Folks, I’d like to reflect on the amazing, whirlwind year that’s coming to a close.  We officially became the New York Peace Institute this year, building upon three decades as a Safe…

I was 10 years old when Star Wars came out, and when Star Trek was on TV in a continuous loop of syndicated reruns.  A common playground topic was which of the two rocked harder, and the debate continues to this day, fueled by schticky banter on youtube between Shatner and Carrie Fisher.

Perhaps in an early display of mediation sensibilities, I embraced both shows, with props to Star Wars…

I took a Latin American politics course in college, and the prof told us, à la Jeff Foxworthy, that if a leader wears sunglasses indoors, he's probably a despot.

Here are some ostensible reasons why some dictators might've rocked the shades:

-- Kim Jong Il, North Korean Dear Leader:  His lady-who-lunches specs added some compensatory bling to…

The world lost a true mensch this week, former Czechoslovak president Vaclav Havel.

Vaclav Havel showed us a world in which one man could be a poet, playwright, protester, political prisoner, peacemaker, and president.  A man who embraced the paradox of dissent and dialogue.  A man who humbly vanquished 50 years of oppression, and then impishly rode his bike through the corridors of…

Folks, enjoy my very first guest blogger, mediation visionary Raymond Shonholtz, founder of Partners for Democratic Change and Community Boards.  Ray based this post on…

I recently joined the board of trustees of the envisioned New York City Peace Museum, alongside amazing folks such as UN Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury.  New York can be a tough town, but we know from peace.  We have to, what with literally living on top of each other, our insanely…

I love Halloween in NYC.  In a town where every day is a parade of style and costumery, folks really amp it up for the 'ween.  (And thus I've become pretty judge-y about costumes.  Enough with the "sexy" everything get-ups for women -- sexy Freddy Kruger doesn't even make sense.  Props to those going for precise verisimilitude or the absolutely outrageous.  Feel free to judge …

My first post-college job was teaching English at a Polish university during the last days of Soviet communism.  When I entered the classroom on the first day, the students stood at attention with a mix of ceremonial deference, existential boredom, and mild derision. (I responded with an awkward, swivel-handed ersatz royal wave.)

It didn't take me long to realize that the…

So this Halloween I'm going as Bob Dylan, c.1966.  (I'm a bit long of tooth to pull off the 20-something songpoet...my attempt at Bono last year was more age-appropriate).  Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home has been rattling around my cranium as I think about working domestically vs…

Folks, have a peek at some images from our Launch Event on October 6th -- at which we celebrated 30 years as a program of Safe Horizon, and embraced our future as the independent New York Peace Institute.  Thanks to all who came out to show your support for our mission to build peace in New York City and Beyond!…

This month's mensch is the shaved-headed, benignly smiling figure you see above.  The one on the right.  In the suit.  Detective Jeff Thompson, NYPD.

Jeff became a mediator with us about five years ago, and his boundless energy, intellectual curiosity, and passion for peace have made him a deservedly recognized figure in our…

(without the part in which management tries to break the back of organized labor or the constant threat of being slammed in the face by an ingot)

My grandfather, Iggie Hoffman, was a crane operator at Bethlehem Steel (the subject of Billy Joel's …

The community mediation field can feel vaguely Benjamin Button-esque -- simultaneously old and young.  While mediation itself has been around in some form since time immemorial, the community mediation movement is only in its 40's.  Which makes us a kid, as far as movements and professions go.  In that sense, maybe we're getting in on the ground floor of the next big thing.

On the…

Well, sort of.  This is my dear friend Kiki T , astrologist (or astrosexologist, as she prefers), who writes relationship-oriented horoscopes for all kinds of publications and was the featured astrologist on the Tyra Banks Show.  With Mercury in Libra, apparently it's a…

In the late '90s, I went to Bulgaria to set up a conflict resolution center for Partners for Democratic Change.  Here are some highlights of the junket:

-- Led Zeppelin was on tour in Eastern Europe, and Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were staying in the same hotel as me.  I spent an awkward hour sitting with them in the lobby. The hotel was…

New York City subways are a mixed blessing.  I'm thankful that I don't need to own a car here, and can get pretty much everywhere by train or bus.  But sometimes the rush hour subway platform feels like a microcosm of condensed urban agida, what with the heat, the crowds, the pushing, and the shoving.  Only very rarely are there tragic acts of subway violence, despite the key ingredients being in…

On October 6th, we'll honor our 30-year history as a program of Safe Horizon and embrace our future as the independent New York Peace Institute.

Please join us, as we celebrate building peace in New York City and beyond!  We're hosting a lovely cocktail…

When my fraud complex kicks in and I question my competence, as I've done in situations like this, I ask myself what I'm really, really good at.

Malcolm Gladwell believes it takes 10,000 hours to become…

Where I grew up in the 'burbs, waitress are preternaturally cheerful. If you're hungry for a side of "honey," "sugar" and "darling" with your burger deluxe, just pop into any suburban diner.  A New York stereotype is the mildly contemptuous and ennui-infused actor/model/musician waiting tables till the next gig, serving up your tofu scramble with a side of snark.

And where I'm from,…

On the 10th anniversary of September 11, we at the New York Peace Institute would like to informally gather conflict resolution professionals to stand in solidarity for peace, and pay our respects to the victims and their loved ones.

The Interfaith Center is hosting a beautiful floating Japanese lantern ceremony at Pier 40, which you can read…