Good Morning, New York!
Did you know? On December 3, 1931, the Empire State Building turned on its iconic tower lights for the very first time.
In today’s newsletter, get ready for the best events this week, top local headlines right now, and hidde NYC facts.
Let’s get to it.
– Sofia Kurd.
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New York Question Of The Day
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NYC Riddle:
I sit in Midtown, look like a normal office building, but my clock is always wrong on purpose. What am I?
Click reply, send me your answer, and the correct answer will be revealed in the next newsletter.
The answer from last week’s riddle was: A rent-controlled apartment
Best Events
Wed Dec 3, Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony — Seasonal tradition: light up the 75-ft spruce and usher in the holiday season in Midtown. Rockefeller
Wed Dec 3, New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets (Madison Square Garden, 7:30 PM) — Knicks take on the Hornets. Madison Square Garden+1
Wed Dec 3, PORTUGAL. THE MAN: The Denali Tour (Terminal 5) — Indie-rock concert at a classic NYC venue. DoNYC+1
Thu Dec 4, Brooklyn Nets vs Utah Jazz (Barclays Center, 7:30 PM) — Catch the Nets at home under the arena lights. Ticketmaster+1
Thu Dec 4, LCD Soundsystem Concert Residency (Knockdown Center, Queens) — Part of their late-fall residency; a must-see if you like dance-rock + a pop-up wine-bar vibe. Eater NY+1
Thu Dec 4, Twas the Night Before... by Cirque du Soleil (The Theater at MSG) — Opening night of the holiday-themed circus run. Madison Square Garden
Thu Dec 4, Holiday Markets & Pop-ups continue NYC-wide — Last-minute gifts, festive food, and holiday shopping energy. Secret NYC+1
Thu Dec 4, Holiday Window Displays Walk (Herald Square → 57th Street) — Big-ticket store windows (and lights) are now live citywide. New York Post+1
We’ve tracked down some great hidden gems in the city to try this fall:
1. A tiny French bakery that turns into a pastry class once a week — you spend two hours making pastries from scratch with a class that feels more like a chef-in-training bootcamp than a tourist activity. You walk out with a pastry box stacked like gold bars.
2. A tiny, reservation-only test kitchen where Atomix’s team runs experimental dishes before they hit the main restaurant. It’s intimate, chef-led, and feels like getting early access to dishes that will later show up in Michelin write-ups.
3. Real bungee fitness classes where you’re clipped into a ceiling harness and launched through cardio sequences, sprints, and jumps. It’s part workout, part circus, part controlled chaos — the most fun you can have while technically exercising.
Local News
• NYC immigration courts stripped of judges: The number of immigration judges in New York City dropped by more than 25% after a wave of firings.
• Food Bank for New York City serves meals in Harlem on Giving Tuesday: Hundreds of meals and produce bags were distributed as part of the city’s largest hunger-relief operation.
• 3 new casinos approved for downstate NY — Bronx & Queens among sites: The state gambling board green-lit three downstate casino licenses, a move that will reshape nightlife and local economies.
• Todd Dunivant named new Sporting Director of NYCFC: The former MLS defender steps into the top sporting role, taking over roster strategy after David Lee’s departure.
• Chanel stages runway show on a real NYC subway platform: Métiers d’Art transformed a decommissioned station into a fashion runway, blending high fashion with gritty MTA aesthetics.
• Coastal storm drenches NYC — heavy rain in the city, snow upstate: A strong coastal system brought soaking rain to the boroughs and snow to northern suburbs, snarling commutes.
• NYPD reports record-low shootings and overall crime for first 11 months of 2025: Citywide data shows shootings, subway incidents, and overall index crime at historic lows.
• All-cash buyers made up 60% of NYC home purchases in first half of 2025: Real-estate data shows a striking rise in cash-only transactions, deepening the city’s affordability divide.
• Yankees legend CC Sabathia helps break ground on $11M youth sports complex: A long-neglected field is being converted into a modern sports facility.
NYC Fact Of The Day
City Hall Station
In 1904, when the very first subway line opened in New York City, thousands of New Yorkers lined up outside City Hall Station just to descend into what felt like the future. The station itself was a showpiece — vaulted Guastavino tile ceilings, skylights that pulled in natural light, chandeliers, and curved tracks designed as much for beauty as for function. The station closed in 1945 due to its short platforms and the increasing length of subway cars.
But what most people today don’t realize is that City Hall Station still exists almost perfectly preserved, hidden beneath the streets. The MTA quietly keeps its architecture intact, and if you stay on the downtown 6 train after Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall, the train loops through the ghost station that still sits empty today.
New Yorkers Through History
Robert Caro
Robert Caro didn’t just write about power — he permanently changed how New Yorkers understand their own city. The Power Broker made it impossible to look at a highway, a park, or a public-housing tower without thinking about the political deals behind it. Before Caro, Robert Moses was a name on plaques; after Caro, he became the clearest example of how unelected power can reshape a metropolis block by block. The book pushed New York into a long overdue conversation about displacement, planning, race, and the hidden machinery of government. It reframed city history so completely that urban planners, journalists, and politicians still treat it as required reading.
NYC Predicts
Take this week’s prediction survey and share your take on major NYC and national storylines. At the end of each month, we randomly select one respondent to receive a $75 gift card. Each poll you complete counts as an additional entry — so if you answer four polls that month, you’ll have four chances to win instead of one.
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