This is a continuation of the fourth in a series of posts highlighting some of the fascinating stories from the historical Staten Island newspapers now being digitized and uploaded to the web. Learn more about this project.

The Bergen Point light operated for about a century, from 1849 to around 1951. It stood in the middle of the Kill Van Kull between Staten Island and Bergen Point, New Jersey, just West of the Bayonne Bridge.  

Hans Beuthe succeeded John Carlsson, as keeper of the Bergen Point Light, most likely around 1917, though some sources list his official appointment as late as 1921. His previous assignment was the Hog Island Shoal Light in Rhode Island.  He served at Bergen Point until 1941. He and his wife Marie raised thir son Theodore "Teddy" Beuthe at Bergen Point.

from BAYONNE OLD AND NEW  (1940) by Gladys Mellor Sinclair 

...  Hans Beuthe and his wife, Marie, suffer no loneliness at home in the Kills having lived there since 1921. [? 1917] Their domain is a perfect circle about 60 feet in diameter with a 54 foot light tower made of concrete and a six room frame house, two and a half stories high. Around the outer edge of the circle is the lighthouse promenade, a four foot walk. 

Their mail is delivered to Staten Island and they have to row to shore for their groceries and supplies. They like this life because it is quiet. Mr. Beuthe tells about a time when the bay was frozen and he could walk to shore. There is neither gas nor electricity in the house and their radio is operated with a storage battery. They use kerosene lamps and drink rain water caught in casks and pumped into the kitchen. Some years ago a furnace and steam heat were installed. The same powerful lamp with the same two powerful lenses, made in Paris, France, and installed in 1858 still furnish the light, although in recent years an innovation has been the substitution of an oil vapor system for kerosene lighting. The result is a 5,000 candlepower glow, brighter than an electric globe, which alternates between five seconds of light and five seconds of darkness. Beside the light is a huge bell which tolls a mournful tune every 15 seconds in foggy weather — a tune that doesn't disturb the sleep of the Beuthes. 

[Nor does it disturb the sleep of the only other resident of the lighthouse - their pet German police dog "P. D." standing for police department, a frisky, friendly animal which greets passing vessels with joyous barks.

Mr. Beuthe went to sea when a boy of 14 and in 189[9] came to this country from his native Germany. During his years on the sea he visited every important port in the world on picturesque old square-riggers like those that greeted old Bergen Point Light 80 years ago. From these adventures, he moved to the more prosaic life aboard pilot boats in New York harbor, then to lightships...

Hans Beuthe was born in Frankfurt, Germany and emigrated to Stapleton, Staten Island. He was living at 89 Targee Street, Staten Island in 1910.  

An Interview with Hans Beuthe (excerpts from the Bayonne Times, staff writer, date unknown, circa 1938, collection of the Bayonne Public Library)

Take Mr. Beuthe.  He hasn't been to a movie in two years and hasn't even the most remote desire ever to see one again as long as he lives...At the moment, when Mr. Beuthe isn't pondering over the numerous volumes that hold his collection of 30,000 stamps, he is deeply engrossed in "Gone with the Wind."

"It's an interesting book," says Mr. [Beuthe]. "But I don't give a hoot who plays Scarlet O'Hara in the movies.  I don't give a hoot if the book never gets into the movies at all."

As for Mrs. Beuthe - well, she was detained somewhere at the moment but as for all observations and the world about them her husband says: "We both have exactly the same ideas."

In the old days there were winters when you could walk from Bergen Point out to the light over frozen ice or at low tide negotiate the distance on huge rocks that were part of a gigantic rock ledge well known to geologists running from the Palisades down through Hudson County and Bayonne out across Staten Island and down into the Atlantic Highlands.

"I'll never forget that tough winter of 1917." Mr. Beuthe recalls "It was frozen solid so I walked over to Bayonne to buy some groceries and when I got back the river had broken up and there I was stranded on the shore without any way to get back. I was three days trying to reach the light. My wife took care of things while I was away."

Although the Beuthes have their mail sent to a post office at Mariners Harbor Staten Island their voting address is Bergen Point Light, 1st District, 1st Ward, Bayonne N. J. It has been years since they got around to voting but Mr. Bleuth is anxious to cast a ballot in November...He doesn't know anything about local politics though - and doesn't care about them.

If you have ever conjured a picture of a Lighthouse Keeper in your mind you probably created an image of Hans Beuthe. The wind and the rain and the salt of the sea have made their mark upon his bronze face. His thin gray hair droops over his forehead and his garb is traditional - blue dungarees, sweater, leather jacket and blue knitted cap. He was born in Germany 63 years ago but you mistake him for a Norwegian. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and stands as erect as the granite tower upon which stands the 6000 candlepower light itself.

It seemed to Mr. Beuthe's interviewer that in all this wide world there ought to be a few more places that are for the peace and quiet this complacent man of the sea desires. "Sure there may be other quiet places" Mr. Beuthe explained. "but you'll not find any as convenient as this. I have even been on lonelier lights - but none so convenient."  What Hans Beuthe means by that is he has his own private world all right but any time he takes a notion to go out and participate in the world outside his door he can do it with no effort at all.

"There's no place I know of in the world I'd rather be than right here." he adds. "People think it's lonely. Well it is. That's why I like it. Some people even say it's uninteresting. They're wrong. I wouldn't swap this with any man ashore. It's peaceful, it's quiet and there's never anybody to bother you. You just do your job."

When the lighthouse keeper speaks of convenience he is merely thinking of some remote possibility, because in all his 21 years on the light he has never taken off the two days a month to which he is entitled and he has never taken his two weeks annual vacation with pay.

