Happy Saturday. This early morning mist is going to hang around until 10am — and then we will be soaring to afternoon temperatures at least in the high 80s (maybe touching the 90s). There’s a heat advisory in place from noon. However, we won’t break any records this weekend — it’s been as high as 99 degrees in May before!
It’s nine years since Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to ban carriage horses in New York on his first day in office (yesterday, he said he would run for a seat in Congress). This week a video has been circulating of a horse from a Hell’s Kitchen stable apparently being roughly handled in Central Park. We’ve been looking at the story behind that video from both sides of the contentious issue. Read more…
Here’s what else has been going on around Hell’s Kitchen this week…
Tony Valdovinos is the real-life inspiration for the new musical ¡Americano! We met up with Valdovinos and actor Sean Ewing (who is playing his dreamer role) at New World Stages. Read more…
Friends, family, investigators and the LGBTQ+ community are seeking answers in the disappearance and mysterious death of 25-year-old Julio Ramirez, last seen leaving the Ritz Bar and Lounge on Restaurant Row. Read more…
Attention, bargain shoppers — the much loved, erstwhile discount designer destination Century 21 is getting a restock. The COVID-shuttered department store plans to reopen its flagship FiDi location in 2023. Read more…
Hell’s Kitchen awoke Monday morning to another shooting, as NYPD reports that gun crime in Manhattan South is at its highest since 1997. Read more…
In a “too-good-to-be-true” campaign, GrubHub offered a free lunch on Tuesday. It crashed and burned, leaving New Yorkers hangry at lunchtime — and many restaurant and delivery workers stressed. Read more…
By just letting Amazon assign a body part to your credit card, you can go wallet-free shopping at the Hudson Yards adjacent Manhattan West Whole Foods. Good idea? Read more…
As a 15-minute delivery service uncovers its windows for business amid newly-proposed city regulations, local politicians still insist that “dark stores” — otherwise known as micro-fulfillment centers — are bad news for small businesses and corner bodegas. Read more…
Planning a weekend trip upstate or a summer walk in the park? Be sure to add long pants and insect repellent to your checklist. Tick populations are on the rise in the Tri-state area, bringing with them the threat of neurologically debilitating diseases. Read more…
On Thursday, 9th Avenue business owners were hit by new letters from the Department of Transport demanding that bars and restaurants now remove outdoor dining from the side streets. Added to that, over at the Senate, the pols could not deliver on plans to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). One-third of local businesses shared in a $137m payout — while two-thirds got nothing. One of the business owners we spoke to was Amália Sarmiento from Arriba Arriba. She didn’t get RRF, she got a notice to remove her side street shed yesterday — and she has scaffolding surrounding her restaurant. Read more…
In happier news, my colleague Sarah Beling sent out her first weekly newsletter on Thursday afternoon. “Make Way For The Weekend” is your curated guide to the best of New York events in one convenient place! Go grab a coffee and have a read…
We were invited to meet the cast of The Orchard at the Baryshnikov Arts Center this week. In amongst the formal photocall and open rehearsal, it was wonderful to watch the legendary Mikhail Baryshnikov warm up. Such magical movement in his stretches (and arm flapping)!
What we’ve been reading
Teen babysitters are charging up to $30 an hour. (WSJ)
Happy 40th birthday to Little Shop of Horrors. (New York Times)
Fine dining menus are rising to eye-watering prices in New York. (Eater)
Broadway has extended mask mandate into summer after COVID surge. (NY1)
A reporter shares his experience of covering subway crime and rider anxiety. (New Yorker)
Freeze Frame
Evan Enslow made the most of getting caught in the rain on 9th Avenue yesterday afternoon. “Spring in NY. 🌧 Makes you very grateful for the good days,” he said on Instagram.
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