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Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

St Patricks Day Parade, NYRR Half Marathon, Women in the Heights Art Exhibit, Fundraiser at Harlem Nights in Manhattan; 40 Shades of Green Irish Cultural Celebration at the NYIC in LIC, Rough Draft Festival Playwright Readings at LPAC, Thalia Theatre Comedy about the Sexes, Famous People of Queens, Black Spurs at Spectrum Theatre & Art Opening Reception in Jamaica in Queens; St. Patrick's Day Parade, Artists Talk in LIC & Night in the Central Library in Brooklyn; St Patty's Day party, Orchid Show at NYBG, Art Exhbit at Bartow Pell Mansion in the Bronx; St Patricks Day Parade for All, Pan African Ball & Carpenter Shop Curiosities on Staten Island, Ramandan Continues & Spring Begins on Tuesday

things to do this weekend in nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island events & things to do this weekend nyc March 15, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather as of 3.15.24. Sunrise 7.05 am. Sunset 7.03 pm. The temperature highs could reach 70 on Friday, descending to about 60 for the rest of the weekend. The temperature lows will be in the mid 40's on Friday and Saturday, descending to the low 40's on Sunday. The winds will be 9 - 11 mph on Friday and Saturday, rising to 10 - 15 mph on Sunday. The humidity will range from 50% - 60% on Friday and Saturday, falling to 40% - 50% on Sunday. No rain is expected this weekend.

The photo at right shows the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade marching north along 5th Avenue in Manhattan in a prior year.

 

MID AFTERNOON EDITION 3.15.24. 5 MORE ITEMS TO ADD BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS TODAY.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC

Saturday, March 16, 2024 beginning at 11 am, the NYC St Patrick's Day Parade in Manhattan begins on 5th Avenue at 44th Street and marches up to 79th Street. There are generally about 150,000 participants and about two million spectators. For details see - https://www.nycstpatricksparade.org/

Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 5.30 to 7.30 pm - Harlem Bomb Shelter 12th Anniversary Fundraiser Showcase at Harlem Nights Bar & Lounge at 2360 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd [at 138th Street] in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. For details and $27 tickets see - https://www.facebook.com/TheHarlemBombShelter/

Sunday, March 17, 2024 beginning at 7.20 am at Washington Avenue near the Brooklyn Museum - NYRR Half Marathon. There will be five waves, with the first at 7.20 am, the 2nd at 7.50 am, the 3rd at 8.20 am, the 4th at 8.50 am and the 5th at 9.20 am. The race heads south on Washington Avenue in Brooklyn, then does a U-turn and comes back north through Prospect Park, heading onto Flatbush. The route leaves Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge, and turns at City Hall toward the FDR, where it heads north until 42nd Street. At 42nd Street it departs the FDR and travels west to Times Square where it turns north again along 7th Avenue until it hits 59th Street where it turns east until it hits 5th Avenue at the SE corner of Central Park, where it turns into the park and heads north up to Bethesda Terrace, where it turns south and heads down to Columbus Circle [inside the park] where it ends. For details see - https://www.nyrr.org

Thursday, March 14 [Opening Reception] - May 7, 2024 beginning at 6 pm - Women in the Heights: Dress - Art Exhibit Opening at United Palace at 4140 Broadway in Washington Heights in Manhattan. It's the 15th annual exhibit organized by the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance [NoMAA]. Free but limited capacity so rsvp at https://www.nomaanyc.org/events/opening-women-in-the-heights-dress/

This is New York [Film] runs until July 21, 2024 at the Museum of the City of New York at 1220 5th Avenue at 104th Street on the UES of Manhattan. For details and $20 tickets see - https://www.mcny.org.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - See the Manhattan Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Manhattan Buzz New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Queens NYC

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, March 15, 16, 17 & 22, 23, 24, 2024 beginning at 8 pm, 3 pm & 8 pm and 4 pm, respectively - Women Do It Better Than Men or Las Mujeres Lo Hacemos Mejor Que Los Hombres at Thalia Theatre at 41-17 Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside Queens. It's a comedy about the sexes in Spanish with English subtitles. For details and $35 / $32 tickets see - https://thaliatheatre.org

Saturday, March 16, 2024 beginning at 5 pm - Evolution Group Art Exhibit Opening at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning at 161-04 Jamaica Avenue in Queens. About a half dozen of underrepresented, emerging, sustainable visual artists show their work. Free. For details & to rsvp see - https://jcal.org

Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 3 to 9 pm - 40 Shades of Green at the NY Irish Center at 1040 Jackson Avenue in LIC. For details and $39 tickets see - https://www.newyorkirishcenter.org - CONTRARY TO WHAT THEIR WEBSITE SAYS, EVENTBRITE SAYS THERE ARE STILL SOME TICKETS LEFT - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/40-shades-of-green-new-yorks-st-patricks-day-gathering-tickets-737288749497?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_campaign=6a7963189f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_11_25_2019_14_16_COPY_01&utm_term=0_d4ed277754-6a7963189f-353265545&utm_source=New+York+Irish+Center&utm_medium=email&mc_eid=13371f3076&mc_cid=6a7963189f

Wednesday thru Saturday, March 13 - 23, 2024 [except 3/18 & 3/19] beginning at 7 pm weekdays except Wednesdays which are 11 am matinees and 2 pm Saturdays & 4 pm Sundays - Black Spurs. At Spectrum Theater at 177th Street and Baisley Blvd in Jamaica Queens. A story about an African American who sets out on a trail ride along the Chisolm Trail in an effort to raise money to save his family home. For details and $35 tickets see - http://www.blackspectrum.com.

Saturday, March 16 - 23, 2024 on various days at various times - Rough Draft Festival Playwright Readings at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at 31-10 Thomson Avenue in LIC Queens. New works by new writers / artists. For details and $5 tickets see - https://www.lpac.nyc/upcoming-events/rdf-2024-playwright-readings

Sunday, March 17, 2024 from 2 to 3.30 pm - The Famous People of Queens at the Voelker Orth Museum at 149-19 38th Avenue in Flushing. Author Rob McKay shares his tales. For details and $5 tickets see - http://www.vomuseum.org

Sunday, March 17, 2024 from 6 to 9 pm - Artists Talk at Culture Lab at 5-25 46th Avenue in LIC Queens. An Asian Art Exhibit in the year of the dragon. Free. For details see - https://www.culturelablic.org/#artist-talk-year-of-the-dragon

Open Call for the Making Moves Dance Festival [MMDF] 2024. "... They will present performances from up to nine choreographers on ... [Friday, Saturday & Sunday September 20 - 22, 2024] ... All choreographers, dance artists, and companies working in any genre are encouraged to apply. Early submission is encouraged; the submission deadline is Friday, May 24, 2024 [at 6 pm]." For details see - https://jcal.submittable.com/submit/288855/15th-annual-making-moves-dance-festival

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - See the Queens Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Queens Buzz New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Brooklyn NYC

Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 6 pm to 2 am - Night in the Brooklyn Grand Army Plaza Central Library. For details and a schedule of the events of the evening, see - https://www.bklynlibrary.org/night-library/schedule

Sunday, March 17, 2024 beginning at 7.20 am at Washington Avenue near the Brooklyn Museum - NYRR Half Marathon. There will be five waves, with the first at 7.20 am, the 2nd at 7.50 am, the 3rd at 8.20 am, the 4th at 8.50 am and the 5th at 9.20 am. The race heads south on Washington Avenue in Brooklyn, then does a U-turn and comes back north through Prospect Park, heading onto Flatbush. The route leaves Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge, and turns at City Hall toward the FDR, where it heads north until 42nd Street. At 42nd Street it departs the FDR and travels west to Times Square where it turns north again along 7th Avenue until it hits 59th Street where it turns east until it hits 5th Avenue at the SE corner of Central Park, where it turns into the park and heads north up to Bethesda Terrace, where it turns south and heads down to Columbus Circle [inside the park] where it ends. For details see - https://www.nyrr.org

Sunday, March 17, 2024 beginning at 1 pm, the Brooklyn Saint Patrick's Parade. The St. Patrick's Day events begin at Bartel-Pritchard Square at 14th Street at the southwest corner of Prospect Park in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. The parade was established in 1975 and is said to be the oldest St Patricks Day Parade in Brooklyn. Parade Route. Historically, the parade kicks off at Prospect Park West and 15th St [assembly stretches to 9th St] and then marches to 7th Ave & Garfield Place, back to Prospect Park West & 15th Street where there's a celebration from 2 - 5 pm. After Party. There's a St Patrick's Day Parade after party at Holy Name of Jesus Church at 245 Prospect Park West. There's a corned beef and cabbage dinner served along with beer, soda and music by Celtic Justice for $50 for which you must rsvp as there are no tickets sold at the gate. St. Patrick's Day parades in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn NYC.

  • For details see their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/p/Brooklyn-St-Patricks-Parade-100067529770947/ because as of this post their website was out of date - https://brooklynstpatricksparade.org/

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. See the Brooklyn Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Brooklyn BLVD New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in the Bronx NYC

Sunday, March 17, 2024 begins at 5 pm - Rocking the House on St Patrick's Day at the Rambling House at 4292 Katonah Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood of the Bronx. A post St. Paddy's Day party. For details see - http://www.ramblinghousenyc.com or FB - https://www.facebook.com/events/1224517251840851/

Saturday, March 9th thru Sunday, March 31, 2024 from 2 to 4 pm - Art in Bloom - at the Bartow Pell Mansion at 895 Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park. For details and $15 / $12 tickets see - https://www.bartowpellmansionmuseum.org.

Thru April 23, 2024 [began February 19th], the Orchid Show is on display at the NY Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx. For details and $35 / $31 / $15 / free tickets see - https://www.nybg.org. They're open Tuesday - Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. See the Bronx Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Bronx Buzz New Member Sign Up. There's a Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association Meeting on Tuesday, March 12th beginning at 7 pm hosting Kristy Marmorato who serves as the NEW Councilwoman for the 13th District.

 

Things To Do This Weekend on Staten Island NYC

Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 12 noon - 5 pm - Carpenter's Shop Curiosities in Building G Galleries at Snug Harbor at 1000 Richmond Terrace in the Randall Manor neighborhood of Staten Island. A curated selection of vendors selling various arts, crafts, clothing and accessories. Free. https://snug-harbor.org

Sunday, March 17, 2024 the 1st Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade from 11 am to 3 pm. It is organized by the Forest Avenue BID in a response to the ongoing boycott of gay marchers by the traditional Staten Island St. Pat's Day parade organizers [see above]. Since the controversy, attendance at the traditional parade fell off significantly, which has hurt the businesses along Forest Avenue and diminished the sense of unity within the community. For details see - https://forestavenuebid.com

Friday, March 22, 2024 from 8 pm - 12 midnight - Pan African / Red, Black & Green Ball at the Crystal Room at 67 Olympia Blvd in the Arrochar neighborhood on Staten Island. Dinner and an awards celebration of pan African 'change agents' on Staten Island. For details and $125 tickets see - https://siblackheritageday.com

SI MEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR. See the Staten Island Events - Member Events for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Staten Buzz New Member Sign Up.

Have a nice weekend.


St Pat's Day Bars Irish Pubs & Restaurants Manhattan - UES, UWS, Midtown, East Village St Patrick's Day Bars & Irish Pubs & Restaurants Manhattan NYC

Manhattan St Pat's Day Irish Pubs, Restaurants & Historic Bars in NYC 2024

Historic Manhattan St Pat's Day Pubs, Irish Bars & Restaurants On St. Patrick's Day In NYC, UES, UWS, Midtown & Village

manhattan irish pubs bars restaurants manhattan ues uws midtown east village irish pubs bars restaurants manhattan nycMarch 11, 2024 / Manhattan Neighborhoods NYC / Manhattan Restaurants NYC / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us once again and it’s time for one and all, regardless of genetic history, to don their green clothing and head out to the Irish bars for a pint of ale or to the Irish restaurants for some down home Irish fare.

This report is about some of the Manhattan Irish bars and restaurants that have survived the test of time, and likely a might bit more. The Irish pubs include Irish bars and restaurants from the Upper East Side [UES], the Upper West Side [UWS], Midtown Manhattan as well as the East Village, as McSorley's remains not just a pub, but a good piece of history.

St Patrick's Day is on a Sunday this year.

While St. Patrick's Day is one big party, it's important to keep in mind, that like New Years Eve, all the amateurs come out to play [it's not just the Irish who are out drinking on St. Patrick's Day]. So some measure of caution is advised and you have to be careful.

At a later date we'll add a bit of history of St. Patrick's Day.

Click here to read our report about the St Pat's Day Bars, Irish Pubs & Restaurants in Manhattan NYC. We'll begin our journey on the Upper East Side UES where the Manhattan St. Patrick's Day Parade ends and then work our way around the rest of Manhattan.



* Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

'Spring Ahead' into Daylight Savings Time, TNC's Frankenstein, Rachmaninoff by Carnegie Hall Citywide, Women in the Heights Art Opening, IFC & Metrograph Film Event in Manhattan; Take Root & Fertile Ground dance, Black Spurs at Spectrum Theatre, Film Talk at Sculpture Center, Jackson Heights Orchestra & Jazz Jam in Queens; Italian Opera in Brooklyn; Bronx St Patricks Day Parades in Throggs Neck & Eastchester, Orchid Show at NYBG, City Island Theater Group performs Becky's New Car, Youth Photo Exhibit at Bronx Doc Film & Art Opening at Bartow Pell in the Bronx; Titanic Book Launch at the Lighthouse Museum, Portrait of Josephine at Newhouse Contemporary Art Museum & Two Indoor Markets on Staten Island; & NYC Ramandan begins Monday

things to do this weekend in nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island events & things to do this weekend nycUpdated March 8, 2024 from 3-7-24 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather as of 3.8.24. Sunrise 6.18 am. Sunset 5.55 pm. Note that on Sunday Sunrise is 7.15 am at & Sunset is at 6.58 pm. The temperature highs will be in the high 50's on Friday, the high 40's on Saturday and the low 50's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be be in the low 40's on Friday and Saturday, descending into the high 30's on Sunday. The weekend is dry EXCEPT Saturday, when nearly an inch of rain is expected between 3 pm Saturday and 4 am Sunday. The winds will be between 5 - 10 mph Friday, and between 8 - 15 mph the rest of the weekend.

The photo at right shows life in the subway in Manhattan in mid January of this year.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC

Thursday, March 14 [Opening Reception] - May 7, 2024 beginning at 6 pm - Women in the Heights: Dress - Art Exhibit Opening at United Palace at 4140 Broadway in Washington Heights in Manhattan. It's the 15th annual exhibit organized by the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance [NoMAA]. Free but limited capacity so rsvp at https://www.nomaanyc.org/events/opening-women-in-the-heights-dress/

Friday, March 8, 2024 beginning at 7 pm - Carnegie Hall Citywide Presents Meghan Kasanders, Soprano & Dror Baitel, Piano performing Rachmaninoff at St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church at 263 West 86th Street on the UWS of Manhattan. No advance tickets or reservations required; seating is first come, first served. Doors on West End Avenue open at 6:30 p.m. (accessible entrance on W86th Street). For details see - https://stpaulandstandrew.org

March 14, 2024 begins at 8 pm - Anna May Wong / Daughter of Shanghai - Book Launch & Film Screening Reception [Members Only]. March 1 - 8, 2024 at various times - Film Series entitled Bad Actress, Forever Young, Mad House or Mad World & Remember Every Frame are being shown at the Metrograph Theater at 7 Ludlow on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. For details and $17 / $12 / $10 tickets see - https://metrograph.com.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, February 22 thru March 10, 2024 beginning at 8 pm, except on Sundays when it begins at 3 pm - William Electric Black's The Frankenstein Project at the Theater for the New City at 155 First Avenue at 10th Street in the East Village in Manhattan.  For details and $18 / $15 tickets copy & paste - https://theaterforthenewcity.net/

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 - Opening of Blackout [a Werewolf film] at the IFC [Independent Film Center] at 323 6th Avenue. For details see - https://www.ifccenter.com.

This is New York [Film] runs until July 21, 2024 at the Museum of the City of New York at 1220 5th Avenue at 104th Street on the UES of Manhattan. For details and $20 tickets see - https://www.mcny.org.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - See the Manhattan Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Manhattan Buzz New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Queens NYC

Friday & Saturday, March 8 & 9, 2024 at 8 pm - Take Root Dance performance. And Sunday, March 10, 2024 beginning at 7 pm - Fertile Ground Dance performance. Both at at Greenspace at 37-24 24th Street in LIC in Queens. For details and $18 tickets see - https://www.greenspacestudio.org.

Saturday, March 9, 2024 from 1 to 3 pm - Small World Cinema Conversation with Liu & Wood - at the Sculpture Center at 44-19 Purves Street in LIC Queens. Free but must rsvp at - https://www.sculpture-center.org.

Wednesday thru Saturday, March 13 - 23, 2024 [except 3/18 & 3/19] beginning at 7 pm weekdays except Wednesdays which are 11 am matinees and 2 pm Saturdays & 4 pm Sundays - Black Spurs. At Spectrum Theater at 177th Street and Baisley Blvd in Jamaica Queens. A story about an African American who sets out on a trail ride along the Chisolm Trail in an effort to raise money to save his family home. For details and $35 tickets see - http://www.blackspectrum.com.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 beginning at 7.30 pm - Jackson Heights Orchestra at St. Marks Church at 33-50 82nd Street in Jackson Heights Queens. They perform Copland, Ellington, Burleigh and Dvorak. Free but suggested donation of $20. For details see - https://jhorchestra.org.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 beginning at 7 pm - Louis Armstrong Legacy Jazz Jams at Flushing Town Hall at 137-35 Northern Blvd in Flushing Queens. For details and $10 tickets see - https://www.flushingtownhall.org.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - See the Queens Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Queens Buzz New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Brooklyn NYC

Saturdays & Sundays, March 2 & 3, 9 & 10, 2024 beginning at 3 pm [and extra performance at 7 pm on 3/9] - Pietro Mascagni’s CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA conducted by Scott Jackson Wiley, staged by Sabrina Palladino and performed in Italian with English supertitles at the OLPH Catholic Academy of Brooklyn at 59-02 6th Avenue in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. For details and $25 / $20 / $5 tickets see - http://reginaopera.org and the location is at https://www.olphcab.org

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 beginning at 6.45 pm - State of the Borough Address by Antonio Reynoso at City Tech at 275 Jay Street. For details and tickets see - https://www.brooklynbp.nyc.gov.

Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 6 pm to 2 am - Night in the Brooklyn Grand Army Plaza Central Library. Details coming.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. See the Brooklyn Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Brooklyn BLVD New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in the Bronx NYC

Saturday, March 9th thru Sunday, March 31, 2024 from 2 to 4 pm - Art in Bloom - at the Bartow Pell Mansion at 895 Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park. For details and $15 / $12 tickets see - https://www.bartowpellmansionmuseum.org.

bronx st pats parade throgs neck st patricks day parade photos bronx st pats parade throgs neck photos Sunday, March 10, 2024 beginning at 12 noon the Throggs Neck St Patricks Day Parade in the Bronx steps off at Lafayette and East Tremont Avenue. The parade marches south on East Tremont Avenue, through the Throgs Neck commercial district, ending about a mile later at Harding and East Tremont Avenue, where a mobile stage is usually set up for parade speechs and entertainment. The parade lasts about an hour, but the festivities go on far longer. The parade is organized by the Throggs Neck Benevolent Association [aka TNBA]. For details see their blogspot page at - https://tnsaintpatricksdayparade.blogspot.com

The photo at right was taken at the Throggs Neck St Patricks Day Parade in 2018.

Sunday, March 10, 2024 the Eastchester St. Patrick's Day parade in the Bronx kicks off at 3 pm at the Immaculate Conception School on Main Street. It marches north on Route 22 - ICS to White Plains Road and ends at Lake Isle Country Club. St. Patrick's Day parades in Westchester County. For details and viewing locations suggestions see - https://www.eastchesterirish.org/st-patrick-s-day-parade/.

Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, March 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 & 10, 2024 beginning at 8 pm, 8 pm & 3 pm respectively - Becky's New Car at Grace Hall at 116 City Island Avenue in the Bronx. Performance of a new play by the City Island Theater Group. For $30 / $25 tickets and details see - https://www.cityislandtheatergroup.com.

Thru April 23, 2024 [began February 19th], the Orchid Show is on display at the NY Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx. For details and $35 / $31 / $15 / free tickets see - https://www.nybg.org. They're open Tuesday - Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.

Friday January 25 - Sunday, March 10, 2024 - Through Our Eyes Youth Photo Exhibit 2013 - 2023 at the Bronx Doc Film Center Annex at 364 East 151st Street in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx. For details see - https://www.bronxdoc.org/. Free but donations welcome. Open Thursday, Friday, [Saturday closed 3/2/24] & Sunday from 3 - 7 pm weekdays and from 1 - 5 pm weekends.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. See the Bronx Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Bronx Buzz New Member Sign Up. There's a Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association Meeting on Tuesday, March 12th beginning at 7 pm hosting Kristy Marmorato who serves as the NEW Councilwoman for the 13th District.

 

Things To Do This Weekend on Staten Island NYC

Saturday, March 9, 2024 beginning at 2 pm - Portraits of Josephine at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor at 1000 Richmond Terrace in the Randall Manor neighborhood of Staten Island. Musical performance with actor and playwright Kirya Traber. Josephine Baker was the first woman of color to star in a movie in 1927 and became a civil rights activist in the 1950's. Free.

Saturday, March 9, 2024 from 11 am to 2.30 pm - Indoor Market at New Dorp Moravian Church at 2205 Richmond Road on Staten Island. There will be about a dozen and a half vendors selling arts, crafts, body & bath, clothing, jewelry, handbags, accessories, gifts and pet related items. Free entry.

Saturday, March 9, 2024 beginning at 7 pm - Indoor Market at Flagship Brewing Company at 40 Minthorne Street in the Tompkinsville neighborhood of Staten Island. Arts, crafts, vendors, photo booth. Free entry. For details see - https://www.instagram.com/prismvisions_/

Sunday, March 10, 2024 from 2 to 3 pm - Titanic Book Launch at the National Lighthouse Museum at 200 The Promenade at Lighthouse Point. Iron and Ice is the story of the Titanic. For details and $10 tickets see - https://lighthousemuseum.org.

SI MEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR. See the Staten Island Events - Member Events for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Staten Buzz New Member Sign Up.

Have a nice weekend.


City of Yes Text Amendments - Huge Zoning Changes in the Works

How Much Will the Proposed 'City of Yes Text Changes' Strip Communities of Input into What is Built in their Communities & What Activities Take Place within Each Property?

city of yes text amendments part 2 economic development nyc zoning law changes 2024Updated March 9, 2024 from 3.6.24 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Real Estate / NYC Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

On Thursday, February 1, 2024 I attended a Community Board 2 Queens meeting about the proposed City of Yes Text Amendments at the Sunnyside Community Services Center. The presentation was given by the Department of City Planning and the focus was the second piece of the massive, nearly 1,157 page City of Yes Text Amendment proposal.

The photo at right shows two City Planning Department representatives fielding questions from the audience following their presentation of the zoning law changes proposed in the City of Yes Text Amendments - Part II - Economic Development.

 

What are the City of Yes Text Amendment Zoning Law Changes?

The first segment of the proposal included changes to zoning in order to enable green energy powered buildings. The second segment of the proposal, which was what this meeting was all about, was to make changes to zoning laws to provide more zoning flexibility to enable more economic opportunity. And the third segment of the City of Yes Text Amendments is to address the need for affordable housing. As previously mentioned, for the purposes of this report, we're sticking to the second segment of the three part proposal, which moved front and center following the passage of the green energy initiative passed by the City Council in December of 2022.

