‘Miscellany’ Archives
A Community Gathering Place for Two Decades
By MIDTOWN GLOBAL MARKET For nearly 20 years, Mapps Coffee & Tea has been the cozy heartbeat of Midtown Global Market, a place where a simple cup becomes connection, conversation, and community. Founded in 2004 by Turkish couple Erdogan and Yildiz Akguc, Mapps began as a family-run coffee and tea shop rooted in hospitality and world-class brews. Long before the Market opened in 2006, the Akgucs were perfecting coffee roasting and cultivating a space where people from all walks of life could gather, linger, and belong. As an original founding vendor of Midtown Global Market, Mapps brings ethical, sustainable, direct-trade coffee beans to every cup and serves as one of the Market’s most welcoming social hubs. Whether it’s a rich espresso to start the day, a comforting chai, or conversation over a freshly roasted bag of beans, the shop has been a daily stop for neighbors, visitors, and entrepreneurs alike. For two decades, Mapps Coffee & Tea has shown [...]
David and Goliath
Coalition of Organizations Expose Human Rights Conditions in the US on the Global Stage By WORLD WITHOUT GENOCIDE In a modern-day David and Goliath story, a coalition of national non-profit organizations, led by World Without Genocide, has stepped onto the global stage to excoriate the United States over its human rights abuses. Coalitions submitted two reports to the United Nations Human Rights Council exposing systemic failures that undermine the rights and dignity of people across the nation. This move comes as part of the Universal Periodic Review, a process in which each UN member state is examined every 4.5 years for its human rights practices. Like David facing Goliath, the coalition has exposed the United States, an all-powerful adversary, and provided critical information to members of the Human Rights Council who will conduct its human rights review of the US in November 2026. Coalition members will travel to UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to stand [...]
