This Weekend Things to Do NYC
Mothers Day Weekend, Cannabis Parade, Indian Film Festival Begins, AIDS Walk in Central Park, TEFAF Show at the Armory, Municipal Art Society Janes Walk in all 5 Boros, Bronx Week & Piazza Belmont Returns, Arts & Craft Show & Carnival on Staten Island & Spring Festival at the LeFrak Center in Brooklyn, Mothers Day Stroll & Jackson Heights Orchestra in Queens
May 6, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Weather NYC. Cool with some rain and high winds on Saturday and both diminishing over Sunday. Details coming Shortly.
The photo at right was taken along 5th Avenue at about 50th Street during the Easter Bonnet Parade in Manhattan a couple of weeks ago. This week the Cannabis Parade marches down Broadway to Union Square Park.
Details on these and other events coming later today. It's 5.30 pm. I expect to have this completed by about 12 noon Saturday, hopefully sooner.
NYC Things To Do - All Boros
Mothers Day - scroll down for restaurant suggestions.
Saturday & Sunday, May 6 - 8, 2022 - Janes Walk - Various art, culture, history and architectural tours throughout all five boros of NYC. Organized by the Municipal Art Society. See https://www.mas.org/events/ for details.
Manhattan Things To Do
On Saturday, May 7, 2022 - parade from 11 am to 1 pm and after party from 1 pm - 5 pm. The Cannabis Parade festivities begin at 11 am at 32nd Street and Broadway. The parade begins at 12.30 pm from that location, marching south along Broadway to Union Square Park. Then, from 1 - 5 pm, there are performances and talks held in Union Square Park.
Friday - Tuesday, May 6 - 10, 2022 from 12 noon - 8 pm, except May 8 & 10 when it closes at 6 pm - TEFAF - The European Fine Art Foundation - Fine Art Show at the Park Avenue Armory at 643 Park Avenue in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Sunday, May 8, 2022 beginning at 10 am - AIDS Walk in Central Park. Their website doesn't give clear guidance on the route [they show a San Francisco map], but it seems to start at the 72nd east side entrance by Summer Stage and end at Rumsey Playfield. It's a four mile walk and you can sign up to run. Donations go to support the Gay Men's Health Crisis [GMHC].
Saturday - Saturday, May 7 - 14, 2022 - Indian Film Festival - At various times, mostly virtually, except the finale. For details see www.nyiff.us/
Janes Walk - see above. For fairs and farmers markets, see below.
Brooklyn Things To Do
Saturday, May 7, 2022 from 12 noon - 10 pm - Spring Fest. Food, music and entertainment. At the LeFrak Center in Prospect Park.
Janes Walk - see above. For fairs and farmers markets, see below.
Queens Things To Do
On Sunday from 11 am - 1 pm there's a Mothers Day Stroll on the 34th Avenue Promenade between 77th and 82nd Streets in Jackson Heights in Queens. Free. Organized by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group in conjunction with local government officials.
The Chocolate Factory theater has reopened at their new location at 38-33 24th Street in Long Island City in Queens. There are performances of Wings of Iron from May 18 - 21 and also of Diptych from May 19 - 21. Tickets are $25 and $20 respectively.
Jackson Heights Orchestra performs on Wednesday, May 11 beginning at 7.30 pm at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Jackson Heights, Queens. Tickets are a suggested donation of $20 / $10. For details see jhbg.org.
Janes Walk - see above. For fairs and farmers markets, see below.
Bronx Things To Do
Friday, May 5 - Sunday May 15, 2022 - Bronx Week - Multiple events at various locations in the Bronx. Details coming, but in the meantime see their website at www.bronxboropres.nyc.
The Stadium Fair usually held in May was moved to later in the season.
May 2022 EVERY weekend from 6pm to 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 1pm to 9pm on Sundays - Piazza di Belmont - Outdoor dining on Arthur Avenue which will be closed to vehicular traffic from East 188th Street to Crescent Avenue during the above mentioned times.
Janes Walk - see above. For fairs and farmers markets, see below.
Staten Island Things To Do
Wednesday - Sunday, May 4 - 8, 2022 there's an Arts & Crafts Show at the Staten Island Mall at 2655 Richmond Avenue in the Heartland Village neighborhood. The show includes ceramics, glass, metal work, wood, jewelry, painting and photos. Current Mall Hours are Monday-Thursday 11am-7pm, Friday-Saturday 10am-8pm, Sunday 11am-6pm - but vendor times will likely vary.
The Heritage Farm Stand Farmers Market opens Saturday, May 7 from 9 am - 3.30 pm near the Botanical Garden at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Randall Manor on Staten Island.
Janes Walk - see above. For fairs and farmers markets, see links below.
