West Side Rag

UWS Weekend: Great Things to Do in (and Around) the Neighborhood By Tracy Zwick March 6th through 8th Community Skate: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 6-8, at Gottesman Rink near Central

This weekend is the last chance (this winter) for ice skating at Central Park's new Gottesman Rink. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/06/u...

WSR Cartoon: Everything Bagel is on the Table By Bob Eckstein About the cartoonist: Bob Eckstein is a writer, illustrator, author, and contributor of cartoons to The New Yorker and

Get your hot and fresh new name, here. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/06/w...

The Secret to Rat Control on the Upper West Side? ‘It’s All About Food Availability’ City health department official Caroline Bragdon speaks in the UWS's Straus Park about how to identify and deal with rat

Trying to eliminate rats in NYC brings to mind Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/05/t...

Man Randomly Punches 2 Women on the Upper West Side: Police Courtesy of WSR. By Gus Saltonstall A man randomly punched two women Tuesday night on the Upper West Side, according

The attacks happened near West 60th Street and Amsterdam, police said. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/05/m...

West Side Canvas: Preparing for Spring With the Verdi Square Gardeners By Robert Beck I was tempted to say gardeners are great collaborators, but I don’t know that to be true,

The weather will get nice again (won't it?), and the Verdi gardeners will get to work. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/05/w...

Construction Begins For Lincoln Center’s Campus Redesign: What to Know The construction equipment set up on the south side of the Lincoln Center campus. Photos by Gus Saltonstall. By Gus

Fencing and construction equipment have gone up in recent days in and around Lincoln Center. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/04/c...

Entry Door at Upper West Side Post Office Has Been Broken For Months The out-of-order front door at the Planetarium post office at 127 West 83rd Street. Photos by Gus Saltonstall By Gus

Upper West Siders have just one door option at the West 83rd Street post office, when they used to have two. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/04/e...

Openings & Closings: Johnny Was; Wendy’s; Kolorbar; PWR NYC 72; Mr. Byrdie’s Joint; United Vein and Vascular Ce The Johnny Was clothing store on Columbus Avenue closed after nine years. By Natalie Demaree Johnny Was, a women’s clothing

A salon moves around the corner, a fitness center opens a second UWS outlet, and the UWS now has its first Wendy's. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/04/o...

Ruthless Advice for Upper West Siders: All of the Answers With None of the Expertise By Karen Bergreen and Cynthia Kaplan Editor’s note: This month, comedian Cory Kahaney is filling in for Karen Bergreen, who

The neighbor's in hospice. How soon can we ask his family if we can buy his apartment? www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/03/r...

City Halts Plan To Close Upper West Side Middle School: ‘Our Focus Must be on Healing’ The inside of the Community Action School on the Upper West Side. Courtesy photo By Gus Saltonstall Last month, countless

The DOE will not be moving forward with a plan to begin phasing out the Community Action School next school year. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/03/c...

A Conversation with Erik Bottcher, the Upper West Side’s New State Senator Eric Bottcher, former City Councilmember, now a New York state senator representing the UWS. Photos by Scott Etkin By Scott

Schoolchildren know who Bottcher is, thanks to his Poop Fairy campaign. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/03/a...

New Absolute Bagels Changes its Name After Threat of Legal Action, Manager Says The New Absolute Bagels is now 2788 Bagels. Photo by Gus Saltonstall By Gus Saltonstall The Absolute Bagels name is

The Absolute Bagels name is no more. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/02/n...

Here’s the UWS Dish: The Grand Feast’s Cioppino The cioppino at The Grand Feast. Photos by Abigael Sidi By Abigael T. Sidi For those of you still in

Cioppino originated when Italian immigrants at San Francisco's Fisherman’s Wharf would add some of their catch to a communal pot. www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/02/h...

A Gen Z candidate to replace Jerry Nadler dropped out, reportedly after seeing 'the sprawling underbelly of New York City politics.' www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/02/m...

Even the Snowmen Want to Get Out of Dodge By Gary Martin Gary B. Martin is an illustrator and animator who has lived on the Upper West Side for more

All aboard! www.westsiderag.com/2026/03/01/e...

Mistrial Declared in UWS Maria Hernandez Murder Trial; Lashawn Mackey to be Retried with a New Jury in April The Criminal Courts Building in Lower Manhattan. Photos by Daniel Katzive. By Daniel Katzive The trial of Lashawn Mackey, accused

The judge described shortcomings by the prosecution as "sloppiness at best." www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/27/m...

