Meet NYC's Five-Cent Pastor!
Plus! A memorable hairdo!! Links for nosy-bodies!!!
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Issue #178 of CAFÉ ANNE!
So last week’s issue, in which I profiled photographer Rob Stephenson, prompted many comments from readers sharing their love for The Neighborhoods, his newsletter recounting his effort to profile all 300+ neighborhoods in NYC.
“Rob’s Substack is one of the best ever!” wrote the mysterious New York Cartoons Assistant (out yourself, please, NYCA!). “I love how much work goes into every post.”
“Rob's work makes me want to pay closer attention to my own world,” wrote Drew in Oregon.
The top comment was from Mr. Stephenson himself who wrote, “It's probably the most I've ever spoken about myself, and I'm still recovering, but it was a blast!”
If you haven’t subscribed to The Neighborhoods yet, I am rolling my eyes. Do it!
In other news, last week, Dominique Afakan’s Nesting newsletter ran a Q&A with me about my apartment, which you may enjoy if you are feeling very nosy. Laura Fenton’s Living Small newsletter, meanwhile, included me in a round-up about ladies who never change their clothes.
And finally, huge I-Just-Paid-$5-For-a-Diet-Coke-From-the-Cart-at-42nd-and-6th-Ave. shoutouts to our newest paid subscribers Meg C., Brittany K., Zed A., Peter D., and Kristin D. That’s enough $$$ for 50 more Midtown sodas!
I am very excited for this week’s issue, of course. We’ve got two (2) Q&A-style interviews: the first with Zaiden Fleming, a Bronx fellow with a memorable hairdo, the second with Gregory Fryer, a Manhattan pastor offering spiritual help from a booth on the street. Please enjoy.
Regards!
Anne
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FASHION CORNER
Don’t Steal ZayTheGay’s Hairdo!
When I toured the USS Intrepid recently, the most interesting thing I saw aboard the WW2 aircraft carrier was not the fleet of fighter jets on the deck or even the Space Shuttle Enterprise parked inside. No, it was a hairdo.
Specifically, the style sported by Zaiden Fleming, the young man posted near the exit selling photo packages to tourists. In a city where I've seen everything twice, I'd never seen anything like it.
Normally it's rude to ask a stranger about their style, but this hairdo was screaming, "Ask me anything!" And sure enough, Mr. Fleming, who goes by the nickname ZayTheGay, was happy to chat. Of course, he was also busy working, so I snapped his photo and we agreed to talk later on the phone.
When I rang, I learned that Mr. Fleming is 22, lives in the Bronx and attended FIT where he studied advertising, marketing and interior design before dropping out. He's been working aboard the Intrepid since April.
Here, a condensed transcript of our talk, along with additional photos furnished by Mr. Fleming.
How do you describe your hairstyle?
An Afro mullet is what I call it. I see lots of people nowadays wearing mullets. Some of them are really long, some are just starting their mullet journey. But it’s typically people with thinner hair—white people or Latinos. I was curious to see how something like that would look on someone with my ancestry. And it worked out, because every single day when I go out, I receive compliments. Every single day!
What do people say?
I get the most compliments from older adults. A lot of older black folk say I remind them of Michael Jackson—something from back when they were growing up. At work, it's a lot of, "I dig your hair."
It's just so funny, the amount of people who are wowed by my hair. I know it's common for people with big Afros. My hair's not that big. But people are still amazed by it, and I appreciate it.
I think part of it is that we all want to talk to each other. And when you have a really outlandish look, it's kind of an invitation.
I'm a Leo. I love the attention. I love being a unique person. I never try to play the victim or be upset about it. I know what my appearance invites.
I'm trying to work on my brand image. I want to stand out somehow, because one of my goals in life is to be in the public eye. And I know part of that is crafting your own image. There's also the talent, of course, but you need to be marketable in some way that catches people's eyes.
What if other people start stealing your look?
I have definitely worried or wondered about that. But as long as the people who are stealing my look are not trying to branch out into entertainment—if it's ordinary folks who are inspired—sure. But there will be competition if two people who look alike are trying to be a brand-new artist, famous, whatever the case may be.
