Today is Monday, March 23rd, 2026
The forecast calls for a partly cloudy, breezy day with a high of 49; tomorrow is expected to be roughly the same.
The rest of the week temperatures should rise into the 50s, with the possibility of drizzle on Wednesday.
On this day in 1857, the first public elevator went into service at Eder V. Haughwout’s Fashionable Emporium, which sold cut glass, china, silverware, and other high-end home goods in a building that still stands at Broome Street and Broadway. It was powered by a steam engine in the basement and moved at 0.67 feet per second (compared to the 8 feet per second of a typical modern elevator). It also had a mechanism that would prevent the car from falling if the cable broke. Ironically, it shut down three years later because so few people wanted to use it — the building was only five stories — but it still was a major step toward the development of skyscrapers, and the city skyline as we know it today, since it made buildings of more than a few floors accessible to the general public.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
City Councilmember Gale Brewer is holding her annual Spring Town Hall this evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Theater at John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street at Tenth Avenue. In addition to Brewer, representatives from numerous city agencies will be on hand to answer questions, among them the NYPD; the departments of Education, Transportation, Sanitation, Health, Parks and Recreation, and Buildings; and local community boards.
If you own a co-op or condo, you have until Friday to submit proof of primary residency to the city’s Department of Finance in order to be eligible for property tax abatement this year. Instructions are — HERE.
Volunteers are needed to help with the No Kings march on Saturday, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Seventh Avenue and Central Park South. More information and signup is — HERE.
News Roundup
Compiled by Laura Muha
For a half century, Malcolm Pinckney’s photographs of city parks and events have graced the pages of newspapers and, more recently, websites — the Rag’s included.
Now, as Pinckney prepares to retire next month, the tables have been turned: The City recently did a lengthy feature (including, of course, a photo) on the photographer, who was nicknamed “Cinema” — short for cinematographer — within the department.
“I always had this curiosity of how an image is put on paper,” Pinckney, who grew up in the Bronx, told The City. “I just had to find out.”
He studied photography classes at Bronx Community College, then joined the Department of Parks and Recreation at a time when its staff photographers traveled the city taking photos, developing them in one of the department’s three darkrooms, and distributing them, mostly to news organizations.
Pinckney told The City that his favorite assignments were pool and beach openings. He also recalled photographing the reopening of High Bridge, the steel arch bridge that spans the Harlem River, connecting Manhattan and the Bronx. (It was closed in the 1970s because of structural concerns and reopened in 2015 after extensive repairs.) He also worked after hours as a photographer for Mayor David Dinkins, and in that capacity, photographed Nelson Mandela getting the key to the city at City Hall Park.
“When I go out, I get the basics. I know what the press office needs and what they’re going to be asked about,” he told The City. “What I try to do is put a creative edge on it, try to present it in a more creative way.”
Read the full story and see more of Pinckney’s photos — HERE.
Two UWS churches have received grants from the nonprofit New York Landmarks Conservancy to repair their historic buildings, OurTownNY.com is reporting.
Trinity Lutheran Church on West 100th Street has been awarded $40,000 for window replacement and framing, and replacing crumbling mortar on the back of the building.
Grace & St. Paul’s Church on West 71st Street, meanwhile, will receive $38,000 to help replace the church’s roof.
“Religious buildings are important because they tell us about history, architectural development, beauty and hold so many communal memories,” Our Town quoted Landmarks Conservancy President Peg Breen as saying. “But congregations, including these recent grant recipients, also serve an important role today by providing their communities with a variety of social service and cultural programs.”
The funding, which represents two of 15 “sacred site” grants that will be awarded to churches statewide, comes at a time when the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission is weighing another historic UWS church’s request that its landmark status be revoked so it can sell its aging building to a developer. The local community board and neighborhood groups have strongly opposed that request, made by officials of West-Park Presbyterian at West 86th Street and Broadway.
Read the full story — HERE.
UWS artist Gaya Palmer was featured this week in The New York Times’ “Affording New York” series, explaining how she manages to thrive in the neighborhood on an income of $36,000 per year.
A big part of her secret, she told the paper, is the 380-square-foot rent-controlled apartment where she’s been living since 1972. (“Sure, she had to do some plastering and painting herself when she moved in, and a mouse once lived in the oven, but she’s got 11-foot ceilings, a huge window and a little patio,” the paper said, pointing readers to a video tour of the apartment that went viral on TikTok a couple of years ago.) But Palmer also wears a lot of hats, making jewelry and kinetic wall sculptures, doing voice overs and writing songs and short stories.
She told the Times she doesn’t shop much, is careful about splurges (which include the occasional cab and a monthly lunch with a friend at Cafe Luxembourg). And she doesn’t covet the sorts of everyday amenities that some New Yorkers wouldn’t want to live without — a dishwasher, a doorman, laundry in the building. “I’m grateful, thankful, joyful that I have a roof over my head,” Palmer told the paper. “My home is my mansion, and I don’t need anything more than this.”
Read the full story — HERE and see the TikTok tour of her apartment — HERE.
Since we’re on the subject of affording New York (and also viral TikTok videos), here’s a more controversial one, this one of a New Yorker feeding Sabrett’s hotdogs to raccoons in Central Park.
“You want to have the best night of your [expletive] life, you don’t need to spend that much money in New York,” says the TikTokker, who goes by the handle CJ (@cjcentralpark). “Just buy a pack of Sabrett hot dogs and feed the raccoons in Central Park.”
In the video, he cuts open the package of hot dogs as a half dozen raccoons approach. “Who wants a hot dog,” he croons; he tosses them and the raccoons grab them and hustle away.
But in an article about the video, BroBible, a news site that describes itself as covering “the stuff guys send to the group chat” — sports, culture, and gear such as clothes and technology — points out that feeding raccoons is not recommended. “According to the New York City government website NYC 311, residents shouldn’t feed raccoons because it can turn them into a nuisance around homes and public spaces,” the site said. “National Geographic reiterates this point, adding that interfering with raccoons’ natural feeding habits can disrupt their survival instincts. Animals that become used to being fed by humans may start approaching people more often, and that friendliness can sometimes turn aggressive, especially around small children.”
The comments on the video were split between those who were charmed by the raccoons and those who pointed out that feeding them was unwise for the reasons cited above.
Read the full story — HERE and see the TikTok video — HERE.
In Other UWS News:
- The blog Ephemeral New York recently wrote about two twin Gilded-Age mansions that once stood on Riverside Drive, owned by oil tycoon Samuel Gamble Bayne. Read about them — HERE.
- We all know this winter was bad. But just how bad? The data is in, and, while it wasn’t the worst winter on record, it was the worst in more than a decade. Read the story — 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.)
Taking a Look at The Other Major Election on the Upper West Side: The Race for Assembly District 69
Gas Tops $5 on the Upper West Side, Straining Local Station as Well as Drivers
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People with $36,000 incomes eat at Cafe Luxembourg where fish and chips are $33? And they tell us NYC is unaffordable…