Laura Ratliff

New York Music Month is turning the volume all the way up this June. The city’s official celebration of its music industry returns for its eighth year with a whopping 50-plus free events, ranging from high-wattage concerts and indie showcases to expert panels, artist workshops and a flagship industry conference. Produced by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the monthlong festival aims to both spotlight New York’s creative pulse and give artists and fans access to the kind of resources, insight and inspiration that could spark a career—or at least a killer playlist. RECOMMENDED: NYC's best summer music festivals of 2025 It all kicks off June 3 with the New York Music Month Conference at NYU Skirball. More than 40 speakers, including RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier, Variety’s Jem Aswad, and Taylor Hanson (yes, that Taylor Hanson), will unpack the music industry’s biggest shifts. Topics range from streaming fraud to merch monetization and the rise of music tech, with backing from sponsors including Sony Audio and Hudson House Distillery. But the programming doesn’t stop at the industry’s gate. NYMM Talks, a 36-event lineup, dives into the state of modern artistry with panels like “Cutting Through the Noise” (Empire), “Inside the Voice” (Abiah Institute of the Arts), and “Gender Equity in Musical Theatre” (Maestra). There are masterclasses, mentoring sessions, and roundtables with heavyweights like Young Guru, Neil Giraldo and Anthony Cruz. “NYMM is more than a celebration—it

New York City’s harbor is about to get a whole lot saltier. The 37th annual Fleet Week kicks off Wednesday, May 21, with the can’t-miss Parade of Ships sailing up the Hudson, ushering in a week of free events, ship tours, military demonstrations and brass-filled concerts across the five boroughs and beyond. The morning flotilla will feature two U.S. Navy ships, two U.S. Coast Guard cutters, five Naval Academy Yard Patrol boats—and for a little international flair, a Canadian and German ship or two. Expect to spot the spectacle from Battery Park to the George Washington Bridge between 7:45am and 11am. “This year marks the 250th birthday of the Navy and Marine Corps,” said Rear Adm. Carl Lahti, Commander of the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, in a release. “Fleet Week New York reminds us that behind every uniform is a story—of family, of sacrifice, and of service to something greater than self.” Starting Thursday, you can hop aboard the USS New York at Pier 88, USCGC Calhoun at Pier 90 or a whole flotilla docked at Staten Island’s Homeport Pier, including the USS Oak Hill, USCGC Sturgeon Bay and more. Ship tours are free, but arrive early—lines close before posted end times. Bring an ID, wear flat shoes and leave the open-toed sandals at home. Not into boats? Catch the Navy Band Northeast Brass Band playing Times Square Friday to Sunday evenings, and again on Memorial Day at Bryant Park. Bonus: The Marine Corps Band joins the party Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Silent Drill Teams fr

This summer, the New York Botanical Garden invites New Yorkers to step into the world of Vincent van Gogh—not through a frame on a museum wall, but through fields of sunflowers, sweeping bursts of color and sculptural still lifes that bloom around you. Van Gogh’s Flowers, on view from May 24 through October 26, transforms the Garden’s 250 acres into a kaleidoscopic celebration of the artist’s lifelong obsession with nature. This isn’t just a flower show. The exhibition brings Van Gogh’s expressive canvases off the wall and into the wild, pairing his iconic works with contemporary interpretations and living installations. At the heart of the experience is a towering field of real and sculptural sunflowers designed by French artist Cyril Lancelin, an immersive environment where guests can wander through Van Gogh’s signature motif on a monumental scale. Nearby, Graphic Rewilding’s massive floral artworks explode with color in the Conservatory and reflecting pools, paying tribute to the visual language Van Gogh used to translate nature into emotion. Photograph: Laura Ratliff Inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Kansas City sculptor Amie Jacobsen has reimagined Van Gogh’s still lifes in three dimensions, with supersized roses, irises and imperial fritillaries blooming in front of lush living backdrops. Each piece required months of effort—Jacobsen, who works with a small team of assistants, said it took about four months of nonstop work to complete the sculptures. “Creating a