"I hardly ever listen to the radio" Mr. Beuthe commented "except sometimes to get the news." The only means of reaching shore furnished by the government is a row boat but Mr. Beuthe did have his own power boat. It was wrecked, however, in the recent hurricane while hanging on davits over the lighthouse wall. If the Lighthouse Keeper is irritated by the misfortune to his boat it doesn't nearly compare to the discomfort he suffers from the blasting that is now being done through the Kill Van Kull by the U.S. Board of Army Engineers...

It seems that with the blasting right at his doorstep walls in the dwelling have been cracked and everything is so much out of line that its doors won't close. Through all the blasting, however, the light itself remained true...

In April 1941 the Coast Guard announced that the light would be demolished in order to widen the channel. Then, once America entered World War II, they took direct control of the light, relieving the civilian keeper of his duties. Hans Beuthe died a few months later, on Staten Island, in June 1942. He was  67. Marie Beuthe also died on the Island in 1949 or 1950. 

There weren't any further official appointments to the keeper's job after the Beuthes' departure. In December 1942, two Coast Guard keepers were accused of ferrying unsuspecting girls in their launch from Staten Island to the light and abusing them. The prosecutor declared that one of the new keepers "threatened to throw a girl down the winding stairs from the lighthouse beacon if she did not submit to him." The pair were immediately replaced, suspended from the Coast Guard and jailed for trial, never returning to the light.

Budgetary constraints  delayed the demolition of the light. It continued operating for some time with rotating Coast Guard staffing. In 1947 two new young Coast Guardsmen, Seamen First Class Joseph Davi of Brooklyn and Richard Eastley of Jamaica, Queens served in a 24 hour rotation, returning to Staten Island in a motorboat at the end of each shift.  

A 1915 chart showing the Bergen Point Light and the recommendation to demolish the ledge under it, 36 years before the actual demolition.  Depths between the light and Bergen Point ranged between 3 1/2 feet and 8 feet.  Comprehensive Plan of Newark, 1915.

The Bergen Point Light, and the ledge beneath it, were finally demolished beginning on June  19, 1951.  (See dramatic photos of the demolition from silive.com here,  here, and here.)  The light itself had been darkened months before. Theodore Beuthe, now a Concord tug boat operator, watched from the shore as his childhood home sank into the kills.  It's replacements, the  much dimmer skeleton tower and lighted buoy 12 A, did not go into service until some time later. The once shining entrance to Newark Bay was now a twisting blind channel at night.

Demolition of the Bergen Point keepers' home. The ledge underneath the light was dynamited by the Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the channel to 35 feet. Courtesy of The Noble Maritime Collection. Photo by John A. Noble.  

In the early hours of May 24, 1951 the overloaded S.S. Sandmate  headed east in the Kill Van Kull, enroute from a dredging site off Coney Island. She passed buoy 8 heading north in the 1:20 AM blackness. She then sheered to the starboard side of the channel at Bergen Point, scraping bottom twice. The sea rushed in and she sank about a mile further on, in Newark Bay. We can't know if this was a coincidence or if the recent extinguishing of the light contributed to the grounding.  The ship was riding deeper in the water than the captain, who had a spotless 20-year record, understood. Even normally safe water was a danger to the vessel. The hearings focused on the overloading of the vessel and not hypothetical scenarios like "Would her course have been different if the light had been present?"

Whatever the causes of this particular sinking, night navigation in the area's strong currents and twisting channels was still risky, even with the widening of the channel. In the 1950s, ships had yet to acquire modern radar and GPS was far in the future.  Mariners of the day must have missed the presence of a watchful keeper and  the 12 mile illumination of the old "light to guide."

 The S.S. Sandmate, sunk in Newark Bay, 1951. All 25 crewmembers were rescued by the tug Thomas E. Moran .  The Sandmate was eventually raised, repaired and returned to service. Collection of the New York State Library.

Aerial view of Bergen Point Light and the Bayonne Bridge. Different sources give different dates for the actual demolition of the light - from 1948 to 1953. Here it can be seen, still standing, in a photo dated 1951. Courtesy  of Historic Richmond Town. Photo by Herbert A. Flamm.

Staten Island celebrates its lighthouse heritage with the development of the new National Lighthouse Museum at St. George and the 2011 acquisition of the Robbins Reef Light by the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor. 

Staten Island is filled with these fascinating, but little known, places and stories: More to come.

The Richmond County Advance was digitized and uploaded to the web from the collections of Historic Richmond Town. Funding for the digitization of Staten Island newspapers was provided through The New York Public Library's Innovation Project, which is made possible by a generous grant from the Charles H. Revson Foundation.

Thanks to Kraig Anderson, The National Lighthouse Museum,  Jeanette Torres-Hanley at The Bayonne Public Library, Historic Richmond Town, and The Noble Maritime Collection.

This post is part of a series in which Readers Services librarians suggest a good starting place for authors appearing in our LIVE from the NYPL series this fall.

James McBride will join Philip Gourevitch on Friday, Nov. 18, 7-9 p.m. at the Celeste Bartos Forum in NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Get tickets now.

The Good Lord Bird (2013)

I recommend starting with the McBride's 2013 National Book Award winner, The Good Lord Bird. Upon its release, the novel was often compared to Huckleberry Finn and definitely shares a tone as well as coming of age characters who embark on eye-opening adventures. Both books are historical, thought-provoking, and darkly comedic. In McBride's book, Henry Shackleford (note the last name), a 12-year-old slave, is mistaken for a young girl by the abolitionist John Brown. Henry does not correct Brown regarding his gender and accompanies him on his from Kansas to New York picking up support to end slavery along the way from such notables as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. —Lynn Lobash

The Color of Water  (1995)

There’s a reason this book — an autobiography about growing up as a black boy in a huge family with a white mother — is arguably McBride’s most well-known work. Quite simply, it’s amazing. McBride’s mother was an Orthodox Jew, born in the South, who moved to Harlem and embarked on an entirely different path than the one that had been set out before her. It’s moving, and beautiful, and unforgettable. My grandmother gave me this book when I graduated from high school, and I still have it on my shelf... if a librarian is willing to put a book and a box and keep it through a dozen moves in four different states, that’s a true testament to its staying power. —Gwen Glazer

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Have other ideas about the best place to start or your favorite book by these authors? Let us know in the comments.

