Mamdani Creates Office of Community Safety

Mayor Mamdani signed an executive order Thursday creating a new Office of Community Safety, a centralized office overseeing gun violence prevention, mental health crisis response, domestic violence, hate crimes, and victim services. Renita Francois was appointed deputy mayor to lead it. It's the scaled-down version of his $1.1B campaign pledge to reduce police involvement in non-criminal emergencies. The office will coordinate the city's response to mental health-related 911 calls, which is relevant to every neighborhood, including ours.

Lucia Pizza Coming to Columbus Ave

Lucia, the Brooklyn-born pizza shop, is opening its first UWS location at 159 Columbus Ave (between 67th and 68th) this summer. The former Starbucks space. Ten-year lease. If you know Lucia from their other spots, you know this is good news for the neighborhood. If you don't, you will.

Two NYC Spots Named TIME's "World's Greatest Places 2026"

TIME Magazine named 100 greatest places on earth this week, and two of them are a bus ride from your apartment. The Frick Collection (1 E 70th St) reopened after a $220 million restoration with a new second floor including Adelaide Frick's boudoir. The Studio Museum in Harlem (144 W 125th) reopened after seven years. Both are worth the trip.

AMNH: Frontiers Lectures Are Back

The Frontiers Lecture series at the Hayden Planetarium continues. Tuesday's brown dwarf lecture is sold out, but it's worth showing up early to ask about standby. The next one with availability is SPHEREx: Mapping the Entire Sky on April 14 at 7pm, a deep dive into a NASA mission mapping 450 million galaxies. Get tickets now. If you've never been to one of these, the Frontiers series is some of the best programming AMNH does. Real scientists, the Hayden dome, and visuals that make you forget you're on the Upper West Side.

Also: educators, there's a free AMNH Scientific Ocean Drilling session on March 24 with CTLE credit.

Columbia Women's Basketball: Heartbreak. Again.

The revenge game went to overtime. Columbia lost 67-65. Officials waved off a foul call at the buzzer. Riley Weiss hit a three with 4.5 seconds left to cut it to one, but it wasn't enough. Harvard went on to lose to Princeton in the championship. Columbia (20-8) is in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. Perri Page at the press conference: "We are winning the WBIT. I can tell you that right now."

Friday, March 20 (today!)

🌸 First day of spring. Go outside.

🌙 Eid al-Fitr. Eid Mubarak to our Muslim neighbors.

CMOM: Eid al-Fitr Celebration with The Culture Tree — Children's Museum of Manhattan, 212 W 83rd St. 2pm-4:40pm. Storytime with author Anu Sehgal, read-aloud of Noura's Crescent Moon with author Zainab Khan, Kathak dance performance and workshop, henna tattoo making. All ages. Included with admission ($16/person, free under 1).

Saturday, March 21

With kids: Swedish Cottage: Little Red's Hood — Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, Central Park (W 79th & West Drive). 11am. A smartphone-obsessed Little Red meets a misunderstood wolf with a sweet tooth. Handmade marionettes. Ages 3-8. $10 kids/$15 adults. Advance tickets only. Runs through April 26.

NYHS: The Origins of K-Pop Photocards — New-York Historical Society, 170 CPW at 77th. 12pm-3pm. Queen Victoria to BTS. Get your own CDV portrait made. K-pop freebies. Included with admission ($23/adults, free under 5, pay-as-you-wish Fridays 5-8pm). Your tween will thank you.

Riverside Park — Free yoga with Meg SantaMaria at the 102nd Street Field House. 9:30am. Stroller-friendly.

Date night: ABT: Othello — David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center. ABT's 85th anniversary spring season opens with Othello (Fri 7:30, Sat 2pm & 7:30) and Mozartiana & Firebird (Sat 7:30). Starting at $35. Use code ABTDATE for buy-one-get-one-free on Fri 3/20 at 7:30pm. World-class ballet, five minutes from your apartment.

Juilliard: Spring Dances 2026 — Opens Wednesday 3/25 at Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Runs through Saturday 3/28. Features Merce Cunningham's Pond Way. New dean Melissa Toogood's first Spring Dances. Ticketed through Juilliard Box Office. This is world-class dance at Lincoln Center that most UWS residents don't know exists. Get tickets now.