Meet the UES Candidate Running to Represent Both the UES and UWS in Congress Alex Bores, who is running for the NY-12 congressional seat. Photos courtesy of Bores's campaign By Gus Saltonstall It is

A WSR conversation with NY-12 Congressional candidate Alex Bores. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/27/m...

UWS Weekend: Great Things to Do in (and Around) the Neighborhood By Tracy Zwick February 27th through 29th Columbia Men’s Basketball: Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. at

Mavis Staples, now 86, is at the Beacon Theater Saturday night. Her latest studio album (her 14th) is "Sad and Beautiful World." www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/27/u...

WSR Cartoon: Cabin Fever on the Upper West Side By Bob Eckstein About the cartoonist: Bob Eckstein is a writer, illustrator, author, and contributor of cartoons to The New Yorker and

He built this city. He built this city out of what was lying around the house. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/27/w...

Columbia University’s Athletes Share Behind-the-Scenes Stories From the Winter Olympics Freestyle moguls skier Olivia Giaccio, wearing number 6, and her teammates give pointers to Winter Olympics commentator Snoop Dogg. Photo

What do Olympians do when they're not out there competing? Learn from two Team USA members who study at Columbia University. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/27/c...

Dead Body Found in Central Park: Police WSR. By Gus Saltonstall A dead body was found in Central Park on Thursday, a police spokesperson told West Side

The person was found unresponsive in Central Park around 10:50 a.m. on Thursday, police said. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/26/d...

ICE Agents Detain Columbia University Student: School Says Officers Made ‘Misrepresentations’ To Get Into Building A protest against ICE outside of the Columbia University gates, hours after a student was detained. Photo by Claudia Gohn.

Federal agents detained a Columbia University student on Thursday morning, according to the school. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/26/i...

A WSR Conversation With Candidate Nina Schwalbe in the Race to Represent the UWS in Congress NY-12 Congressional candidate Nina Schwalbe. Photo courtesy of Schwalbe's campaign. By Gus Saltonstall The most common word used to describe

Nina Schwalbe is running to succeed Rep. Jerrold Nadler in New York's 12th Congressional District. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/25/a...

New Affordable Housing Development Set For Upper West Side: What to Know The Saint Agnes Residence. Photo by Gus Saltonstall. By Gus Saltonstall A new housing development for formerly homeless adults and

The plan calls for 50 studio apartments, the majority for formerly homeless adults and the rest for low-income individuals. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/25/n...

Openings & Closings: Tamizdat Book Corner; Poppie Toys; Sisu Clinic; Farmer’s Market Cafe; THISBOWL Tamizdat Book Corner will sell books that have been banned in Russia. Photo by Lisa Kava. By Lisa Kava Tamizdat

Tamizdat Book Corner, which carries books banned in Russia, is opening Thursday in a corner of White Rabbit Books. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/25/o...

UWS River Run Playground Keeps River and Other Historic Elements in Plans Approved by City Rendering of the planned renovation for River Run Playground. Images courtesy of the New York City Department of Parks and

After community pushback, the city is preserving the 'river' in a Riverside Park playground. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/24/u...

‘This Is a Traffic Cone’: UWS Couple’s Videos Tell the Stories Behind the Neighborhood’s Mundane Streetscape Opening shots of two "What Is This?" episodes. By Scott Etkin In the opening shot of one of her recent

A lesson from "What Is This?": Blizzard warnings are triggered by wind levels, not by a specific level of expected snow. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/24/t...

Upper West Side Historical Photo Challenge No. 21 By Rob Garber for the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group Welcome to another installment in the Rag’s Historical Photo Challenge. The

This photo was taken on the UWS, sometime in the past. Do you know where, when, and what it shows? www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/24/u...

Upper West Side Snow Photos From The Blizzard: See It A snow covered West 93rd Street. Photo by Deborah Sharp. By West Side Rag As of 1 p.m. on Monday,

Central Park had received 19.7 inches of snow as of 1 p.m. on Monday. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/23/u...

Man Shot on the Upper West Side: Police WSR. By Gus Saltonstall A man was shot Sunday night on the Upper West Side, police said. A 28-year-old man

The shooting took place Sunday night on West 87th Street, police said. www.westsiderag.com/2026/02/23/m...