Get tickets to see James McBride on Friday, Nov. 18.

Although there are a great number of classic Hollywood films set in Los Angeles (see Chinatown, The Graduate, Magnolia, etc.), including quite a few exploring the Hollywood film industry itself (Sunset Boulevard, Barton Fink, Mulholland Drive, etc.), the list of movies set in New York is likely longer, and possibly even more iconic. Think of the fateful Midtown duel that ends King Kong; the late-night streets of Taxi Driver or Midnight Cowboy; the complex domestic worlds visible from Jimmy Stewart’s Greenwich Village apartment in Rear Window; the vibrant Little Italy of The Godfather Part II; the gorgeous opening montage of Woody Allen’s Manhattan. Clearly, Hollywood loves coming to New York.

The reverse is also true: Looking at a list of the famous actors, screenwriters, and film directors who hail from NYC, it becomes clear that New York loves going to Hollywood as well.

To celebrate the Bronxites who have found success there, Parkchester Library will be viewing films starring, written by, or directed by men and women who were born in our borough. The series will begin on Wednesday, November 16 with a viewing of The Odd Couple, adapted by Neil Simon from one of his own plays.

Although his family moved from the Bronx to Washington Heights when he was young, for a number of years Simon travelled back across the Harlem River on school days to attend DeWitt Clinton High School.¹ At age seventeen, as World War II was drawing to a close, he enlisted in the Army Special Training Program, hoping that it would give him the chance to see the world outside New York City: perhaps Arizona, Georgia, or Texas. Instead, he ended up in the Bronx once again, stationed at NYU’s University Heights campus (now home to Bronx Community College).²

We will watch The Odd Couple at 10 AM on Wednesday, November 16 at the Parkchester Library. Stay tuned for another movie next month!

¹ Neil Simon: A Casebook p. 39–40

² The Play Goes On: A Memoir p. 212

³ Rewrites: A Memoir p. 37

⁴ Neil Simon: A Casebook p. 47

Year Up empowers low-income young adults to go from poverty to professional careers in a single year!

Year Up combines hands-on-skills development, courses eligible for college credit, and corporate internships to prepare students for success in professional careers and higher education. The program also aligns training with corporate partner needs and market trends to ensure that the skills students learn will be in-demand.  You will learn valuable technical and professional skills, and gain work experience during internships attop companies, and can earn a stipend throughout the program (both while in training and internship) and complete courses eligible for college credit.

Year Up managers, coaches, and student services teams and their strong alumni network support students in reaching their maximum potential, both as a student and as a working professional.

Students will be paired with an experienced professional. They're there to give one-on-one  attention and guidance as students make their decisions about their future.  Ask questions, share ideas, and get expert advice about  their career path.

Eligibility

• 18-24 years old
• High school graduate or GED recipent
• Of low to moderate income
• A U.S.Citizen, permanent resident, or have  an  employment authorization card
• Available 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) for the full year of the program
• Highly motivated to learn new technical and professional skills

Year Up (New York)  offers two programs:The Wall Street Campus which provides training in Finance, Sales, and Information Technology, and the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) Campus, which provides training and enrollment in the Business Management and Accounting associates degree programs at BMCC.

The Wall Street Campus program begins March 7, 2017 and the BMCC Campus program begins January 23, 2017.  Young adults must attend an information session by January 5, 2017.

Potential applicants can begin the process by completing an online interest form.  Year Up hosts information sessions every Wednesday at 2 pm at the BMCC Campus (70 Murray Street, Room M201, New York, NY 10007) and every Thursday at 4 pm at the Wall Street Campus  (85 Broad Street, 6th  Floor, New York, NY 10004). 

During the week, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. On Fridays, though, we suggest kicking back to catch up on all the delightful literary reading the internet has to offer. Don’t have the time to hunt for good reads? Never fear. We’ve rounded up the best bookish reading of the week for you.

We Read...

In Jacqueline Woodson's latest book, Bushwick is its own character and looked back at National Book Award winner Colson Whitehead's ruminations on the early stages of his prize-winning novel The Underground Railroad. The Staten Island archives have a lot going on. So do these books, which we'd happily be marooned on an island to read. Remember when the Rose Main Reading Room looked like this? This man's seventy-eight years worth of diaries show a different way to think about history. William Blake's illuminated books are gorgeous. Guess what Wole Soyinka does when he is mistaken for Morgan Freeman. Get in a pickle with these books. Here's a sneak peak into the National Book Awards. We're loving these books written by Jewish, female authors. Banish chronic nightmares. Get some food inspiration from the experts before Thanksgiving.

Stereogranimator Friday Feels

GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator

TGIF

No need to get up! Join our librarians from the home, office, playground — wherever you have internet access — for book recs on Twitter by following our handle @NYPLrecommends from 10 AM to 11 AM every Friday. Or, you can check NYPL Recommends any day of the week for more suggestions. ​

Unity. Kindness. Peace. Great booklist for kids from @wearealsc. https://t.co/q7737dRxuRpic.twitter.com/SxWQgGDZmK

— NYPL Recommends (@NYPLRecommends) November 15, 2016

What did you read?

If you read something fantastic this week, share with our community of readers in the comment section below.

 Ever fall for temptation and do things with money that feel good but ultimately backfire? Panicking and selling stock when the market tanks leads to lost capital, or buying when materials are more expensive? May seem counter-intuitive, yet this is exactly what many do with their life savings on a regular basis. These behaviors are referred to collectively as "dumb money" on Wall Street and are explored in Carl Richards' novel, The Behavior Gap.

