Mohassess: ...

New York, NY —

The East Williamsburg industrial area is one of the remaining manufacturing districts in the city. But, it’s also the latest refuge for arts organizations and artists fleeing high rents in Manhattan.

WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter reports on a group of international artists who are making the neighborhood ...

WNYC's Siddhartha Mitter explains the new zoning plan for 125th Street and what it means for residents of the area.

Are you happy with the new zoning for 125 Street? How do you expect the neighborhood to change? Sound off below!

New York, NY —

A major plan to bring new development to 125th Street is going forward after the City Council overwhelmingly approved a new zoning plan for the whole length of Harlem's main artery. WNYC's Siddhartha Mitter reports.

MITTER: Council members called the rezoning a big victory, especially members ...

New York, NY —

Changes are coming to 125th Street. Plans to rezone Harlem’s main artery look headed for approval in the city council, after a compromise to limit the height of new buildings to 19 stories. The amount of affordable housing in the plan has also been increased. ...

New York, NY —

Today is Easter Sunday and many New Yorkers are headed to Church. Last Tuesday Democratic Candidate Barack Obama talked about the conflicts he as a congregant has had with some of what his pastor, the Rev Jeremiah Wright has said in the past. WNYC’s Siddhartha ...

New York, NY —

Five years after the US invasion of Iraq, an Iraqi-American musician is preserving the classical music of Baghdad here in New York. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter reports.

REPORTER: In late 2002, just before the invasion, Amir ElSaffar was in Baghdad on an investigative mission of his own. ...

New York, NY —

A major festival of Arab music is taking place in Brooklyn all this month. After 9/11 there were fears that funding and opportunities for Arab artists would dry up. Siddhartha Mitter reports on the thriving scene for Arab music in New York.

The ...

New York, NY —

It’s not exactly the Grammys, but as the presidential field winnows down, so does the list of campaign theme songs that might – come November – be crowned the Winning Presidential Anthem of 2008. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter evaluates the contenders.

REPORTER: They say one way we ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: The plan currently under city review would allow new commercial and residential development along the east-west artery running through Harlem.

The city wants to bring development to 125th Street, while protecting the brownstone character of the side streets.

Critics say the plan threatens to displace longtime ...

New York, NY —

In this election year, political oratory is back in the spotlight. WNYC's Siddhartha Mitter sat down with one of New York's best known orators to talk about the art of the speech forty years after Dr. Martin Luther King.

New York, NY —

In this election year, political oratory is back in the spotlight. WNYC's Siddhartha Mitter sat down with one of New York's best known orators to talk about the art of the speech forty years after Dr. Martin Luther King.

KING: We refuse to believe that there ...

New York, NY —

Some say it's where Hip Hop was born: a modest rent-stabilized apartment building off the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. Now, tenant groups from 1520 Sedgwick Avenue say they are planning to step in and buy the building themselves -- with help from the ...

New York, NY —

Street gangs have always been a part of life in New York City; in some neighborhoods they’re a constant fact of life. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter spent time in the Bronx with a teenager to get a street level view.

RICH: Like right here, the four buildings ...

Boston Globe contributor and WNYC reporter Siddhartha Mitter shares his best of the year in world music.

Siddhartha Mitter's favorite albums of 2007

Various artists, What’s Happening in Pernambuco (Luaka Bop)

Erol Josué, Régleman (Mi5)

Andy Palacio, Watina (Cumbancha)

DJ ...

New York, NY —

Two percussionists, making a life together and building a family to the rhythm of dozens of drums. She is Filipino-American, he is Cuban-American and they make music that combines both their cultures - and many others. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter spent time with Susie Ibarra and ...

New York, NY —

Today marks World AIDS Day. It’s a time to commemorate victims of the epidemic and take stock of the fight against it around the world. Here in New York, the city estimates that over 100,000 people are living with HIV, and there are 4,000 new ...

New York, NY —

Youth courts are expanding across New York City and state, according to educators and officials who met today at the Red Hook Community Justice Center in Brooklyn.

REPORTER: Teenagers in the programs help decide sanctions like community service for other teens who have admitted to minor ...