In Astoria, Steinway Street is known to the locals as “hookah central.” On one block, over 20 hookah bars are squeezed one next to another, filling the surrounding areas with their distinctive sound and smells.
Jersey City’s Newark Avenue is home to the largest gathering of people celebrating the Diwali festival outside of India. Over 10,000 people fill the street throughout the evening and dance with Dandiya sticks and bangled wrists.
Keith Nelson is the co-founder of the Bindlestiff Family Circus, and the organizer of the first ever Unicycle Festival in New York City. Columbia Journalism School student Dexter Mullins produced this audio slideshow as he followed Nelson throughout the weekend of Sept. 5-7, 2010 for the festival.
During his fellowship at The Poynter Institute, Mullins interviews multiple homeless people in the city of St. Petersburg that call City Hall their home. He spends three nights and five days following them to document their story.