December 5, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The photo at right was taken last week along 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. A week from Sunday [aka 12/14] 5th Avenue, between 48th and 57th Streets, will be closed to traffic from 12 noon to 6 pm. For details see - https://fifthavenue.nyc/holiday-open-streets-2025
Sunrise 7.04 am. Sunset 4.28 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 9 hours & 39 minutes of daylight or five hours and 27 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.
NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. No precipitation is expected this weekend. It will be dry and partly cloudy all weekend. The temperature highs will rise from the low 30's on Friday to the low 40's for the rest of the weekend. The temperature lows will rise from the low 20's to the mid 30's the rest of the weekend. The humidity will range between 40% - 70% on Friday, 90% - 65% on Saturday, and 55% - 70% on Sunday. The winds will range from 0 - 5 mph all weekend. With the exception of a bit of cold on Friday and cloudy overhead, another fairly good fall weekend. Enjoy.
Saturday Early AM Edition @ 10.45 am. Getting there, but we still have a fair amount more to do. Should be done by mid morning Saturday and defintely by Saturday noon. Follow directions below denoted by *** FYI *** for best results. Enjoy.
The Weekend News Updates will follow over the weekend, so check back in, for some local, state and national news, the details of which seem t get passed over on billionaire TV Network News.
New News Section Still a Work in Progress. In late September we started adding a weekly news segment with multiple stories including links to more in-depth reports. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local news coverage and check out our local news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar above, in the upper left corner. This will continue evolving over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and holiday events links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, December 5, 6 & 7, 2025 from 12 noon to 7 pm, 9.30 am to 6 pm and from 12 noon to 5 pm respectively - 27th Annual Crafts at the Cathedral - at St. John the Divine at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street on the UWS. They bill it as the 'Art & Soul of American Hand Made' featuring about 80 selected craftspeople. Admission $20 for the weekend / $15 / $12 / $10 for adult / senior / student. For details see - https://www.stjohndivine.org/art-ideas/crafts-at-the-cathedral
The photo above or at right was taken in Manhattan last week. I enjoy the beauty and theater of the Manhattan retail shopping windows in all seasons, but they of course seem to go all out for the holidays.
Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7, 2025 from 10 am to 5.30 pm - The Museum of the City of New York Holiday Market.
Sundays ONLY, December 7, 14, 21, 28, 2025 from 10 am - 5 pm - Vintage Subway Car / Nostalgia Subway Holiday Train Rides - along the F and Q subway lines in Manhattan. See holiday markets link below for details.
Next Week.
Tuesday - Sunday, December 9, 2025 thru January 4, 2026 at various times - Home for the Holidays Wreath Exhibition - at El Barrio Art Space at 215 East 99th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues on the UES of Manhattan. See holiday markets link below for details.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 from 4.30 to 5.30 pm - Madison Square Park Holiday Tree Lighting Event - at the Reflecting pool in Madison Square Park between 23rd and 25th Streets and Broadway and Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan NYC. Free holiday things to do / events in Manhattan. For details see - https://madisonsquarepark.org/community/calendar/event/holiday-tree-lighting/
Tuesday - Thursday, December 9 - 11, 2025 from 8 am to 7 pm - Vintage / Makers Market at Grand Central Station - at the Biltmore Room at Track 42 in Grand Central Terminal at 89 East 42nd Street at Park Avenue [between 42nd and 44th Streets] in Midtown Manhattan NYC. See holiday markets link below for details.
Ongoing _ Thursday, November 13, 2025 - February 2026 - The 21st Annual Holiday Toy Train Show at Grand Central Terminal. On the ground floor at 89 East 42nd Street in Midtown. See holiday events link below for details.
Ongoing _ Friday, October 24, 2025 to January 4, 2026 from 10 am to 8 pm weekends & opening at 11 am weekdays - Bryant Park Winter Village & Holiday Shops - Between 40th and 42nd Streets and between 5th and 6th Avenues in Midtown. See holiday markets link below for details.
There's also Chelsea Flea market on 25th Street, the Grand Bazaar on West 77th Street and numerous other fairs, fleas and markets. Use the links below to our pages of holiday markets and holiday events. And for details about both of these markets see the street fairs page link below or use these urls - https://www.brooklynflea.com / https://grandbazaarnyc.org
Ongoing _ UWS _ Friday, November 7, 2025 to Sunday, January 6, 2026 at various times - Big Apple Circus - at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Ongoing _ Daily, November 6, 2025 to January 4, 2026 at various times - 100th year of Rockettes Holiday Performances - at Radio City Music Hall at 1260 6th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Ongoing _ Monday, November 24, 2025 thru early January 2026 - the Origami tree will be lit at the American Museum of Natural History - at 200 Central Park West on the UWS. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Gramercy Theater concerts - info coming but in the meantime - https://www.thegramercytheatre.com/shows
CLICK here for holiday markets Manhattan NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Manhattan NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Manhattan Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Manhattan Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.
November 2025 _ Purefinder is hosting a couple of tours each week in Manhattan thru late November - see MCAL link above for details and links.
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and holiday events links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Friday - Monday, November 21 - December 14, 2025 - Vazquez Family Circus - see the Parades & Festivals page for details - https://www.circusvazquez.com
The photo above or at right was taken from the #7 subway line at Flushing Meadow Corona Park. The Texas-based Vazquez Family Circus has been visiting Queens at this location for years and performing for 55 years. I attended the circus one year and must say I really enjoyed the show.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 12 noon to 4 pm - Native American Market & Social - at Flushing Town Hall at 137-35 Northern Blvd in Flushing Queens. See holiday markets link below for details.
Saturday, December 6, 13 & 20, 2025 from 10 am to 8 pm 12/6 and until 5 pm the last two weekends - 2nd Annual Holiday Craft Market - at the Queens County Farm at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway in Floral Park. See holiday markets link below for details.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 10 am to 4 pm - All Saints Episcopal 83rd Annual Holly Bazaar - at All Saints Episcopal Church at 214-35 40th Avenue in Bayside / near Whitestone. See holiday markets link below for details.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 10 am to 3.30 pm - Christmas Fair Zosa - at Redeemer Church and LSF&B at 36-01 Bell Blvd in Bayside. See holiday markets link below for details.
Sunday, December 7, 2025 from 12 noon - 4 pm - St. Nicholas Day at Ridgewood Historical Society - at the Vande Ende-Onderdonk House - at 1820 Flushing Avenue in Ridgewood Queens / Brooklyn. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Sundays, December 7 & 14, 2025 from 12 noon to 6 pm - Astoria Market Holiday Fair - at Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden at 29-19 24th Avenue in Astoria. See holiday markets link below for details.
Thursday, November 6 to December 14, 2025 weekday evenings & weekend afternoons & evenings - Off the Wall Affordable Art Fair - at Culture Lab LIC at 5-25 46th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens. See holiday markets link below for details.
Fridays, December 5, 2025 from 6 to 10 pm - Bohemian Hall Christmas Tree Lighting & Holiday Celebration - at 29-19 24th Avenue in Astoria. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
CLICK here for holiday markets Queens NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Queens NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBERCALENDAR EVENTS - Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Queens Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Queens Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. This month includes:
Sunday, December 14, 2025 from 4 to 6 pm - Duke Ellington Jazz Concert - at the Kupferberg Center in Flushing. See MCAL link above for details.
