New York Magazine - USA (2020-09-14)

8 newyork| september14–27, 2020

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Comments

1 Forlast issue’s coverstory,AllisonP.
Davisspoke withMariahCarey about
thepopstar’s three-decade-longcareer
(“MariahAfterMidnight,”August31–Sep-
tember 13 ). Thecoverimage, shotbyDana
Scruggs,proveddivisivewithreaders.Eddie
Majorwrote,“ThisMariahCarey cover
photois ... a choice,I guess?”And @theerkj
tweeted,“Thisnotevenmama’s angle!!
I’msosurprisedshelet themrunthis.”
@ohsoacquiescent pushed back with,
“Somepeoplecallit awkwardandunflatter-
ingbutif we’rebeinghonest that wasprob-
ablythelooktheyweregoingfor—sheisn’t
the glamorousout-of-touch diva she’s
alwaysbeenpaintedtobe;she’s stillvery
vulnerable.” OnInstagram,JohnDuff wrote,
“Thephotoisstunning!Refreshingtosee
heroutofglam...I hopepeopleare ableto
seeherasa humanandnotcompare her
naturalbeauty toherdrag.”@ashfinny
tweeted,“Thiscoverisgorgeous!!She’s
givingusMariahUnpluggedtheremix
here.”NovelistBritBennett joked,“Cannot
believethat inanotherlifeI couldhavebeen
inMariah’scovid-pod,bakinghershort-
bread.”ManypraisedCarey’scandor. Britni
Daniellesaid,“Ilovethatshe’s divinginto
issuesofrace,colorism,herfamily, etc.I’m
hereforMimibeingcomfortablediscussing
herfullself.” @CokeNDGrenadinewrote,
“This isprobably themost unfiltered
interview I’veeverseenwithMariah.”And
@kplumhofftweeted,“absolutelyloved
thisasa masterclassincontextualizing
celebrity& profilingduringcovid.”

2 Bridget Read documentedhowtwo

Brooklyn landlords kicked their

tenantsoutinthemiddleofaneviction

moratorium(“TheEco-YogiSlumlordsof

Brooklyn,”August31–September 13 ). The

New YorkTimes’ MaraGaycalledit “maybe

themostBrooklynstoryever,”and the

Intercept’s MaraHvistendahlsaidit was

“primepandemicreading.”Somereaders

feltthestory encapsulatedtheway the

coronavirushasexacerbatedthehousing

crisis:@ljgongcalledit “anillustrationof so

muchthatis broken.”DouglasSmithLand

wrotethatRead“surfacessomanyofthe

insidiouspracticesthatcompromisethe

NYrealestatemarket.It’s alsoa perfect

illustrationofhowdiscriminatory lending

canbenefitwildlyineptwhitepeople.”

Oftherevelationthat thelandlordsaren’t

takingthepandemicseriously,writerZoe

Whittallcommented,“Ofcoursethese

wellnesscapitalist slumlordsbecome

coviddeniersintheend.” EditorCale

GuthrieWeissmanwrote,“nymag’sability

towritethebest,most in-depthstories

aboutviralskirmishesmost peopleforgot

aboutis unmatched.”

3 In “The Lost Season,” CathyHoryn

spoke with 13 of the world’s leading

designers (August 31–September13).

@senza tempo style wrote thatthestory

“really underscores how thebusiness

model that dominates fashion todayisthe

root of so many issues.” Fashionblogger

Bryanboy said of Horyn’s conversationwith

Prada’s Raf Simons: “I wish shetooka

an why Raf, oneofthe

l de of our time,didnot

diversify his show castings sinceDay One

and why it took a seismic culturalshift for

hi mto do so.”Readerswere also delighted by

theconversationwithMiuccia Prada, who

said,“It’s notthat designers can change the

economicsystem.”@ndakogboya tweeted,

“FINALLY!I cannot stress how much

I longedtohearthewordssheuttershere.”

4 Inanexcerptfrom his new book, One

BillionAmericans, Vox’s senior corre-

spondentMatthewYglesias argued for the

desirabilityofa more populatedUnited

States (“America Times Three,”August

31– September 13). Many readers expressed

concerns about what a population explosion

would mean for the environmentand the

economy. Ric Steinberger wrote that “the

slightest unbiased assessmentby any

competent ecologist ... wouldquickly

lead one to conclude that the idea of a bil-

lion people living within the borders of

the current U.S. is complete insanity.”

Kathleene Parker added, “We have so

many millions unemployed due to the

covid-19 shutdown that most ofus have

lost count. We’re $26 trillion—whoops,

make that $27 trillion—in debt, so

Yglesias’ answer is what, the more the

merrier?” Others found the proposal in-

spired. @moultano tweeted, “Other people

are an asset, not a liability.” @AllanThoen

wrote, “The problems in America have

almost never come from fresh, energetic

new immigrants, but from people born

here who feel entitled and don’t want

anything to change. You could think of

anti-immigrant sentiment as nimby-ism

on a national scale.”

The ECO –YOGI

SLUMLORDS

OFBROOKLYN

How did a couple who

BUILT AN EMPIRE

of YOGA STUDIOS,

VEGAN RESTAURANTS,

and homes with

“LIVING WALLS”

end up as

PANDEMIC

VILLAINS?

By Bridget Read

august 31 september13, 2020 | new york 37

GENNCHURCH at 1214 Dean Street as nearly 100 ARO BROOKS-

activists protest his attempt to evict his tenants.

August 31September 13, 2020®

MaYou don’t know her. r iah

by allison p davis

And: 91 Truly Terrific Things Coming This Very Unusual Fall p 83

Also:Future of Fashion Marc Jacobs, Miuccia Prada, Rei Kawakubo on the (It’s Not Sweatpants) By Cathy Horyn p 42