This is what’s driving us bonkers in NYC right now and making us (almost) want to move
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.
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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.
What's better than a walking tour of New York City? A free walking tour of New York City—and more than 200 of them will be available May 2-4 as part of Jane's Walk NYC festival hosted by the Municipal Art Society.
This beloved annual event, named after famed activist Jane Jacobs, invites New Yorkers to lead walks that celebrate urban life, culture, hidden gems, street art and more. Any New Yorker can lead a walk—and anyone can attend.
One of the best live music venues in the city has announced its summer concerts schedule. Here's what's coming to the Rooftop at Pier 17 this May:
May 1 and 2 – Elderbrook
May 7 – Trivium & Bullet For My Valentine
May 13 – Peter Cat Recording Co.
May 15 – Amyl and The Sniffers
May 22 & 23 – Peach Pit & Briston Maroney
May 24 – Dance Gavin Dance
May 28 – Mayday Parade
May 30 – JET
May 31 – Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
You can purchase tickets here or in-person at at the AXS Box Office at Pier 17.
Rooftop Cinema Club takes movie-going to a whole new level—literally. This rooftop film series at a midtown skyscraper offers stunning views and an impressive lineup of films.
In addition to the movie magic, the venue also offers movie snacks, a full bar and cute photo opps. This season features movies that will appeal to ‘90s kids, a Grease sing-along, Pride films, Wine Wednesdays and lots more when the 2025 calendar opens in May. Here’s the full list of what’s coming to Rooftop Cinema Club’s big screen.
The foxtrot, lindy hop, salsa, hustle and vogue all have roots in New York City, whether they were born here, shaped here or popularized in the city’s clubs. A new exhibit at Museum of the City of New York turns the museum into a dance floor as it digs into the fascinating history and important role of these dances and more.
“Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor” celebrates 200 years of social dance in New York City. It highlights the city’s dance floors as sites for connection, creativity and joyful rebellion. You’ll get to see everything from 1800s-era ball gowns to Louis Armstrong’s trumpet to Celia Cruz’s shoes to Big Daddy Kane’s outfits. Plus, digital screens throughout the exhibition offer dance lessons—and it’s nearly impossible not to move your body when the music starts.
Grab your dancing shoes, and go see it now through February 22, 2026 in East Harlem.
An iconic artwork by the elusive street artist Banksy is now on display in Lower Manhattan, and you've got until May 21 to go see it.
The 7,500-pound piece, titled "Battle to Survive a Broken Heart," features a bandaged heart-shaped balloon. Banksy created the artwork during 2013 in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood. It's the only known piece that the enigmatic artist came back and retouched. Find it in the The Winter Garden at Brookfield Place at 230 Vesey Street.
Purple orchids, white lilies, brown magnolia leaves, blue delphiniums and more have been transformed into magnificent floral creations depicting the sumptuous clothing of television series Downton Abbey. More than a dozen local florists exercised their creativity to create these impressive floral mannequins as part of a new Fleurs de Villes exhibition at Hudson Yards.
Even if you're not a fan of the TV show, this free exhibition is definitely worth seeing while it's on view through May 4. Each display is made of fresh flowers and botanicals. As Fleurs de Villes co-founder Karen Marshall says, "This is perishable art. Perishable art is must-see art."
After a sold-out first year, the Paragon Sports comedy festival hosted by Underground Overground is back from Wednesday, April 30 through Friday, May 2. Taking over New York’s oldest sports-good store after normal business hours, the three-night event will see 12 shows across three separate floors featuring some of the best comics in NYC—and, as usual, you won’t know exactly who is performing until the performance itself. (To give you an idea, last year’s proceedings featured famous funnymen like Chris Distefano and Saturday Night Live breakout Marcello Hernández.)
Along with the comedy sets, tickets will get you unlimited drinks thanks to Gran Coramino, free after-show burgers courtesy Shake Shack, as well as mini games and competitions to win cash prizes and giveaways. (Hint hint: come wearing your best sports jersey!)
This massive festival offers more than 30 events throughout Greenwich Village and brings together an all-star lineup of literary luminaries from across the globe—as well as some home-grown ones—to contemplate change, international politics and the value of free speech.
This year's event runs from Wednesday, April 30 through Saturday, May 4. Highlights this year include Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Egan, both of whom will be participating in the festival's opening night convening The PEN and the State: The Role of Novelists in Times of Crisis, as well as events ranging from the fun and free (ArtLords Public Mural Day, the return of the House of Speakeasy Bookmobile) to the more serious, with panels exploring gender discrimination in fiction and media erasure in authoritarian times (the latter featuring the great public intellectual M. Gessen).
For a full list of events, visit pen.org/festival.
The largest NYC-themed trivia game is back at the Queens Museum. On Friday, May 2, the top dogs of NYC knowledge will gather at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park institution for an intense battle of wits. They'll use with The Panorama of the City of New York—a scale model of the five boroughs created for the-1965 New York World’s Fair—as their massive game board.
Teams of Panorama Pros (experts) and Panorama Challengers (amateurs) will get quizzed on topics ranging from "(Mom and) Pop Culture" to "Mobile Homes" to "Union Houses" and other areas of urban history and local lore. The winning Pro team will have their name etched on the Panorama Challenge Trophy housed at the Queens Museum.
To celebrete the release of Morbid Anatomy Founder and Creative Director Joanna Ebenstein’s new book Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, Memento Mori Fest will host a weekend of talks, performances, parties, cemetery tours, rare book viewings, and other experiences all revolving around the theme of memento mori—Latin for "remember you will die."
From Friday, May 2 to Sunday, May 4, the fest will partner with two great NYCcultural institutions—ARAS (Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism) and The Green-Wood Cemetery—for the programming lineup. Along with events like film screenings, pop-up libraries and writer panels, attendees can enjoy special themed flash tattoos at White Ghost Studios, personalized Memento Mori portraits at Rusty Zimmerman Studio, death-themed board games at Brooklyn Game Night and more.
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