 

City of Yes Text Amendment Changes - Part II - Economic Development

I am including a slide show from the February 1st, 2024 meeting mentioned above. And I have also reached out to Alicia Boyd, a Brooklyn activist in this area, and have obtained her permission to post a slide show she presented on January 16, 2024 at the Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island. By providing you with both slide shows you'll obtain both a 'Pro' perspective and a 'Con' perspective. The Pro perspective, provided by the City Planning Department, also includes a description of the specific changes to the zoning laws for which they are advocating. We'll have more on this in the coming weeks because we think it is one of the most important issues of the day and the City Council is expected to vote on it in April 2024.

  • CLICK here to read the rest of our report, including competing slide shows about the proposed City of Yes Test amendments - Part II - Economic Development. As of this post we've not yet heard back from Alicia Boyd of MTOPP, but expect to hear from her today / tomorrow or by the end of the week. So please stay tuned.

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Funding Deadlines for Youth Summer Jobs, Earth Day Artists Open Call & Citizens NYC Grants for all NYC Boros; Outsider Art Fair, Jelly's Last Jam, TNC's Frankenstein, Rachmaninoff by Carnegie Hall Citywide & Metrograph Film Series in Manhattan; Julio Film at Queens Historical, Open House & Redading Discussion at JCAL, St Patricks Day Parades in Sunnyside & the Rockaways in Queens; Italian Opera & Glide Skating under the Bridge in Brooklyn; Orchid Show at NYBG, City Island Theater Group performs Becky's New Car & Youth Photo Exhibit at Bronx Doc Film in the Bronx; and St. Patrick's Day Parade on Staten Island

st pats for all parade photos 2012 sunnyside queens

Updated March 2, 2024 from 3.1.24 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather as of 2.23.24. Sunrise 6.29 am. Sunset 5.48 pm. There's over a 90% probability, of about a half inch of rain, expected on Saturday, beginning after 7 am and ending about 9 pm. Sunday is dry, but cloudy. The temperature highs will climb from the mid 40's on Friday to about 50 on Saturday to about 60 on Sunday. The temperature lows will be about 40 on Friday, climbing to the high 40's for the rest of the weekend. The humidity will rise from the 40% - 70% range on Friday, to the 80% - 90% range on Saturday, before falling back to 70% - 80% on Sunday. The winds will range from 4 - 9 mph all weekend.

The photo at right was taken at the St. Pat's for All Parade in Sunnyside Queens in an earlier year.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in New York City - Open Calls

The Deadline for the Summer Youth Employment Program is Friday, March 1, 2024. Copy & paste this link to apply now - https://application.nycsyep.com/?emci=14c7d66f-8dd1-ee11-85f9-002248223794&emdi=35506f79-ced1-ee11-85f9-002248223794&ceid=13568279

The Deadline for the MTA Earth Day Artists' Installation Program is Monday, March 4, 2024. Up to $10,000 for works celebrating Earth Day this year [official date is 4/22, but the event is scheduled for 4/20/24] at MTA sites. Copy & paste this link to apply now - https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/dotart-cfed-2024.pdf

The Deadline for the Citizens NYC Program is Friday, March 1, 2024. Copy & paste this link to apply now for the $3,000 Community Leaders Grant - https://www.citizensnyc.org/communityleaders?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e9ef546d-2fbe-4271-b3bf-2a79b8f1ee57

And copy & paste this link to apply now for the $5,000 Neighborhood Business Grant - https://www.citizensnyc.org/nbg?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e9ef546d-2fbe-4271-b3bf-2a79b8f1ee57

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC

Thursday - Sunday, February 29 - March 3, 2024 from 12 noon - 6 pm Thurs, from 11 am - 8 pm Fri & Sat & from 11 am - 6 pm Sunday - Outsider Art Fair at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street [between 6th & 7th Avenue] in Chelsea. It's just what it says it is, which is an art fair for those operating outside of the established art world. For details and $35 / $65 / $100 tickets see - https://www.outsiderartfair.com

March 1 - 8, 2024 at various times - Film Series entitled Bad Actress, Forever Young, Mad House or Mad World & Remember Every Frame are being shown at the Metrograph Theater at 7 Ludlow on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. For details and $17 / $12 / $10 tickets see - https://metrograph.com.

Wednesday / Tuesday - Sunday, Feberuary 21 - March 3, 2024 beginning at 7.30 pm weekdays, 8 pm on Saturdays and at 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays - Jelly's Last Jam at New York City Center at 131 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan. For details and $45 - $165 tickets copy & paste - https://www.nycitycenter.org

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, February 22 thru March 10, 2024 beginning at 8 pm, except on Sundays when it begins at 3 pm - William Electric Black's The Frankenstein Project at the Theater for the New City at 155 First Avenue at 10th Street in the East Village in Manhattan.  For details and $18 / $15 tickets copy & paste - https://theaterforthenewcity.net/

Friday, March 8, 2024 beginning at 7 pm - Carnegie Hall Citywide Presents Meghan Kasanders, Soprano & Dror Baitel, Piano performing Rachmaninoff at St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church at 263 West 86th Street on the UWS of Manhattan. No advance tickets or reservations required; seating is first come, first served. Doors on West End Avenue open at 6:30 p.m. (accessible entrance on W86th Street). For details see - https://stpaulandstandrew.org

  • This is New York [Film] runs until July 21, 2024 at the Museum of the City of New York at 1220 5th Avenue at 104th Street on the UES of Manhattan. For details and $20 tickets see - https://www.mcny.org.
  • Beginning Thursday, February 8 - March 3, 2024 starting at various times ranging from 2 pm to 8.30 pm - the Winter One Act Festival at the Chain Theatre at 312 West 36th Street on floors 3 & 4. For details and $22 tickets see - https://www.chaintheatre.org
  • Ending Saturday, March 2, 2024, times vary, but generally in the range of 11 am or 1 pm to 4 pm or 6 pm - Ice Bumper Cars in Bryant Park. between 5th & 6th Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. For details and $20 tickets and to rsvp see - https://bryantpark.org.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - See the Manhattan Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Manhattan Buzz New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Queens NYC

Sunday, March 3, 2024 beginning at 2.30 pm - Julio - at the Kingsland Homestead at 143-35 37th Avenue in Flushing. A film about the murder of a gay man in Jackson Heights in 1990 which resulted in the coming out of one of the most closeted LGBTQ communities in NYC at the time. For details and to rsvp a free ticket see - https://queenshistoricalsociety.org.

Saturday, March 2, 2024 from 12 noon to 3 pm & from 3 pm to 5 pm, JCAL Art Classes Open House & Reading & Discussion Series at the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning at 161-04 Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica Queens. Free. For details see - https://jcal.org.

Ongoing until Sunday, March 3, 2024 from 1 to 3 pm when there is a - Closing Reception for the 23rd Bayside Historical Society Annual Winter Art Show at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center at 26th Avenue and Bell Blvd in Bayside. Free. For details see - https://www.baysidehistorical.org/bhs-winter-art-show

Saturday, March 2, 2024 beginning at 1 pm - The 49th Annual Queens County St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Rockaways kicks off at Beach 130th and Newport Avenue. Church services at Francis de Sales Church [129th and Newport Avenue] will be held prior to the parade with a brunch by invitation only. The parade marches east down Newport Avenue to 116th Street, where it turns right / heads south one block to Rockaway Blvd - where it turns left and continues east down Rockaway Blvd to 102nd Street terminating near a shopping center parking lot. This parade is in the Rockaways neighborhood of Queens. For details see - https://queenscountyparade.org/

Sunday, March 3, 2024 beginning at 12 noon - The St. Pat's for All Parade in Sunnyside begins with speeches and music at 12 noon, and then kicks off from Skillman Avenue and 43rd Street in Sunnyside, Queens marching east and up hill for 15 blocks before ending at 58th Street in Woodside. For details see - https://www.stpatsforall.org/

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - See the Queens Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Queens Buzz New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Brooklyn NYC

Saturdays & Sundays, March 2 & 3, 9 & 10, 2024 beginning at 3 pm [and extra performance at 7 pm on 3/9] - Pietro Mascagni’s CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA conducted by Scott Jackson Wiley, staged by Sabrina Palladino and performed in Italian with English supertitles at the OLPH Catholic Academy of Brooklyn at 59-02 6th Avenue in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. For details and $25 / $20 / $5 tickets see - http://reginaopera.org and the location is at https://www.olphcab.org

  • Daily, January, February, ending March 1, 2024 from 12 noon to 9 pm - Glide in Brooklyn Bridge Park [in the Emily Warren Roebling Plaza] at 334 Furman Street. Ice skating underneath the Brooklyn Bridge along the East River. For details and $0 - $43 tickets see - https://glidebk.com.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. See the Brooklyn Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Brooklyn BLVD New Member Sign Up.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in the Bronx NYC

Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, March 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 & 10, 2024 beginning at 8 pm, 8 pm & 3 pm respectively - Becky's New Car at Grace Hall at 116 City Island Avenue in the Bronx. Performance of a new play by the City Island Theater Group. For $30 / $25 tickets and details see - https://www.cityislandtheatergroup.com.

Thru April 23, 2024 [began February 19th], the Orchid Show is on display at the NY Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx. For details and $35 / $31 / $15 / free tickets see - https://www.nybg.org. They're open Tuesday - Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.

Friday January 25 - Sunday, March 10, 2024 - Through Our Eyes Youth Photo Exhibit 2013 - 2023 at the Bronx Doc Film Center Annex at 364 East 151st Street in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx. For details see - https://www.bronxdoc.org/. Free but donations welcome. Open Thursday, Friday, [Saturday closed 3/2/24] & Sunday from 3 - 7 pm weekdays and from 1 - 5 pm weekends.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. See the Bronx Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Bronx Buzz New Member Sign Up. There's a Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association Meeting on Tuesday, March 12th beginning at 7 pm hosting Kristy Marmorato who serves as the NEW Councilwoman for the 13th District.

 

Things To Do This Weekend on Staten Island NYC

staten island st patricks day bars restaurants irish pubs staten island st pat's day irish pubs staten island st patrick's day parties stapleton south beach st patricks day bars restaurants pubs great kills richmond town castleton st pat's day parties staten island st patricks day irish pubs rossville tomplinsville st pats day staten island nycSunday, March 3, 2024 the 59th / 60th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Staten Island steps off between 11.30 / 12.30 pm [after a church service at Blessed Sacrament in West Brighton]. They begin at Harts Blvd marching along Forest Avenue in the Westerleigh / Elm Park neighborhoods to Jewett Avenue, in the West New Brighton neighborhood of Staten Island. The parade lasts about one to two hours, but the celebrating continues after the parade.

Members of the LGBTQ community continue to be banned from openly marching in the parade. The parade is organized by the Richmond County St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee and not the Ancient Order of Hiberians.

The photo at right was taken at the Staten Island St Pats Parade in 2018.

SI MEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR. See the Staten Island Events - Member Events for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Staten Buzz New Member Sign Up.

Have a nice weekend.


St Patricks Day Parades in Manhattan NYC

St Pats Day Parades in Manhattan NYC

This is a Look at the Upcoming St Patricks Day Parade in Manhattan NYC, Including Photos of the Parades we've Covered Over the Years with Links to a Page Containing Photos and Descriptions of Some of the Best Irish Pubs in the Manhattan Borough

nyc things to do nyc things to do this weekend nycMarch 7, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. Coming with the Friday / Weekend post.

The photo at right was taken at the St Pats for All Parade in Sunnyside Queens. This St Pat's Parade was created to allow LGBTQ folks to march in a St Patricks Day parade at a time when all of the other St Patrick's Day Parades banned LGBTQ from marching in the Irish parades. As of March 1, 2024 there's only one St. Patrick's Day parade that continues to discriminate against people whose gender isn't totally traditional / binary.

 

Manhattan has Only One St Pat's Day Parade

Parades, Pubs and Restaurants in Manhattan NYC. Manhattan has only one St. Patrick's Day parade, which we've covered a number of times. We've included a prior report of the Manhattan St. Patricks Day Parade to provide you with further details of the experience of attending. We've also included an article summary leading into our report about some of the best or oldest Irish pubs and restaurants in Manhattan NYC. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and we will continue refining this report as we learn more about the Irish pubs and restaurants in Manhattan.

How this page is organized. The official feast date for St. Patrick is March 17th, but the date of the Manhattan St. Patrick's Day parade is March 16, 2024 because as a tradition they don't march on Sundays, which in the Catholic religion is the Lord's Day. The Manhattan St Patrick's Day parade is the largest in NYC.

The LGBTQ Parade Participation Issue Appears to be Abating. In 2000 the St Pats for All parade was first launched in Sunnyside, Queens to protest the banning of gays from marching in the Manhattan St Pats Day Parade. In 2014 / 2015 the Manhattan Parade opened up its participation rules to allow gays to march. In 2020 the Throgs Neck parade in the Bronx opened up its participation to gays. At present only the Staten Island parade continues to ban LGBTQ community members from participating in the parade as openly gay people. The Staten Island ban continues in 2024 by the traditional parade organizers, but they now have competition as a new LGBTQ friendly parade will be marching on March 17, 2024.



The City of Yes Voting Tonight in Sunnyside Queens

The Most Sweeping Zoning Law Changes in a Half Century are Underway.

Why is the Media MIA?

things to do this weekend nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island nyc weekend eventsFebruary 21, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Real Estate & Business / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

There's a vote tonight on the City of Yes zoning law changes beginning at 6 pm at 43-22 50th Street in Sunnyside Queens.

The City of Yes zoning law changes are the most sweeping changes to zoning laws in NYC in over a half century. I've not yet had a chance to thoroughly study them, but a cursory review indicates that one of the main tenets of the proposal is a significant rollback of local control in favor of real estate development. The Mayor's argument for this rollback is that it will enable developers to create more housing and enable more integration in neighborhoods.

COPY & PASTE this url into your browser to go to the website of Alicia Boyd of Brooklyn, who is a non-profit activist who's analyzed and been monitoring the 1,500 page City of Yes proposal - https://mtopp.org/index.php/2024/02/05/wake-up-do-you-know-whats-about-to-happen-to-your-new-york/


Manhattan Things to do Presidents Day Weekend - Events Manhattan NYC

Things To Do Presidents Day Weekend Manhattan NYC

Things To Do In Manhattan NYC Over The Presidents Day Weekend

things to do presidents day weekend manhattan nyc presidents day events ues uws midtown east village soho tribeca upper west side upper east side things to do presidents day weekend manhattan events presidents day weekend manhattan nycFebruary 14, 2024 / Things To Do Manhattan / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. WHAT FOLLOWS IS FROM 2023.  UPDATE COMING BETWEEN NOW & FRIDAY.

The photo at right is a statue of Abraham Lincoln in Union Square Park in Manhattan. Lincoln struggled to keep the United States together, while striving to rid it of the immoral and inhumane enslavement of African Americans.

Presidents Day is a federal holiday when all local, state and federal government offices are closed, which generally includes public schools - unless the district uses the holiday to make up a snow day, which is highly unlikely this year since there hasn't been any measureable snow.

Presidents Day is a time to reflect on the performance of our current presidents and legislators, to see how they stack up versus their historical peers. And in that reflection it's worth asking ourselves what we've done to contribute or detract from the national conversation.

 

Brief History of Presidents Day Holiday in NYC

things to do presidents day weekend manhattan nyc presidents day events ues uws midtown east village soho tribeca upper west side upper east side things to do presidents day weekend manhattan events presidents day weekend manhattan nycA day commemorating Lincoln's birthday was first passed in Buffalo, New York in the early 1870's. Presidents Day originated as Washington's Birthday which was a holiday narrowly prescribed for federal government offices in Washington, D.C. in 1879. The holiday was dedicated to honoring the memory of the first American president, George Washington who was born on February 22, 1732.

In 1885 the holiday was expanded to include all federal government offices around the nation. In 1951 there was a push to create a Presidents Day holiday [vs a George Washington's birthday holiday] to include President Lincoln whose birthday is February 12, 1809 and was also celebrated by localities, but it didn't pass.

In 1971 the holiday was moved off of George Washington's birth date to being the third Monday in February. Thus while it never falls upon Washington's birthday 2/22, the official name of the holiday remains Washington's Birthday. But today, most folks refer to it as Presidents Day and to recognize the presidents who honored the U.S. Constitution and served the interests of the American people.

Click here for Manhattan - things to do Presidents Day Weekend MHTN / events in Manhattan NYC.



The First Taylor Swift Travis Kelce Super Bowl Ends in Chiefs Victory

Swift Arrived on Time, but No Engagement Announcement: Chiefs 25 - 49'ers 22

February 12, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Super Bowl LVIII didn't disappoint. After four quarters the Chiefs and 49'ers were tied. They went into overtime and it took the entire overtime period for the Chiefs to emerge victorious 25 - 22, in a Super Bowl to remember.

Contrary to the rumors leading up to the big game, pop star Taylor Swift did not receive an engagement ring from K.C. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. She did, however, arrive at the game on time, after wrapping up a performance on her Eras tour in Tokyo, about 17 hours earlier.


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Black History Month Begins, Valentines Day Weekend a Week Away, NYC Restaurant Week, Hotel Week and 2:1 Broadway Tickets - ALL end Sunday, Women in the Heights Open Call ends Monday & Ice Bumper Cars in Manhattan; the Flushing Chinese New Year Parade next Saturday in Queens; Glide under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn; Bartow Pell Mansion Open Call ends Thursday 2/8 & Art Exhibit Event at Hostos in the Bronx Next Week; a Tavern Concert at Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island

things to do this weekend nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island nyc weekend events

February 2, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather as of 2.2.24. Sunrise 7.04 am. Sunset 5.14 pm. The temperature highs will be in the low to mid 40's and the temperature lows will be in the low 30's. Winds will range from 7 - 12 mph all weekend. The humidity will be 70% - 80% on Friday and then fall to 50% - 60% for the rest of the weekend. It's expected to be sunny without any precipitation in the forecast. This seems to be an awfully good weekend weather report for this time of year.

The photo at right shows Trinity Church cemetery in Downtown Manhattan last week, near where the Department of City Planning held two super important meetings. One was about a new real estate development on Flushing Meadows Corona parkland in Queens. The second was about the City of Yes Text Amendments which will completely change the limits on development in NYC. Democracies only work if the citizenry pays attention and participates. As Jefferson is quoted as saying [said something similar but it was a Vermont journalist who coined the phrase], "... Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty ...".

 


* Updated - How Many Stops Act Veto Overridden & Was the Mayor Justified in Vetoing the How Many Stops Act Bill [586-A]?

And Did Corporate TV News Inform or Distort the Issue by Televising the Yusef Salaam Stop?

mayor eric adams vetoes how many stops act bill 586-A nycUpdated February 1, 2024 from 1.30.24 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Law Enforcement / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The NYC Council voted to override Mayor Adams veto of the How Many Stops Act - Bill 586-A by a margin of 42 to override the veto and 9 in support of it, with 0 abstentions. The City Council also revoked the use of solitary confinement at Rikers. A number of the councilmembers stated an interest in working with Mayor Adams on implementation of the changes, to ensure there's no degradation of law enforcement effectiveness because of the change.

Some council members shared negative experiences of their own and their constituents, of being stopped by the police. Many NYC Council members also commended NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams for drafting and pushing the legislation through the council.

The photo at right was taken at City Hall in December of 2023, when the Mayor met with members of the ethnic and community media, to discuss past, present and future issues and efforts.

CLICK here to read our report about why we think the Mayor was right in vetoing the Too Many Stops Act.


What They’re Saying: New York Leaders Continue to Voice Opposition to City Council Bill That Could Make NYC Streets Less Safe

This is a Reprint of a Press Release Issued by the Mayor's Office Regarding the How Many Stops Act

January 29, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Law Enforcement / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

 

The Following is a Press Release issued by the Mayor's Office

NEW YORK – Following today’s veto on City Council bill Intro. 586-A — which could make New York City less safe by forcing New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers to spend more time filling out reports after Level 1 interactions with the public instead of patrolling the street and keeping the public safe — faith leaders, community advocates, business organizations, district attorneys, law enforcement professionals, and everyday New Yorkers voiced their opposition to the bill.

Here is what New York leaders are saying:

CLICK here to read reactions to Mayor Adams Vetoing the How Many Stops Act - 586-A in NYC.

What follows is the full reprint of a press release issued by the Mayor's Office on January 19, 2024. 

  • CLICK here for a press release by the Mayor's Office regarding community leaders' response to Mayor Adams' veto of the Too Many Stops Act .

* The Federal Reserve in NYC Assesses the Risks due to Climate Change

Climate Change is Real. Its Impact is Already Affecting Economic Investments & Outcomes. The Federal Reserve Shared a Closer Look with us in October 2023.

ny federal reserve climate change conference 2023 manhattan nycJanuary 23, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Issues / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

On Monday, October 2, 2023 I headed down to the Federal Reserve Bank in NYC to make a withdrawal. Not a withdrawal of money, but to collect some information about Climate Change, at a Conference they hosted for local media outlets.

 

Keynote Speaker - Economics Professor Stiglitz

The Keynote speaker was Joseph E. Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University, who participated in a discussion with John C. Williams, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY.

 

Informational Economics - Investment & Business Decisions are Based on Imperfect Information

The keynote speaker, Joseph Stiglitz, has expertise is in economics, and more specifically, informational economics. Stiglitz was preceded by economist George Stigler [not to be confused with the keynote speaker Joseph Stiglitz] who is credited with first developing 'The Economics of Information' in 1961 while a professor at the University of Chicago. This was the beginning of an entire area of study of how information and information systems affect economic decision making.

In the 1970's three researchers, one of whom was Joseph Stiglitz [the keynote speaker], is credited with developing the theory of 'Asymmetric Information' which posits generally that one of the parties - in a two party transaction - has better information. For example the seller of a used auto knows more about the car than the buyer, or a borrower likely has better information about whether there will be problems in repaying the loan than the lender.


Manhattan Valentines Day Restaurants - Manhattan Romantic Restaurants Manhattan NYC

Manhattan Valentine's Day Restaurants & Events 2024

Manhattan Romantic Restaurants For Valentines Day in Manhattan on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, East Village, West Village, SoHo, Tribeca & the Lower East Side

February 6, 2024 / Manhattan Neighborhoods NYC / Manhattan Restaurants NYC / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

Valentine's Day is less than a month away. Valentines Day is a good time to let your loved one know you care. Flowers, gifts and dinner are always welcome treats, and / or some thoughtful gesture that shows that the lady [or man] you're with, still means a lot to you.

manhattan valentines day restaurants manhattan nyc romantic restaurants on vday manhattan nyc uws ues midtown soho village tribeca fidi nyc valentines day eventsThe photo at right was taken of a main entree at a restaurant in Long Island City.

This report provides a selection of various romantic and casual restaurants in which to celebrate Valentines Day in Manhattan. We also highlight a few local restaurant closures.

All restaurants that have been asterisked have either been updated or added in 2024. Those restaurants without an asterisk are from 2023, so watch the dates / year to be sure you're looking at 2024 specials.

Valentine's Day is on a Wednesday this year, so it may be fair game to make your VDay reservation on Valentine's Day or any day of the preceding weekend. Also, many restaurants have retained their outside dining capacity - so depending on the weather - NYC restaurants may have more capacity for Valentine's Day weekend than they did prior to the prepandemic.

It's worth reminding folks that there were a number of restaurant casualties during and following the pandemic, so it's best to do your research early. If you're thinking about doing something this Valentine's Day for dinner in or around the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown or East Village; call or go online to make reservations.

