Inwood Coffeehouse

In fond memory of Phyllis on her birthday

On June 1, 2020, the world lost Phyllis Schulman to Covid19. She was my sister by choice for twenty years. Both of us born in Kings County, New York, we together stood as proof that you could take the girl out of Brooklyn but you couldn’t take the Brooklyn out of the girl.

Everyone at Inwood Coffeehouse knew that I loved Phyllis because I would say so when I introduced her to the audience as she was about to perform. When she sang a song, she touched the heart like no other because she was such a pure conduit of the music. She could, as we say, “really put it across.” Her love of the song she’d chosen and her encyclopedic knowledge of the when, where, how, and who of its production made it impossible, really, for her not to “put it across.” Steve and I will honor Phyllis by continuing to perform the songs she loved and by continuing to help preserve the memory of those who wrote them and those who performed them before her.

Another way that we will honor our friend is to continue to strive for justice in America. Phyllis condemned the abuse of power and could not contend with those who displayed bigotry of any sort. She was not shy about naming names and explicit – so explicit! -- describing the retribution she wished upon offenders.

We are thankful that Phyllis passed peacefully, free of mental turmoil and free of physical pain. She will be ever-present in so many of our fondest memories as long as we live. --Lesley

Happy Valentine's Day

"There are lovers, there are friends
And its hard to tell where one begins and the other ends
There are those, the ones like you
Who have somehow found the way to be the two"
--Audy Kimura 1983