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and holiday events links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 12 noon to 3 pm - Free Atlantic Avenue Holiday Party - at the Hoyt Street Garden in Boerum Hill Brooklyn. Children are invited to decorate the Hoyt Street Garden, 98 Hoyt Street with DIY ornaments. Special appearances by Santa and Bluey. Free. For details use the MCAL link below or see - https://www.atlanticave.org/
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 2 - 4 pm - 23rd Annual Meet St. Nicholas on Horseback - at the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum at 5816 Clarendon Road in Flatbush. Arts, crafts, stories, sing alongs, tree decorating and lighting and a visit by St. Nick on horseback which is limited from 2 - 2.30 pm. Outdoors. Free holiday things to do in Flatbush BK NYC. South & East Brooklyn. Free. For details and to rsvp which is strongly recommended as this is a popular event see - https://wyckoffmuseum.org/calendar/sinterklass-saint-nicholas-day-2/
Friday, December 5, 2025 from 6 to 8 pm - Tree Lighting with Sinterklaas at the Lott House - at 1940 East 36th Street in Marine Park. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7, 2025 from 11 am to 3.30 pm and from 10 am to 1 pm respectively - Bay Ridge Ballet Nutcracker Bake Sale - Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7, 2025 from 12 noon to 5 pm - 8th Annual Brooklyn Navy Yard Wallabout Holiday Market - Use the holiday markets link below to obtain details and market website links.
Saturday, December 6 & 13, 2025 beginning at 2 pm - Narrows Community Theater Performance of A Winter Concert - at the Fort Hamilton Army Base Theater at 101st Street and the Fort Hamilton Parkway [aka 403 John Warren Avenue] in the South & East area of Brooklyn. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
LINK _ Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7, 13 & 14 and 20 & 21, 2025 - Walk the Windows Along Atlantic Avenue - from Clinton Street to Third Avenue along Atlantic Avenue. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links. Use the link above or see our MCAL for a kids party today - https://www.brooklynblvd.nyc/calendar/event/15/63/childrens-party-with-santa
Sunday, December 7, 2025 from 12 noon - 4 pm - St. Nicholas Day at Ridgewood Historical Society - at the Vande Ende-Onderdonk House - at 1820 Flushing Avenue in Ridgewood Queens / Brooklyn. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
In the photo above or at right shows a very natural holiday street scene, of freshly cut Christmas trees, which are being sold at open air pop up locations along the street. Sometimes if you wait long enough, the prices come down, and sometimes if you wait too long, the prices can go up. My Dad was a gambler, so we always waited until close to the holiday. Or was it my Mother keeping the needly pin tree out of the house for as long as possible? Or, were they both too busy with everything else, to pay much attention until the last minute? I reckon I'll never know.
Friday, December 5, 2025 from 3 to 5 pm - Holiday Tree Lighting Event - at Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at 5th Avenue and 60th Street in Sunset Park neighborhood of South & West Brooklyn. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 10 am to 4 pm - The Old Stone House Holiday Bazaar - in the cul de sac off 4th Street at 5th Avenue in Park Slope in Central Brooklyn. See holiday markets link below for details.
Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7, 2025 from 11 am to 5 pm - Renegade Craft Fair - at Zero Space at 337-345 Butler in Brooklyn. See holiday markets link below for details.
Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7, 2025 from 12 noon to 5 pm - 8th Annual Brooklyn Navy Yard Wallabout Holiday Market - at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Building 293 on Gee / Flusing Avenue in North Brooklyn NYC. See holiday markets link below for details.
Multiple Weeks _ Saturdays & Sundays, December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21 & 27, 2025 and January 3, 2026 from 9 am to 4 pm Saturdays opening at 10 am Sundays - Brooklyn Pop Up Holiday Market in Fort Greene Park - along the southern perimeter, near the farmers market, along De Kalb Avenue from Washington Park to South Portland in North Brooklyn. See holiday markets link below for details.
Sunday, December 7, 2025 from 12 noon to 5 pm - Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club Holiday Market - at 514 Union Street between 3rd Avenue & Nevins Street in Gowanus in Central Brooklyn. See holiday markets link below for details.
MULTIPLE DATES _ Saturdays & Sundays, December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 & 21, 2025 from 12 noon to 7 pm - Make Manifest Winter Holiday Pop Up Market - at Maker Manifest at 382 Tompkins Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant BK. See holiday markets link below for details.
Sunday, December 7, 2025 from 12 noon - 4 pm - St. Nicholas Day at Ridgewood Historical Society - at the Vande Ende-Onderdonk House - at 1820 Flushing Avenue in Ridgewood Queens / Brooklyn. St. Nicholas visits the Vande Ende Onderdonk House and gives out goodie bags. For $5 tickets [kids under 12 are free] and details see - https://onderdonkhouse.org
Ongoing _ Friday November 21, 2025 through January 4, 2026 from 4.30 to 8.15 pm - 5th Annual Lightscape Show - at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden at 990 Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights. See holiday events link below for details.
Ongoing _ Friday, November 28, 2025 - January 2, 2026 - Dyker Heights Neighborhood Christmas Lights - in Dyker Heights with the epicenter generally between 11th - 13th Avenues and 83rd - 86th Streets. See holiday events link below for details.
Two Plays - Polonsky & Billie Holiday Theater.
CLICK here for holiday markets Brooklyn NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Brooklyn NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Brooklyn BLVD New Member Sign Up. Click this link Brooklyn MCAL - Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and holiday events links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 1 to 3.30 pm - Winter Wonderland - at the Bronx Terminal Market at 610 Exterior Street in the Concourse Neighborhood of the South Bronx. See holiday events link below for details.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 4 pm - 6 pm - Arthur Avenue / Bronx Little Italy Christmas Tree Lighting - at East 188th Street and Arthur Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood. See holiday events link below for details.
The photo above or at right was taken a few years ago in the Westchester Square neighborhood in the Bronx during the holidays.
Ongoing _ Friday, November 21, 2025 - January 4, 2026 from 10 am to 4.30 pm - Holiday Lights - at the Bronx Zoo at 2300 Southern Blvd. See holiday events link below for details.
Ongoing _ Saturday, November 15, 2025 thru January 11, 2026 from 10 am - 6 pm [closed holidays] - NYBG Holiday Train Show - at the New York Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Belmont Neighborhood. See holiday events link below for details.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025 from 4 to 9 pm there's a Vegan Bazaar - at the Andrew Freeman Home - for details see street fairs page.
CLICK here for holiday markets Bronx NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Bronx NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Bronx Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Bronx MCAL Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.
Friday & Saturday, December 5 & 6, 2025 - Holiday Luncheon, Holiday Party & Holiday Cocktail Parties at The Bartow Pell Mansion. See MCAL link above for details.
Thursday - Sunday, December 11 - 14, 2025 - A Christmas Carol - at the Bartow Pell Mansion. Performances of the classic play. See MCAL link above for details.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, December 19, 20 & 21, 2025 - A Jazzy Holiday Concert & Cookies & Crafts - at the Bartow Pell Mansion. See MCAL link above for details.
