Updating Inwood Manhattan and Washington Heights Activities
Yianni’s wife was the founding editor of the MKG publication and did a great job of updating information on a regular basis so other Inwood Manhattan and Washington Heights families would have an up-to-date schedule of neighborhood activities for kids and their parents. Also, during that period, they were developing community happening out of which evolved two organizations, “Lights Camera Read” and “Magic Neighbors.”
Mission: to Bring all Neighborhoods Together into a Single Neighborhood
Yianni and Alison’s daughter, who was then a toddler at the time, was of course the center of their lives. As parents, they did not see a sense of community that brought everyone in Inwood and in the heights together. So, they undertook several ambitious community-building projects that were aimed at bringing all the neighborhoods together into a single neighborhood.
Jump Starting the Mission with a Parade
This mission was jump started by an ambition parade that was documented and broadcasted by the NY1 channel. The parade, that had been highly publicized, consisted of over 100 kids and their parents. The parade began on the west side of Broadway and culminated on the east side of Broadway at the Inwood Fire Station. It was there that the captain and other fire fighters put on an educational and entertaining show that brought about the group laughing together. And for at least for one magic moment, the mission of being one neighborhood, had been achieved.