Five years ago today, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I didn’t know what my future held. My friend, Meg, sat in my surgeon’s office with me and held my hand. A plan came together with my surgeon to not only help me survive, but thrive. I didn’t know what that looked like then, but I know now.
Today, I stand here, stronger and more committed than ever to sharing the stories that matter—the secrets we keep because sometimes they are too frightening to say out loud and the lies we tell ourselves to fake it until we make it so we can survive.
I’m channeling that strength into a story I’ll tell on stage, and I hope you’ll join me for the next chapter on October 28th for NYC’s Secrets & Lies – Ghost Stories!
That October 28th show date is also a very momentous personal anniversary for me: that will mark five years since my bilateral mastectomy—the day I faced my worst fear head-on and the last day there was any sign of cancer in my body. We’re going to celebrate!
The storytellers of NYC’s Secrets & Lies and I have spent the last month celebrating the secrets hidden beneath New York City—from the quiet wilderness of Central Park to the forgotten history in the street streets. As October deepens, we’re switching our focus from nature’s secrets to something far more chilling: NYC’s infamous ghosts and the secrets they left behind.
The audience feedback from our last event, NYC’s Secrets & Lies – Nature, was absolutely overwhelming. Before we dive into the chilling tales planned for October 28th, we want to prove that this is more than just a show—it’s a truly unforgettable New York experience. If you’ve been on the fence, let our past audience convince you to secure your spot for a night of fright, tricks, and treats!
Why the Show Works
We set out to create compelling, high-caliber storytelling, and the response confirmed it. This show isn’t just reciting history; it’s about crafting a narrative that sticks with you long after you leave The Hidden Jewel Box Theater, a secret theater hidden inside Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Here is a glimpse of what audience members said about the last installment:
🗣️ Testimonial 1: “From the moment I stepped in through the secret door to the moment I left through ANOTHER secret door, this was the best storytelling I’ve ever seen in NYC!”
🗣️ Testimonial 2: “I haven’t been this entertained and educated at the same time in a long time. The perfect New York night out—NYC’s Secrets & Lies is a true hidden gem of the city’s indie arts scene.”
🗣️ Testimonial 3: “A masterclass in stage presence. The performers brought every secret to life and I had no idea which stories were true and which was the lie! I bought tickets for the next show before I left the theater.”
From Nature to Ghosts
Image created by Christa Avampato
The same dedication to research, quality performance, and compelling narrative that wowed the audience last month is now being turned towards the city’s darker corners.
For NYC’s Secrets & Lies – Ghost Stories on Tuesday, October 28th at 8pm, we’re diving deep into the true hauntings and the unsettling history that makes New York one of the spookiest places on earth. Expect to hear real, unsettling stories about:
The notorious ghosts of Greenwich Village’s oldest theaters.
The dark family secrets buried beneath modern skyscrapers.
The lingering spirits tied to a famous Manhattan landmark.
And one big lie! This is an intimate, spine-tingling historical journey just three days before Halloween. Our show is your perfect way to connect with the ghosts of New York’s past. Come early when the doors open at 7:30pm to enjoy some treats, meet the storytellers, and explore The Hidden Jewel Box Theater before it closes and disappears forever!
Space at The Hidden Jewel Box Theater is extremely limited for this one-night-only event. With the clock ticking down to October 28th, tickets are selling fast thanks to the buzz from our last show. Don’t wait to secure your spot!
PS – Keep following our social channels for behind-the-scenes looks at the chilling research for the Ghost Stories show! You can follow me on Instagram and Threads at @christarosenyc and you can follow the show on Instagram at @nycsecretsandlies.
I finally went to see Hadestown on Broadway. I know, I know. What took me so long?! After seeing it, I truly have no idea because it’s a transformative theater experience. A huge thank you to my dear friend, Dan Fortune, for taking me.
This was a very special performance because all 5 of the leads are brand new to the show. Music legend Kurt Elling, Jack Wolfe, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Morgan Dudley, and Paulo Szot knocked it out of the park, and the audience literally shouted with delight.
Yes, it’s all the things you’ve heard. It’s beautiful in every way, heart-filled, and filled with fascinating twists and turns woven between mythology and present day.
It’s also an incredibly effective climate story – the call to protect nature to reverse the harmful impacts of climate change on the food supply, mental and physical health, politics, and the economy.
It’s an immigration story, a migration story, a working class story about the power of generosity, community, and our own voices to lead change, to create a world where all beings are happy, healthy, and free. It’s a story of hope found in difficult, dark times and turning that hope into empowerment that leads to action. And art, specifically music, as a lever for all of that change.
