Mospratt Street: True Stories in a Flash!

Tangible Used Bookstore opened about four months ago and brings new charm to Bridgeport.  It's owned by Joseph Judd and his wife Lisa. Judd, whom we interviewed for the podcast, has the kind of optimism that flakes off like glitter and attaches itself to you. He decides to do things, does them, and makes them work. He has not advertised outside of the neighborhood, he has no business model, and says the people of the neighborhood control the store, from the inventory they themselves bring in to determining the hours, which are loosely set from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Don't forget to read the accompanying essay.

Brittany Matthews opened Haus of Melanin Beauty Bar in Bridgeport last June, mid-pandemic, after the 28-year-old waved goodbye to her job at the Illinois Tollway with money in the bank and a dream in her head. She landed a prime spot on Morgan Street and within weeks, painted walls pink, hung glittering chandeliers and decked black sofas out with fur-and-frills accessories. She hired some of the city’s best Black-hair stylists. “I wanted to create an environment for women so they feel comfortable— for them to be beautified and for them to feel safe and to feel like they have somewhere that we could start a sisterhood.” Check out our accompanying newsletter story about Brittany!

Today we have a discussion with Charlotte Piwowar of the Bridgeport Alliance, a neighborhood grassroots organization. Charlotte talks about the success of getting the 31st Street bus permanently back in service, advocating for what residents want to see in the neighborhood versus what outside interests want, and maintaining pressure on public officials. Don't forget to check our our accompanying essay over at Substack!

I met Ryan Lavery when I was 12 and had befriended his older brother Chris at the start of junior high. Ryan was eight. As my friendship with Chris grew, I’d go over to the Lavery house and Ryan would there among the cats and the paper flowers their mother Charlene liked to collect. He was eager to please and, even then, quick with a joke. Like me, he’s the baby of the family. In this episode of Mospratt Street, Ryan discusses his relationships with his father, mother, and siblings. He also talks about the importance of humor in his life. Be sure check out our accompanying essay, A Place for My Father to Park, on our Substack page.

Juan Antonio Andres, who goes by Tony, is a sous chef at Chicago's Eataly. He started cooking as a teenager in his father's Hammond, Indiana, pizzeria and never looked back. He hopes one day to open a vegan restaurant here in Bridgeport. Tony is the kind of guy to whom family is everything, and he agonizes over the time he spends away from them because of work. He is also one of the most positive people you're likely to meet. Check out our feature story about Tony over on our Substack page.

Charly Garcia and his wife, Stephanie Manriquez, are a Bridgeport power couple - disrupters, creators, activists, preservers, youth advocates – who pump lifeblood through Chicago’s Hispanic community. This week, we focus on Charly who came to the US from Mexico when he was 19. We follow Charly through school to his first corporate radio gigs, then to creating pop-up radio stations with Stephanie. We discuss his passion for using audio technology to reach the youth, and about his work curating vintage Latin vinyl collections as part of Sonorama. If you missed our chat with Charly’s wife Stephanie Manriquez, check it out now!

Stephanie Manriquez and her husband, Charly Garcia, are a Bridgeport power couple - disrupters, creators, activists, preservers, youth advocates – who pump lifeblood through Chicago’s Hispanic community. This week, we focus on Stephany, who emigrated from Mexico City  to the US when she was 17. She ditched her sleepy Indiana suburb because it was too boring a few years later and set up shop in Bridgeport because parking was so bad in Pilsen. Named  a 2020 Leader for a New Chicago by the Field Foundation, Stephanie works with youth at Yolocallii and is director of content for Contratiempo, a magazine for the city’ Spanish-speaking community.

Autumn Ganza once halted a demolition of a hoarder house by taking on a private company and Bridgeport Alderman Patrick Daley Thompson. She broke into the building through a boarded-up window and carried out dozens of cats, she said, one by one. In mid-winter Chicago. That was just the live ones. She feeds feral cats across the South Side. She traps the ones she can catch, takes them to a vet, pays for the neuter and spaying, then releases them back to their Bridgeport abodes. If she can find them a home, she will, but many are too “wild” to be tamed, and are fit only to roam their home city block. Ganza does it on her own dime. Friends sometimes chip in, but most of it — the work, the money — comes from her. Because demand for her services has grown, she’s formed Kitty Empire, a trap, neuter, release organization whose nonprofit status is pending. This episode first aired on WLPN 105.5 FM, Chicago, on January 21, 2022. As always, check out our accompanying story.

Robert Valadez is a painter and muralist from the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, with a studio in Bridgeport. Erika and Andrew met him there to discuss his choice of medium, the history of mural painting in Chicago, and the themes of advocacy in his work. “I don't know why I gravitated toward towards mural painting,” Valadez told us. “It’s just something resonated with me about the scale, and scale as a medium. You know, doing something large, it adds something to the work. There's something to the way that you interact with it.” Be sure to check out our accompanying essay about this episode over on our Substack site! This audio first aired on WLPN 105.5fm in Chicago on January 14, 2022.

On our last episode, Jason Keller relayed his father Neal's memories and hopes for the record store, Let's Boogie Records and Tapes, he opened in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood in 1976. This episode features Jason's own memories as well as his ideas for the future. Open only on Saturdays, Let’s Boogie has no employees. It’s run by Jason with his brother-in-law Phil and a handful of volunteering friends - just Lucinda, Frank, Keri, and Jordon - who all share Jason’s love of the store and find comfort in its ambiance. Ever a family business, Jason’s sister Sarah is in charge of the window displays. It’s not the kind of place where your order is ready before you walk in the door, and it doesn’t offer free Wi-Fi. In fact, Let’s Boogie doesn’t have Wi-Fi at all. And it’s all the better for it. Be sure to check out our accompanying essay about this episode over on our podcast site!