What can we do to alter this disparaging scenario? Act based on knowledge, not feelings. There may be many simple solutions to your financial woes that are simply not easy. For instance, holding onto stocks when everyone is scared and wants to sell is simple, but not easy. Hold your ground and keep your eyes on your long-term financial and life goals. Do not "play" the stock market when you get bored; instead, avail yourself of the more financially healthy option of engaging in a past time. You can also hire a financial planner, and do not forget about the financial impact on your life of earning and saving more of your dollars. If you abstain from rash spending and plan properly, you will have money to spend on what is important to you.

The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways To Stop Doing Dumb Things With Money by Carl Richards, 2002

• Books about financial planning
• Carl Richards' website

Steven G. Fullwood, Associate Curator in our Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, and Manager of the Schomburg Center's BNY Mellon Pre-Professional Development Program, highlights this semester's group of inspiring pre-professionals who are working to curate, document, promote, and maintain our brand and narrative:

Each spring and fall semesters, eight to ten college undergraduate and graduate students are selected to participate in the BNY Mellon Pre-Professional Development Program here at the Schomburg Center. Founded in 2013, the program seeks to facilitate transitions to full-time positions at a broad range of institutions and businesses that seek smart, culturally competent, and well-balanced professionals whose experiences are suited for the fast-paced challenges of the information age. The program is made possible through the generous support of BNY Mellon. Below, our current group of pre-professionals share their experiences:

FLORENCE NGALA

School: City College of New York

Major: Advertising/PR & Digital Design

Department: Special Events

What I Do: I'm learning about what it means to create an event, its development, execution, and to ensure that everything goes smoothly behind the scenes. Planning involves touching base with everyone associated with the event, from the organizers to security, caterers, volunteers, performers, etc.

JHANAYA BELLE

School: Baruch College

Major: Journalism

Department: Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books

What I Do: I work with Steven G. Fullwood, associate curator of the division, to help process the African Methodist Episcopal Home and Foreign Church Records (AME), a collection of a predominantly African-American Methodist denomination founded and based in the United States. As I research the AME Church’s records, I compile content notes about it.

AMANDA J. PERRY

School: Barnard College

Major: Africana Studies and Art History 

Department: Education 

What I Do:  I assist Abigail Jefferson and Kadiatou Tubman, the Education Coordinator and Education Program Coordinator, respectively, with coordinating the Teen Curators and Junior Scholars programs. I also promote and contribute to a space of collective learning while serving as a resource to both the student participants and instructors who lead these educational programs.

CIARA BEAU-HALL

School: LaGuardia Community College 

Major: Business Admission

Department: Administration 

What I Do: I work with Theresa Martin, executive assistant to the Schomburg’s forthcoming director, Kevin Young, to assist in preparing for his arrival in December. I also help maintain the office’s files.

SULIAMAN ONAFUWA

School: Baruch College

Major: Finance

Department: Membership

What I Do: I assist in reaching potential donors who can make significant contributions to the Schomburg Center. I also provide support for Special Events during their First Fridays events by confirming RSVPs, helping set up, and ushering attendees into the program.

AMANDA BELANTARA

School: Pratt Institute, School of Information

Major: Library and Information Science

Department: Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division 

What I Do:  I'm learning the essential skill of cataloging while helping with various administrative and reference tasks.

TIFFANY CARCAMO

School: Pratt Institute

Major: Library and Information Science

Department: Exhibitions

What I Do: I am an assistant to the Exhibitions Manager, Isissa Komada-John, providing research to help develop forthcoming exhibitions. This position gives me a wonderful opportunity to hone my skills in developing, executing and managing exhibitions.

SHAKEYA HUGHES

School: College of New Rochelle

Major: Communications/English Literature

Department: Communications

What I Do: I work with manager Candice Frederick to help promote the library’s programs and educational resources. My tasks include writing articles about the Center’s collections and programs, both online and in print. I am responsible for fact-checking #TodayInBlackHistory posts on social media. My goal is to connect patrons with storytelling that will inspire them to visit the library.

DONALEY GONEZ

School: Stella & Charles Guttman Community College

Major: Urban Studies 

Department: Public Programs                         

What I Do: I work with Novella Ford, Manager of Programs, and together we help develop and execute programs centered around black culture, while also making sure our Schomburg fellows are presented with fundamental resources associated with the particular conversations I help curate. I'm also afforded opportunities to further my African Diaspora studies by working with scholars, thinkers, writers and other creatives who play an integral part in the interpretation of African-American history.

To learn more about the BNY Mellon Pre-Professional Development Program, and to apply for an upcoming semester, click here. 

• Bronx Library Center
• Hamilton Grange Library
• Stapleton Library

¡Celebra el Día de Acción de Gracias con historias de romance y recetas de cocinas a tu alcance!
Obtenga una copia de la lista para adultos. 

Adivina quién soy

Megan Maxwell

La autora de Pídeme lo que quieras, nos trae una comedia erótica sobre Yanira, una mujer soltera que vive con su familia una vida acomodada y trabaja de cantante en un hotel, quién sale de su rutina para adentrarse en un mundo de juegos sensuales.

Blackmoore 

Julianne Donaldson

Kate decide que nunca se casaría, y planea irse para la India para escapar de su entrometida familia, pero su madre parece tener otros planes para ella.

La chica de los ojos color café 

Lisa Kleypas

Avery Crosslin, una diseñadora de modas, va a visitar a su padre a un hospital de Texas, donde conoce a Joe Travis, un paciente muy guapo, pero miembro de una poderosa familia a la que detesta. 

La cocina cubana de Vero 

Verónica Cervera

Primer libro ilustrado con 100 recetas de la comida cubana contiene un exquisito repertorio de exóticos platos tradicionales y contemporáneos.  