Reminiscent of the call and response of spirituals with the essence of New Orleans, it’s a show that is of-the-moment even though it’s been on Broadway since 2019. Go see it. Cheer, clap, sing, get swept up in the beauty. And then carry all of it out into our world that is crying out for change. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
This week, I had my first Brooklyn beach day of 2024 at Coney Island! Since moving from the Upper West Side to Brooklyn almost a year ago, I’ve discovered a number of new joys in New York City. One of the biggest has been Coney Island — named one of the best 25 beaches in the U.S. in 2024 by Travel+Leisure Magazine. Coney Island is a 20-minute subway ride from my apartment. In addition to the beach, there’s a boardwalk loaded with delicious food and drinks, rides, games, a minor league baseball stadium, fun street art, music, city park land, and a load of characters from every walk of life. I look forward to spending many days here this summer.
Fun Coney Island and NYC beach facts: – How Coney Island got its name is widely disputed. Some theories: (1) an Irish boat captain named Peter O’Connor sailed to New York from Ireland in the late 1700s, and named Coney Island after Ireland’s Coney Island, which was and remains a mile from O’Connor’s home in County Sligo and looks remarkably similar to Brooklyn’s Coney Island save for the fact that the island in Ireland is nearly deserted and Brooklyn’s Coney Island is a magnet for locals and tourists alike. (2) The Dutch settled Manhattan in 1624 and inhabited Coney Island soon afterward. It was home to a large population of wild rabbits and the Dutch word for rabbit is “konijn”. (3) The areas was once inhabited by the Konoh, or Bear, tribe. Records from all these times are spotty or non-existent so we may never know exactly how Coney Island got its name.
I ran the few blocks to Prospect Park for my morning run. On the way, I passed one of my neighbors who was sitting in a chair in her front yard. She had her eyes closed, face up to the sun, with her bare feet sinking into the ground.
“Morning, Marta,” I said.
“Hi dear,” she replied. “Just feeling my roots.”
As I ran through the park taking in all the reds, golds, and oranges of the leaves, I thought about Marta’s comment. We all have roots — where we live, where we work, in the communities and with the people whom we spend time with. It made me think about the value of connections, and how those connections form a kind of life journey and path as we carve our way in the world. It reminded me how strong roots take time to cultivate, how that work is mostly hidden from sight, and may appear like we aren’t making any progress.
But the progress of building our roots may be the most important progress we make because everything else we are and do comes from them. It’s our roots that sustain us, as people and professionals. They are what remains when everything else falls away. They help us grow, transform, and heal. They help us weather the tough times and flourish when the light returns. And it does always return, eventually.
The world is a difficult place right now in so many ways. Perhaps as difficult a place as we’ve ever seen. I’m finding hope in fostering my roots, in deepening my relationships, and rededicating myself to my community, in my city, in my work, and in all the places where I find points of connection. I hope that you are able to find this, too.
Photos of Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Taken by Christa Avampato on October 25, 2023.
South Brooklyn during Friday’s floods. Photo by Christa Avampato.
A river flowed from Prospect Park through my neighborhood in South Slope, Brooklyn on Friday when we were pummeled with 7+ inches of rain in ~12 hours. I didn’t realize NYC’s floods were international news until I started getting messages from friends outside the country. With over 13 inches of rain in September, this is the 2nd wettest September since NYC began keeping weather records in 1920.
I took this photo of the flooding from my apartment at 8am. As I watched the water gushing through the streets, I thought about a conversation I had with my friend, Alex MacLennan, almost a decade ago. He told me the climate models then predicted the western half of the US would grow increasingly drier and hotter while the eastern half would be regularly flooded. How right they were.
NYC is an archipelago that sits mostly at sea-level surrounded by brackish water with the busiest shipping port in the US. Though it looms large on the national and international stages as a financial, cultural, political, and media capital, area-wise it’s small and easily overwhelmed by water.
It is, in many ways, a climate disaster waiting to happen. It’s the mostly densely populated city in the U.S. with nearly 28,000 people per square mile and has the largest population with almost 9 million people, more than double the size of the next largest city. The population doubles during the workday with as many commuters as residents. It’s also a city of hard surfaces (though we have 7 million trees and the tree canopy covers 21% of the city). Aged infrastructure and a subterranean subway that is 100+ years old further compound threats from flash flooding, coastal storms, and sea level rise. Flooding here is a crisis that must be urgently and unrelentingly addressed.
The country and world can’t afford to lose New York. While some strides have been made to protect the city from climate change, it’s not nearly enough. But all that may be changing, and fast.