The Bartow Pell Mansion Holiday Events & Market - Holiday Luncheon 12/6, Holiday Party 12/6, Holiday Gift Fair 12/8, Selfies w/ Santa 12/13, A Christmas Carol 12/11 - 12/14, Jazzy Holiday Concert 12/19, and Holiday Cookies & Crafts 12/20 & 21. The details to all of these are posted in our Member Calendar as well as on their website - https://www.bartowpellmansionmuseum.org/events-2/
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and holiday events links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
The photo above or at right was taken a few years ago of the Staten Island Borough Hall Christmas tree. The tree will be lit next week. By Friday night you can see the event below for details.
Friday, December 5, 2025 from 5 to 6 pm - Historic Christmas Tree Lighting - at Historic Richmond Town. See holiday events link below for details.
Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7, 2025 from 12 noon to 5 pm - Christmas in Historic Richmond Town - at 441 Clarke Avenue on Staten Island. This holiday event includes a holiday market on Saturday & Sunday. See holiday markets link below for details.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 9 am to 3 pm - Vendor Craft Fair - at Immanuel Union Church Parking Lot at 680 or 693 Jewett Street. See holiday markets link below for details.
Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 2 to 7 pm - Christmas Tree Lighting - at Westerleigh Park on Staten Island. See holiday events link below for details.
Richmond _ Sunday, December 7, 2025 from 9.30 t0 4.30 pm - Christmas Fair / Market at Monsignor Farrell - at 2900 Amboy Road in Richmond. See holiday markets link below for details.
Sundays, December 7, 14 & 21, 2025 from 11 am to 3 pm - Holiday Sunday Brunch with Santa - at The Historic Old Bermuda Inn at 301 Veterans Road West in Rossville. See holiday events link below for details.
Next Week.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 beginning at 6.30 pm - SI Borough President Vito Fossella's Christmas Tree Lighting - at Borough Hall in St. George on Staten Island.For details see - https://www.instagram.com/sibpvito/p/DRw9yDbj9GU/ or https://www.statenislandusa.com/bp-office.html
CLICK here for holiday markets Staten Island NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Staten Island NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR. Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Staten Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Staten Island Events - Member Events to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. This month includes TBD.
Have a nice weekend.
December 1, 2025 / NYC Business / NYC Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The short story on Steve Cohen is that in 1992 he founded a company that operated a number of hedge funds. He was so proud of it, that he put his name on it - SAC Capital - which is short for Steve A. Cohen Capital. Fast forward less than 20 years to 2010 and the SEC is investigating SAC Capital associates for insider trading. Fast forward another three years and SAC Capital has paid $1.8 billion and has pleaded guilty to insider-trading charges. It's one of the biggest insider trading scandals in modern history and the largest involving a hedge fund.
For details on the Steven A. Cohen Capital Insider Trading case see -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.A.C._Capital_Advisors
Cohen himself never personally pleaded guilty, in part because it's difficult to prove scienter - which is a legal term for intent or knowledge of wrongdoing. But that said, the Steve A. Cohen Capital firm, was founded by and run by Cohen for 20 years. And one of Cohen's high school chums, Michael Steinberg, became one of SAC's most senior portfolio managers. Steinberg was cited by one of his analysts, Horvath, as essentially telling Horvath to seek out non-public information, that they could trade on, which in essence is insider trading.
And while the Steven A. Cohen Capital firm says they take compliance with regulations seriously, a report by American University Business Law Review notes that SAC refused to give them even one example of its refusal to hire someone because of compliance concerns. On the other hand, the Steven A. Cohen Capital firm did hire people, such as Richard S. Lee, who was known to be a risk, as he had just been fired by a Chicago firm for altering his holdings in their accounting system on his first day on the job. Even SAC Capital Legal had reportedly advised against hiring him. Lee eventually ended up as one of the firm's employees who was convicted.
For further details on Cohen's alleged malfeasance use the following links.
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=aublr
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hedge-fund-manager-steven-cohen-settles-with-commodities-agency
November 28, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The photo at right was taken this week, along 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, on a rainy evening. While the rain may have put a damper on things, it certainly didn't stop them.
Sunrise 6.57 am. Sunset 4.30 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 9 hours & 48 minutes of daylight or five hours and 18 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.
NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. There's a 93% chance of about 1/3 inch of rain on Sunday between the hours of 11 am and 7 pm. Otherwise dry and partly cloudy the rest of the weekend. The temperature highs will be in the mid 40's on Friday and Saturday, rising to the high 40's on Sunday, while the temperature lows will be in the mid 30's on Friday and Saturday, rising to the high 30's on Sunday. The humidity will range between 40% - 70% on Friday, 40% - 60% on Saturday, and 60% - 90% on Sunday. The winds will range from 15 - 20 mph Friday, dropping to 5 - 10 mph the rest of the weekend. With the exception of Sunday afternoon, it looks to be another pretty nice Fall Weekend. Enjoy.
Friday Late Evening Edition @ 11.45 pm. Still quite a bit more to do, but holiday markets are up to date, and making progress on holiday events, which will be updated as early in the day as possible on Saturday. Follow directions below denoted by *** FYI *** for best results, keeping in mind that as a general rule, holiday markets come into full swing this weekend and next; while holiday events come into full swing next weekend and the weekend after that. Both markets and events have stragglers that run into the new year. Enjoy.
The Weekend News Updates will follow Saturday, so check back in, for some local news, that oftentimes gets passed over on billionaire TV Network News.
New News Section Still a Work in Progress. In late September we started adding a weekly news segment with multiple stories including links to more in-depth reports. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local news coverage and check out our local news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar above, in the upper left corner. This will continue evolving over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Thursday, November 13, 2025 - February 2026 - The 21st Annual Holiday Toy Train Show at Grand Central Terminal. On the ground floor at 89 East 42nd Street in Midtown. The hours are 10 am to 7.30 pm weekdays and closing at 6 pm on weekends - but closed for major holidays. For details see Midtown events below or https://grandcentralterminal.com/event/new-york-transit-museums-holiday-train-show/
The photo above or at right was taken in Midtown Manhattan earlier this week. While the holidays are generally joyous times, it's also important to do what we can. to help others less fortunate than ourselves. That is the true spirit of the season.
