A Message from Nik Sokol, CR Resident Geologist

        October 13, 2020

A Message from Nik Sokol, CR Resident Geologist

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**Last week, City Reliquary Founder Dave Herman told me that my sister Marienka had just become the 100th sustaining member of the City Reliquary. A great coincidence, but I wasn't surprised that she had stepped up to support the City Reliquary. Like me, she treasures the City Reliquary's enduring mission to preserve the spirit of an ever-changing New York City. Our great grandparents Rose and Josef Kratina arrived in New York in 1907. Our grandmother Lydia was born just after they arrived (apparently almost on the boat!). They were a family of artists, and Josef, having spent several years as Rodin's lead apprentice, was seeking to make a name for himself in the United States. **  

**The Kratinas struggled but were resilient, like so many other families of that time. But also like the City Reliquary of today. The story of the City Reliquary's 18-year history, as an unlikely Williamsburgh storefront institution, has many parallels with the stories of the immigrant artist. The realization of a dream in Brooklyn. To share openly with the community and enhance the daily life of the passersby. And the inevitable reliance on patrons to pay rent.**

**About 100 years after my family came to Brooklyn, the City Reliquary opened up the storefront museum - a small museum the likes of which New York had never seen. A museum with a mission as much about contributing to the community of today as it is about displaying gimcracks and tchotchkes of the New York City we all treasure and love. Not only is the City Reliquary where I learned about the history of seltzer, Little Egypt and just how many layers of paint a subway station could have… it is where I met Charlene Mitchell, the first African-American woman to run for the President of the United States, where I created the only known display of rocks and minerals from the World Trade Center and 2nd Ave Subway excavations and, most importantly, the City Reliquary is where I discovered how deeply a group of like-minded folks can positively impact a community.**  

**Please join me and my family in helping to preserve the cultural landscape of New York City by becoming a sustaining member of the City Reliquary Museum and Civic Organization. For just $10 a month…a few cups of coffee, you can help maintain a true gem of New York. And if you ever want to talk about the geology of New York, meet me at the Reliquary!**
**Nik Sokol**
**Resident Geologist Emeritus, The City Reliquary**

Now, by popular demand, new sustaining members can choose to make contributions above to $10 per month level. Existing members can also increase their monthly contribution. In honor of Nik Sokol's long standing support of the City Reliquary, we are introducing new tiered levels of membership:

<a href="https://withfriends.co/cityreliquary/join?utm_campaign=wf-newsletter" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #007C89;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">$10/mo. Manhattan Schist<br/> $20/mo. Staten Island Serpentinite<br/> $30/mo. Ravenswood Granodiorite<br/> $50/mo. Rosendale Dolomite </a>

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