Are people who FaceTime while walking down the street literally insane?

If you’ve ever wished New York would hit the mute button on traffic for a few hours, your favorite summer fantasy is about to become reality. Summer Streets is back this month, turning more than 20 miles of roads across all five boroughs into giant, car-free playgrounds where walkers, runners, cyclists and roller skaters can take over roadways normally clogged with traffic. This year’s edition is already underway, unfolding over five Saturdays between July 25 and August 22. Participants can revel in the free activities, live performances, fitness classes, art installations and the space to simply wander down the middle of the avenue.

The season kicked off with simultaneous routes in Queens and Staten Island, and then another in Manhattan.

The next two Saturdays are in Manhattan—August 8 and 15—featuring the event’s longest route yet from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way north to Dyckman Street. It goes right through the heart of the borough following Lafayette Street, Park Avenue, East 110th Street, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Broadway. Streets will be open from 7am to 3pm, giving early risers eight uninterrupted hours to explore. The series wraps up on August 22, when Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway (from Grand Army Plaza to Buffalo Avenue) and the Bronx’s Grand Concourse (from East Tremont Avenue to Mosholu Parkway) become pedestrian-first corridors from 9am to 5pm.

If you've ever wanted to channel your inner Andy Sachs (or practice your best Miranda Priestly glare), your moment has arrived. Starting Wednesday, July 29, the Museum of Arts and Design at Columbus Circle is turning part of its galleries into “Welcome to the Runway: An Immersive Experience,” a free-with-admission pop-up celebrating the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2’s streaming debut on Disney+ and Hulu. Running through August 9, the interactive installation invites fans to step into some of the sequel's most recognizable fashion moments, complete with plenty of photo ops worthy of your Instagram grid.

The fan experience recreates several cinematic settings inspired by the stylish film, including Miranda Priestly's intimidating desk and the Runway closet, where visitors can pose as though they've just landed fashion's most coveted internship. Guests can also bookend their visit with personalized styling consultations and learn how to perfect a runway walk before strutting down a sleek white catwalk while cameras capture the moment on video.

Original costumes worn by film stars Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and more will also be on display throughout the installation, offering a closer look at the wardrobe that's helped make The Devil Wears Prada one of the most influential fashion films of the past two decades. Whether you're a longtime devotee who quotes "That's all" on the regular, or are simply looking for a fun summer outing, the installation leans into the fantasy of stepping inside the glamorous world of high fashion.

Beginning last week, Seaport Cinema outdoor movies is taking place on the Heineken Riverdeck at Pier 17 (89 South Street). The event runs on Tuesday nights at sundown around 8pm with stunning waterfront views of the Brooklyn Bridge and movie-themed concessions. The seasonal tradition kicked off on Tuesday, July 21 with the Nicolas Cage-led caper National Treasure. A string of beloved comedies including Legally Blonde (August 4) and 13 Going on 30 (August 11) are still to follow.

Things get romantic later in August with screenings of Crazy Rich Asians (August 18) and Dirty Dancing (August 25), before the summertime series finishes off on September 8 with the sporty biopic King Richard, starring Oscar-winning Will Smith as Serena and Venus Williams' father-slash-coach, Richard Williams. 

As usual, every screening will be free and open to the public, with entry on a first-come, first-served basis. And given the outdoor nature of the series, attendees are encouraged to bring their own blankets to sit on. You are also allowed to bring your own food, or order from the venue's on-site restaurants. There will also be a dedicated Heineken Zone, complete with reserved seating and a bucket of Heineken brews, available for $25; tickets are on sale at The Seaport website. 

New York City Restaurant Week is among the five boroughs’ best food holidays. Traditionally, New Yorkers (and a few lucky tourists) clear their dining schedules and make reservations at the city’s best special occasion spots, high-profile newcomers and all-time favorite restaurants for deals unseen the rest of the year. Hundreds of destinations participate citywide, with menu prices below their typical tabs. 

For NYC Restaurant Week, eateries curate their menus and produce prix fixe selections for brunch, lunch, dinner and sometimes all three. Saturdays are formally excluded and Sundays are discretionary, so expect regular menu prices at those times unless otherwise stated. 

The summer 2026 campaign is running from July 20 to August 16. You've still got roughly a week to choose from oodles of NYC classics and recent culinary additions. 

One of New York's hottest dance parties is making its much-awaited return, and with a seriously impressive lineup to boot. Beginning Friday, July 24, the MoMA PS1 Warm Up series turns the museum's courtyard into a dancefloor with DJ sets and live performances on six Friday evenings in July and August.

The 2026 lineup spotlights innovators in electronic music hailing from here in New York City and around the world: think post-rave hardcore techno, jungle-house DJs, Detroit machine funk outfits, experimental electro tunes and much more.

Long Island City residents with proof of residency in ZIP codes 11101, 11106 or 11109 get one complimentary ticket per event on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that a limited number of tickets are reserved for local residents at each Warm Up event. 

There's something deeply satisfying about watching a movie outdoors in New York—especially when the setting is so beautiful that you almost forget to look at the screen.

On Wednesday, July 29, Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita once again became one of the city's dreamiest open-air movie theaters as part of its free Movie Night in the Garden series. Tucked between Prince and Spring Streets, the one-acre oasis is a world away from the honking traffic and crowded sidewalks just beyond its gates.

The series continues with Hayao Miyazaki's beloved animated favorite Kiki's Delivery Service on August 12 and Alfred Hitchcock's suspense masterpiece North by Northwest on August 26. Every screening begins at 8pm and admission is completely free.

Forget rooftop DJs. One of Brooklyn's best summer traditions returns when the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music's Midsummer Nights series transforms Lincoln Place into an open-air jazz club. The concerts start at 6:30pm, and kicked off on July 23 with Rasin Okan. There's more to come on August 6 (Charles Goold) and August 13 (Strings N’ Skins). Curated by the wildly inventive Melanie Charles, the free concerts spotlight artists gleefully ignoring genre boundaries. Seating is first-come, first-served outside 58 Seventh Avenue, with performances moving indoors if the weather decides to become the evening's least welcome improviser.

Broadway may be built on revivals these days, but the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival is betting on something riskier (and dare we say more interesting?): new ideas. From July 23 through August 16, AMT Theater (354 W. 45th St.) is hosting 12 world premieres—10 plays and two musicals—giving emerging and established playwrights a chance to test-drive tomorrow's theater. Tickets start at $30, with post-show talkbacks offering the opportunity to hear artists discuss a work before anyone starts arguing about whether it belongs at the Tonys.

If you've ever wondered what it would feel like to wander through a BTS album, Arte Museum X BTS THE CITY ARIRANG has an answer. From July 24 through August 14, the immersive Chelsea Piers attraction layers the superstar pop group's music onto dazzling digital landscapes filled with light, sound and movement. Even if you can't tell your RM from your V, the multisensory spectacle is worth the trip—and ARMY will likely consider it essential. 

Subtlety has no place in Times Square, which may be why a 65-foot hot dog returned there last month. Beginning July 21, "Hot Dog: The Second Serving" can be seen stretching across Duffy Square as part of Times Square Arts. Brooklyn artists Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw's giant frankfurter installation runs through August 8—and yes, the weiner will point straight into the air and blast off confetti every day.

The original sculpture debuted in 2024 as an oversized love letter—and side-eye—to New York, consumer culture and the American Dream. The new version keeps the familiar ingredients (bun, pink hot dog, mustard and hydraulically powered confetti showers) but leaves a darker aftertaste, interrogating "spectacle, patriotism, celebration and power."