Summer Streets is returning once again this summer for the last weekend of July (27th) and the four Saturdays of August (3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th), and this year’s iteration is going to be the largest one yet!

For those unfamiliar with the event, Summer Streets is an annual pedestrian and cycling haven where miles of NYC across the five boroughs are closed off to cars. According to the DOT, more than half a million people now take advantage of the open streets!

And this year, the DOT is expanding the program’s hours to 7 am to 3 pm (previously 7 am to 1 pm) to make sure more New Yorkers get the chance to enjoy the car-free zones. This is the first time the program will expand its hours since launching in 2008.

The 2024 NYC Summer Streets schedule is as follows:

Saturday, July 27:

• Queens: Vernon Boulevard between 44 Drive and 30 Road
• Staten Island: Broadway between Richmond Terrace and Clove Road

Saturday, August 3, 10, & 17:

• Brooklyn Bridge to West 125 Street
• Lafayette Street and Park Avenue between Brooklyn Bridge and East 109 Street
• East 109 Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 5th Avenue between East 109 Street and Central Park North
• Central Park North between 5th Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard
• Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard between Central Park North and West 125 Street

Saturday, August 24:

• Brooklyn: Eastern Parkway between Grand Army Plaza and Buffalo Avenue
• The Bronx: Grand Concourse between East Tremont Avenue and Mosholu Parkway

During the hours that the streets are closed exciting programming and activities take place along the designated routes, such as dance and musical performances, fitness classes, and interactive workshops.

Stay tuned for more programming information to come.

The post Nearly 20 Miles Of NYC Will Close To Cars For The Largest-Ever Summer Streets appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

The votes are in and here’s a comprehensive list of what happened during June Primary for Black and Brown candidates running for Congress and State Assembly. 

Early voting capped with 46,241 voters as of the close of polls just before Tuesday. The most votes coming in from Queens.

An Election Night’s recap, according to unofficial city and state election night results posted by the Board of Elections (BOE):

Famed Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) took an early lead and ultimately won her reelection over candidate Marty Dolan in the 14th congressional district with 82.02% of the votes. 

RELATED: The voting power of the Bronx’s Co-op City

Incumbent Congressmember Jamaal Bowman took an early lead with 83.56% of the votes in his highly anticipated smackdown with Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the 16th congressional district. Then, Latimer started to outpace Bowman with 58.81 % of the votes shortly after the close of polls. Bowman’s lead dropped to 40.60 %. Outlets called the race in Latimer’s favor.

“We have so much work still to do,” said Bowman in his live streamed speech about the loss. He thanked his on the ground team and staff. “Let’s keep building coalition.”

In response to the results National Director of the Working Families Party Maurice Mitchell added in a statement, “Rep. Jamaal Bowman faced an avalanche of outside spending from AIPAC and its GOP donors. Even with a powerful, multi-racial coalition behind him, it wasn’t enough to overcome the onslaught of attack ads and misinformation.”

In the five eagerly watched state assembly races in Harlem, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, here’s who took home the gold:

Harlem Assembly candidate Jordan J. G. Wright scored the coveted 70 Assembly seat to replace longtime Assemblymember Inez Dickens, who is slated to retire this year. Wright maintained an early lead with 47.93% of the votes. Opponents Maria Ordoñez got 29.50%, Shana Harmongoff got 17.22%, and Craig Schley got 5.10%.

Between incumbent Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman and newcomer Eon Tyrell Huntley in District 56, were neck and neck. Zinerman maintained her early lead with 52.34% of the votes. Huntley trailed close behind with 47.34%. 

Incumbent Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs took an early lead with 42.00% of the votes over candidates Tamika Mapp, Xavier Santiago, and William Smith in District 68, cinching his reelection. 

Incumbent Assemblymember Al Taylor garnered 72.14% of the votes over candidate Julien Segura in District 71. Segura got 27.01%.

And, newly elected via special election Assemblymember Landon Dais beat out challenger Leonardo Jose Coello in District 77. Dais got 59.21% of the votes and Coello trailed close behind with 40.32%.

The post Winners on the Ballot: AOC in Congress, Wright and Zinerman in State Assembly appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

For a New Yorker, there’s nothing quite like the excitement and proudness involved in hearing that, statistically speaking, we are, indeed, living in the best city in the country.

Sure, we might pretend that we don’t care about what other people think but when Resonance—a consulting-like company in the tourism, real estate and economic development world—released its annual ranking of America’s Best Cities, we did a sigh of joy when noticing our own town at the top of the list. 

To come up with its top ten list, the company looked at a number of factors, including ease of airport connectivity, volume of check-ins on Facebook and mentions on Instagram, amount of Fortune 500 companies, number of nightlife and outdoor recreation experiences and more. 

For the first time ever this year, Resonance also partnered with Ipsos to “incorporate perception-based data” in the study, according to a press release. 

This is the eighth annual America’s Best Cities ranking—and New York has topped the list since the inaugural report. 

This year’s survey particularly highlights the city’s sights and landmarks and the awesome shopping opportunities we have at our fingertips.

