VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE # 327
AIR DATE: 04 19 2024
FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT
SHOW OPEN
((Animation))
((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Title))
A New York City Icon
((SOT))
((Mike Saviello
Manager, Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
Hey, how you doing? Well, everybody calls me Big Mike Saviello here. Everybody knows me as Big Mike. I've been here 38 years. You’ll just come in, you get your hair cut and get a great job, great price. And I just fell in love with it. I said, “I love this place. I got to stay here.”
((Animation))
((Title))
Adaptive Skiers
((SOT))
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Everything with being a quadriplegic takes a little extra time, but being careful, make sure mistakes are not made and other things done safely. And having equipment like this lift system to pick me up out of my chair and get me in the bed safely, saves my body and saves my caregiver's bodies.
((Animation))
((PKG)) A NEW YORK CITY ICON
((TRT: 08:22))
((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: New York City, New York))
((Main characters: 0 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 2 female; 8 male))
((Blurb: We visit Astor Place Hairstylists, an iconic New York City business that’s been on the cutting edge of urban hair styles from punk to hip hop, for over forty years.))
((NATS))
((Jonathan Trichter
Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
Welcome to Astor Place. I am the owner of Astor Place Hairstylists. And as a small businessman, this is the closest I will ever get to owning Rockefeller Center. It's another New York iconic institution. Lots of New Yorkers famous came through here, but really, we cater to working-class New Yorkers, and we have working class prices, and we've been around since 1945 or 1947. There's some discrepancy here. So there’s some discrepancy whether it was 1945 or 1947, but it was after the war and it was started by the Vezza family.
It was a small shop of Italian immigrants. They opened up. They had six chairs, maybe four chairs. They were very successful, but this location was industrial. And so, when we lost manufacturing, it hit on hard times, and then nobody got their hair cut in the [19]60s. So that was also tough.
((Courtesy: Astor Place Hairstylists))
But then the [19]70s and punk was revival for them. Since the [19]70s, Astor Place has played a major role in the evolution of urban style through hair. Pretty much all of the cultural and fashion movements that started in an urban area or New York specifically got washed through here, and got styled via the haircut, and then emanated uptown through our doors, and then through the rest of the world.
((Courtesy: Nicolas Heller))
((Jonathan Trichter
Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
Speedy's been here 35, 40 years. They call him Speedy, not because he's actually fast. He's one of our slowest barbers actually, but he works clean and he's meticulous. Scott actually was here when the place opened. I think he was 57 [years old] in 1945, which would make him like 127 [years old]. He will never stop working. Some of the Astor Place women. We're also a woman's salon. Say hello, Narcy, Irma. Say hello, Wave.
((Hairstylists))
Hi.
((Suzy
Hairstylist))
Wow, who's this? My princess.
((Anne Marie Cruz
Artist, Creator of non-profit fundraising tool))
There's so much history here, you can kind of connect. If you get your haircut here, then you know that you’ve gotten your haircut where Blondie got her haircut. But also, as a woman, it's hard to get a haircut for less than 100 bucks, and you can get one here for 35 bucks. And I just got my haircut here a few weeks ago, so I'm really happy about it. Suzy is the one to go to if you're a woman. Just feels like you're hanging out with your grandma, but she's giving you a cool haircut. If you don't get Astor Place Hairstylists, then you don't get New York.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Courtesy: Astor Place Hairstylists))
((Jonathan Trichter
Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
We’ve been around for a long time. It's a small business that has endured through the years. There are more languages spoken here than at the UN. The joke also is that we speak every language and a little bit of English, and that's true. There are a lot of immigrants, a lot of immigrant stories, and we are a place that's multicultural and proud of it.
((Yacob
Barber))
How short you want it?
(((Suzy
Hairstylist))
What kind of haircut do you like today?
((Peter
Barber))
Welcome to Astor Place. So, you need a haircut.
((Sergio
Barber))
Good morning, sir. How are you?
((Customer))
I’m good. How are you?
((Jonathan Trichter
Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
So I've been coming here to get my haircut since I was 13 [years old], and I've always been coming back. When I heard it was going to close due to the pandemic, I curled up in a fetal position and cried. And then I walked down, and I asked the owners if I could buy it. And word got out. And all of a sudden, friends that I knew, who had done well and been successful, offered to chip in and purchase the place and finance it through the pandemic and through the recovery.