Scroll down to April 26th story for some restaurant suggestions for Mothers Day brunch or dinner. And some of the seasonal farmers markets reopen this month, so you use these links to find one in your neighborhood - Bronx Farmers Markets NYC, Brooklyn Farmers Markets NYC, Manhattan Farmers Markets NYC, Queens Farmers Markets NYC, Staten Island Farmers Markets NYC. And we'll have the weekend street fairs updated sometime tonight - Manhattan street fairs, Queens street fairs, Brooklyn street fairs, Bronx street fairs, Staten Island street fairs.
Have a happy and healthy Mothers Day weekend.
Off the Red Carpet at the Met Gala's Gilded Age
I was on the Street During the Met Gala, with the Regular Folks of NYC
May 3, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Last night I went to see the red carpet arrivals at the Met Gala. The Met Gala is considered to be one of the most fashionable events of the year. It's by invitation only, costs between $30,000 and $35,000 per ticket. The event is generally said to run from about 6 pm to about 9.30 or 10.30 pm.
This year the fashion theme was of the opulence, fame and excess that accompanied the Gilded Age. But you'd never have known there was a theme, because the rich and famous of today - as back then - pretty much do whatever they want. And many of their outfits said just that.
Many observers think that the red carpet arrivals are the height of the show ... but then many observers likely never make it inside the museum to see how the other half parties.
Since this was my first time covering this event, I arrived unfashionably on time, around 6 pm, taking the subway to 86th Street as my limosine driver had the night off, and it really didn't matter, because my limosine was in the shop for repairs.
I made my way south to 84th Street and headed west toward the museum, where NYPD barricades had cordoned off the area from both automotive and pedestrian traffic. I had a Press Pass, so I was waived through, like the folks who could prove they lived there.
In the photo above right you see the crowd of people along 5th Avenue watching as the celebrity fashionistas strut their stuff prior to entering the Met Gala Monday night. In the photo at right you see a fashionista ingenue taking photos of the celebrity arrivals at the Met Gala.
Along 5th Avenue there was a crowd, of mostly females, generally on the younger side, but of all ages, and some accompanied by men. I believe some of the girls had come from the nearby local private high schools, as they were still wearing their uniforms. All were excited to see the celebrities walk down the red carpet, positioned north of the museum along 5th Avenue with a canopy above them, as the weather today was a bit uncertain.
We were confined to the east side of 5th Avenue, able to see the celebrities strut their stuff across the street, separated not just by the barricades and avenue, but also an intermittent flow of traffic including buses and taxis, which I suspect were filled with folks wanting a closer view - albeit for a very short period of time.
I snapped a number of photos of the red carpet baggers, some of which I'll include in a video later this week. While I didn't get photos of these folks, later on television I saw Kardi B, Pete Davidson with the Kardashian sisters, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Billionaire Elon Musk, and numerousothers, as well as the honorary chairs, Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri and Anna Wintour.
I stayed for a while, before extricating myself from the crowd along 5th Avenue and making my way back to Madison Avenue. I started strolling down Madison Avenue which was also filled with mostly young women and girls. At 82nd Street I was surprised to see that this street - which leads to the entrance of the Metropolitan Museum - was not cordoned off.
A crowd had filled the street, getting tighter and more densely packed, the closer one came to the 5th Avenue entrance. A number of people came dressed for the occasion, including a couple in some Halloween like outfits [not shown here but possibly coming in the video], as well as those showcasing their own sense of style.
In the photo at right, you see the crowd on 82nd Street filled with young New Yorkers interested in fashion and celebrities, who have a bit of fashion sense of their own.
The weather was cool, but not wet, and so it was just shy of a perfect night, depending on what you were wearing. The Met Gala began in 1946. An estimated 400 people attend, and tables cost between $200,000 and $300,000. The proceeds from the fashion event, estimated to be about $60 million, go to the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute. Not a bad way to spend a Monday evening, even for the very wealthy of New York City.
As it was a nice evening I walked part of the way home, before heading back down into the subway where my chariot awaited, whisking me under the river and through the woods, to Queens.
This Weekend Things to Do NYC
Nice Weather Weekend for the 5 Boro Bike Ride NYC, Yankee Peddler Day at Historic Richmond Town Staten Island, Night Food Market & Orchid Show in the Bronx, May Day Festival & BAM Queer Film Weekend in Brooklyn, International Cultural Festival Queens & Dance Fest at Wolman Rink & Met Gala Monday in Manhattan ... and more ...
April 29, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Weather NYC. The temperature highs will rise from the low 60's on Friday to the high 60's on Saturday and Sunday. The temperature lows will rise from the low 40's on Friday, to the high 40's on Saturday to about 50 on Sunday. The humidity will be very low on Friday, ranging from 10% to 40%, rising to 30% - 45% on Saturday and then 35% to 55% on Sunday. The wind will finally settle down to 5 - 10 mph throughout the weekend. No rain is expected this weekend.
