Courtesy CC/Flickr/Susan Sermoneta
Courtesy CC/Flickr/Susan Sermoneta

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

This is what’s driving us bonkers in NYC right now and making us (almost) want to move

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We live in a walk-and-talk kind of town—I get it. When I’m on my morning commute or running between meetings, you can bet your ass I’m using that precious time to “catch up on calls,” which is code for “calling my mother.” However, I see more and more people roaming the streets while FaceTiming. This behavior is unacceptable.

RECOMMENDED: See more New York rants

Listen, I can understand that the occasional tourist would want to share their trip to the Best City on Earth through the lens of their iPhone for someone back home. But this is not what’s happening here. These distracted lollygaggers are always discussing some meaningless nonsense (personally, my conversations are witty, informative and brief) with some groggy pal in a disheveled bed right here in the tristate area.

While I get the allure of a face-to-face convo, these FaceTimers are pinballing into pedestrians and completely ignoring the flow of traffic. Must I get bumped around so that you can whisper sweet nothings to your boyfriend in Yonkers?

Let’s bring back the days when New Yorkers just obnoxiously shouted into their phones with a robust disregard for others. At least then they would see where they were going.

Not all of NYC is annoying!

  • Things to do

Dave Matthews Band is bringing its 2026 fall tour to Madison Square Garden for a two-night stand on November 12 and 13. The shows will close out the band’s U.S. headline run, which kicks off November 4 in Madison, Wisconsin, and also includes stops in Nashville, Chicago, Baltimore and Providence. Yep, this is your chance to hang with one of America's most beloved jam bands.

General ticket sales began Friday, August 21, and can be found under the NYC location listing on the band's site. Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7:30.

  • Things to do

Few things pair better than Nora Ephron, New York City and cheese. On November 14, When Harry Met Sally gets the wine-and-cheese treatment at the Museum of the Moving Image. The evening kicks off with author and cheese educator Anne-Marie Pietersma discussing her book I'll Have What Cheese Having alongside director and podcaster Mackenna Goodrich. Guests will then move into the 68-seat theater for the 35mm screening, followed by a reception inspired by iconic romantic comedies in a rom-com-themed marketplace. The fun runs from 6 to 10pm—and don't fake an orgasm over the brie, we're all better than that.

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  • Things to do

Chrysanthemum fanatics, get ready to geek out. The New York Botanical Garden is showing off with a Japanese mum (kiku) display that goes way beyond pretty colors. The flowers have been expertly trained over the past 11 months into incredible shapes and styles that are representative of traditional forms—including the ozukuri (“thousand bloom”), which is a cultivation that produces hundreds of chrysanthemum flowers from one single stem.

The exhibition kicks off November 7 and 8 (noon–4pm) inside the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, with Kiku Highlight Weekend featuring a live taiko drumming performance and hands-on crafts. Attendance and viewing is included in the All-Garden Pass ($35 for adults, $31 for seniors and students, $15 for children).

  • Comedy

The New York Comedy Festival is where the best of the best comedians of NYC gather each year, and this year, it’s celebrating its 22st anniversary with more than 200 comedians performing more than 100 shows at venues throughout the five boroughs.

If you've laughed at comedy shows in NYC in the past few years, it probably had something to do with at least one of the comics on the super stacked lineup. This year’s headliners include major genre names like Marc Maron, Ilana Glazer, Ziwe, Ben Bankas, Matt Rogers, Sarah Sherman, Daniel Sloss, Adam Friedland, Mojo Brookzz and more. 

The dates for the New York Comedy Festival are Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 15, 2026. Get tickets on the NYCF website.

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  • Eating

This November, the humble loaf of Shabbat bread is going on tour. FOODISH, the culinary initiative powered by ANU–Museum of the Jewish People, is launching the inaugural Global ChallahFest from November 6 to 29. Its festivities will land in NYC from November 12 through 15.

But this isn't your standard baking conference. ChallahFest is bringing dance floor energy to this international bread party. The festival features everything from bakery tours and student baking showdowns to VIP brunches and shared Friday-night dinners. Check the full NYC lineup on their website here.

This annual cans-for-a-cause competition pits architecture teams against each other to create larger-than-life art installations using thousands upon thousands of cans of food, all in the name of ending hunger (every can is donated to City Harvest to help feed those in need).

