The Community-Minded Pastor

Plunk, plunk, plunk; plink-plink-plink-plink. Someone is playing, let’s make that pounding, a toy piano. Thia Reggio, pastor of the Astoria First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) takes no note of it. She’s had a lot of practice screening out its astringent strains. Thia’s the pastor of Astoria First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is, after all, New York City: Even churches as old as Astoria First, which started holding services nearly 170 years ago, have to have roommates to make…

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The Woman Who Plays the Toy Piano

There’s a baby grand in the living room, but when Phyllis Chen sits down to play, it’s at the child-size cherry-red toy piano. Phyllis, who plays a baby grand and a toy piano. Her knees almost touch her hands, which fly across the kiddie keys, creating cascades of catchy, chiming melodies. “Toy pianos don’t have strings, they have metal rods,” she says, explaining the bell-like sounds that are floating through the air. “They’re percussive.” Phyllis…

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The Juice Guy

It’s breakfast time, and John Sung Park is at the front door with a big grin on his face. He’s been up since 4, and he still has a lifetime to go before he closes his juice bar, Paris Health New Direction, at 7 p.m. John’s from Seoul, South Korea. Early rising aside, Paris — and John — have always been ahead of the times. Paris, which started out as a doughnut shop nearly three decades ago, swapped the sweets for healthy treats 14 years ago. “Nobody else was doing…

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The Two Who Aren’t One

The guy behind the desk gets up to answer the phone. In the blink of an eye, he’s back. Richard, left, and Manny are identical twins. But wait a second. He’s wearing a black shirt. When he left, it was blue. How did he do that? The unintended joke’s on you: He’s not one but two. Manny Varela Jr., the black shirt, and Richard Varela, the blue shirt, are identical twins. Manny’s the older — by 5 minutes. Manny is quick to point out, unprompted, that he’s…

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The Life Listener

There are parts of his past that are sad, so William Javier Velazquez does what he has been doing his entire life to ease the pain. He puts a record on the turntable. Javi’s the owner of HiFi Records & Cafe. The soul-soothing sound of Leon Bridges’ is what people hear when they walk into HiFi Records & Café, which he opened earlier this year for fellow vinyl aficionados. The first ears it reaches are those of his wife, Ülkü Aybar-Velazquez, and their year-old daughter,…

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