In the photo at right are cyclists participating in the 5 Boro Bike Ride as they make their way through Queens in a prior year. The cycling event returns Sunday. See details below.
Manhattan Things To Do This Weekend NYC
There's a Coney Island Polar Bear Club event on Saturday & Sunday at Wolman Rink in Central Park from 2 pm - 10 pm. It's a charity event and tickets aren't cheap at $191 / person. See www.wolmanrinknyc.com for details.
The 5 Boro Bike Ride returns to all five boroughs of NYC on Sunday. Details in Manhattan street fairs.
The Met Gala returns to the Metropolitan Museum on Monday.
Click here for Manhattan Farmers Markets.
Queens Things To Do This Weekend NYC
Sunday, May 1, 2022 from 12 noon - 6 pm - Steinway Street Cultural Festival along Steinway Street from 28th to 34th Avenue. Sponsored by Central Astoria LDC.
The art show entitled “Blood is Thicker than the Water that Separated U.S.,” will be on exhibit at the Lewis Latimer House Museum, 34-41 137th Street in Flushing until July 3rd. Free tickets are available to the public at www.lewislatimerhouse.eventbrite.com.
Click here for Queens street fairs and here for Queens Farmers Markets.
The photo below right was taken on the Upper West Side of Manhattan this week. Folks were wearing coats, as the wind was blustery most of the week, and the temperatures were a bit below normal. Better weather is on the way this weekend.
Brooklyn Things To Do This Weekend NYC
There's a May Day Festival of Resistance is being held in Maria Hernandez Park at Knickerbocker Avenue and Suydam Street on Sunday from 1 - 7 pm by MayDaySpace.org of Bushwick. I think it's free.
In the Peter Jay Sharp Building at the Brooklyn Academy of Music aka BAM at 30 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn, they will be showing various films with a queer theme all weekend. Tickets [$16 / $11] may be purchased online at www.bam.org.
Luna Park Amusement Park at Coney Island opened on April 2nd, for the 2022 season.
The Greenpoint Terminal market opens Sunday, as does the Bat Haus CoWorking Space Spring Market - Click here for details - Brooklyn street fairs
Click here for Brooklyn Farmers Markets.
Bronx Things To Do This Weekend NYC
The Bronx Night Market, an outdoor food court, returns Saturday evening. See details in Bronx street fairs.
The Orchid Show at the NY Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Bronx began in late February and continues through May 1.
Click here for Bronx Farmers Markets.
Staten Island Things To Do This Weekend NYC
Yankee Peddler Day returns to Historic Richmond Town on Sunday from 9.30 am - 3.30 pm. The market generally invites sellers to display goods from early America, as well as other items. See details in Staten Island street fairs.
The Conference House in Tottenville opened for the season on April 23rd and will be open Saturdays and Sundays for tours from 12 noon - 4 pm. They're located at 298 Satterlee Street on Staten Island.
Click here for Staten Island Farmers Markets.
Have a nice weekend.
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This Weekend Things to Do NYC
Very Nice Earth Day Weekend Ahead, Orthodox Easter Weekend, Passover ends Saturday, NY Auto Show ends Sunday, Persian Day Parade Sunday, Orchid Show in the Bronx; Luna Park Open at Coney Island, BAM, Andy Warhol exhibits in Brooklyn; Museums in Queens & Earth Day Celebration on Staten Island Saturday
April 22, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Weather NYC. The temperature highs will be in the 60's and the temperature lows will be around 50. No rain. Humidity will range from 35% - 45% on Friday, 45% - 65% on Saturday and 55% - 65% on Sunday. Winds will be 8 - 12 mph Friday, dropping to 5 - 8 mph for the rest of the weekend.
In the photo at right is a woman dressed up for the annual Bonnet Parade held last Sunday in Manhattan. The event has morphed from a genteel event, where women dressed up fancy for and after Sunday Mass, to something more of a themed costume party, where both men and women dress up in their Easter best.
NYC Things To Do - Earth Day & Greek Orthodox Holy Friday
Today is Earth Day. Early this morning some folks from Extinction Rebellion protested at the printing plant in College Point that prints the NY Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Two of the three newspapers are controlled by Australian born Oligarch and climate information distortionaist and minimizer, Rupert Murdoch, who also controls Fox News and owns a large influential share of ABC News.