Say arrivederci to one of Coral Gables’ most glamorous dining rooms: Fiola Miami is closing its doors this June. But don’t mourn too long—a Michelin-approved steakhouse is taking its place. Gioia Hospitality Group and Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants have officially ended their partnership, with the Fiola Miami management agreement set to conclude on June 30. The refined Italian destination, known for its standout pastas and award-winning wine cellar, will serve its last meal on Saturday, June 21. Incoming in its place is Daniel’s, a Fort Lauderdale steakhouse hit that’s heading south for an encore. Gioia founder Tom Angelo says the new Daniel’s outpost is in response to overwhelming demand. “We’ve had dozens of our regulars visit us at Daniel’s from Coral Gables and South Miami,” he told the Miami Herald. “They say this is the type of cuisine that doesn’t exist in the community.” The Miami edition of Daniel’s will include a larger kitchen, an expanded menu (Fiola favorites like the caviar carbonara and grilled tuna puttanesca are staying), a refreshed interior palette and an elevated bar scene featuring tableside martinis and a special burger-forward bar menu. TVs will also be added to make the bar feel more like a lively hangout, albeit one where you can order Dover sole. The transformation is being overseen by the Gioia team behind Daniel’s meteoric rise in Fort Lauderdale, which earned Michelin Guide recognition just six months after opening. That crew includes Chef Danny Gane

It turns out that “moving to Rochester” isn’t just something your college roommate said on a whim—it’s a winning strategy. According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, Monroe County (home to Rochester) ranked as the country's seventh hottest real estate market this spring. That’s out of more than 1,600 counties nationwide. The “hotness” ranking, which blends buyer demand with housing supply data like time on market and online views, crowned Monroe the most competitive housing market in New York State by a mile. And it’s not just Rochester. Several other Upstate pockets made the national top 100, including Broome County (Binghamton) at No. 23 and Livingston County (home to scenic Geneseo) at No. 27. So what’s making the Rochester area such a magnetic draw? In a word: affordability. While prices have jumped more than 20% in the past year, the median home still goes for around $225,000, which is pennies compared to New York City. But don’t mistake low prices for low stakes. The market is ruthless. Bidding wars are routine. Contingencies? Forget it. The average Rochester home is under contract in less than 10 days, and listings often receive dozens of offers. Zillow recently ranked Rochester hotter than San Francisco, Boston and New York on its Market Heat Index, clocking in at 146.5 (anything above 70 signals a strong seller’s market). Redfin reports that 68% of local homes sell in bidding wars, with average offers 8.7% above asking. With inventory tighte

Your kid’s iPhone might soon get schooled. Starting this fall, New York will require all public schools—from kindergarten through 12th grade—to ban smartphone use during the school day under a new statewide mandate announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The “bell-to-bell” rule aims to curb social media addiction, reduce classroom distractions, and address mental health concerns among students. School districts, including NYC’s, will need to come up with their own device storage plans, whether that means collecting phones in the morning, locking them in magnetic pouches, or stashing them in lockers. Either way, the days of TikToks in the bathroom and Snapchat under the desk are (mostly) over. The ban applies to smartphones and smartwatches but exempts basic flip phones and internet-free devices. Students who need their phones for medical monitoring, translation or as part of an IEP or 504 plan will still be allowed to carry them. The state will provide $13 million to help schools pay for secure storage solutions. The new policy follows a national wave of restrictions as educators, lawmakers and parents grapple with the toll of always-online teen life. A Pew survey found that nearly 90-percent of U.S. teens have smartphones, and usage has been linked—albeit inconclusively—to increased rates of anxiety and depression. In New York City, many schools already limit phone use, with middle schoolers stashing devices in cubbies and high schoolers carrying them in locked pouches. But enforcem