El Club 

Lauren Rowe

Sara procesa la solicitud electrónica de membrecía para que Jonas, un  apuesto Don Juan y hombre de negocios, pueda ingresar al Club, pero luego de que ella le envía una nota privada, él se obsesiona con encontrarla para llevar a cabo sus fantasias. 

Mis mejores recetas 

Ramsay, Gordon

El experto cocinero y famoso animador del programa televisivo de cocina provee un práctico curso culinario para principiantes.

Mug cakes

Mima Sinclair

“40 recetas rápidas para horno de microondas.”

Menús conscientes 

Suzanne  Powell

En esta continuación de su libro, Alimentación consciente , la destacada autora ofrece una guía fácil y divertida para preparar los alimentos, ayudar a mantener en el peso ideal y prevenir las enfermedades degenerativas.

Tartas del mundo 

Ángela García

Un compendio culinario para descubrir las mejores tartas en diferentes partes del mundo.

Tocino del cielo 

Rosa María Britton 

Una novela se dará a conocer datos pocos conocidos sobre la migración de los cubanos a Miami, incluyendo los esfuerzos por preservar los platos y postres tradicionales de la cocina cubana.

Enrollment Now Open:  SAGEWorks Boot Camp on Monday 21 - Friday 25, 10- 11:30 am at The SAGE Center, 305 7th Ave. New York, NY 10001.  Get free insight from a panel of experts on what managers and HR departments are really looking for.  Registration required.  SAGEWorks assists people 40 years and older in learning relevant, cutting-edge job search skills in a LGBT-friendly environment.   This 2 week training takes place from Monday - Friday, 12/5/16 - 12/16/16 – 9:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Basic Resume Writing  workshop on Wednesday, November 23, 2016, 1:30 - 3 pm at Brooklyn Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn  Street,  Brooklyn, NY 11201. Participants will learn the purpose of a resume, chronological and combination resumes and select the appropriate type for their specific needs.

Job Postings at New York City Workforce 1.  

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City.

Brooklyn Community  Board 14: Available jobs

The New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCE&TC) is an association of 200 community-based organizations, educational institutions, and labor unions that annually provide job training and employment services to over 750,000 New Yorkers, including welfare recipients, unemployed workers, low-wage workers, at-risk youth, the formerly incarcerated, immigrants and the mentally and physically disabled. View NYCE&TC Job Listings.

Digital NYC is the official online hub of the New York City startup and technology ecosystem, bringing together every company, startup, investor, event, job, class, blog, video, workplace, accelerator, incubator, resource, and organization in the five boroughs. Search jobs by category on this site.

St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development provides Free Job Training and Educational Programs in Environmental Response and Remediation Tec (ERRT). Commercial Driver's License, Pest Control Technician Training (PCT), Employment Search and Prep Training and Job Placement, Earn Benefits and Career Path Center. For information and assistance, please visit St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development or call 718-302-2057 ext. 202.

Brooklyn Workforce Innovations helps jobless and working poor New Yorkers establish careers in sectors that offer good wages and opportunities for advancement. Currently, BWI offers free job training programs in four industries: commercial driving, telecommunications cable installation, TV and film production, and skilled woodworking.

CMP (formerly Chinatown Manpower Project) in lower Manhattan is now recruiting for a free training in Quickbooks, Basic Accounting, and Excel. This training is open to anyone who is receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Class runs for eight weeks, followed by one-on-one meetings with a job developer. CMP also provides Free Home Health Aide Training for bilingual English/Cantonese speakers who are receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Training runs Mondays through Fridays for six weeks and includes test prep and taking the HHA certification exam. Students learn about direct care techniques such as taking vital signs and assisting with personal hygiene and nutrition. For more information for the above two training programs, email: info@cmpny.org, call 212-571-1690, or visit. CMP also provides tuition-based healthcare and business trainings free to students who are entitled to ACCESS funding.

Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) trains women and places them in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades. It helps women achieve economic independence and a secure future. For information call 212-627-6252 or register online.

Grace Institute provides tuition-free, practical job training in a supportive learning community for underserved New York area women of all ages and from many different backgrounds. For information call 212-832-7605.

Please note this page will be revised when more recruitment events for the week of November 20 become available.

Want to make a difference? Not eighteen years old yet? See things in the world that need changing? You need not wait! Start changing the world by becoming a social entrepreneur. All you need is passion, drive, time, and commitment to your cause. Enlisting the help of a trusted adult will help you with the legal and financial conundrums of the business world. 

Learn how other teens started nonprofit organizations to alter a small corner of the world. You simply need some leadership skills and business acumen, which you can acquire through experience, trial and error, reading books, and watching videos about these topics. Learn how to recruit other volunteers, woo potential investors, and run productive and thoughtful meetings and events. Have fun with your new business venture, and make the world that you envision it!

Be a Changemaker: How To Start Something That Matters by Laurie Ann Thompson, 2014

This is a very informative book for teens about starting an activist organization. It contains very pragmatic, specific instructions that I find quite helpful.

• Laurie Ann Thompson's site
• activism books
• business books

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Aleksandr Litvin - АлександрЛитвин 

Александр Литвин - автор бестселлера 'Выше Бога не буду' и победитель шестого сезона сверхпопулярной телевизионной программы 'Битва экстрасенсов'. Эта книга - его подлинная история, события происходят во время съемок программы в 2008 году и в наше время. (sentrumbookstore.com)

SlavaRodu!: ėtimologii︠a︡russkoĭ zhizni

Слава Роду!: этимология русской жизни

MikhailZadornov - Михаил Задорнов 

Творчество Михаила Задорнова давно перешагнуло рамки сатиры и юмора. Его интересы разносторонни: нумерология, история, этимология русской жизни и бесконечные расследования по происхождению слов. (sentrumbookstore.com)