This is also Greek and Eastern European Orthodox Christian Easter Weekend. One of my favorite Greek traditions is where the Greek parishoners reenact part of the Passion of the Christ in a march through the street. A man carries the cross and a number of men carry the epitaphios, which is a flowered funerary cask. You can view this on the streets of Astoria in multiple locations, including near St. Demetrios Cathedral, in Astoria. In Manhattan you can attend a similar event at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church at 143 East 17th Street only blocks away from Gramercy Park. Generally the masses begin at 7 pm and the processions begin at 8 pm, sometimes a bit later. And then, of course, on Sunday there's an Easter mass.
The photo at right was taken in an earlier year of the Holy Friday procession with the epitaphios in Astoria.
And Passover, which celebrates the Jews freedom from slavery thousands of years ago, ends Saturday.
A number of farmers markets are already open for the season, with many others to open over the coming months. We finished updating them this past week so you can view the markets in each of the boroughs, using the link(s) included in the report below.
Manhattan Things To Do This Weekend NYC
On Sunday, April 24th beginning at 11 am, the Persian Day Parade kicks off along Madison Avenue from 39th Street down to Madison Square Park. Usually there's a festival of sorts after the parade.
NY Auto Show opened at the Javits Center on Friday, April 15th and runs through Sunday, April 24th. Tickets are $17 adult / $7 child at www.autoshowny.com.
There are a couple of street fairs in Manhattan.
Queens Things To Do This Weekend NYC
The photo at right was taken in Queens last week, where you can see the trees - all white - budding. This weekend, they've turned a bright green.
The art show entitled “Blood is Thicker than the Water that Separated U.S.,” will be on exhibit at the Lewis Latimer House Museum, 34-41 137th Street in Flushing until July 3rd. Free tickets are available to the public at www.lewislatimerhouse.eventbrite.com.
The Museum of the Moving Image is hosting an exhibit that began December 18, 2021 and runs through May 15, 2022 entitled Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen. The exhibit explores how fact becomes distorted and fictionalized via the moving image screen. At the centerpiece of it all is the distortion of the Apollo 11 moon mission. The museum is open Friday from 2 - 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon - 6 pm. For details and tickets see www.movingimage.us. Admission $15 / $11 / $9.
There are a couple of street fairs in Queens.
Brooklyn Things To Do This Weekend NYC
The photo at right was taken from the subway in Brooklyn, showing the downtown, where highrise buildings have been rising into the sky like weeds with each passing year.
The Brooklyn Museum at 200 Eastern Parkway has about a dozen exhibits running at present. The two featured exhibits focus on Andy Warhol's Revelation print which explores the artist's religious faith [closes June 19, 2022]. The other is one entitled A Crack in the Hourglass, An Ongoing COVID-19 Memorial which grapples with the incredible loss of life during the pandemic [closes June 26,2022]. Admission is $25 / $16 / $10 and CoVid protocols remain in effect. Details and tickets at www.brooklynmuseum.org.
Luna Park [amusement park] at Coney Island opened a few weeks ago for the season.
In the Peter Jay Sharp Building at the Brooklyn Academy of Music aka BAM at 30 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn, they will be showing various films all weekend starting at 1.15 pm, with the last showtime at 9.40 pm. CoVid protocols remain in effect and tickets [$16 / $11] may be purchased online at www.bam.org
Bronx Things To Do This Weekend NYC
The Orchid Show at the NY Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Bronx began in late February and continues through May 1.
The photo at right was taken of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on home opening weekend. The season has begun, bringing with it, a certain rhythm to the borough. The Yankees have a 7 - 6 record and are one game out of first place, after Toronto. The Mets meanwhile are in first place with a 10 - 4 record, which is 'amazing'. As there are 162 games in the season, there's plenty of time where just about anything can happen.
Staten Island Things To Do This Weekend NYC
On Saturday there's an Earth Day celebration from 11 am - 3 pm at Fresh Kills Park at 2240 Richmond Avenue on Staten Island. There are a number of activities for both kids and adults including composting, planting, nature walks, yoga and storytimes. It's free. www.freshkillspark.org.
I may find a bit more to add as the weekend progresses, but in the meantime, have a nice weekend.
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April 8, TTDo
The Yankees May Have Lost Sunday, but Not Because of Their Fans
I Encountered Yankees Fans on the #4 Train on Their Way to the Game
April 13, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC.
In the photo at right you see a group of Yankees fans on their way to the game on Sunday, April 10th. While the game was scheduled to begin at 8 pm, these super fans were on their way to the ball park at 4 pm.
They were brimming with enthusiasm, as the Yankees' 2022 season was off to a good start, beating their arch nemesis, the Boston Red Sox, in the season opener on Friday and again on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Red Sox rallied late in the game and won 4 - 3.
The video shows a few scenes of this group's talent and enthusiasm for the Yankees.
Russia Ukraine War Report Series - March - May 2022

Updated April 4, 2022 / International News NYC / Gotham Buzz.