 

Valentine's Day History - Romantic Restaurants In Manhattan

The origins of Valentine's Day are not well documented. It's believed to have been named after Saint Valentine who was apparently a Catholic martyr who died over 1500 years ago. Today the holiday is not associated with religion so much as flowers, candies, cards and romantic dinners. And the holiday spokesperson is now Cupid, a Roman god of desire, and quite a mischief maker.

Click this link to view a brief guide of Manhattan Valentine's Day restaurants - Valentines Day Manhattan NYC where you will find links to Manhattan restaurants we've visited in the past or have reviewed. The restaurants we've reviewed include a mix of high, medium and budget priced restaurants that are spread throughout the borough and offer a large variety of ethnic cuisines. Enjoy.



Manhattan Things to do Martin Luther King Day Weekend - Events Manhattan NYC

Things To Do MLK Day Weekend Events Manhattan NYC

Things To Do In Manhattan NYC Over The Martin Luther King Day Weekend

things to do martin luther king day weekend manhattan nyc ues uws midtown east village soho tribeca upper west side upper east side things to do MLK day weekendJanuary 11, 2024 / Things To Do Manhattan / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

MLK Weekend Weather in NYC as of 1.9.24. Sunrise 7.19 am / Sunset 4.52 pm on MLK Day. The temperature highs will be in the high 40's on Friday, the high 50's on Saturday and descending to the mid 30's on Sunday and Monday. The temperature lows will be around 40 on Friday and then around 30 the rest of the weekend. There's a 100% chance of an inch and a half of rain on Friday evening beginning around 7 pm, and the possibility of some rain or snow Monday evening after 7 pm. The humidity will be in the 60% - 80% range on Friday, the 50% - 60% range on Saturday, the 40% - 50% range on Sunday and the 50% - 60% range on Monday. The winds will rise from 10 to 22 mph on Friday, hover about 19 mph on Saturday, and then fall back to 12 - 16 mph Sunday, and dropping again to 7 - 8 mph on Monday.

You can watch theater, visit the Manhattan art museums NYC, and eat out at one of the Manhattan restaurants NYC or go shopping in Manhattan NYC locales including Midtown, the Upper West & East Sides & the Village.

 

Brief History of Martin Luther King Holiday in NYC

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist Minister who became the leading voice for African Americans' non-violent civil rights movement beginning in the mid 1950's through to his assassination in 1968. In 1983, the third Monday of every year was set aside to honor Martin Luther King for his service to the nation. The third Monday was chosen, as it was the nearest Monday to the anniversary of King's birthday, which was January 15, 1929.

Martin Luther King Day has grown to take on an even larger meaning, as it is oftentimes referred to as a day on, versus a day off. Organizations around the city and nation have used the day to call people into action to address the needs of the community through volunteering and service.

As Martin Luther King Day is a national holiday, it's worth keeping in mind that many / most federal offices will be closed, along with a number of businesses.

 

Martin Luther King Holiday Special Events in Manhattan NYC

things to do martin luther king day weekend manhattan nyc ues uws midtown east village soho tribeca upper west side upper east side things to do MLK day weekendSunday, January 14, 2024 beginning at 2 pm - Uptown Hall: The Inconvenient King at the Apollo Theater at 253 West 125th Street in Harlem. They describe the event as follows, " ... The Apollo partners with WNYC in our 18th annual celebration of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his enduring legacy on the culture ... This year’s presentation focuses on a renewed commitment to understanding the context, confronting the complexity, and elevating our collective consciousness in the face of injustice and discrimination ... NPR’s Notes from America host, Kai Wright moderates the first hour of this year’s celebration. Music, spoken word and other forms of creative expression round out the afternoon ... [Done] In collaboration with March On Washington Film Festival ...". Free but must rsvp at url below. They sold out last year. But last year 2022, they told us that if the ticket holders don't show up / pick up their tickets by 2.30 pm the day of the show, they will be released to the public waiting in line at the theater. For details see - https://www.apollotheater.org

Sunday, January 14, 2024 from 10 am to 12 noon - the Abyssinian Baptist Church on Striver’s Row is hosting a King Day Worship Service. The church is located at 132 Odell Clark Place [aka West 138th Street] between 138th & 139th Streets and Frederick Douglass & Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvds in West Harlem. The featured speaker is Reverend Dr. William J. Barber, II – Founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy
Yale Divinity School. The West Harlem neighborhood includes places where African Americans like author W.E.B. DuBois and civil rights activist Malcolm X spent some time. Free. For details see - https://abyssinian.org.

Sunday, January 14, 2024 from 5 to 6.30 pm - the Joy Regardless Concert at Riverside Church at 490 Riverside Drive on the UWS of Manhattan. This musical annual MLK Commemoration is preceded by a church service at 12 noon, followed by a Soul Food Brunch in the South Hall [$16], a Sermon Talkback beginning at 1.30 pm, a film entitled Our Friend Martin beginning at 3.15 pm, followed by the Joy Regardless Concert at 5 pm. Folks will be seated on a first come first serve basis. The church has a real historical connection to Dr. King, as it is where, in 1967 Dr. King gave one of his most famous speeches, Beyond Vietnam. A Time to Break Silence. For details see - https://www.trcnyc.org. Admission to the Joy Regardless Concert is $30 w/ kids 12 and under free.

Monday, January 15, 2024 from 10 am to about 2 pm - Manhattan Country School Annual Commemorative MLK Day March. The eighth graders of the school have organized a march every year for the past 36 years [years unconfirmed]. The march is entitled 'The Power of Awareness: The March for Justice and Change'. The march route makes five stops at historically signficant sites, where students give 2 - 5 speeches at each stop. This year the march starts at the Harriet Tubman Memorial where West 122nd Street meets Frederick Douglass Blvd and St Nicholas Avenue. The next stop is the Frederick Douglass Circle at Frederick Douglass Blvd and West 110th Street, then onto the Cathedral of St. John the Divine at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, next the Joan of Arc Monument at West 94th and Riverside Drive, and finally at Grant's Tomb at Riverside Drive and West 89th Street before ending at Manhattan Country School at 150 West 85th Street. For details see - https://www.manhattancountryschool.org.

Monday, January 15, 2024 beginning at 1.30 pm - Harlem Gospel Choir performance at Sony Hall at 235 West 46th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The Harlem Gospel Choir was founded Allen Baily in 1986 after attending a MLK commemoration event at the Cotton Club in Harlem. They describe the choir and performance as follows, " ... The Choir presents the finest singers and musicians from Harlem’s Black Churches and the New York/Tri-State area ... The Harlem Gospel Choir’s songs of gospel and inspiration will touch the depths of your soul and lift your spirit to angelic heights, with sounds that are unfettered, joyous, and inspirational ...". The doors open at 12 noon and the show begins at 1.30 pm. Tickets run $38 - $52 at https://sonyhall.com. Things to do MLK weekend in Manhattan NYC.

All weekend there are jazz performances at the Birdland Theater at 315 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Tickets are $26 and $36 at https://birdlandjazz.com.

Back in 2020, just prior to the pandemic there was an exhibit that opened in January 2020 at the Schomburg Center for African American Culture in the Lapidus Center at 515 Malcolm X Blvd and 135th Street in Harlem. The exhibit was entitled Subversion & the Art of Slavery Abolition, which chronicles efforts made by the Abolitionists to stop enslavement via art, politics and culture. In 2021, 2022, 2023 and in 2024 they do not appear to have any MLK specific related programming, except in 2024 for an online program they held on January 4, 2024. That said, note that the Schomberg Center is normally closed on Sunday and will be closed MLK Day. But it's worth mentioning that they have a lot of good programming related to race and civil rights which you can find at https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/schomburg.

The Studio Museum of Harlem hosts a variety of cultural and art exhibits and programming related to African American culture. Their site at 144 West 125th Street, which they've occupied from 1982 - 2018, but which is still TEMPORARILY CLOSED while a new building is being constructed. They are currently operating out of Studio Museum 127 which is located at 429 West 127th Street in Harlem. The most recent estimate of when they expected to move back to their 125th Street site was generally referenced as sometime in 2024 [I believe they are already four years behind the schedule provided prior to the pandemic]. For updates / details see - https://studiomuseum.org.

The Africa Center at 1280 5th Avenue at 109th Street in East Harlem doesn't appear to have any specific programs scheduled for the MLK Weekend. The museum is focused on African culture rather than on African American culture. For details see - https://www.theafricacenter.org.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday, January 12, 13 & 14, 2024 beginning at 8 pm except Sunday which begins at 2 pm - Jazz at the Joyce. The Joyce Theatre has just begun its Winter Jazz Festival. On Friday & Saturday there are modern dance performances by the Dallas Black Dance Theatre Company, and on Thursday and Sunday the performances are by Soles of Duende. It's all part of the larger January Arts Festival - https://www.janartsnyc.org/ which runs through most of this month of January 2024.

This weekend between January 13 - 15, 2024 - Make Your Own Day of Civic Action. There are multiple opportunities to help with food distribution through non-profit panties throughout many neighborhoods in Harlem and Manhattan. Here is one notable suggestion - https://www.foodpantries.org/address_geo.php

BE SURE TO CHECK BACK FRIDAY FOR ADDITIONAL THINGS TO DO OVER THE MLK WEEKEND.



Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

First Weekend of the New Year 2024 - Some of the Top Things to do this Weekend in All Five Boros of NYC

things to do this weekend nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island nyc weekend events

January 5, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. Sunrise 7.20 am. Sunset 4.43 pm. The temperature highs will be in the high 30's all weekend. The temperature lows will be around 30 degrees all weekend. The winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Friday and Sunday, rising on Saturday to 15 - 20 mph. The humidity will rise from 45% on Friday, to 70% - 90% on Saturday, falling back a bit to 80% on Sunday. On Saturday, there will be an inch of rain [doubtfully snow in NYC] dropped between 3 pm and 2 am Sunday.

 

The photo at right was taken on New Years Day, at Coney Island in Brooklyn, as the Polar Bear Club took their annual plunge into the Atlantic Ocean. The weather was in the 40's and, as you can see, it was sunny. I used to think of the event as a bit of insanity, but on this New Years Day, it actually seemed like good fun.

 

CLICK here for NYC things to do in January - Events for ALL Weekend in NYC in January.


New Years Resolutions 2024: The Road Ahead

A Few Axioms To Keep In Mind Throughout The New Year

new years resolutions nyc nys 202January 1, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Holidays / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

For all of us, today starts the beginning of a new year. It's an opportunity to start anew. And even if we don't fulfill our highest expectations, moving the needle in the right direction, is always a good thing.

The rest of this report is about some of the things you can do personally to make 2024 a better year for you.


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Christmas Weekend with Holiday Markets, Holiday Events & NYE Parties - are Some of the Top Things to do this Weekend & Next Weekend in NYC

things to do this weekend nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island nyc weekend events

December 24, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. Sunrise 7.18 am. Sunset 4.33 pm. The temperature highs will rise from the low 40's on Friday, to the mid 40's on Saturday, to the high 40's on Sunday to the low 50's on Monday. The temperature lows will rise from the low 30's on Friday, to 40 on Saturday, to the mid 40's on Sunday and Monday. The winds will be below 5 mph all weekend, including Monday which is a national holiday. The humidity will rise from 60% on Friday, to 70% on Saturday, to 80% on Sunday and Monday. No precipitation is in the forecast. These temperature statistics are highly unusual for this time of year.

The photo at right, taken in Sunnyside Queens this week, shows an example of the holiday home decorations one can find in the five boroughs of NYC.

This weekend use the links below to find holiday events, holiday markets and look for things to do over the New Years Eve weekend. While all done for Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn and mostly done for the Bronx, we'll be completing the NYE parties options sometime Sunday 12/24/23.


Manhattan New Years Parties - NYE Parties Manhattan NYC

Manhattan New Years Eve Parties NYC & NYE Parties & Events MHTN 2023 / 2024

New Years Parties & Restaurants on the Upper East Side UES, Midtown, West & East Village, Upper West Side UWS, SoHo, Tribeca & Downtown in Manhattan NYC

manhattan new years parties manhattan new years parties restaurants manhattan nycDecember 29, 2023 / Manhattan New Years Eve Parties & Restaurants NYC / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

Weather Forecast. NYE Sunrise in NYC - 7.20 am. NYE Sunset in NYC - 4.38 pm. The temperature highs will be in the mid 50's on Friday, dropping to the mid 40's for the rest of the three day holiday weekend including Monday. The temperature lows will be around 40 through Sunday, dropping into the low 30's on Monday. Humidity will be around 70% on Friday, descending into the 60's for the rest of the three day weekend. The winds will be about 8 to 10 mph on Friday & Saturday, dropping to about 5 to 7 mph on Sunday and Monday. No precipitation is in the forecast, although it will be cloudy all days except NYE Sunday. Have a safe and Happy New Year.

As happens every year, there will be a number of great New Years parties in Manhattan preceding and following the dropping of the ball at Times Square.

New Years Eve occurs on a Sunday this year. While New Years Eve is one big party, it's important to keep in mind, that like St. Patrick's Day, all the amateurs come out to play [it's not just the Irish who are out drinking on St. Patrick's Day]. So some measure of caution is advised and you have to be careful.

The following are a number of different New Years restaurants in Manhattan NYC where you might consider booking a reservation.

Click here for Manhattan New Year Parties Eve NYC - NYE Parties Manhattan NYC.



NYC Things to do in December in All 5 Boros of NYC

December Events in NYC by Week

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Holiday Markets, Holiday Events & Cultural things to do this Weekend in NYC

things to do this weekend nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island nyc weekend eventsDecember 1, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 50's on Friday, rising to the high 50's on Saturday and settling into the mid 50's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the high 40's all weekend. The humidity will rise from 65% to 85% on Friday, and then stay in the 80% range the rest of the weekend. The winds will be about 5 mph on Friday and Saturday, rising to 5 - 10 mph on Sunday. Rain. About 1 - 2 tenths inch of rain is expected Friday, between 4 pm and 10 pm. Saturday is mostly dry, with a 40% chance of 1 - 2 tenths inch of rain after 8 pm. On Sunday about a quarter inch of rain is expected before 10 am and after 4 pm. Note the small amounts of rain currently forecast, and the timing of it, so that it doesn't have to get in the way of you spending an enjoyable weekend.

The photo at right shows a holiday dance performance at an NYC school.

 

CLICK here to view our reports of NYC things to do ALL weekends in December - Events NYC.


Thanksgiving - America's Communal Holiday

The Pilgrims Legacy: Love, Sharing & Community Empowerment

thanksgiving day senitments nyc what thanksgiving day means to meNovember 20, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / Thanksgiving Holidays in NYC / Gotham Buzz NYC.

A couple of years ago, I happened upon a childhood book of fables and fairytales that I had saved since I was a first grader. I was young enough to still like fairytales and old enough to be learning and loving to read.

The book, A Gateway to Storyland, by Platt & Munk Co, was given to me around the holidays, and the book still gives me a warm, loved feeling when I periodically open it to browse through the fairytales and fables containing little nuggets of age old wisdom about how to conduct onesself [see photo at right / the book is still in print]. I read it numerous times immediately upon receiving it, as the illustrations fed my imagination, and lessons embedded in the words resonated with timeless sagacity.

 

Unselfish Parental Love Manifested by Empowering Progeny

Love comes in many forms, but the purest form is unselfish love. The love of truly giving something with no thought of anything in return. That love is oftentimes given intergenerationally - from grandparents to parents to children.

Perhaps the greatest gifts are those that cost us nothing but our time. Like the gift of teaching someone something that they will be able to put to good use throughout their lives. Parents do this all the time, when they help their children develop skills, and impart some knowledge and learning ... just as my parents did many years ago, by giving me a well illustrated fairytale book to encourage my interest in reading, while sharing the time tested insights of the ages, handed down through storytelling.

 

I. A Brief Thanksgiving History

The Pilgrims Shared Communal Resources to Actualize a Dream

At Thanksgiving time we commemorate one of America's first settlements, founded by the risk-taking, resource-pooling, hardworking, spiritual community of Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims were early English settlers who arrived on American shores in the early 17th century [1600's]. They came here because they wanted a measure of freedom and self-determination that they were forbidden in Europe or what was called the 'old country'. The Pilgrims wanted to practice their faith, unencumbered, in a way that differed from the established Church of England. They pooled their money to obtain a ship, the Mayflower, to cross the Atlantic in mid September of 1620, landing on America's shores at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts on November 9, 1620. Think of it. It took about a month and a half to travel a distance we can now traverse in about five hours.

 

The Pilgrims Receive Help from the Native People of a Strange Land

Per Wikipedia, the Piligrims survived a hard winter in 1621 with the help of the Wampanoag, an American Indian tribe. The Pilgrims were the immigrants, and the first Americans, the Indian natives, welcomed them. The Wampanaog taught the Pilgrims how to catch eels, and how to grow and harvest corn. Thus the Pilgrims ended 1621 with a good harvest which they celebrated and shared with their new friends, expressing their gratitude to a higher power, aka God, for the success of their endeavors.

Thus it was that the first Thanksgiving celebration happened in America ... or did it?


Manhattan Holiday Events - Holiday Things to do Manhattan NYC

Manhattan Holiday Events - Manhattan NYC

Christmas Tree Lightings, Hanukkah Menorah Lightings, & Kwanzaa Candle Lightings in Manhattan & Holiday Markets & Events NYC

manhattan holiday events ues uws midtown harlem inwood washington heights west east village soho tribeca LES bowery holiday events holiday tree lighting washington square park manhattan nycDecember 15, 2023 / Upper East Side UES / Upper West Side UWS / Midtown NYC / East Village & West Village / Tribeca SoHo Bowery / Holiday Events & Holiday Markets - Kwanzaa, Hanukkah & Christmas Holidays in Manhattan / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

 

Be sure to visit our Manhattan holiday markets NYC page, as it contains related holiday events with a shopping element to them.

For links to holiday events and markets in all five boroughs of NYC scroll down to the bottom of this report.

 

How The Manhattan Holiday Events Page on this Page are Organized

NOTE. We added an Update Log at the beginning of the listings, so it's easier for you to stay abreast of changes / updates / new additions.

These holiday events in Manhattan are organized as follows:

1. BY NEIGHBORHOODS OF MANHATTAN

2. BY DATE - (not always as it depends on when the info comes in)

Watch carefully as some locales have multiple dates, and all dates for a given locale are shown at the time the venue is first listed.

3. ALL OF THESE ARE FREE UNLESS FEES ARE SPECIFIED.

4. *** Note MANHATTAN HOLIDAY MARKETS are published on a separate page - the links to which are posted at the bottom of this page, along with links to other boroughs.

 

Manhattan Holiday Lights, Christmas Tree Lightings, Hanukkah Menorah Lightings, Kwanzaa Candle Lightings Background

The holidays are a special time of the year. In ancient times there were harvest celebrations to give thanks and enjoy the bounty after a long growing and harvesting season aka a year of work.

Holiday lighting festivals and ceremonies have been on the rise in Manhattan in recent years. While some date back many years, some are fairly new.

Attending holiday lightings alone, with friends or with the kids gives folks a chance to enjoy their own cultural heritage and provides an opportunity to learn a bit more about and share in the cultural heritage of others.

Each lighting is a bit different, as some are orginated by the community, some by businesses, some by religious organizations, and a few have arts organizations behind them. Please feel free to send us a notice of your holiday lighting event if it's not posted herein.

 

Manhattan Holiday Events & Holiday Markets Now Underway

This is not meant to be a complete list, but rather a list of the holiday lighting events. The holiday lighting events are organized individually by each Manhattan neighborhood including the Upper East Side UES, the Upper West Side UWS, Midtown NYC, the East Village, the West Village, the Bowery, SoHo, Tribeca and more to come. Many include the serving of some beverage like hot chocolate and generally some snack like cookies.



* Exclusive: One on One Interview with the Mayor

The Eric Adams Story - Part I

Mayor Adams is a Complicated Man, Who Rose from Poverty, to the Highest Office in NYC

November 6, 2023 / NYC Government & Polltics / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz. News Analysis & Opinion by Michael Wood.

the eric adams story nyc exclusive report about nyc mayor eric adams nycThis past summer, while working on another story in collaboration with the Mayor's Office of Ethnic & Community Media [aka MOECM], I entered into discussions with the MOECM, about the possibility of an exclusive interview with the Mayor. The Mayor's Office of Ethnic & Community Media was created a couple of years ago, to enhance local media access to the goings on at City Hall, in order to better inform the public. Under the Adams Administration, part of that program included providing greater government official availability to somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 local media outlets.

Famod Konneh, Associate Director for Outreach and Engagement collaborated with me to make arrangements for the interview, which took place on Friday, October 20, 2023. It's worth noting that every reporting story done live, is a collaboration of a sort, between the journalist and the subject(s) covered.

The photo at right shows Jose Bayona, the Executive Director of the Mayor's Office of Ethnic & Community Media [aka MOECM], at the MOEDM operations cener which is in the basement of City Hall, while he was setting up the video conference.

 

Interview Preparation - Doing My Homework

I did a considerable amount of research into the Mayor's past, while preparing for the interview. I did all this prep work, even though Famod had told me I would be limited to 20 minutes via a Zoom video call, as I was pitching him for more time. When I first first started the research, I did it in preparation for the interview, but, as sometimes happens with the kind of reporting I do, the more I learned, the more I became interested in learning even more about the Mayor and his life story.

Initially I thought I would do a standard hard news interview about key topics of the day including immigration, crime, the public schools and the budget. But, as I journeyed into the Mayor's past, I became more intrigued with the idea of doing a different story.

The Adams Administration's Unheralded Herculean Effort Managing the Immigrant Influx

the eric adams story nyc exclusive report about nyc mayor eric adams nycAs I conducted my research, I decided that NOT to inquire about the Mayor's - seemingly unappreciated or underappreciated - Herculean effort to manage the huge influx of immigrants into NYC. This situation, turned crisis, began when Texas Governor Greg Abbott began bussing immigrants from Texas border towns, beginning in August 5, 2022, to NYC. Governor Abbott began transporting immigrants here without any communication nor coordination with NYS Governor Hochul or NYC Mayor Adams.

Nonetheless, Mayor Adams somehow found enough lodging for somewhere between 65,000 - 125,000 immigrants bussed in since then, who arrived in the city within the past year or so. The Mayor also managed to carve enough funding out of the NYC budget to provide security, food, healthcare and logistics for the newcomers, with what - until fairly recently [the past three months or so] - appeared somewhere between scant and lagging help from the likes of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and NYS Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY), respectively.

In spite of this gargantuan challenge, Mayor Adams made sure NYC didn't miss a step. His Administration kept the influx of immigrants mostly off the streets, and appeared to ensure they were't coopted into criminal activities by providing for them, in spite of laws which forbade them from earning a living. This nearly heroic effort has mostly gone unheralded by the corporate media.

The photo above right shows the Mayor pondering a question I posed to him, during our Zoom interview. He's in the Mayoral limo enroute to his next event.

CLICK here to read the rest of the story about my exclusive interview with Mayor Adams about his life - profile.


NYC Things to do in November in All 5 Boros of NYC

November Events in NYC by Week

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

NYC Marathon & Daylight Savings Time Sunday, Dia de los Muertos in Times Square Thurs Nite, Comedy Festival, Park Avenue Art Show, Washington Heights Jazz Fest, NY Comedy Fest & Bryant Park Winter Village Shops & Baltic Film Fest [Nxt Wk] in Manhattan; Diwali Festival in Jackson Heights, Off the Wall Affordable Art Fair and International Food Expo Next Week in Queens; Brooklyn Folk Music Festival and FAD Holiday Market in Brooklyn; Veterans Memoral Event in Van Cortlant Park & Universoul Circus at Orchard Beach in the Bronx; Holiday Market, Cranberry Festival & Fall Retreat on Staten Island

things to do this weekend nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island nyc weekend eventsNovember 3, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 50's on Thursday, rising to the low 60's for the rest of the weekend. The temperature lows will be in the low 40's on Thursday, rising to the high 40's for the rest of the weekend. The winds will be about 4 - 6 mph all weekend. The humidity will be 40% - 60% on Thursday, rising to 50% - 60% on Friday and Saturday, and rising again to 60% - 70% on Sunday. No rain is in the forecast this weekend ... finally.

