W42ST Daily 7/11/2020
It’s been a busy week – what with Fay and fights on Fire Island and getting my first pedicure in months.
So in case you missed what we’ve been talking about this week, here’s a flashback of the last seven days in W42ST.
Elizabeth Durand Streisand told the story of how her Broadway business went dark overnight. After tears, tantrums, and pumping breast milk in an empty office, she moved across the country and pivoted. This is how she did it.
I figured now was as good a time as any to explore this city we call home – while all the tourists are gone. These are my top picks for weekend fun, as the attractions start to open up again. Governors Island – I see you!
Phil went back in time – way back – to the days when the Gophers gang ran Hell’s Kitchen and abattoirs spilled blood into the streets.
He also dug deep into the records of who received PPP money. Here’s the rundown of who got what – $572m in total in Hell’s Kitchen. But is it enough?
And as reports of violence, harassment, and drug deals soar in the neighborhood – some of it a result of homeless shelters moving into hotels – I spoke to one neighborhood activist who’s working to find a solution.
NEW YORK STORIES
Who moves apartment in the middle of a pandemic? Amid job losses and furloughs, rent strikes and eviction moratoriums, creating a period of more uncertainty than most of us have known in our lifetime, why would you undertake what is widely acknowledged as one of the most stressful things a human can do?
Yet it was the COVID that threw Richie Munguia and Austin Fontenot together. Read their story of moving from BK to HK in home-made hazmat suits.
Kerry J Byrne was one of the brave souls who followed his dream and moved to New York City from Boston … on the first night of the curfew. “The City That Never Sleeps was in bed early the night I arrived,” he writes. Find out how he’s built a life in lockdown.
WHAT WE’RE READING
There’s a bleak future on the horizon for the restaurant industry. From Eater NY.
“A rock ‘n’ roll adventure featuring nursery rhymes as you’ve never heard them before” – that’s what’s in store today. From the Irish Arts Center.
Looking at the forecast, tomorrow may be your best chance of catching the last Manhattanhenge of the year. From Secret NYC.
Is being together 24/7 damaging your relationship? Some timely advice from The New York Times.
Thanks to those who have written to us with words of appreciation, bought us coffees (and cocktails), and offered their services to support the work of W42ST. We see you and love you. Many have also contributed financially, helping to keep the neighborhood connected and updated at a time when we’ve lost all other revenue. Our gratitude is boundless. If you can help, any amount, no matter how small, makes a massive difference.