((NATS))
((Jonathan Trichter
Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
This is our longtime manager. Mike is now an owner. When we bought the place, we made him an owner. He's been here for 40 some odd years, sitting at the door, he does the list. We get more walk-ins than any barbershop in the world, I would think.
((Mike Saviello
Manager, Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
Hey, how are you doing?
Well, everybody called me Big Mike Saviello here. Everybody knows me as Big Mike. I've been here 38 years. It's the only place you could come in the world that you come in the shop and there's 30, 40 people cutting hair. And you'll see an old lady getting a beehive right next to a hip-hop guy getting a fade next to another guy, Wall Street business guy, right next to each other. And it's like no big thing. You only can see this in New York. That's the only place. Everybody loves coming here because of the energy. And just come in, you get your haircut, get a great job, great price. And I just fell in love with it. You know, I said, “I love this place. I got to stay here.”
((Nev Schulman
TV Host and Producer))
When you walk into a place like this and you look around, you see that whatever they do here, they commit to it a hundred percent. So, whether it's
((Courtesy: Nicolas Heller))
the walls that are covered from floor to ceiling in paintings by one of the barbers here, or the photos of people who have come here, whose pictures are now on the wall, like they just…it is just full. The place just brims with commitment to itself.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Courtesy: Astor Place Hairstylists))
((Jonathan Trichter
Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
And again, it started with punk, right? CBGBs [New York City music club of the 1970s that fostered new genres of American music] was right next door. And our stylists and our barbers were experts with shears and razors and coloring. They were the ones who fashioned the punk scene with their spiked hair and their shaved heads.
And one day, Andy Warhol, who had his office around here, had his factory, walked in to see what was going on. And when he came with his entourage, after that the place blew up. One day, nobody's quite sure why, but there was a camera here for some reason. And Benny,
((Courtesy: Nicolas Heller))
who is really retired now, but he comes in maybe a couple of times a week just to kind of hang out, somebody walked up to Benny with the Batman logo and asked him to put it in the back of his head. And he did,
((Courtesy: Astor Place Hairstylists))
and the camera caught it. And then the next day, there were three cameras here and print newspapers, and it was on the cover of the tabloids.
So, the Batman logo in the back of the head became huge. Benny started it, and then all of the intricate designs really started with Benny.
((Courtesy: Nicolas Heller))
Hip-hop style, Downtown style also got its haircut here. We were the first to put lines in heads, and all of the New York rappers got their hair cut here back in the day. From Method Man to Q-tip and Spike Lee, not a rapper but a major cultural force in the [19]80s, all regular customers, all walked through here.
((NATS))
((Mike Saviello
Manager, Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
When I first started back in the day, this young lady comes down. She had like a short haircut and everything, and she had like a little accent, and she goes, “I want my head shaved.” So, I was thinking maybe she wants a short haircut, right? But I go home that night. I'm watching David Letterman, right? And after David Letterman, at the end, he always brings on new acts and everything, you know. And all of a sudden, he goes, “Now making her USA debut, Sinéad O'Connor.” It was that crazy. She ripped up the whole thing. I'm like, I tell my wife, I'm like, “That was the girl who got a shave.”
((NATS))
((Frank Ribecca
Manager, Astor Place Hairstylists))
It's a never a dull moment, and you're not bored because you can have an interaction with one customer about his day, and another customer will come in, and while he's getting his haircut, be talking to the barber,
((Courtesy: Astor Place Hairstylists))
and they'll call me over just for, you know, getting into the conversation. You learn a lot, a lot about people.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jonathan Trichter
Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
So one of the benefits of owning Astor Place is that it's connected me to a bunch of New Yorkers who love this business and the fact that I saved it. And as a result, I am a semi-regular poker player, and we started a small game that picked up, and word got out, and so we've got a lot of New York notables who come play with us now once a month, including Ira Glass, John Hodgman, Danny Strong, Doug Liman sat in once, Meals by Cug, New York Nico.
((Nicolas Heller
aka New York Nico, Director))
I've been coming to Astro Place since I was about 10 years old. Very old school. Like it’s…it really is like a microcosm of New York City. It's, it’s changed over the years, but it's still kind of held on to what made Astor Place so special in the first place, which is this super old school
((Courtesy: Nicolas Heller))
New York vibe, which you don't really get anywhere else in the city anymore.
((Mike Saviello
Manager, Co-Owner, Astor Place Hairstylists))
It's iconic. That's what it is. Yeah.