Sunrise / Sunset Times. On Thursday 11/2/23 the sun rose at 7.27 am & the sun set at 5.51 pm. But note that because of Daylight Savings Time, this Sunday, 10/5/23 the sun will rise at 6.31 am and the sun will set at 4.48 pm.

The photo at right was taken at the 2011 NYC Marathon as the marathoners were coming across the Pulaski Bridge which connects Greenpoint in Brooklyn to Long Island City in Queens.

 

CLICK here for things to do in things to do in November in NYC - ALL weekends Events NYC in November.


Manhattan Holiday Markets - Holiday Shopping Manhattan NYC

Manhattan Holiday Markets - Manhattan NYC

Christmas Markets, Hanukkah Markets, Kwanzaa Markets & Outdoor Holiday Markets - Holiday Shopping in Manhattan NYC

manhattan holiday markets shopping  manhattan nycDecember 15, 2023 / Upper East Side UES / Upper West Side UWS / Midtown NYC / East Village & West Village / Tribeca SoHo Bowery / Holiday Events & Holiday Markets - Kwanzaa, Hanukkah & Christmas Holidays in Manhattan / Holiday Shopping Manhattan / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

 

Be sure to visit our Manhattan Holiday Events NYC page, as it contains related holiday events with a shopping element to them.

For links to holiday events and markets in all five boroughs of NYC scroll down to the bottom of this report.

NOTE. We added an Update Log at the beginning of the listings, so it's easier for you to stay abreast of changes / updates / new additions.

 

Holiday outdoor markets have been on the rise in Manhattan since the dawn of the 21st century. While some date back many years, quite a few are relatively new.

Shopping at holiday markets alone, with friends, or with the kids gives folks a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor and satisfy some of their yearnings as well as the yearnings of those we love.

Each of the Manhattan holiday markets is a bit different, as some are organized by community groups and others by business organizations. Oftentimes one can find artisanal products that are made in NYC or NYS.

 

Manhattan Holiday Markets Getting Underway

Some of the Manhattan holiday markets get underway almost immediately after Halloween, while others open up around Thanksgiving time. The Manhattan holiday markets are located in or near the following Manhattan neighborhoods - the Upper East Side UES, the Upper West Side UWS, Midtown NYC, the East Village, the West Village, the Bowery, SoHo, Tribeca, Lower East Side, Harlem, Inwood and Washington Heights. Many either include the serving of some beverage like hot chocolate and generally snacks like cookies - or are near food vendors and restaurants.

Click here for our report about the Xmas / Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa Holiday markets in Manhattan & Holiday shopping Manhattan NYC.



The LIC Summit at the Museum of the Moving Image

The One Things that was Clear, Amidst a Number of Rapidly Shifting Trends, was that the Times They are a Changing

things to do this weekend nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island nyc weekend eventsOctober 23, 2023 / Queens Neighborhoods NYC / Queens Business NYC / Queens Buzz. 

Last Tuesday, on a fairly nice October day, I visited the Museum of the Moving Image, to attend the LIC Summit which was organized by the Long Island City Partnership [LICP].  According to their website - at https://www.longislandcityqueens.com - the description and mission of the Long Island City Partnership is as follows:

"... [The] Long Island City Partnership(LICP) is the neighborhood development organization for LIC [Long Island City]. Our mission is to advocate for economic development that benefits the area’s industrial, commercial, science and technology, cultural, tourism, and residential sectors. The goal is to attract new businesses to LIC, retain those already here, engage residents and visitors, and promote a vibrant and authentic mixed-use community. LICP also operates the LIC Business Improvement District and LIC Industrial Business Zone (LIC IBZ), providing business services and assistance...".

The photo at right shows that it was a packed house at the LIC Summit this year at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria / LIC in Queens.

I believe the first Long Island City Partnership Summit was held in 2014 [also at the Museum of the Moving Image], which we reported on at the time.  Based on their outreach this year, the purpose of the event remains largely intact, which is as follows, " ... to shape the future of the neighborhood, focusing discussions on LIC’s public spaces, sustainability and resiliency, as well as the challenges and opportunities of NYC’s fastest growing neighborhood ...".

So, while a lot has changed in Long Island City, Queens, NYC - and for that matter the world - their goals and efforts remain constant amidst this changing world.  Likewise, many of the key issues of nearly a decade ago, haven't gone away.  These include the scarcity of affordable housing, the need for public space and accessible transit, and the challenge of curating an environment where local small businesses can create and operate viable business models.  And ... to be sure ... we are also facing new challenges, which include the time sensitive need to transition to renewable energy, and build and sustain resilient infrastructure - particularly in low lying and waterfront neighborhoods. 

What follows are some excerpts from the participants of the Keynote panel at the LIC Summit.  The participants included Moderator Carl Weisbrod, Senior Adviser at HR&A; and panelists Justin Ginsburgh, Managing Director Infrastructure Jet Blue; Donovan Richards, Jr, Queens Borough President; and Maria Torres-Springer, NYC Deputy Mayor of Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce for the City of New York.


Manhattan Halloween Parties, Parades & Events NYC

Manhattan Halloween Parties, Parades & Events 2023 NYC

Manhattan Halloween Parties in Midtown, UES, Upper East Side, East Village, West Village Halloween Parade Manhattan NYC, UWS, Upper West Side, SoHo, Harlem, LES, Lower East Side, Downtown NYC Seaport, Inwood & Washington Heights Manhattan Halloween Events NYC

manhattan halloween parties nyc manhattan village halloween parades manhattan halloween events nycUPDATED October 30, 2023 from 10/16/23 / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Manhattan Restaurants / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

Halloween occurs on a Tuesday this year. The Manhattan Halloween party celebrations begin leading into the weekend running through to Halloween day itself. The following is a round up of some of the Halloween parties planned in Manhattan.

The weather around Halloween is usually about 65 during the day time and around 50 degrees at night. It's too early to tell what the precipitation will be the preceding weekend as well as on Halloween, but we provide weather updates each Friday.

The 47th Annual Village Halloween Parade Manhattan NYC starts at 7 pm at Spring Street and 6th Avenue and marches north to 16th Street on Tuesday, October 31st. It runs through the West Village neighborhood for three to four hours with the official end time at 10.30 pm. We've heard that there are over 35 bands and an innumerable showing of creative costumes.

The following is a short list of Manhattan Halloween parties at local bars, restaurants and arts and public venues will be added over time. In most cases we suggest that you call ahead and rsvp a spot to be sure you get in.

Click here to view our report on Manhattan Halloween Parties NYC - Halloween Parties, Parades & Events in Manhattan NYC.



LaGuardia Community College Pioneers New Ground ... Again

Boyce Technologies Hosts LAGCC President's Society Ten Year Anniversary Celebration

laguardia community college presidents society boyce technologies lic queens nycOctober 9, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Queens Buzz NYC.

A week ago from last Thursday, I attended a celebration of the President's Society at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City Queens. The LAGCC President's Society is an innovative program designed to help high potential students reach their full potential. The event was held at Boyce Technologies, which is located nearby and designs and manufactures mass transit security and communications equipment.

The reason it was held at Boyce Technologies, is because they and LaGuardia Community College have developed a symbiotic relationship, whereby the school has become one of Boyce's leading suppliers of human talent [reportedly about 20% of their employees], while Boyce has become a significant employer of LaGuardia Community College graduates.

About 200 of the roughly 600 LaGuardia Community College President's Society members, who enrolled in the program over the past ten years, attended the event. This is a particularly remarkable number, when one considers that a number of the attendees came from other parts of the country just to attend this one evening event, and that LaGuardia is a two year public college, not a four year one.

The photo above was taken at the LaGuardia Community College President's Society tenth anniversary reunion at Boyce Technologies in Long Island City on Thursday, September 28, 2023.


Manhattan Things to do Columbus Day Weekend NYC

Columbus Day Weekend Manhattan NYC

Things To Do In Manhattan NYC Over The Columbus Day Weekend

things to do columbus day weekend manhattan nyc ues uws midtown east village soho tribeca upper west side upper east side things to do columbus day parade manhattan nycOctober 6, 2023 / Things To Do Manhattan / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be around 70 on Friday and Saturday, and around 60 on Sunday and Monday. The temperature lows will be around 65 on Friday and then around 50 for the rest of the weekend. The winds will be around 5 - 10 mph on Friday and Monday, and around 10 - 15 mph on Saturday and Sunday. The humidity will be around 90% on Friday, dropping to 75% - 85% on Saturday, and then around 60% on Sunday and Monday. There's a 40% to 90% chance of about an inch and a half of rain between 9 pm Friday and 4 pm Saturday. The rest of the weekend looks dry right now. Friday Sunrise is 6.57 am and Sunset is 6.30 pm.

 

This report contains a listing of some of the things to do in Manhattan over the Columbus Day Weekend including art museums, theaters, live music / comedy / dance venues, sporting & social events, and restaurants for Manhattan NYC.

See our weekend post on the Friday of Columbus Day Weekend with things to do in Manhattan NYC including the Columbus Day Parade on the front page of this site. The weekend post will include all sorts of other events and activities not necessarily related to Columbus Day.

You can still attend NYC street fairs in Manhattan, go bicycling in Manhattan, play soccer & other games in Manhattan NYC parks, go shopping in Manhattan locales including Midtown, the Upper West & East Sides & the Village, attend Manhattan parades, watch theater, visit the NYC art museums, and eat out at one of the Manhattan restaurants NYC.

 

 

Columbus Day Events In Manhattan

Columbus Day Parade - Upper East Side Manhattan

  • Midtown / UES _ Monday, October 9, 2023 from 11.30 am to 3.30 pm, with parade beginning at 12 noon - The Columbus Day Parade. The Manhattan Columbus Day Parade kicks off at Fifth Avenue at 44th Street and marching up to 72nd Street along the Upper East Side. There's a mass at St. Patricks Cathedral preceding the parade, likely at 10 am [unconfirmed time]. Check the front page of this website for other things to do over the Columbus Day Weekend in Manhattan. For details and related Columbus Day Weekend events see - https://columbuscitizens.org/Columbus_Day/Columbus_Day_Parade
  • South Midtown _ Saturday, October 14, 2023 from 9 am to 3 pm - 2nd Annual Indigenous People's Parade. There's a ceremony that begins at 9 am and the parade begins at 12 noon marching down South Broadway from 26th Street in Midtown to 17th Street in Union Square Park. There's likely to be after parade activity in the park.

 

manhattan things to do labor day weekend manhattan nyc

Manhattan Public & Private Parks & Public Indoor Swimming Pools

Manhattan has one of number of public parks of which a few include indoor swimming facilities. Click here for a listing of the Manhattan Parks NYC including maps showing their locations along with a bit of park history.

NYC public indoor swimming pools are open.

 

NYC Golfing In Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn & Staten Island

Manhattan doesn't have any golf courses per se, but there is a driving range at 62 Chelsea Piers at 22nd Street and the West Side Highway.

There are also three simulated golfing centers in Manhattan that operate under the Five Iron Golf name at 22 Stone Street [at Broad St] in the Financial District, at 138 5th Avenue in the Flatiron District and in the Continental on the third floor at 883 6th Avenue near Macy's and Madison Square Garden.

Queens has four golf courses and all of them are open this weekend. Click here for details about Queens Golf Courses including maps and links to the operators' websites.

The Bronx has four public golf courses: Mosholu, Van Cortlandt Park are accessible via the MTA / subway. And Pelham Bay Park and Trump golf links are accessible via subway and a brief bus ride. The Trump Golf Links are an NYC golf course owned by the city, for which Mayor Bloomberg had cut a licensing deal with Donald Trump to rename and manage it. Since the Capitol Riot / Insurrection, the City has decided to terminate that deal and rename the golf course, but Trump is suing to keep the contract.

Brooklyn has a couple of golf courses including Dyker Beach golf course which is accessible via subway and Marine Park golf course which is accessible via subway and bus.

And Staten Island has three beautiful golf courses including: Silver Lake which is only a few miles from the St. George Ferry, LaTourette Park which isn't far from the Staten Island Mall in the central / western part of Staten Island and the South Shore Golf Course which much further south of the Staten Island Mall, along the west coast of Staten Island.

Click here for things to do Columbus Day Weekend, including the parade, in Manhattan NYC.



Manhattan Things To Do This Weekend NYC - Weekend Events MHTN NYC
manhattan things to do this weekend nyc manhattan weekend events mhtn nyc
 

 

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND IN MANHATTAN

MARCH WEEKEND EVENTS - MANHATTAN NYC

UPDATED 3 / 9 / 24

ALWAYS A WORK IN PROGRESS

Also, Click Logo at the Top of the Screen to Check Front Page for Additional

Things To Do this Weekend in Manhattan / Manhattan Weekend Events NYC

things to do manhattan thanksgiving day parade in manhattan nyc

MARCH is the month of Daylight Savings Time, St Patricks Day, the first day of Spring, and this year it is also the month of the Muslim Holy Days of Ramadan, the Hindu festival of Holi and the Christian Easter.

This month look for longer and warmer days; St Patricks Day Parades in all boroughs; Easter, Ramadan and Holi celebrations, the International Auto Show, the Macy's Flower Show, a Japanese food festial as well as other weekend things to do.

The photo above was taken in Canal Street which lies between the Chinatown and Little Italy neighborhoods.

Use search to find prior stories, maps, photos and business listings.

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Mount Sinai - Living Donor Celebration - Kidney & Liver Transplants - NY Academy of Medicine NYC

Mount Sinai - Living Donor Celebration - at the NY Academy of Medicine NYC

I was Almost Shocked by a Lot of What I Learned about Kidney & Liver Transplants

mt sinai human organ transplants nyc zweig family center for living donation nyc September 25, 2023 / Manhattan Neighborhoods NYC / Manhattan Healthcare NYC / Manhattan Buzz.

Nearly two weeks ago, on Wednesday, September 13th, I headed into the New York Academy of Medicine at 1215 5th Avenue on the Upper East Side to attend a ceremony - a celebration actually - honoring Living Donors of Mt. Sinai's kidney and liver transplant program. 

To be frank, when first approached to cover this event, I wasn't sure of what to expect.  But after mulling it over, and perhaps with a bit of deference to my Mother, who had signed away her organs on her driver's license [and likely elsewhere], I decided to go to see what I might learn.

 

New York Academy of Medicine on the UES

The ceremony was held at the New York Academy of Medicine, which is located along 5th Avenue at 103rd Street.  The NY Academy of Medicine was founded in 1847 by a number of NYC doctors, most notably the Presidents of the NYU School of Medicine, the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Medical Society of the City and County of New York.  The Academy has played an influential role in shaping public health policy in NYC, NYS and the U.S.

The building in which the New York Academy of Medicine is located, as well as the location of the Mt. Sinai Living Donor Ceremony, was built in 1926 and is also home to the NY Academy of Medicine's library of various aspects of medicine, which was first started in 1847, opened to the public in 1878, and continues to be accessible to the public to this day.  Generally it's dedicated to those wishing to do research and one has to make an appointment to use it.  For more information and to make an appointment see - https://www.nyam.org/library/connect/visit-library/

The Mt. Sinai Living Donor Ceremony event was held on the third floor of the building what seemed a library reading room turned into a theater.  The room had 20 foot high ceilings [possibly higher], nearly floor to ceiling windows overlooking Central Park, and I'm no expert, but I believe the bookcases in the front of the room were made of oak.  The Carnegie Foundation donated about one million to the NY Academy of Medicine to build this building back in the 1920's.

My point in telling you all of this, is to provide a feeling and sense of connection to the past, the early roots of scientific healthcare in this country, which I assume was part of the consideration in selecting this location for the event ... as well as its proximity to the Mt Sinai Hospital campus on the Upper East side, which is located along 5th Avenue between 98th Street and 103rd Street.

CLICK here to read the rest of our story about kidney and liver transplants by Mount Sinai at a presentation at the NY Academy of Medicine.



Oktoberfest Parties & Celebrations in NYC including in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx & Staten Island

Oktoberfest Begins Mid September in NYC and run thru October

oktoberfest in nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island oktoberfest events celebrations in nycUPDATED October 7, 2023 from 9.19.23 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The official / unofficial kick off to the month and a half of Oktoberfest events in NYC begins in Manhattan with the Steuben Parade. This report identifies a number of Oktoberfest events around NYC beginning mid September and running through the end of October.

The photo at right shows one of the floats in the Steuben Parade celebrating the consumption of bier, which in tandem with consumption of bratwurst, is an integral part of Oktoberest. One thing the photo doesn't show is the music, that also goes hand in hand with Oktoberfest.

 

A Brief History of Oktoberfest in NYC

Coming with time. We've posted a number of Oktoberfests in this report, but a few more are coming. Also watch the front page, as this year [only] they are likely to be posted there first.

 


The San Gennaro Festival in The Little Italy Neighborhood of Manhattan NYC

San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy Manhattan NYC

Manhattan's Signature Italian Festival Celebrates Little Italy in NYC

September 13, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

san gennaro festival nyc san gennaro parade manhattan san gennaro festival parade manhattan nycFall is just around the corner, which means the San Gennaro Festival is about to begin in Little Italy in Manhattan. See the front page or the parades & festivals page or click into the story for details of the San Gennaro Festival of 2023.

 

A Very Brief History of Little Italy Manhattan

Little Italy is just north of Canal street, across from Chinatown, which lies to its south. SoHo lies to its west, across Lafayette Street. While the Bowery is just east of it along Mott and Bowery Streets, and Nolita [North of Little Italy] lies to the north of it, across Broome Street. This is something of a downsized area from the original Little Italy of a century ago.

Little Italy was an important destination for Italians arriving in New York City in the late 1800's and early 20th century. It was generally a poor, working class neighborhood at that time, filled with laborers, and shopkeepers who traded food, wine and clothing. And the community was fairly self-sufficient with its own doctors, lawyers and bankers accoding to a Wikipedia account of an NYT story in 1896.

Little Italy's size and population peaked in the early 20th century, at about 10,000, as Italians left for greener pastures in other parts of the city, including East Harlem, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Nonetheless, Little Italy remains somewhat intact, as a very popular tourist destination, the peak of which is celebrated in tandem with the San Gennaro Festival.



911 Commemoration Events & Remembrances in NYC & Boros

911 Commemorations this Weekend and Monday

911 events nyc 911 memorial events nyc 911 commemoration things to do nyc manhattan queens brooklyn bronx staten island 911 eventsSeptember 10, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

This weekend, there are a number of events around the five boroughs commemorating the losses of 911. The following are a few of those events.

 

The collection of photos at right shows an cultural performance at Lincoln Center honoring the victims of 911. The performance returns Monday at 8.05 am.

 

911 Remembrances / Commemorations NYC

Ongoing _ Daffodil Project in NYC Parks. For details see - https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/sept-11-memorials

 


The West Indian American Day Parade(s) in Brooklyn NYC

A Deeper Dive into the Cultural Origins of the Carnival & Some Particulars About the Celebrations in Brooklyn

west indian american day parade & carnival in brooklyn nyc WIADCA parade on labor day bk nycSeptember 6, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / Brooklyn Parades & Festivals / Brooklyn BLVD NYC.

On a sultry Labor Day Monday morning, I set out for the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Crown Heights. The former, covers some of the area in Brooklyn known as Little Caribbean and it was to be the ending point for the Jouvert parade, which serves as the warm up for the larger West Indian American Day Parade.

Be advised that I was not aware of this distinction - two parades by the same group on the same day - until I had arrived and started making inquiries about when and where the actions was.

The Jouvert puportedly started at 11 am inside Prospect Park either at the entrance to the Kids Zoo [still not certain about this, but I'm getting closer to being precise] on Flatbush Avenue or based on a map I saw on the NYPD website, the Jouvert started at Grand Army Plaza, at the north end of Prospect Park. I'll be following up on this, and make the changes here when I get them.

The photo above right was taken at the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn on Labor Day. Many different island cultures celebrate the carnival in unison. The flag in the lower right corner of the photo is Jamaican.

west indian american day parade & carnival in brooklyn nyc WIADCA parade on labor day bk nycThe Jouvert then marched east along Empire Boulevard before turning south on Nostrand Avenue and terminating at Winthrop. I arrived a bit before noon, at Empire Blvd and Nostrand, where the Jouvert Parade had already passed. The Jouvert Parade involves participants adorning themselves with paint and powder, sometimes sharing it with others in a style that reminded me of the Indian Holi celebration.

Speaking of Indians, the West Indies got their name after Columbus discovered them for the Spanish throne. They were called the West Indies, in order to differentiate them from the East Indies, with which the Portuguese had opened up trading routes in the 15th century just prior to Columbus's discovery. The East Indies comprises the islands that lie south of India, the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea and north and west of Australia.

CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn over the Labor Day Weekend.


Manhattan Things To Do Labor Day Weekend - Events Manhattan NYC

Things To Do Labor Day Weekend Manhattan NYC

Things To Do In Manhattan - Events Over The Labor Day Weekend

things to do labor day weekend manhattan nyc ues uws midtown east village soho tribeca upper west side upper east side things to do labor day weekendSeptember 2, 2023 / Things To Do Manhattan / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be around 80 on Friday and Saturday, rising to about 90 on Sunday and Monday. The temperature lows will be in the low 60's on Friday, the high 60's on Saturday and about 70 on Sunday and Monday. The winds will be 4 - 8 mph on Friday and Saturday, falling to 3 - 6 mph on Sunday and Monday. The humidity will range from around 50% to 65% on Friday and Saturday, rising to 55% to 70% on Sunday and Monday. Sunrise is approximately 6.23 am and sunset in 7.29 pm as of Friday 9/1/23.

In the photo at right you can see an art show held in Manhattan in a prior year.

 

ALSO SEE FRONT PAGE FOR THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND MANHATTAN.

 

Special Events on Labor Day Weekend in Manhattan NYC

One of the biggest events over the Labor Day Weekend in Manhattan include the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit which runs from 12 noon to 6 pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, as well as the following weekend. The show runs along University Avenue from 13th Street down to Washington Square.

Also, from Friday, August 25th to Monday, September 4th, 2023 there are nightly high definition screenings, beginning at 8 pm, of Metropolitan Opera performances shown in the plaza at Lincoln Center at Columbus and 68th Street on the UWS. Copy and paste this link to see what's playing each night - https://www.metopera.org/season/summer-events/summer-hd-festival/ . FREE. You can pay to ensure a seat [212.875.5456], as there are only 2,500 seats, and it's first come / first serve, and they open for seating only an hour before the screening begins. Shows continue through rain, unless there's thunder and / or lightning.

And it's worth mentioning that on Friday and Saturday, September 1 & 2, 2023, the Metropolitan Museum Rooftop Cantor bar is open from 5.30 - 8.15 pm on the 5th floor. Free w/ admission to the Met. This year the bar stays open through October 22nd, 2023 and it's worth noting that it closes at 4.15 pm on weekdays, and opens at 11 am on all days.

Ironically, the Labor Day Parade in Manhattan is held Saturday, September 9th,the weekend after Labor Day in Manhattan. It begins at 10 am on 5th Avenue at 44th Street marching north to 64th Street.