Friday, October 24, 2025 to January 4, 2026 from 10 am to 8 pm weekends & opening at 11 am weekdays - Bryant Park Winter Village & Holiday Shops - Between 40th and 42nd Streets and between 5th and 6th Avenues in Midtown. The market features about 200 different vendors. For details see - https://bryantpark.org/activities/holiday-shops
There's also Chelsea Flea market on 25th Street, the Grand Bazaar on West 77th Street and numerous other fairs, fleas and markets. Use the links below to our pages of holiday markets and holiday events. And for details about both of these markets see the street fairs page link below or use these urls - https://www.brooklynflea.com / https://grandbazaarnyc.org
Ongoing _ UWS _ Friday, November 7, 2025 to Sunday, January 6, 2026 at various times - Big Apple Circus - at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Ongoing _ Daily, November 6, 2025 to January 4, 2026 at various times - 100th year of Rockettes Holiday Performances - at Radio City Music Hall at 1260 6th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Ongoing _ Monday, November 24, 2025 thru early January 2026 - the Origami tree will be lit at the American Museum of Natural History - at 200 Central Park West on the UWS. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Next Week.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 from 5.30 - 8 pm [there's a 7.30 pm meet & greet w/ ballerina Tiler Peck] - Tavern on the Green Tree Lighting Event. At Tavern on the Green at West 67th Street and Central Park West. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 begins at 6 pm - South Street Seaport Holiday Tree Lighting Event - at Water and Fulton Streets in the Seaport District in Downtown Manhattan. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 beginning at 5.30 pm / Line starts forming at 4 pm - Bryant Park Holiday Tree Lighting Event. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 from 7 - 10 pm - Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Event. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm - NYSE 102nd Annual NYSE Tree Lighting Event - at 11 Wall Street. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 from 5.30 - 6.30 pm - Dana Discovery Center Tree Lighting Event - in the northeast corner of Central Park. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Gramercy Theater concerts - info coming but in the meantime - https://www.thegramercytheatre.com/shows
CLICK here for holiday markets Manhattan NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Manhattan NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Manhattan Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Manhattan Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.
November 2025 _ Purefinder is hosting a couple of tours each week in Manhattan thru late November - see MCAL link above for details and links.
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Friday - Monday, November 21 - December 14, 2025 - Vazquez Family Circus - see the Parades & Festivals page for details - https://www.circusvazquez.com
The photo above or at right was taken on the Upper West Side earlier this week. Lincoln Center is one of New York City's most aesthetically pleasing, architectural landmarks. Sadly, it's an aesthetic that seems missing from the buildings erected since then [erected 1959 - 1966].
Thursday, November 6 to December 14, 2025 weekday evenings & weekend afternoons & evenings - Off the Wall Affordable Art Fair - at Culture Lab LIC at 5-25 46th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens. The fair hosts an opening reception from 6 to 9 pm on Thursday 11/6/25. The Gallery is open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Last year all art work priced was under $999 and I expect this year the same but I haven't confirmed that with anyone. For details see - https://www.facebook.com/LICArtists | the following are from 2024 - https://www.culturelablic.org OR https://www.licartists.org/off-the-wall-2
Next Week.
Fridays, December 5, 2025 from 6 to 10 pm - Bohemian Hall Christmas Tree Lighting & Holiday Celebration - at 29-19 24th Avenue in Astoria. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
CLICK here for holiday markets Queens NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Queens NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBERCALENDAR EVENTS - Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Queens Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Queens Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. This month includes
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Saturday, November 29, 2025 from 4.30 to 5.30 pm - Park Slope 5th Avenue BID Holiday Tree Lighting at the Old Stone House - located at 336 3rd Street in Central Brooklyn NYC. For details scroll down or see - INST https://www.instagram.com/oldstonehousebklyn/ OR https://theoldstonehouse.org
Friday November 21, 2025 through January 4, 2026 from 4.30 to 8.15 pm - 5th Annual Lightscape Show - at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden at 990 Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights. They describe it as "light-splashed landscapes and luminous installations" showcasing the garden. Holiday things to do in Brooklyn. For $15 - $44 tickets / person and details see - https://www.bbg.org
In the photo above or at right is the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree after it was erected this year, but a week before being fully decorated and lit up. The tree will be lit on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, with the festivities beginning at 7 pm.
Friday, November 28, 2025 - January 2, 2026 - Dyker Heights Neighborhood Christmas Lights - in Dyker Heights with the epicenter generally between 11th - 13th Avenues and 83rd - 86th Streets. Free holiday things to do in South & West Brooklyn NYC. There isn't any official website for this organic holiday lights competition among neighbors.
Next Week.
Friday, December 5, 2025 from 6 to 8 pm - Tree Lighting with Sinterklaas at the Lott House - at 1940 East 36th Street in Marine Park. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Friday, December 5, 2025 from 3 to 5 pm - Holiday Tree Lighting Event - at Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at 5th Avenue and 60th Street in Sunset Park neighborhood of South & West Brooklyn. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Two Plays - Polonsky & Billie Holiday Theater.
CLICK here for holiday markets Brooklyn NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Brooklyn NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Brooklyn BLVD New Member Sign Up. Click this link Brooklyn MCAL - Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Saturday, November 29, 2025 beginning at 7.15 pm - City Island holiday tree lighting - at Hawkins Park, followed by a reception at the Kaleidoscope Gallery at 271 City Island Avenue on City Island. Holiday events, things to do and tree lightings in the East Bronx NYC. For details & updates see - https://cityislandchamber.org
Ongoing _ Friday, November 21, 2025 - January 4, 2026 from 10 am to 4.30 pm - Holiday Lights - at the Bronx Zoo at 2300 Southern Blvd. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years Day. Holiday events in the Belmont and Pelham Park neighborhoods of the Central Bronx. For $26 - $42 tickets [kids age 2 & under free] and details see - https://bronxzoo.com/holiday-lights
The photo above or at right was taken on the Upper West Side on Thanksgiving Eve this week. The balloons that fly in the parade on Thanksgiving, are all inflated and staged along Central Park West near the American Museum of Natural History, the day / night preceding Thanksgiving. This year the evening rain thinned out the crowd, allowing those of us who braved the inclement weather, to move around easily and freely.
Ongoing _ Saturday, November 15, 2025 thru January 11, 2026 from 10 am - 6 pm [closed holidays] - NYBG Holiday Train Show - at the New York Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Belmont Neighborhood. Intricate handmade replicas of NYC landmarks and bridges, through which the train travels. Bronx holiday events & things to do nyc. Central Bronx. For $25 - $31 tickets and details see - https://www.nybg.org
The photo above or at right was taken in Bronx Little Italy along Arthur Avenue. Bronx Little Italy is a nice place to spend some of your holiday time, with good Italian food stores and restaurants.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025 from 4 to 9 pm there's a Vegan Bazaar - at the Andrew Freeman Home - for details see street fairs page.
CLICK here for holiday markets Bronx NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Bronx NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Bronx Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Bronx MCAL Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.
*** FYI *** Use the holiday markets and links for each borough for a full look at the upcoming weekends. There's too much to post to the front page.
Saturday, November 29, 2025 from 4 pm to 8 pm - Holiday Market & Tree Lighting Event by the Grace Foundation - at 460 West Brielle Avenue near Manor Heights. Holiday market with multiple vendors, refreshments, Santa, performance and tree lighting. West Staten Island. For details see - https://graceofny.org/tree-lighting-event/
The photo above or at right was taken earlier this week outside a restaurant on a rainy day. The restaurant was busy in spite of the rain. On Sunday afternoon we are expecting to receive a bit more rain.
Next Week.
