There was a time when there were some incredible stores in New York City.

I still remember coming to NYC with Fred to find an apartment in 1983. We had returned from driving across the country post-college and came back to NYC to begin our careers. We found an apartment in one day that very much defines how we operate and then took a bus up Madison Avenue to 79th and Park because my Mom’s best bud lent us her apartment for a few days. I still remember the feeling of awe looking out the bus’s windows, seeing the tall buildings and how each neighborhood changed as we went uptown. I was excited to begin my own life.

At that time, there was Barney’s on the 17th and 7th. It took me a while to go check it out. I finally went and fell in love. It was so unique, making it very “NY.” The sweeping stairs took you to designer clothing on relatively sparse floors, heavily curated. I felt like I was let in on a secret of the NY I wanted to be part of.

Bloomingdales was like a crazy party. Fun, crazy, humming, and great merchandise. Macy’s, well, Macy’s has always been Macy’s. Remember, Macy’s started as a bargain basement. They wanted to be a Bloomingdales, but it never worked and, in turn, made Macy’s stumble. But that is another story.

Let’s not forget when Takishama was in town and for a brief second, and so was Galleries LaFayette. Bendels, oh man, the original Bendels a gem like no other.

In NYC, only 8% of people have returned to work five days a week. Cities will continue to struggle without the workforce showing up daily. We are never returning to that world. We can’t expect to return to the past, so we must focus on the future. We need to reinvent NYC and cities across the country.

As we move into closer communities, smaller unique stores, and a shift in street retail, what will be the next Barneys, Bendels, or Bloomingdale’s? Cities need the next group of entrepreneurs at the street level to rise. Retail changes a city, and a neighborhood. We need to create the next glory days.

What is wrong with our country? What is wrong with us? How did we get here? 
What will it take to change our gun laws?

What will it take for the police not to be racists? To do their job and stop killing innocent people?

 It is pure politics, and the majority rule in our Government doesn’t represent the majority. Guns do not belong in anyone’s hands unless major regulations make it very difficult to get a gun. It appears to be very east. The restrictions are minimal. Enough is enough.

Keep in mind that the leading cause of death in children is firearms.

We are rolling back 50 years of women’s rights. What the fuck?

 This is America. I want to believe in my heart that most Americans have had enough killings and do not want what is being foisted on them regarding abortion. We have to change representation in Government and get out there and vote on the issues that matter. Not our pocketbooks

Children, 6-year-old children, were killed at school. How many times does this have to happen?

I do not seek out Science Fiction books but did love Station Eleven. My son or daughter told me to read Parable of the Sower a few years ago. They both read it in college. I read Parable of the Sower and Kindred, both by Octavia E. Butler, perhaps one of the best Science Fiction writers of all time. She was the first Science Fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship and a multiple-time winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Both of those books are outstanding and relevant today.

My brother, whose kids also go and just graduated from Wesleyan, asked me if I had read Parable of the Talents, the sequel to Parable of the Sower. I hadn’t, and he said I must read it…and so I did.

Written in 2012, she saw the future. There are climate issues, a Trump-like President, a Christian Right, and except that the return to Hitler-like camps now exists in the US and Alaska succeeding, plenty if almost believable that it could happen, and perhaps some have.

I took this screenshot of the book. Does the first paragraph sound a bit familiar? This guy also keeps saying, “make America great again.” Ends up not so great.

Highly recommend the read.

We went to our niece’s Wesleyan graduation this past weekend. We are long Wesleyan in our family.

College graduation is an incredible rite of passage. It is a significant turning point. You just spent four years of your life going through massive change. You have been on your own, met a whole new group of people who chose the same college experience, expanded your mind, and are ready to enter adulthood.

The graduates in my niece’s class spent two years living through covid as students—lots of rules and regulations to not getting sick. Socialization was a different ball game. Now, these young adults are entering a world that is in massive change. We could say that about countless graduating classes who entered the world during other crises, but somehow this one feels very different.

What these graduates of 2022 do, where they go, and how they embrace the world will be worth watching.

Freelance is on the rise in every industry. Companies are getting out of the business of paying for full-time people. They do not want to pay for healthcare or any over costs of having full-time employees.

When I think about food stamps, I assume it is more prevalent in underserved communities. Wrong. Professors who are not tenured and artists whose work is in major museums such as MOMA are all on food stamps. Think about how much money has been raised to build a state-of-the-art building for educational coffers, but their adjunct professors are on food stamps. Artists who have works in top museum collections only get paid once for their work; although the secondary market is enormous, they never see a dime.

How did we get to a place where accomplished people at the top of their careers can’t afford to eat?? None of them have health insurance, and keep in mind that Obamacare costs $1000 a month. That is a significant number.

Something has to change. Why aren’t we spending more time focusing on these inequities in our country that are growing daily? There is a reason that workers are embracing unions.

We are in strange times, and the future is murky. Something has to give. What, I am not sure.

