FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2025
Dear New Yorkers,
Kirstin Kapustik was on her way home after a Friday night performance of Trisha Brown Dance Company at The Joyce Theater when her evening took a turn for the worse.
Kapustik, the company’s executive director, got an email from the National Endowment for the Arts informing her that its offer of a $40,000 grant would be withdrawn. The money was for a concert production premiering in June.
“We’re already working on this project. This money, to my mind, had already been spent,” Kapustik said. “It’s a lot of money to lose in the midst of the project.”
The dance company, based in Midtown, was one of likely hundreds of arts and cultural organizations across New York City that received a similar email from the NEA indicating offers for grant funding would be rescinded or the awards terminated as of May 31.
The move has left cultural organizations frustrated and reeling with uncertainty about the future.
Read more here about grants terminated for the arts in NYC.
If you learned something from SCOOP today, forward it to a friend.
Weather ☔
Rain.
MTA 🚇
No Q train between Queensboro Plaza, Queens and Times Square-42 Street, Manhattan all weekend, starting at 11:45 p.m. tonight. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, May 9.
By the way…
There’s a week left to see The Golden Thread 2: A Fiber Art Exhibition, a free textile art show at The Seaport.
Our Other Top Stories
- Several dozen NYPD officers cleared a demonstration of about as many pro-Palestinian student demonstrators from Brooklyn College Thursday evening before making a series of violent arrests and tasing one demonstrator.
- President Donald Trump continues to claim that Canada would be better as the 51st U.S. state, and Canadians aren’t happy about it — so much so that international tourism to the city is expected to drop.
- Where in the world is Andrew Cuomo’s dog, Captain? The latest edition of our election newsletter Ranked Choices answers that question and more.
- Not all of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s colleagues her role at the forefront of the party — but the House Democrats from NYC definitely do.
- THE CITY has written a lot about deed theft and other property speculation. Now, we’re hosting a community conversation to put the public in with our reporters, local experts and advocates to better help New Yorkers navigate property-related challenges. The event is co-hosted with JPMorgan Chase at their Bedford-Stuyvesant branch. here to reserve your spot.
Reporter’s Notebook
Chicago Pope
Catholics around the world praised the first pope to come from the United States — while in New York City, many feel it’s a good sign for the Knicks’ miraculous playoff run.
Robert Prevost was elected by his fellow cardinals as the successor to Pope Francis, and was unveiled Thursday at the Vatican to a crowd of thousands. He chose the papal name Leo XIV.
Born in Chicago, he spent time as a bishop in Peru — and has dual citizenship there — before being named a cardinal in 2023 by Pope Francis.
Pope Leo attended Villanova University for his undergraduate degree, which is also the alma mater of three current Knicks stars: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart.
The Philadelphia-area university’s influence on the team has earned the nickname “Nova Knicks.” And the new holy alum moved some fans to believe it could only mean more unbelievable wins for the men in blue and orange.
“IT IS DIVINITY. GOD BLESS” declared superfan Spike Lee on Instagram.
— Katie Honan
Things To Do
Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.
- Friday, May 8 – Sunday, May 11: See the season finale concert of the New York Classical Players — they’re doing one free concert every night this weekend, first in Brooklyn, then Manhattan and then New Jersey.
- Saturday, May 10: Peruse the stacks at the Coney Island Book Fair, an event celebrating “the literary side of sideshow, burlesque, oddities and New York City.” The book fair is all day and free, and author s cost $20. 12 p.m.
- Saturday, May 10: Celebrate the beginning of spring with the Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens parade through multiple community gardens on the Lower East Side. Plus, ponies! 11 a.m. at El Sol Brillante garden.
THE KICKER: Brooklyn commuters and beachgoers rejoice! The A train to the Rockaways is finally set to reopen this month.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Friday.
Love,
THE CITY
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