New York Holidays - Stories

Left to give out candy in his penthouse apartment, Seth can't even go trick-or-treating this year. Making the best of it, he dresses up as an obscure Star Trek character that no one will recognize. Asher has become a bit of a loner since starting high school. With no parties to go to, he dresses up and goes trick-or-treating in New York City high-rise. A passionate fan of the Star Trek series, he comes to a certain penthouse and is greeted by a boy dressed as Captain Kirk's son. 5 hours later, several bags of candy consumed and every possible Star Trek topic discussed, he was no longer alone.

Asher and Seth, two teens in New York City, just met on Halloween, but already they've discovered a shared passion for Star Trek and Classical Jazz. When they discover that neither has a place to go for Thanksgiving, they decide to create a traditional Thanksgiving feast together for themselves and some friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Asher and Seth are on a mission to save two younger boys with a troubled past. Kyle is not quite 10 and a genius. He knows he's gay, but has very troubling thoughts about the future. Freck is a freckle-faced boy, not quite 12, a gay high school sophomore with a history of drug use and a suicide attempt. Can Asher and Seth help both boys and give Kyle the greatest gift of all for Chanukah, the gift of love?

Asher and Seth are two young teens living in New York City who have recently become boyfriends. Thanks to their efforts, Kyle and Francis (Freck) have take their first steps together as a couple, but they face many obstacles because they are preteen prodigies and because of a troubled past. Both young boys come from backgrounds of affluence, yet neither has experienced the love of family. Many storms await all four boys in their explorations of love, including a record Christmas blizzard. Can love be their salvation?

Four boys who attend one of New York City's elite specialty public high schools face a unique set of challenges as the year draws to a close. Faced with a lost bet, Asher and Seth have agreed to spend a New Year's Eve together that neither will ever forget, and they've talked their friend, Freck, into hosting a party for the special occasion. In the meantime, Kyle's father makes a surprise offer that will help solidify his burgeoning relationship with Freck. As they count down the final seconds and sing Auld Lang Syne, the four boys will find that their lives have been changed forever.

Like the namesake movie released in 2000, which is set in LA, What's Cooking (in NYC) explores the lives of four families as they make preparations for the Thanksgiving holiday. As with the movie, there is much unexpected drama, but with the added wrinkle that all four families, who are well-known to NYC Holidays readers, are waiting for loved ones to arrive on the same flight from California. When a glitch in Air Traffic Control occurs, anything can happen.

Freck and Kyle are both seniors and they’re out and proud. They’re also protégées, as Kyle just turned eleven and Freck is about to turn thirteen, on the day after Christmas. Kyle wants to get his boyfriend something special, but the watch Freck likes is way out of Kyle’s price range. Maybe with help from friends and family, and with a lot of self-sacrifice, he can swing it, but they’ll both learn the greatest gift is one they already share - the love of family.

Last spring, Jeff was reunited with his long lost love, whom he last saw nearly fifty years ago, when they were both in their teens. Abandoning a life in California and moving in with Paul in New York City, merging two lifetimes into a 3-bedroom prewar apartment proved to be more difficult than either of them imagined. Things come to a head when they can’t agree on how to renovate the kitchen. Leave it to Paul’s grandson, Seth, to come to the rescue with a surprise plan, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

When Josh and his sisters move from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Manhattan Beach to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, he quickly befriends a group of gay kids that go to Stuyvesant High School, where he's a freshman. His youngest sister, Robin, forges her own relationships with fellow students at the Salk School for Science. In the meantime Freck's mother attempts to make amends. All look forward to the festivals of Passover and Easter, but then a global Pandemic forces a change of plans.

Born with hereditary spastic paraparesis, Simon had spent most of his life in a wheelchair, unable to walk and barely able to use his hands. To his parents, home schooling had seemed to be the only way for Simon to get an education; yet Simon was smart and yearned to be another Stephen Hawking - not to live with his parents until they became to infirm to care for him. He decided to take a chance on applying to the Bronx High School of Science, one of the best public secondary schools in the world. Going to a public high school would be scary, but there'd be new opportunities to live life, and to love.