After four chaotic days of detours, delays and packed buses, Garden State commuters can finally breathe a sigh of relief: NJ Transit trains are back on track starting Tuesday, May 20. NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen announced late Sunday they’d reached a tentative agreement to end the strike, which began early Friday morning and brought rail service to a screeching halt across New Jersey and parts of New York state. The sticking point? Wages. “We were able to reach an agreement that boosts hourly pay beyond the proposal rejected by our members last month,” BLET’s Tom Haas said in a statement, noting that the new deal also aims to help with engineer recruitment and retention, without triggering fare hikes. While engineers returned to work Monday, NJ Transit used the day to inspect tracks, reposition trains and get everything back in sync before reopening the full schedule Tuesday morning (just in time for Beyoncé’s MetLife shows, ya-ya!). Until then, contingency bus service remains in place, including routes from Secaucus, Woodbridge, Hamilton and the PNC Bank Arts Center, with express service to Port Authority and PATH stations. Commuters at park-and-ride stops across North Jersey had mixed feelings Monday. Some, like Ari Zweig from Ramsey, took the reroute in stride. “A little more inconvenient, but not terrible,” Zweig told NorthJersey.com while boarding a bus in Ridgewood. Others, like Melissa Summers in Secaucus, arrived expecting train

Jacob Riis Park might have retro charm and sweeping ocean views, but for summer 2025, large swaths of this Queens beach will be off-limits—and not because of a new construction project or piping plover. A stretch of shoreline on the eastern side of the park has been deemed “extremely hazardous” by the National Park Service due to worsening erosion, deadly rip currents and nearly century-old wooden pilings lurking just beneath the surf. This is the same section where two teens drowned last summer and, more recently, a surfer died (per the New York Post) after being caught on the aging wooden jetties, known locally (and ominously) as “sticks.” Surfer and designer Walter Rodríguez Meyer described them to Gothamist as “razor sharp” with “exposed metal rods that hold them together.” His warning: remove them entirely, not just at Riis, but across the Rockaways. The Army Corps of Engineers spent $12 million last summer to replenish the beach with 360,000 cubic yards of sand. It didn’t last. Within months, the ocean swallowed the investment. And this year? There are no plans for a redo. Hector Mosley, a spokesperson for the Corps, confirmed to there will be no additional sand dumped and no active construction at Riis this summer. The danger isn’t just in the water. Up on land, things look just as bleak. A $2.7 million project to refurbish the walkway east of the 92-year-old bathhouse has stalled out, leaving the path half-done and new benches without seats. Sand now spills across par

Memorial Day is landing on Monday, May 26, this year, which means a long weekend for most, but a hard stop on your Monday errands. If you're planning to mail a package, hit the bank or ship something out, here's what’s closed, what’s kind of open and what you should absolutely check ahead of time. Let’s start with the obvious: Memorial Day is a federal holiday. That means post offices will be closed, and regular mail delivery is paused for the day. No stamps, no lines, no awkward “is this Priority Mail?” questions at the counter. If you're in a rush, Priority Mail Express will still run, but otherwise, your snail mail will have to wait until Tuesday. Banks? They're also closed. Major players like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Capital One, PNC and Truist are all taking the day off. So if you need to deposit a check or speak with a teller, do it before Friday, May 23—or be prepared to do it all from an ATM or your phone. UPS and FedEx are hitting pause, too. UPS won’t make regular pickups or deliveries on Memorial Day, and most UPS Store locations will be closed (though a few independently operated ones may stay open—check locally). FedEx is taking a similar approach: no standard pickup or delivery services, and FedEx Office locations may have modified hours. Both companies’ emergency services—UPS Express Critical and FedEx Custom Critical—will still run, but they don’t come cheap. While government buildings and the stock market will also be shuttered,

