Nicolas "Nico" Heller, better known as "New York Nico", is an American documentary film director, and
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
personality known for his
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
account @newyorknico. Nicknamed the "Unofficial Talent Scout of New York",
Heller uses his platform to share photos, videos and stories showcasing life in New York City.
Early life and career
Nico is the son of
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
Steven Heller and graphic designer
Louise Fili
Louise Fili (born April 12, 1951) is an American graphic designer recognized for use of typography and quality design. Her work often draws on inspiration from her love of Italy, Modernism, and European Art Deco styles. Considered a leader in t ...
. He grew up in New York City and attended The
Little Red School House
The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, also referred to as LREI, is a school in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 as the Little Red School House and is one of the city's first progressive s ...
and Elisabeth Irwin High School. He obtained a degree in film from
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
and has gone on to create
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s,
commercials
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
, documentaries, and more under his
production company
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...
, Heller Films. He first garnered attention for finding and recording offbeat New Yorkers.
Heller Films' ordinary operation was put on pause during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, and subsequent lockdown in New York City. During this time, Heller held a contest for ''Best New York Accent.'' New Yorkers in quarantine sent him video clips of their accents. The resulting videos went viral, and the project was picked up by mainstream media including
''The'' ''New York Times'' and ''
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
.''
Heller used the New York-themed contest platform to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.
Small businesses are highlighted regularly on his social media channel to bring awareness to their fight to stay in business during the economic challenges of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, including Astor Place Hairstylists,
Ray's Candy Store
Ray's Candy Store is a deli at 113 Avenue A in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The store has been in business since 1974.
It is operated by Ray Alvarez and serves an eclectic mix of foods, including egg creams, sof ...
, Army & Navy Bags,
Veselka
Veselka is a Ukrainian restaurant at 144 Second Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1954 by Wolodymyr Darmochwal ( Ukr. Володимир Дармохвал) and his wife, Olha Darmoch ...
and more.
Personal life
Heller lives in Brooklyn.
MTA collaboration
In November 2020, Heller announced a venture with
MTA to enlist celebrities and notable New Yorkers to record public messages for use in the New York City subway.
As of Spring 2020, messages have been recorded by:
*
Cam'ron
Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...
*
Fran Lebowitz
Frances Ann Lebowitz (; born October 27, 1950) is an American author, public speaker, and occasional actor. She is known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York City sensibilities and her association ...
*
Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
*
Young M.A
Katorah Kasanova Marrero (born April 3, 1992), better known by her stage name Young M.A (acronym for Young Me. Always), is an American rapper. She first gained widespread recognition with the release of the quadruple-platinum hit single " Ooouuu ...
.
*
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...
*
Edie Falco
Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...
*
Bowen Yang
Bowen Yang ( zh, link=no, 楊伯文; born November 6, 1990) is an Australian-born American actor, comedian, podcaster, and writer based in New York City. He co-hosts a comedy pop-culture podcast, '' Las Culturistas,'' with Matt Rogers. Since Sep ...
*
Awkwafina
Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian who rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ran ...
*
Angie Martinez
Angela Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, rapper, singer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York" during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT), she left that position in 2014 to join ...
*
Bob the Drag Queen
Christopher D. Caldwell, better known as Bob the Drag Queen and Caldwell Tidicue, is an American drag queen, comedian, actor, activist, musician, and reality television personality. He is best known for winning the eighth season of ''RuPaul's D ...
*
Debi Mazar
Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), ''Little Man Tate'' (1991) and ''Si ...
*
Michael Rapaport
Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include ''True Romance'' (1993), ''Higher Learning' ...
*
Jadakiss
Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with Bad ...
*
DesusNice
*
The Kid Mero
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
*
MaliibuMitch
*
Dave East
David Lawrence Brewster Jr. (born June 3, 1988), better known by his stage name Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 from his eighth mixtape, ''Black Rose''. Its release garnered the attent ...
*
FivioForeign
*
Pat Kiernan
*
Angela Yee
Angela Yee (born January 3, 1976) is an American radio personality. She hosted the nationally syndicated morning show ''The Breakfast Club'' along with DJ Envy and Charlamagne tha God. She is on the Board of Governors of the We Are Family Fou ...
*
Peter Rosenberg
Peter Elliot Rosenberg (born July 23, 1979)Chris Richards''Washington Post'', May 31, 2013. is an American radio disc jockey, television show host, and professional wrestling personality, who is signed to WWE where he is a one-time WWE 24/7 Ch ...
*
Ilana Glazer
Ilana Glazer (born April 12, 1987) is an American comedian, director, producer, writer, and actress. She co-created and co-starred, with Abbi Jacobson, in the Comedy Central series ''Broad City'', which is based on the web series of the same name ...
*
Michael Kay
*
Eric Andre
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
*
Abbi Jacobson
Abbi Jacobson is an American comedian, writer, actress, illustrator and producer. She co-created and co-starred in the Comedy Central series ''Broad City'' (2014–2019) with Ilana Glazer, based on the web series of the same name. Her ...
See also
*
Green Lady of Brooklyn
External links
How Does a New Yorker Talk?Anti-LGBTQ street preacher drowned out with saxophones on New York streetThe Big-Hearted Influence of @NewYorkNico
* ttps://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/nicolas-heller-and-mel-ottenberg-on-love-and-dating-club-mel @NewYorkNico and @Melzy917 on #NewYorkNiConnections and Dating
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Nicolas
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Mass media people from New York City
21st-century American artists