I'm waiting for finances, to have my own space, to have my own time to create. And part of it is just slowly working on own brand image so I can get great opportunities—like this one, for example.
What kind of artist are you?
I grew up listening to rap and R&B—artists that inspire me, like Beyoncé. So right now, what I'm trying to do is work on my branding mission physically—with my fashion style and my hair.
Before I got this job, went to college and dropped out, I was using TikTok. It was new and growing. Long story short, I amassed about 100,000 followers on the platform within a couple of months. And then somehow I got banned. But what started it was the fashion.
Okay. But so people my age will understand what you do, would you say you're a performer, or...
I would say I will not give myself that credit right now. I'm planning on writing, because it has to start with song craft.
So first the look, and then the music.
Exactly! Because I have plenty of interests outside of just music.
When did you get this hair style, and how long do you think you'll keep it?
I actually plan on growing out the back far longer. I've seen people upstate who grow their mullets really long, and it's a cool, rock star-ish look. Imagine if I had mullet as long as a redneck's, but with my hair texture.
When people think of certain celebrities, sometimes it's about a very specific image. Like Ice Spice with her curly orange hair, for example. So I'm thinking forward in terms of my brand identity.
I got started around my 18th birthday. It looked more like a starter mullet, which you see a lot on Gen-Z nowadays. And my hair was curly.
I got some compliments back then. But I think picking out the front is when it really started to separate what I was originally trying to do with how it is nowadays. It's a big transformation in terms of how people look it. An Afro—the natural beauty of it amazes you.
So you really have been on a mullet journey!
I have! And that is still going on, as you can see.
FIRST AID CORNER
The Five-Cent Pastor Is In!
Call him the Lutheran Lucy van Pelt. Every Tuesday morning, the Rev. Gregory Fryer sets up a bright yellow booth outside his church at the busy corner of East 88th Street and Lexington Avenue. His tongue-in-cheek offer, inspired by the Peanuts comic strip: "SPIRITUAL HELP 5¢".
Pastor Gregory, as his parishioners know him, has been serving at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Manhattan since 1991. "So I've been here a long time, but it's easier to meet people on the sidewalk," he says.
Last week I sat with Pastor Gregory for an hour in his booth. A man came by curious to learn about the difference between Lutherans and Catholics. An elderly lady sat down to discuss her husband's health. In between, I asked Pastor Gregory about his sidewalk ministry. I’ve edited our conversation for brevity. Please enjoy!
How did this get started?
I had this idea for years before I actually did it. I don't think of myself as a creative guy, but I came up with this idea. The reason I delayed was simply the practicalities of it, of building the booth. Our church sexton did it—he built the booth. So I've been doing it now for, gosh, this is 2025? I bet I have been doing it for five or six years now.
What inspired you?
You know, I love the Peanuts cartoons, and I love Lucy's booth. I just said to myself, "Why, I ought to do a pastor's booth like that.”
New Yorkers could use some prayer or pastoral conversation from time-to-time, so I make myself available. And if they don't need it, then they usually just wave, or give me a thumbs up, or smile, or they might simply put it in the back of their mind that if they need some prayer, they can come back here sometime. It's a ministry of availability. I like making myself available.
It sounds like you look forward to it.
Oh yeah, it's a highlight of my week. I mean, I'm a pastor. I love Jesus. I want other people to know about him. I could stay hidden away in my office, but I'm right here, and people sit down.
New Yorkers walk by with a sense of confidence. Many of them have big jobs, big responsibilities. They walk by with a sense of confidence, but sometimes they sit down at my chair, and they burst into tears. I say, "Now, what is on your heart? Tell me, what are your hopes and dreams, your fears?" And they tell me.
What is spiritual help as opposed to other kinds of help?
I give other kinds of help too! People stop by and they ask, "Can you point me to the subway?" If I see an elderly person struggling to get up the sidewalk, I give them a hand.
The spiritual help has to do with faith. We human beings are people of faith. It's really hard for a human being to think that life is meaningless.
What are the most common concerns people bring up?
Well, sometimes they ask for a prayer about health, either for themselves or their mother or grandfather.
