Housing & Development · New York, NY
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Community Board 5 are urging the city to reject JEMB Realty's proposal for a four-story LED billboard at Herald Center, 1293 Broadway, across from Macy's. The developer seeks a zoning text amendment and special permit to install a 2,333-square-foot display spanning 58 feet and rising from roughly 60 to 100 feet above street level. Opponents cite light-trespass concerns for residents of Herald Towers, a 690-unit building at 48 West 34th Street owned by the same developer family, and warn the single-building exception could set precedent citywide. The City Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the application Wednesday, Oct. 28. Both the community board's September vote against the project and the borough president's Oct. 14 recommendation are advisory; the proposal has not received final approval.
Local Politics · New York, NY
Early voting for the November 3 general election runs Saturday, October 24 through Sunday, November 1, with no voting on Monday, November 2; polling sites are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day. Upper West Side residents vote in Congressional Districts 12 or 13, State Senate District 47 (incumbent Erik Bottcher vs. Republican Charlotte Friedman), and either Assembly District 67 (Linda Rosenthal, unopposed) or 69 (Eli Northrup, unopposed). Statewide races for governor, attorney general, and comptroller appear on every New York City ballot. All NYC residents will also vote on five ballot proposals covering outdoor space use, building permitting, and street safety projects.
Housing & Development · New York, NY
A lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court seeks to force the foreclosure auction of a five-story building at 180 First Avenue, known for its Michael Jackson murals. Investors in a $7.1 million mortgage allege that owner Moshe Khoshkheraman has not made loan payments since May and refused an inspector access in September. The building contains 16 apartments and a ground-floor commercial space, with none of the units currently rent-stabilized. This action specifically targets the First Avenue property and does not affect other properties owned by Khoshkheraman, such as Milano's bar.
Community News · New York, NY
The New York City Law Department released 40,000 additional records related to the September 11 attacks on Tuesday, October 20. This release adds to a public portal established last month, which now contains over 200,000 pages including the Harding Memo. Mayor Mamdani’s FY27 budget allocates $34 million for maintaining this records portal. Separately, jazz drummer Robby Ameen performs with his quintet at Smalls Jazz Club on Monday, October 26, with sets at 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.
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Community News · New York, NY
Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee voted Oct. 15 to support Option 1 for a $9.93 million renovation of Tompkins Square Park's recreation area, including a new in-ground pool, renovated basketball courts, and replacement fitness equipment. The project is funded by a $6.1 million state grant from Gov. Kathy Hochul's NY SWIMS program and $3.83 million in city funding, with construction expected to take approximately 18 months. Parks officials said they adjusted plans after calisthenics community members raised concerns about losing existing pull-up bars and parallel bars, adding more such equipment and using a 3D scan of the current layout. A neighborhood group called Save Tompkins Square Park has organized opposition under the banner "Repair, don't demolish," urging residents to attend the full CB3 meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m. at P.S. 20, 166 Essex St.
Community News · New York, NY
Pace University has completed a five-year, $276 million renovation of One Pace Plaza East, adding a new home for its Sands College of Performing Arts with the city's first fully ADA-accessible theaters. The Battery Park City Authority will host a panel on Lower Manhattan's resiliency and future 25 years after 9/11 on Thursday, October 22, at 4 p.m. at Wagner Park's pavilion classroom, moderated by BPCA CEO Raju Mann with Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg among panelists. Artist Todd Stone will lead a conversation on art and collective trauma Thursday, October 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. at 3 World Trade Center (71st and 80th floors). Canstruction returns to Brookfield Place's Winter Garden for its 34th annual competition, with the exhibition running October 30 through November 9, 2026.
Housing & Development · New York, NY
The 24-story residential tower at 65 Franklin Street in Tribeca, developed by Sky Equity Group and designed by COOKFOX Architects, is under construction after the site sat dormant for seven years. The building will rise to 293 feet with 106 condominium units, commercial space on the first two floors, and a 24-space garage, having used zoning strategies to exceed original height limits by 36 percent. A Department of Transportation permit allows full closure of Franklin Street daily from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM through November 4 for cranes and concrete trucks. Neighbors have complained that the construction blocks an entire block of Franklin Street and causes traffic gridlocks on Broadway.
Local Politics · New York, NY
Diamant Hysenaj, the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress in New York's 14th Congressional District, is challenging incumbent Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Nov. 3 general election after advancing by default when the Republican and Conservative Party primaries were canceled. NY-14 encompasses parts of the East Bronx neighborhoods including City Island, Country Club, Morris Park, Parkchester, Pelham Bay, Throggs Neck, and Van Nest, along with several Queens neighborhoods, totaling more than 700,000 city residents. Hysenaj's stated platform includes lowering housing costs and taxes, boosting neighborhood safety, reforming legal immigration, increasing non-government-funded health care options, and eliminating all taxes for senior citizens. He criticized Ocasio-Cortez as absent from the district and said he favors expanding ferry service to Orchard Beach instead of City Island. AOC did not return a request for comment.
Social Events · New York, NY
The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens "Designing the Gilded Age: Drawings from the Studios of Louis C. Tiffany" on October 22, 2026, in Galleries 691–693 on Fifth Avenue. The exhibition features nearly 120 works from the Museum's collection plus selected loans, exploring designs behind the studios' windows, lamps, mosaics, and interiors. Organized by Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen with Barbara Veith, it highlights contributions from artists including Agnes Northrop, Clara Driscoll, and Julia Munson. The Chrysler Museum of Art is lending "Woman in a Pergola with Wisteria" (1911), reunited for the first time in decades with its original wisteria transoms discovered in an Arizona home. The exhibition runs through February 7, 2027, and is made possible by Tiffany & Co.
Community brief · New York, NY
The "LAND BACK in Cities" exhibition continues at 238 E. Sixth St. in Manhattan through Tuesday, Oct. 27. The show features projects on Indigenous sovereignty and ancestral land return, utilizing maps, films, and oral histories. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and noon to 7 p.m. Friday through Monday.
Community brief · New York, NY
Rose Friedman, an East Village resident and NPR arts editor who died of cancer on Sept. 17 at age 38, will be honored with a memorial gathering on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. The event takes place at ABC Beer Co., located at 96 Avenue C in Manhattan. Friedman was known for her advocacy for paid parental leave and her coverage of the Harvey Weinstein trial.
Community brief · New York, NY
The Rosedale Civic Association will celebrate its 80th anniversary on Oct. 27 at the Diamond Renaissance Banquet Hall in Queens, New York. The event begins at 7 p.m., with donations encouraged and speeches scheduled from local officials including Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson and City Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers. Founded in 1946, the group has historically advocated for neighborhood safety and infrastructure improvements.
