''The L Magazine'' was a free bi-weekly magazine in New York City featuring investigative articles, arts and culture commentary, and event listings. It was available through distribution in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, and

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

History

''The L Magazine'' was created in 2003 by brothers Scott and

Daniel Stedman Daniel Stedman is an American entrepreneur and multi-award-winning short film, film film director, director, film producer, producer and screenwriter, writer and publisher. Stedman is the founder of Pressto. Stedman was the owner and president o ...

and editor Jonny Diamond in Dumbo, Brooklyn. The brothers named it for the L train, a subway line that connects Brooklyn to Manhattan. It ceased publication in July 2015, with resources shifted to sister publication ''

Brooklyn Magazine ''Brooklyn Magazine'' is an online news magazine, focusing on "New York’s most populous borough through the lens of culture, community, commerce, arts and leisure." The company was bought by Michael Bassik and the website was launched in Decembe ...

''.

The Boxing Match

''The L's'' launch coincided with that of ''

New York Sports Express The ''New York Sports Express'', sometimes abbreviated ''NYSX'', was a free publication distributed from April 2003 to July 2004 as a sister paper to the ''New York Press''. The New York City, USA publication was designed to take an entertaining l ...

'', an offshoot of

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...

. The distribution boxes used by ''Express'' and ''The L'' looked very similar; both were bright orange, and they were the same shape and color. While most likely a coincidence, ''Express'' editor-in-chief

Jeff Koyen Jeff Koyen is an American journalist, editor, entrepreneur and investor. In 2017, Koyen was honored by the " Society of Professional Journalists"' Deadline Club and the ''Society of American Business Editors and Writers'' for his investigation in ...

decided to print a series of barbs against Scott Stedman, The L's publisher. Stedman responded with a full-sized ad in ''The L'' challenging Koyen to a boxing match. On October 25, Koyen and Stedman boxed at

Gleason's Gym Gleason's is a boxing gym located on the Brooklyn waterfront. The gym was founded by Peter Gagliardi, a former bantamweight, who changed his name to Bobby Gleason. It moved to Manhattan and then to Brooklyn. Gleason's is now owned by Bruce Silve ...

in Dumbo, Brooklyn to settle the score. The match ended in a draw, and no re-match was re-scheduled. The boxing match was re-created on the TV show

Bored to Death ''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, Ne ...

. Jonathan Ames claims in his blog that the season finale was based on this match.

Events

In 2005, ''The L Magazine'' launched Summer Screen, a free weekly film series in Brooklyn's

McCarren Park McCarren Park is a public park in Brooklyn, New York City. It is located on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint and is bordered by Nassau Avenue, Bayard Street, Lorimer Street and North 12th Street. The park contains facilities for recrea ...

. In 2009, ''The L Magazine'' launched the Northside Music Festival. Headliners included indie rock acts

Cymbals Eat Guitars Cymbals Eat Guitars were an indie rock band from Staten Island, New York,The Dodos The Dodos are an American indie rock band consisting of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber. History The Dodos began playing music together in 2005, when musician Meric Long, who had been gigging steadily in San Francisco as a solo singer-songwriter, ...

Screaming Females Screaming Females is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey comprising Marissa Paternoster on guitar and vocals, Jarrett Dougherty on drums, and Mike Abbate on bass. They released their debut album ''Baby Teeth'' in 2006. The band h ...

, and

Real Estate (band) Real Estate is an American indie rock band from Ridgewood, New Jersey, United States, formed in 2008. The band is currently based in Brooklyn, New York, and consists of Martin Courtney (vocals, guitar), Alex Bleeker (bass, vocals), Matt Kallman ...

. In 2010, The L Magazine hosted the second Northside Festival, featuring performances by

Polvo Polvo is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band formed in 1990 and is fronted by guitarists/vocalists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, with Steve Popson playing bass guitar and Brian Quast playing drums. Eddie Watkin ...

Liars (band) Liars is an Australian-American experimental rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2000. Angus Andrew is the founding and only constant member of Liars, currently joined by multi-instrumentalist Cameron Deyell and drummer Laurence Pike. Aar ...

, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, and

The Fiery Furnaces The Fiery Furnaces are an American indie rock band, formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York.. - ''In 2000 they moved Brooklyn... and began playing as the Fiery Furnaces late in the year''. - Allmusic The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor ...

. The festival also hosted the films Feast of Stephen by

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Ma ...

and Life During Wartime by

Todd Solondz Todd Solondz (; born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle class America ...

Awards

In November 2010, The L Magazine art critic

Paddy Johnson Paddy Johnson is a New York-based art critic, blogger, curator and writer. Johnson is the founder and editor of the art blog Art F City (formerly called Art Fag City). Art F City publishes an annual calendar titled "Nude Artists as Pandas," featu ...

was nominated for Art Critic of the Year in the Rob Pruitt Art Awards

Sources

External links

*{{official website, http://www.thelmagazine.com Biweekly magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Free magazines Listings magazines Magazines established in 2003 Magazines disestablished in 2015 Magazines published in New York City Visual arts magazines published in the United States