After thirteen years teaching at the New School, Luis Jaramillo has helped his fair share of students get book deals. Now, with The Doctor’s Wife (Dzank), the Fort Greene, Brooklyn resident, who lives with his boyfriend of eleven years, has released his own. During an interview at his Greenwich Village office, Jaramillo, 37, explained why being in the heart of New York’s publishing community can sometimes be depressing.

JV: Has there been an advantage to being at the center the writing world with your job at the New School?

LJ: Going to publishing events always makes me really depressed because the way the editors talk about books is different than the way the writers talk about books. Editors and agents talk about books purely about how something can be sold. That’s the opposite of how many writers view books. To spend all your time writing something, you have to really like what you’re doing.

The poetic novel is set in the Pacific North-West.  Although it recently became a book of the week on Oprah’s Book Club, it’s not exactly John Grisham or Tom Clancy territory. How did you get it published?

When I first showed the book to my agent he said, “Sometimes writers write things that they only write for themselves.” Of course we want to sell the things we write but it’s hard to write a something that you’re not emotionally vested in. I put this book aside for year. Then my grandmother died and I thought, “Screw it, I’m just going to send this thing out. What’s the difference, who cares?” Basically I sent this book out as a manuscript for the Dzank literary contest in 2010 and totally forgot about it and got a call three months later from Dan Wicket, the editor of Dzank Books. I’d won and they wanted to publish my book. They are a small publisher from Ann Arbor, Michigan known for their experimental fiction.

You started off as a student at the New School and are now the Associate Chair of the writing program. Did you get free tuition?

In a way. While I was doing my MFA at the New School I started working as a receptionist. After the MFA I worked as a secretary and did some teaching. When the Creative Director of the writing program left, I was offered the job which was around 7 years ago.

Name some of the authors who have changed your life.

Abigail Thomas,  Mark Twain, Graham Greene, Tolstoy. Hilton Als and Abigail Thomas were great teachers. I got to know them well. Abi’s advice to me was “Everything can be used” which is a nice way of living in the world as a writer. Hilton’s advice was “write everyday.”

I heard you are also a yoga instructor?

Yes it’s something that runs alongside everything else I do. It helps you live in the world in a mindful way.

What’s your advice to aspiring writers?

Write a book. I teach a novel class and I meet lots of people who want to write a book and a lot of times they think that an idea is all that they need. You really have to put the time and effort into it and then, good luck. Persistence can never be under estimated. My advice is “keep on trying.”

The Urban Park Rangers is back this year, giving New York urbanites the opportunity to take a “trip” the wild.

New York City Parks is holding lotteries to determine which city residents will be allowed to go overnight camping in some of the city parks this summer, and lotteries have begun.

Central Park, The Wilderness - photo by Shamrock2

If you’re interested in spending a night on the wild side and outdoors (NY Press would probably recommend a mosquito net), NYC Parks & Rec is holding drawings online on their site. And don’t worry, according to Newyorkology, the association provides camping tents and food.

Most of the parks up for camping have a 24-hour window, from midnight to midnight on a designated date, for people to register. According to their site, the NYC Parks selects winners randomly via computer.

Among the parks are Fort Greene, Prospect, Marine, Central, Inwood Hill, Wolfe’s Pond, Blue Heron, Pelham Bay, and Van Cortlandt Park, as well as the Alley Pond Adventure Center in Queens.

The times to register for the drawings are posted on the site, and if you or anyone in your family enjoys the outdoors, this is the perfect family (the park calls it a family occasion but kids aren’t required) summer getaway.

Make sure you only submit once per park, though. NYC Parks says you’re automatically disqualified from contention if you submit more than once per household.

–Nick Gallinelli

(by Alissa Fleck)

In the middle of a July night last year, Clara Hayworth was crossing the street in Fort Greene with her husband, when she was fatally struck by a car. The driver was 43-year-old Anthony Webb, who held only a learner’s permit, making his solo drive illegal.

Officers on the scene administered a breathalyzer an hour after the crash, which proved Webb was likely drunk at the time of the accident. From there unfolded a breakdown in the chain of evidence collection.

The breathalyzer results were not admissible as evidence because the device had not been properly calibrated in over four years. The NYPD Accident Investigation Squad (AIS), the only department authorized to investigate fatal crashes, took three days to investigate the case. At that time, a plethora of evidence, including skid marks, surveillance footage and potential witnesses were no longer available.

This past February, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced Webb would not be charged in Hayworth’s death. Two days following this announcement, the City Council held a hearing about the NYPD’s response to serious and fatal crashes. 2,500 people signed a petition asking the police commissioner to change NYPD policies so victims of traffic violence in New York City would receive justice.

Unfortunately there have been many similar incidents in the past year leading up to this hearing. Last October, 30-year-old Brooklyn artist Mathieu Lefevre, was fatally struck in a hit-and-run while biking. Police ultimately made no charges in the case. In the February hearing, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White condemned the AIS for taking photos of the scene on broken cameras and ultimately losing evidence. Lefevre’s mother told Gothamist the NYPD was not forthcoming with information, and she learned through the media there would be no charges in her son’s case.

There have also been no charges filed in the case of Michelle Matson, another Brooklyn cyclist struck recently in a hit-and-run. Matson survived the accident but sustained numerous debilitating injuries, including a broken neck. White reported there was little investigation whatsoever into Matson’s case either, which was ultimately treated as a “fender bender.”

The examples of similar investigative shortcomings in serious NYC crashes seem endless. White calls the failure to properly investigate these cases a disturbing trend. Transportation Alternatives will hold a rally at City Hall on June 11th to raise awareness about the city’s failure to properly examine serious traffic crashes.