Monday, December 1, 2025 from 5 - 7 pm - Victory Blvd Holiday Tree Lighting Event - at 1958 Victory Blvd in Castleton [Safari Realty]. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 from 6 to 11 pm - Christmas Tree Lighting at Monsignor Farrell at 2900 Amboy Road in Richmond. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
Historic Richmond Town _ Friday, December 5, 2025 from 5 to 6 pm - Historic Christmas Tree Lighting - at Historic Richmond Town [see next event]. Use the holiday events link below to obtain details and event website links.
CLICK here for holiday markets Staten Island NYC.
CLICK here for holiday events Staten Island NYC.
MCAL _ MEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR. Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Staten Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Staten Island Events - Member Events to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. This month includes TBD.
Have a nice weekend.
November 21, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The photo at right, taken at a Thanksgiving Day Parade in a prior year, shows a very famous native New Yorker dressed in costume, floating above the crowd ... like he always does. The parade returns next Thursday.
Sunrise 6.50 / 40 am. Sunset 4.33 / 40 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 9 hours & 58 minutes of daylight or five hours and 8 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.
NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. From shortly after midnight Friday until about 12 noon on Saturday there's a 70% chance of an 1/8th inch of rain. Otherwise dry and partly cloudy the rest of the weekend. The temperature highs will be in the low to mid 50's, while the temperature lows will be in the low to mid 40's, both, all weekend. The humidity will range between 70% - 90% on Friday thru Saturday afternoon, then dropping into the 60 - 70% range for the rest of the weekend. The winds will range from 5 - 10 mph Friday, dropping to 3 - 5 mph the rest of the weekend. With the exception of Saturday morning, it looks to be another pretty nice Fall Weekend. Enjoy.
Friday Mid Evening Edition @ 11.55 pm. Almost done, but have work to do on attendant pages, which may extend into Saturday morning. The holiday season has begun.
The Weekend News Updates will follow Saturday, so check back in, for some local news, that oftentimes gets passed over on billionaire TV Network News.
New News Section Still a Work in Progress. In late September we started adding a weekly news segment with multiple stories including links to more in-depth reports. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local news coverage and check out our local news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar above, in the upper left corner. This will continue evolving over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.
November 18, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion.
Billionaire TV News is waiting at the Capitol to cover the House vote to open the Epstein files.
Like it actually matters.
If you have absolutely nothing else going on in your life, then stay glued to the TV News screen to find out how the House and Senate will vote on the issue.
But it doesn't matter and it won't make a difference, as Donald Trump is doing what he does best. Making fools on the American people and the rule of law, by deceiving them and finding loopholes in the law to exploit. Both skills that Donald J. Trump has been practicing all of his life.
November 14, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Sunrise 6.40 am. Sunset 4.40 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 10 hours & 15 minutes of daylight or four hours and 51 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.
The photo above or at right was taken recently in a Queens neighborhood. The leaves have turned color, many have fallen and the temperatures have been slowly heading down. Last week we even dipped into the high 30's, overnight. But we're expecting temperature highs in the low 60's next weekend, so while winter may be on its way, it does not appear imminent.
NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 50's Friday and Saturday, rising to the high 50's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the low 40's Friday and Saturday, rising to the high 40's on Sunday. On Saturday evening between 7 pm and 12 midnight, there's a 70% chance of an 1/8th inch of rain. Otherwise dry and partly cloudy the rest of the weekend. The humidity will range between 45% - 75% on Friday and Saturday, rising to 90% on Sunday, but fall back to 45% during the day. The winds will range from 5 - 15 mph Friday and Sunday, quieting down on Saturday to about 5 mph. Looks like another pretty comfortable Fall Weekend. Enjoy.
Friday Afternoon Edition @ 3.45 pm. Looking good. As you will see below there's more happening than there used to be, this late in the season. We still have to update associated pages, which should be done by the end of the day.
The Weekend News Updates will follow Saturday, so check back in, for some local news, that oftentimes gets passed over on billionaire TV Network News.
New. Note the Changes Below. In late September we started adding a weekly news segment with multiple stories including links to more in-depth reports. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local news coverage and check out our local news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar above, in the upper left corner. This will continue evolving over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.
November 7, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Sunrise 6.33 am. Sunset 4.45 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 10 hours & 11 minutes of daylight or four hours and 55 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.
The photo above or at right was taken at the Green Room in Crown Heights in Brooklyn. It's been open about a year and a half and it's a great neighborhood dining and gathering place.
NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. There's a 60% - 80% chance of a 1/4 inch of rain forecast for between 10 pm tonight and 7 am Saturday morning. On Sunday there's the threat of less than a 1/4 inch of rain all day [so how likely is that?]. Because of the extreme dryness in our climate in recent years, we've noticed water weather systems tend to be over-forecast, as by the time they get here, they have dried out. While this may make for nicer weekends, it's a huge warning sign that the planet is drying up, which is going to wreak havoc on human and other life. Ignorance is bliss. The temperature highs will be between 60 and 65, and the temperature lows will be 55 - 60 all weekend. The humidity has been tending to peak around 7 - 8 am and dip in the late afternoon. Friday and Saturday the highs will be 80% and 95% respectively, while the lows will be 35% and 50% respectively. On Sunday it's going to be about 90% humidity all day. The winds will range from 10 - 15 mph on Friday and Sunday and from 5 - 10 mph on Saturday. Some wind, possibly a bit of rain, with moderate temperatures - all in all not a bad November weekend.
Friday Afternoon Edition @ 5.15 pm. Mostly done, but with some work to do on related pages. Should be done later this evening.
Our Weekly News Updates will follow later this weekend, so check back in for some local news that either gets passed over on billionaire TV Network News, or isn't covered well.
New. Note the Changes Below. In late September we started adding a weekly new segment with multiple stories with links to deeper reports. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local news coverage and check out our local news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar in the upper left corner under the header. This will continue evolving over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.
October 31, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Sunrise 7.25 am. Sunset 5.53 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 10 hours & 27 minutes of daylight or four hours and 39 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.
The photo above or at right was taken at the NYC Halloween Parade in a prior year. The parade returns tonite. See details below.
NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. Cloudy, but no rain all weekend, continuing an extremely dry Fall, and year in NYC & NYS, due to climate change. The temperature highs will be in the high 50's all weekend and the temperature lows will be in the mid 50's Friday, low 50's Saturday and the high 40's on Sunday. The humidity will range from about 50% to 90% on Friday, 50% 65% on Saturday and 50% to 80% on Sunday. The humidity highs peak each morning around 8 or 9 am and the humidity lows bottom out mid to late afternoon between 2 and 4 pm. The winds will range from 10 - 20 mph Friday, 10 - 15 mph on Saturday and from 5 - 10 mph on Sunday. Looks like another dry and comfortable Fall Weekend. Enjoy.
Saturday Morning Edition @ 6 am. Done.
Weekly News Updates will follow this on late Friday or early Saturday, so check back in for some local news that too often gets passed over on billionaire TV Network News. And while we will only partially update the Halloween page [also see below for parades and related events], the Halloween page contains the events from last year, which provides clues as to what might be planned this year. We include the urls so you can easily see what's in the works this year.
New. Note the Changes Below. In late September we started adding a weekly new segment with multiple stories with links to deeper reports. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local news coverage and check out our local news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar in the upper left corner under the header. This will continue evolving over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.
