Eliot Armand Glenn

Freelance writer and cultural commentator; MPA candidate, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

In response to vicious hate crimes against LGBT New Yorkers, City Council Speaker and mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn is sponsoring an insulting series of classes in "street smarts" and self-defense. As a policy response to these tragedies, Quinn's offer is inadequate and inappropriate.

Corinna Clendenen

Writer of novels, film reviews, and essays on contemporary culture

Gripping the suspended bar, he vaults off the platform and flies into the air, pumping higher with each sweep.

Steven Suskin

Drama critic

Errors -- of identification, understanding and more -- abound in the Public Theater's current Shakespeare in the Park offering, The Comedy of Errors.

Rev. Al Sharpton

President, National Action Network

Nobody should be denied the right to vote, or face additional hurdles because of a strategic method to disenfranchise them. Just as no one should be racially profiled, no one should be racially blocked from the voting booth.

Joel L. Watts

Scholar, Author, and Blogger

Chris Christie, in case you haven't noticed, is a contender for the Republican nomination in 2016. Hillary Clinton is the presumed front-runner for the Democrat nomination of the same year. Maybe I am thinking wistfully here, but here is the scenario I would like to see play out.

Mark O'Connell, L.C.S.W.

Psychotherapist in private practice

What if Cinderella attended the wrong ball? What if Cinderella were a 4-year-old boy named Jake whose parents desperately want him to get into an elite private school? These are among the questions raised by the new play A Kid Like Jake.

Robert West

Social worker; board member, Harlem Pride

Of course, the events that are celebrations will receive the greatest visibility, especially if they seem to reinforce the public's notions of who we are, but there are deeper sentiments that need to be expressed about Pride and what it means to us.

MiniTime

www.minitime.com

For visiting families with teens, bike-share programs offer a fun, affordable way to explore part of city. Don't want to deal with traffic? There are plenty of bike stations near parks and other car-free areas. Here's the lowdown on some of the biggest bike-share programs in the country.

Joe Satran

Staff Writer

Los Angeles's restaurants excite me more than those in New York -- or any other city in this country, for that matter.

Dan Garodnick

New York City Councilman

Live entertainment and sports are important economic engines in New York thanks largely to the support of loyal fans. The least that state law -- and the performers themselves -- can do is make sure that these fans are treated fairly.

David Willey

Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, 'Runner’s World' magazine; General Manager, Rodale’s Active Living Group

Boston is an intensely personal story for us, too. There were more than a dozen Runner's World and Running Times staffers and freelancers near the finish line when the bombs went off. Four editors were running the race.

Daddy-O

Hip-hop historian, music technologist, founder of Stetsasonic

There is no political correctness in my rant. Just facts. Without diversity, there is no hip-hop, even if you choose to call it that. Hip-hop is not a reality TV show. Hip-hop is not a pair of pants sagging. Hip-hop has founders, innovation, and purpose.

Aaron Ricciardi

Playwright, lyricist and actor

We live in a world where if one little thing rubs you the wrong way about someone you're dating, you can get on your device and shop for someone else. People are so busy running from person to person that no one's holding still long enough to see whether they actually like who's in front of them.

Claudia Zelevansky

Writer, director, educator & arts consultant

The city in the summer is a special case. If you have ever spent more than 30 seconds on a subway platform during rush hour in August, you will know of what I speak.

Nancy Ruhling

Author, 'Astoria Characters'

Gold-hearted, bold and bodacious, Crystal is a warrior woman who wears her punked Medusa curls like a victory crown. So powerful is her will to do good that it puts the sun into permanent shade.

Harris Silver

Founder, Citystreets

While the achievements of the Bloomberg administration are remarkable, congestion pricing was a setback. Despite anyone's issue with the failed plan, the funding mechanism for mass transit that was built into it was unassailable. The need for additional funding sources for the MTA hasn't changed.

Alan Singer

Social studies educator, Hofstra University

It is still early in the campaign for New York City mayor, primary is not scheduled until in September 10, 2013, but the candidates are already pandering to ethnic and religious blocs as they maneuver to scoop up as many votes as possible.