Laura Ratliff

One of Chicago’s most storied nightlife landmarks, the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, is in the headlines again. But don’t panic just yet, jazz lovers: While the historic Uptown building that houses the century-old club is officially for sale, the Green Mill itself isn’t going anywhere. The two-story structure at the corner of Broadway and Lawrence, where Al Capone once drank and Billie Holiday once performed, hit the market earlier this week. The building spans more than 21,000-square feet and includes eight commercial units, including buzzy neighbors like Birrieria Zaragoza and Le Nocturne. Current owner Dave Jemilo, who bought the Green Mill in 1986 and the building in 2021 for $5 million, hasn’t publicly commented on the listing. However, sources familiar with the sale told Crain’s that the club’s operations are expected to continue uninterrupted, according to Block Club Chicago. That’s welcome news for locals and tourists who flock to the velvet-draped venue for nightly jazz, slam poetry and a dose of Prohibition-era Chicago lore. The Green Mill has long been a living time capsule: Its curved bar, vintage booths and dim amber lighting conjure the days when mobsters sipped whiskey in the infamous “Capone booth,” strategically placed with sightlines to both exits. If that weren’t enough intrigue, there’s also the tunnel system under the club, a relic of its gangster past. Once used for bootlegging and backroom escapes, the underground lair is accessible by a trapdoor behind t

Just when you thought the turbulence at Newark Liberty International Airport might clear up, spoiler alert: It’s sticking around through 2025. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed on Friday that flight caps at the embattled New Jersey airport will continue into next year in an effort to ease congestion and prevent the travel chaos that’s plagued travelers since spring. Starting June 16, Newark will limit arrivals and departures to 34 per hour through October 25. Then, beginning Labor Day weekend, weekend flights will face even stricter caps of just 28 per hour from Friday night through Sunday until the end of the year—including the Thanksgiving and Christmas crunch. These changes come after a nightmarish season of delays and cancellations caused by a perfect storm of problems: an aging radar system, chronic staffing shortages at the Philadelphia air traffic control center (which now oversees Newark) and a two-month runway shutdown that only wrapped early last week. Six controllers even went on trauma leave during the worst of it. Fun! Despite the FAA's early spring attempt to minimize delays, the initial plan “was quite insufficient,” aviation analyst Jason Rabinowitz told Gothamist. Now, they’re playing catch-up with tech upgrades and more structured flight schedules. Some good news: That notorious runway rebuild finished nearly two weeks early, thanks to extra shifts and late-night asphalt marathons. And the FAA is finally modernizing outdated infrastructure by rep

If you’re landing at JFK this summer and are able to breeze through customs like a VIP, don’t thank your lucky stars—thank your face. American Airlines and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have rolled out a new facial recognition system at JFK’s Terminal 8, making it the latest major airport to join the Enhanced Passenger Processing (EPP) club. The system is designed to speed up reentry for U.S. citizens by verifying identities in seconds, not minutes, all without so much as pulling out your passport. Here’s how it works: A live image of your face is snapped and instantly matched to your passport photo stored in a government database. If it checks out, you’re cleared for reentry before you even reach a CBP officer. The whole thing is contactless, pre-enrollment-free, and very sci-fi, but in a “Jetsons meets JFK” kind of way. Roughly 45-percent of travelers at Terminal 8 are U.S. citizens, QNS reports, and they’re the only ones currently eligible for the biometric shortcut. While it’s separate from Global Entry, EPP promises a similar time-saving benefit without the hassle of interviews or membership fees. American Airlines is the first (and so far, only) carrier at the airport to implement the system, but officials say it’s part of a larger shift toward contactless travel. “EPP has already had an impact on the overall customer journey,” Sylvia Rodriguez, managing director of JFK Operations for American Airlines, told the outlet. Translation: Shorter lines, faster exits and