Neznakomet︠s︡-Незнакомец

HarlanСoben-ХарланКобен

 Он подойдет к человеку в баре, или в магазине, или на парковке. Не назвав своего имени, сообщит шокирующие сведения. Иногда незнакомец требует денег, иногда просто терпеливо ждет, когда их предложат. Если заплатят, он не разгласит грязную тайну. Те, кому есть что терять, обычно платят. (sentrumbookstore.com)

Zdorovʹe i vlastʹ: vospominanii︠a︡ kremlevskogo vracha 

Здоровье и власть: воспоминания кремлевского врача

E. I Сhazov ю - Е. И. Чазов 

Факты, изложенные в этой книге, — еще одно предупреждение потомкам, нашим детям и внукам. Они — предупреждение будущим политикам. Автор попы¬тался проследить ту цепь роковых событий, которые привели к гибели великой державы — СССР и кризису России. (sentrumbookstore.com)

Tainy sovetskoi kukhni: kniga o ede i nadezhde 

Таины советскои кухни: книга о еде и надежде

AnyaVonBremzen - Анна Фон Бремзен

Автор популярных в США книг о еде Анна фон Бремзен родилась в Москве. В школьном возрасте уехала из СССР вместе с матерью. Ее “Тайны советской кухни” посвящены кулинарным вопросам лишь отчасти. Прежде всего это история: история собственной жизни, история жизни семьи, история страны, воспоминания о любимом странной любовью и ненавидимом, но не оставляющем прошлом — сквозь призму кулинарной истории. Как пировали в начале XX века, как голодали в войну, как мечтали о другой жизни за страницами “Книги о вкусной и здоровой пище”, как тосковали по советской еде после отъезда. К каждой из десяти глав-десятилетий прилагается соответствующий времени рецепт.  (sentrumbookstore.com)

The titles on this flyer have been kindly selected by Irina Tkach, Supervising Librarian, BookOps.

收纳全书。

雾满拦江，     神奇圣人王阳明。

汪曾祺。 五味。

Brands, H. W.  Reagan: the life.

Powell, Dawn.  Locusts have no king.

王鼎钧。 随缘破密.

鲁迅。 呐喊。

杨绛。  走到人生边上。

钱穆。  中国历代政治得失。

Chiang, Ted.  Story of your life.

村上春树。 没有色彩的多崎作和他的巡礼之年。

村上春树。  大萝卜和难挑的鳄梨。

这其中五味与随缘破密两本书因为出版年月较为久远，目前图书馆里没有收藏。 但图书馆里有很多汪曾祺及王鼎钧的其他大作。

欢迎您在此中文部落格中发表意见,或读书心得。我们下次聚会的时间是12月21号6:30-7:30pm，在第五大道跟40街交口的中城图书馆（Mid-Manhattan Library). 欢迎前来参加。

Special Thanks goes to Hung-yun Chang at Mid-Manhattan Library, Lyndsie Guy and Ching Yi Lau at Chatham Square Library for all of their help with this post. 

Suspense -- historical, noir, legal, and more -- is the name of the game this week, with two new nailbiters on the list.

#1 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed Night School by Lee Child, more noir suspense:

Red Station by Adrian Magson

The Escape by David Baldacci

Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott

#2 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed The Whistler by John Grisham, more legal thrillers set in Florida:

Collateral Damage by H. Terrell Griffin

The Pardon by James Grippando

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiassen

#3 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connolly, more suspenseful tales of corruption at the highest levels:

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Identical by Scott Turow

Murder Inside the Beltway by Margaret Truman

#4 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, more stories told from multiple perspectives:

And Then There Was One by Patricia Gussin

Murder on the Orient Expressby Agatha Christie

Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff

#5 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed This Was a Man by Jeffrey Archer, more character-driven historical family sagas:

The Founding by Cynthia Harrod Eagles

Habits of the House by Fay Weldon

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber

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Robbie Robertson is best known as the guitarist and primary songwriter of The Band. Recently, he released his fifth solo album, How to Become Clairvoyant, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Trent Reznor, Tom Morello, Robert Randolph, Rocco Deluca, Angela McCluskey, and Taylor Goldsmith. For this week's episode of the New York Public Library podcast, we're pleased to present Robbie Robertson discussing Six Nations inspiration, Bob Dylan, and figuring out his goals for the soul. He is joined in conversation by Steven Van Zandt, a founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Asked about where his lifelong commitment to music began, Robertson pointed to experiences with the Six Nations:

"It first struck me when I was maybe eight years old and I would go with my mom, who was born and raised on the Sixth National Indian Reserve, and we would go and visit the relatives regularly. On the reservation, to me, it seemed like everybody played an instrument or sang or danced. There wasn't a lot of touring shows coming through the res. They had to make their own entertainment, and when I saw everybody playing these instruments there'd be the native drums, and there'd be a mandolin with some strings missing and a fiddle. All of this, it looked like a club to me. I thought, I gotta get into this club."

Robertson recalled a trip to the Jersey Shore to play music one summer. Amongst other experiences, Robertson dropped in on a recording session with Bob Dylan:

"During that stay down there, I got a call to go and meet with this folk singer Bob Dylan about something. I had met him in passing. I'd gone to a recording session. John Hammond Jr., blues singer and a friend, he said, 'Oh man, I told my buddy I would stop at his session. Can we stop in for a minute?' And we go into Columbia Records. We go to the studio. I don't know who we're going to see. He doesn't mention a name. And we go in, and Bob Dylan was there and he says to John, 'Do you want to hear something?' John says, 'Yeah, of course.' He said, 'Are you sure? You've never heard anything like this before.' So John kind of grins and says, 'Alright, man.' They hit play on the tape machine and it was the song 'Like a Rolling Stone.' He was right. I hadn't heard anything like that before, and it was like there was some kind of electricity in the room, and listening to this music and trying to gather it all like in the few seconds."

