Good morning and happy Saturday. The weekend has a cloudy start, but we can expect some sunny skies tomorrow. Highs are in the low 40s today and it’s chillier on Sunday when temperatures peak at 39 degrees.
Rents across the city remain at record highs, but the Manhattan real estate sales market appears to be slowing down, with climbing interest rates and recession fears driving buyers and sellers to hold out in Hell’s Kitchen according to a new analysis by realtors Douglas Elliman. Read more…
Here’s what else has been happening around Hell’s Kitchen this week…
Christmas is over and Mulchfest is here — New York City’s Department of Sanitation and Parks Department are offering a fuss-free, sustainable way to recycle your festive fir and help foster the growth of new New York trees. Read more…
What has Mayor Eric Adams achieved with his business-friendly plans during his first year? Read more…
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It was nice to reconnect with Casellula founder Brian Keyser as he passed through London this week. I’m missing Hell’s Kitchen, and it was lovely to see a familiar face and have dinner with Brian at one of Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s restaurants. If you’ve headed to the UK, let’s get together as I will likely be here for another 2 months as I reapply for my visa.
Broadway, film and TV mainstay Anthony Rapp revisits the ghosts of the past in a new staging of his intensely personal one-man musical, Without You, opening next week. Read Sarah’s interview here…
Nearly 2,000 New York Sports Club members have started to receive restitution checks after the fitness brand’s parent company, Town Sports International, was successfully sued by the office of Attorney General Letitia James for unlawfully charging customers during the COVID-19 gym shutdowns. Read more…
We are sad to report that twice W42ST Best of Award Winner and longtime Hell’s Kitchen fixture Kahve Coffee has closed. They cited rising rents and COVID-19-era challenges as devastating to the shop’s survival. Erol Zeren told us: “I didn’t put up a sign or anything announcing that we closed because the more I talk about it, the sadder I get.” Read more…
New York City students and teachers can no longer access ChatGPT — the new artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that generates stunningly cogent and lifelike writing — on education department devices or internet networks, agency officials confirmed. Read more…
Check out Sarah’s latest edition of Make Way for the Weekend for ideas of what to do to round off the week. Read more…
If your New Year’s resolution is to get more involved in the neighborhood, applications to join your local community board are now open, giving the opportunity to serve as a decision-maker without the headache of running for office. Here’s what you need to know, and Manhattan Community Board 4 members from Hell’s Kitchen tell us why they took the leap, what they love about it — and why they want West Siders to join their ranks. Read more…
Winter is here, but your heat is not. What can you do? A lack of heat in a New York City apartment is a common, chronic problem. Tens of thousands of complaints about a lack of heat or hot water are filed with the city’s housing department every year, making it the single most common recorded problem for tenants. So far this heat season, the city received nearly 116,000 complaints, records show. Read more…
What we’ve been reading
New York Harbor has changed from an open sewer to a home for marine life. (New York times)
An office block converted to places to live – will the plan work? (The Economist)
Facebook’s Hudson Yards space is being taken up by private equity company KKR. (Bloomberg)
The chips are down — and it’s a $500m stake if you want to build a New York casino. (NY1)
Poor reviews are battering Gordon Ramsay’s new Times Square Fish and Chip shop. (Tasting Table)
Freeze Frame
The start of the year is always a great time to get those little maintenance jobs done. Manhattan Plaza Health Club is doing just that with its swimming pool. “Please be advised… The MPHC POOL will be CLOSED from Tuesday, 12/27/22 – Tuesday, 01/09/23 for some much-needed repairs and improvements,” they say on their website. Maura Lynch snapped this picture of the empty pool yesterday.
Happy birthday to Beth Sheinis.
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