CLICK here to read the rest of our report, as well as other Weekend Things To Do in NYC Last Month 2025 _ NYC events.
Nov 14, 2025 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
November 13, 2025 / Billionaire Press NYC Billionaire TV News / NYC Politics / New York City News / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
*** What Follows was posted Mid Week Ending 11.13.25
November 13, 2025 / Billionaire Press NYC Billionaire TV News / Staten Island Transit / Staten Island News NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Staten Buzz NYC.
Beginning December 8, 2025 the NYC Ferry will beging operating a number of new interborough routes in NYC Harbor and along the East River and Hudson River. The new routes to and from Staten Island include one that lands in Sunset Park and another that lands at Battery Park City. For details see 1) the NYEDC announcement and 2) the NYC Ferry website.
New NYC Ferry Service to Staten Island to and from Brooklyn
https://edc.nyc/press-release/nycedc-announces-ferry-route-changes-system-growth-future-vision
NYC Ferry Service Service New Routes December 2025
https://www.ferry.nyc
November 13, 2025 / Billionaire Press NYC Billionaire TV News / Brooklyn Transit / Brooklyn News NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Brooklyn BLVD NYC.
Beginning December 8, 2025 the NYC Ferry will beging operating a number of new interborough routes in NYC Harbor and along the East River and Hudson River. The new routes to and from Staten Island include one that lands in Sunset Park and another that lands at Battery Park City. For details see 1) the NYEDC announcement and 2) the NYC Ferry website.
New NYC Ferry Service to Staten Island to and from Brooklyn
https://edc.nyc/press-release/nycedc-announces-ferry-route-changes-system-growth-future-vision
NYC Ferry Service Service New Routes December 2025
https://www.ferry.nyc
November 13, 2025 / Billionaire Press NYC Billionaire TV News / Bronx Transit / Bronx News NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Bronx Buzz NYC.
This week the NYC Ferry Service announced a few new routes, amongst which is a route from Throgs Neck and Soundview in the Bronx, making multiple stops along the East River in Manhattan, one at Sunset Park in Brooklyn, before terminating in the Rockaways in Queens. The changes go into effect on December 8, 2025.
New NYC Ferry Service Between Bronx and Queens Rockaways
https://gothamist.com/news/new-nyc-ferry-routes-bring-direct-boat-ride-between-brooklyn-and-staten-island
November 13, 2025 / Billionaire Press NYC Billionaire TV News / Queens Real Estate & Business / Queens News NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz NYC.
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 the New York City Council approved the One LIC Neighborhood Real Estate Development Plan. The plan will rezone 54 blocks in the neighborhood, to facilitate real estate developers efforts to erect new luxury housing, and 4,350 'affordable housing' units. In the past 'affordable housing' units in this neighborhood, were generally 'affordable' to folks making between $100,000 and $250,000. For details see -
NYC Council Approves One LIC Neighborhood Real Estate Development Plan
https://council.nyc.gov/press/2025/11/12/3008/
November 13, 2025 / Billionaire Press NYC Billionaire TV News / Manhattan Politics / Manhattan News NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Manhattan Buzz NYC.
The grandson of President John F. Kennedy announced his intention to run for the congressional seat of Jerry Nadler, who announced he would be retiring from congress at the end of 2026. Members of the first generation of Kennedys in American politics, were impressive. But since then, far less so.
That said, I generally try to keep an open mind, until such time as I have enough information, to begin to make a fair assessment resulting in the formulation of an opinion and point of view.
Kennedy Schlossberg to Run for Nadler's UWS Congressional Seat
https://people.com/caroline-kennedy-reveals-what-she-really-thinks-about-jack-schlossberg-offensive-social-media-posts-11847987
Jack Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg Makes Run for Nadler's Seat on UWS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Schlossberg
October 15, 2025 / Billionaire Press NYC Billionaire TV News / NYC NYS Politics / New York City News / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
On Wednesday, November 12, 2025 House Speaker, Mike Johson, reconvened the U.S. House of Representatives after one of the longest periods of the House being out of session in modern American history. To many, the Speaker's decision to keep the House out of session was seen as a shirking of duty, and an abdication of the power of the branch of government that is most repesentational of the people, to the Executive branch of government.
In the bill, which reopens the federal government, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, reportedly allowed a provision in the bill to enable senators, who had their electronic communications devices inspected and / or monitored, to sue the federal government for $500,000 - per each device - for the inconvenience. The measure allows for retroactive lawsuits, dating back to the January 6th Insurrection - even if the government was acting with a court order.
One of the problems with the bill is that given it is retroactive, it essentially guarantees million to multi-million dollar payouts to the ten sitting senators probed during the January 6th Insurrection. They are: Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; Josh Hawley of Missouri; Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming; Dan Sullivan of Alaska; Tommy Tuberville of Alabama; Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; Ted Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida.
Republican Senators Vote Themselves [Multi] Million Dollar Payouts by U.S. Taxpayers
https://rollcall.com/2025/11/12/senate-payouts-unnerve-some-in-house-gop-ahead-of-shutdown-vote/
October 1, 2025 / NYCHA Mitchel House in Mott Haven in the Bronx / News Analysis & Opinion. The value of NYCHA is realized by the billionaires and real estate developers who fund the pols in office, and then turn around and cut deals with the pols to transfer publicly owned NYCHA land to them for pocket change on the dollar, in exchange for what only can be described as something close to an indiscernible public value.
Billionaire TV News fails to recognize NYCHA's intrinsic land value, and in fact constantly aids and abets the wealthy real estate investors by disparaging NYCHA. Thus the NYC public is kept in the dark, ignorant of the real value and potential of all of the incredibly large swaths of prime real estate to which NYCHA holds title. And which could be used to address NYC's affordable housing crisis by building and selling apartments to New Yorkers at prices pegged to the median income in the city, transferrable via a lottery, at sale prices also pegged to median income.
In the photo above or at right, you see the top of the Mitchel House NYCHA complex in Mott Haven in the Bronx. Most of the damage essentially destroyed the chimney which one stood between the far left line of windows and the far left side of the building. As you can see, it was a pretty clean sweep.
But TV News, the well funded pols and the wealthy real estate investors who fund both, seem to look out only for themselves. While making tenants of New Yorkers, byhanding out billions in tax breaks, cheap land and cheap financing to the uber wealthy, thus continuing to transfer wealth to them by taking it from ignorant working class New Yorkers who are kept in the dark.
The photo above or at right was taken a few days ago at the Mitchel House NYCHA complex in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx. The explosion destroyed a chimney, but that appears to have been a clean break, and the sum total of the damage to the complex, which is fairly negligible given the size of the structure. Nobody was hurt.
In the second photo above or at right, you're looking at the base of the chimney of the Mitchel House NYCA building, which again shows a fairly clean break from the rest of the building, leaving me to guess [completely guess] that little structural damage has been done to the rest of the building. Workmen were working on cleaning up the debris when I took these photos on Sunday 10.5.25.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/10/01/nycha-explosion-bronx-mitchel-houses/
Nov 07, 2025 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
October 24, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Sunrise 7.17 am. Sunset 6.02 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 10 hours & 44 minutes of daylight or four hours and 22 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.
