Good morning and happy Saturday. You’ll just have missed the coldest of the day. It’s been 5 degrees overnight and, with the wind chill, it felt like -11 degrees. The only way is up — sunshine throughout the day will warm up to 25 degrees. Sunday will be cloudy with temperatures in the mid-40s.

Roberto Romeo and his W46th Street music shop were a Midtown fixture for over 40 years — until he was unceremoniously evicted from the space. He is suing his former landlord for $2m. Read more…

The MTA brought new open gangway trains to Coney Island for a sneak peek yesterday. Death-defying walks between the subway cars could become a thing of the past. Read more…

Here’s the rest of the news from around Hell’s Kitchen this week…

The Watson Hotel became the focus of protests Sunday night after city authorities tried to move single male migrants housed there to a new facility in Brooklyn — prompting a backlash at the conditions and complaints that the move would make jobs harder to find. On Wednesday, the NYPD and DSNY staff moved in to remove those who had camped out on W57th Street. Read more…

Hell’s Kitchen bowling alley Lucky Strike is throwing a gutter ball: the shuttered venue is auctioning hundreds of bowling shoes, pins and even the lanes themselves, all in one lot, after becoming one of the West Side’s biggest casualties of the pandemic. Read more…

The Lucky Strike sign which

The Garment District Alliance has released an ambitious new residential study and rezoning proposal for the historic area — which, if enacted, could add as many as 3,225 new apartments to the neighborhood over the next decade. Read more…

Artist Frédéric Lère is also keeping his eyes (and watercolor brush) on what’s happening in the Garment District. “Eagerly awaiting for the official upping of the Button…” he said on Instagram. The ribbon cutting for the famous Button and Needle sculpture at W39th St and 7th Avenue will take place at 11am on Thursday, February 16.

A man was detained by police Tuesday after apparently interrupting Sarah Jessica Parker as she filmed the new season of And Just Like That…, the Sex and the City sequel, on 10th Avenue. Read more…

One of Midtown’s most well-known grill spots is overdone — Ruth’s Chris Steak House has announced that it will close in April. After serving up pre-theater filets and ribeyes for 30 years on W51st Street, the steak house has decided not to renew its lease. Read more…

President Joe Biden was on the West Side this week to discuss the Hudson River Tunnel Project. Even with the $292m commitment from the Infrastructure Bill, NY Times reporter Patrick McGeehan does not hold out that much hope for the project after the visit.

“There’s still the big question of will this ever happen. President Biden says it will, and Senator Schumer says it will, but we have been down this road before. The last attempt to build a tunnel under the Hudson ended when Chris Christie pulled the plug on it, and that project was further along than this one is. It had already lined up its federal funding, and the crews had actually started digging,” McGeehan said.

A New York mom wrote about her hopes that “parents and caregivers can continue to shift our mentality from high school Hunger Games to one where every student can win.” 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…

DA Bragg told W42ST this week that his department will fully investigate the cases of Julio Ramirez and John Umberger, both found dead after nights at Hell’s Kitchen gay clubs. One of the victim’s mothers said: “I have concerns over the priorities of the DA’s office”. Read more…

There’s a trendy tropical paradise in Hell’s Kitchen (where Reunion used to be). The Friki Tiki, a hot new hangout with beachy beverages and live concerts is set to be a hit with Broadway folks and West Siders. Read more…

Wondering what you can do to surprise your Valentine this February? How about a trip to Times Square to check out their latest public art installation, Love’s h|Edge. Read more…

What we’ve been reading

New York City shelled out more than $121 million to settle NYPD misconduct cases last year. (PIX11)

Tree numbers are falling in NYC as new planting declines. (Gothamist)

What future does Madison Square Garden face? (New York Times)

There’s an Eagle Owl flying around New York after vandalism at Central Park Zoo. (CBS)

What do you do about your voice-to-text flubs? (WSJ)

Freeze Frame

You are invited to Classic Car Club at Pier 76 this morning for their 11th year of Gears On the Piers. This time they are “celebrating a subgenre of automotive lunacy — Attack Of The Racks”, where they pay homage to cars equipped to carry. “You might be thinking vans and trucks, but you’d be surprised what can be strapped to a modern Ferrari or a vintage 911. Absurdity is guaranteed,” they said in the invitation. Hot breakfast items and warm cocktails will be served to fight off the cold. The event is 10am-1pm and is open to the public. RSVP here…

Happy birthday to Anne David.

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