Our first Power Broker discussion will be on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 6:00 p.m. at Espresso 77 at 35-57 77th St. in Jackson Heights.

An unexpected thing happened last year when Epicenter put out a call to join the 99 Percent Invisible Podcast’s readalong of “The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York”: A lot of people signed up. 

And now our staff meetings are filled with discussions about bridges built in 1929 and how ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) works. I happen to be in a household where I’m reading Robert Caro’s tome (for the second time, like I keep telling you) and my husband is listening to it on Spotify (it’s 66 hours long!). 

Next week, we begin our occasional meetups to discuss what we’re reading—and feeling. With our staff meetings as guides, I can tell you we are feeling a lot of things. 

Want to join us? We’ll gather on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 6:00 p.m. at Espresso 77 at 35-57 77th St. in Jackson Heights. RSVP to hello@epicenter-nyc.com and try to have read at least the first 100 pages and give this first episode a listen; Caro makes an appearance. 

We plan subsequent chats, such as how NYC bureaucracy works or the massive displacement of people of color in Moses’ machinations. We’re lining up experts and walking tours. Got an idea for something you want to dive into based on the book? Ping us at hello@epicenter-nyc.com

Edit: The event date has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 6:00 p.m.

S. Mitra Kalita is a veteran journalist, media executive, prolific commentator and author of two books. In 2020 she launched Epicenter-NYC, a newsletter to help New Yorkers get through the pandemic. Mitra...

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