((NATS/MUSIC))
TEASE
((VO/NAT/SOT))
More after the break…
((Title))
Adaptive Skiers
((SOT))
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Anything’s possible if you have the willingness to try and if you are able to get out there and experience what life has to offer. I love it. That’s his first ever.
BUMPER
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((SOCIAL MEDIA PKG.))
((TITLE)) FREEDOM ON WHEELS
((TRT: 01:00))
((Original Reporter/Camera/Producer: Genia Dulot))
((Social Media Producer/Editor: Lisa Vohra))
((Blurb: Meet Tracie, a woman who embraces her wheelchair as a source of liberation.))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Tracie Garacochea
Adaptive Skateboarder))
Because you have a wheelchair doesn’t mean you can’t do an extreme sport.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Tracie Garacochea
Adaptive Skateboarder))
I kept on having vertigo and things would happen, like my hands started not functioning well and I was doing sculpture and I couldn’t hold the tools and I was dropping them on my feet and those are really sharp.
((Tracie Garacochea
Adaptive Skateboarder))
Finally, I am diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. So the lady whose chair I tried said to me, “A wheelchair is just a tool.” And that made sense to me.
((Tracie Garacochea
Adaptive Skateboarder))
A wheelchair improved the quality of my life and it gave me a sport. It’s just, that moment was one of the best in my life.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Tracie Garacochea
Adaptive Skateboarder))
I just want people to see when I am out there, that this is possible. And it’s possible at 17. It’s possible at 20. It’s possible at 30. And darn it, it’s possible at 60.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Tracie Garacochea
Adaptive Skateboarder))
It feels like you are flying.
BUMPER
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((TITLE)) ADAPTIVE SKIERS
((TRT: 18:33))
((Producer/Camera/Editor: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Alexandria, Virginia))
((Main characters: 0 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 2 female; 2 male))
((Blurb: Through his non-profit, Josh Basile leads the group with spinal cord injuries for a winter adventure of skiing in Pennsylvania, proving anything is possible.))
((NATS))
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Alexa, turn off TV. Elevator does a great job getting me where I need to go. It’s a great commute to work. I love it.
Wake up. First floor.
Today was filled with getting everything ready for the adventurous weekend. I had to get all the waivers. Everything signed up for all the participants. All their student forms. I had to get directions out to all the participants of where to park, where to go, what time to be. Checked in with all the participants, making sure they're still coming. A lot of the logistics of putting together an event for our seven participants and we’ve got 12 family members coming. So, it's going to be hopefully a successful weekend and hopefully the weather will cooperate.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Almost. Yay. Good one. You were a very good athlete. I’m surprised you didn’t dominate.
((Edwin Fava Jr.
Katie's Father))
Skiing totally wasted me.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
This is called the MouthPad, and basically, it’s a retainer that fits the top of my mouth. And it has a touchpad and I’m able to control different devices, my phone, my computer, with just my tongue and my head. And if you pop it in my mouth...swipe up…16…and now I can control everything with my head and my mouth. I’m one of 10 people in the world that are currently benefiting from this device.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
So, it has different abilities where you can either, I can stop moving my head. So, basically, it has different modes where I can control solely by my tongue, or I can control with my head movement. I am able to click with just my tongue. I am able to take pictures. I am able to drag and drop and change and able to flip through things. It’s an amazing piece of technology that has given me so much new independence without always having to use my voice to control everything. So, its…technology is fun. As technology evolves, opportunities evolve, and I am excited to keep having different toys to play with.
I got in early on as a tester and I helped them with creating a product that could best help the community and people that have limited to no arm movement and want to control their environment.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
My packing list is crazy long. Medical supplies. I’ve got all my clothing, got my GoPro mounts and GoPro stuff for the skiing, got my toiletries, and then my other…lots of checks. Make sure everything's there. I feel like I'm always a pharmacy wherever I go because I come rolling deep with different things that are needed for every situation. It takes a lot to take care of a quadriplegic body. I have probably about a good 15 different travel lists for different occasions, whether it's, you know, the wintertime going skiing or it's the summertime, wherever it might be. It's whether it's the amount of time that you're going to be traveling or the destination, it calls for many, many different ways of changing kind of the number of medical supplies you need, the type of clothing you need.
Yep, let's put that in there. Do you have the sling? The different types of lift systems or slings for transferring, every trip is a little bit different.
((NATS))
What's up big guy?
((NATS))
Hey Josh!
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Yep.
((NATS))
Have a good time, buddy.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Thank you, Eddie.
((NATS))
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Perfect.