“When it’s your turn to return to America’s best city, do yourself a favor and make time to see the phoenix rise from above: there are the classics, like the Empire State Building and the Top of the Rock, but there are also spectacular new perches, like SUMMIT One Vanderbilt and its all-glass exterior elevators, called Ascent. Go up, look down and breathe out. This city is back,” reads the New York portion of the report, which also mentions the 100-year anniversary of the Museum of the City of New York, the $500 million renovation of the Met and the massive upgrades to the city’s major airports. 

Here is the top 10 list of America’s Best Cities, a ranking you can read more about right here.

1. New York, New York
2. Chicago, Illinois
3. Los Angeles, California
4. Miami, Florida
5. Las Vegas, Nevada
6. San Francisco, California
7. Boston, Massachusetts
8. Washington, D.C.
9. Seattle, Washington
10. Houston, Texas

And in case you missed, it NYC’s Empire State Building was just named the No. 1 attraction in the world by Tripadvisor. Clearly, NYC is doing something right.

* This article was originally published here

Is it still the Summer of the Croissant™? Has it never not been the Summer of the Croissant™? Yes, New York’s obsessive love affair with the flaky French pastry very much endures—joining an already packed pâtisserie pantheon that includes Indian-spiced crescents, onigiri-inspired fusion treats and rainbow cookie croissants comes a heap of viral “Crookies,” “Cruffins” and more from a Smorgasburg NYC staple. 

RECOMMENDED: NYC’s 30 best bakeries include pie pros, famous cupcake destinations and local favorites

Ole & Steen, the all-day Danish bakery with five outposts throughout New York City—including Bryant Park (80 West 40th Street), Midtown East (518 Lexington Avenue), Tribeca (100 Church Street), Union Square (873 Broadway) and Upper East Side (1280 Lexington Avenue)—will be serving a full spread of limited-edition croissant creations at its uptown location this summer. 

Formerly exclusive to the Smorgasburg at the World Trade Center, the sweet treats will be available at the UES bakery every Friday through the end of October. Among the Insta-ready flavors, guests can enjoy baked goods like a Lemon Meringue Cruffin (croissant dough filled with a light lemon curd cream and topped with toasted lemon meringue), a ‘Smores Croissant (a Nutella and marshmallow whip-stuffed croissant dipped in chocolate and topped with graham crackers), a Cookie Croissant (a classic crescent stuffed with chocolate chip cookie dough), and a jam-filled Almond Raspberry Croissant.

And with all that butter and sugar, you’re going to need something to wash it all down: Ole & Steen will also offer customers that visit any of its NYC locations during the big Pride Parade 2024 on Sunday, June 30 to enjoy a buy-one, get-one-free coffee order. (Because let’s be real, those incessant “Espresso” singalongs will surely have you jonesing for some coffee!) 

Check out some of Ole & Steen’s sweet croissant configurations below:

* This article was originally published here

“Out Late” is Time Out’s nightlife and party column by DJ, Whorechata founder, and Staff Writer Ian Kumamoto, which publishes every other Tuesday. The previous edition highlighted Whorechata’s sold-out anniversary party.

In my nearly 10 years of living in New York, I haven’t found any business that encapsulates the essence of gay New York better than an empanada shop that has outlived a global pandemic, a fire, and many of its queer neighbors—including a multi-story gay club (R.I.P., The Q) and a fantastically chaotic two-story bar (miss you, Bottoms Up).

But located on the corner of 9th Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets lies a restaurant that stands as a fortress of queer hope. If you’re a gay person in New York who goes out, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about—if you’re not, I’m referring to the flagship Empanada Mama, my modern-day Stonewall. 

You might not think of an empanada shop as a fertile ground on which to build a queer haven, but everything about this specific Empanada Mama is perfectly conducive to it: From its 24-hour weekend operating schedule to its gender-neutral, single-stall bathrooms (more on that later) and its flamboyant (pretty-sure-they’re-all-gay) staff.

This Empanada Mama has existed in the neighborhood for 20 years. Eight years ago, though, a fire burned it to a crisp and it moved next door, where it is now. I myself have had plenty of wonderful late-night meals here, and the energy feels very different from a regular gay bar—people seem more off-guard and are actually open to talking. Located within a five-minute walk of some of the biggest gay clubs in the area like Hush, Industry, and Boxers, the Empanada Mama is the rare place where real community can be built over a meal. You can get wasted here if you want, but that’s not what people are coming for—past 10pm, they’re here to sober up or catch a breather before going to the next club, or even to achieve enlightened post-nut clarity. 

I went there at midnight on a Friday night recently, and the entire space was decked out in Pride decor, including inflatable unicorns and giant rainbow hearts. I spoke to the manager, Giovanni, to get to the bottom of why this Empanada Mama specifically became such an unabashedly gay business.  

Giovanni tells me Empanada Mama’s queerness happened completely organically. When queer people got priced out of Chelsea a couple of decades ago, they migrated up to Hell’s Kitchen in search of more affordable rent. This Empanada Mama happened to open its doors when that migration was happening that so much of the staff they ended up hiring just happened to be queer, he said.

