Early Addition: Former Secretary Of State Colin Powell Dies At 84

James Ramsay

Published Oct 18, 2021

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

geese in Prospect Park

Diane Greene Lent

James Ramsay

Published Oct 18, 2021

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Follow Gothamist on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and like us on Facebook. You can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up here.
General Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, died today at age 84, from complications of COVID-19 (he also had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer). Powell was born in New York to Jamaican immigrants; he attended Morris High School and City College.
The New York Times has a detailed account of the booming Asian population in Long Island City, where white-collar Asian Americans and recent college grads from China and Korea have moved into luxury condos and started businesses, while working-class Asian New Yorkers have been gentrified out of the neighborhood.
There are thousands of wrecked ships in the waters between Manhattan and Long Island, and conservationists and amateur diver/historians are concerned that climate change is causing the boats to disintegrate before they can be adequately studied.
A collection of student journalists primarily at HBCUs have launched "Printing Hate," an ambitious project documenting the role American newspapers played in promoting lynchings as recently as the 1960s.
In a series of recent articles in medical journals, doctors have identified a link between teen girls with tics and the fact that these patients have been watching Tourette videos on TikTok.
After winning a major literary prize, the Spanish crime author Carmen Mola, a.k.a. Spain's Elena Ferrante, was revealed not to be a reclusive woman, but rather three male screenwriters who've been writing the Mola books together under this pen name.
In this week's issue of The New Yorker: Does MasterClass want to help people actually master anything, or does it just want you to pay to watch all of its videos about unrelated areas of expertise?
The very wise Candace Bushnell has noted that while Sex & The City was "not very feminist in the end .... that’s TV. That’s entertainment. That’s why people should not base their lives on a TV show."
And finally, don't even think about giving a raccoon grapes and then trying to get 'em back:

James Ramsay

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE arts-entertainment

The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?

Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.

Lindsay Lee Wallace

Published Oct 8, 2026

Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?

If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.

James Ramsay

Arts & Entertainment

Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?

If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.

James Ramsay

What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.

Jayson Greene

Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City

Sonia Rao

Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries

Alec Hamilton

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .