Monday, September 22nd, 2025
Partly sunny; high 73.
The rest of the week isn’t likely to be as pleasant as today; the forecast calls for “rather cloudy” skies, and showers every day, with the possibility of thunderstorms on Thursday.
Fall officially begins at 2:19 p.m. today, and Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown (6:53 p.m.). Shanah Tovah to those who celebrate.
Today in history, Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, threatening to free slaves in southern states that had seceded if they didn’t rejoin the union by January 1st, 1863.
And for fans of Lord of the Rings: Today is International Hobbit Day, as well as the stated birthday of main Hobbit characters Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, born respectively in the Third-Age years of 2890 and 2968 (which would be 1290 and 1368, according to the non-Hobbit calendar).
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper right-hand corner to check.
Starting today, the city’s Department of Transportation is closing “north path” access to the Hudson River Greenway at the West 79th Street Rotunda, and opening a “south path” for pedestrians and cyclists. The change is part of the redesign of the Rotunda, which began in 2022; city officials have said they hope the work will be completed sometime next year. See a map of the new pedestrian path — HERE.
Rep. Jerry Nadler invites middle- and high-school students to apply for the Congressional App Challenge, a top prize in student computer science. Winners will have the opportunity to attend the #HouseofCode Capitol Hill reception and their app will be featured on the House website. Students can participate in teams of up to four, and can enter in the congressional district in which they live or attend school. The deadline is October 30th. More information — HERE.
News Roundup
Compiled by Laura Muha
Last week, Mayor Eric Adams threw his weight behind the growing movement to ban carriage horses in Central Park. And he’s not the only one.
On TikTok, influencers are joining the fight, filming and shaming the carriage drivers, according to Fast Company magazine.
“I go to Central Park almost every day to ride a bike, and it kills me to see these adorable horses in the beating sun,” TikToker Dylan Kevitch told the site. “I wanted to take advantage of my platform and use my voice.”
Which he did in a recent video, as he cycled past a carriage pulled by a white horse. “Put the f—ing horse back in the f—ing barn,” he shouted at the driver in the clip, which has been viewed more than 2.6 million times.
Another TikToker, Kristina Papilion, says she has made it her mission to educate tourists considering carriage rides and feels “pure joy” when she ruins a sale for one of the drivers.
“My hope is that the more people see how outdated and cruel this practice is, the harder it becomes to ignore,” she told Fast Company.” “If the videos push things in the right direction, it’s worth every aggressive run-in.”
Read the full story — HERE.
When the Fairness in Apartment Rentals Expenses (FARE) Act went into effect in June, it was touted as a victory for prospective tenants, because brokers who handle apartment rentals on behalf of landlords can no longer charge them a percentage of the rent. Instead, the landlords themselves must pay the broker fees.
At the time, proponents said it could save the average tenant thousands in the first year of a rental, while opponents said that was an illusion, since landlords would recoup their money by raising rents.
Three months into the new law, it looks as if the proponents may be right — at least so far, according to openigloo [sic], a platform that combines open-source city data with crowdsourced tenant feedback to help renters find apartments from highly-rated landlords. On its blog, the group said its analysis of market-rate rentals found that even though rates did increase 6 percent more this summer than they did last summer that still represents savings when taking into account the extra 8 to 15 percent that tenants had been paying to apartment brokers before the FARE Act went into effect. The group also reported that:
- Lease renewals have dropped from 69 percent in 2024 to 59 percent this summer, suggesting that the elimination of the “additional overhead” of a broker fee “empowered” renters to move.
- Rental inventory dropped 75 percent overnight after the FARE Act went into effect in June, but rebounded by mid-July, “suggesting the activity was a brief market-adjustment not a permanent reality.”
- Apartments spent less time on the market: a median of 23 days, compared to 39 before the FARE Act’s implementation.
The group’s conclusion? “Despite stark warnings from various groups it seems that the FARE Act didn’t break NYC renting but rather reshaped it. While rents did climb, the increases were modest compared to the savings on forced broker fees. Renewal rates dropped as renters gained mobility and leverage, and listings moved faster – all signs of a more dynamic market.”
See the full report — HERE.
In honor of Season 5 of the Hulu hit “Only Murders in the Building,” both House Beautiful and Elle Decor are featuring the Belnord, the real-life building at West 86th Street and Broadway, whose exteriors serve as those of the fictional Arconia in the series.
The building is home to the main characters, played by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, amateur sleuths who investigate murders and host a true-crime podcast; this season, they’re investigating the death of the building’s long-time doorman, whose body was found in the courtyard’s central fountain.
The Elle Decor story features one family’s apartment in the building. House Beautiful, meanwhile, focused on the building itself.
