Good morning, New York!
This weekend: a Brooklyn garage-punk record release, a new Chinatown art space dropping thousands of paper planes from its ceiling, and a record fair at the Performing Arts Library. Around the city, you can browse blue-chip art for free, dig through vintage racks, or get a Turkish coffee reading. In local news, a winter storm could disrupt the weekend, a long-delayed UES preschool finally opens, and Mamdani warns that property taxes could rise.
More events and news in today’s issue. Let’s get to it.
– Sofia Kurd.
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New York Trivia
Answer to last issue’s trivia - What natural feature once ran openly through Manhattan before being buried underground? Answer: (A) The Minnetta Brook
Which New Yorker helped design the atomic bomb before later advocating against nuclear weapons?
A) Albert Einstein
B) J. Robert Oppenheimer
C) Leo Szilard
D) Enrico Fermi
Reply to this email with your response. No cheating!
Thanks for participating!
Best Events Feb 20-22
Sponsored: Johnny Mellor’s Bastardos Record Release Party
Sat 7pm: Johnny Mellor’s Bastardos Record Release Party: A night of garage rock and punk as Johnny Mellor’s Bastardos celebrate their new record alongside Holy Vulture, Oedipus Triple Rex, and Not All Heroes. The Broadway (1272 Broadway, Brooklyn), doors 7pm.
Through Mon (12–6pm): 20,000 Variations on a Paper Plane in Flight: The Wang Contemporary, a new cultural institution founded by designer Alexander Wang and his mother Ying Wang opens in Chinatown with an exhibition by Brooklyn-based conceptual collective MSCHF. Once per hour, a flock of red and gold paper planes descends from the central oculus of 58 Bowery, set to an evolving piano score by composer Yeonjoon Yoon. Free admission (rsvp).
Fri through Jun 21: Face Value: Celebrity Press Photography — MoMA: A major MoMA exhibition revealing how Hollywood star images were crafted and manipulated long before digital edits and social media — over 200 works from 1921–1996.
Sat 11am–5pm: Wax + Stacks — Brooklyn Flea Record Fair: The Brooklyn Flea record fair returns indoors at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (UWS) with 15 record vendors, DJ sets, and demos from the library’s Music & Recorded Sound Division. Free admission.
Sat & Sun: Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival – “Reflections: A Triptych”: World-class contemporary dance by L.A. Dance Project, choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, presented at Perelman Performing Arts Center as part of the multi-venue festival spanning Feb 19–Mar 21. Performances Sat & Sun Feb 21–22 (times vary).
Sun 1pm: Movies at the Palace — Superman ’78 + Batman ’89 Double Feature: United Palace’s screening series kicks off “Season of Courage” with Richard Donner’s Superman and Tim Burton’s Batman. United Palace (Washington Heights), $20.
Blue-chip art browsing for $0. At the Christie’s Rockefeller Gallery, you walk past $20M canvases, rare sculptures, and pieces that will disappear into private collections forever. A free museum… except everything is for sale.
L Train Vintage: One of the easiest places in NYC to score cool vintage clothes without spending much at all. You can walk out with a full outfit for about $30, and the racks are always packed with fun denim, jackets, and streetwear to dig through.
Turkish coffee reading: A tiny spot offering real Turkish coffee brewed on hot sand, followed by a traditional cup-reading. It feels intimate, a little mystical, and authentic. You sit, sip, flip the cup, and they read the shapes in the grounds to tell your fortune.
Local News
1) Another storm could hit NYC with heavy snow and rain this weekend. A developing coastal system has meteorologists warning that rain, wind, and potentially heavy snow may impact the Friday commute and linger into the weekend, with model uncertainty keeping forecasts fluid. Bridge and transit crews are preparing for slippery conditions.
2) Mayor Mamdani updates action plan for jails and migrant shelters. The mayor outlined a detailed strategy this week to meet minimum standards set by the Board of Correction and implement Local Law 42, focusing on humane conditions and oversight for shelter and incarceration systems. Officials say the plan balances oversight with services.
3) Pakistan deal could spur revamp of Manhattan’s Roosevelt Hotel. Pakistan has signed an agreement with U.S. partners to move forward on plans to renovate the historic Roosevelt Hotel, a project intended to repurpose the Midtown property and bolster cultural ties. Details on timing and financing remain in development.
4) Long-delayed Upper East Side preschool finally set to open. A previously finished but unused city preschool at 403 E. 65th St. is slated to open in September 2026, adding more than 130 early-childhood seats in a neighborhood with high demand for accessible childcare.
5) Mayor Mamdani’s Tax Warning to the Middle Class — Facing a projected $5.4 billion budget gap, Mayor Zohran Mamdani signaled that property tax hikes could land on middle-class homeowners. In his preliminary FY2027 budget outline, the administration floated a possible 9.5% property tax increase as a fallback option — one that could generate billions but would ripple through homeowners’ bills and potentially rents citywide. Mamdani has framed the move as a “last resort,” arguing that higher state-level taxes on top earners would be preferable to increasing costs for working families. The debate now shifts to Albany, where resistance to new income taxes on high earners could determine whether the burden falls on them or other groups.
NYC Polls
Share your voice and opinions on local NYC and national policies. Each month, we randomly pick one of all participants to win a prize. Feb 2026: $25 gift card.
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