Best of 2019

Sharon's Best Novels

(1) The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

(2) Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

(3) Girl, Interrupted  by Susanna Kaysen

(4) Educated by Tara Westover

(5) Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Sharon's Best Nonfiction

#hiphoped: The Compilation on Hip-Hop Education: Volume 1 edited by Dr. Christopher M. Emdin - Alexi got Sharon this book as a birthday present and she is now leading a book club that includes this text at Math for America

David's Books

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
Beyond the Shadow of Night by Ray Kingfisher

Deceptive Cadence by Katheryn Guare

Novel Read by Both Sharon and Alexi - Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth

Our Favorite At Home Movies

(1) Scenes from a Marriage
(2) Marriage Story

(3) Call Me By Your Name

(4) Intimacy

(5) Life Itself 

(6) Free Solo

(7) The Favourite
(8) The Forgiven

(9) American Pastoral

(10) Shoplifters (万引き家族)

(11) RBG

(12) Girl, Interrupted

Best NYC Subway Train Story - Sharon was reading "Before Night Falls" and the guy next to her engaged her in conversation since he was one of the set designers on that movie(!)

Best NYC Film Festival - Tribeca Film Festival 

Best New Year Activity 

Our family went to MoMATH, the National Museum of Mathematics, on New Year's Day and became members.  Our favorite exhibits at MoMATH are the Square-Wheeled Trike, Hoop Curves, Motionscape and Structure Studio

Best Movie in a Theater for Grownups

BlacKkKlansman by Spike Lee

Best Movie in a Theater for Kids

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory @ United Palace

Best Documentary Seen Together in a Theatre 

A Kid from Coney Island (Biopic about Stephon Marbury) @ Tribeca Film Festival

Best Documentary Seen Solo  

The Dominican Dream (Biopic about Felipe Lopez) @ Tribeca Film Festival

Best Family Movie Seen at Home - Miracle

Favorite People/Places/Publications to follow on Twitter

1. Chalkbeat NY - @ChalkbeatNY
2. Dalai Lama - @DalaiLama
3. DOE - @DOECorruption

Best Art Exhibits/Museums/Gallery Shows/Participatory Design

(1) Color Factory @ Spring Street in SoHo

(2) Disappearing Acts by Bruce Nauman @ MOMA PS1

(3) The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya @ New York Hall of Science
(4) Gaea by Gaia Grossi, Moire 3 by Frank Michielli, and Wavehenge by Damon Hamm and Jeff Sundheim, members of the Art Students League of New York, all part of Model to Monument (M2M) in Riverside Park (UPTOWN!)
(5) Andy Warhol - From A to B and Back Again @ Whitney
(6) Parapivot by Alicja Kwade @ Rooftop Garden of Met Museum
(7) Tilted Head by Mark Manders @ Central Park
(8) Whitney Biennial @ Whitney (pretty boring and unimpressive compared to 2017 Biennial, though still some standouts)

Best Broadway - What the Constitution Means To Me

Best Shakespeare: Coriolanus @ Delacorte Theatre

Best Museum for Kids - MoMath

Best Museum for Adults - MOMA PS1

Best Outdoor Movie - Aladdin @ DRIVE-IN MOVIE Theater in Oneonta, New York

Coolest NYC Experience - Governor's Island

Best Yoga  - Mind Body Soul Yoga in the Heights with the fabulous teacher June

Best Cycling Events

NYC Century - David, Alexi and Mateo biked in the FINAL NYC CENTURY EVER.  David pulled Mateo in the red trailer and Alexi biked solo on his Green Specialized road bike.  Sharon volunteered at the Central Park Finish Line, granting cyclists their free T-shirts and commemorative medals.

Best Concert/Live Musical Events 

(1) Don Diablo at Barcelona Beach Festival

(2) Don Diablo @ Avant Gardner in Brooklyn (Sharon was in the FRONT ROW and he EMBRACED her HAND at the end of the 3+ hour show)

Best Family Concert 

Blue Man Group

Best Family Member in Concert

David playing oboe in "Bach in the Subway" with a small ensemble at 59th Street Subway Station to commemorate Bach's 334th Birthday

Best TV Series

1. Goliath (featuring the *PHENOMENAL* Billy Bob Thorton)
2. Man in the High Castle (final season)

Best Math Event - Sharon getting her Math for America Master Fellowship automatically renewed, becoming a Master Teacher II Fellow in New York City and New York State!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Sporting Event - Mateo's first time going with Alexi to see a NYCFC Soccer Game (in the pouring rain!) at Yankee Stadium

Best Kids Travel Destination - Economy Candy & Black Tap Milkshakes

Best Travel Destinations

(1) Athens, Greece

(2) San Felui de Guixols, Spain
(3) Williamsburg, Virginia

Best Halloween Event - Trick or Treating in Dumont

Best Vegan Restaurant - Candle 79 (RIP)

Best Pick-Your-Own Fruit: Apple Dave's Orchard

Best Neighborhood Festivals: Spring Egg Hunt and Harvest Festival

Best Holiday Event: Peter and the Wolf (Works & Process) @ Guggenheim Museum

Best View of NYC: High Line

Top 5 Reasons to Love New York City

(1) CHANGE - We began this decade a family of three and ended it a family of four.  David worked in Brooklyn and Sharon in the Bronx but now both work in Manhattan.  Alexi and Mateo used to walk to school in our neighborhood of Washington Heights and now both go to screened schools out of district.  Our apartment building was half empty and now there are amenities like a gym and new neighbors constantly moving in.  Sharon was the cultural butterfly who worked hard and played harder, and now David goes out on the town, taking Mateo to concerts while Sharon stays with Alexi at home.   

(2) MUSIC -  NYC is one of the musical capitals of the WORLD.  Mateo goes to school right next door to Julliard and Lincoln Center.  Piano music fills our home early every morning and every evening, and oboe or recorder music waffles through our rooms late at night.  Sharon got to hear her favorite DJ, Don Diablo, not just once though TWICE this year: in Barcelona and Brooklyn.  

(3) SCHOOLS - Sharon is in her sixth year teaching at New Heights Academy Charter School, serving the Latina/Latino students of Washington Heights and the Bronx.  She is implementing Reality Pedagogy and #HipHopEd in ALL her classes this year, in which street and classroom cultures blend, while the students and Sharon co-construct the classroom space.  Alexi is in his first year at the Institute for Collaborative Education, the best citywide progressive 6-12  public school in New York City.  Mateo is at Special Music School, the top public music school in New York City, studying piano with Miss Irina.

(4) PEOPLE -  The families we have met at both Special Music School and the Institute for Collaborative Education have all been so supportive and pushed us to be our best selves.

(5) MUSEUMS - We love taking advantage of all the cultural treasures that exist in NYC.  This year we visited the Museum of Mathematics (A LOT since we became members), Transit Museum, Children's Museum of Manhattan, New York Hall of Science, Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA PS1, and the Whitney.