Today is Monday, February 9th, 2026
Today’s forecast calls for clear skies and a high of 31°F — better than the weekend, certainly, but still pretty cold. Hang in there, though: Tomorrow, and for the rest of the forecastable future (which as of this writing extends through next Monday), the highs should be well above freezing, breaking 40°F on Wednesday, according to the the National Weather Service — which, incidentally, was founded on this day in 1870.
Also on this date, in 1934, the city’s all-time low temperature of -15°F was set in Central Park. Makes the current cold streak feel just a tiny bit more tolerable, doesn’t it?
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
The New York attorney general’s office has launched a Legal Observation Project to monitor federal immigration enforcement activity in New York state. Videos and other documentation of ICE activity can be submitted via a secure online portal set up by the office, which will use the material to assess immigration enforcement activity and determine whether to investigate further.
Also, a reminder that anyone interested in serving on a community board should apply — HERE. The deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, February 27.
News Roundup
Compiled by Laura Muha
An UWS landlord is being sued by the city for allegedly offering rent-stabilized apartments as hotel rooms.
In a lawsuit filed last week in State Supreme Court, the city claimed that Mark David Militana, owner of brownstones at 24 and 44 West 89th Street, has netted $550,000 since 2023 by illegally renting almost half of the 18 units in the two buildings he owns for short-term stays. He advertised them on a website he created, Brownstonehospitalitysuites.com, and avoided city detection by giving various addresses which either didn’t exist or, in one case belonged to a private school next door, according to the New York Times, which wrote about the lawsuit.
Tenant Patty Brecht, who has lived in one of the buildings since 1979, told the news organization that confused overnight guests often asked her for help, apparently thinking she was a hotel clerk, and often complaining to her about things such as broken televisions and Wi-Fi. “I had no idea who they were,” she said. “I would say to them: ‘Well, I’m a tenant here. I’m not a hotel guest.’ It was absurd.”
The city’s lawsuit seeks $4 million in damages. The city plans to ask a State Supreme Court judge in Manhattan to appoint a receiver, who would be in charge of repairing the buildings and returning the units to compliance with rent stabilization laws, said Noah Pransky, a spokesman for the Office of Special Enforcement, which led the investigation.
“Rent-stabilized apartments are critical to our affordable housing stock,” Christian Klossner, the executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, told the Times. “This person chose to maximize his profit to the detriment of New Yorkers.”
Read the full story — HERE.
The red warning signs are posted next to frozen bodies of water throughout Central Park: “Danger: keep off ice.” But people don’t, as shown by the footprints trailing from the shoreline out onto the snow-covered surfaces of the lakes and ponds.
Which is why the NYPD’s Harbor Unit was in the park last week, conducting ice-rescue training at Turtle Pond for the patrol officers who are likely to be the first to respond when someone falls through.
“Central Park is a great place to go and do [the training], because we have these closed bodies of water, and we have a lot of personnel that are in the area that can attend,” Detective Robert Rodriguez told amNY. Rodriguez was one of the harbor officers who helped to rescue passengers aboard U.S.Airways Flight 1549, after it made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in 2009.
Rodriguez encouraged the officers to carry rescue rings and flotation vests in their police vehicles, and showed them red ladders located throughout the park to assist with water rescues; the ladders can be guided across the ice and used as a sort of bridge to distribute the weight of a rescuer or victim so the ice doesn’t give way.
Rodriguez told officers that time is of the essence in a cold-water rescue; at this time of year, someone who falls through the ice can last no more than 5 to 10 minutes before they go into shock. And the most dangerous time of year is yet to come.
“Once the temperatures start to rise, you will still see the same ice out here,” but underneath it will be a lot thinner, Rodriguez told ABC7 Eyewitness News.
Read the full story — HERE, or watch it — HERE.
Two blocks of UWS businesses, including a popular macaron shop and a cafe that sells almond cookies with rave reviews, are caught in the legal crossfire between their landlord and the investment company that holds the mortgage, according to Crain’s New York.