NY Philharmonic: Dudamel Conducts — David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. Friday 3/20, Saturday 3/21, Sunday 3/22 (2pm matinee). Dudamel's inaugural season. Starting at $67.

Met Opera: La Traviata — Fri 7pm and Sat 8pm. Verdi at the Met. Starting at $30 (rush tickets available). If you've never been, this is the one to start with.

American Songbook: Ruthie Ann Miles — The Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center. Friday 3/20 at 8pm. Tony winner. One-night-only. Story and song. Choose-what-you-pay (suggested $35, starting at $5).

Jeanine Tesori's Violet — Lincoln Center. Friday 3/20 at 7:30pm. Part of the Visionary Artist series honoring the woman who wrote the music for Fun Home and Kimberly Akimbo. Ticketed through Lincoln Center.

Bria Skonberg — Dizzy's Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center. Fri-Sun, multiple sets. Jazz trumpet and vocals. Sets from $20-$45. Great date night energy.

For everyone: Hudson Classical Theater: WritersAGoGo — Riverside Park. Saturday and Sunday, 2pm-4pm. Free original one-act plays. Outdoor theater on the West Side.

Sunday, March 22

With kids: Urban Park Rangers: Historic Women of Central Park — 1pm-2pm. Rangers lead a walk to sites honoring historic women. Free. Women's History Month.

Date night / For everyone: Met Opera: Laffont Grand Finals Concert — Metropolitan Opera House. 3pm. The Met's annual opera singing competition finals. Big voices, big stage, the thrill of not knowing who wins. Ticketed through Met Opera.

CWP Writing Workshop — Center at West Park, 263 W 86th. Sunday 3/22, 4pm-6pm. Free. Reserve your spot online. Another reason to support the building while it fights to survive.

Still running at Lincoln Center: Ragtime — Lincoln Center Theater. The Doctorow novel, on stage. Multiple performances through the end of March. Night Side Songs — Lincoln Center Theater. Running in rep with Ragtime. Both are worth the trip.

Saul Zabar died last October at 97. His family started the store in 1934 as a 22-foot-wide counter selling smoked fish and coffee. Four generations later, it's still there. So is the lox.

The MTA already hung tribute posters on the 79th Street 1 train platform. Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal introduced a bill (A09236) to make it official: rename it "79th Street - Saul Zabar." The man gave the UWS a flavor, a personality, and turned one subway stop into the place out-of-towners got off to bring back lox for the family. If any New Yorker earned their name on a subway station, it's Saul.

We think the station should carry his name. But we want to know what you think, drop a line: [email protected]

Stroller Rating: 4/5 🚼 — Friday's 55°F with a slight chance of rain (bring a layer, not an excuse). Saturday 54°F and mostly clear. Sunday warms to 61°F and sunny. First weekend of spring, and it's earning almost full marks. Leave the apartment.

Central Park: Urban Park Rangers birding walks continue Sundays at 9am, enter at W 100th & CPW. Free. Spring migration is officially here.

Riverside Park fitness is stacking up: Mat Pilates Fridays 6pm, Yoga Saturdays 9:30am, Spring Body Roll Mondays 10am, Bodyweight Blast Tuesdays 8am, Tone Up Tuesdays, Bodyroll Saturdays. All free at the 102nd Street Field House.

West Side Community Garden (89th between Amsterdam & Columbus): Still closed. 13,000 tulip bulbs. April 12 opening. Three weeks out, can’t wait!

NEW TODAY: Sesame Street Sculptures at 590 Madison Ave The Power of Togetherness — Cookie Monster sharing a cookie with an endangered rhino. Elmo sipping juice with an elephant. Ernie and Bert eating ice cream with a gorilla. Big Bird on a bench with Rabbitwoman and Dogman. Four bronze sculptures by artists Gillie and Marc, in collaboration with Sesame Workshop, at 590 Madison Ave. Free. Outdoor. Interactive benches your kids can sit on. Opens today, runs through March 2027. This is the kind of thing you take the kids to this weekend and they talk about it for a month.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Interactive Show Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, 248 W 60th St (near Columbus Circle). 75 handcrafted puppets bringing four Eric Carle stories to life. Thu-Sun through April 26. Ticketed. The NYT called it "bedazzling." Ideal first theater experience.