 

Labor Day Events In Manhattan

You can still attend NYC street fairs in Manhattan, go bicycling in Manhattan, play soccer & other games in Manhattan NYC parks, go shopping in Manhattan locales including Midtown, the Upper West & East Sides & the Village, attend Manhattan parades, watch theater, visit the NYC art museums, and eat out at one of the Manhattan restaurants NYC.

And it's all happening right here in our favorite borough - Manhattan. So take your time to sort through the events and start planning your weekend. Click here to obtain information about other things to do in Manhattan NYC beyond the Labor Day Weekend. This events calendar is updated monthly with about 100 different Manhattan fun / cultural events.

manhattan things to do labor day weekend manhattan nyc

Manhattan Public & Private Parks

Manhattan has one of number of public parks of which a few include swimming facilities. Click here for a listing of the Manhattan Parks NYC including maps showing their locations along with a bit of park history.

 

NYC Golfing In Queens & The Bronx

Manhattan doesn't have any golf courses per se, but all of the other boroughs do and all of them are open this weekend. That said, Manhattan has a nice driving range at Chelsea Piers which is open this weekend.

Click here for details about Queens Golf Courses including maps and links to the operators' websites. The Bronx has several public golf courses: Mosholu and Van Cortlandt Park are accessible via the MTA / subway.



Floyd Bennett Field Returns, for Encore, as Gateway to NYC

NYC Mayor Adams & NYS Governor Hochul Receive a Lease Agreement from the U.S. Government to Lease Floyd Bennett Field

things to do in queensAugust 29, 2023 / Brooklyn Neighborhoods / NYC Issues / Brooklyn BLVD.

Just over a week ago, Governor Hochul announced that she and NYC Mayor Adams had received a lease agreement from the Biden Administration, regarding the terms for leasing the Floyd Bennett Airfield for temporary use as a migrant center. The airfield is expected to be capable of providing temporary shelter for about 2,500 immigrants.

 

Floyd Bennett Field is a Part of the Gateway National Recreation Area

Floyd Bennett Airfield is located at the south eastern end of Brookyn and is part of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife sanctuary, as you can see from the map at right. The airport became a part of the National Park Service in 1972 when the Gateway National Recreation Area was established to protect important natural resources within / near NYC. Sandy Hook New Jersey is also a part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, while the rest of it is located in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn, as previously implied.

 

Floyd Bennett Airfield - NYC's First Airport - Opened 1931

things to do in queensFour years ago, on August 31, 2019, I visited the Floyd Bennett Airfield with the intention of doing a story on it, which - until now - I had not had an opportunity to do. On that visit, I biked the airfield, took photos in both the museum and peeked through the dusty windows of the hangars and warehouses on the airfield, to photographed our recent past.

Given that the airfield is about to be transformed into a sprawling migrant center, I thought folks might want to take a look at it as it was four years ago, before it is repurposed into something quite new. Along with this story, I'll also take you through a brief history ...

... as the Floyd Bennett Airfield was NYC's first airport, predating LaGuardia which according to Wikipedia opened on December 2, 1939 and JFK which opened as New York International Airport [nicknamed Idlewild] in July 1, 1948. Floyd Bennett Airfield opened on May 23, 1931.


Eric Adams, Sheena Wright & Persons of Interest

The NYC Mayor & First Deputy Mayor have Set Out on an Ambitious Effort to Prevent Crimes Before They Happen through the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force [GVPTF]

things to do in queensUPDATED _ August 19, 2023 vs 8.16.23 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Social Issues & Law Enforcement / News Reporting, Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Last Thursday I headed down to City Hall to hear a presentation by First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and Andre T. Mitchell of Man Up! in Brooklyn, who are the Co-Chairs of the Mayor's Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. The Mayor's Office of Ethnic & Community Media [MOECM] had organized the roundtable presentation at City Hall, and there were a bit more than a couple of dozen local media reporters in attendance.

The photo at right top shows two characters in the CBS TV series Person of Interest who spend their time trying to prevent crimes before they happen. The photo bottom right shows the Mayor & First Deputy Mayor, who are working to reduce and prevent crime in real life.

If one sets aside the drama, theatrics, rule bending & breaking, and the sensationalism of the TV series, there are some interesting parallels between what the folks in real life are trying to do, vis a vis what the imaginary characters of the TV series were trying to do. We'll have more on this later in the report.

 

Behind the Scenes at City Hall with Sheena Wright

nyc gun violence prevention task force nyc sheena wright first deputy mayor jose bayona executive director of moecm at wright of man up brooklyn nycThe First Deputy Mayor, Sheena Wright, provided an overview of what the Adams Administration has quietly been working on - mostly behind the scenes - in the neighborhoods in NYC most wracked by violent crime.

Since June of 2022, Wright, Mitchell and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force have been laying the ground work to try to prevent crime in the high violence communties, before it starts. She described it as going upstream to root out the underlying causes of violent crime.

The Task Force has taken a holistic approach to the problem, rather than taking the historic / authoritarian approach to violent crime, which had further oppressed the people in the affected communities, by over policing them. For example during the Bloomberg Administration, the NYPD was instructed to stop and frisk people, seemingly at will.

This is not to say that the Adams Administration has reduced policing in these neighborhoods, because they have not. In fact they have increased policing in these neighborhoods, BUT they have concurrently begun reinvesting in these neighborhoods, which for decades, they told us, have experienced significant community disinvestment. I have not yet independently verified the disinvestment claim, but believe it is directionally correct.

The photo at right shows Jose Bayona, Executive Director of the MOECM; Sheena Wright, First Deputy Mayor and Andre T. Wright, Founder of Man Up! at a Round Table meeting at City Hall.


Manhattan Farmers Markets NYC - Green Markets Manhattan NYC

manhattan farmers markets manhattan nyc farmers markets  green markets uws ues chelsea morningside heights tribeca nyc farmers markets manhattan nyc

Manhattan Farmers Markets NYC 2023

manhattan farmers markets manhattan nyc village midtown ues uws tribeca harlem soho les farmers markets manhattan nyc photosOpening Dates, Hours, Items & How To Shop - Manhattan Farmers Markets in NYC

UPDATED September 10, 2023 / Manhattan Farmers Markets NYC / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

This report contains the opening dates, times / hours, items / selection, as well as links to online maps of Manhattan farmer markets in NYC.

The Manhattan farmers markets on this page are in or around the Manhattan neighborhoods of Washington Heights, Harlem, the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, Midtown, Chelsea, Gramercy Park, the East Village, the West Village, Tribeca, SoHo, and the FiDi neighborhood in Downtown Manhattan.

Enjoy shopping and eating the fresh and natural foods and product of our local farmers and food manufacturers.

The photo at right is of the Tompkins Square Park Farmers Market in the East Village in Manhattan.

Click here to view the Manhattan farmers markets / Manhattan Green Markets NYC by neighborhood.



Manhattan Free Public Outdoor Swimming Pools - Manhattan NYC

Manhattan Free Public Outdoor Swimming Pools - Manhattan NYC

This Manhattan NYC Public Swimming Pool Directory Includes Contact Info

manhattan swimming pools manhattan nycUPDATING August 2, 2023/ Manhattan Neighborhoods NYC / Manhattan Parks & Sports / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

Manhattan offers easy access to a wide range of recreational swimming pools. The following is our first attempt to provide you with a view of the range of public swimming pools available in the parks of Manhattan. We encourage you to make use of these facilities because they provide healthy, fun, and frequently free or inexpensive entertainment for both individuals and families with children.

Manhattan outdoor public pools will open Thursday, June 29, 2023. A few of the indoor pools will be closed this summer to allow for construction and improvements.

Generally pool hours are from 11 am - 7 pm daily, with a one hour break between 3 and 4 pm for cleaning. Bring a padlock for your locker and proper swimming trunks are required [for boys this means not shorts as trunks must have liners]. Don't bring food, glass bottles, newspapers, electronics, floaters and no or as few valuables as you can bring to minimize your risk because the park isn't responsible for your losses. Free sunscreen will be made available while supplies last.

As of this posting 6.28.23, masks are NOT required for indoor activity including in the locker rooms, but stay tuned as it's possible that could change.

Click here to view a listing of Manhattan swimming pools including UES Upper East Side, UWS Upper West Side, Midtown, East Village, West Village, SoHo and Tribeca swimming pools. Please note the photos do not reflect the onsite pools as of this post 6.28.23.




Free Things To Do Manhattan NYC - Free Summer Concerts Manhattan Upper East Side UES Upper West Side UWS Midtown West Village East Village Soho Tribec

NYC Free Summer Concerts Manhattan 2023

NYC Free Things To Do - Free Summer Concerts On the Upper East Side UES, Upper West Side UWS, Midtown, West & East Village, SoHo & Tribeca in Manhattan

free summer concerts manhattan nyc free summer events manhattan nyc UPDATED _ August 19, 2023 / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Live Music & Free Concerts Manhattan / Manhattan Things To Do / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

Summer has begun and a number of community groups in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department and frequently with some measure of various levels of government funding, have put together a summer full of films and free summer concerts in the parks. The free concerts listed below are designed for young and old alike and they're FREE.

 



Free Things To Do Manhattan NYC Free Shakespeare Summer Theater Manhattan Upper East Side UES Upper West Side UWS Midtown Tribeca West Village East Vi

Free Summer Outdoor Theater in Manhattan 2023

NYC Free Things To Do In Summer in Manhattan - Free Summer Theater On the Upper East Side UES, Upper West Side UWS, Midtown, West & East Village, SoHo & Tribeca & Shakespeare in Central Park in NYC

UPDATED _ September 1, 2023 / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Dance & Theater / Theatre Manhattan / Manhattan Things To Do / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

manhattan free summer theater uws ues upper east side upper west side manhattan nyc free summer theater manhattan nyc

 

FALL THEATER SECTION COMING SOON.

 

Summer is hitting full stride. A number of community theater and dance groups in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department and frequently some measure of government funding, collaborate to provide Queens neighborhoods with a summer that includes free theater in the parks. The theatrical productions listed below are designed for young and old alike and they're FREE.

 

Editor's Note - Note that ASTERISKED events have NOT been updated to 2023. Pay attention to the performance dates / years. We will be updating / adding this summer theater report through the summer, so check back periodically for updates which you can note by the date changing above.

 

Scroll Down for Free Theater Events or Use these Links to Check Out Other Free Summer Things to do in Manhattan NYC

Foreign Films / Free Movies in the Park Manhattan. Click here to view our report on free movies in the park - summer movies in Manhattan, Upper East Side UES, Upper West Side UWS, Midtown, West & East Village, SoHo & Tribeca.

Free Summer Concerts in the Park Manhattan NYC. Click here to view our report on free concerts in the parks - summer concerts in Manhattan, Upper East Side UES, Upper West Side UWS, Midtown, West & East Village, SoHo & Tribeca this summer.

Current Manhattan Things To Do. Click here to view a listing of current Manhattan things to do or click here to view our member submitted Manhattan events calendar.

 

 



* Why does NYC Care?

NYC Care is a Citywide Health Program Designed to Aid People Who Cannot Afford to Pay for their Entire Health Insurance Coverage

July 10, 2023 / NYC Healthcare / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz.

nyc care health insurance program nyc health & hospitals nyc care low cost no cost health insurance nycTwo weeks ago, on Monday, June 26, 2023 I attended a meeting in City Hall hosted by the Adams Administration.  It was raining fairly hard as I approached City Hall on this warm June afternoon.

The purpose of the meeting was to highlight the achievements being made in providing healthcare to New Yorkers.  The focus on this day, was the progress being made toward providing healthcare to those who cannot [fully] afford it, by enrolling them into the NYC Care insurance program. 

The meeting was arranged by the Mayor's Office of Ethnic & Community Media. I arrived a bit early and spent time catching up with some of the other reporters while waiting for the meeting to begin.

The photo at right shows the NYC City Hall on a warm, rainy mid afternoon in late June.

 

What is NYC Care?

In the meeting we were told that, while the NYC Care program is a healthcare / insurance program that focuses on minorities, immigrants and those for whom English is a second language, it is available to everyone - including Whites - assuming all candidates for the insurance program meet the same preconditions.

Enrollees in the NYC Care healthcare insurance program need only meet three criteria to be eligible: 1) must be 21 years old, 2) they must have a valid government ID from the U.S. or a valid passport from their nation of origin, and 3) they may not be eligible for any other private or public health insurance program [such as Medicaid / Medicare].  There used to be a proof of six months of NYC residency requirement, but it was later rescinded.


July 4th Fireworks Manhattan NYC - Places / Where To Watch & View

Manhattan 4th of July Fireworks NYC 2023

Best Viewing Places / Locations to Watch Fireworks in Manhattan NYC

July 4, 2023 / Manhattan Neighborhoods / 4th of July Holiday Manhattan / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

4th of july fireworks 2018 manhattan nyc july 4th 2018NYC Weather Update 7.4.23 - On July 4th the humidity will remain about 80%. Unfortunately the winds will have died down to 3 mph. The temperature high will be in the low 80's and the temperature low will be in the low 70's. There's a 1/3 inch of rain expected - mostly between the hours of 11 am - 7 pm - so by dusk, which is after 9 pm, the temperatures will be in the 70's, no rain but it will be humid.

Temperature highs will range from the low to high 80's through the July 4th holiday on Tuesday. The tempeature lows will range from the mid 60's to the mid 70's, rising a bit reach day. The winds will range from 5 - 10 mph from now through Tuesday. The humidity will range from 60% - 70% Friday, then rising up to 80% for Saturday, and then staying there for Sunday and Monday, before falling back to 60% - 70% on Tuesday. Rain. Between a quarter and half inch of rain is expected on Sunday, and a quarter inch on Monday. While there may be clouds on the other days, rain is not expected. Air Quality. We continue to experience some of the unhealthy conditions from the Canadian forest fires caused by climate change which is caused by carbon emissions from folks' gas guzzling autos & other carbon emitting machinery. To stay abreast of the air quality in NYC copy and paste this link into your browswer bar - https://www.airnow.gov.

 

Macy's July 4th Fireworks along the East River Provides Good Viewing from Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens and are Remotely Viewable from Northern Staten Island & the Southern tip of the Bronx

The Macy's 4th of July fireworks will be shown along the East River again this year. The fireworks were shown along the East River in 2014, for the first time since 2008, and have remained on the East River ever since. Mayor de Blasio had lobbied for the return, which now spans ten years. The Grucci Brothers will be doing the Macy's 4th of July fireworks in NYC, which they've been doing for decades.

The following page contains between a half dozen and dozen different Independence / 4th of July fireworks celebrations in the five boroughs of NYC, including best viewing locations in Manhattan for the Macy's 4th of July fireworks, and one old fashioned 'small town' parade on Staten Island.

 



Free Things To Do Manhattan NYC - Free Summer Movies Manhattan Upper East Side UES Upper West Side UWS Midtown West Village East Village Soho Tribeca

Manhattan Free Things To Do: Free Summer Movies In NYC & Parks

Free Things To Do In Manhattan - Free Films & Summer Movies On the Upper East Side UES, Upper West Side UWS, Midtown, West & East Village, SoHo & Tribeca

free summer movies manhattan nyc free movies in the parks nycJune 29, 2023 / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Foreign Films & Movies Manhattan / Manhattan Things To Do / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

Summer is in full swing. A number of community groups in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department and frequently some measure of government funding, have put together a summer full of films and free summer movies in the parks. The foreign films and free movies listed below are designed for young and old alike and they're FREE.

Editor's Note - Note that only ASTERISKED LOCATIONS have been updated. Pay attention to the movies dates / years. We will be updating / adding a few more movies between now and the end of September. So check back periodically for updates which you can note by the date changing above.

 

Music / Concerts in the Park Manhattan. Click here to view our report on free concerts in the parks - summer concerts in Manhattan, Upper East Side UES, Upper West Side UWS, Midtown, West & East Village, SoHo & Tribeca this summer.

Theater in the Park Manhattan. Click here to view our report on free Shakespeare in the park - summer theater in Manhattan, Upper East Side UES, Upper West Side UWS, Midtown, West & East Village, SoHo & Tribeca this summer.

Current Manhattan Things To Do. Click here to view a listing of current Manhattan things to do or click here to view our member submitted Manhattan events calendar.



Things To Do Memorial Day Weekend Manhattan NYC

Things To Do Memorial Day Weekend Manhattan NYC

Things To Do In NYC & Manhattan Over The Memorial Day Weekend 2023

manhattan memorial day weekend things to do manhattan memorial day weekend things to do manhattan nycMay 26, 2023 / Things To Do Memorial Day Weekend Manhattan NYC / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

This is a report containing things to do in Manhattan over the Memorial Day Weekend. 

Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 70's and the temperature lows will be around 60. No rain is in the forecast.

The things to do in Manhattan on Memorial Day Weekend include art exhibitions, theater, live music, comedy, dance, shopping, outdoor activities such as soccer, kyaking, baseball, parades, street fairs, museums and dining on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Harlem, Washington Heights, Midtown Manhattan, the East or West Village, LES, SoHo, Tribeca or Downtown FiDi in Manhattan NYC.

Be sure to check our Memorial Day Weekend things to do, which we post on the front page on Friday afternoon leading into the Memorial Day Weekend in Manhattan NYC.

 

Brief History of the Memorial Day Holiday in Manhattan

Memorial Day first started out as Decoration Day in Waterloo, New York on May 30, 1866 - a year after the Civil War - to honor those who fought in it. In the 1880's the day came to be known as Memorial Day.

According to a May 25, 2012 report in Time Magazine, ten states - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee also officially observe some version of a Confederate Memorial Day, sometime between late April and early June [in Texas it's in January]. It's been reported that unofficially most of the former Confederate states still commemorate it, but not without some controversy as to the former Confederate diaspora it's to honor their ancestors, while to the former diaspora of the slaves it seems a remnant of these states racist past.

About ten percent of the nation travels more than 50 miles over the weekend. Memorial Day differs from Veterans Day which is held on November 11th of each year. Veterans Day began by honoring those who fought in World War I which ended on the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Both honor those who served in the U.S. Military. Veterans Day coincides with a similar holiday in Europe for the same reason, which is called Remembrance Day and Armistice Day.

 

Things to do in Other NYC Boroughs Memorial Day Weekend

Things to do Manhattan Memorial Day Weekend NYC and Queens Things To Do Memorial Day Weekend NYC and Things to do Bronx Memorial Day Weekend NYC and Brooklyn Things To Do Memorial Day Weekend NYC and Staten Island Things To Do Memorial Day Weekend NYC.

 



Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Happy Mothers Day Weekend, TEFAF Show, Indian Film Fest & Japan Parade in Manhattan, Eight Tales of Pedro, Taste of Queens Tuesday & Jamaica Jazz Fest Friday in Queens; Brooklyn Conservatory of Music Open Stages & BAM Dance Africa Festival in Brooklyn, Bronx Week in the Bronx; Arts & Crafts Show at the Staten Island Mall & Updating Open Calls

 

May 12, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 465.

things to do this weekend in nyc manhattan brooklyn bronx queens staten island things to do this weekend events nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will be around 90 on Friday, falling to 80 on Saturday and about 75 on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the mid 60's on Friday, falling to about 60 on Saturday and possibly into the mid 50's on Sunday. Winds will be about 5 - 8 mph all weekend. The humidity will fall from 50% on Friday to 40% on Saturday and between 30% - 40% on Sunday. No rain is in the forecast for this weekend

The photo at right shows a rainy day this past week. It was nice to see some moisture return to the area, as up until very recently, it had been lacking thus far this year.


Public Park Land Grab?

Billionaire Looking to Privatize Queens Parkland?

Bill Pending in Albany Would Enable it

May 10, 2023 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Real Estate / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz / 1068.

NYS Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubrey has sponsored a bill to allow a billionaire to build a casino on Queens parkland.  Why can't the billionaire buy his own land to build the casino?  And why has Aubrey supported this public park land grab?

Click here to read the OpEd by the President of a local non-profit explaining the situation. Billionaire Steve Cohen appears to be making bid to essentially privatize Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.


Mothers Day in Manhattan - Mothers Day Restaurants Manhattan NYC

Mother's Day Restaurants In Manhattan 2023

mothers day restaurants in manhattan moms day restaurants brunch manhattan nycRestaurants For Mothers Day Brunch & Dinner on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, East Village, West Village, SoHo, Tribeca & Downtown NYC

May 9, 2023 / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Manhattan Restaurants / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

Mother's Day is soon upon us. It's a good day to let your wife or mother or daughter know you appreciate their efforts in the most important role of their lives. Flowers, gifts and brunch or dinner are always welcome, as is any thoughtful gesture that provides some measure showing your recognition of her efforts in her role as mother of some children. After all, without mothers, we would all cease to be.

It's best to book a restaurant reservation early for Mother's Day brunch, as on Mother's Day in Manhattan, many restaurants are full. So if you're thinking about eating out at a restaurant this Mother's Day on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown Manhattan, the East or West Village, SoHo, Tribeca or Downtown NYC; it's best to do your research early, and call ahead to book Mother's Day restaurant reservations.

Remember, restaurants also have additional capacity since the pandemic began, via all of those outdoor shanties built during the pandemic, which greatly increased overall space / seating capacity. And with the weather warming - the temperature is expected to be near 70 degrees on Mothers Day without rain, so outdoor dining is a pleasant, even welcome option.

But as the saying goes, the early bird gets the [worm] better seating, so book early.

Mother's Day History - Restaurants In Manhattan

The origins of Mother's Day in the United States began with the efforts by Anna Jarvis to honor her own mother. According to Wikipedia, Anna began the campaign in 1905 - the year her mother died - and in 1910 West Virginia was the first state to adopt Mothers Day as a holiday. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson made the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to honor mothers.

Click this link to view a brief guide of Mother's Day restaurants in Manhattan NYC where you will find links to Manhattan restaurants we've visited in the past or have reviewed. The restaurants we've reviewed include a mix of high, medium and budget priced restaurants that are spread throughout the borough and offer a large variety of ethnic cuisines.

We've identified over a half dozen Manhattan restaurants open for indoor / outdoor dining on Mother's Day in Manhattan NYC. Enjoy.



Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Cinco de Mayo, Janes Walk and 5 Boro Bike Ride in all 5 Boros, Cannabis Parade & Festival in Manhattan, Eight Tales of Pedro in Queens; Luna Park in Brooklyn, Kentucky Derby at the Bartow Pell Mansion in the Bronx; Yankee Peddler Day on Staten Island & Moving Open Calls

 

May 5, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 464

things to do in nyc manhattan brooklyn bronx queens staten island things to do this weekend events nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will be around 60 on Friday, then rising to 70 on Saturday and Sunday. The temperature lows will be around 50 on Friday rising slightly to the mid 50's by Sunday. Winds will be about 5 mph all weekend. The humidity will fall from 60% to 70% on Friday, to about 50% on Saturday and Sunday. No rain is in the forecast for this weekend

The photo at right shows a rainy day this past week. It was nice to see some moisture return to the area, as up until very recently, it had been lacking thus far this year.


* Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Sikh Day and Greek Independence Day Parades & Anitquarian Book Fair in Manhattan, Eight Tales of Pedro, Irish & West Ghanaian Concert & Queens Symphony in Queens; Prospect Park Tour, Street Naming for MTA Member in Midwood & Luna Park in Brooklyn, Bronx Arts Ensemble Concert at the NYBG in the Bronx; Staten Island Ferry Hawks Home Opener All Weekend & Outdoor Markets on Staten Island, Moving Open Calls & Met Gala Monday

 

April 28, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 463.

things to do this weekend nyc manhattan events this weekend nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will be around 60 all weekend long, while the temperature lows will be around 50 all weekend long. Winds will be 10 - 15 mph all weekend. The humidity will rise from 60% to 70% on Friday, rising to the mid 70% to mid 80% on Saturday, and rising to 80% - 90% on Sunday. There's about 2/3 of an inch of rain expected Saturday and another inch between 11 am - 11 pm on Sunday.