Blackstone Inc. is accusing Heller Realty of defaulting on a $17.3 million mortgage on two rows of retail spaces, one at Amsterdam and West 75th Street and the other at Broadway and West 108th Street. In a lawsuit filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan last week, the company requested permission to sell both buildings at auction.
The Amsterdam Avenue complex is home to a half dozen stores, including Délice Macarons, while the Broadway location houses Omonia Café, a patisserie known for its almond cookies; a number of other storefronts in the latter strip are vacant. Both locations are commercial condos — that is, commercial strips at the street level of apartment buildings.
The suit was filed last Wednesday on behalf of Blackstone by Rialto Capital Advisors, a special servicer, or firm designated to manage a debt that is in default. It claims that Heller failed to pay off a 2018 loan when it became due last July, and because of that, was required to start turning over to Rialto the retail rents it collected for the properties. However, Heller has yet to do so, according to the suit.
Read the full story — HERE.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, is planning to endorse Jack Schlossberg for the Congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep Jerrold Nadler, people familiar with her plans told The New York Times.
Schlossberg, 33, the son of Caroline Kennedy and the only grandson of the late President John F. Kennedy, is a political commentator and one of a crowded field of candidates vying for Nadler’s seat, which Nadler has held for 34 years. Nadler announced last fall that he would not run for re-election.
The Times said it had viewed a statement by Pelosi, which said Schlossberg’s “candidacy will help Democrats win nationwide.”
“This is a consequential moment for the country — faith in our politics is fractured and trust in government is tenuous,” the Times said Pelosi’s statement included. “This moment calls for leaders who understand the stakes and how to deliver for the people they serve.”
Schlossberg announced in November that he would be running for Nadler’s seat in New York’s 12th Congressional District; it is his first venture into seeking elected office. He has worked primarily as a writer, including as Vogue’s political correspondent since 2024, and is known for his strong social media presence.
“ You need to basically run a mini production company to get your message out there. And I know how to do that,” Schlossberg told the audience at a candidates’ forum on the UWS last month. A number of people the Rag spoke with after the forum said they were leaving more interested in Schlossberg than they had expected, though some also added that they presumed state Assemblyman Micah Lasher, a longtime Nadler confidant, was the frontrunner for the nomination.
Read the full story — HERE.
In Other UWS News:
- A 38-year-old man has been indicted on arson charges in connection with three trash fires that spread to, and destroyed, two cars on the UWS in the early morning hours of October 17th; he also faces arson charges related to a series of similar fires on the Upper East Side earlier the same month. Read the district attorney’s announcement — HERE.
- At street level, mountains of filthy snow stretch for blocks. But from above, the city still looks magical, as shown by this aerial video focusing on Central Park, which was posted on Instagram by NYC.explore, a tourism site — HERE.
- Speaking of snow, The New York Times recently ran a piece focusing on the travails of movers trying to do their jobs when streets — and parking spaces — are blocked by mounds of it. One of the featured moves was from Brooklyn to the UWS. The story is — HERE.
- Last week, we wrote about the Riverside Symphony’s preparations for a February 7th performance of Peter and the Wolf. The concert is now over, but you can still hear a bit of it, thanks to an ABC7 Eyewitness News story about the station’s anchor, Bill Ritter, who provided the narration for the classic symphony. See (and listen to) him rehearse with the orchestra — HERE.
ICYMI:
Here are a few stories we think are worth a look if you missed them last week — or a second look if you saw them. (Note that our comments stay open for six days after publication, so you may not be able to comment on all of them.)
Columbia University Athletes Go for Gold at the Winter Olympics
Push for Traffic Light Priority for Buses at 8 UWS Intersections: What it Means
UWS Middle School Fights Against its Possible Elimination: ‘We Are Not Just Going to Roll Over’
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I was so excited by the headline, because I thought it was referring to ICE rescues. Sigh — that’s the world we live in.
You’re not alone. I felt and thought the same.
I had exactly the same reaction.
So Pelosi endorsed the least-qualified candidate all because his last name is Kennedy. Just great. What an unserious move.
and his last name isn’t even Kennedy!
It is the bloodline that counts.
I’ll be very disappointed in Nadler if he endorses the Kennedy kid over Micah Lasher.
