Good Morning, New York!
Did you know? On today’s date, November 24, 1927, the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade featured for the first time ever a large balloon as part of its floats.
In today’s NYC Newsletter:
NYC apple orchard popup, humanoid robot fights, Turkish coffee readings
Update: Mamdani Trump White House Meeting, crypto UBI experiment
Let’s get to it.
– Sofia Kurd.
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New York Question Of The Day
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NYC Riddle:
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Top 10 Best Events
Mon, Nov 24 — New York Rangers vs. St. Louis Blues @ Madison Square Garden
Tue, Nov 25 – “NYC Apple Orchard” Pop-Up @ 261 Fifth Avenue
A free pop-up urban orchard: hay bales, warm cider, and 20,000 lbs of locally-grown apples, hosted by The Farmlink Project & 260 Sample Sale. Free entry.Mon, Nov 24 — Textile Arts Meetup
A casual meetup for knitters, crocheters, and fiber-artists to bring their supplies, connect, and play in an artful social spaceTue, Nov 25 — REK America: Humanoid Robot Fights @ Church Street Boxing Gym
A niche and high-energy event: humanoid robot fights on the fight-gym floor. A limited audience event with clear “first-come, buy tickets” setupMon-Tue — Bryant Park Winter Village
Holiday shops, rink, festive food stalls in Midtown. Free entry.Mon, Nov 24 — Vintage Basement with Max + Nicky: Farewell to NYC @ Littlefield (Gowanus)
Twins Max & Nicky Weinbach perform in NYC for one last night of standup, quirky, absurd antics, and dovelike musical stylings. Featuring Phoebe Robinson, Caitlin Peluffo, Rob Cantrell, and more.Mon-Tue — Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Lightscape
Large-scale illuminated after-dark trail with seasonal installations and soundscapes. Ticketed, runs through early January.Mon, Nov 24 — A House of Dynamite + Q&A with Kathryn Bigelow @ The Paris Theater
Encore screening of A House of Dynamite, followed by a live Q&A with Academy Award–winning director Kathryn Bigelow
We’ve tracked down some of the best hidden gems in the city to try this fall:
An Oxford-style live debate series where experts argue big topics on stage—technology, culture, politics, everything. You listen, vote on who made the better case, and walk out feeling sharper. Check their site for the next event.
See where you can still get $1 food in NYC. From a $1 ham-and-cheese in East Harlem to Chinatown sesame balls, LES pickles, and even a Garment District wagyu skewer promo, these are the final hold-outs keeping the “one-dollar food” era alive.
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
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani meets Donald Trump at the White House
Friday, Nov. 21 – Incoming NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump held their first sit‑down despite months of public sparring. Both men appeared unusually cordial, joking with each other and agreeing that cost‑of‑living issues — rent, utilities, groceries — must be addressed together.Mamdani emphasized the meeting as a chance to “make the case for New Yorkers”, focusing on affordability and public safety. Trump, meanwhile, praised the mayor‑elect’s campaign, said “we agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” and urged Con Edison to lower rates in New York. Trump repeatedly praised Mamdani as “rational” and “smart,” and stepped in to defuse tension during a press Q&A — even joking, “You can just say yes,” when Mamdani was asked if he still thought Trump was a fascist.
Some New Yorkers will receive up to $12,000 in crypto as part of a guaranteed basic income experiment funded by Coinbase—$800/month plus an $8K lump sum for 160 participants.
The November 2025 financial‑plan update from the Eric Adams administration sets the FY26 budget at $118.2 billion and includes funds to increase the New York City Police Department‑headcount by 5,000 and
expand caregiver programs.
Gotham FC clinches the NWSL championship with a 1‑0 win over the Washington Spirit, and NYC plans a celebratory event.
The Department of Homeland Security made an arrest on Canal Street related to counterfeit‐merchandise trafficking.
A Brooklyn politician who previously defended speeding is now backing a “super‑speeder” traffic safety bill, signalling a shift in local policy.
The mayor of Yonkers is actively courting businesses near the NYC border, pitching alternative locations for businesses to relocate as concerns rise about the city’s upcoming leadership transition.
NYC Fact Of The Day
Ian Fleming
The spy who lived at the Waldorf
During World War II, British intelligence officer and author Ian Fleming—creator of James Bond—briefly stayed at the Waldorf Astoria while gathering intel and meeting with American spies. It’s believed that parts of Bond’s suave style were inspired by New York itself: the sharp suits, the hotel bars, the shadowy politics of Park Avenue. The Waldorf is where he is credited with inventing James Bond's signature drink, the Vesper Martini.
Fleming wasn’t the only spy in town. At the time, the Waldorf and nearby hotels were crawling with diplomats, secret agents, and informants from every major Allied power.
New Yorkers Through History
Billie Holiday
Before she became one of the most haunting voices in American music, Billie Holiday spent her teenage years in Harlem. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Baltimore, she came to New York in the late 1920s and started singing in nightclubs as a teenager to make ends meet. Harlem’s speakeasies and basement clubs gave her a platform, and by the early 1930s, her style caught the attention of bandleaders and producers.
She wasn’t classically trained and didn’t read music, but her phrasing was revolutionary. Her recording of “Strange Fruit,” about the lynching of Black Americans, was bold and dangerous at the time. Even as she gained national fame, she stayed tethered to Harlem—performing at the Apollo, walking its streets, and shaping its culture.
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