Author: ruhlwrite

With a flourish of his hand, Rafael Petrosyan, formally attired in red patterned vest, black striped dress shirt and grey pinstriped suit slacks, bows. “After you,” the sculptor says as he follows me into the Modern Art Foundry. “Two centuries ago, gentlemen bowed when ladies arrived. Ah, but it is no more.” At the top of the linoleum-covered stairs, after a right and then a left, is what Rafael calls his cave. It’s one immaculate room doing double duty as two. There’s…

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He’s been on his feet constantly, 24/7 more than less, since June 10. That’s when pastry chef George McKirdy opened Astor Bake Shop, Astoria’s sweet-treat hot spot. “I need some caffeine,” he says, sucking down a liter-size glass of the shop’s signature ice coffee through a straw as though it’s water. Before he allows himself to sit, he checks the kitchen, rings up a sale at the front counter, confers with a customer about a wedding cake and greets a little…

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Stephanos Koullias is running a little late, so when he parks his Bucky Buckaw Work Trike on the sidewalk at the Sunnyside Greenmarket, he jumps off and jogs across the street, high-fiving the autumn sky. In a flash, he’s back with the collapsible tent, which looks like one of those fold-up thingies you hang wash on to dry, and green garbage pails to set up the booth for the Western Queens Compost Initiative, a group he and his environmentally minded friends founded. Stephanos, as long and…

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In the living room, kneeling against the ruby red wall, is a Thai goddess. Above her head, in golden frames that match the trim of her royal raiment, are three Chilean oil paintings — the Virgin Mary and Jesus in the center and an archangel on each side. On the ground, grazing on the Turkey carpet, is a herd of wooden elephants from Africa. When Rambo and Daisy Mae, two cheeky Chihuahua mixes, lead Joseph M. Santana inside, the goddess smiles a cheery welcome with her cherry lips. Joseph and…

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Bigger than a dinosaur. Faster than DSL. Able to knock down tall buildings with a single blow. Cera The Bull chuckles, and the room shakes. These things that people say about him may be a slight exaggeration. But be careful; they may be true. Let’s try not to put it to the test. Sead Cerovic, aka Cera The Bull, is indeed a big guy. His 6-foot-2 frame stands on 240 pounds of monumental muscle. With his Popeye arms, piercing blue-grey eyes, long, straggly jet-black hair and earring, he looks…

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