This section contains our Russia Ukraine War Report Series which we began in March of 2022. We hope it will end by the end of May, but who knows how long it will take the Russian people to rise up against the oppressive Putin dictatorship / regime.
- CLICK here to read our reports about the Russia Ukraine War including weapons, culture, politics, geography, the Black Sea and Russian Navy, Putin's Palace, Yacht and Corruption, the economic, trade and international relations issues and so forth.
How Mentally Ill is the Australian Born Oligarch Rupert Murdoch?
Murdoch & his Rubber Stamp 'WSJ Editorial Board' Continue to Push the Bounds of Indecency with this Image
A Former Prime Minister of Rupert Murdoch's Native Australia called Murdoch a 'Cancer on Democracy', Murdoch was Called 'Unfit to Run an International Company' by a Member(s) of British Parliament, Murdoch's Company was Alleged to have Hacked the Phones of the Victims of 911 for Headlines, as well as the Phone of a Mother Whose Daughter was Murdered [also for headlines], he's been Accused of Government Corruption Many Times, and for Inciting the U.S., Britain & Australia to Invade Iraq for [Oil and] Ratings
April 4, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
You don't have to have a journalism degree to see what's wrong with this image.
You don't have to be a member of an Editorial Board of one of the nation's three daily newspapers to see what's wrong with this image.
You don't need to be an editor to see what's wrong with this image.
What you do need is some sense of decency.
Which is what is totally lacking in the character of the man who controls the Wall Street Journal and it's Editorial Board - Australian born Oligarch, Rupert Murdoch.
After researching and watching him since 2015, I have come to the conclusion that he is easily a sociopath [weak moral compass], and more likely a psychopath [unstable and aggressive personality disorder].
See for yourself on these two WSJ pages before they hopefully have the decency or shame to take it down.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-told-the-truth-putin-has-to-go-russia-ukraine-invasion-leader-free-world-regime-change-11648998065?mod=hp_opin_pos_3
https://www.wsj.com/articles/strategic-defeat-putin-russia-blinken-biden-zelensky-bucha-war-crime-kyiv-mass-grave-atrocities-united-nations-un-human-rights-shelling-odessa-ukraine-11649016865?mod=hp_opin_pos_1
It's worth reminding people that this man, Rupert Murdoch, controls or wields incredible influence in about half of our daily national news media [Fox, NY Post, WSJ & ABC News], which is why things have become so messed up since he arrived on our shores. But the TV newspeople who do and don't work for him, fail to inform the nation, by calling him out.
I believe most Americans don't even know who he is [somebody needs to conduct a poll]. And he greatly influences - if not controls - the national conversation.
Part VI of the Ukraine series coming this week.
Weekend Things To Do NYC - March 2022

This section contains our Weekend Things To Do reports for the month of March 2022.
- CLICK here to read our reports about things to do each weekend in NYC in March of 2022 - including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx & Staten Island.
Ukraine Part V: Adding Context to the Shallow Reporting of TV News
In Part V We Delve into the Russian Politics Leading up to the War in Ukraine, the Role of the Russian Mob and Oligarchs and a Look at NATO Expansion & What's Happening at the Peace Negotiation Table in Turkey
March 28, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
To Understand Russia Today, a Little Background is in Order - Unfortunately the Incredibly Lame TV News is Failing Miserably at Providing it
In the graphic at right is the head of the Russian mob, Semion Mogilevich. Mogilevich, a Ukrainian, rose in the criminal world in Russia reportedly starting in the 1980's. In the early 1990's as the government of the Soviet Union was collapsing, Mogilevich and Vladimir Putin became fast friends.
At that time, the Russian mob began spreading like cancer to the nations of Eastern Europe, as well as to Britain and the U.S.. The spread of the Russian mob was fueled by disgruntled Russian veterans from the Afghanistan War, and by ill-gotten gains, some of which allegedly came from an incredibly corrupt Russian government which was first headed by Boris Yeltsin, and then his hand-picked successor, Vladimir Putin.
One of Mogilevich's under bosses met with Donald Trump as early as 1984. According to a January 12, 2019 report by Vox,
"... The very first episode that's been documented, to my knowledge, was in 1984 when David Bogatin -- who is a Russian mobster, convicted gasoline bootlegger, and close ally of Semion Mogilevich, a major Russian mob boss -- met with Trump in Trump Tower right after it opened. Bogatin came to that meeting prepared to spend $6 million, which is equivalent to about $15 million today ... Bogatin bought five condos from Trump at that meeting. Those condos were later seized by the government, which claimed they were used to launder money for the Russian mob ..."