New York renters, rejoice—or at least take a deep breath. Starting Wednesday, June 11, the long-dreaded broker fee may no longer be your financial burden. That’s when the FARE Act, short for Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses, goes into effect, flipping the script on who pays the often astronomical broker fees in New York City’s rental market. The rule is simple: If a landlord hires a broker, the landlord pays the broker. If you hire a broker, you pay. That’s it. No more shelling out $5,000 (or more) to someone you never hired just to snag a 500-square-foot walk-up in Alphabet City. Of course, this is New York, so things are complicated. The Real Estate Board of New York is still fighting the law in court, arguing it violates free speech and contract rights. But unless a judge intervenes at the eleventh hour, the FARE Act is happening, and the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection is locked and loaded with fines. Brokers who break the rules could be hit with penalties starting at $750 and going up to $2,000. Renters, meanwhile, should see some relief. StreetEasy estimates that average upfront costs could drop by nearly 42%, from around $13,000 to $7,500. That could mean more people can move—and move more often. But don’t break out the Champagne just yet. Landlords are already adjusting. According to Curbed, some are raising rents, like the Clinton Hill owner who upped a one-bedroom from $3,200 to $3,600 on June 1. Others are cutting brokers out entirely and r

New York’s nightlife scene just got a bold new anchor. The Queer Nightlife Community Center (QNCC) has officially launched in East New York, becoming the first nonprofit venue in the city—and possibly the country—specifically designed for and by queer nightlife workers. Think of it as a community center that keeps the lights on when everyone else clocks out. Part performance space, part support hub, QNCC aims to serve queer, trans and low-wage creatives where they live and labor: after dark. RECOMMENDED: Iconic NYC queer club The Ritz is back in Hell's Kitchen with a major facelift Housed in a sprawling 28,000-square-foot warehouse complex at 100 Hinsdale Street, QNCC is a hybrid space for the city’s most electric subcultures. The two-story site—complete with two adjacent warehouses—sits at the edge of the East New York Industrial Business Zone and is easily accessible via the A/C and L trains. By day, the venue will host public health and workforce development services. By night, it’ll transform into a multi-sensory playground of performances, parties and programming. Backing the effort is a star-studded board of creative directors that reads like a who’s who of downtown cool: Ronan Farrow, Julio Torres, Telfar Clemens, Hari Nef, Ladyfag, Juliana Huxtable, Nita Aviance and more. The board of directors includes activists and academics like Madison Moore and Viva Ruiz, ensuring the center’s mission remains grounded in equity and access. At the helm are four nightlife heavyweig

If your dream home includes white picket fences, charming cafés and absolutely zero drama, start house-hunting in the Hudson Valley. According to a brand-new report from SafeWise, the safest towns in New York for 2025 are less Law & Order and more Gilmore Girls. Topping the list (yet again) is Bedford, Westchester’s reigning queen of quiet luxury, where the violent crime rate is so low it barely registers (0.1 per 1,000 residents, if you must know). Bonus points: The property crime rate is also basically nonexistent. Call it the Fort Knox of quaint commuter towns. Coming in at No. 2 is Carmel, where you’re likelier to trip over a chipmunk than encounter any real danger. Violent crime has dropped like a bad habit, and property crime has dropped a full notch from last year. If you need a safe spot to power-walk and gossip, Carmel's your place. At No. 3, Rye debuted with beach-town vibes and next-to-no crime. Not only is it the birthplace of Playland (the OG amusement park), but now it’s officially one of the best spots to raise kids, walk dogs or live your coastal grandmother fantasy in peace. Other Hudson Valley towns in the top 10 include Hyde Park (No. 5), East Fishkill (No. 6), Yorktown (No. 8) and Saugerties (No. 9). That’s right—seven of the top 10 safest towns in the entire state are all clustered just north of NYC. Apparently, safety loves a Metro-North line. Also on the list? Scarsdale (No. 7), which reported zero violent crimes. Not one. That’s either incredibly impre

