Friday, October 30, 2026
For years, Long Beach resident Darren Paltrowitz has pursued his mission to create and explore the unknown while highlighting the Five Towns and surrounding communities. Now, he is bringing that experience to the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library.
Paltrowitz, 44, became interested in entertainment journalism at 16, writing for Long Island Entertainment. Under his mentor, John Blenn, Paltrowitz took on interviews, concert and album reviews, comedy coverage and other entertainment stories while building relationships in the industry.
In 2018, Paltrowitz launched his podcast, “Paltrocast,” a mix of lowbrow and highbrow subjects, ranging from professional wrestling and mixed martial arts to music and history.
“Sometimes it’s talking smart about stupid things, and sometimes it’s talking stupid about smart things,” Paltrowitz said. “When I interviewed Neil DeGrasse Tyson, I got him to talk about music because I would not be able to hold a conversation about astronomy.”
When the coronavirus struck, Paltrowitz dove deeper into Paltrocast. What was once streamed to a handful of platforms has exploded to more than 200 television and over-the-top platforms, which include streaming services and on-demand outlets. His past guests have included Ace Frehley and Sam Acho, among others.
Conversations with celebrities, Paltrowitz said, have often led him back to local roots. When Paltrowitz interviewed Albert Hammond Jr. from the band “The Strokes,” he said, Hammond Jr.’s wife was a Nanni in Long Beach.
“You just find that all these people have been to Long Beach,” he said. “But it’s just not widely known.”
In December 2025, Paltrowitz joined the library as a part-time librarian, before moving to full-time in February 2026. He now spearheads Hewlett-Woodmere’s Emerging Adults Department, which creates programming for patrons ages 18 to 30 who have aged out of younger-adult programs but want to remain involved — while furthering the library’s vision to cultivate informative programming for all its patrons.
Michelle Young, the library’s director, said Paltrowitz will often pitch ideas to her in a collaborative effort. One example, she said, was the “Long Island’s Gridiron History Event,” a deep dive into local football heroes and even football stadiums in the area, which the library anticipates will occur in February 2027.
“With the emerging adults, we’ve been looking at different kinds of programming in subject areas and areas in general that we have really not explored,” Young said. “One of the areas that we’ve wanted to expand on is looking at sports more.”
On Oct. 23, the library hosted Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Tracy Bonham — one of Paltrowitz’s connections from his time in the entertainment industry. For her, Bonham said the library gave her, and patrons, the opportunity to try something new.
“I wanted to give them something different that they have never seen before,” Bonham said. “I wanted them to have an experience of a performer who is willing to be vulnerable on stage and leave feeling like they learned something new about themselves.”
Becoming a librarian allows Paltrowitz to further his mission, he said.
“It’s about connecting the dots and helping people explore the unknown,” he said.