Lasher is not a serious candidate. He is a panderer. Going out to Minn, he is proving to be Brad Lander junior.
That’s an absolutely ridiculous statement, Bill. Lasher is the candidate with the most relevant experience in this race. Also the candidate with the most direct experience in this district.
Vote for Laura Dunn! She is the candidate that is the most qualified and not the establishment or club pick!
I can’t comment as to whether Lasher is a pimp, which is the legal definition of panderer.
Until you made your comment, I was previously unfamiliar with Lasher’s record . Assuming Google AI is accurate (which may be a big assumption), it seems that Lasher is a very serious candidate with a number of substantive accomplishments. Maybe you should do some research before commenting, as I have.
Here’s what Google AI says:
“As a member of the NY Assembly, he has worked on legislation related to gun safety, protecting abortion providers/patients, and environmental initiatives, such as all-electric building requirements.
Served as Director of Policy for the Governor of New York, where he played a central role in writing gun safety laws in response to the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings and strengthening abortion rights.
As Chief of Staff for the NY Attorney General, he oversaw a 1,800-employee organization, led investigations into fossil fuel companies, and worked on police accountability.
Served as Director of State Legislative Affairs for NYC (under Mayor Bloomberg) and Executive Director of External Affairs for the NYC Department of Education.
Served as Chair of the Riverside Park Conservancy (2019–2024), overseeing major improvements, and served on the board of Everytown for Gun Safety.
Former Head of Policy and Communications for Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet company.”
Closer to home, Lasher was instrumental in helping the Upper West Side Cinema Center fund the purchase of the long-abandoned Metro Theatre.
In my opinion, Nancy Pelosi endorses an unsuitable, more-rightwing candidate, not only a Kennedy relative. There is a 12-candidates’ forum is this Thurs., 7-9pm, I think, on Zoom and at Bank St. College, 610 W.112th bet. B’way & Riverside; held by 3 Dem clubs. Candidates for Congress 13th, State Senate in 30th, Assembly in 69th, State Committee in 69th.
I love the photo of those apartment windows. Very Hopperesque!
Yes, another great photo by Lauren Muha. I wonder how she achieved the painterly effects — the yellow lighting in all the revealed rooms, the figure leaning over a book or table. Intriguing and evocative.
Can we please just leave the Kennedy et al family out of our lives? Even that heart wrenching story in the New Yorker was a slap in the face to everyone who has suffered from cancer. Just because you’re a Kennedy, it doesn’t mean we all need to be enamored by your every whim. Get out of our lives, please!!
Laura Dunn is the best candidate to take on a Kennedy!
Sorry. How is an article about a young mother dealing with germinal cancer a slap on the face to anyone who’s had cancer?
I agree Schlossberg’s sister isn’t a reason we should vote for him.
I hate to be nasty but if there are sufficient signs saying don’t walk on the ice and someone walks on the ice, rescue workers should not be required to risk their lives saving them. It is like people who stay behind when there is an evacuation order for a hurricane. They were told to leave and chose not to, so resources (and lives) should not be wasted trying to help them.
On an unrelated note, why did Pelosi feel the need to get involved here? She should know better.
Note that in my comparison to the hurricane, I am obviously excluding those who were unable to leave for whatever reason – they are completely different from those who were able to leave but specifically chose not to. I am not cold-hearted…
Yes, rescue teams should always demand proof from the drowning/freezing that they made an honest effort to avoid harm’s way and should not be swayed by a mere “HELP!!” as evidence. Sounds like a plan.
Your heart is definitely much warmer than the external temperature today.
here’s the link for the Peter & the Wolf video
https://abc7ny.com/post/bill-ritter-lends-voice-narrate-special-performance-peter-wolf-riverside-symphony-nyc/18562636/
Schlossbeg, really? Nancy Pelosi is from California.I admire the woman for what she has accomplished for the Democrats. But she should keep her recommendations to the west side of the US, and let UWSiders vote for a candidate with experience relevant to the east side of the US.
I hope you decide that it is Laura Dunn!
I have the suspicion that the same person is rooting for Laura Dunn in these comments over and over again using different names.