If you find yourself walking down Halsey Street lately, you may have noticed that several of the previously empty storefronts are now filled with interesting concepts and brand new retail experiences. Most (if not all) of these new experiences are being spearheaded by Newarkers: from Boss Blend to Halsey Co. to 19B to Brown Mill. As COVID restrictions have begun to subside and people begin to feel safe hanging out in groups, the bustle usually associated with Halsey Street is slowly returning, due in no small part to these startups. One of these new retail spots is part of Brick City Varsity, a Newark-obsessed brand offering immersive pop-up shopping experiences and photography. The pop-up is the brainchild of Larry Lyons and offers cintage clothing (and, on some special nights, karaoke in the back). Larry comes on the podcast this week to discuss his business, his identity, and other musings about life, art, and the world at large.
Guest:
Larry Lyons—Larry is the principal and founder of Brick City Varsity. He has lectured and taught courses in 20th Century American literature, sociology, and composition at Rutgers and Princeton Universities. He is also an independent consultant, who provides marketing, communications strategy, and creative services for clients in the fields of education, public relations, nonprofits, and the arts. He is also an activist, centering on antiviolence, queer safe space, and black maternal health.
Background & Articles:
Larry Lyons’ Profile on Queer Newark: here
Brick City Varsity website: here
Revolution ‘67 page: here
Being Again by Eddie Glaude: here
Murder of Sakia Gunn article: here
Murder of Rashawn Brazell article: here
Newark Pride site: here
POSE TV Show: here
Quote: “We go out to be gay. We crave this when once again growing bored with the straight world. I will announce to [my date]: I want to be gay this weekend. This carries an ineffable but precise connotation along the lines of white girl wasted. It means we don’t want to, for example, attend a recital of minimalist composition. That’s something we might otherwise do. But when we decide to be gay, we want to dance to ‘Startships’ by Nicki Minaj, and go downhill from there.” Gay Bar, by Jeremy Atherton Lin