“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.” – Abraham Lincoln
The newsletter is a fun one this week — and we’re starting somewhere even I didn’t expect: Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump, together at the White House. When I tweeted that I figured the two of them would actually get along, I wasn’t kidding, and I wasn’t guessing. When you spend enough years watching New Yorkers argue, circle, collide, and somehow still find common ground, you start to know who can sit across from whom without the room catching fire. And sure enough – they clicked. Not because their politics match, but because they chose to meet as two humans who happen to be in elected office.
I’ve always believed in crossing lines, in bipartisanship as a habit, not a headline. But watching how people reacted – the shock, the suspicion, the disappointment that it wasn’t a brawl – I found myself wondering: were you encouraged or discouraged by that moment of ease? And more honestly… are we rooting for connection, or have we gotten a little too attached to the fight?
It was the kind of week where power brokers and neighborhood anchors kept popping up in every room – and, quietly, in a little “underground” club that technically exists only on the chess.com app… There’s no meeting time, no basement table, no grandmaster in the corner; just a growing circle of political operators who’ve decided that competitive chess is the new handshake. Matt Jozwiak from Rethink Food is holding a steady 1300, with SL Green’s Garrett Armwood and Carolyn Vaeth right there with him, trading wins like it’s part of the job description. No one advertises it, of course. But if you want in, download the app and pretend you were always part of the group chat…
At the W Hotel in Union Square, Council Member Erik Bottcher hosted a fundraiser for his congressional run – one of those rooms where you can simultaneously feel ambition, loyalty, and the mild draft from revolving doors.
Thanksgiving spirit is stretching across the boroughs: Council Member Kevin Riley’s district reminded us that while most people picture turkey, many Bronx families are really waiting on oxtail – and he delivers, literally! Up at the Bronx YMCA, community members packed supplies for Jamaica relief efforts, while at Phipps Houses in West Farms, Council Member Oswald Feliz, Rep. Ritchie Torres, and Bronx BP Vanessa Gibson handed out 700 turkeys in the cold. The line moved fast; the gratitude remained…
Down in Washington, Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo linked up with former colleague Rep. Mike Lawler; and Vinny LeVien surfaced at a bipartisan gathering alongside Rep. Tom Suozzi and a crew of West Point cadets. Albany wasn’t quiet either: Assemblyman John McDonald III scored a gold-star nod from the Center for Effective Lawmaking, ranked fourth among his majority colleagues for actually getting bills passed. And DASNY’s Opportunity Programs Group spent Day 1 of the NYS MWBE Forum matchmaking MWBEs with contract opportunities while pointing folks toward Director Carrie Torres, who seems to know where every thread in state government is stitched.
Secretary of State Walter Mosley was at Metropolitan Baptist Church, distributing holiday meals to more than 500 families. A few miles south, Assemblymember Anil Beephan Jr. hosted mortgage bankers at his district office for the kind of technical-policy talk that decides who in the Hudson Valley actually gets a key in the door. Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio was across the country at the National Women in Government Conference in San Diego, and back in the city, Director of City Planning, Dan Garodnick, made the pro-housing case at Crain’s – ADUs, missing-middle apartments, and the City of Yes – framed as both zoning reform and character study in how to build communities that can actually hold people…
City Hall had its own drama: Council Member Farah Louis took the administration to task for what she described as fabricated numbers and “I’ll circle back” answers at a hearing on the city’s MWBE program…
At The Plaza, a fundraiser for Israel’s Soroka Medical Center honored Rabbi Marc Schneier, with Joseph Wolkin and Nathan of Noyse handling the social media operation, community news queen Vicki Schneps sparkling in a rhinestone-encrusted white suit, and TJV News’ David Ben Hooren making the rounds. Actor Tova Feldshuh emceed and was on-site with her husband Andy (wearing red sneakers) and pausing between jokes to mention she knows Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani’s mother from the theater world – then pivoting to her worries for Jewish New Yorkers…
A few avenues over, former Governor David Paterson held court at Fresco by Scotto, ordering Chilean sea bass and a red wine and then telling stories before he’d even reached the table. He was honored with plaques featuring his New York Magazine spread and a Page Six item memorializing his Style Across the Aisle breakdance. Word is he’s been backflipping since the Mario Cuomo days.
And at 6am on the Upper East Side, a new tradition is forming: Body by Brooke – an early-morning political-worker sweat session run by urban planner and Kasirer team member Brooke Marinovich. The city changes, the hustle remains!
