Happy Saturday and welcome to a steamy weekend. Come and meet us at the 9th Avenue International Food Festival on Saturday or Sunday from 10am-6pm. We will be located near Amy’s Bread between W46/47th Street.
We are launching a new weekly newsletter from my colleague, Sarah Beling. “Make Way for the Weekend” will be a curation of all that’s coming up in HK and NYC. Signup here or at the festival and get the chance to win sweepstake prizes valued at over $5,000!
Poseidon Bakery’s Lili Fable took time this week to reminisce about the early days of the food festival back in 1973. Check out the words and pictures here…
The votes are in — and the million-dollar discretionary funding available to West Siders from the City’s budget has been allocated towards more trees, technology upgrades and an air conditioning repair at a Hell’s Kitchen school. Read more…
Here’s what else has been happening in Hell’s Kitchen this week…
They’re back… and it’s time for action! Spotted Lanternflies have once again been seen in Hell’s Kitchen (HT Charlie Todd) — and this time it’s their babies (known as nymphs) leading the charge. The pesky pests that play havoc with our trees are BIG trouble — and the advice of everyone (even environmental conservationists) is to “squish ‘em” on sight! Read more…
We’ve been continuing our exploration of the 1974 9th Avenue Festival Cookbook. Mackenzie Murray has cooked up Arancini from Manganaro’s, Shredded Beef with a twist of Filipino culinary history and we checked out a family Torta recipe from one of the festival’s co-founders.
The week has had a bit of a British theme. First, we reported on Sam Smith stepping out at Flaming Saddles Saloon. “Yup, I got to meet this guy last night! Thanks for being an Angel,” said Bandit Jakob Alexander.
Then we were in Times Square for the Mayor of London and the cast of SIX inviting New Yorkers to visit the British capital city. Read more…
Finally, we reported that profanity-laden culinary personality, chef, and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay of Hell’s Kitchen fame will be arriving in Hell’s Kitchen later this year (well, a block over), opening a branch of his popular fish and chips franchise on Broadway. Read more…
Not such good news for the French though… Beloved neighborhood eatery Chez Napoleon is still unable to open, over 10 weeks after our first report and 21 weeks in — stymied by a never-ending saga of New York City maintenance paperwork and approvals. Read more…
“What If Buildings Could Feel?” New York is a city with real character, mythologized in countless novels, plays, movies, and songs. But while most characterizations focus on the city as a whole, one artist, Rombo, has imagined a world where New York’s most recognizable buildings are players in an urban drama. Read more…
Jason Alexander didn’t plan for a career in fashion. London-born and St Lucia-raised, Alexander had earned a university degree in business, moved to New York, and was working on Wall Street when he found himself pulled in an entirely new direction. “My job was on Wall Street. I made money, but I wasn’t passionate about it,” he said. A part-time offer to assist a friend at Fashion Week led to a 20-year career in high-end retail, styling, and menswear — the pinnacle of which is Alexander’s newest project, the brand-new Style On J boutique on 9th Avenue. Read more…
In the city’s latest moped race, battery-powered Revel has revved ahead across the finish line — as competitor Lime quietly ends its ride sharing program in Manhattan less than a year after it began. Read more…
Former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s official Twitter account abruptly vanished in January — Katie Honan from THE CITY has been asking questions. Read more…
A yellow cab ended up on the sidewalk in Hell’s Kitchen on Thursday afternoon. Ironically, the crash was in the exact spot where a road safety protest was held in February. Read more…
What we’ve been reading
New York is planning to take 25% of streetscape away from cars. (Electrek)
Mayor De Blasio is offering COVID advice to Mayor Adams. (New York Daily News)
Will NYC’s hospitality industry step up to deal with sexual harassment? (The Guardian)
Man charged in Turkish hate crime stabbing in Hell’s Kitchen. (1010 Wins)
A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon red on Sunday evening. (Washington Post)
Freeze Frame
After two years of fighting both COVID-19 and HIV remotely the AIDS Walk New York returns to Central Park this Sunday — and you can still register to take part. Read more…
Happy birthday to David Porter.
Sad news. We just heard that Kristen Jongen, who wrote Sober in the City for W42ST magazine for many years, lost her battle with cancer this week. She was a wonderful, kind soul — who shared her bright light through her art and writing. RIP.