The photo at right, of the Greek Independence Day Parade, was taken a number of years back. The cultural pageantry references the lore of the heroics and democracy of ancient Greece.


What Happened at the LIC Partnership Real Estate Breakfast?

LIC Real Estate Owners, Managers & Tenants Discussed the Current State of the Long Island City Real Estate Market

 

April 25, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Queens Buzz NYC / 1067.

nyc things to do this weekend nyc things to do this weekend manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten Island things to do this weekend nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will be / Weather coming tomrorrow.

 

I never thought I would become one of the 'old timers' covering the LIC Partnership Real Estate Breakfast. But I think that perhaps I am. I hadn't covered one of these breakfasts since before the pandemic, so I found myself looking to regain my balance, vis a vis my Queens real estate sea legs.

But some things are like riding a bike, meaning they come back to you quickly, and covering the LIC Real Estate Breakfast seemed to fit that bill. As I sat there listening to the panel assembled to discuss the current state of affairs, I noticed a number of folks from prior gatherings, and while the issues were largely the same, the current state of them is constantly changing.

 

And I'll provide the update this weekend.


* Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Earth Day Weekend Events, Persian Day Parade in Manhattan; Ofrenda Fest in Queens; Invisible Dog Art Center & Luna Park in Brooklyn, 'Diamond' at Pregones & the Last Weekend for the NYBG Orchid Show in the Bronx; Jazz Concert & Jacques Tibetan Museum on Staten Island & Open Calls

 

April 21, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 462.

nyc things to do this weekend nyc things to do this weekend manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten Island things to do this weekend nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid 60's all weekend long, while the temperature lows will be in the mid 50's on Friday and Saturday, falling to the high 40's on Sunday. Winds will be 10 - 15 mph all weekend. The humidity will rise from the mid 50% to mid 70% on Friday, rising to the mid 70% to mid 80% on Saturday, before falling back to around the mid 50% on Sunday. There's about 2/3 of an inch of rain expected Saturday after 6 pm and ending before 6 am Sunday. Otherwise, for the other parts of the weekend, no rain.

The photo at right captures some of the beauty and mystery of planet Earth. It was taken along an ancient Inca Trail in the Andes in Peru, not far from Macchu Picchu. We can learn a lot from the Incas, who were environmentally compatible engineers.


* NYC News Updates

China Operating a 'Secret Police' in Chinatown, Climate Change and NYS Springtime Forest Fires & Rupert Murdoch's Mendacious Media on Trial ... Again

 

April 18, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 472.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will rise from about 60 on Tuesday, to the mid 60's Wednesday and Thursday, to the low to mid 70's on Friday and Saturday. The temperature lows will be in the mid 40's on Tuesday and Wednesday, rising to the mid 50's on Thursday and Friday. The winds will be about 10 - 15 mph on Tuesday and Wednesday, dropping to 5 - 10 mph on Thursday and Friday. The humidity will be about 40% on Tuesday and Wednesday, rising to 60 - 70% on Thursday and Friday. No rain is in the forecast all week long.

 

PRC [People's Republic of China] Caught Operating a 'Secret Police' in Chinatown in Manhattan

In October of 2022, the FBI obtained a search warrant to investigate an office on Broadway in Chinatown believed to be a 'secret police' station set up by dictator President Xi Jin Ping's Peoples Republic of China in order to control the behaviors of Chinese people living in the U.S. Two men were charged in the case. According to the Department of Justice, the two men who were arrested yesterday, are "... “Harry” Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan ...".

The 'secret police' office was closed after the two men discovered that the FBI was watching them. When conducting the search, the FBI reported that the memories of the two men's communications devices [aka evidence] were erased. The men are presumed innocent in this country until proven guilty. This is very much unlike the process we've seen in China, where one is guilty of whatever dictator president Xi Jin Ping decides they're guilty of.

I always marvel at the dishonesty of dictators who attempt to control what everyone thinks, because the truth can be deadly to them and their regimes. For example calling China the PRC - People's Republic of China - when the people have no say in who their leaders are, can be imprisoned or even terminated for speaking their minds, and can only own or operate a significant business if it's given a blessing by the dictator president. The PRC should be called the XDC - Xi's Dictatorship of China. Where everything is designed to suit one man, and nobody, and nothing else, matters. As dictator president Xi seems to say by his actions, "... It's all about Me, Me, Me, Me or Xi, Xi, Xi, Xi ...".


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Orthodox Holy Friday & Easter Sunday in Queens, Brooklyn & Manhattan, International Auto Show, Tartan Day Parade in Manhattan; Lavender Laughs & Queens Night Market in Queens; Luna Park & BK Museum Pop Up Market in Brooklyn, Bronx Doc Film Editing Workshop Weekend, the Diamond at Pregones & NYBG Orchid Show in the Bronx; Staaten Eylandt Day, Cottage Curiosities, Iftar in the Park & Conference House Opens on Staten Island and , & Ramadan Ends Thursday

 

April 14, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 461.

things to do this weekend nyc events this weekend nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will fall from the high 80's Friday to the mid 60's Saturday and the temperature lows will fall from the mid 60's Friday to the mid 50's by Sunday. The humidity will rise from a very dry 30% - 50% on Friday into the 70% - 80% on Saturday and Sunday. Winds will be 5 mph all weekend. There's a below 50% chance of rain on Saturday and the amount of rain is forecast to be a quarter of an inch or less, and spread out over the entire day, so you might get a little damp while out, but not soaked by any means. And on Sunday the expectations are well below 25% probable and the amount is less than 1/20th of an inch.

The photo at right was taken a few years back of the Greek Orthodox Holy Friday Procession at St. Demetrios Cathedral in Astoria Queens. It's an interesting cultural event and, in my mind, is one of the many diverse cultural events that makes NYC so interesting. See details regarding the event tonight [Friday] in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan below.


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

The Easter Bonnet Parade, Pickleball Court Opens at Wollman Rink, Auto Show at Javits, Final Week of Chain Theatre Performance, Fresh, Fly & Fabulous Exhibit at FIT in Manhattan; Chocolate Factory, Climate Change & Easter Egg Hunt & Party in Queens; Brooklyn Cyclones Home Opener & Rachel Wren Exhibit in Brooklyn [also Easter Egg Hunt on Governors Island], Easter Egg Hunt at the Mansion & NYBG Orchid Show in the Bronx; Easter Egg Hunts and Bonnett Tea Party on Staten Island, Easter Sunday and Passover & Ramadan Continue

 

April 7, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 460.

nyc things to do this weekend nyc events this weekend manhattan queens brooklyn bronx staten Island things to do events nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will fall from the high 50's Friday to the mid 50's Saturday and into the low 50's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be around 40. The winds will fall from 10 - 15 mph on Friday, to 5 mph on Saturday and to 5 - 10 mph on Sunday. The humidity will rise from about 35% on Friday, to 50% on Saturday, and ranging from 40% to 60% on Sunday. No precipitation is in the forecast.

The photo at right was taken at the Orchid Show at the NY Botanical Garden a few years ago.

Editor's Note. We're going to add more events that are happening this coming week on Monday, because NYC Public Schools are on Spring Break from Monday through Friday, April 10 - 14, 2023.


Easter & Passover Celebrations in NYC & Boros

Next Sunday is Easter for Western Christians and the Following Week it's Easter for Orthodox Christians

 

April 3, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 438

 

Very Brief Introduction to Christian Easter Traditions

photos epitaphios astoriaOn Friday, April 7th, Christians observe Good Friday, which is when the Bible tells us that Jesus died on the cross. On Sunday, April 9th, Christians celebrate the Biblical account of Jesus rising from the dead.

Emperor Constantine became the Roman Emperor in 306. In 324 Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Empire. In 1054, the Great Schism occurred, wherein Christianity split into two different sects - Roman Catholic Christians [primarily in Western Europe] and Orthodox Christians [primarily in Eastern Europe]. The traditions have much in common, but one of the differences is in how they calculate the time of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The Western European Christians [Protestants and Catholics] use the Gregorian Calendar which was created in the 16th century and made the official calendar by Pope Gregory, while the Orthodox Christians use the Julian Calendar which was made law in the Roman Empire in 45 B.C. by Julius Caesar.

Thus there are years where the Western European and Eastern Orthodox Easter events fall at the same time, and there years where they do not. This year [2023] the celebrations of the two traditions are separated by a week, with the Western European Christians celebrating next weekend and the Orthodox Christians celebrating a week later.


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

AIPAD Photography Show, Chain Theatre Performance Continues, Fresh, Fly & Fabulous Exhibit at FIT in Manhattan; Chocolate Factory & Armstrong at LeFrak, and Next Week Sculpture Center Gala & Mets Home Opener in Queens; Luna Amusement Park Opens & Rachel Wren Exhibit in Brooklyn, Pregones Music Fest Ends Friday, Bronx Art Space Exhibit Closing Reception Saturday, NYBG Orchid Show in the Bronx; 5K Run on Staten Island, Palm Sunday, Passover Wednesday & Ramadan Continues

 

March 31, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 459.

nyc things to do this weekend nyc events this wekend manhattan queens brooklyn bronx staten Island things to do events nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will rise from 50 on Friday, to 70 on Saturday, falling back to 50 on Sunday. The temperature lows will range between the mid and high 30's all weekend. The winds will range from 10 - 15 mph all weekend. The humidity will fall from about 80% Friday, to 70% Saturday to 40% Sunday. There will be scattered thunder showers Saturday ending around noon and with a brief return between 7 and 9 pm Saturday night, otherwise lookin' good.

The photos in this report were taken at an AIPAD show in a prior year. See below for details.


MANHATTAN STREET FAIRS - STREET FESTIVALS IN MANHATTAN NYC

Manhattan Street Fairs & Festivals NYC 2024

I. Manhattan Street Fair Dates & Maps 2024

Marhc 8, 2024 / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Manhattan Shopping / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

While generally Manhattan Street Fairs begin in April, this year we're going a bit deeper in the Winter quarter [January through March 2024], to identify some of the year round markets, which while not exactly street fairs, contain some of the elements of the street fair experience including an eclectic offering of merchandise and food items.

We've compiled one of THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCHEDULE of MANHATTAN street fairs including street fair TIMES & PHOTOS & maps, some street fair names & sponsors, and street fair maps to help you find your way around during the spring, summer and fall of 2024.

nyc street fairs east west village upper east west side street fairs manhattan st fairs

How This Manhattan Street Fair Page is Organized

The Manhattan street fairs and festivals on this page are organized

1) BY MONTH & WEEK and

2) BY NEIGHBORHOOD.

So you can now look through all of the Manhattan street fairs on a given weekend, and see where they are in each neighborhood.

 

*** Links to Street Fairs in All 5 Boros of NYC

Here are some links to Manhattan street fairs NYC, Queens street fairs NYC, Bronx street fairs NYC, Brooklyn street fairs NYC and Staten Island street fairs NYC. We'll add more as the summer progresses.

 

Manhattan Street Fair Updates - 2024

The Manhattan street fair dates that have been updated with 2024 designations reflect the current year St Fair events.

ASTERISKED street fairs have been UPDATED. The street fairs with prior year dates, reflect the information regarding that fair in a prior year.

UNCONFIRMEDS. The 'UNCONFIRMEDS' represent street fairs held in a prior year, which we believe are returning, but for which we have not yet confirmed the details shown for 2024.

UPDATES. The street fairs of prior years and the UNCONFIRMEDS will be updated as new information comes in.

Also check our Manhattan Events calendar and / or our Manhattan Farmers Markets section for updates and other things to do.

SEARCH

CLICK here to view the rest of our report on Manhattan Street Fairs NYC.



Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Street Fairs Begin, Chain Theatre Performance Continues, Fresh, Fly & Fabulous Exhibit at FIT in Manhattan; Bayside St Patrick's Day Parade & Rough Draft Festival continues at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center Queens; Bay Ridge St Patrick's Day Parade, Rachel Wren Exhibit & Final Performance of Lorraine Hansberry Play Tonight in Brooklyn, March is Music Month at Pregones, Bronx Art Space Exhibit about Homosexuality in Nature, NYBG Orchid Show & Yankees Home Opener in the Bronx; on Staten Island & The Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan Began Thursday

nyc things to do this weekend events manhattan queens brooklyn bronx staten Island things to do this weekend events nyc

March 24, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 458.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be around 50 on Friday and Saturday, rising to 60 on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the low to mid 40's all weekend. The wind will be 5 - 10 mph on Friday, rising to 10 - 15 on Saturday and Sunday. The humidity will be 40% - 50% on Friday and Sunday, popping up to around 80% on Saturday. There will be about a half inch of rain on Saturday, spread out over the course of the day from around 9 am to 11 pm, so you can likely do whatever you plan to, without any serious rain interruption.

The Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan began yesterday [Thursday 3/23/23] and will continue until Friday, April 21. Ramadan is a month where Muslims fast, pray and reflect on their lives. Not unlike the Christian Lent.


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

St Patrick's Day Parade, Chain Theatre Performance Continues, Fresh, Fly & Fabulous Exhibit in Manhattan; 40 Shades of Irish Green & Rough Draft Festival at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Queens; a Half Marathon Race, Lorraine Hansberry Play Performances & Rachel Wren Opening Art Reception in Brooklyn, an Art Exhibit about Homosexuality in Nature & the Orchid Show in the Bronx; St Pat's Weekend Irish Stout Concert and St Pats Weekend Bar Crawl for All on Staten Island & the First Day of Spring Comes Monday

nyc things to do this weekend in march nyc events march weekends nycMarch 17, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 457.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 50's on Friday, the low 50's on Saturday and the low 40's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the low 40's on Friday, and the low 30's for the rest of the weekend. The winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Friday, and then 10 - 15 mph the rest of the weekend. The humidity will drop from 50% - 70% on Friday, to 40% on Saturday and between 30% - 40% on Sunday. No precipitation is expected this weekend.

The first official day of Spring is Monday, March 20, 2023. In the yogic tradition, spring is considered a time of renewal and transformation.

The photos included with this report are from a Manhattan St Patrick's Day Parade in an earlier year. Erin go Bragh which means Ireland Forever. Have a good one, which means a safe one, which means being respectful of others.


Governor Hochul Scraps the Ill Conceived LGA - Willets Point Air Train

Former Governor Cuomo's Air Train Seemed More About Catering to the Whims of the Billionaire Class, than in Streamlining Public Transit

March 15, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz NYC / 1066.

CTA subway line from downtown chicago to O'Hare Airport nyc public transit air train lgaIn 2017 I attended a Community Board meeting in Astoria where our urban planners talked about new improvements coming to LaGuardia Airport. Since then a number of those plans have come to fruition. But one of them, what at the time was called the third phase, the Air Train to LGA, has not. Use the link to see the thinking nearly six years ago when the plans had been drafted and the construction was about to begin. I'm happy to say that we flagged and reported to you a number of the issues with the LGA Air Train early on, which we've included in the list below.

The photo at right shows the CTA [Chicago Transit Authority] subway that runs along the Kennedy Expressway from downtown Chicago to O'Hare Airport which vies with Atlanta for the title of the busiest airport in the U.S..

 

The Former Emperor [Governor Cuomo] had No Clothes [Sound Public Interest Rationale]

On Monday, Governor Hochul announced what was already well known and expected, which was that the Air Train shuttling between LaGuardia Airport and Flushing Meadows Corona Park, would not be built.

There were any number of good reasons why the LGA Air Train should not have been built, such as: 1) the costs of building the train would cost more than five times the original estimated cost of under $500 million to over $2.5 billion, 2) then, implicit in a number of alternatives, there was the idiocy of connecting the LGA Air Train, to the second most trafficked subway line [the #7] in NYC, which was already nearing peak capacity pre-pandemic, 3) the politically and billionaire preferred alternative destination, Willets Point on Flushing Bay, had just been cleaned up after decades of environmental pollution, and would again be threatened again, and to top it all off, 4) the politically and billionaire preferred Willets Point alternative required all of the people traveling to and from LaGuardia on public transit, to travel out to Flushing first, before circling back around to LaGuardia Airport. The billionaires who would have benefitted from this include billionaire real estate developer Stephen Ross and [now minority interest] Mets Club billionaire owners Saul B. Katz and Fred Wilpon. The new Mets baseball team owner, Steve Cohen, is also a billionaire.

CLICK here to read our report on Governor Hochul scraps the LGA to Flushing Meadows Corona Park Air Train.


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Daylight Savings Time Sunday 2AM, Performance of a Lorraine Hansberry Play, a Pop Up Market & Poets Workshop in Brooklyn; Chain Theatre Opens Original Play, Fresh, Fly & Fabulous Exhibit in Manhattan; Rough Draft Festival at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Workshop for Women About EmPowerment, MFTA Art Opening & 40 Shades of Irish Green in Queens; Two St Patrick's Day Parades, a Concert, a Queer Nature Art Exhibit & the Orchid Show in the Bronx; Two Concerts [one Folk & one Classical], a Pre-Oscar Screening, a Staged Reading & Glass House Tour on Staten Island

nyc things to do this weekend in march nyc events march weekends nycMarch 10, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 456.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 40's and the temperature lows will be in the low to high 30's all weekend. Winds will range from 5 - 13 mph on Friday and Saturday and fall to about 7 mph on Sunday. The humidity will range from 60% - 80% on Friday, and then settle into the 60% - 70% range for the rest of the weekend. There will be about an inch of precipitation between 4 pm Friday and 9 am Saturday, and the rest of the weekend should remain dry.

The photo at right was taken in McCarren Park in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn a while back.


St Pat's Day Bars Irish Pubs & Restaurants Manhattan - UES, UWS, Midtown, East Village St Patrick's Day Bars & Irish Pubs & Restaurants Manhattan NYC

Manhattan St Pat's Day Irish Pubs, Restaurants & Historic Bars in NYC 2024

Historic Manhattan St Pat's Day Pubs, Irish Bars & Restaurants On St. Patrick's Day In NYC, UES, UWS, Midtown & Village

manhattan irish pubs bars restaurants manhattan ues uws midtown east village irish pubs bars restaurants manhattan nycMarch 11, 2024 / Manhattan Neighborhoods NYC / Manhattan Restaurants NYC / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us once again and it’s time for one and all, regardless of genetic history, to don their green clothing and head out to the Irish bars for a pint of ale or to the Irish restaurants for some down home Irish fare.

This report is about some of the Manhattan Irish bars and restaurants that have survived the test of time, and likely a might bit more. The Irish pubs include Irish bars and restaurants from the Upper East Side [UES], the Upper West Side [UWS], Midtown Manhattan as well as the East Village, as McSorley's remains not just a pub, but a good piece of history.

St Patrick's Day is on a Sunday this year.

While St. Patrick's Day is one big party, it's important to keep in mind, that like New Years Eve, all the amateurs come out to play [it's not just the Irish who are out drinking on St. Patrick's Day]. So some measure of caution is advised and you have to be careful.

At a later date we'll add a bit of history of St. Patrick's Day.

Click here to read our report about the St Pat's Day Bars, Irish Pubs & Restaurants in Manhattan NYC. We'll begin our journey on the Upper East Side UES where the Manhattan St. Patrick's Day Parade ends and then work our way around the rest of Manhattan.



* Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Lorraine Hansberry's Play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music & Brooklyn Poets Readings in Brooklyn, the Athena Film Festival at Barnard College, Fresh, Fly & Fabulous Exhibit, Purim Celebration & the Harlem Blues in Manhattan, Cryptochrome at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center & Two St Patrick's Day Parades in Queens, Queer Nature Opens at Bronx Art Space & the Orchid Show in the Bronx, & Lisa & Lori at Historic Richmond Town and the last Remaining Homophobic St Patricks Day Parade in NYC on Staten Island

things to do this weekend nyc march events this weekend 2023 snowfall in queens nyc manhattan brooklyn bronx staten island only snowfall of 2023 nycMarch 3, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 455.

NYC Weather. There will be about an inch of rain on Friday beginning between 5 - 8 pm, ending by Saturday 8 am. The rest of the weekend will be dry. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 40's all weekend, while the temperature lows will be in the mid to high 30's. The winds will be 10 - 20 mph on Friday, 5 - 15 on Saturday and about 10 mph on Sunday. The humidity will be 50% - 80% on Friday, 70% on Saturday and 60% on Sunday.

The photo at right was taken late Monday night. It seems someone made good use of their time, and built what is likely one of the few NYC snowmen of this entire winter.


* Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Black HerStory at Lincoln Center, African Poetry Society Film Festival in Queens, Lorraine Hansberry's Play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Performance of the Play Insignificant at the Bartow Pell Mansion in the Bronx & African American Lighthouse Exhibit Opening on Staten Island

valentines day events queens nyc manhattan brooklyn bronx staten island v day eventsFebruary 24, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 454.

NYC Weather. The temperature high on Friday was 46 degrees, falling to 34 on Saturday, before rising to 51 on Sunday. The temperature lows will rise from the low 20's on Friday, rising to the high 20's on Saturday, and the low 30's on Sunday. The winds will be between 10 - 20 mph Friday, dropping to 4 - 7 mph Saturday and then rising again to 8 - 12 mph. The humidity will be in the 40% to 50% range on Friday, 55% t0 65% on Saturday, and between 50% to 60% on Sunday. No precipitation is expected.

The photo at right was taken at a production of Black Wall Street at the York College Bassin Performing Arts Center in Jamaica Queens quite a while ago.


* Black History Month in NYC

This is a Look at Some of the Black History Events We've Covered Over the Years

nyc black history month events things to do nyc langston hughes queens david mills york performing arts center queensFebruary 17, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC/ 471.

NYC Weather. The temperature high hit 61 degrees on Monday, and will fall to the mid to high 40's for the rest of the week. The temperature lows will range from the mid 30's to the low 40's until Friday, when the temperature drops into the mid 20's. The winds will range from 5 - 10 mph until Friday, when we'll experience a gusty 15 - 20 mph. The humidity will range between 60% - 70% through the week, before dropping to 40% on Friday. Less than a quarter inch of rain is expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The image at right is of Langston Hughes, a writer in the 1920's and 1930's of the Harlem Renaissance. It seems like African Americans are continuing the process of asserting their influence in American culture, a process that began going mainstream in the 1920's / 1930's.

 

Highlighting Black History Month in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens & Staten Island NYC with Reports about African American History and Culture

We've covered a number of interesting theatrical performances and art exhibits exploring African American history and the African American experience in the five boroughs over the years. Some of them feature the African American experience front and center, while others include or reference the African American experience. This is a compendium of most of them, with links to the full stories. Think of this as a work in progress as it is far from complete, and in some measure, reflects how long each of our web magazines has been open / covering events in each of the boroughs. At this time I have not included many of the black and brown events reflecting immigrants' cultures, vis a vis the African American cultural experience.


* Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Valentines Day Weekend Cocktail Party NYC, Lunar New Year Parade Manhattan, Photo Exhibit Opening Reception & Comedy in the Bronx, Classical & Gregory Porter Concerts in Brooklyn, Play in Queens & Lighthouse for Lovers on Staten Island,

valentines day events queens nyc manhattan brooklyn bronx staten island v day eventsFebruary 11, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 452.

NYC Weather. The temperature high on Friday actually hit 61 degrees this morning, breaking a record. On Saturday and Sunday, the temperature high will be about 50 on both days, while the temperature lows will be in the mid to high 30's throughout the weekend. The winds will be between 5 - 13 mph all weekend. The humidity will be between 40% and 50% on Friday and Saturday, rising a bit to between 50% to 60% on Sunday. There's a small chance [30%] of a small amount of rain [1/10th of an inch] on Sunday night.

