2011 Year in Review: Our Favorite Know Your Neighbor Stories

By
Jennifer Hsu
Know Your Neighbor | Dec 29, 2011

WNYC's Know Your Neighbor video series tells the stories of New Yorkers living their lives in their own unique ways.

From Bed-Stuy to the South Bronx to an encampment in Zuccotti Park, meet some of the most memorable neighbors we profiled in 2011.

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN:  A 12-year-old is one of the best junior-high chess players in the country. His ultimate dream? To become a grandmaster by 16. Meet James, The Chess Champ, in the video below.

 

ZUCCOTTI SQUARE, MANHATTAN: A former derivatives trader fronts Occupy Wall Street's 24/7 media operation. Meet Vlad, The Wall Street Occupier.

 

ST. LAWRENCE, BRONX: Lucia Martinez flies to Mexico every week to shuttle home-cooked food and gifts, as an international courier for her fellow Mexican immigrant community. 

 

BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN: John makes tempeh out of a DIY incubator at his gay-collective home. Meet John, The Tempeh Man.

 

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS: From the frontlines in Iraq to a shelter for homeless veterans in New York City, meet a guy determined to find new life as a professional wrestler. Meet Mike, The Homeless Vet.

Profile Image
Jennifer Hsu

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

Top Stories

Mamdani says NYC will investigate every tenant heat complaint starting this October

It's a change from city policy that allowed the city to close out thousands of complaints without looking into them further, if multiple came from one building.
Gothamist |

How Extinction Entered the AI Debate

And human debaters face-off with chatbots
On the Media |

What's in Your Storage Locker?

David Owen, staff writer at The New Yorker, talks about the business of storage lockers and why so many Americans have them.
The Brian Lehrer Show |

Malcolm Gladwell on “The American Way of Killing.” Plus, Grandmaster Flash on “Birth of a Culture”

The New Yorker staff writer believes that under-policing is at the root of our problem. Plus, the groundbreaking d.j. on the turntable innovations that led to hip-hop.
The New Yorker Radio Hour |
YOU ARE ONLINE