Also, there are questions about relationships—marriages that are struggling, romantic relationships that are struggling. Sometimes a young person will say, "I have a relationship with such-and-such a person, but I have my doubts. I think that one or the other of us has been untrue, or one or the other of us has an explosive temper." They just want a word of advice about carrying on this relationship.
If they're married, I'm a big fan of marriage. I'm a big fan of those vows that we made. My wife and I have been married for 43 years. So I ask them to try again. I ask them to remember the solemn promises they made, and try to adjust their lives to fit with those promises.
You know, the romantic questions are big questions. And I just try to listen. That's a continual prayer for me—that I will listen well and then speak. Listening well is a problem because I can't hear worth a darn! I keep having to ask people to repeat things. But they're patient with me.
Also, there's people's jobs. They walk by with a sense of confidence, but inside some of them are wondering whether they are really up to their jobs, and that's a big deal—to worry about whether or not you can really handle this. They can talk with me. I will keep it confidential. I'm not connected with their employer. They just blurt it out.
What's something that's hard for people to bring up?
I would say it would be uncertainty about their manner of life, uncertainty about whether they're really walking as well as they should be, whether they should be making a change.
Have the conversations changed over the last five years?
They haven't changed. I'm no good at politics. People sense that very quickly. I'm interested in questions of formation of Christian character. And those are abiding questions.
Has being out here changed you?
Yes, it has changed me. I look at everyone who passes, every passerby. I look at them and try to imagine their life. I try to look at them with sympathy and compassion and admiration.
When you look at your neighbors and you see them differently, when you see them with more compassion, more mercy, more admiration, then it leads you to be a bit more patient and not quite so critical.
You must get into some strange conversations. I mean, anyone can walk up to you and talk!
The conversations vary in how serious they are. I remember a young woman sat down and said, "What is the soul?" That's kind of a challenging question. Some of the questions are much easier: "How do I get to the Guggenheim?"
The conversations that especially interest me are with atheists who sit down and, in a way, what they want to do is to explore their faith. I've had atheists get up, shake my hand and say, "Well, you've given me something to think about." And I try to be gentle, that's my goal—try to be gentle with somebody who is exploring his or her faith. I would say that the conversations with atheists are the most difficult and, in a way, the most fun.
Do people ever talk to you just because they're bored or lonely?
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Sometimes they get up and they say, "I just needed somebody to talk with, somebody who would listen.” Which is amazing in a town with a million people, and the sidewalks are so crowded.
Do you get more ladies or fellows, young or old?
There are a great variety of humans here in New York City, and a great variety of people sit down here. Older people have the advantage in that they're old enough to remember the Peanuts cartoon.
The young people don't know Peanuts?!?!
Sometimes they look just kind of befuddled, and they might stop just because they're curious. It's pretty sad, isn't it?
So why aren't more people doing this? There should be a booth on every corner.
I'm thinking of doing a video about this to recommend it to other clergy across the land. Sometimes people stop by and they say, "I'm going to encourage my pastor or my rabbi to set up a booth like this," and I wish they would. So far, I think I'm the only one that I know of.
I would love to do what you're doing. First, it'd be nice to help people. But second, it'd be really fun to meet people and hear their stories. And the third reason is because I like attention. Do the second two resonate with you?
Yes, they do. All three of those! I mean, it's fun to sit here and have people take my photograph. Sometimes they bring me a coffee or a muffin. Yeah, I get some attention!
What is one thing you wish everyone would ask you?
I'm a Christian priest. So what I'm always hoping is that somebody will sit down and say, "Tell me about Jesus." That would be the most fun thing.
And what is one thing you wish you could tell everybody?
That this world is better than it looks. It has a better future. And it's worth being as good as we can be, because that's what Jesus wants for us!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“How do you come up with the right questions when all you have are answers?”
—Phil Kadet Jr.
CAFÉ ANNE is a free weekly newsletter created by Brooklyn journalist Anne Kadet. Subscribe to get the latest issue every Monday.
Reverend Fryer looks a lot like Ed Begley. I had to do a double take in that first picture.
Given that one of my goals in life is to be out of the public eye, I guess it’s a good thing I am unable to grow a mullet. Would love to hear a conversation between Zay and Reverend Fryer.