John Hoffman, co-creator of the series, told the latter that finding just the right building to serve as the Arconia was crucial to the series. “I knew we needed a home that carried enough history and elegance to hold a world of mystery and intrigue—and one that could also serve as a fitting backdrop worthy of our legendary cast,” he said, adding that thanks to The Belnord’s tenants and management, the filming location “surpassed all of our wildest dreams”; in fact, he said, the landmarked building “basically wrote itself into our show as its own central compelling character.” Read House Beautiful’s story, which includes a history of the Italian Renaissance–style building — HERE, and Elle Decor’s piece, which includes interior photos of a renovated Belnord apartment — HERE.
Last week, we wrote about Pomander Walk, a quaint, English-style enclave tucked between West End Avenue and Broadway. Though it’s been there since the 1920s, it remains a mystery to many people because it’s protected by wrought-iron gates on both sides, and also because it’s so rare that any of the units in the landmarked co-op goes up for sale.
Except that this week, two of them did. (We didn’t time our story that way on purpose — honest!)
Both are one-bedroom units, and one is right over the other, on the second and third floors of a cottage at the corner of West 95th Street, so they’re being advertised as having “duplex potential” at $1.39 million, the New York Post is reporting. Each unit is also available separately for roughly half that.
Read the full story (and sneak a peek inside one of the units) — HERE.
ICYMI
Upper West Sider Wins Emmy for Sound Mixing on Saturday Night Live
Locals Push to Reactivate 96th Street Community Art Space Taken Over by Rat and Pigeon Swarms
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Word on the street is that there are UWS landlords that are still finding ways for brokers to charge client’s a fee. For example, there are a few large UWS landlords that do not have all their available listings posted on Streeteasy.
Once again, airplanes are flying over the upper west side making a racket. This happened a few years ago and it was stopped. Please call the council persons office to report this if it’s bothering you too.
It’s always surprising to me that with the massive success of Only Murders in the Building and subsequent visibility of the Belnord, that the corner tenant still sits empty. Not to mention the PC Richard space. A restaurant could anchor that corner and probably do plenty of business just off the tourists who visit.
Any info on how much the Belnord is getting paid to have the show filmed there? As mentioned, it is pretty critical to the show at this point so one would think they could get a decent paycheck.
Those store fronts have been empty forever, especially the corner. I’m not sure if they are designed to be a restaurant. That is a super prime location so it is amazing how long it has been empty. As has the one across the street.
The union that covers the carriage drivers is campaigning very hard right now to keep the trade, claiming their workers will lose jobs and money. But this is a red herring. The City has continuously promised that if the trade is ended, the drivers will remain employed in whatever replacement capacity is created (e.g., electric antique cars, etc.), at similar pay to what they receive. So if you are going to take a position on this, please don’t take it based on what the union is claiming. It is a lie.
But yes, the trade SHOULD be stopped, as soon as possible, before another horse is injured or killed, or another driver is injured. We have already had two horse deaths this year, as well as additional injuries to drivers in collisions (though the horses were unharmed).
Cars do not belong in the park. I don’t care that they are electric or antique
Now that we no longer have stop lights on the park loop for pedestrians who want to park, how will this work if we have electric vintage cars giving tourists rides? It’s bad enough we are expected to step out on from of bikes and just hope and pray they will avoid us
Absolutely get rid of the horses, but no way should cars be re-introduced to the park. We already have the (electric) pedi bikes, the carriage drivers can do that or get a new job.
Cars shouldn’t be re-introduced into the park, now do e-bikes.
The worldwide Episcopal Church needs to make finishing this cathedral a priority.
Great to see the FARE act be a success, the brokers fighting against this law were not really arguing in good faith to begin with, so not a surprise the data thus far is not on their side
Seen so many pushes to ban carriages in NYC over the past few decades. Hopefully THIS ONE sticks. I don’t know who the hell lobbies for these few drivers — but they’ve managed to hang on years past their due-date. It’s time to let go of the handsome cab rides and find the next quaint winter-thing that tourists want to do. Give these poor aging horses a break and let them live out their days in peace in Jersey or upstate on a farm somewhere to feel the grass beneath their feet.
“kills me to see these adorable horses in the beating sun “There are on average 15 days per year where temperatures are above 90 in Central Park.
Did you know that recorded temperature is the “shade temperature”? There are many more days that being in the sun is >90 degrees per day. All day, every day. If that doesn’t sound healthy to you than it’s not healthy for them either.
There are so many more creative and humane ways to tour the park than using animals. why not a fleet of Cybertrucks driven by Optimus Robots? It would be futuristic and good for the environment, and showcase how NYC is on the cutting edge of science AND morality.