I saw Happening at Sundance this past year. I have continued to think about this French film, particularly now with the unfortunate turn of events we have all learned of through the Supreme Court leaks’ desire to overturn the right to an abortion. The film is currently in the theaters.

Happening is based on a memoir of a young college woman desperately trying to terminate her unwanted pregnancy in France when the procedure was illegal. A young, talented student who is the first of her family to go to college has one evening when she gets pregnant.

We follow each week as she tries to find someone to help. In France, in the 1960s, similar to the insanely egregious laws they are passing in Louisiana, anyone that knows of or even involves themself in abortion, including the woman, could end up in jail. I highly recommend seeing this film.

The other film I just saw this past week is Our Father. An Indianapolis fertility doctor inseminated countless women with his sperm without them knowing. 23andMe shed light on grown children finding out they have countless siblings and their father is not their father.

The craziest thing is prosecuting someone for this is not easy. No precedent.

Both of these films are crimes against women. In 2022, it still feels like 1960. Why do white men have all the power? When will this end be? I can’t take it anymore.

Why are the Democrats so shocked about the daily shootings across the country? Not one person in our Government is willing to do what needs to be done to get guns off our streets and in the hands of angry young men. The Republicans wanted this, but the Dems took the cash too.

Shooting has become an epidemic. Is this what the NRA was hoping for? That we would have fear and mayhem on our streets and in our schools?

This has been slowly building for decades, just like anti-abortion has. 

Why? One reason is that the majority that controls the Senate, regardless of party affiliation, does not represent the majority of people by a long shot. It might have worked a hundred years ago, but it doesn’t anymore. Eighty percent of Americans live in cities. Think about that.

A future loaded with guns and fear where you can’t get an abortion is not a country I want to live in. Either is one feeding disinformation through social media.

 If we don’t have some massive change soon, we will begin to look like the Philippines, where an old regime returned through disinformation and the ignorance of the youth.

The shootings. My heart bleeds for all those families, and unfortunately, there is a new one every day.

In every industry, some people follow when they should lead. Unfortunately, many appear to be leading, but the truth is they are just following. I could give countless examples, but I will hold my tongue.

I am a fan of crypto and believe it will create change that we have yet to realize. As for Web 3.0, I am all in, once again hoping that technology will level the playing field. It didn’t happen in Web 1.0 or 2.0, but perhaps Web 3.0 will be the breakout changer. Blockchain technology allows us to own our information with peer-to-peer nodes. Not great for Facebook, but maybe better for all of us.

The government certainly won’t solve any of the inequality issues. As always, change must come from the public. In the past few years, the government has continued to disappoint. Currently, there is such a divide that it is impossible to move forward.

I have only one concern with Web 3.0: we will always need leaders. I looked at a deck in the music industry built on blockchain technology, and it made me wonder, is that the end of musicians like Taylor Swift or Beyonce?

I have never been in a situation where decisions are made without someone leading the pack. Regardless of the massive underlying changes happening around the globe leading us all in a new direction, we need more strong leaders who represent each industry. Followers should also do a little more diligence before trailing behind some of their leaders off a cliff.

Fany Gerson is a chef, consultant, speaker, and cookbook author known for a unique approach to food that deeply respects her Mexican-Jewish heritage while also innovating by offering her own personal and modern twist. She is also the owner of Fan Fan Doughnuts, a Mexican-inspired American doughnut shop, and La Newyorkina, a Mexican ice cream shop. We talked about her entrepreneurial journey and the challenges she faced in the food industry at large as a Latina woman.

Follow her latest moves on Instagram at @fannygerson.

You can also listen to the podcast on iTunes and Soundcloud.

Our next guest on PGG will be Amanda Feilding, the scientist, drug policy reformer veteran, and lobbyist behind the Beckley Foundation. 

A friend of ours recently got back from the Ukrainian border, where he went to help organizations find safety for people whose lives are being upheaved by the war. His stories are incredible but what stuck with me is the new organizations rising to the challenge.

A perfect example is Jose Andres, who has put old school organizations to shame. He has proven that he can rally faster, get more accomplished quicker and feed more people than any Government or old school organization.

Our friend noted that the Red Cross and other organizations of that ilk were nowhere to be found unless the media was there.

Various new organizations are shifting and have learned how to keep change moving positively. I have always been a fan of Prep for Prep. What makes them unique is that they are always there for students who go through their organization. Prep for Prep helps their students from early on to post-High School, through college, and even get jobs after college. That is how the impact is made.

This past week, I went to a Strive luncheon and heard a handful of extraordinary women talk about how Strive changed their lives. Women who couldn’t get jobs were in hard times, and some couldn’t even speak English. Having an organization where the people not only lift you up but are available to you forever makes a huge difference. You know that there is always a family looking out for you if you fall off the wagon, lose your job, or go through a tough time, whatever it may be. That is how change can take place.

Giving people a hand, a door to walk through, an opportunity to make their life better, most will grab on and hold tight. We need more organizations that are thinking differently. After all, if you have saved one life, you have changed the world.