Discussing his work with The Band, Robertson described thinking that their music must resist trends:

"It was like being inside a world that we invented. It was like inside of something that everything that was going on in music, in culture, in everything we stood aside from that and really thought we've got to make our own story. We've got to tell the truth here, and just because people think this is good this week and next week they're going to think that's good, we've got to get off that train. That's not what we're playing here. We've got to find something that could have been done a hundred years or a hundred years from now, and it was kind of a feeling, a goal of the soul, something that could reach that place deep inside us and live on."

You can subscribe to the New York Public Library Podcast to hear more conversations with wonderful artists, writers, and intellectuals. Join the conversation today!

It is often said that “writers write”, but how easy is this in practice? With life frequently getting in the way, it can often be difficult to put pen to paper. Luckily, the National Novel Writing Month challenge (aka NaNoWriMo) has been established as a means to help writers draft their work, and participants must commit to writing a whopping 50,000 words in just one month in order to win. Check out a few novels that have come to life over the course of NaNoWriMo, or multiple NaNoWriMos, to use as inspiration for the editing process—or to inspire you to participate next year!

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen  While most people are familiar with the movie adaptation, it is lesser known that it started as a NaNoWriMo escapade. Over the course of two NaNoWriMos, Sara Gruen finished the novel, despite having ill pets and a broken foot. NaNoWriMo gave her a sense of camaraderie to push through the writing. The novel went on to became a New York Times bestseller.

Wool by Hugh Howey Wool originally existed as a self-published short story venture. After noticing popularity rising, Howey took NaNoWriMo as an opportunity to finish more parts of Wool and turn it into a full fledged novel. Wool topped many e-book bestseller lists and allowed Howey to sign a print deal and keep the digital rights. Howey has expressed that NaNoWriMo helped him focus on a tighter plot and trained him to be a professional.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern While Morgenstern didn't follow traditional NaNoWriMo practices, she used multiple Novembers to build up an atmosphere without getting distracted by plot. Morgenstern loved the company and deadlines that NaNoWriMo permitted and helped to prevent stopping after a bad page. The efforts paid off, as the book became a New York Times bestseller after grabbing a large publishing contract.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Fangirl is a testament to the more light-hearted side of NaNoWriMo. Worried about speed writing, character decisions, and bad habits, Rowell used the time to write a fun novel where she could be immersed in the story and characters more quickly. Although she had not finished the story by the end of November, she had met the word count and ended up using almost all of her content from NaNoWriMo in the final. The novel left Rowell loving the feeling of being swept away while writing and awarded her a New York Times Notable Children’s Book Award.

Welcome to The Librarian Is In, The New York Public Library's podcast about books, culture, and what to read next.

Subscribe on iTunes | Get it on Google Play

Gwen and Frank are joined by Sarah Ball from NYPL's Correctional Services unit to talk about library services for people in jail or prison. Plus: what we're reading, books we're thankful for, and a whole lot of Frank's singing.

Guest Star

Sarah Ball, managing librarian for Correctional Services at NYPL

The Daddy & Me program at Rikers Island

NYPL's Early Literacy practices

Donate books to Correctional Services! Check out the donation guidelines and the Amazon Wish List.

Sarah's book recommendations:

• Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
• The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

What We're Reading Now & Books We're Thankful for

They May Not Mean to, but They Do by Cathleen Schine (and the Philip Larkin poem in the title)

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

 Carolyn Parkhurst: Harmony, Lost and Found, The Dogs of Babel

The Unseen Worldby Liz Moore

Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revoltby Sarah Jaffe

Anything but Books

Sarah: Live without a smartphone and Honeytrap

Frank: Libraries!

Gwen:Wall Street Journal: “How to Have Thanksgiving Dinner Without a Family Blowup” by Elizabeth Bernstein (“Your feelings don’t have to dictate your actions”) and the new Gilmore Girls episodes on Netflix

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Thanks for listening! Have you rated us on iTunes yet? Would you consider doing it now?

Find us online @NYPLRecommends, the Bibliofile blog, and nypl.org. Or email us at recommendations@nypl.org!

As if we needed another reason, there is now even more to love about "Hamilton": On December 2, the "Hamilton" Mixtape is dropping with appearances from some amazing artists. The songs aren't just covers; there will be whole new verses inspired by the original musical soundtrack and songs that were picked up from the cutting room floor.

Lin-Manuel Miranda will not be abandoning the whole soundtrack.*  You’ll hear him on “Wrote My Way Out” alongside Nas, Dave East, and Aloe Blacc, as well as on a couple of demos. Lin-Manuel Miranda chose his guests wisely.  You can hear this clear, strong flow that’s present in Hamilton from Dave East and Watsky (try Conversations on x Infinity) on their own albums. Check Aloe Blacc if you're a fan of Pharrell's. You’ll discover new names, but the mixtape also has many classic vocalists, such as Usher, Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, and the Roots. QuestLove produced the album, so the Roots makes three appearances—at least—and once with Busta Rhymes. Another classic team-up is Ja Rule and Ashanti, a welcome throwback. I'm most excited for the "Dear Theodosia" reprise track with her one true love, Chance the Rapper. He'll be with Francis and the Lights so you can expect ethereality. The first "Dear Theodosia" on the album is Regina Spektor and Ben Folds, which should be spectacular as well. I'm also excited to hear a new duo, Common with Ingrid Michaelson on "Who Tells Your Story": how sensuous is that going to be? 

*In an interview with Vanity Fair back in March 2016, Lin-Manuel Miranda said he wouldn’t be on the album and they were still getting artists on board (which, admittedly, was not hard to do). Another great story, from Complex, about the new album from over the Summer compares Hamilton to Eminem.