Magnolia Bakery is giving its cult-favorite banana pudding a modern makeover with the debut of a brand-new Banana Pudding Bar, launching Thursday, June 12, at the bakery’s Upper West Side location. It’s the first and only set-up of its kind from the beloved bakery—and it’s designed for anyone who’s ever wished their pudding came with a few extra bells and whistles. Open daily from 12 pm to 8 pm at 200 Columbus Avenue, the Banana Pudding Bar lets dessert lovers choose from four made-to-order, over-the-top pudding creations. Each one is built fresh and layered with toppings, then served in a dome-lidded Magnolia-branded cup for $10.95. (Yes, the toppings are included in the price—this isn’t frozen yogurt!) The new lineup features bold spins on the original: There’s a caramel brownie version, packed with fudgy chunks and drizzled with salted caramel; a cookies-and-cream twist with crushed Oreos and mini chocolate chips; a red velvet remix that folds in cake pieces for a cocoa-rich bite; and a chocolate hazelnut combo with a swirl of Nutella and extra chips on top. (The latter contains nuts, so allergy-prone pudding fans, be warned.) Photograph: Courtesy Magnolia BakeryMagnolia Bakery Banana Pudding Bar Magnolia’s banana pudding is already legendary in its own right: creamy, nostalgic and Instagrammed into the dessert hall of fame. But this customizable bar marks a first for the brand, and it’s only available at the UWS shop, making it a true neighborhood exclusive. It also tap

Brooklyn’s iconic Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch is back—and looking better than it has in decades. After more than two years under wraps, the 132-year-old monument has emerged from an $8.9 million restoration project that scrubbed off a century of grime, patched up structural damage and gave the Arch a new lease on its very stately life. Unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday, the restoration marks the first major upgrade to the arch in nearly 50 years. Funded by mayoral allocations and led by the Prospect Park Alliance, the sweeping renovation tackled everything from replacing the crumbling roof to restoring its ornate bronze statuary and cast-iron spiral staircases. No detail was too small or too historically significant for the project. With the original blueprints lost to time, the Alliance’s in-house architects used radar and magnetic imaging to digitally map the arch’s guts before reinforcing it with steel supports and a new drainage system. Mortar samples were tested in labs to match the original 19th-century Rosendale cement, while damaged granite was replaced with stone from the same region in Maine as the original supplier. Energy-efficient lighting now spotlights the arch’s bronze masterpieces by Frederick MacMonnies and others, including the once-toppled quadriga sculpture that famously fell from the arch in 1976, a collapse that eventually sparked the founding of the Prospect Park Alliance. Photograph: Prospect Park Alliance But the glow-up didn

You don’t need a ticket to Barclays to feel the Liberty love this Pride Month. The reigning WNBA champs are taking over Brooklyn’s queerest watering holes with a series of official watch parties for their June away games—because when you’re part of the Liberty Bar Network, every game is home court. At Park Slope’s iconic Ginger’s Bar, Liberty fans will gather on Sunday, June 22, at 7 pm for the Seattle matchup, then again on June 25 (10 pm vs. Golden State), June 27 (10 pm vs. Phoenix) and June 29 (3 pm vs. Atlanta). And yes, Ginger’s still keeps it charmingly old-school: cash only, killer patio and the kind of regulars who will gladly talk playoff math with you over pool. Meanwhile, Bushwick’s delightfully chaotic The Bush will keep the energy high on Saturday, June 14, when the Liberty face Indiana at 3 pm. Known for rowdy dance nights, drag shows and a proudly unpolished vibe, The Bush is where Liberty fandom meets Bushwick queer energy in all its chaotic glory. View this post on Instagram A post shared by New York Liberty (@nyliberty) The watch parties are a natural extension of the WNBA’s longstanding ties to the LGBTQIA+ community. The Liberty’s upcoming July 25 Pride Night at Barclays is the official glitter-soaked centerpiece, but the league’s queerness isn’t confined to one game or one month. As Liberty coach Sandy Brondello told Sports Illustrated last year, “We celebrate [Pride] every single day of the week … all season long.” That ethos

