BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

You know what they say about plans: Man plans and God laughs.

Bensonhurst resident Tina Panariello knows this better than most. She just wanted to be an actress, and set out to realize that dream. But, instead, she embarked on a life journey that took her from stage, to home-business owner, to struggling mom, to acclaimed artist. And now she begins a new life as author and mentor, telling her personal story of career evolution, and the trials and tribulations of living life, owning businesses in New York City, and how an obsessed hobbyist turned pro by mere happenstance – all in her autobiography, Polished: Filing Away At Life’s Truths.

Panariello was 11 years old when her mother chose to move her from her Manhattan home near the East River to Brooklyn, settling down in the Marlboro Projects in 1957. She attended Lafayette High School while she worked as an executive secretary. Eventually, Panariello moved on to get a two-year degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Panariello had a career in acting sparked after landing the lead role in Cabaret at Staten Island Community College. Her love of the stage eventually swayed Panariello to go into acting full-time, and she auditioned for roles both on- and off-Broadway. She owned her own children’s theater group and joined the Narrows Community Theater (NCT) for a time, during which she got pregnant with her son, Wayne.

Getting into the nail art industry was something that happened naturally for Panariello. When their son was young, she and her husband had a home jewelry business. Panariello spent her spare time dabbling with the small-canvas art of painting nails, and eventually her jewelry customers noticed the art on her own fingertips and wanted it for themselves. It started out small with several clients who she’d visit in their homes. From there, her business grew. Eventually Panariello decided to open a store called Nail Artistry by Tina, then located on 20th Avenue.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the store. During the late 80’s, the economy crashed, leaving Panariello with a struggling business.

“I almost lost my business. It was horrible. So, I had to make a decision. I had to go find a job,” Panariello said. “Between the salon and the job in Manhattan I was able to put food on the table for my son. That is how I did it. There was no other way.”

Panariello bounced back and eventually moved her business to another store at 2344 86th Street and has been there ever since.

Panariello has accomplished much in her 33 years of nail artistry, including being a nail art educator for OPI, a leading nail polish manufacturer and distributor. She has won several awards for her hand-painted nail art and has gone on to judge competitions.

The job has taken her to some exotic locations.

When Panariello was working in the city, for example, she met a woman who was impressed with her work and offered her an opportunity to teach a class in Puerto Rico. Panariello was flown to San Juan where she did several events, including television appearances. Panariello describes the trip as “the greatest part of her career.”

Source: Greg McMullin/Flickr

On My Block Films (OMBF) is inviting New Yorkers to use their filmmaking talents while getting to know their neighbors better.

New Yorkers from all boroughs are invited to participate in the inaugural Neighborhood Filmmaking Challenge, which aims to promote stronger communities through the process of filmmaking.

Participants must shoot a one- to five-minute narrative or documentary film that takes place on their street, either inside or outside. The entire cast and crew must be made up of real neighbors.

From August through October 31, films can be uploaded to the OMB website and the public will be able to vote on a film by liking it on Vimeo. The 30 films with the most Vimeo likes will proceed to be judged by an official panel during the first week of November. Awards will be presented to the Best Narrative Film, Best Documentary Film, and Best In Show.

OMBF was created earlier this year to bring New Yorkers closer together and showcase the diversity and unique identities of people in the city. The organization is hoping to put together a number of films about each borough and in the process bring together neighbors who might otherwise be strangers.

To sign up for the challenge or for additional information, please contact Mary Crosse at mary@onmyblockfilms.com or visit onmyblockfilms.com.

And remember, if you make a film, let us know so we can encourage fellow readers to vote for you!

An early block print by Maurice Sendak, published in his high school yearbook.

See the image above? It could be Maurice Sendak’s first-ever published illustration, a block print created to run alongside the touching personal essay of a friend in their Lafayette High School yearbook. That same year, Sendak, a Bensonhurst native, also illustrated a textbook titled Atomics for the Millions by Dr. Maxwell Leigh Eidinoff. It’s hard to know which came first, but the block print above isn’t just a potential milestone in the career of the legendary author and illustrator of works including Where the Wild Things Are, it’s an example of the kind, giving nature he’s renown for.

Similarly, the story behind the resurfacing of the print shows the same sweet generosity.

Bensonhurst Bean reader Michael C. Marmer tipped us off about the illustration following Sendak’s death on Tuesday. His mother, Ruth Luberoff, wrote the essay it was created for. Marmer shares his and his mother’s story below, and a copy of Luberoff’s original essay is at the bottom of this post.

Read the touching stories behind this historic illustration.

Loren Kantor's woodcut of Sandy Koufax

Loren Kantor lived in Brooklyn and growing up, Bensonhurst native son Sandy Koufax was his hero.

It was that apotheosis of the famous Dodgers pitcher in Kantor’s childhood home that led him to make a woodcut print of Koufax.

“I never saw him pitch, I was too young. But my dad would talk about him over and over, as if speaking about a Biblical prophet,” he told Bensonhurst Bean.

And if woodcut seems like an odd way to memorialize someone in this digital day and age, well, we thought so, too. But Kantor explained to us that that art form is about definitive-ness, which perhaps lends some permanence to fleeting memories.

“Something about the boldness of the lines and the old-school nature of the images. My grandfather was a Torah scribe.  He used to tell me, ‘One mistake and you have to start over.’  Woodcuts are the same way. One bad cut and you have to start over,” Kantor said.

The following is a press release from the office of Rep. Jerrold Nadler:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, introduced legislation designed to let visual artists share in revenues generated by the resale of their works.  The Equity for Visual Artists Act of 2011, which was also introduced in the Senate today by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), would set aside a royalty rate of 7% for resales in excess of $10,000 at large auction houses, half of which would go to the visual artists, and half to nonprofit art museums. Continue Reading »