Good morning and happy Saturday! Mid-70 highs through to Monday — so those Marathon runners will be getting on a sweat tomorrow. Remember to turn the clocks back on Sunday morning and enjoy the extra hour of sleep!
After two pandemic-challenged years in Hell’s Kitchen, the team at Ikebana Zen is pivoting from omakase to speakeasy, with a focus on craft cocktails and tapas-style Japanese cuisine, plus live performances. Read more…
Here’s the rest of the news from Hell’s Kitchen this week…
An encampment under the Travel Inn caught fire last weekend, sending dozens of fire trucks racing to the area as firefighters evacuated over 100 people from the hotel and train tracks beneath. Read more…
New York City Council has passed laws intended to scare away the Big Apple’s rat population — with policies designed to limit trash on the street, add more rat-proof refuse containers and new construction site regulations which were sponsored by Hell’s Kitchen’s Council Member Erik Bottcher in his first bill. Read more…
Captain America and the Joker aren’t on the same side. They’re not even in the same (cinematic) universe. But last weekend they and a few other heroes, super and regular, joined forces at the West 47th/48th Streets Block Association’s annual Children’s Halloween Party in Hell’s Kitchen Park. Read more…
After the Halloween rush, Hell’s Kitchen theatrical makeup company Alcone Cosmetics is breathing a sigh of relief as it prepares to celebrate 70 years of otherworldly looks. Read more…
Trevor Noah is selling his duplex penthouse at Stella Tower in Hell’s Kitchen after deciding to leave The Daily Show. Read more…
We were out and about in Hell’s Kitchen on Halloween night, capturing the costumes, characters and trick-or-treaters on the streets. Read more…
During New York’s Halloween season, one intrepid theater artist took on 2022’s unofficial least-liked celebrity: the spotted lanternfly. Freelance designer Brendan McCann turned to the infamous invasive pest for inspiration, then risked being squished while venturing out in Times Square. Read more…
Broadway stars gathered in a glittering ceremony on Tuesday afternoon to rename the Brooks Atkinson Theatre after Lena Horne, in honor of her legacy as a performer and civil rights trailblazer. The dedication itself made history: the W47th St venue became the first Broadway theater to be named after a Black woman. Read more…
This cat-sitting service is currently only available in Washington Heights — but we are sure if you DM @GoltharTerrorOfTheDeep, he might consider a Hell’s Kitchen kitty!
The owners of beloved Hell’s Kitchen restaurant Chez Napoleon have set a fast-approaching reopening deadline — stating that if the single piece of paper keeping the 62-year-old institution shut is not issued imminently, they will close permanently on November 30, ending an 11-month struggle that has seen them lose $750,000 in revenue. Read more…
A man accused of torching Hell’s Kitchen outdoor dining sheds, smashing windows and trying to set fire to LGBTQIA+ spaces across the West Side in August 2021 has been charged with hate crimes after prosecutors found anti-gay material on his Facebook account. Alex Blodgett, 39, faces up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of the spree, where he is accused of setting 14 fires in one night. Read more…
There’s no better way to kick off the New York holiday season than with the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — and this year’s event boasts a mouthwatering lineup of special performances, with guests including musical legend Dionne Warwick, Paula Abdul, Lea Michele and the Broadway cast of Funny Girl. Read more…
As they approach the first holiday season without their loved one, friends and family of Julio Ramirez have launched a seasonal fundraiser for a memorial bench dedicated to the New Yorker who died in mysterious circumstances in April after a night out in Hell’s Kitchen. Read more…
On your marks, get set and get ready for this year’s New York City Marathon, as over 50,000 runners from more than 90 countries prepare to sprint across the five boroughs this Sunday — and you can spot everyone from pro-running champions and celebrities to Hell’s Kitchen locals! Read more…
What we’ve been reading
New York isn’t just paying more for subways than every other city, but many times more. There’s a solution… (Vice)
Dozens of yellow electric school buses are scheduled to roll on city streets as early as next fall. (Gothamist)
Some folks aren’t happy about the Candy Crush 500 drone display on the Hudson. (The Guardian)
New York is working on closing the door on Airbnb. (New York Post)
KPOP transitions from Hell’s Kitchen’s Ars Nova to Broadway. (New York Times)
Freeze Frame
This is not a costume! This is a working woman… Today at 1:30pm and 3:30pm at Intrepid Museum, you can watch a live, first-person performance about the life of champion aviator Betty Skelton! In 1959, Betty became the first woman to undergo the physical and psychological tests of NASA’s Mercury 7 astronauts, opening the door to future opportunities for women. More details of the performance in the Space Shuttle Pavilion here…
Happy birthday to Jaci Stephen.