The Primary Differences Between a Free Society & a Dictatorship - Truth & Transparency vs Deception & Corruption
Except for the most corrupt of people, most humans - given the choice - would like to live in a democracy: 1) in a society governed by laws, 2) where free speech doesn't get you 15 years in prison or a death sentence like it does in Russia today, 3) in a nation where you get to choose your leaders, and 4) can non-violently fire your leaders when they implement bad policies for the nation. That's what we have here in America, and that's what most of the other NATO countries offer their people.
At present Russia is the bizarro rendition of the free, democratic nations of NATO. Putin's changing of the Russian Federation Constitution in 2020 essentially enables him to hold government power for the rest of his life [until 2036, when he's age 83]. And the imprisonment and multi-year sentencing of Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny in 2021 / 2022, shows that Russian rule of law is merely a charade. Reportedly between 13,000 and 15,000 Russian peaceful protesters have been jalied since the Russian Invasion of Ukraine began in late February of 2022. Unfortunately, aspirations of becoming a free society, where the people are able to pick and choose their own leaders, continues to elude Russia, as the corruption in the Russian Federation electoral process, makes voting seem a useless waste of time.
For these and other reasons, Ukraine embarked on the path toward joining NATO since the collapse of the Soviet Union. And, as described in Part II of this report series, that's also why the Ukrainians have been seeking independence from Russia for at least a century - if not longer - prior to this most recent Russian invasion.
From Gorbachev to Yeltsin - Before, During & After the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Mikhail Gorbachev was the Secretary General of the Communist Party from 1985 to 1990. During his terms in office, he was a reformer who advocated for glasnost, which was the opening up of Russian society. Through glasnost, the government was more consultative with the people with respect to the policies it pursued, and there was wider dissemination of information. For the first time in about two thirds of a century [since the Russian Revolution] the Russian government loosened its restrictive control over the populace. Gorbachev also decided that Russia needed to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989 [see our report on Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan which compares the two], since it was a winless war. In 1979, Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev had also expressed an openness to reforming the Russian government's role in society.
In November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Germany and Russia negotiated for East Germany's independence from the Soviet Union. In March of 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev became the first President of the Soviet Union. He continued trying to move Russia into the modern world via Perestroika, which at first was about automation, but grew to entail economic and social reforms. Some of the Eastern European nations, like Lithuania, began to push for greater autonomy from the Soviet Union. To continue on the reform path, Gorbachev needed money, and this is where the west failed Russia during this transition.
By failing to help Gorbachev, by keeping Russia frozen out of the G7 which would have given him access to the liquidity of global markets, things worsened in Russia. Eventually a group of eight leaders of the Communist Party held Gorbachev under house arrest while he was vacationing near the Black Sea, in an attempt to stage a coup. Gorbachev refused to make / legitimize the governmental changes they demanded.
Back in Moscow, Boris Yeltsin, President of the Soviet State [which if I understand this correctly that Soviet state is now Russia], stepped in with troops loyal to him and protesters to stop the storming of the Russian Parliament and to save the government of Gorbachev's Soviet Union [which included all other Soviet republics at the time as well as Yeltsin's Soviet State]. By beating back the coup initiated by the members of Gorbachev's own Communist Party, Yeltsin ascended to the top spot. But not until after some changes were made.
Things To Do in NYC This Weekend
First Day of Spring, Half Marathon, St Pat's Parade & Andy Warhol exhibit in Brooklyn, Astoria Pawrade & Deepfake at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, St Pat's Parade, Orchid Show & Storming of the Capitol in the Bronx, Cicadas on Staten Island & Photo Exhibit in Manhattan

Updated March 20 / March 18, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC. Report & photo by Michael Wood.
Weather. The temperature high will be 70 on Friday descending to about 60 on Saturday and Sunday. The temperature lows will be 50 on Friday and Saturday, dropping to the low 40's on Sunday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Friday and Saturday, rising to 10 - 15 mph on Sunday. Humidity will range from 60% - 70% on Friday, 80% on Saturday and 60% - 50% on Sunday. About a third of an inch of rain is expected Saturday before 12 noon and after 6 pm. As of this post, during Saturday afternoon the probability of rain falls to 35% or less. The rest of the weekend may have some clouds, but no additional rain.
Sunday is the first day of Spring. Hooray.
The photo at right was taken Sunday morning 3/20/22 along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, as 25,000 half marathoners made their way along the 13.1 mile couse toward the Manhattan Bridge on their way to Central Park. We posted the event below on Friday.
Things to do in Queens This Weekend
There's a pet parade in Astoria on Sunday from 12 - 2.30 pm organized by the Central Astoria Development Corporation in tandem with the Steinway Astoria Partnership along 31st Avenue between Steinway and 38th Street. Free.
The Museum of the Moving Image is hosting an exhibit that began December 18, 2021 and runs through May 15, 2022 entitled Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen. The exhibit explores how fact becomes distorted and fictionalized via the moving image screen. At the centerpiece of it all is the distortion of the Apollo 11 moon mission. The museum is open Friday from 2 - 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon - 6 pm. For details and tickets see www.movingimage.us. Admission $15 / $11 / $9.