The photo above or at right, was taken Wednesday at the Spectrum News NY1 NYC Mayoral Debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, in Queens. From left to right are Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa. The debate was suprisingly spirited and interesting. We'll provide details over the weekend, or early next week.
NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. No rain all weekend, continuing an extremely dry Fall, and year in NYC & NYS, due to climate change. The temperature highs will be in the 60's all weekend and the temperature lows will be around 50 all weekend. The humidity will range from about 50% to 80% all weekend with the humidity highs peaking each morning around 8 or 9 am and the humidity lows bottoming out mid to late afternoon between 2 and 4 pm. The winds will range from 5 - 10 mph all weekend. Looks like a very nice Fall Weekend. Enjoy.
Saturday Early Morning Edition @ 3 am. Done with the Front Page Weekend Post of events and attendant pages. Weekly News Updates coming later in the weekend, so stay tuned.
New. Note the Changes Below. In late September we started adding a weekly new segment with multiple stories with links to deeper reports. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local news coverage and check out our local news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar in the upper left corner under the header. This will continue evolving over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.
Dec 06, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Dec 07, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Oct 31, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
December 6, 2025 / Bronx Neighborhoods / Bronx Holiday Events / Bronx Events & Things To Do / Bronx Shops & Shopping / Bronx Buzz NYC.
NOTE- NEW - UPDATE CHANGE LOG. 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.
For links to holiday events and markets in all five boroughs of NYC scroll down to the bottom of this report.
The holidays are a special time of the year. In ancient times there were harvest celebrations to give thanks and enjoy the bounty of the year after a long season / year of work.
There were also winter solstice celebrations to commemorate the end of the darkening of the skies. Many cultures celebrate with a festival of lights, and in Christian cultures the holidays are marked with holiday lighting, tree lightings, candle lightings - as well as the celebration of giving through the most well known and most generous man in the world - Santa Claus.
The photo at right shows the Christmas tree at the three corners plaza at Third Avenue, 149th Street and Willis / Melrose Avenue in the Mott Haven and Melrose neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, back in the Bronx we celebrate in a number of ways, which carry on some of these ancient traditions. The following provides the dates / times / locales and some details regarding many of the various Bronx holiday markets for folks to enjoy shopping between now and the end of the year.
Click here to read our report about Bronx Holiday Markets / Bronx Holiday Events & Things To Do NYC.
Mar 17, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Dec 05, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Oct 16, 2024 at 12:15 am by mikewood
9.10.25 _ Queens News / News Analysis & Opinion _ Click here to learn a bit more through an interview by Erroll Louis on Spectrum TV on August 28, 2025, who interviewed an author / community activist and the President of the FEC Tenants Against Demolition about what's going on there - NYC Oligarchy - Stephen Ross, Related Companies, Essence, Eric Adams transferring huge amount of public wealth & NYC billionaire TV doesn't much report it. Also on the front page scroll down to the Landlord Tenant Harassment button to become familiar with the bigger picture. And click into the drop down OpEd section from the front page tool bar to learn more about the FEC Chelsea NYCHA land grab by Stephen Ross and Related Companies. Ross and Related Companies have been the beneficiaries of the transfer of acres upon acres of prime public NYC land all over NYC for what seem like fire sale / corruption prices.
Nov 14, 2025 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
September 21, 2025 / NYC Mayors Race / Bronx Politics / Bronx News NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Bronx Buzz NYC.
This section is dedicated to providing our audience with a weekly update of recent polls surrounding the NYC Mayoral Race, and select other NYC public positions to be decided in this upcoming election.
September 18, 2025 / New York City News / NYC Billionaire Press Billionaire TV News & Free Speech in America / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.
All six TV Networks are controlled by billionaires [or folks whose wealth rounds up to billionaires or are members of billionaire families]. Increasingly they appear to be turning the TV networks into privately controlled propaganda machines. Too often they appear to resemble Rupert Murdoch's mistreatment of the truth in the news. This means they seem to omit key facts and even entire stories from view, while amplifying falsehoods and outright lies spoken by politicians and their teleprompter readers alike, which go uncorrected, leaving those who still trust Network TV News, ignorant and in the dark as to what's really going on in this country.
Colbert was cancelled by CBS and numerous seasoned journalists departed for journalistic integrity reasons. CBS appeared to be compromising their integrity, as Colbert is the top rated show in the time period. But Trump doesn't like Colbert, and CBS had a merger deal that needed to be approved by the Trump Justice Department and FCC, so poof, Colbert cancelled. CBS denies this reasoning, saying they have other [unannounced] plans.
Disney / ABC paid off Trump in a lawsuit many attorneys were sure they could have easily won. And this week Disney / ABC took the Jimmy Kimmel Show off the air for making an opinionated comment of which Trump didn't approve, on the Kirk assassination shooter. Kimmel had joked that the shooter was a MAGA Republican which he does not appear to be, although reportedly the rest of his family is.
The alleged shooter was reportedly in a relationship with someone working through gender identity issues, which is just one of the many important issues of our day, that billionaire TV News repeatedly fails to fully inform upon. This link will take you to the Metropolitan Museum website, of a past photo exhibit, wherein in the mid 1800's a French photographer documented a hermaphrodite, which is someone with both male and female genitalia. That's a fact, that I have NEVER seen raised nor discussed by the flunkies on TV News, who don't seem to be knowledgeable about the world around them, and definitely far too often, just simply do not do their basic homework on important issues.
And the sad thing is that this translates to an increasingly ignorant American public, as up until this year TV was the dominant news source. This year news on the web FINALLY passed TV News, and I am hoping that that trend will accelerate as more Americans start paying attention to how badly TV News fails them, daily.
If you decide to click this link you'll encounter what is likely a shocker to most folks [was to me the first time I saw it at the Metropolitan Museum exhibit in the late 1990's]. But the idea isn't to shock, but rather to instruct - Metropolitan Museum photo exhibit by Nadar of hermaphrodite.
7.7.25 Update / Opinion / Work in Progress
We've entered The Disinformation Age. Much of the mass media is controlled by billionaires, especially TV assets. They changed the FCC laws so they are no longer required to behave ethically, accurately and so the billionaire press does what it does best, pursues profits regardless of community collateral damage. They're only sharing information that they want you to know. They omit key facts they don't want you to know or even entirely ignore important stories that may embarass their billionaire friends. They try to manipulate viewers' perceptions in order to get them to vote for candidates representing the billionaires' interests, and provide open mics to the candidates their choice - not fact checked - even when these pols are making numerous false or misleading statements.
