📌 From the archives: Missed these? Your neighbors didn't.

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⛺ Summer Camp 2026 Guide

🧩 Inclusive Camp Guide

🌸 Spring Has Sprung: UWS Spring Guide 2026

👗 Here's a sentence nobody expected to read this week: Gale Brewer and Anna Wintour were at the same party. Council Member Brewer attended the Met Gala Monday night in an all-white ensemble inspired by Robert Indiana, the man behind the LOVE sculpture you've walked past a thousand times. She wasn't alone — Council Speaker Julie Menin, Deputy Speaker Nantasha Williams, and Comptroller Mark Levine were all there too. NYC politicians at the Met Gala is apparently as normal as finding a Starbucks every 2.5 blocks. Bloomberg's a regular. De Blasio went once. Adams went once and wore "End Gun Violence" on the back of his tuxedo, because of course he did. Mayor Mamdani declined — turning down a free invite to the most exclusive party in New York, which is either principled or the kind of thing George Costanza would do and then immediately regret.

Brewer, who's been invited multiple times thanks to her Upper West Side district, said the mayor's absence was felt. "It came up a lot," she said. "It's all about economic development to me. Those clothes, somebody sold them. The hotels, the restaurants." She also ran into Stanley Tucci. "I like him," she said. "I like his Italy cooking program." Fair enough. The man turned pasta into a documentary and Nigel into a legend.

P.S. The exhibition behind the gala — Costume Art — opens to the public this Sunday, May 10, and runs through January. Nearly 400 objects. First show in the Met's brand new galleries. You don't need an invite for this part.

🗳️ In Issue #6, we told you your 6th grader might have more political power than you. Thousands of you voted. Gale Brewer's office just dropped the results: $1.125 million, four winners. The Riverside Park bathrooms are getting $300K — and if you've ever used them, you just exhaled. Ladder 25 on 77th Street is getting $400K for a new rooftop HVAC because apparently the people who run into burning buildings have been working without decent air conditioning. Three NYPL branches — St. Agnes, Riverside, and Lincoln Center Performing Arts — are getting $250K in tech upgrades. And John Jay College gets $175K for video boards in the gym. No ribbons. No press conferences. Just your votes turning into your tax dollars turning into things that actually work. Did your pick win? Did your kid's? Tell us [email protected] we want to know.

🏀 Remember when we said we weren't saying the word "championship" out loud? Still not saying it. The Knicks are up 2-0 on the 76ers. Game 1 was a blowout. Game 2 had 25 lead changes and a late 9-0 run that sealed it 108-102. Game 3 is tonight in Philly. The MSG watch party for tonight? Already sold out. Sunday's Game 4 watch party at 3:30pm still has tickets — $10, net proceeds to the Garden of Dreams Foundation. It's Mother's Day. Send the kids to MSG. Give mom the remote and three hours of silence. That's not a basketball play. That's a marriage play.

🏗️ The Children's Museum of Manhattan has been on 83rd Street since 1973. Every UWS parent knows the drill — it's raining, nobody's napping, you're out of ideas, you go to CMOM. Well, CMOM is getting an upgrade. Construction just started on a landmarked 1927 church at 361 Central Park West (at 96th) that's becoming a seven-story, 80,000-square-foot museum — more than double the visitor capacity. Rooftop terrace overlooking the park. Age range expanding from birth to 10. The $300 million project is backed by $50M from Laurie M. Tisch, $46.1M from the city, and $30M from Jackie and Mike Bezos. Opening 2028. The current museum stays open until then. Even if you don't have children, you live near people who do. This is infrastructure.

Opened: 🍫 Neuhaus — 189 Columbus Ave (at 69th). Belgian chocolatier, founded 1857, credited with inventing the Belgian praline. Nine NYC locations already, but this is the first in the U.S. to serve coffee and hot chocolate — and the first with outdoor seating. A storefront that will test every ounce of willpower you have on the walk home from Lincoln Center.