These floods will become more frequent and intense in the coming years. We have to mitigate and adapt at the same time with nature-based solutions like biophilic architecture, mangroves, reefs, rooftop farms, and the transformation of vacant lots into bioswales. They are proven, efficient, and relatively inexpensive solutions. I hope the work at Governor’s Island can make these ideas realities.
Like all investments, nature-based solutions take time to create and scale. We have no more time to waste. We have to get started now, and it’s my hope that I can do my part to push this work forward.
Me and Ashley at the Merchant’s House Museum and the Tredwell family photos and bios
Last night I had a blast taking a ghost tour of the Merchant’s House Museum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan led by one of best and dearest friends, Ashley Semrick. She was, as always, incredible. A fellow tour guide who is responsible for me taking the NYC tour guide exam (which is a grueling 4 hours long!), we always nerd out about the incredible history of our city. Her dedication to the museum, a vital piece of NYC history, is a gift to all of us.
Built in 1832, the house in the only building in NYC that is landmarked on the federal, state, and city level, inside and out. When you enter, you are literally stepping back in time into the 19th century. The house is perfectly preserved with the original furniture and furnishings, personal belongings, books, artwork, dishes, kitchenware, piano, and even their clothes!
The house was occupied by the Tredwells, a wealthy merchant family, and their four Irish servants from1835-1865, when the mercantile seaport of New York City emerged as a growing metropolis and the commercial emporium of America. In 1865, just as the Civil War was drawing to a close, the patriarch of the family passed away in the house. Gertrude, the youngest of the 8 children, passed away in the house, in the same bed where she was born, in 1909 at the age 93. And that’s when things really got interesting from a paranormal perspective.
There have been 100s, perhaps 1000s, of reports of supernatural activity in the house. It is the only museum in the country with a full-time all-volunteer paranormal team that employs impressive technology to capture activity. Though I didn’t see any ghosts on the tour, the house does have an energy to it that has to be experienced. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, a visit is a-must do activity in NYC.
And the museum needs our help. For 10 years, they’ve been fighting an intense legal battle with a developer who wants to build an 8-story hotel right next to the museum. Engineering experts have said that if that happens, the museum will be rendered unsafe for anyone to enter. To lose this museum and this piece of NYC history would be tragic. With an all-volunteer staff, every dollar you donate and spend on tickets to tours and events goes directly to preserve this stunning space.
Self-guided and guided tours operate on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The staff is entirely volunteers and they offer numerous events year-round, both in-person and online. Though most aren’t ghost-related and focus on the history of the home, the family, and our city, they all give you an opportunity to walk in the literal footsteps of the Tredwells.
The holiday season is particularly special as the house is decked out in 19-century Victorian style, just as the Tredwells did for their famous celebrations and parties. There are musical events, readings, and performances. Go to https://merchantshouse.org/visit/ to learn more.
Sea monsters, grandma gangsters, punk music, and high society fashion. Plus a secret society obsessed with hidden history for you to join and tales of activism, art, and entrepreneurship with Julie Gaines, Founder of Fishs Eddy. It’s all waiting for you at Caveat on Tuesday, October 9th at 7pm when my storytelling show New York City’s Secrets & Lies returns. Oh, and if you can separate fact from fiction when it comes to secret NYC history, there could be a big prize from UntappedCities.com with your name on it! Grab your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-tickets-49367374145
Untapped Cities offers a huge variety of tours about secret New York City history. Alexander Hamilton’s historic home, the abandoned Ellis Island Hospital, Grand Central Station, abandoned subway stations, the Woolworth Building, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, Penn Station, the Members Only Players Club, and the list just. keeps. growing.
As a little gift to you, I wanted to share a special discount code that gets you 15% off of ALL of their tours – just type in CHRISTA at checkout. You can share this with friends and use it as many times as you want. And there’s no expiration date. Because I love you, and I want you to have nice things. And by nice things, I mean adventures.
“There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. …Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but the settlers give it passion.” ~E.B. White
Is there any more perfect description of New York and New Yorkers? I am solidly in this third group, someone who came to New York on a quest, who’s left several times, is back now, and is never leaving again. It took we a long time to learn to live with my passion for this place. That passion burned me up from the inside out several times. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned how to take a break, how to let my passion for this place fuel me and light me up rather than wear me down. It’s a process. Somedays I manage better than others, and I’ll say this: every day I get better and better at riding the wave here. And just when I think I can’t possibly love this city any more than I do, it does something magical that just makes me more passionate about working alongside other New Yorkers to make it a better place for all of us. I wouldn’t live anywhere else. This is home.
