Friday-Saturday, April 14th-15th, 10:00AM-8:00PM,  The 11th Annual Black Comic Book Festival at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,  Lenox Avenue and 135th Street, for ages 13 to 18 years.
The Schomburg Center’s Annual Black Comic Book Festival celebrates the rich tradition of Black comix featuring panel discussions, film screenings, a cosplay show, and exhibit tables with premiere independent Black comic creators from across the United States.  The 11th Anniversary pop-up will now fully be virtual this month with an exhibit afterwards.  More details and the full schedule can be found on the Schomburg site: LINK

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The much-anticipated beloved music festival Governors Ball is taking place at Flushing Meadows Corona Park (new location alert!) featuring exciting acts including Lizzo, Kendrick Lamar, Diplo, HAIM and Lil Nas X, among plenty of others, between June 9 and June 11.

As is usually the case, New Yorkers are expected to head to the festivities to enjoy more than some phenomenal music, as the event’s food lineup proves to be just as stellar as the entertainment on deck.

All weekend long, attendees will get to refuel with some delicious fare and drinks from the city’s top restaurants. Check out the full list of vendors right here:

Among the standouts: famous pies by Roberta’s Pizza, nearly endless shellfish options served by Luke’s Lobster, meat-free dishes courtesy of Try Vegan, top-notch Greek food prepared by culinary staple Souvlaki GR and the sorts of Mexican treats that will make your head spin (in a good way!) from El Toro Rojo and Empanada Papa. 

But, if we have to be honest, it’s the dessert shops on the list that have gotten us all giddy with excitement. 

There are creative takes on the traditional form from Fan Fan Doughnuts, out-of-this-world ice cream from both Van Leeuwen and La Newyorkina, refreshing treats served by King of Pops and bubble tea for all by Tea and Milk.

You’ll be able to wash all that delectable food down with water from free stations set up all around the area, plus a number of cocktails served by a slew of dedicated hubs like Casa Bacardí, Espolòn and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Tickets for the Governors Ball are available for purchase online right here. 

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Harlem Bespoke: We finally got a few really good photos of the new Studio Museum facade designed by world renowned architect David Adjaye.  The building started rising last year and the facade started coming together at the end of this past winter season.  This location by Adam Clayton Powell is actually the same address of the previous building which was demolished to make way for a larger museum space. So when will everything finish up?  An older poster on the plywood out front mentioned Winter 2022 but that date was set before the pandemic hit.  With that said, probably Winter 2023 might be a possibility and the museum should be open sometimes in the first half of 2024 or so.  Check out our past post for the original rendering: LINK

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As fans gear up for the premiere of the fifth and final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime this Friday, the New York City-centric celebrations pegged to the new episodes keep accumulating.

On Friday, a massive themed immersive experience is taking over Fifth Avenue, but, if you’d rather honor the occasion from the comfort of your own apartment in a boozier way, consider ordering the special pastrami-inspired cocktail Maisel Tov Martini from Grubhub instead.

You read that right.

A savory take on the classic gin martini, the unique concoction combines two of Midge’s favorite things—Jewish deli fare and a stiff drink—and comes in the form of a kit that includes a bottle of the actual cocktail (makes two), a pair of martini glasses and a shaker with instructions. Expect the packaging to be as dazzling as Midge’s character herself.

“The cocktail marries hints of juniper from gin with briny flavors of black pepper, coriander and caraway classically found in a pastrami sandwich,” explains an official press release.

You can order the Maisel Tov Martini on the delivery platform starting today for $29.95 (here is a link for that!) but expect it at your doorstep on April 14 or 15—just in time to sip on while catching the final few episodes of the hilariously amazing series. Keep in mind that you’ll only be able to order one kit per person while supplies last.

Just in case you’d rather try your hand at making the martini yourself at home, here is the recipe for it:

INGREDIENTS

* This article was originally published here

NEW YORK (AP) — An electric bicycle powered by a lithium ion battery is being blamed for a fatal fire on Monday in New York City that killed two children, marking the latest in a string of e-bike-related fires in the city.

FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said it took his firefighters only three minutes to arrive at the Astoria, Queens home. However, with the fast-moving nature of e-bike fires and the fact the bike was being charged near the front entrance of the multi-family building, the victims “didn’t have a chance to get out of the building” given the intense fire that quickly traveled up the stairs to a second-floor apartment.

“So we got here very quickly. And if this was not a bike fire, most likely we would have been able to put this fire out without incident. But the way these fires occur, it’s like an explosion of fire,” he told reporters outside the burned home. “It’s an ongoing problem. We implore everybody to please be very careful and aware of the danger of these devices.”

With Monday’s fire, there have been five fire-related deaths so far this year in New York City where officials have said the cause of the blaze was an e-bike. So far, there have been 59 e-bike-related fires this year. Last year there were six e-bike-related fatalities.

Hodgens said a father and his six children were inside the second-story apartment just before 2 p.m. when the fire occurred. The father and three of his children were able to jump from a window to safety. The mother was not at home at the time of the fire.

Hodgens said it appears an extension cord was running from the upper apartment down to what fire officials believe was an after-market charger for the bike, which was parked in the vestibule of the building. Hodgens said while the bike was being charged in this case, there have been other fires involving bikes not being charged at the time.

Electric bikes have become popular, non-gasoline-burning ways to make deliveries, commute and zip around a city that has promoted cycling in recent decades.

New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh urged residents to follow all manufacturer safety guidelines and recommendations for e-bikes.

“We are also calling on our federal, state and local partners to move quickly on regulations that will help ensure tragedies like today’s fire are prevented,” she said in a statement. “We are heartbroken for the family of these victims.”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years — weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency.

The national emergency allowed the government to take sweeping steps to respond to the virus and support the country’s economic, health and welfare systems. Some of the emergency measures have already been successfully wound-down, while others are still being phased out. The public health emergency — it underpins tough immigration restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border — is set to expire on May 11.

The White House issued a one-line statement Monday saying Biden had signed the measure behind closed doors, after having publicly opposed the resolution though not to the point of issuing a veto. More than 197 Democrats in the House voted against it when the GOP-controlled chamber passed it in February. Last month, as the measure passed the Senate by a 68-23 vote, Biden let lawmakers know he would sign it.

The administration said once it became clear that Congress was moving to speed up the end of the national emergency it worked to expedite agency preparations for a return to normal procedures. Among the changes: The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s COVID-19 mortgage forbearance program is set to end at the end of May, and the Department of Veterans Affairs is now returning to a requirement for in-home visits to determine eligibility for caregiver assistance.

Legislators last year did extend for another two years telehealth flexibilities that were introduced as COVID-19 hit, leading health care systems around the country to regularly deliver care by smartphone or computer.

More than 1.13 million people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 over the last three years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including 1,773 people in the week ending April 5.

Then-President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar first declared a public health emergency on Jan. 31, 2020, and Trump declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency that March. The emergencies have been repeatedly extended by Biden since he took office in January 2021, and he broadened the use of emergency powers after entering the White House.

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