Hello New York! Today we cover best things happening in the city this week—from storytelling events to a private scalp spa. More events and local news for the week in today’s issue.
Let’s get to it.
– Sofia Kurd.
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Best Events March 18-20
• TODAY 7pm (monthly) – Adam Wade: Live in New York — A 20-time Moth winner performs rotating storytelling sets with surprise guests. Under St. Marks Theater (East Village).
• TODAY 8am–12pm – Fellini Coffee x Plaid Free Drinks + Merch — Plaid is taking over Fellini Coffee in the West Village and handing out free hats, plus covering drinks for the first 100 people. Fellini Coffee (West Village). Free.
• Thurs–Sun – Affordable Art Fair — Contemporary works starting at $100, plus galleries from around the world. Starrett-Lehigh (Chelsea), free Thurs w/ art supply donation, $35 otherwise.
• Thurs 6pm doors – Presentation Dating — Singles pitch themselves via PowerPoints, performances, or chaos. Solas (East Village), $15–20.
• Thurs 7pm (monthly) – Facts Machine — Science + comedy + trivia collide with experiments (and drinking games). Caveat (LES).
• Thurs 7:30pm – The Book of Red Flags: Live! — Dating comedy show + book launch with guest comedians. Union Hall (Park Slope), $12 adv, $15 door.
• Thurs 8pm – Afters: Stories of So-Called Endings — Live storytelling backed by an improvised band + post-show karaoke. Salon on Kingston (Crown Heights), $10.
A tiny specialty tea counter that operates more like a lab than a café—rare single-origin Chinese teas brewed gongfu-style with obsessive precision.
A private Japanese scalp spa in Flatiron where they do full head treatments—microscope analysis, deep cleansing, massage, steam.
A West Village storefront that a looks like a normal boutique but is actually a rotating residency for small designers—everything inside changes every few weeks, so you’re effectively shopping a new brand every time you walk in.
A reading room and bookshop inside the French embassy with beautiful interiors, a deep catalog of literature, and a ceiling painted like a constellation map.
Local News
NYC moves to ban AI-driven “surveillance pricing”
City and state lawmakers are pushing legislation to block companies from using personal data to adjust prices in real time. The concern is that two people could be shown different prices for the same product based on behavior or demographics. If passed, this would be one of the first direct attempts to regulate algorithmic pricing in the U.S. Learn more.
First case of more severe mpox strain detected in NYC
Health officials confirmed a case of a serious mpox variant in a traveler returning to the city. Authorities say there’s no evidence of community spread and risk remains low. So far, NYC has reported 45 total mpox cases, but this is one of only a small number of clade I cases identified in the U.S. Learn more.
Hydropower line from Québec to Queens set to power ~1M NYC homes
A 339-mile transmission line—the Champlain Hudson Power Express—is on track to begin delivering hydroelectric power from Canada into NYC as early as this spring. The project will supply ~1,250 megawatts of electricity, enough to power roughly one million homes. The line runs underground and underwater along the Hudson River, avoiding many of the permitting issues that typically delay large infrastructure.
Massive prom giveaway gives thousands of NYC students free outfits
A large-scale event at Barclays Center provided free prom dresses, tuxes, and styling to over 1,000 students. The initiative is designed to remove cost barriers around major school events. It’s part of a broader push toward making traditionally expensive experiences more accessible.
NYC to impose 15 mph speed limits in school zones
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced plans to lower speed limits to 15 mph in school zones as part of a broader push to improve pedestrian safety
New York Trivia
Question: Roughly how many restaurants are there in NYC?
A) 10,000
B) 18,000
C) 27,000
D) 45,000
Reply to this email with your response. The answer will be revealed in the next newsletter. No cheating!
Thanks for participating!
Answer to last issue’s trivia - Which NYC borough has the largest population overall?: Brooklyn. According to recent 2024 population estimates, Brooklyn has over 2.6 million residents.
Business and Markets
As of March 18, 2026, U.S. stock futures are slightly lower following concerns over rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions. The market is digesting recent earnings, including Lululemon's mixed results, while New York City's financial outlook has been downgraded to "negative" due to budgetary issues.
Market Highlights
Stocks: Major U.S. stock futures (S&P 500, Nasdaq-100) dipped slightly (down <0.1%) in early trading, indicating a cautious atmosphere.
Energy & Geopolitics: Oil prices are rising amid ongoing conflict, putting pressure on equities.
NYC Financial Outlook: Moody's downgraded NYC's credit outlook from "stable" to "negative," citing budget challenges facing Mayor Mamdani's administration.
Key Corporate News:
Lululemon (LULU): Reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings ($5.01/share vs. $4.78 est.), but the stock fell on a disappointing outlook.
Corporate Governance: Reuters reports that Victory Capital is challenging Trian Partners and General Catalyst in a deal to acquire Janus Henderson.
NYC Featured
Most people in New York have used StreetEasy, but few know it was built by Michael Smith, a Columbia grad who started the platform in 2006 after getting burned trying to navigate NYC’s opaque rental market. At the time, listings were fragmented, broker-controlled, and often misleading—he scraped and centralized them into a single, transparent database, which brokers initially hated and users loved. StreetEasy became the default interface for NYC real estate, was acquired by Zillow in 2013 for ~$50M, and quietly reshaped how millions of New Yorkers search for apartments
Good Reads
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