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Bronx teens party with a purpose

Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by .

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by Erin McCarthy

In a quiet basement room in the South Bronx, 15 teenagers and four adults sit in a semi-circle with their shoes off. Amid the white, purple-toed and mismatched socks, the high school students and their instructors talk about why they can’t wait to party.

It’s not just any party, but a “Red Party” where Bronx teenagers can dance, listen to poetry and music, watch a student-made documentary film and, the real reason for the affair, get tested for HIV.

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A marathon for runners and drinkers

Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by .

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by Erin McCarthy

Just three miles from the New York City Marathon finish line, marathoner David Stewart ran by a group of fans holding plastic red party cups. He grabbed a beer and took a quick swig without even breaking his stride. But he was not the only one running—or drinking—that day.

Stewart is a member of the New York City Hash House Harriers, a local running club. The group set up their cheering section and “drink check” just past mile 23 of the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday. About 30 members, known as hashers, crowded along the curb of Fifth Avenue by 96th Street. The group had been there since 11 a.m. to support their club’s runners and hand out red plastic cups, of either water or beer, as they ran by.

This kind of marathon celebration represented the group’s main passions. “They call it a drinking club with a running problem,” said Andrew Ross, who is a co-chair of the group.

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Navy, Old and New, on the USS New York

Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by .

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by Erin McCarthy

Frank DeCicco, 80, climbed aboard the U.S.S. New York 56 years after he served in the Navy on the U.S.S. Helena during the Korean War. He sniffed the below-decks air, tinged with metal and oil.

“A navy ship’s a navy ship. To me they all smell the same,” he said.

DeCicco, of Bethpage, N.Y., was one of many Navy veterans to visit the U.S.S. New York during its 10-day stay in New York City over the Veterans Day holiday. For some veterans, it was an opportunity to remember their service and to see how the Navy has changed.

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