Good morning and welcome to the long weekend (for some of us). We’ve taken the executive decision to have Monday off, so will be back in your inbox on Tuesday.
Last night, we took a trip to a couple of Hell’s Kitchen’s quieter side streets. Both were full of faces. The first, W40th between 8th and 9th next to Port Authority Bus Terminal, has had a JR-inspired makeover with the portraits of locals for the Inside Out: NY Together project. It’s worth a look (and yes, I’m in this picture — can you spot me?)
Later on, at W56th Street and 11th Avenue, there were balloons and lots of happy faces. Our video captured fans leaving the Goose concert at Terminal 5 in scenes that were a cross between a kid’s birthday party and a stoner’s backyard. Research tells us this was “balloon people” selling “hippie crack”.
Anyway, back down to earth. Here’s what else has been happening on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen this week.
The missing Yankee Bear saga ended last Saturday night after Gossip Bar staff received an anonymous call giving the location of the stuffed toy bear-napped on 9th Avenue. The woman caller stressed: “I didn’t take it though!” Details here…
The first post-COVID departure from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal landed in Bermuda with six passengers onboard testing positive for COVID. A total of twenty-two guests ended up quarantining rather than vacationing on the island. Details here…
Great news for the city’s bookworms! From this week, NYC’s libraries will no longer charge late fines on overdue circulating materials — and all late fees and replacement fees owed to the New York Public Library, Queens Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library will be waived. Details here…
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This week, Andrew Yang woke up in his Hell’s Kitchen home as a political free spirit. On Monday, he announced that he had changed his voting registration from ‘Democrat’ to ‘Independent’. Also, there’s a nice anecdote about Hell’s Kitchen in his new book. More here…
We took a trip up to the top of Summit One Vanderbilt on 42nd Street — and it’s truly spectacular and awe-inspiring. You’ll have to wait a week until it opens to the public, but we recommend picking a quiet time so that you can contemplate the view from the city’s highest bathroom stall! Pictures and video here…
Over a year after reopening, foot traffic at New York City shopping malls is still below 2019 levels throughout the city. Locally, retail traffic was down 32% compared to 2019 at Hudson Yards and down 35.5% at The Shops at Columbus Circle. Details here…
Prepare to wing your way to the best chicken places in Hell’s Kitchen. Thank you to all those who took the time to tell us about their fried chicken secrets. Here’s the list…
SPONSORED POST
Whether it’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or drinks, it’s officially pumpkin season in NYC. That means pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin beer, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pasta, and more. We want to know your favorite spots in Hell’s Kitchen to get your pumpkin fixes for the season.
Share your pumpkin secret, and why. All entries will be put into a sweepstake for a $50 gift card to use at Red Poke on 8th or 9th Avenue. Closing date Monday, October 11, 2021. Enter here…
For inspiration, Kerry Byrne has been emailing us for the past couple of weeks days about his love for the Pumpkin Donut at Amy’s Bread. He told us that “the most delicious thing in all of Manhattan” returned to 9th Avenue just last week.
West side bike use is booming. The Cycling in the City report published yesterday focussed mainly on East River crossings and what is happening in Brooklyn, but we sifted through the data to discover encouraging growth of local ridership. We also report on the benefits to our air from Citi Bike — plus news on new bike lanes for Hell’s Kitchen. Details here…
It’s hard to resist a tasty sandwich filled with farm-to-table ingredients, artisanal flair and international flavors. Even more so when it’s free — and comes with the chance of winning a helicopter ride! Details here…
What we’ve been reading
The new Moynihan Station at Penn is a “rough ride’. (WSJ)
Progress on New York’s “clean curbs” has so far been garbage. (Streetsblog)
If you’ve wondered what the potential IATSE entertainment worker strike is about — here’s an explainer. (Vulture)
Thirty percent of midtown storefronts are empty as workers continue to WFH. (Crain’s)
There are proposals for free internet in every New York City apartment. (Patch)
Freeze Frame
Thanks to Astra for tagging us in this picture of an artist at work outside Moulin Rouge! this week. “When I left my apartment today, he was just starting this painting and I knew I had to snap some pics on my way back. Impressive!” she said.
Happy birthday this weekend to Todd Carter.