Head to Brookfield Place in Manhattan (230 Vesey Street) from October 30-November 9 (10am–7pm) to see the unveiling of these engineering spectacles, all built after months of planning. Then check back to see if your favorite takes home any titles in judges’ categories like Best Use of Labels, Best Meal and Structural Ingenuity. You can even vote for your favorite sculpture once they are unveiled. 

Every year, teams go all out with creativity—expect to be wowed. Past sculptures have included a hot air balloon, a bodega cat, baby Yoda, Winnie the Pooh, Mario, Buckingham Palace, a pigeon sipping a coffee and lots more.

Admission is free, but do your part by donating some canned goods to the cause.

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  • Comedy

Two girls. One cup. What could go wrong? Eliya Smith's potentially shocking two-hander, developed with the Goat Exchange and inspired by the viral scat-porn clip that scandalized and titillated the world in 2007, does not try to dramatize the experience of Karla and Latifa, the stars of the Brazilian fetish film Hungry Bitches. Instead, it is drawn verbatim from conversations with men who have watched their scene—which inspired countless reaction videos online—and explores what they remember about it and how much about their own sexuality they are willing to share. Chloe Claudel and Juliana Sass play all the roles in what sounds like both an exercise in docutheater and a subversion of it; Claudel also co-directs it with Mitchell Polonsky.

Audience members must be 18 years or older. See the show at Cherry Lane Theatre through November 29. Tickets range from $30 to $100, depending on the day and seating section.

  • Things to do

The Bronx-born-and-raised Stanley Kubrick gets a retrospective at the Museaum of the Moving Image. From November 1 through December 27, anyone with a penchant for spooky thrills can get their fill at this two-month-long movie marathon. His work is known for being "eccentric and narratively experimental," so if you've been wanting to see what it's all about, now's your chance. The event highlights the legendary director’s full cinematic body of work—which will be shown at the Redstone Theater—and is timed to The Criterion Collection's new box set, The Complete Kubrick.

Ticket prices vary based on elligibility. Adults are $17.50 each, senior and student tickets cost $12, kids are $10 and MoMI members can get in for just $7.

Here's the schedule of viewings:

A Clockwork Orange: Friday, Nov 6 at 6:30pm

The Killing: Sunday, Nov 8 at noon

Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb: Saturday, Nov 14 at 6:30pm

Lolita: Friday, Nov 20 at 6:30pm

Paths of Glory: Saturday, Nov 21 at 3:30pm

Barry Lyndon: Friday, Nov 27 at 3pm; Saturday, Nov 28 at 5:30pm

Full Metal Jacket: Saturday, Dec 5 at 6pm

2001: A Space Odyssey: Friday, Dec 11 at 6:30pm

Fear and Desire + Kubrick Shorts: Sunday, Dec 13 at noon

Killer’s Kiss: Sunday, Dec 13 at 2pm

Eyes Wide Shut: Friday, Dec 18 at 6:30pm; Saturday, Dec 26 at 6pm

Spartacus: Sunday, Dec 27 at 3:15pm

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  • Things to do

One of the best things about fall is that we get to watch the most wonderful, classic, feel-good films with the knowledge that the city outside looks kinda (of not exactly) like the foliage-filled sets. Foxtail cocktail lounge is hosting a cozy movie series every Friday evening (7–10pm) in November at the Living Room at Arlo SoHo. The weekly screenings are not ticketed, but they do require a two-item minimum purchase of food or drinks. Choose between seasonal bites and themed cocktails priced at $18 to $20 or a $19 movie-night special featuring a sandwich, chips and a cookie. 

The November lineup includes Good Will Hunting (Nov 6), When Harry Met Sally (Nov 13), You've Got Mail (Nov 20) and Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Nov 27).

  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs

The Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park is back in NYC with exciting holiday shops, food and activities running from October 28, 2026, through February 28, 2027.

Its 17,000-square-foot ice-skating rink that’s free to use (if you bring your own skates) is always the highlight, but the Winter Village in all its holiday spirit is a close second. This year, more than 180 new and returning kiosks will be there for you to peruse through until January 3—all at one of NYC's best parks for what's become one of the best Christmas markets in the world!

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