The National Endowment of the Arts is currently sponsoring a series of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" happenings on Staten Island, as part of The Big Read, an initiative to revitalize literary reading through a community discussion of a single work. Watch Staten Islanders read some Mark Twain.

WNYC's Know Your Neighbor video series tells the stories of New Yorkers living their lives in their own unique ways. From Bed-Stuy to the South Bronx to an encampment in Zuccotti Park, meet some of the most memorable neighbors we profiled in 2011.

Every night at Zuccotti Park, dinner is served around 7 P.M. What protesters may not realize is that their meals are made from fresh, organic produce donated by a dozen or so small farms located throughout the Northeast. Watch a video of how OWS meals are made here.

Ten years ago, Vlad Teichberg was a derivatives trader on Wall Street. Today, he is one of many protesters who have set up camp downtown to demonstrate against Wall Street and all it stands for. 

As world leaders gather this week for the 66th United Nations General Assembly, some may not realize that they're meeting at a massive construction site. WNYC took a behind-the-scenes tour of the headquarters under construction.

Eric Leinung was 12 years old when his older brother, Paul, went into work at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Paul didn't make it out. And things at home turned ugly.

Unlike most tweens, James Black thrives on long stretches of concentration and problem-solving. Watch a video of the Bed-Stuy 12-year-old who is fast becoming the best young chess player in the country.

A lot of people travel for work. But for Bronx resident Lucia Martinez, that means flying back and forth to Mexico every single week. Her mission: To shuttle gifts between Mexican immigrants in New York to their family back home. "Some people come over to New York without having any family here," says twenty-one-year-old Martinez. "So these packages help them feel less lonely."

Playwright Ed Schmidt takes the low-maintenance of the one-man show to the highest level. He cuts out all middlemen and performs his plays himself right out of his own living room. Watch a video of Schmidt in the latest episode of WNYC's Know Your Neighbor series here.

If you want a dose of Main Street U.S.A. right here in New York City, look no further than Roosevelt Island. What you'll find on this 40-block-long strip of land in the East River is a journalist named Dick Lutz and a team of volunteers who put out a free local newspaper and make it their mission to deliver it to every door on the island.

A couple of years ago, John Parker decided to build an incubator in his home to start making tempeh from scratch. Since then, it has turned into a vocation. Meet this fermentation fanatic in Bushwick, Brooklyn, as he creates his latest batch of soybean cakes.

Mike Monroe dreams of being a professional wrestler. For now, the 28-year-old is living in a shelter for homeless veterans in Long Island City, Queens.

Last-minute holiday shoppers, let the story of Judee Rosenbaum in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, inspire you to change your ways. Each January, she begins collecting a year's worth of finds for family and friends, precisely chosen items that she trusts the recipient will love. "I collect everywhere I go," says Rosenbaum. 

Artist Jason Polan wants to draw every person in New York—literally every person in New York—so he started a project to document his efforts. To see Polan in action, we invited him to WNYC to sketch behind-the-scenes. 

For nearly 20 years, Claudia Gonson has enjoyed a celebrated career performing with the pop band The Magnetic Fields. These days, Gonson's taken on a wildly ambitious side project: single motherhood.

When you think of Flatbush, Brooklyn, you might not necessarily think of greenery, flowers and groomed tree pits. But a group of ladies on E. 25th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D think otherwise.

Meet Detective Ahmed Nasser, a Yemeni immigrant who has tried to make post-9/11 life easier for Muslim New Yorkers.

These days, if you're down around the site of the planned Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, you might find a few protesters. But mostly you'll find a New York neighborhood going about its usual business.