Usually it’s the other way around: New York restaurants getting cloned in Las Vegas. But now, Vegas is sending one of its own to the Big Apple: Drai’s Supper Club, an offshoot of the celeb-loved brand with a three-decade legacy, is making its East Coast debut in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District on Wednesday, June 11. And if you’re thinking this is just a flashy outpost, you’ll stand corrected: It’s a full-on reinvention. Founded in L.A. in 1993 by nightlife impresario Victor Drai and frequented by everyone from Julia Roberts to The Weeknd, Drai’s built its rep as a see-and-be-seen spot for high-end dining and entertainment. Now, Victor’s 31-year-old son, Dustin Drai, president of Drai’s Management Group, is bringing the brand full circle with a glamorous New York City location that honors its glitzy West Coast roots while going all in on food, flair and jazz. “Bringing Drai’s to New York City with this supper club concept is incredibly meaningful for me,” Drai told Time Out. “It’s an homage to where our brand began, a return to the sophisticated dining experience that laid our foundation. We’re trying to get back to what we were, but with a more modern feel for today.” Photo: Joe Thomas Photograph: Joe ThomasDrai's Supper Club Set at 244 W. 14th Street, in the former home of iconic club Nell’s, the space has undergone a full gut renovation: walls have been opened, ceilings have been raised and the kitchen was rebuilt from scratch. Upstairs, guests will find an elegant din

Say goodbye to the Penn Station shuffle. For the first time ever, the national railroad has announced plans for a direct, one-seat (a.k.a. no-transfer) train route connecting Long Island to Washington, D.C., and other Northeast Corridor cities. The proposal would extend three daily Northeast Regional roundtrips east from Penn Station to Ronkonkoma, with stops in Jamaica and Hicksville, creating a seamless link between the island and the mainland U.S. Translation: No more juggling the LIRR, NJ Transit and the PATH just to get to Philly. The plan, first revealed at Amtrak’s May 22 board meeting and reported by Gothamist, wouldn’t launch until at least 2030 and hinges on several factors—namely, the completion of East River Tunnel repairs and the arrival of new Airo trains, which can run on both overhead catenary and third-rail systems. Nicole Bucich, Amtrak’s vice president of network development, confirmed the demand: “We're not just competitive, we're probably faster and we're getting people to the center of the city.” She added there’s strong interest in direct service from Long Island to D.C., Philadelphia and New Jersey. The proposed service is still in early planning but would run three daily off-peak trains east from Penn Station to Ronkonkoma, and three westbound trips back to D.C., totaling around five hours per ride. The federal government has listed the corridor as one of 69 priority routes for expansion, and Amtrak has applied for up to $500,000 in funding to conduct

Step aside, White Plains. Better luck next year, Hicksville. According to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, the top spot for best place to live in New York State for 2025–2026 goes to… Massapequa Park, a leafy Long Island village equal parts suburban idyll and commuter haven. Clocking in with an overall score of 6.1—and edging out bigger-name contenders like New Rochelle, Yonkers and, yes, even New York City itself in the process—Massapequa Park impressed on everything from household income and home value to education and access to green space. The village of just over 17,000 residents offers a median household income north of $167,000 and a relatively breezy 28-minute average commute (shoutout to the LIRR Babylon Branch). RECOMMENDED: These are apparently the three best NYC neighborhoods to live in, per a new study Tucked inside the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, Massapequa Park is a little slice of Americana with a twist: it’s affectionately nicknamed “Matzo-Pizza Park,” thanks to its large Jewish and Italian populations. Beyond the nicknames, it’s got actual charm—think historic Sears kit houses, family-friendly parks (like Brady and Mansfield) and a civic vibe that’s kept this incorporated village tightly run since 1931. The village itself is just 1.6 square miles, but Massapequa Park has deep roots, literally and figuratively. It was once home to the 19th-century Woodcastle Hotel resort, and its now-defunct airport, Fitzmaurice Flying Field, drew 100,00