To my surprise, the most popular menu item people get in the wee hours of the morning is not its empanadas, but its signature soups, which Giovanni tells me that people order to try and sober up. The most popular empanadas are the Brazil, which has ground beef, potatoes and green olives; the Viagra, which has shrimp and crab meat (both aphrodisiacs, hence the name); The Cuban, which is a Cuban sandwich inside an empanada; the spicy chicken; and the cheese steak empanada. 

Giovanni himself used to manage nightclubs, which seems like a perfect fit for being the night manager at the Hell’s Kitchen Empanada. “It’s a nightclub with food,” he tells me. 

On any given night, Giovanni describes the crowd as coming in cycles. In the morning, it’s a lot of business people and families. The crowd shifts to predominantly queer folks starting at 10pm. “I can see the same person come here at 10pm for dinner before they meet their friends, they go out, they’ll stop back here at 2am to sober up a little, and then I see that same person again at 5am,” he says. “We all laugh, we all know each other, it’s very special. We try to keep a very safe environment for everyone.”

“It’s like a revolving door, people meet new friends all the time at Empanada Mama”

For Giovanni, safety is secured by guards who make sure no one is coming in too drunk as much as bouncers would at any nightclub. “If you’re too intoxicated, we’re not gonna let you in,” he says. “It’s not like Studio 54 but we definitely try to make sure everyone’s respectful when they come here.”

When considering what nightlife spot I would highlight for the Out Late column for Pride month, Empanada Mama was the first place that came to mind. It’s an increasingly rare and much-needed third space for queer people in a city where we’re mostly relegated to dive bars and grimy clubs. Empanada Mama is well-lit, it’s wholesome, and we need to protect her at all costs. “It’s like a revolving door, people meet new friends all the time at Empanada Mama,” Giovanni tells me. “And if you want to find your next boo, come between 2am and 4:30am in the morning.”

This was my night at Empanada Mama, by the hour. 

Midnight

I walk in and wait for my table. It’s not too busy tonight, but while I’m waiting, I can see an older couple, maybe in their 50s, looking at me. One of them walks up to me and says, “I just want you to know that my boyfriend thinks you’re very cute.” It doesn’t feel disrespectful and I know they’re not trying to sleep with me—he smiles at me and then walks away. It’s actually super wholesome and sweet. 

12:30am

I order a sangria, which comes in a huge glass and just eyeing it, I know it’s gonna get me drunk. It’s a little bitter and watered down. Then, I order the two gayest-sounding empanadas I can find: The Viagra and the Jerk. While I’m waiting for my food, I talk to the gay couple next to me. They’re from Argentina and are checking out the gay clubs nearby after their empanadas. They tell me they’re very surprised by how gay it is in here. “I haven’t seen a single straight person,” one of them tells me. “This is like the gay Last Supper.” 

“I haven’t seen a single straight person. This is like the gay Last Supper.”

12:45am

As I’m waiting for my empanadas, different waiters constantly stop, smile and check in on me. The service here is great. More groups of tipsy friends walk in, and they’re loud. There’s electronic music playing over the speaker. 

My empanadas arrive and they’re delicious, as always. 

1am

We have to talk about Empanada Mama’s legendary gender-neutral bathrooms. There aren’t that many people tonight but usually, there’s a line and people sort of pick guys up while they’re waiting and sometimes they go in together. It hasn’t happened to me before, but I have friends who have been invited into the bathroom before. 

I take a few selfies in the spacious bathroom and when I come out, I catch Giovanni and we talk for a bit. I ask him if he has any good bathroom stories. “I’ve seen pictures of guys Grindr where I’m like, wait, I recognize that bathroom,” he tells me. Yes, people are taking their Grindr profile pictures in the Empanada Mama bathroom.

1:20am

A group of five friends sitting in a corner start belting songs. I can’t tell if they’re Broadway-level good, but they’re definitely professionals. Giovanni tells me that a lot of the theater gays come out here to eat after late-night performances. 

1:30am

It’s a slower night at Empanada Mama than usual—it can get really hectic, but tonight is not the night. I recommend coming in later if you really want the full queer experience. That being said, I’m feeling satisfied—I had a drink and am full from the two empanadas. I decide I’m going to go see a friend DJ at Hush nearby.

Before I leave, Giovanni stops me and pours me and himself a shot of tequila.

“OK,” I say. “Now I can go.”

How to enjoy a gay night at Empanada Mama

Where: 765 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10019

When: 24 hours, 7 days a week. For a more festive experience, go around 10pm, when people are pregaming, or after 2am, when people are in between club hopping or ending their night.

Cost: No cover of course. Big cocktails are $18 and each empanada is around $4.50 on average. There are also soups, salads, sandwiches, Colombian breakfasts, and arepas. 

How to get in: Just don’t be wasted or homophobic. 

The vibe: Social and festive.

What to wear: Whatever you wear to the club. You see people here in everything from button-up shirts to fetish gear.

* This article was originally published here