When Long Island Weekly relaunched in November 2015, it was done so with the idea of being an arts and entertainment publication covering happenings on Long Island and Manhattan. Since then, the publication has grown to include high profile celebrities, Broadway shows, five-star dining reviews, music features and an impressive array of sports coverage.
Below, editors and designers share their favorite moments working on Long Island Weekly and what they are excited for in the year to come.
“Aside from the numerous dining reviews and other food-related articles, one of my favorite moments from this last year has to be when I interviewed my cultural-culinary hero Andrew Zimmern, host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods. Another top moment was securing interviews with the entire main cast of my favorite animated television show, Bob’s Burgers. The layout of that issue remains my favorite of the year.”
—Steve Mosco
“Without a doubt, my favorite moment, perhaps of my career, was when I was given the opportunity to interview the prolific William H. Macy. I am a huge fan of his work and for an hour, we had the best conversation about his family, his work on Shameless and a slew of his directing work that will be seen in 2017. The images he sent over for the cover are some of the best that exemplify Macy’s versatility and passion for acting that many have come to know and love. I have also loved coming up with new creative content, especially when that involves celebrities and entertainment.”
—Jennifer Fauci
“Working for Long Island Weekly has its high points in that I get to work on topics that are interesting and engaging. For instance, as a Star Wars mega fan, I needed to channel my inner creative Jedi powers when creating our cover and page layout for the Star Wars issue that featured a costume exhibit held at The Discovery Museum. Another issue I enjoyed working on was for the Rockettes 90th anniversary issue. Doing research for the layout and looking through archives for the perfect photo was fun and reminded me of when I was ‘younger’ and going to see the Rockettes with my parents.”
—Alex Nuñez
“One of my favorite contributions to Long Island Weekly was my review of the Broadway show Something Rotten and my interview with actor John Cariani. He was a pleasure to speak to, and our conversation made it easy to write those articles. I am also proud of my work on the website, www.longislandweekly.com, which has become a destination for readers interested in our unique arts, entertainment and special sections content. However, the absolute highlight was shooting the cover image of our Renaissance Faire theme issue.”
—Kimberly Dijkstra
“This past year of working on Long Island Weekly has certainly had its share of memorable moments with the privilege I’ve had of speaking with such a wide array of talented creative types. And while chatting with Mike Tyson about cartoons and having him casually toss f-bombs or dishing with Duran Duran bassist John Taylor about our likes and dislikes of the late HBO music series Vinyl ranks high on the list, conversing with William Shatner took the crown. As a childhood devotee of the original Star Trek, the man’s charisma and charm wound up being second to none.”
—Dave Gil de Rubio
“Nothing but good thoughts about the stories I’ve been assigned to write, since they all helped me jog my own memory. Sports is known as the “toy department” of a publication, so why not have fun? When I was growing up in Western North Carolina, I wanted to take the bus to New York City and become a sportswriter. Reading other writers got in the way. It took me a good 40 years to make it, but, hey, it’s been worth the wait.”
—Joe Scotchie
“Long Island Weekly has allowed me so many fun experiences I could have never imagined—from being illustrated as a superhero for a cover, to interviewing Broadway stars, chatting with some of my favorite musicians, and becoming a trapeze artist for a day. Every story has pushed me creatively, and I’ve loved being able to capture the stories of both the nationally known and locally loved. One story I’ll never forget was my feature on the Long Island Roller Rebels, the area’s premier all-female roller derby league. Getting to skate along such talented, fierce, kind-hearted ladies was a childhood dream come true. It also helped that I walked away with no broken bones.”
—Betsy Abraham
“The biggest thrill of working on a story for Long Island Weekly this year was writing a review about Buzz Aldrin’s newest book, No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons From a Man Who Walked on the Moon, several weeks before it debuted in April. Unrelated, I then had a chance to meet Aldrin a few weeks later at a book signing, which only magnified the honor. Aldrin people. Seriously? He’s a living legend; a childhood hero.”
—Christy Hinko