Okay, let's see what we got here. Yeah. We'll bring that all the way in the corner. Home sweet home.
((NATS:
Nyasha Ndoro
Caretaker))
Yes, sir.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
All right. Always like hot water and water. Quadriplegics are notoriously cold. Our body temperatures and everything regulating always runs really, really low. Everything with being a quadriplegic takes a little extra time, but being careful, make sure mistakes are not made and other things done safely. And having equipment like this lift system to pick me up out of my chair and get me in the bed safely, saves my body and saves my caregiver's bodies, where this is a, there's not a, I can't flip a switch and not be quadriplegic. So, from a long-term standpoint, it's good to have good equipment in place and do this safely. This is one of my favorite moments of the day when my head gets to hit the pillow. It just feels good. Nice and toasty.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Look like a Halloween costume, like a mummy all wrapped up. Not everybody has the lift system to get in bed, so some quadriplegics do a manual transfer. And for the most part, all quadriplegics run a little cold. I put in a full eight-to-10-hour workday already, and now I'm ready to get to bed. And tomorrow I'm going to be bringing seven paralyzed families to go skiing on the slopes. And it was a tremendous amount of work to put it all together while having a full-time job as a lawyer, as a consultant, and it's just taking care of business, being able to get out of my home and out and about and experiencing the world. It's new scenes, new days, new adventures, and just making it happen.
((NATS))
((Steve Gurney
BRASS Blue Ridge Adaptive Snow Sports))
Today, what we've got is, we've got some bi-skiers. We haven't really made assignments. We want this to be a team effort. We're going to figure out who's best to go out with each of the bi-ski students today.
((Katie Fava
Josh’s Fiancée))
Does that feel good?
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
With my non-profit, Determined2Heal, we like to get families out of their homes and out on adventures. I would have a big theme or a thing that we like to promote, which is Living With Adventurous Wheels. And it's all about kind of having a willingness to try to get outside of your comfort zone and experience the world around you. So, one of our adaptive adventures and sports and activities is adaptive skiing. I learned about BRASS [Blue Ridge Adaptive Snow Sports] which is a special program here and around the DC area that takes families out, basically match up with them where they bring the instructors, they have the mountain, they have the training, the equipment, and I bring the families. And I always make sure I find ways to raise enough money to make it so that the families have zero expenses while they're on this trip, to be able to focus on having fun and making memories. And so that's what brings us here today to Liberty Mountain.
((NATS: Instructor))
So, if we look down, if we're coming straight down here, it's pretty. The pitch is pretty good. If we get over to the right, it becomes a little bit of a double fault. So, it kind of leans and takes you further to the right. So that's why we'll kind of stay to the left side.
((NATS))
Center and right. Center and left. Left, left, left. There we go. Center and right. Hold that right. Center and left.
((Van Brooks
Quadriplegic))
Feels good. A lot of fun. Starting to get the hang of it now. So, this is my second time doing it. And it's a lot of fun. A lot of fun. I enjoy the core workout. So, all in all it’s great.
((NATS: Loading Josh into sled))
We did not get anywhere near it.
Okay.
All right, one second. All right, let's do another lift. And if you guys can push my butt back.
((NATS))
One, two.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Good job, everybody. Okay, all right. I can feel it in the top part that’s not down. Feel good. What we need to do is let's get strapped in and then we're going to do extra straps around my arms. So, grab both hands and kind of cross them across each other. So, one there, yep. Get the elbows in, get both elbows in more. I love you.
((Katie Fava
Josh's Fiancée))
I love you. Have fun.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Let's go skiing, boys.
((NATS))
Ready? Got to rest this back.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Are we on?
((NATS))
All right. Head back, Josh. All right. We've got to wait. That's all right. No, no, no. Go ahead, back off. You ready?
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Yeah. Wait, wait. Get the helmet, get it over.
((NATS))
Yeah, okay. So, let's bring helmet there...got it. Okay, there we go.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
It's just…it's always fun coming back here. I just had so many childhood memories when I was, when I would ski as a kid.
((NATS))
Yeah?
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
And now coming back.
((NATS))
This is the place you came?
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
I would come here a lot and to White Tail [ski resort].
((Chandra Smith
Miss Wheelchair America 2024))
Chandra Smith, Miss Wheelchair America 2024. I am a triple amputee. I also had a stroke. And all of this occurred from sepsis [infection]. September the 8th, 2021, yeah. So, I spent a year and a day in the hospital, and then this is just one year out post recovery from my injury.