The photo at right was taken at the Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens. The exhibit is very topical given what's going on between Russia and the Ukraine, as well as generally, on TV and via social media. The exhibit examines the challenges people face in being able to determine whether what they see on screen is real or fake. They start around WWII, include the Kennedy assassination video, a fake video 'proving' the lunar mission was faked, another video 'proving' that 911 was a 'false flag' operation and then a whole group of videos - both real and fake - of events of the past few decades. It's definitely worth the visit before the exhibit ends in May.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on things to do this weekend in NYC March 18, 2022 - also Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx & Staten Island.
Weekend Things To Do NYC - February 2022

This section contains our Weekend Things To Do reports for the month of February 2022.
- CLICK here to read our reports about things to do each weekend in NYC in February of 2022.
Ukraine III: Adding Context to What You're Seeing on the TV Networks
In Part III We Delve into the Threat of WWIII, the Russia / China Pact of February 2022 to Keep Dictators Putin & Xi Jinping in Power is Reminiscent of '1939 Pact of Steel' by Mussolini & Hitler, Putin's Alleged Corruption & Yacht, and the Putin-Pleasing-Propaganda-Press in America
March 14, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Recap of Part I
In Part I, two weeks ago, I looked at the relative sizes of the economy, population and industries of Russia vis a vis Ukraine. This was followed by a very short topline summary of some of the politics, culture and fluctuating borderlines of the Ukraine. And lastly, talked about how Fox News, the Wall St. Journal and the NY Post which are owned and controlled by a fascist-leaning billionaire from Australia [Rupert Murdoch], appears to be aiding and abetting Putin's War by continually bashing the Biden Administration, through his cadre of propagandists.
In the graphic at right, put together by the BBC in London, you can see that western Ukraine has largely been left alone, while the war rages in the East mostly along the Russian border. Western forces should be sure to provide Ukrainian forces with sea and river mines to thwart Russia's water borne assault capabilities along the Black Sea and the Dnieper River. They should also give consideration to bombing Putin's Palace at Gelendzhik on the Black Sea in order to publicize the alleged corruption of Putin and the Oligarchs as one of the reasons that the Russian forces have fared so poorly and why Putin - like Benito Mussolini - is reportedly asking [begging] Xi Jinping for financial and weaponry handouts. Both Putin and Xi deny the reports.
Recap of Part II - Putin's Alleged Palace & Corruption Impact on Russian Military, Morale of Russian Military - Half of Whom are Poor Peasant Conscripts - the Economic & Military Value of the Ukraine to Russia & the Fighting Heritage of the Cossacks
In Part II, a week ago, I talked about how Australian born billionaire, mass media propagandist Rupert Murdoch and dictator Vladimir Putin's tactics share many similarities. They are differentiated in that Rupert Murdoch uses economic muscle and propaganda to get indirect control / influence over the corporations and governments he wants to plunder. While Vladimir Putin also uses economic muscle and propaganda - but enhances it with a Nazi tactic by adding violence and force to the mix - to obtain direct control over the corporations and governments he wants to plunder. All of these tactics were used by the Nazis to gain control - first of Germany and then a significant portion of Europe.
The graphic at right shows Rupert Murdoch and Vladimir Putin during happier times. Eventually Murdoch exited Russian media under duress, likely because Putin realized how Murdoch manipulated his audiences. A Russian Oligarch, Boris Berezovsky, was said to be a Murdoch friend who at one time controlled a lot of Russian media. Berezovsky was believed to have been murdered, but it could not be proven, so the coroner left the verdict open. So why does Murdoch media appear to favor Putin? Fear? Because both have fascist tendencies? Or both?
Then I delved into the importance of the Dnieper River, which flows south from Smolensk in Russia through the Ukraine and into the Black Sea. It's important because currently Russia has limited access to the world waterways via the Baltic Sea which is treacherous for much of the year, and the Black Sea which is a body of water shared by many nations, including many of the former Soviet Republics, including Ukraine.
Conquering Ukraine would give Russia a broader, more defensible / offensible presence on the Black Sea. This is likely of great concern to other Black Sea nations such as Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Georgia. All but the last two are NATO member nations. And the Ukraine was working toward becoming an eligible member.
I also talked about Putin's $1.4 billion mansion at Gelendzhik, which is a beachside tourist resort in Russia along the Black Sea. Putin denies he built the mansion with public funds, although a number of military observers believe that Putin and the Oligarchs looted the Russian Defense budget, which is why Russia has performed so poorly in this war. Also, about half of the Russians of their 600,000 fighting force were young men conscripted to die for Putin's War in a manner not unlike what happened to the poor Russians during WWI when the Czars sent them to fight for the Czar's throne.