Opened: ☕ Luckin Coffee — 2799 Broadway (at 108th). The Chinese coffee giant's first UWS location, in the old Cascabel Taqueria space (empty since 2020). Everything goes through the app. No cash. No cards. No walking up to a human and saying "medium coffee, please." So yes, it's a coffee shop where you can't order coffee.

Opened: 👔 Collars & Co. — 182 Columbus Ave (at 69th). Guy hated wearing dress shirts under sweaters. Made a polo with a dress-shirt collar. Posted a TikTok. Went viral. Got a deal on Shark Tank from Mark Cuban and Peter Jones. Now he's on Columbus Avenue. First NYC store. The American dream, but with better collar stays.

Moved: 🥡 West Side Wok — 668 Amsterdam Ave (between 92nd & 93rd), inside Talia's Steakhouse. Kosher Chinese-Thai-sushi, moved from 691 Amsterdam. Same menu, same staff, different door. Two restaurants, one kitchen, zero signage. It's like a speakeasy, except instead of a password you just ask for lo mein at a steakhouse.

Opened: 🎉 Party City — inside Staples, 2248 Broadway (between 80th & 81st). Remember when Party City shut down and you had to explain to your kid why the balloon store was gone? It's back. Lower level of Staples. Store-within-a-store style. The party never dies. It just downsizes. But if you've been hoarding balloons from the dollar store like a survivalist, you can stand down now.

Opened (permanent): 🎁 Skipper's NYC — 2876 Broadway (between 111th & 112th). Started as a holiday pop-up. The neighborhood said stay. So they did. Toys, home goods, stationery, candles, puzzles — average price around $14. Official LEGO vendor. We didn't know that was a credential either, but here we are. Shop dog Ellie may be the best-looking employee on Broadway north of 110th. Mother's Day is Sunday — if you still need a card your mom will put on the fridge like you're seven, this is your stop. The store is open now. Grand opening block party May 23–24 to celebrate: ribbon cutting, ACC pet adoption fair, giveaways, storewide discounts. FREE and open to all.

Opened: 🍵 Royal Cathay Tea — The Shops at Columbus Circle, ground floor. Premium tea brand, opened May 1. For when you want to spend real money on leaves and hot water in a building with a Whole Foods in the basement. Mon–Sat 10am–9pm, Sun 11am–8pm.

💐Mother's Day weekend. Bring flowers. Buy yourself some flowers. Call your mother, or a friend. Rain on Saturday, sun on Sunday. 61°F and 69°F. God has opinions about your weekend plans and they involve giving Mom — or yourself — the better day.

🎭 Week of Wechsler at JCC Manhattan — May 7–15. 334 Amsterdam Ave (at 76th). The JCC's Wechsler Center is running nine days of FREE and PWYW programming — film talks, improv, fiction book clubs, chess, gardening on the rooftop, gallery tours, fitness classes, and a workshop on how to use WhatsApp, which frankly half the neighborhood needs regardless of age.

🇯🇵 Japan Day Parade & Street Fair — Sat May 9, parade at 1pm. Central Park West, 81st to 67th. Taiko drummers, martial arts, cosplay, and manga artist Acky Bright as Grand Marshal. Street fair on 72nd between Columbus and CPW opens at 11am goes until 5pm — dozens of Japanese food vendors. FREE. CPW closed from 86th to 66th, cross streets too, and the 1/2/3 are running reduced service. Plan accordingly. Or don't plan at all — nobody on the Upper West Side has ever successfully crossed Central Park West on a parade day. You just stand there, holding your groceries, watching some drummers go by, and accepting your fate.

🧶 Riverside Knitting & Crocheting Circle — Sat May 9, 10am–12pm. Riverside Library, 127 Amsterdam Ave.Every Saturday. Bring your own materials, your current project, and the quiet confidence of someone who makes things with their hands while the rest of us scroll. Skeins for days. FREE.