6.20.25 _ Currently Recommended News Sources to Help You Wean Yourself from Servile Dependence on Billioniare TV News. We currently favor The City, Politico, Axios, Vox, Wikipedia, the Gotham Gazette, Gothamist, City & State, Mother Jones, Wired, the browser Firefox curates a fair news offering, finance.yahoo.com is good for business news, and moderated social media outlets like BSky.app hace an intelligent audience that does a fair job of identifying key news reports, and use the search engines to look things up. Collectively these news sources should enable you to effectively do your civic duty to inform yourself about people and issues before voting. The NON-Billionaire TV News that we currently find reliable, includes left-leaning Democracy Now [on FNX & CUNY TV], PBS News Hour, and PBS Documentaries are also very informative. The Washington Post and New York Times are still fairly reliable, but not as implicitly so as in the past. Both the NYT and Wapo have undergone ownership / top management changes within the past six years. And the new management teams' values appear to differ from their predecessors, so pay attention to editorial changes / impacts. I no longer find any of the Network TV News outlets to be sufficiently informative. I doubt they ever were, but back in the day they used the newspaper reporting to help keep them informed, which today no longer cuts it. But that said, you can still pick up a few leads from TV News, which you can then use to more fully inform yourself, by doing further research on the internet. Also Vox & Axios. 6.20.25 Murdoch Iran War Monger.
Sep 17, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Oct 20, 2025 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
Reposted September 11, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / Things to do NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
This is a video of one of the rehearsals for the Table of Silence performance this morning at Lincoln Center, commemorating the 19th anniversary of 911. They return to perform the Table of Silence at Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center on Thursday 9/11 at 8.10 am. Free. Or catch the live stream - https://www.lincolncenter.org/series/lincoln-center-presents/table-of-silence-project-911-259

December 7, 2025 vs 12.29.24 / Bronx Neighborhoods / Bronx Holiday Events / Bronx Events & Things To Do / Bronx Restaurants NYC / Bronx Buzz NYC.
LAST YEAR _ 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.
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 the Bronx NYC where you might consider booking a reservation.
Click here to read more about our round up of Bronx New Years Eve parties and NYE parties & events in the Bronx.
Apr 17, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Mar 10, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
May 09, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Apr 19, 2025 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
Nov 30, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Please be advised that this series will be evolving slowly starting sometime in Q4 2025 and continuing thereafter. Thus far we've posted some of our historical coverage, but by far and away, the best is yet to come.
Oct 20, 2025 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
Dec 06, 2025 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
Dec 06, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Dec 07, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Jan 19, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Feb 14, 2025 at 12:15 am by mikewood
Mar 08, 2025 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
November 27, 2024 / 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.
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.
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.
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?

December 26, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.
NYC Weather. Sunrise 7.18 am. Sunset 4.35 pm. For the first time since June, the days are starting to get longer. We're up 2 minutes of sunlight versus last week.
It looks to be a rainy weekend, on both Saturday [1/3 inch] and Sunday [over 3/4 inch]. There are bound to be plenty of times, during both days, when there's little rain falling; so be brave, and don't let a little water stop you from enjoying your precious time with family and friends.
The temperature highs will rise from about 30 on Thursday, to 34 on Friday, 44 on Saturday, and into the low 50's on Sunday. The temperature lows will rise from the mid teens on Thursday, to the high 20's on Friday, into the low 40's on Saturday and Sunday. The winds will range from 5 - 7 mph on Thursday and Friday, kicking up to 5 - 10 mph Saturday and then again up to 15 mph on Sunday. It's going to be a humid weekend ranging from 70% on Thursday up to 90% on Sunday. These temperature statistics are unusually high for this time of year versus historical norms.
The photo at right, taken in Sunnyside Queens a year ago 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. We'll be updating the NYE pages over the weekend.
January 1, 2025 / 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 2025 a better year for you.
October 23, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Real Estate & Business / Gotham Buzz NYC.
'Better hurry' to participate in this 'affordable housing' lottery for apartments in the Jasper at 49-20 5th Street in Long Island City, Queens. Studios are renting for the 'low, low price' of $2,900 per month and two bedroom apartments are a 'steal' at only $4,400 per month.
To qualify you 'only' need to be earning between $99,000 and $250,000 per year. These annual incomes, which are an eligibility requirement, are only 'slightly' higher [+50% to +291%] than the median NYC salary of $64,000 per year.
But don't worrry, if you miss this 'great' opportunity for 'affordable housing', because the real estate developers, real estate investors, billionaires, property owners and Mayor Adams, are pushing hard to get through the City of Yes Zoning Law changes, which will provide huge tax breaks to investors, billionaires and real estate developers to make even more of this kind of 'affordable housing' available all over NYC.
Isn't that 'exciting'? It looks like more 'affordable housing' is finally on its way ...
See related stories below and in our City of Yes Special Report section on Gotham Buzz.
And you still have time to be heard by the NY City Council regarding your opinion of the City of Yes. Written Testimony is accepted for 72 hours after the hearing that was held Tuesday 10.22.24. Use this email address to send them your opinions - landusetestimony@council.nyc.gov - mailto:landusetestimony@council.nyc.gov. I believe the comment period expires at the close of business on Friday 10.25.24.
Updated September 24, 2024 & began February 21, 2024 / NYC Real Estate & Business / City of Yes Special Report Section / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.
This section contains the reporting we've been doing on the proposed City of Yes legislation. The City of Yes legislation appears, in essence, to be a major effort by Mayor Adams to have New Yorkers almost completely give up their power vis-a-vis having any kind of say with respect to real estate development in their neighborhoods and communities. The power is transferred to the Mayor's Office & NYC Department of Planning which is controlled by the Mayor, as well as to the billionaires, international investors & wealthy real estate developers - many of whom have contributed generously to the Mayor's election campaigns and legal defense fund, and appear to be continuing to do so. If this doesn't look right, then you're seeing what I'm seeing.
The City of Yes legislation seems a complete capitulation to the billionaires and real estate developers interests. In fact they are the ones who put together the 1366 page legislation. Given Mayor Adam's other ethical and legal problems, it is very troublesome that many of the same folks who will benefit significantly from the passing of this legislation, are also major contributors to the Mayor's - and also many City Councilmembers' - re-election bids / campaigns. It's time to pay attention, because this matters and with the election coming up, you can do something about it.
Mayor Adams isn't the only Mayoral candidate taking wealthy real estate developers' and billionaire property investors' cash, which oftentimes contain invisible strings that seem to be used to manipulate what gets done at City Hall ... like the City of Yes legislation appears to be.
Pay attention to whether any of the candidates running this election cycle, have the courage and integrity to call out this legislation for what it appears to be - a sell out of the masses of New Yorkers by their elected representatives - to the wealthy and super rich people who fund their campaigns.
Democracy only works if 'We The People' pay attention to who is who, and what they do, before we vote.
Unfortunately, you're not likely to be informed about this by the TV news teleprompter readers, who recite lullabies, while showing NYPD crime and social media accident videos, instead of reporting the news. Even on their best days, the TV teleprompter readers barely scratch the surface of what's really going on in this city - and on those rare occasions when they do - they seem oblivious to it.
What follows below are the reports we've done to date on the City of Yes - a nearly complete overhaul of New York City's zoning regulations.
More reports to follow, as time and resource allow.
Click Manhattan 4th of July fireworks for Manhattan independence day fireworks or click July 4th fireworks in NYC for NYC independence day fireworks in the 5 boros of NYC. And of course, click this link for the Orchard Beach fireworks 2024 in the Bronx. Enjoy.