I did go skiing. It was amazing. So, when you're at the top of the mountain, it is extremely scary, but then when you go down, you feel a sense of accomplishment that I was actually able to do it, and it was exhilarating. Once you get the hang of it, it's fun times all the way down.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
What's amazing, what people come up to you, and then like they say that they have a brother or a sister or a family member or someone they know, and they would love them to be able to do these things they didn’t know it was possible. They didn’t know that these type of programs existed. And when you get those families that come to you, it starts a conversation. It teaches the world that anything's possible, and just kind of need to be matched up with the right people, the right organizations, to get out there.
((NATS))
Okay, push forward.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
All right, Fable, you see where it says, you see where it says rest area? Let's go all the way where it says rest area. All right, let's do it. All right. Here we go.
((NATS: Instructor))
Oh, you’ve even got the little hop down.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Oh, yeah. I love it. She loves the hop more than anything.
((NATS Instructor))
The bunny hop.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
We can do this. Let’s…could we catch up to her a little bit? Is that possible? It's just every adventure that I get to be a part of, even though I'm paralyzed below my shoulders. I really can't move my arms much or at all. And it's, to be able to do it without having those physical functionalities, it just, it's a true testament that really most anything is still possible. It’s just, it's going to look different and different can still be fun.
My son, I want to see he goes in my lap. Can we just ride him down to like the lift?
((Katie Fava
Josh’s Fiancée))
Do you have that other strap with you?
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
No, but I got the strap around my arms you can probably take off. We're not going crazy fast. So, this Velcro strap we can do. All right Faeble, we’re going to follow your lead Faeble. Say hi to Rigel. Okay, we'll give Calder a little ride. We can go a little fast. You ready for the hill? You ready for the hill, big guy? Here we go. Here we go. Yay. Yay. Yeah, good job, buddy.
Anything is possible if you're, have the willingness to try and if you're able to get out there and experience what life has to offer.
I love it. That’s his first ever.
I know when we go down these mountains, we're turning people's heads. We're making them think a little bit differently.
((Damon Walker
Paraplegic))
Oh, it was amazing. It was a great experience. Like, I kind of surprised myself. I was able to get so much done.
((Corrie Jones
Volunteer))
Yeah, he's a rock star. So, usually it takes us a little longer to teach somebody that kind of stuff. But he picked it up super quick.
So, he's got great balance, great athleticism. So it was easy.
((Damon Walker
Paraplegic))
Yeah, I was at a time when I fell a lot, but I definitely got one run where I got a clean run from top to bottom. So that definitely made me feel like I can go in and hold my head up high.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
Great job, everyone. That was fun.
((Nyasha Ndoro
Caretaker))
That was. Thank you.
((NATS))
You’re welcome.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
You would not believe how fast Faeble is.
((Nyasha Ndoro
Caretaker))
I saw she was ahead of you.
((Josh Basile
Lawyer, Consultant, Founder of Determined2Heal))
No, she just rocketing by us. The more active we live, the more active the world is.
((NATS))
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((SOCIAL MEDIA PKG.))
((TITLE)) FROM BUCHENWALD TO BROOKLYN
((TRT: 01:00))
((Original Producer: Marsha James))
((Original Camera/Editor: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Social Media Producer/Editor: Lisa Vohra))
((Blurb: Martin Greenfield, a Holocaust survivor, arrived in the United States in 1947 as an orphan. Starting as a floor boy in a NYC suit factory, he eventually became the owner and the tailor for celebrities and U.S. Presidents, leading Martin Greenfield Clothiers since 1977 and authoring a book detailing his journey.))
((Martin Greenfield
Holocaust Survivor, Tailor))
When somebody comes to buy something, I know how to measure him. And I know when I fit him, he gets a perfect suit.
((Martin Greenfield
Holocaust Survivor, Tailor))
I was born in the Carpathian Mountains in Czechoslovakia. I was taken when I was very young to Auschwitz. My family I lost. The Germans killed them.
((Martin Greenfield
Holocaust Survivor, Tailor))
They gave me different kinds of jobs, so I could survive. Because my father always said, “think about surviving.”
((Martin Greenfield
Holocaust Survivor, Tailor))
My name is Martin Greenfield and I am the tailor for all presidents. President Clinton, President Obama came to see me. All my life, I started like I was nobody, but I became somebody because of my ability to learn and to do the job the best.
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SHOW ENDS