Zi zai du xing

自在独行 / 贾平凹著

Pingwa Jia= 贾平凹

平凹先生素来喜静，最怕有人来敲他的房门。让他觉得自在的，要么就是行走于西北的大地，要么就是隐居在自己的书房。先生其实也喜欢热闹，只是先生的热闹并不是灯火灿烂，而是内心的安宁与独行的自在。这本书写情感、聊爱好、谈社会、说人生。有俗世的智慧，也有生活的趣味。(dangdang.com)

Ban wu : Jin Xing wu dao chuan qi = Dange 

半舞 : 金星舞蹈传奇 = Dange

吴易梦著

Yimeng Wu= 吴易梦

金星，一个站立在迷雾后面的神奇舞者，她犀利的语言风格，直面灵魂的现代舞蹈艺术，给世人营造了许多难解的谜面。这位享誉中外国际现代舞坛的艺术大师，以她独特的身份和超人的智慧，演绎了一曲让世人惊叹的传奇故事。她是一个游离于灵魂与肢体间的“雾语”，等待我们去揭开神秘的面纱…… (dangdang.com)

Beijing yu shang Xiyatu zhi bu er qing shu 

北京遇上西雅图之不二情书 / 薛晓路, 焦华静著

Xiaolu Xue= 薛晓路

从洛杉矶到澳门， 一封封情信跨越千山万水，开启一份难得的书信情缘。人与人，城与城，谁的距离更遥远？天涯海角的两人，如何心动遇上，成为彼此的不二之选？ 这段只存在于想象中的爱情，能否跨越千百次的错过，最终换来一见钟情？ (dangdang.com)

Banama wen jian : [Zhongguo quan gui hai wai cang bao tu]

巴拿馬文件 : [中國權貴海外藏寶圖] / 劉金山

Jinshan Liu= 劉金山

第一波巴拿馬文件洩密出來的中國離岸公司消息得到了確認，至少，現任三位政治局常委家族、歷任五位政治局常委家族加上三位政治局委員家族都在海外藏富；巴拿馬文件內中國客戶第一，香港客戶第二，兩地客戶加起來佔了巴拿馬文件全球客戶三分之一也是真的。(kingstone.com.tw)

Shen zhai huo gua 

深宅活寡 / 许开祯著

Kaizhen Xu= 许开祯

菜子沟下河院是一座拥有百年历史的老宅院，东家庄地为给命悬一线的痴傻儿子治病，决计让儿子命旺娶二十二岁的姑娘灯芯进来“冲喜”。在迎亲途中，阴险歹毒的管家六根想方设法想要害死新娘，让“喜”冲不成，让庄地唯一的儿子命旺一命呜呼，他好趁机吞并下河院偌大的家业。　　却不料，新娘子灯芯化险为夷，顺顺利利嫁入下河院，更是用自己雷厉风行的手段，戳穿了管家六根一系列的阴谋…… (dangdang.com)

The titles on this flyer have been kindly selected by Maria Fung.

America’s biggest day of shopping—Black Friday—is back again, bringing great deals to all those who can withstand the long lines, frenzied crowds, and pre-dawn wake-up calls. (I’m personally more of a Cyber Monday guy, can you tell?) This holiday is nuts—people have been murdered and even trampled to death. If you need any more examples of how Black Friday can turn into a total nightmare that exposes the very worst in all of us, I took a deep dive into our databases and pulled the nine weirdest Black Friday horror stories I could find:

1. At a Walmart in Los Angeles, a throng of shoppers scrambled to get their hands on an XBox 360. But one woman used an unorthodox tactic to get there first: a can of pepper spray. "Somehow, she was trying to use [the pepper spray] to gain an upper hand," said an LAPD lieutenant who responded at the scene, where over twenty people were hurt.

2. When you promise big deals and discounts for Black Friday, you’d better be prepared to deliver. A Hollister store in SoHo learned that the hard way, after advertising massive sales and a midnight opening and then... not opening. Impatient shoppers broke in and looted the place, stealing armfuls of clothing.

3. This anecdote is one of the wildest. At a Kohl’s in Romeoville, Illinois, a police officer chased a shoplifter to his getaway car, but when the car sped off, the officer’s arm got stuck in the door. The thieves dragged him through the parking lot, until another officer on the scene managed to stop the chase. The officer survived, and the thieves were apprehended. Unaffected by the scene, “several shoppers approaching Kohl's walked to the edge of the police tape without breaking stride,” in a stunning yet completely predictable display of greed triumphing over common sense.

4. If you’re pulling a shift on Black Friday, it’s not just your customers you need to worry about – it’s your co-workers. A Costco employee was slashed by a fellow staffer with a box cutter in Nanuet before anyone was even let into the store.

5. Wal-Mart tends to be the epicenter of Black Friday fighting, and in 2013 a Rialto store was host to not one, not two, but three separate fights. A police officer who responded to an outside dispute between two men in line ended up with a broken wrist; apparently, one of the men was “kicking another man in the head when he was down on the ground.”

6. Tragically, a man with a heart condition in West Virginia collapsed at a Target and died when fellow shoppers ignored and even stepped over him as they raced for merchandise.

7. In a standout case of rotten ethics, a Salvation Army kettle was stolen on Black Friday in 2013, outside of the Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. However, according to this report, a store manager did donate $100 after the kettle was stolen. Black Friday redemption is possible!

8. In a line to buy video games at a Connecticut Wal-Mart, police said a man “confront[ed]” a father who was helping his 11-year-old son off the ground. Then he allegedly punched someone else who tried to help the boy and his father. Police said they asked him to stop fighting, but he ignored them. So they tased him. Lesson learned: don’t get into fights at Wal-Mart.

9. Good luck protecting your merchandise from someone taking it in the store. A grandfather in a store outside of Phoenix wanted to protect a video game he was buying for his grandson from a horde of fellow customers, so he stuffed it into his waistband. He was promptly accused of shoplifting and beaten by police.

There you have it, folks: if you plan to shop on Black Friday, please stay safe, be a good samaritan, and try not to get caught up in the frenzy. And if you need more convincing, you can search for more Black Friday stories in our databases.