Things to do on a Sunday in New York

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 streets normally clogged with traffic. This year’s edition unfolds over five Saturdays between July 25 and August 22, with free activities, live performances, fitness classes, art installations and plenty of room to simply wander down the middle of the avenue.

The season kicks off on the 25th, with simultaneous routes in Queens and Staten Island. In Queens, Vernon Boulevard will be closed to car traffic between 44th Drive and 30th Road, creating a waterfront route through Long Island City and Astoria. Staten Island’s route runs along Broadway between Richmond Terrace and Harvest Avenue, linking West Brighton with one of the borough’s busiest commercial corridors.

Then come three straight Saturdays in Manhattan—August 1, 8 and 15—featuring the event’s longest route yet. Participants can travel from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way north to Dyckman Street, following Lafayette Street, Park Avenue, East 110th Street, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Broadway through the heart of the borough. Streets will be open from 7 am to 3 pm, 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 9 am to 5 pm.

One of New York's hottest dance parties is making its much-awaited return this month, and with a seriously impressive lineup to boot. Kicking off on 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. 

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, restaurants 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 will run from July 20 to August 16. That's nearly a month to choose from oodles of NYC classics and recent culinary additions. 

Perhaps the most exciting concert announcement of the summer has dropped: Lauryn Hill is set to take the stage at The Clubhouse Hamptons on Saturday, July 25, for a one-night-only acoustic concert. The performance marks Hill's first advertised acoustic set in more than two decades, harkening back to the intimate, stripped-down style of her 2002 "MTV Unplugged No. 2.0" era.

Tickets for the show are on sale starting at $200 right here, with Hill scheduled to take the stage at 7pm (doors will open at 5pm), although longtime fans know that her concerts have, at times, been subject to delayed start times, making the exact timing of her appearance anyone's guess. Given Hill's relatively infrequent performances and the unique acoustic format of this show, tickets are expected to move quickly. For fans considering making the trip out east, here's some advice: do it. This might just be one of the Hamptons' most memorable concerts of the summer.

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.) hosts 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. 

Rosie O'Donnell is coming home, and she has a lot to talk about. The comedian, actor and former daytime-TV powerhouse will bring her new solo show, Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge, to Off Broadway's Daryl Roth Theatre for a limited 12-performance run beginning July 22. The engagement follows sold-out runs at Dublin's Olympia Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where the deeply personal show earned enthusiastic audiences and strong word-of-mouth.

For New Yorkers, the hour-long production marks O'Donnell's first new stage show in nearly a decade. It also arrives at a particularly eventful moment in the Emmy winner's life. Written after her move to Ireland, Common Knowledge finds O'Donnell reflecting on everything from her Long Island childhood and the death of her mother to parenthood, politics and the realities of starting over in a new country.

This weekend, florists aren't the only ones arranging bouquets. Australian luxury label Maison de Sabré is taking over a Nolita storefront (262 Mott Street, to be exact) from July 24–26 for Bloom, a free pop-up celebrating its new Bloom Collection through flowers, fashion and a healthy dose of personalization. Inside, a floral atelier meets a luxury accessories playground, where visitors can customize handbags with sculptural flower charms, hand-knotted handles and leather accessories at the Bloom Charm Bar. You don't have to buy anything to browse or book a styling session, but don't be surprised if you leave suddenly convinced your bag needs a floral makeover.

The Catskills' funniest legacy gets a three-day revival when Borscht Belt Fest returns to Ellenville from July 24 to 26. Think of it as equal parts history lesson and comedy club, with stand-up, live music, Jewish food, archival exhibits, a kugel cookoff, vintage fashion and enough nostalgia to make your grandparents misty-eyed. Even better, many events—including the Makers Market and Sunday Street Fair—are free, making this an easy excuse to escape the city for a weekend of mountains, matzo balls and punchlines.

Forget the chicken fingers. The Brooklyn Children's Museum's annual Children's Food Festival turns curious eaters into pint-sized gourmands on Saturday, July 25. Kids can meet local farmers, learn how food gets from the ground to the plate, try hands-on cooking and art activities, and even discover the magic of composting. It's equal parts science lesson, cultural celebration and a delicious excuse to get your children excited about something green besides slime.