Undiscarded: Stories of New York The City Reliquary Museum and Civic Organization

This week on Undiscarded, meet the unsuspecting family with an uncanny name who found themselves in a web of confusion. Fan mail, requests, and even some generous checks kept turning up to the Parker family’s home in Forest Hills, Queens… all addressed to Spider-Man. What was initially dismissed as a prank turned out to be comic book canon. Tune in as Tania and guest Pamela Parker unveil the lore within these letters, which are now on display at The City Reliquary, and the love they show for New York’s friendly neighborhood hero.  

Look at photos of this object and more at at: https://www.cityreliquary.org/undiscarded-letterstoahero

Learn more about the City Reliquary, its mission, and its collections at: cityreliquary.org

In the city or just visiting? Stop by the Reliquary any Saturday or Sunday, noon to 6pm, 370 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn 11211

If you like Undiscarded, tune into The Brooklyn Public Library’s flagship podcast called Borrowed. Brooklyn  has so many stories to tell, and a lot of them start at the library.

Strap on your skates and get ready to roll back in time! In today’s episode, Tania joins rollerskating legend Eric Alston to take a spin through the history of the Brooklyn’s iconic Empire Rollerdrome, the surprisingly deep intersections of roller disco, urban communities, the Civil Rights movement, and how rollerskating continues to be a deep source of joy and self-expression.

Look at photos of this object and more at at: https://www.cityreliquary.org/undiscarded-rollerskate/

Learn more about the City Reliquary, its mission, and its collections at: cityreliquary.org

In the city or just visiting? Stop by the Reliquary any Saturday or Sunday, noon to 6pm, 370 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn 11211

Now until July 29th, further explore the history of Empire Rollerdrome at “Empire Roller Disco, Photographs by Patrick D. Pagnano” presented by Anthology Editions at The Gallery at The Ace Hotel Brooklyn: https://acehotel.com/brooklyn/going-on/anthology-editions-present-empire-roller-disco-by-patrick-d-pagnano-the-gallery/2023-05-26/

A riddle: when are tiny models more than tiny models? Answer: when they were once part of a HUGE model. In the case of these unprepossessing little wooden and plastic buildings, probably the greatest scale model ever built: the Panorama of the City of New York. In this episode, Tania talks to Lynn Maliszewski of the Queens Museum about the crown jewel of their collection and the extraordinary history of its creation, spearheaded by one the biggest New Yorkers of all time.

Look at photos of this object and more at at https://www.cityreliquary.org/undiscarded-modelbuildings

Learn more about the City Reliquary, its mission, and its collections at cityreliquary.org

In the city or just visiting? Stop by the Reliquary any Saturday or Sunday, noon to 6pm, 370 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn 11211

And while you’re in town, plan your trip across Newtown Creek to visit the panorama and the rest of the Queens Museum at https://queensmuseum.org/ 

“Alligators thriving in the sewers of New York City” –– one of the most famous and persistent urban myths. But could it be… true? Well, according to former Manhattan Borough Historian Michael Miscione, it’s at least “true-ish”! Learn more as he and Tania go down the manhole to find a truly epic tale of boys vs. beast.

Look at photos of this object and more at at https://www.cityreliquary.org/undiscarded-stuffedalligator

Learn more about the City Reliquary, its mission, and its collections at cityreliquary.org

In the city or just visiting? Stop by the Reliquary any Saturday or Sunday, noon to 6pm, 370 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn 11211

Learn more about Michael’s projects at https://nyc125.org/ 

“Why would pigeons need tags?” Tania asks in this episode, and it’s a natural question – pigeons are underfoot everywhere in big cities, and claiming one as your own might seem as silly as claiming a particular dead leaf or piece of litter. But popular urban naturalist Gabriel Willow joins her to explain how domestic pigeons have been an important and versatile part of human life for thousands of years, and their story opens a unique view of the wildlife in New York. 

Look at photos of this object and more at https://www.cityreliquary.org/undiscarded-pigeontags

Learn more about the City Reliquary, its mission, and its collections at cityreliquary.org

In the city or just visiting? Stop by the Reliquary any Saturday or Sunday, noon to 6pm, 370 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn 11211

Learn more about Gabriel at https://www.gabrielwillow.com/

Who’s hungry? In today’s episode of Undiscarded (produced with the collaboration of the New York Historical Society) Tania joins Jack Lebewohl of the famous 2nd Ave Deli to talk about the rise and decline of the delicatessen, the great culinary contribution of one of the immigrant groups that most dramatically shaped New York as we know it: the Yiddish-speaking Jews of Eastern Europe.

Look at photos of this object and more at cityreliquary.org/undiscarded-2ndavedeli.

Learn more about the City Reliquary, its mission, and its collections at cityreliquary.org

In the city or just visiting? Stop by the Reliquary any Saturday or Sunday, noon to 6pm, 370 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn 11211

Plan your visit to the 2nd Ave Deli at https://2ndavedeli.com/
Plan your visit to the New York Historical Society at https://www.nyhistory.org/