 


* Black History Month in NYC

Scratching the Surface of Our Ancestoral African Roots

black history and the role of african americans in advocating for civil rights nycFebruary 7, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 470.

Over the past few years I've come to enjoy a number of PBS programs that delve into our collective African American ancestoral roots. One of the shows is hosted by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. wherein he researches various celebrities' ancestoral roots, digging up photos, slave ownership records, and connections to other celebrities by tracing DNA trails. The journey can lead to any number of surprises, such as when Gates found that one of actress Carol Burnett's ancestors joined the Confederate Army, and then deserted a couple of years later. Or when Gates uncovered that TV Producer / Writer Larry David of Seinfeld is a distant cousin to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

But for my money, the treasure trove of programming on PBS may be found in its rich collection of documentaries - both old and new. And among those documentaries are a wide number of films exploring the contributions and history of African Americans.

 

PBS Documentaries During Black History Month in NYC

I'm only going to touch on one of them now, and at a later date will return to engage in a deeper conversation about others. The documentary I watched on PBS this month, was entitled, The Blinding of Isaac Woodard. It was about how an innocent African American veteran was attacked by a white southern police chief [Lynwood Shull] from South Carolina who beat out Woodard's eyes and permanently blinded him in February 1946, while Woodard was changing buses at a bus stop. That's a mighty nasty way to welcome a WWII veteran home and thank him for risking his life to defend us.

Nonetheless, eight years later, the search for justice was fulfilled ... in a way. Of course the all white South Carolina jury let off Police Chief Shull. But that action so enraged President Harry S. Truman, that he ordered a federal investigation into the case. And actor / radio host Orson Welles, took up the cause too, helping make it known what sorts of racial injustices were being perpetrated upon African Americans living and working in the south.


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Chinese New Year Celebrations Continue & Artists Open Calls

things to do this weekend nyc february events this weekend nycFebruary 3, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 451.

NYC Weather. We're going to have wintry cold from about 6 pm Friday to about 1 pm Saturday, when the temperatures fall below 20 degrees. Then it's back to our dry, global warming non-winter.

The temperature highs will be in the low to mid 20's on Friday and Saturday, rising significantly on Sunday to about 50 degrees. The temperature lows will be about 8 degrees Friday, rising to the mid 20's on Saturday and the high 30's on Sunday. The humidity will be about 30% on Friday, 40% on Saturday, and 50% on Sunday. Winds will be 20 mph Friday, and then 5 - 10 mph for the rest of the weekend. No precipitation is expected this weekend.

The photo at right was taken inside of City Hall last month. It's a beautiful building, as you can see.


* Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

New Play at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Boat Show at the Javits, Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory, The Chinese New Year Celebrations Continue, Winter Jazz Festival & the January Arts Festival Ending, 1st Irish Festival in LIC & Artists Open Call in the Bronx

things to do this weekend january nyc weekend events nyc januaryJanuary 27, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC /450.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 40's on Friday and around 50 the rest of the weekend. The temperature lows will be in the low 30's on Friday, rising to about 40 the rest of the weekend. The humidity will be between 50% - 60% on Friday and Saturday, rising to 60% - 70% on Sunday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph all weekend. No precipitation is expected this weekend.

In the photo at right is the NYC skyline in Midtown, looking west from Queens. We've gone 324 days without measureable snow, the second longest period on record. The longest was 332 days set in 2000. Based on the most recent forecast, we're going to break that record and may go the entire winter without measureable snow. This is not good news. We all need to do whatever we can to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. And, however small it may seem, if you multiply it by seven billion [people on the planet], it won't seem so small. Every little bit of carbon reduction counts.


Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

The Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory, The Chinese New Year of the Rabbit Begins, Winter Jazz Festival & the January Arts Festival continue

things to do this weekend in nyc events this weekend january 3rd weekendJanuary 20, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 449.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 40's throughout the weekend, while the temperature lows will be in the mid 30's on Friday and Saturday, rising to about 40 degrees on Sunday. Winds will be about 5 - 10 mph all weekend. The humidity will be about 50% - 60% on Friday and Saturday, rising to about 85% Sunday afternoon as the rain pours in. No rain is in the forecast until Sunday, when a 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of rain is expected starting around 3 pm.

The photo at right shows folks walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, even amidst the dreary weather.

 

NYC Things To Do This Weekend

There's outdoor skating at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center in Midtown, and at Wollman Rink in the southeast corner of Central Park and at the Harlem Meer in the northeast corner of Central Park. Also in Prospect Park and Coney Island in Brooklyn, Cloves Lake on Staten Island, and in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. For details see https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/iceskating


Economic Outlook 2023

Employment Steady, Inflation Subsiding, Consumer Confidence Up, Government Stimulus Fading, Fed Tightening 'Should' Stop After .25% Increase at Next FOMC Meeting, Most Global Supply Side Issues have been Corrected, Oil Prices Below a Year Ago, and the Dollar is Strong

January 17, 2023 / NYC Business News / New Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 469.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 40's and the temperature lows will be around 40, dropping to 35 degrees on Friday. No rain is expected EXCEPT on Thursday, where up to an inch of rain will fall during the day. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Tuesday and Thursday and will be 10 - 15 mph on Wednesday and Friday. Humidity will rise from 45% to 80% on Tuesday, fall back into the 60% range on Wednesday, rise into the 80% range on Thursday with the rain, and fall back into the 60% range on Friday.

 

I. Economic Background - CoVid Disruptions of Global Supply Chains and U.S. Government Fiscal & Monetary Policy Responses

In recent months I have spent a fair amount of time catching up on what's happening in the economy overall, in an attempt to guage what lies ahead. It's important to realize where we are in the business cycle, in order to figure out what to expect going forward.

 

nyc business local businesses in nyc manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island nyc economic outlook forecast 2023 nyc* Since March of 2020, we've been in a bit of a pandemic spin. The 2020 pandemic essentially halted most hospitality businesses and softened demand for some services, but drove high demand for both durable and non-durable goods. This is on the demand side. Meanwhile on the supply side, businesses were closing down, or working at far less than capacity, because of the health impact of the pandemic. For example in China, they didn't just appear to shutter businesses, but almost entire cities, to curb the spread of CoVid. China is where much of our electronics are made so this impacted the availability / supply of electronics at a time when Americans were spending more on them, because they weren't traveling, vacationing or even eating out much, so they had extra cash to spend on items, most notably electronics.

The U.S. federal government [as did many governments throughout the world] kept many businesses afloat through expansive monetary policy and generous fiscal spending via CoVid Relief packages which put money in the hands of local businesses, governments and individuals. The fiscal stimulus / excess government spending began in 2020 during the Trump Administration, and ended in early 2021 under the Biden Administration.

The first chart above right shows the federal government excess fiscal spending during the pandemic. Both Trump and Biden temporarily increased government spending in order to keep the economy rolling through the pandemic.


** Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Friday the 13th, Many Martin Luther King Day Weekend Events, Winter Jazz Festival & the January Arts Festival continue, Closing Reception, Play about Patriarchal Power & Skating

things to do this weekend in nycJanuary 13, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 448.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 50's on Friday, the high 30's on Saturday and the mid 40's on Sunday and Monday. The temperature lows will be in the low to mid 30's all weekend. No precipitation is in the forecast. The humidity will be in the 60% range on Friday, the 50% range on Saturday, the 40% range on Sunday and Monday. The winds will be 12 - 17 mph on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, dropping to 5 - 10 mph on Monday.

The photo at right was taken a week ago at City Hall, where Mayor Adams opened himself up to a wide range of questions from the local press. This week the Mayor released the Preliminary Budget for NYC for 2024.


The Nurses Strike at Mt Sinai & Montefiore Hospitals

One Nurse Told me She Felt Like Nurses had gone from Heroes to Zeroes

healthcare nyc manhattan bronx nurses strike nysna mt sinai montefiore bronx nurses strike nycJanuary 5, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Healthcare / Manhattan Buzz NYC / 387.

On Monday I made the trip to the Mount Sinai Medical Center between 5th and Madison Avenues and between 99th and 101st Street on the Upper East Side. Mt Sinai is the hold out in completing negotiations or even resuming them with the New York State Nurses Association union or NYSNA.

By last Friday, January 6, 2023, New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Maimonides Medical Center and Richmond University Medical Center had reached tentative agreements with the NYSNA union that included improvements in safe staffing and wages.

By Saturday, January 7, 2023 the NYSNA tweeted that BronxCare Health System and Flushing Hospital Medical Center had "reached tentative agreements that will improve safe staffing levels and enforcement, increase wages by 7%, 6%, and 5%, and save their healthcare benefits."

By Monday, January 9, 2023 about 7,100 pf the 42,000 nurses in the NYSNA union were set to go on strike at Mt Sinai in Manhattan and Montefiore in the Bronx. When I arrived around noon time at Mount Sinai in Manhattan on Monday, the NYSNA had a strong showing by their members. And the vehicular traffic appeared to be highly supportive of them, which you will see in the video I shot when I post it later today. The strikers were stationed primarily on Madison Avenue at about 99th Street, and there was a speaker there, but I really couldn't hear what she had to say with all the surrounding commotion, you'll see that too.

So I found a few nurses talking things over a bit away from the crowd, and I spoke with them. They told me that the strike is primarily about two issues: 1) staffing levels and 2) compensation. I learned a couple of things I didn't hear reported in the corporate media, which I'll share. But please note that I've not yet had a chance to confirm these findings with either of the hospitals still on strike.

The first thing they told me is that the staffing levels vis a vis patient loads are and remain the primary cause of the strike. They said that in the last union negotiation the hospitals agreed to put in recommended grids for staffing levels per patient for the various hospital units, which was a good first step. The problem is that the new staffing grids were not made enforceable.

Thus, because the staffing grids per patient remain unenforceable, I was told that they are exceeded too often. The trouble with this, they told me [and remember these are not the official spokespeople for the union, but rather rank and file union members, and I haven't yet cross referenced these findings with either hospital - see below] is that when you exceed the recommended staffing levels for prolonged periods of time, the probability of staff mistakes rise [dispensing meds and providing treatments], and hence this isn't just unsafe for patients, but it also puts the licenses of the nurses in jeopardy, should they make a mistake.

The second thing they told me was that the corporate media tells New Yorkers that the striking nurses are holding out for higher percentage pay increases vis a vis the nurses at the other hospitals who have reached tentative deals. They thought this characterization was incomplete - if not unfair - as the nurses at Mt Sinai and Montefiore have lower pay scales than the nurses at the other NYC hospitals.

CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the NYC / NYS Nurses Strike in Manhattan and the Bronx.


* Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

First Full Weekend of the New Year - 2nd Anniversary of the Trump Insurrection, Three Kings Day Parade, Greek, Ukrainian & Russian Orthodox Christmas, Shabbat Dinner, January Under the Radar Festival Begins, Mulchfest Ending & Skating & a Couple of Holiday Market Sales

things to do this weekend nyc january events nyc 1st weekendJanuary 5, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 447.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 40's on Friday and Saturday, descending to the low 40's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the low to mid 30's all weekend. The humidity will be 70% on Friday, 60% on Saturday and between 50% and 70% on Sunday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph all weekend. A scant amount of precipitation is expected early Friday morning, as well as late Sunday night. It appears to be something one needn't worry too much about.

In the photo at right, taken last week in Manhattan, you can see Macy's in the background, in all of its holiday glory.


New Years Resolutions 2023: The Road Ahead

A Few Axioms To Keep In Mind Throughout The New Year

new years resolutions nyc nys 202January 1, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Holidays / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

For all of us, today starts the beginning of a new year.

If we stay the course with vaccinations, masks, social distancing and hand washing, we should be able to continue the transition from pandemic to endemic - assuming we're not already almost there - given that there are likely to be lingering long term CoVid effects and that we may never return to a pre-CoVid normal.

The rest of this report is about some of the things you can do personally to make 2023 a better year for you.


* Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Christmas and Hanukkah Will Soon End, and Kwanzaa Will Soon Begin, Also New Years Eve Parties and Events

things to do this weekend in nyc december 4th weekendDecember 23, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 446.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs descend from the mid 50's Friday, to about 20 on Saturday, rising to about 30 on Sunday and Monday, which is a holiday. The temperature lows fall like a rock to about 10 degrees Friday night, before rising to 15 on Saturday, 20 on Sunday and 25 on Monday. The humidity drops from 70% on Friday to 50% by the end of the day, and then remains in the 40% - 50% range for the rest of the weekend, including Monday. As of the time of this post, there's a 70% chance around midday of about 1/10 inch of precipitation. The winds will fall from a blustery 20 mph + on Friday, to 15 mph on Saturday, to 10 - 15 mph on Sunday, down to 5 - 10 mph on Monday.

The photo at right was taken earlier this month at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. The crowds are back, but there might not yet, be as many foreign tourists as in the past.


* Home for the Holidays - CoVid Update & the 'Tripledemic'

A Three Virus Healthcare Threat may be Good for TV Ratings & Headlines, but is it Real?

An NYC Tripledemic Update - Analysis of Reporting of RSV, Flu & CoVid in NYC

As We Return to En Vivo Socializing Over the Holidays - Things to be Aware of

December 19, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / CoVid in NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC / 468.

covid in nyc manhattan brooklyn bronx queens staten island covid update tripledemic dec 2022 nycNYC Weather. There's going to be some semi-serious precipitation [at present 2 plus inches] beginning Thursday afternoon around 4 pm, continuing until Friday about 4 pm. The temperatures are expected to rise to well above freezing, so it's almost certain to be rain in the city. As for the rest of the week, no rain Monday through Wednesday, and none is expected Saturday and Sunday, as folks head home for the holidays.

The temperature highs will be around 40 from Monday through Wednesday, rising into the low 50's on Thursday and possibly hit 60 on Friday, before descending into the mid 20's for the Christmas weekend, so Santa and his reindeer won't overheat as they make their appointed rounds. The temperature lows will be around 30 Monday through Wednesday, rising to 50 on Thursday, before falling to into the high teens on Friday, where the low will remain for the rest of the weekend. Monday thru Wednesday winds will be around 5 - 10 mph, rising to 15 - 20 on Thursday and then 25 - 30 on Friday, before falling back to 15 - 20 mph on Saturday and then 10 mph on Sunday. The humidity will be 50% - 65% on Monday thru Wednesday, rising to 75% - 85% on Thursday, and then falling on Friday from 75% to 50% on Friday, before settling into the weekend at between 40% - 50% for a dry weekend.

 

I. The Tripledemic - RSV How Real & How Scary?

covid in nyc manhattan brooklyn bronx queens staten island covid updateAs you likely heard, we are in the midst of experiencing a 'tripledemic'. The triple refers to CoVid, flu and RSV. RSV is short for respiratory syncytial virus, which is a virus that causes symptoms like those associated with a cold, but which can cause serious negative health issues for infants and the elderly. As usual, the TV news teleprompter readers and their writers appear to report whatever they're told, without actually thinking about the information they're conveying. And since they're in the business of attracting viewers' and readers' attention, they seem to have a tendency to sensationalize almost everything they report, including the weather.

So, let's start with RSV [respiratory syncytial virus], which to date, appears to have peaked the week ending November 12, 2022 [see chart]. According to weekly reporting by NYC Health, an NYC government website, there were three RSV related infant deaths since the peak this season, and they all occurred on the same week. As of the NYC Health report on December 17, 2022, there were nearly 30,000 cases in NYC so far this fall. So three infant deaths is a 0.01% RSV death rate in NYC. Given the low death rate, one has to wonder whether there were other complicating factors also at play?

RSV prevention is certainly worth paying attention to in order to protect your loved ones - especially infants, the elderly and immuno compromised. But that said, it rarely appears to be fatal, as you can see by the statistics noted above. RSV cases have been on the decline since the November 12th peak, but as in reporting on all health issues, things can change without notice. So stay tuned, knowing that what we're dealing with generally isn't lethal.


* Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

This is the Peak Party Holiday Weekend, Holiday Concerts, Holiday Shopping & Menorah Lightings as Hanukkah Begins

things to do this weekend in nyc december 3rd weekendDecember 16, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 445.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs descend from the high 40's on Friday to about 40 on Saturday and then into the high 30's on Sunday. The temperature lows drop from the mid 30's on Friday, to about 30 on Saturday and Sunday. The humidity drops from between 70% and 80% on Friday, to about 60% on Saturday and then into the 50% range on Sunday. The winds will be 12 - 16 on Friday and then about 10 mph for the rest of the weekend. About a half inch of rain is due Friday, ending about 4 pm in the afternoon, and thereafter the weekend should be dry.

The photo at right was taken last week along 6th Avenue, near Bryant Park in Midtown. The city is again entertaining fair crowds of tourists and New Yorkers.


* Picketing for the One Day Strike at the New York Times didn't Last a Day

How Not to do a Strike?

December 13, 2022 / NYC Business News / Midtown Manhattan / News Analysis & Opinion / Manhattan Buzz NYC / 386. 

Early last week I caught wind that there was an impending strike coming to the New York Times.  It was a snippet of a news story, but seemed important, given the prominence and influence of the Times. The Times is one of the two most prestigious papers in the nation along with the Washington Post, and one of a small number of such influential newspapers in the world.

 

NYT Strike on Thursday, December 8, 2022

nyt strike in nycSo, when I heard that the strike was actually happening on Thursday late afternoon, I dropped everything and headed down to the New York Times office building in Midtown Manhattan.  I had a hunch that the strikers would be disbanding - if not gone - by the time the TV news ended at 7 pm. 

It turns out I was right, as I arrived right around 7 pm and there wasn't a striker in sight.  I walked completely around the block, covering all street exits of the Times office building, including 8th Avenue and 40th and 41st Streets. The strikers had been there, just not for a very long time.

I asked several people coming out of the building about the strike.  Most of them shrugged me off, in a surly sort of manner.  One of them responded telling me that the strikers were there in the afternoon, marching along 8th Avenue.  But, as mentioned, there wasn't a striker in sight, and no trace that they had been there.  Unless they had slipped into Wolfgang's Steakhouse for drinks and dinner [see photo below].

The photo above right was taken outside of the Times office building in Midtown Manhattan around 7 pm on December 8, 2022 - the day of the one day strike. The picketing appears not to have lasted the day.

A reported 1,100 members of the News Guild of New York gave up a days pay, to stage the one day walk out on Thursday, December 8th.  The union represents 1,450 NYT employees, of which 1270 are newsroom personnel, according to the Wall St. Journal.  Based on the coverage I saw by other news organizations of the strike, far fewer folks picketed on Thursday, than the number of those who didn't show up for work and gave up the day of pay. My guesstimate of the number who picketed was in the low hundred(s).


Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Holidays Tree Lightings, Holiday Caroling, Holiday Community Gatherings & Holiday Markets

things to do this weekend in nyc december events nyc 2nd weekend events things to do nycDecember 10, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 444.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low to mid 40's, and the temperature lows will be in the low to mid 30's, all weekend. About 1/3 inch of precipitation is expected on Sunday between the hours of noon and midnight. Winds will be about 7 - 10 mph all weekend. The humidity will rise from 40% - 50% on Friday, to 50% - 65% on Saturday, to 70% - 80% on Sunday.

The photo at right was taken this week along 5th Avenue, which was fairly crowded Thursday evening with tourists and New Yorkers.


Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

The Holidays are Going Full Tilt This Week with Tree Lightings, Caroling, Community Gatherings and Holiday Markets

things to do this weekend nyc december events nyc 1st weekend in DecemberDecember 2, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 443.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 40's on Friday, the high 50's on Saturday and descending back to the low 40's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the low 40's on Friday, descending to the low 30's on Saturday and Sunday. The humidity will climb from 50% to 60% on Friday, to 55% to 77% on Saturday before descending back to 50% to 60% on Sunday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Friday, rising to 10 - 15 mph on Saturday and then falling to 5 mph on Sunday. About a quarter inch of rain is expected between 7 am and 1 pm on Saturday, otherwise it's a dry weekend.

The photo at right was taken last week. What strikes me about this photo, and other scenes in the city like it, is the lingering foliage and color we're still seeing at this late date in the season.

This weekend we could top 60 degrees, which as you know, is unseasonably warm. Even the birds and insects are confused by this weather. For example at a Thanksgiving Day dinner in Connecticut I noticed there were insects hovering around the table, and in Queens - just yesterday - I walked past a bevy of trees which were alive with the noise of what seemed an entire flock of tweeting birds. It was fairly cold yesterday, so I thought perhaps their beaks were chattering, like we humans do when it's very cold.


Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

The Holidays are Warming up a bit this Weekend, Before going Full Tilt Next Week

things to do this weekend nyc november events nycNovember 25, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 442.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low to mid 50's all weekend, while the temperature lows will rise from around 40 on Friday and Saturday, to 50 on Sunday. The humidity drops from 60% - 70% on Friday, to 50% - 60% on Saturday, and then rises again to 70% - 80% on Sunday. The winds will be around 15 mph Friday, falling to 10 mph on Saturday and Sunday. There's a slight chance of a slight amount of rain before noon Friday, none on Saturday and then about a half to two thirds inch of rain on Sunday between 11 am and 9 pm.

The photo at right was taken at a Thanksgiving dinner I attended yesterday. I ate so much of the dinner, that I didn't dare have any dessert for fear of exploding ... a similar memory of which, I also have as a child.


Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

The Holidays have Arrived in NYC

things to do this weekend nyc november events nycNovember 18, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC / 441.

NYC Weather. The temperatures will be in the mid to low 40's during the day and the mid to low 30's at night. Humidity will be fairly low ranging from 35% to 50%. No rain is in the forecast. The winds will range from 10 - 16 mph, so fairly windy.

As hard as it is to believe, the holidays have arrived. Last weekend the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrived. It's an 80 foot spruce which will be lit on Wednesday evening November 30th.

Following the lighting at Rockefeller Center, there's a new street program entitled Fifth Avenue for All. It starts Sunday, December 4th, continuing Sunday, December 11th and ending Sunday, December 18th whereby 5th Avenue will be closed to automobile traffic from 49th to 57th Street, from 12 noon - 6 pm. There will be food vendors, musicians, pedestrians and others, who will take over the street.

And of course the holiday events and holiday shopping seasons have begun as well. We're working on holiday markets as we speak, and we expect to continue updating through the weekend. But you can use the links below in the Holiday Markets report filed earlier this week, to see how far we've gotten in posting the holiday markets which have begun opening.


Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Announcement, Veterans Day Weekend, Art & Performance; some outdoor Farmers Markets & Street Fairs still open

things to do this weekend nyc november events nycNovember 11, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid 60's Friday, dropping to the mid 50's Saturday and down to the mid 40's Sunday. The temperature lows will plummet from the low 50's Friday, to the low 330's Saturday and into the high 20's on Sunday. The humidity will fall from 90% Friday, to 80% Saturday, to 65% 80% on Sunday. Winds will be a blustery 7 - 15 mph all weekend. Rain is in the forecast, with about a quarter inch to fall tonight, and then 1/10th inch of rain early in the morning on Saturday and Sunday - so it shouldn't stop you from going out.


NYS Politics & Election Day November 2022

NYS Elections are November 8th, Today

nyc poll site locator queens poll site locator manhattan polls locations

November 8, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC. 

The NYS election is today, Tuesday November 8th.  On the ballot are the following races: U.S. Senate, Governor, Other state level positions such as Attorney General, State Assembly, State Senators and Ballot measures.


Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

NYC Marathon Weekend, Veterans Day Commemorations Warm Ups, Upcoming Play; some outdoor Farmers Markets & Street Fairs still open

things to do this weekend nyc november events nycNovember 4, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 70's all weekend, while the low will be in the mid 60's all weekend. No rain is in the forecast, but it will be a very humid weekend for this time of year ranging from 70% to 85% all weekend. Winds will be about 10 mph all weekend.