🎩 Mystery and Wonder Exhibition Tour — Sat May 9, 11am. Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza. Staff-led tour of the library's new exhibition on New York's golden age of magic, 1870s through 1930s. When a man could saw a woman in half and the audience would clap instead of calling 911. FREE.

Chopped Cheese vs. Cheesesteak: The Real Playoff

Leave it to the NY Post to turn a playoff series into a sandwich fight. With the Knicks up 2-0 on the 76ers, NYC restaurants are scratching the word "Philly" off their menus for the duration of the series. One Long Island shop renamed theirs the "Philly SUCKS cheesesteak." The staff was told to write it in marker on the printed menus.

If you need to do your own research, our neighbors on Reddit have thoughts: Andy's Deli (73rd & Amsterdam), Soha Gourmet (W 96th), Fresh Bites (82nd & Broadway), Simply Gourmet (84th & Amsterdam), and George Keeley's bar (Amsterdam & 83rd) — which isn't a bodega but apparently doesn't care.

Chopped cheese or cheesesteak? Reply and tell us. We'll share the results next week.

☀️ Summer on the Hudson launched last week. 400+ FREE events through September. Here's this weekend's highlight reel:

🐦 Birding Walk with NYC Bird Alliance — Fri May 9, 5:30–7pm. 120th St & Riverside Dr. FREE. Spring migration is peaking. Bring binoculars or just squint authoritatively.

🥋 Tai Chi — Sat May 10, 8–9:30am. Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument at 89th St. FREE. Every Saturday through August. You will feel ridiculous for about four minutes and then strangely at peace for the rest of the weekend.

🎵 Overlook Concerts: French Cookin' Blues — Sat May 10, 2–3:30pm. 116th Street Overlook. FREE. Blues Hall of Fame band playing above the Hudson. Bring a blanket. Pretend you planned this all along.

🔭 Star Gaze Saturday — Sat May 10, 8–11pm. Pier I at 70th St. FREE. Expert stargazers from the Amateur Astronomers Association help you find planets and constellations. Mother's Day eve under the stars. Not bad. Grab dinner at Pier I Cafe first — waterfront, casual, open seasonally.

🧘 Yoga with Meg SantaMaria — Tue May 13, 9:30am. 102nd Street Field House. FREE. Still going. Still free. Still the best deal on the west side.

🌿 Forest Therapy Guided Walk — Wed May 14, 10–11:30am. FREE. Led by certified Forest Therapy Guide Lori Klamner. Not a hike. Not a workout. Just trees doing their job and you finally noticing.

🎭 the Boy & the Ball — Fri May 8 – Sun May 10, 11am & 2pm daily. Clark Studio Theater, 165 West 65th St. A solo nonverbal show about a shy boy who makes a friend with the help of a ball. Created by Stephen Noonan and The PaperBoats in South Australia — he developed the piece by performing for preschoolers over six months, testing what actually held their attention, and building the show from their reactions. Ages 3+. Choose-What-You-Pay. Six chances to see it. Zero words spoken. Every parent's dream.

🧩 Puzzles & Play — Sat May 9, 10am–2pm. Riverside Library, 127 Amsterdam Ave. The children's room puts out a different surprise every week — board puzzles, floor puzzles, LEGOs, costumes, puppets, building toys. Show up at 10, leave at 2, and your kid will think you planned something. You didn't. The library did. FREE.

🌿 Nature Explorers — Sat May 9, 11am–12:30pm. 102nd Street Field House, Riverside Park. Arts, crafts, storytelling, and nature workshops for kids. Second Saturday of every month through September. The kind of thing your kid will remember and you'll forget to photograph. FREE.

🎨 CMOM Parents' Day Weekend — Sat & Sun, May 9–10. Children's Museum of Manhattan, 212 West 83rd St.The museum is celebrating the grown-ups all weekend. Hearts in Bloom Bouquets (ages 5+, 10:30am–12:30pm & 2–4:15pm, 1st floor): kids make 3D heart bouquets and write a message to a grown-up they love. Parents' Day Card Making (ages 4 & under, 11:15am–12:15pm & 2:45–3:45pm, 3rd floor): little ones draw a picture for their favorite person. The best Mother's Day gift is one that costs nothing and takes 45 minutes of someone else's supervision.