In the graphic at right, an American cartoonist shares a worldwide point of view that Putin is a war criminal.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the Russian Ukrainian War - Russia China Friendship Pact 2022, 1939 Pact of Steel Hitler Mussolini, Putin Yacht and Corruption, Australian Oligarch Murdoch's Mass Media Distortions in America.
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NYC News Updates, Chinese New Year & Micaiah Carter @ SN37
MTA Ridership & Crime, NYC Vaccination Rates & Some NYS Mask Mandates End & is Biden Doing the Right Thing in Ukraine?
February 22, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC.
This report is a catch up on some of the key local news items over the past couple of weeks.
MTA Ridership Slowly Inching Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels / Hochul Announces Fare Capping Program / MTA Crime not as Huge as the Corporate Broadcast Media Sensationalizes it
In the photo at right are a number of Chinese American women, who participated in the Chinese New Year Parade celebrating the year of the Tiger in Chinatown in Manhattan, were out to see and be seen last Sunday.
We've been tracking MTA ridership since the pandemic began. The subway ridership plummeted down 90% when the pandemic broke in the Spring of 2020. By the fall of 2020 MTA ridership had risen to a loss of 80%, rising to a loss of 50% - 66% in the Spring of 2021, and then a loss of 35% - 55% in the Fall of 2021. As of this week, the MTA subway ridership losses were in the range of 28% - 43% versus pre-pandemic.
On February 7, 2022, NYS Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new 'Fare Capping Program' whereby passengers would only have to pay for 12 full fare rides in a week [but using the same device / MetroCard] and after which the rides for the rest of the week would be free [Monday - Sunday]. The program begins Monday, February 28th and is expected to run for four months.
The corporate broadcast media seems to sensationalize everything these days in order to ratchet up their ratings, revenue and profit. MTA Ridership during the winter a year ago was about half the pre-pandemic level, and today it's about two thirds the pre-pandemic level meaning it has risen about 50% vs a year ago. According to NYPD Compustat, crime in the subway during the past 28 days is up 33%, so crime isn't rising as fast as ridership.
Nonetheless, crime in the subways is up by about the same percentage versus the pre-pandemic levels, so it's a bigger problem than it was before the pandemic started. It is believed, that the reason for the higher transit crime rate, is that as fewer people rode the rails during the pandemic, the homeless moved in and were able to use the subway as their shelter.
Late last week NYC Mayor Eric Adams and NYS Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the city and the state would collaborate to increase the NYPD presence in the subways to remove and / or assist the homeless from making the MTA their home by offering them an option to leave or an option to get medical, psychiatric and social services help. To that end it was noted that the NYPD upped the deployment of NYPD [about 1,000 officers] into the transit system, focusing - it seems - on the major hubs, and the Governor was working on multi-billion healthcare plans which would include provisions for helping the mentally ill and homeless.
NYC & NYS Vaccination Rates Well Ahead of National Rates
The current NYC vaccination rate is 77%, with another 9% having received at least one dose [86%]. The current NYS vaccination rate is 75%, with another 12% having received at least one dose [87%]. The current U.S. vaccination rate is 65%, with another 12% having received at least one dose [77%].
As a result of the vaccination rates, and with the passing of the Omicron super spreader holiday season, CoVid Omicron new case growth, hospitalizations and deaths have been declining at the NYC, NYS and USA levels.
- For New York City the weekly, daily average, test rate of 1.7% for new cases, with only a weekly, daily average new case rate of 707 reported, a weekly, daily average rate of 35 hospitalizations and a weekly, daily average rate of 17 deaths.
- For New York State the same weekly, daily average rates are 2% positive new test cases, about 1,750 daily new cases, about 200 daily new hospitalizations and about 35 daily new deaths.
For the United States the same rates are 8% positive new cases [this is a week old number compared to the others herein], about 84,878 new cases, about 8,642 hospitalizations [this is a week old number compared to the others herein] and 1,964 daily deaths.
- NYC and NYS are leading the rest of the U.S. in pulling out of the pandemic, as the southern and central states are lagging behind. If you look at a map showing vaccination rates versus a map showing infection rates, you can see that they are inversely related.
- Are these maps indicative of the intelligence, or how well informed the people of each state are? Do the smart people live in the states with the higher vaccination rates, or are the people who got infected with CoVid at higher rates [because they didn't get vaccinated], living in states where they have fewer or less reliable information sources, like Fox News? Studies have shown that Fox News enhances people's ignorance of the facts. Look it up.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report about MTA Ridership in NYC, Vaccination Rates & Masking in NYC & NYS and Vladimir Putin's Invasion of the Ukraine.
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