A streetwear mogul, a nightlife legend and a cocktail whisperer walk into a bar—no, it’s not a joke set-up. It’s the opening of Bar Benjamin, the newest velvet-rope cocktail destination from Ben Shenassafar, co-founder of The Hundreds, perched glamorously above the Benjamin Hollywood on Melrose. Now open at 7174 Melrose Avenue, the sultry, Art Deco–inspired bar is the sophomore effort from Shenassafar and partners Jared Meisler (who you might know from The Roger Room or Bar Lubitsch) and culinary consultant Kate Burr. The bar takes over the short-lived Moon Room; the space also previously housed Bathtub Gin. Now, the space has been given the same bistro-style interior decor as the Benjamin downstairs. Think: low wood-paneled ceilings, mohair booths, custom carpeting and a balcony bar with front-row views of the Hollywood Hills. You’ll enter under a glowing red neon “BAR” sign before ascending into a moody, cinematic cocktail lounge that’s more old-school elegance than influencer bait—though it’s both, let’s be honest. But the real scene-stealer here? The drinks. Created by cocktail dream team Jason Lee from n/soto and Baroo, and Chad Austin of Bootlegger Tiki, the menu is packed with technicolor creativity and boundary-pushing spirits. Our L.A. food and drink editor, Patricia Kelly Yeo, also agrees. “To be honest, the only thing that’s worth going out of the way for at the Benjamin are the drinks, so Bar Benjamin makes sense as a booze-first extension of the concept,” she add

Your morning commute just became a game of transit roulette. As of Friday, May 16, NJ Transit engineers have officially gone on strike, per The New York Times, halting all rail service on the country’s third-largest commuter system, including Metro-North’s west-of-Hudson lines. If you were hoping for a last-minute save, sorry: union leaders and NJ Transit brass failed to ink a deal before the deadline. When was the last time NJ Transit went on strike? That would be 1983, the year NJ Transit was born. Engineers picketed for 34 days back then. This current strike follows the rejection of a tentative contract by 87-percent of the union’s voting members. Negotiators had been at the table late Thursday night but walked away, depending on who you ask, just before a deal could be struck. Talks are expected to resume Sunday, May 18, with both sides still publicly claiming a resolution is “achievable.” What will the NJ Transit strike affect? Everything. No trains are running. Zip. Zilch. Nada. NJ Transit has about 172,000 daily rail riders and 350,000 total system riders. Without rail service, buses, light rail, PATH, ferries and rideshare apps are shouldering the chaos. Fans heading to MetLife Stadium for concerts from Shakira and Beyoncé may find themselves gridlocked—or stuck with sky-high Lyft fares. Meanwhile, daily commuters are being told to work from home unless absolutely necessary. NJ Transit strike dates The strike began at 12:01am on Friday, May 16. There’s no official end

Despite the ongoing closure of its iconic Great Lawn, Astoria Park is still ready to bring the summer heat—minus the turf. The Central Astoria Local Development Coalition has announced the return of its free summer programming lineup, with fireworks, concerts and outdoor movies slated to light up the season. The festivities officially kick off on Thursday, June 26 at 7pm with the 41st Annual Independence Day Celebration, culminating in a dazzling fireworks display over the East River near the Hell Gate Bridge. It's a beloved Queens tradition that draws hundreds each year, picnic baskets and glow sticks in tow. While the Great Lawn typically hosts the action, it has been off-limits since September 2023 due to a $6.5 million renovation project spearheaded by NYC Parks. The Astoria Park Great Lawn Pathways Reconstruction Project aims to improve accessibility and stormwater drainage, but not before wrapping up later this year. The initial event listings caused a mild kerfuffle after referencing the still-closed lawn as the location, but Central Astoria has since clarified that all summer programming will now take place on the North Lawn near Ditmars Boulevard. NYC Parks confirmed that they’re working with local groups to ensure events can go forward without a hitch. Next up is the Summer Concert Series, held every Thursday in July from July 10 through July 31. Shows begin at 7 p.m., and the vibe is strictly bring-your-own-blanket. Think Motown, rock tributes and family-friendly j