This week’s PAL Luncheon brought together CEO Carlos Velazquez, John and Margo Catsimatidis, and a crowd listening intently to DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino III, a storyteller whose cases – from Kiki Camarena to the Bronx daycare tragedy – are reminders of what enforcement looks like at the granular, human level. In the room, Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, who continues steering felony narcotics cases citywide; and community-engagers like Howard Becker at the Business Council of New York State and Dr. Jim Malatras at Civic Hall who are building bridges between businesses and public officials…
Suzanne Miller of The Miller Report showed up in plum cashmere with a matching Chanel purse, and Elizabeth Kingman, Director of Trustee Relations at the Citizens Budget Commission and former CFO of the American Folk Art Museum rounded out the table. All PAL Luncheon photos were taken by photographer Jillian Nelson…
Politics also wandered into kitchens: at the Kiwanis Rockaway Chili Cookoff, Mama Ronnie — mother of Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson – in the lineup with a special hearty fall-themed pumpkin chili…. And NewsNight with Abby Phillip on CNN was recorded live at the Food Network demo kitchen where Rethink Food’s Matt Jozwiak revealed his special talent of being able to ID any fruit or vegetable. Behind the scenes was Henry Musa NewsNight Intern and on-air talent from Hofstra University’s WRHU and Anna Barot incoming communications director for Council Member-elect Virginia Maloney. Media folks Adam Mockler from MeidasTouch Network and Brianna Lyman from The Federalist rounded out the panel alongside former NYC Council Member Joe Borelli – bipartisanship with a culinary flair!
And on Long Island, the National Center for Suburban Studies filled Crest Hollow Country Club with performances from Hofstra students, the New York Chinese Chorus, and the Hempstead High School Marching Band. Executive dean Larry Levy emceed; Senator Siela Bynoe’s hydroponic container farm funding got applause; and Soter CEO Derek Peterson — 80 patents and counting — credited his Bay Shore high school teacher for nudging him into computer class. The attire? Vibrant, personal, proudly cultural. Shinnecock Nation’s Shanna stunned in her own handmade outfit, Long Island Latino Teachers Association president Dafny Irizarry represented in a Puerto Rico themed dress; Vineyard Offshore’s Nora DeDontney wore a skirt made by her mother; Pastor Alex Bryant sported a custom tie knot and cufflinks fashioned from clip-on earrings.
The Jewish community gathered at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County where former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito was on site with Village of Lawrence Mayor Shlomo Nahmias, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Assemblymembers Sam Berger and Jake Blumencranz – each pledging continued work against antisemitism…
Back on Staten Island, the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation held its 29th Annual Dinner. Teddy Atlas, Chuck Zito, Tony Danza, FDNY’s Eric Bischoff — a full cast — joined to honor Borough President Vito Fossella with the Champion Award, alongside the island’s familiar faces: Kamillah Hanks, Diane Savino, Frank Morano, Sid Rosenberg.
And rounding out the week, the Madison Avenue BID kicked off the holiday season in partnership with NYC Small Business Services Commissioner Dynishal Gross brought her energy to it – the kind of street-level cheer that reminds you Manhattan still knows how to dress up, light up, and show up!
SKYELIGHTS. On Traditions, Big and Small
Thanksgiving at my house isn’t a holiday – it’s a production. My mom starts cooking days in advance, and by the time Thursday hits, her dining room could rival a fine-dining establishment. Every seat has its own charger and every guest knows the drill: arrive hungry, compliment the tablescape, and prepare to be over-served.
The wine flows, but not nearly as fast as the nostalgic stories we tell while eating. And because I both LOVE my mom’s cooking and HATE to see leftover food go uneaten, you’ll find me eating leftovers for at least a full week after.
And speaking of traditions…
Today is the 23rd anniversary of my bat mitzvah – which is a very Jewish way of saying it’s the 23rd anniversary of my 13th birthday. Nothing mystical, nothing secret; just the coming-of-age party Jews throw for teens, somewhere between a final exam and a family gala. In my case, it was literally a black tie gala in my honor, and knowing me…I love the production value. I fully intend to have another one, one day soon.
I’m sharing this partly to normalize Judaism in the same way we talk about Sweet Sixteens or quinceañeras: it’s family, food, speechifying, grandparents beaming, and a teenager in a dress trying to figure out who she’s going to be. In a moment when being visibly Jewish can feel heavy, I want to practice being visibly joyful.
I’ll be honest: I have mixed feelings about milestones. So much of adult life can feel like a checklist – wedding, baby, house, repeat – and I’ve never been great at doing things just because “that’s what people do.” What I do believe in is marking the moments when we become a little more ourselves, on our own timeline, in our own language…
So maybe that’s my Thanksgiving tradition now too: honoring the rituals we inherit, and the ones we invent when the old ones no longer fit. And in that spirit, consider this your soft “save the date” for the next black tie gala in my honor… coming soon, because our grown-up selves deserve at least as many parties as our 13-year-old selves got.
Now I want to hear yours: What’s your Thanksgiving tradition? Hit reply and tell me.
