Good afternoon, New York!

Covering best things happening in the city this week—from a free skincare + matcha popup to a new Keith Haring exhibition in the East Village. We’re also highlighting a few hidden gems around the city, including a fencing studio, a tiny Brooklyn chocolate factory, and a Danish bakery. In local news, investigators are looking into an attempted bombing near Gracie Mansion, the City Council debates raising the minimum wage, and a pod of dolphins was spotted swimming through the East River.

More events and news in today’s issue. Let’s get to it.

– Sofia Kurd.

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• Free skincare + drink pop-up (TODAY 2pm)
A brand called Be Bare is doing a pop-up with SIP Coffee & Matcha in Manhattan where the first 200 visitors get free skincare products and a free drink.
📍 SIP Coffee & Matcha — 242 W 27th St

• Wed thru May 31 – Keith Haring Exhibition — The Brant Foundation presents a major exhibition tracing Keith Haring’s rise from subway graffiti artist to global pop-art icon, focusing on works from 1980–1983. The Brant Foundation (East Village). $20.

• Today 6:30pm – 2026 Science + Literature Ceremony — The National Book Foundation and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation celebrate this year’s science-inspired titles with readings and discussion featuring Kimberly Blaeser, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, and Anna North at Cooper Union’s Frederick P. Rose Auditorium (East Village). Free (RSVP).

• Today 7pm – Candlelit Silent Reading Night — A cozy community reading night surrounded by candlelight, books, and fellow readers; bring whatever you’re currently reading and settle in for a quiet evening. The Twisted Spine (Williamsburg). Free admission.

• Today 7pm – Peer Revue: Experts + Comedians — Real experts give serious talks on topics like quarks or the fall of Rome while comedians attempt to explain the slides they’ve never seen before. Caveat (Lower East Side).

• Thu thru Mar 25 – Marilyn Monroe: Celluloid Dream — MoMA screens a 13-film series exploring Marilyn Monroe’s career and the mythology of Hollywood, including Some Like It Hot, The Misfits, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Museum of Modern Art (Midtown). $14 general.

Attempted bombing outside Gracie Mansion under federal investigation
Federal prosecutors say two suspects allegedly attempted to detonate homemade explosives near Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence on the Upper East Side. Authorities say the devices failed to detonate and no one was injured, but investigators are treating the incident as a terrorism case. The suspects were arrested and remain in federal custody while the investigation continues.

Suspicious package prompts bomb-squad response near Gracie Mansion
Just days after the attempted bombing, police evacuated part of Carl Schurz Park after a suspicious container was found nearby. NYPD bomb technicians determined the item was nonhazardous, but the response highlighted heightened security around the mayor’s residence.

City Council proposal would raise NYC minimum wage to $30 an hour
A new proposal introduced in the City Council would gradually increase the city’s minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030 for large employers. Supporters argue the increase is necessary to match the city’s high cost of living, while critics warn it could force businesses to raise prices or reduce staff. The plan would affect more than one million workers currently earning the city’s $17 minimum wage.

Pod of dolphins spotted swimming in the East River
A group of short-beaked common dolphins surprised observers after appearing in the East River near Randall’s Island. Marine researchers say the sightings are unusual but not unprecedented, and could be linked to improving water quality and changing fish patterns in the harbor.

Weather whiplash expected across New York City this week
Meteorologists warn that New York could see unusually rapid swings in temperature, with record warmth followed by a sharp drop and possible snow within days. The abrupt changes are expected to bring heavy rain, colder temperatures, and potential travel disruptions later in the week

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Answer to last issue’s trivia - Which New York City landmark was once used as a real military fort before becoming a public park?: Fort Tryon Park (B) is the correct answer. During the Revolutionary War, the site was known as Mount Washington and served as a fortified British position named Fort Tryon, after the last British governor of colonial New York City. It was later transformed into a public park. 

Few figures shaped New York’s rise into a financial capital more than Alexander Hamilton. After arriving in the city as a young immigrant in the 1770s, he embedded himself in its merchant and political networks and began imagining something unusual for the time: a national economy built around credit, banking, and trade rather than land. As the first U.S. Treasury Secretary, he pushed through policies that tied the federal government to the financial markets forming in Lower Manhattan—assumption of state debts, the creation of the national bank, and the system of federal securities that began trading around what would become Wall Street. In effect, Hamilton didn’t just help found the country’s financial system—he anchored it in New York, helping turn a busy port city into the center of American finance.

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