The photo at right was taken at the Queens World Film Festival in a prior year. The festival returned to the Museum of the Moving Image this week and runs through the weekend.

The graphic below right shows the course of the NYC Marathon this Sunday.


Thanksgiving Day Restaurants and Gourmet Shops & Food Stores Manhattan NYC

Thanksgiving Day Gourmet Food & Grocery Stores & Restaurants in Manhattan 2022

manhattan thanksgiving day food shops and restaurants in manhattan thanksgiving day restaurants gourmet food shops manhattan nyc uws ues midtown soho harlem washington heights tribeca fidi east west village nycGourmet or Specialty Food Shops & Grocery Stores for Preparing Dinner on Thanksgiving Day or Restaurants Open Thankgiving Day on the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, East Village, West Village, SoHo, Tribeca & Downtown NYC

November 1, 2022 / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Manhattan Restaurants / Manhattan Buzz NYC.

The origins of Thanksgiving Day in the United States began with one of America’s first settlements, founded by the risk-taking, resource-pooling, hardworking, spiritual community of Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were early English settlers who arrived on American shores in the early 17th century [1600’s]. They came here because they wanted a measure of freedom and self-determination that they were forbidden in Europe or what was called the ‘old country’. The Pilgrims wanted to practice their faith, unencumbered, in a way that differed from the established Church of England. They pooled their money to obtain a ship, the Mayflower, to cross the Atlantic in mid September of 1620, landing on America's shores at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts on November 9, 1620.

The Pilgrims Receive Help from the Native People of a Strange Land

Per Wikipedia, the Piligrims survived a hard winter in 1621 with the help of the Wampanoag, an American Indian tribe. The Pilgrims were the immigrants, and the first Americans, the Indian natives, welcomed them. The Wampanaog taught the Pilgrims how to catch eels, and how to grow and harvest corn. Thus the Pilgrims ended 1621 with a good harvest which they celebrated and shared with their new friends, expressing their thanks to a higher power, aka God, for the success of their endeavors.

Thus it was that the first Thanksgiving celebration happened in America. There's some dispute to this account, which we'll address in a future post, near Thanksgiving Day.

We've identified a number of Manhattan places to shop for Thanksgiving Dinner, or restaurants open Thanksgiving Day in Manhattan. Enjoy.



Things To Do in NYC in October - Weekend Events

Things To Do in NYC Each Weekend in October

October 31, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz. This section contains our Things To Do reports for each weekend in the month of October in all five boroughs of New York City.

What follows below is an example of the beginning of one of our weekend reports about things to do during the month of October.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Halloween Weekend in All 5 Boroughs; some outdoor Farmers Markets & Street Fairs still open

things to do nyc things to do manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island things to do nyc eventsOctober 28, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 60's all weekend, while the temperature lows will be in the low 40's on Friday and Saturday, rising to the mid 50's by Sunday. Winds will be 3 - 8 mph all weekend. Humidity will be 45% - 65% on Friday and Saturday, rising to 60% - 80% on Sunday. No rain is in the forecast this weekend.

The photo at right was taken over a decade ago in Queens. I recently came across it while doing some website content management work. The photo captures a moment in time of a young woman with an alluring gaze.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC

Your best bet is to click the link above for the full Manhattan Halloween magilla.

On Friday night the Whitney Museum in the Village is throwing a 'Hallowteen' event, while there's a Halloween party at the Museum of the City of New York on the UES and the McKittrick Hotel is throwing a big Halloween Party down in Chelsea. Stage 48 in Midtown is throwing a Monster Ball on Friday and a Halloween Parade After Party on Monday. There's also an old silent movie being shown, accompanied by a live organist, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The Merchants House Museum in the East Village is hosting haunted tours in the evening on Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday the Meatpacking BID is hosting a number of family friendly Halloween events and programs in the West Village, while E's Bar is throwing a party on the UWS. On Saturday and Sunday, Lincoln Center is hosting an Open House and Family Day. Capitale in SoHo is hosting a big Halloween bash on Saturday.

On Sunday the Irish Arts Center in West Midtown is throwing a kids event midday. The Slate Bar, Bar 13 and Webster Hall all have Halloween events on both Saturday and Monday. Also on Sunday in the Flatiron District there's a Halloween themed history tour.

And the NYC Halloween Day Parade is on Monday.


What have the Democrats & the Biden Administration Accomplished?

Does Biden have Washington Working Again, in Spite of Narrow Democratic Majorities in Both the Senate & House? Why are Democrats Not Running on Their Collective Record?

things to do nyc things to do manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island things to do nyc eventsOctober 26, 2022 / Local Government & Politics / National Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The midterm elections are on Tuesday, November 8th.

While President Biden's poll approval is below 50%, I believe it is because there's a yawning gap between perception - as provided daily by the billionaire controlled TV networks - and reality.

So here's the reality piece of it, since you've already been inundated with the ratings-driven TV networks view of things.


Things To Do in NYC in September - Weekend Events

Things To Do in NYC Each Weekend in September

September 30, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz. This section contains our Things To Do reports for each weekend in the month of September in all five boroughs of New York City.

What follows below is an example of the beginning of one of our weekend reports about things to do during the month of September.

 

* Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

First Day of Autumn began Thursday Evening, Global Citizen Concert Returns Saturday, Fall for Dance Celebration Begins, Feast of San Gennaro ends Sunday; Great Irish Fair, Oktoberest at Fort Hamiltion & Local Play in Brooklyn; Hispanic Day Parade, Bell Blvd Stroll & Oktoberfest and Durga Puja Begin next weekend in Queens; Hip Hop Museum Opens, Native American Festival, Bronx Night Market, Stage Garden Rumba in the Bronx; Local Play on Staten Island; Rosh Hashanah Begins Sunday ... also Farmers Markets, Street Fairs & more

things to do nyc things to do manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island things to do nyc eventsSeptember 23, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid 60's on Friday, about 70 on Saturday, rising to the mid 70's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be around 50 on Friday, rising to the mid 50's on Saturday and to about 60 on Sunday. The winds will be about 15 mph on Friday, falling to 5 - 10 mph the rest of the weekend. The humidity will rise from 40% - 50% on Friday, to 40% - 60% on Saturday, and then up to 60% - 80% on Sunday. No rain is in the forecast until after 4 pm on Sunday, when there's a 50% chance of about a tenth of an inch of rain.

The photo at right was taken earlier this week at the United Nations while President Biden was delivering a speech about protecting our democratic institutions and rule of law. This means helping other democracies, in order to preserve and protect our way of life from autocrats and dictators who inevitably steal power and wealth away from everyone else in society.

The first day of Autumn began Thursday evening 9/22/22 around 9 pm.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins Sunday evening and ends Tuesday evening.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC

The photo at right was taken earlier this week at the United Nations. Those two people traversing the rooftop of the building aren't roof repairmen.

From Saturday, September 17 through January 1, 2023 - Death of a Salesman at the Hudson Theatre at 141 West 44th Street in West Midtown. This celebrates the Black Theatre Day on September 17th, in honor of the first African American theater, African Grove Theatre, which opened 9/17/1821. Tickets cost $64 - $313. For more details and tickets see https://www.thehudsonbroadway.com/

things to do nyc things to do manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island things to do nyc eventsOn Saturday, the Global Citizen Concert returns to the Great Lawn in Central Park which lies between 5th Avenue and Central Park West and between 72nd Street and 86th Street. The gates open at 2 pm and the concert begins at 4 pm. You must bring printed tickets as mobile tickets are not being accepted. Admission $250 - $299 via www.ticketmaster.com. For further details on the concert see https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/festival/nyc/2022/

Thursday - Sunday, September 15 - 25, 2022 times vary - The San Gennaro Festival. This is an 11 day Italian festival that runs through Sunday, September 25th. There's a canoli eating contest today 9/16 beginning at 1 pm and tomorrow 9/17 there's a procession through Little Italy that starts at 2 pm. See their website for details of all events - https://sangennaronyc.org/

The Fall for Dance Festival began on Wednesday, September 21 at the NY City Center at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. The program runs through next week, ending Sunday, October 2, 2022. Performances begin at 8 pm each night, except this coming Sunday & Monday, September 25th & 26th. Tickets are $20 and performances last about an hour and a half. For details and tickets - https://www.nycitycenter.org/

The NY Film Festival begins next Friday, September 30th at Lincoln Center and runs through Sunday, October 16th.


NYC News Updates NYS

Office Workers & Employers Facing a Choice - Come Back to the Office or -

The UN is Back Live in Session, a look at the Argument for Democracies vs Dictatorships, & What's with the Royalist TV News Groupies?

September 19, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

staten island things to do memorial day weekend staten island memorial day weekend si nycNYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 80's on Tuesday & Wednesday, dropping to the low 70's on Thursday and the mid 60's on Friday., The temperature lows will rise from the mid 60's on Monday & Tuesday to the low 70's on Wednesday, and then fall into the mid to low 50's on Thursday and Friday. The winds will be 10 - 15 mph all week. The humidity will be 55% - 65% all week, except on Friday when it falls to 45% - 55%. There's a small chance of a small amount of rain in Thursday, with the probability gone by mid afternoon.

 

NYC White Collar Office Workers Continue to Resist a Full Return to the Office

As we noted last week, in our update, people are returning to mass transit. While weekend ridership on the subways has reached about 90%, weekday ridership lags behind at about 65% of prepandemic levels. One of the main drivers of the lower weekday ridership is that folks haven't yet resumed embraced a full return to the office at anywhere near prepandemic levels.

For about the past six months, only about 10% of white collar office workers in Manhattan, go to the office daily. But the number of people in the office each day has risen from about 38% to 49%, according to Parnership for New York City, a non-profit dedicated to primarily promoting the economic interests of NYC. Also, the percentage of workers staying fully remote dropped from 28% to 16% over the same six month period [April - September]. Nearly four out of five employers [77%] indicated that the preferred business model [demanded per employees] is now ready to accommodate folks who only want to travel to the office three of the five days in a work week.

Nobody is yet saying this, but it's my guesstimate, that over time, employees who are in the office more frequently are going to win out over those who are working remotely. And because of that phenomenon, I also guesstimate that over time, more folks will start spending more time in the office. But this may take years to play out.

There's a flip side of the coin above, which is that employers who accommodate remote workers, especially women who want to spend time rearing their children, could, over time, attract and retain some of the best and the brightest, even if they don't pay top dollar. For some, including myself, money matters - but it isn't everything.

As I look at what I've just written I see a potential lawsuit - discriminatory pay based on gender. But could it be discriminatory pay based on remote working? This discussion might have some parallels to the discussion below about dictatorships vs democracy and about valuing loyalty over talent.

Ultimately, time will tell, and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. One thing is clear, many of us - if not all - are not going back to the status quo.


News Update NYC

Entering the Post Pandemic New Normal in NYC

staten island things to do memorial day weekend staten island memorial day weekend si nycSeptember 13, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 70's and the temperature lows around 60. It will be sunny the rest of the week, with humidity ranging from 40% - 60%, which is fairly dry. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph, falling as the week wears on. No rain is expected between now and Friday evening, nor through the coming weekend.

So, a lot has happened since we last posted a news update. At right is a photo of one of the outer borough subway stations this summer. As you can see, mask wearing compliance has diminished.

 

MTA: Ridership Hits Post Pandemic High of 3.5 Million Weekday Riders on the First Day of the Reopening of NYC Public Schools & Governor Hochul Drops the MTA Mask Mandate

On Thursday, September 8th, the first day of the NYC public schools reopening, the MTA transported 3.6 million people. That's the highest ridership number since the pandemic began two and a half years ago in March of 2020.

In our August 9th report [see below] we suggested the MTA drop the mask mandate or enforce it. At the time we noticed that less than half of the passengers on the subway seemed to be adhering to the mask mandate. On September 7th, NYS Governor Hochul rescinded the mask mandate on the MTA, making masking optional, but still recommended that we continue masking on the MTA as we enter the colder months, when folks go indoors, where the probability of infection by airborne viruses like CoVid and the flu increases. The guidance is particularly relevant to those who are older or have underlying conditions, but it's also not unwise for everyone else too.

 

Shootings Down in NYC in August - In August 2022 There were 115 Shootings vs 165 in August 2021

This Follows the Passage of Federal Gun Restrictions by Congress in June, Biden's April Executive Order in Requiring Ghost Gun Sales be Handled in the Same Manner as Gun Sales & Mayor Adams & the NYPD's Effort to Remove Illegal Guns from NYC Streets

On June 25th, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This is legislation that passed both the Senate and Congress earlier in the month. A number of moderate Republicans crossed the aisle in both the House and Senate to vote with the Democrats, on reigning in the gun violence free-for-all that we've been witnessing the past couple of years.

The federal gun legislation was the first of its kind to pass both houses and be signed into law in about 30 years. Among other things it enhances background checks for younger gun owners [under 21], and provides law enforcement with additional authority and responsibility to thwart potential shooters by empowering them to curtail a gun owner's rights if there's reason to believe that person poses a risk to the general welfare of the community. Added funding was also provided to incent law enforcement to pay more attention to problematic gun owners.

The Biden Ghost Gun sale regulations went into effect on August 24, 2022, following a failed court challenge to block the President's April 2022 Executive Order requiring ghost gun sales to be treated the same as other firearm sales.

In addition to the actions taken at the federal level, Mayor Adams has been working with the NYPD to reduce shootings through changes in NYC law enforcement to take illegal guns off the street. Year to date [as of end of August 2022], the NYPD had removed 4,880 illegal guns from the streets of which 405 of them were removed in August.

Other NYC crime statistics rose 31%. And NYS Governor Hochul passed a number gun regulations in response to the Supreme Court ruling overturning a century old NYS gun law.

We'll have a few more items to add, including on NYC public schools, on Wednesday 9.14.22. In the meantime, I hope you're having a nice week.


NYC Catholic Schools Open September 7th & NYC Public Schools Open on the 8th

Ode to Some of the Great Teachers I've Known, Who've Been Guides on the Trail of Life

In Words & Deeds, We are all Students & We are all Teachers, be it Consciously or Not

September 7, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

staten island things to do memorial day weekend staten island memorial day weekend si nycOn Wednesday, September 7th the Catholic schools in NYC reopen for the new school year.

On Thursday, September 8, 2022 NYC public schools reopen.  Many of the CoVid guidelines of the prior public school year have been modified, so copy and paste the following link for an update.  https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/covid-information/health-and-safety-in-our-schools.

 

Thinking of Those who Made a Difference

As I contemplated the upcoming school year I thought back to all of the great teachers who made a difference in my life. And so it is to them that I dedicate this column. Generally I'm going to discuss the school teachers as they chronologically entered my life, and discuss the other teachers in my life who taught me things outside of school, in reverse chronological order. Also please note that this is by no means a complete list, but really rather a first attempt at thanking some of the teachers who made a difference in my life, while passing on a few of the golden nuggets I learned from them.

 

The High School Teachers Who Made a Difference

It started at Abbott Pennings high school in DePere, Wisconsin where I grew up.  Father Frigo was our freshman or sophomore history teacher.  He was also a coach of the football and basketball teams which won state championships, and as such, was perhaps treated a bit too familiarly, even irreverently, by some of the star athletes in our class.  What Father Frigo taught me was that historical narratives change over time, and that, " ... you have to pay attention to whether you're looking at primary sources or secondary sources ... " to truly understand the nature of events. 

He taught us that, " ... revisionist history is a secondary source, but also plays an important role in our understanding of the past ...". He noted that pressure to conform to the prevailing cultural norms and narratives of those in power at a given time can distort and obfuscate the truth. But cultural norms and those in power change over time, so that oftentimes, at least in a free speech democracy, the passing of time permits a more honest appraisal of past events. We can see this playing out currently, as the Civil War 'heroes' of the Confederate south are more appropriately treated in historical terms as traitors to the republic, and as champions of a harsh, cruel system of enslavement of a large portion of the American population at the time. Likewise, in dictatorships, narcissitic despots often use and distort history to provide support for their violent aggression. We saw this scenario play out in Nazi Germany in the 1930's and 1940's, and we're witnessing it today in Putin's Russia.

My junior year I came up against a tough nun, Sister Janet, who for some god forsaken reason, took it upon herself to make sure that I understood algebra.  I fought her tooth and nail throughout the year, but over time she broke me down and taught me the beauty of the logic inherent in algebraic equations, for which there is no wiggle room between getting it right and getting it wrong.

And lastly, at Abbott Pennings high school, I was taught an even larger lesson by Father Meehan, in religion class.  I questioned some of the basic beliefs of Catholicism in class.  He patiently answered my questions, and in the end told me something that I will always remember, when he said, "don't stop questioning ... question everything".  Little did I know that that was both a blessing and a curse, as I have continued to question everything ever since.


Things To Do in NYC in August - Weekend Events

Things To Do in NYC Each Weekend in August

August 31, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz. This section contains our Things To Do reports for each weekend in the month of August in all five boroughs of New York City.

What follows below is an example of the beginning of one of our weekend reports about things to do during the month of August.

Things To Do in NYC This Weekend

1) Blues & BBQ Fest, Summer Streets NYC, Dominican Parade, Macbeth, Little Shakespeare Fest & Asian American Film Fest continue in Manhattan

2) India Day Celebration, Festival of Cinema continues & Free Fan Tickets to U.S. Open Trials become Available in Queens,

3) Coney Island Sand Sculpting & a Rum Festival Return & Hip Hop Film Festival Continues in Brooklyn;

4) SummerStage Concerts at Crotona Park Amphitheater, Dinosaurs at the Zoo & Piazza di Belmont in the Bronx;

5) Summer Concert on Staten Island;

6) also Free Outdoor Concerts, Movies & Theater, Farmers Markets, NYC Public Outdoor Swimming Pools, Street Fairs, Public Beaches

staten island things to do memorial day weekend staten island memorial day weekend si nycAugust 12, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weekend Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 80's and the temperature lows in the mid 60's all weekend. The humidity drops to 40 - 50% all weekend except Sunday when it begins rising again to about 60%. The winds will be 4 - 10 mph all weekend. No rain is in the forecast.

In the photo at right is a hip hop performer who is a part of a troupe that performed outside the entrance at Christies New York [an auction house] last weekend. The performance was part of a citywide dance festival [we only posted a couple of events], and also a tie into Christies' current online auction of early Hip Hop memorabilia which expires on August 18th, 2022.

 

Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC

Saturday, August 13, 2022 from 1 - 9 pm - Blues BBQ Festival. Free summer concerts at Pier 76 near Chelsea Piers in Midtown Manhattan NYC. Free admission, with food not included. For details see - https://hudsonriverpark.org/visit/events/event/blues-bbq-festival-2022/

Saturdays, August 6, 13 & 20, 2022 from 7 am to 1 pm - NYC Summer Streets - There will be street closures to autos and trucks along Lafayette starting at the Brooklyn Bridge, going north to 4th Avenue in the Village, which merges into Park Avenue at Union Square, ending at 72nd Street. People are welcome to bike, stroll, skateboard and whatnot. Motorists will have access to some major cross streets which you can find listed by cutting & pasting this web address into your browser - http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets/html/about/neighbors.shtml.

On Sunday, August 14, 2022 beginning at 1 pm there's a Dominican Parade that marches up 6th Avenue from 38th Street to 56th Street in Manhattan.

Thursday, August 4 - Sunday, August 14, 2022 - The Little Shakespeare Festival. It's called 'little' because each production contains only four or five actors. 1) August 4 & 6 - As You Will - at 9 pm and 7 pm respectively, 2) August 5, 7, 11, 12 & 14 - Romeo & Juliet - at 7 pm weekdays and 5.30 pm and 4 pm respectively on Sundays, 3) August 6, 10 & 13 - Unspoken Garden - at 2 pm Saturdays & 7 pm weekday, 4) August 9 - Fights of Shakesepeare & As You Will [double feature] - at 7 pm and 5) Brawls & Burlesque, August 13 at 7 pm & 14 at 2 pm. At the Frigid Theater NYC which performs at Under St. Mark's Theater which is located in the basement at 94 St Marks Place [=8th Street] at 1st Avenue in the East Village - www.frigid.nyc / Tickets are $25 / $20.

August 3 - 13, 2022 - Asian American International Film Festival. This year [2022] they're back with live events and in person screenings at the Asia Society & Museum on the Upper East Side. The Asia Society & Museum is located at 725 Park Avenue at East 70th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan NYC. Tickets are $16 / $10 - For details see www.aaiff.org.



NYC / NYS Politics - Primary Election Tuesday, August 23rd

These are the U.S. Congressional & NYS Senate Primary Races not Held June 28th

nyc poll site locator queens poll site locator manhattan polls locations

August 23, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC. 

The second NYS primary election is on Tuesday, August 23rd.  On the ballot are the U.S. Congressional races and the NYS Senate races, which were not on the ballot on June 28th.

Reason for the Second Primary this Summer & Races to Watch

The reason there were two NYS primaries this year is that the electoral districts drawn up by the Democrats were so gerrymandered, that an upstate court ordered the NYS Legislature to redraw them more fairly. The decision was upheld on Appeal, but due to the timing - the Appeal decision came down in April - there wasn't enough time to redraw the maps in time for the June primary. Hence a second primary today.

The biggest contests to watch coming out of this election is the one pitting two longtime Congresspeople against each other in District 12 - Jerry Nadler of the Upper West Side and Carolyn Maloney of the Upper East Side. And there's a tight race just north of the city in Westchester where Alessandra Biaggi is challenging Sean Patrick Maloney in District 13. Earlier this summer, former Mayor de Blasio dropped out of the congressional race in the newly redrawn 10th District which encompasses part of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Click on the image above to access the poll finder website, so you can easily find where to vote in your neighborhood.  Remember this is the land of the free and the home of the brave, and many of our ancestors died for our right to elect our leaders. A similar struggle for freedom from oppression is going on in Ukraine right now.  So in as much as you can, do your homework before voting for those you choose to represent you / us. There's still time to do some research on candidates on the web.  

The New York State election is Tuesday August 23rd, and polls are open from 6 am - 9 pm. Click on the graphic above, to find your poll site.


NYC News Updates

CoVid Update, Monkey Pox Update, Tourism Return Dampened by Strong Dollar, Pandemic Spending Shifts & Psychological Impacts

staten island things to do memorial day weekend staten island memorial day weekend si nycAugust 9, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 90's today, falling into the mid 80's for the rest of the week. The temperature lows will be around 70 all week. The humidity will rise from the mid 50's early Tuesday to the mid 70's by Wednesday, falling back to about 60% on Thursday and a comfortable 50% on Friday. There's a 50% chance of a 1/10th inch of rain between 5 - 10 pm Tuesday, and a 50 - 75% chance of about a half inch or more of rain between 11 pm Wednesday and 9 am Thursday. By Friday it's a very nice day, leading into a very nice weekend.

 

CoVid Containment in NYC - MTA Should Either Enforce the Mask Mandate or Withdraw it

This past weekend I noticed that half or less of the passengers on the subway appear to be following the mask mandate. To the MTA I suggest either enforce the mandate, or withdraw it. You weaken the government's credibility and ability to enforce compliance, when you mandate something and then do not follow through by properly / evenly enforcing it. Every good parent knows that.

The BA.5 variant of CoVid grew rapidly from under 10% at the beginning of June 2022, to above 80% by the end of July. Cases rose briefly during that period, before falling back again. About 79% of all Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while about 68% have received two or more. In NYS 91% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose, while 78% have received two or more doses. Because the population has finally come around to getting vaccinated, the hospitalization rates for CoVid are fairly low, with only a small percentage of hospital beds being utilized for CoVid patients, most of which are occupied by the non-vaxers.

Bear in mind that it's the summertime, which is the off season for the disease, because folks are outdoors.


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