Good morning and happy Wednesday. We’ve finally shaken off those April showers and days of 70+ degrees are ahead. We’ll even head into the 80s on Friday as we spring into summer…

Hell’s Kitchen’s revolving real estate door turns again, as the neighborhood prepares for two new housing developments being built in the West 50s — and a century-old church residence is demolished. Read more…

Centro Maria Demolition

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Director of marketing and communications Tom Fervoy has been in Hell’s Kitchen since the 1980s, when he was a regular on All My Children. Tom’s West Side Story includes an encounter with Whitney Houston… Read more…

Tom Fervoy

What we’ve been reading

* Stories that might be behind a paywall are marked with a 💰

Small business owners in the boros are facing major rent hikes. (New York Times💰)

The challenges of keeping queer nightlife spaces, as a heterosexual crowd moves in. (Vice)

Have you felt the need to “guilt tip” at a coffee shop counter? (NY1)

The price of a bacon, egg and cheese keeps on rising… (Gothamist)

This Cronut stan has sampled every flavor over the past 10 years — and reveals his favorite. (Grub Street💰)

Freeze Frame

Flowers Union Square in 1900s

In old Manhattan, flowers played a crucial role in disguising the strong odors from poor sanitation. New Yorkers used flowers in homes and restaurants to mask foul smells from unhygienic streets and patrons. In the Manhattan Sideways afternoon newsletter, we check out the history of NYC’s floral trade — and have some suggestions for where to get Mother’s Day bouquets (including allergy-free artificial ones).

You can subscribe to Sideways by just clicking this link.

Happy birthday to Vinicius Ribeiro and Terri Mateer.