New York City

Gothamist reports: New York City’s first licensed, recreational marijuana dispensary opened in the East Village Thursday afternoon, and other legal shops will follow in the coming weeks and months. Nobody is pretending the ability to buy weed at NYC stores is exactly new. Mayor Eric Adams recently announced a crackdown on the multitude of bodegas and smoke shops selling unregulated …

Gothamist reports: The Waterford Crystal Ball sits on the roof of 1 Times Sq. all year long, mostly unnoticed despite being 12 feet in diameter and weighing some 11,875 pounds. This morning a crew of technicians went up there to update the ball’s party outfit with 192 new crystal triangles etched with a design evoking “The Gift of Love.” Times …

The New York Daily News reports: A Jewish man was attacked in Central Park by a suspect who screamed “Kanye 2024″ and antisemitic slurs as he jumped his victim in what police are investigating as a hate crime. The 63-year-old victim was walking through the park near Terrace Drive and East Drive about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when the assailant, described …

New York City’s Fox affiliate reports: The annual Halloween parade in New York City’s Greenwich Village returns Monday. Officially called the Village Halloween Parade, the event draws tens of thousands of costumed participants and even more spectators. The 2022 Village Halloween Parade will showcase hundreds of floats and puppets. The Brass Queens, an all-women eight-piece brass band from Brooklyn, will …

New York City-based circuit party promoter Ric Sena, the creator of the popular and long-running Alegria events, announced online today that this Sunday’s “Sunrise” party, which was scheduled to run from noon until 10PM, has been canceled due to “growing concerns about the monkeypox outbreak.” To my knowledge, this is the first event, gay or straight, that has been canceled …

The New York Daily News reports: Large swaths of Times Square were cleared out after a manhole explosion rocked Midtown Manhattan Sunday, police said. The blast erupted in a manhole on W. 43rd St. near Seventh Ave. just after 6:45 p.m., FDNY and Con Edison officials said. After the explosion — caused by a cable failure — a second and …

The New York Daily News reports: It’s the least likely venue for social distancing, but city officials say they are going ahead with plans to ring in the New Year the old-fashioned way — with crowds in Times Square to watch the ball drop. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced party planners to cancel the 2021 celebration, organizers are bringing the …

The New York Daily News reports: Coming soon to East Harlem: A subway more than 60 years in the making. The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to be signed by President Biden on Monday is poised to unlock billions for mass transit projects in New York — and MTA leaders are eager for money to jumpstart construction on an extension of …

Gothamist reports: Approximately 90 years after it first sprouted to life on a quiet piece of land in Elkton, Maryland, a 79-foot Norway Spruce arrived in Midtown Manhattan this morning to assume its role as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The tree, which weighs about 12 tons and made the 140-mile journey from Maryland on a 115-foot flatbed trailer, comes …