🎻 Bach Virtuosi Festival — May 12–19. UWS churches. Third year on the west side. Three concerts. Highlights: the Goldberg Variations on harpsichord (May 15) and a staged Coffee Cantata (May 19) — about a father trying to stop his daughter from drinking coffee, written in 1735. People have been having opinions about other people's caffeine habits for nearly three hundred years. All concerts 7:30pm. $50. FREE for students with ID.

🎶 New York Philharmonic at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine — Tue May 13. 1047 Amsterdam Ave (at 112th). Elgar's Serenade for Strings, Neruda's Trumpet Concerto, Beethoven's Symphony No. 2. Two debut artists — conductor Enluis Montes Olivar and trumpeter Pacho Flores. FREE. Currently Sold out — but any remaining tickets will be released here on Tuesday, May 12 at 12pm. If you don't get a seat, the audio broadcasts onto the Pulpit Green. The Statue of Liberty could fit under this dome. Your Tuesday night just got an upgrade.

🎤 An Evening with Tina Fey — Wed May 13, 7pm. Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th. Tina Fey interviewed by Alec Baldwin. Two icons, one stage, no script. 75 minutes. $75–$135. Sold out — waitlist only. If you're on the waitlist, manifest.

🩺 Wechsler Wellness Fair — Wed May 14, 10am–2pm. JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave (at 76th). FREE blood pressure, heart rate, and glucose screenings from Mount Sinai. Plus The Longevity Lab — eight back-to-back sessions on skin, gut health, mobility, brain health, and bone strength. The day caps off at 7pm with How to Die Young at a Very Old Age, a conversation with longevity researcher Dr. Nir Barzilai. PWYW. If you're going to age on the west side, you might as well get a strategy.

🔭 Neil deGrasse Tyson: Take Me to Your Leader — Wed May 21, 7pm. American Museum of Natural History, enter at 77th St. Tyson unveils his new book — a practical guide for your first alien encounter. Signed copy included with each ticket. Members only. We're telling you two weeks early because the man who explains black holes to civilians does not have trouble filling seats.

🩸 Blood Drive at P.S. 9 Sarah Anderson & The Center School — Sat May 9, 9am–3pm. 100 West 84th St, cafeteria. New York Blood Center. Walk-ins welcome, appointments still available. Bring photo ID. Must be 17+ (or 16 with parental consent).

🧹 Block Beautification Day — Sat May 16, 9am–3pm. 128 West 75th St. Manhattan 75 Block Association's annual spruce-up: mulch tree beds, clean streets, place signage. All supplies provided. Kids welcome. No registration needed — just show up. Stay for one shift or both.

Be the neighbor you think you are.

🚇 1/2/3 service changes this weekend. The 2 and 3 will make local stops at 79th and 86th in both directions all day Saturday and Sunday. The 1 is running every 8 minutes (sharing track with the express). The 2 and 3 are every 12 minutes. No changes to the C. B train doesn't run weekends, as usual. Per WSR.

🅿️ ASP suspended Wed May 14 — Solemnity of the Ascension.

Nick W."I want to move to the UWS from Long Beach because of The West Sider." — Nick, rent starts at 🤯. The newsletter is free. Choose wisely.

Katie C. "I started on Issue 4 and I have loved each one. Also, Broad Nosh is solid." — Katie, Broad Nosh is more than solid. We'd argue essential. See you at Issue 20.

People are stopping us at Gelateria Gentile and the playground to say they read this. That's better than any metric. Summer Guide is coming. A few more surprises after that. More soon.

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Ten issues. Still free. Still weekly. Still the only newsletter that tells you where to get a chopped cheese and where to hear Beethoven in the same email. Happy Mother's Day — or just happy Sunday, if that's more your speed. See you next Friday. We're not going anywhere. Neither are you.

— The West Sider