Whitney Museum Pop-Up at CMOM Children's Museum of Manhattan — Sunday 3/22, 10:30am-12:30pm and 2-4:15pm. Whitney educators bring Georgia O'Keeffe nature art to CMOM for the spring equinox. Ages 3+. Included with CMOM admission ($16/person).

CMOM: Spring Is Coming! Children's Museum of Manhattan — Flower collage, art garden gallery, spring crafts. 212 W 83rd St. All week through 3/27. Included with admission ($16/person).

Monday, March 23

Teddy's Collection — FINAL DAY. 324 Columbus (75th-76th). The vintage clothing and home goods shop that's been a neighborhood favorite. If you haven't stopped by, today's the last chance before they close for good.

Tuesday, March 24

Chipotle Fundraiser for PS 87 — 269 Amsterdam Ave (W 73rd), 4-8pm. 25% of sales go to PS 87. Order in-store or online for pickup with code 3YPPCYZ. Details in Give Back below.

Wednesday, March 25

Juilliard: Spring Dances 2026 — Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Lincoln Center. 7:30pm. Opening night. Merce Cunningham's Pond Way. Through Saturday 3/28.

Ani DiFranco: The Spirit of Ani — Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th. 7pm. Get tickets now.

Thursday, March 26

Bloomingdale History Group: Secrets of the Schinasi Mansion — Zoom, 6:30pm. Free. The mystery mansion on Riverside Drive.

DIVA Jazz Orchestra — Dizzy's Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center. 7pm. All-women big band. Runs through Sunday 3/29.

Friday, March 27

Ladysmith Black Mambazo — Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th. 8pm. World Music Institute presents. This is a big one.

NY Philharmonic: Enigma Variations & Bruch's Violin Concerto — David Geffen Hall. 7:30pm. Also Saturday 3/28 and Sunday 3/29.

Improvibes: Improv Jam — Center at West Park, 263 W 86th St. 7pm-9pm.

Bill Frisell 75th Birthday: In My Dreams — Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center. Guitar legend. Night 1 of 2 (also Saturday 3/28).

Saturday, March 28

London's West End: Othello — Symphony Space. 7:30pm. Theater on screen.

NY Phil: Philharmonic Families — Winds — David Geffen Hall. 12pm & 3pm. Designed for kids. A great intro to the orchestra.

Eat a Burrito, Support PS 87 Here's your excuse to get a burrito and feel good about it. Chipotle at 269 Amsterdam Aveis donating 25% of sales to PS 87 on Tuesday, March 24 from 4-8pm. Order in the restaurant or online for pickup with code 3YPPCYZ.

PS 87 has been on West 78th Street since 1895. From 1982 to 2005, its head custodian was Earl "Speedo" Carroll, lead singer of The Cadillacs, the doo-wop group behind "Speedoo" and "Gloria." He'd sing in the hallways, high-five every kid, and perform at fifth grade graduations. The kids just called him Speedo. He inspired a children's book, That's Our Custodian. A rock and roll legend mopping the halls of an elementary school on the Upper West Side. You can't make this neighborhood up. Guac is extra. Supporting your local school shouldn't be.

ASP is suspended today, Friday 3/20 for Eid al-Fitr. 🌙 That's one morning you don't have to sit in your car pretending to read a book while guarding a parking spot. You're welcome.

Coming up: Palm Sunday 3/29, Holy Thursday 4/2, Good Friday 4/3, Passover begins 4/2. Expect more suspensions.

Full 2026 ASP calendar: nyc.gov/dot

Four of you wrote in this week. We read every one.

Deanna — wife of the Columbia Athletics Director — wrote to thank us for covering Columbia Women's Basketball. "Thank you for getting the news out about the team! And of course, thank you for all the news and smiles!" We're not crying, you're crying. (We're definitely crying.)

Mark told us he and his sister-in-law Sarah Jane hijacked a family dinner finishing each other's sentences about the newsletter while their spouses and his father-in-law found it hilarious. Mark, if TWS is taking over family dinners, we're doing something right.

Kate M. called our Summer Camps Guides "truly a gem" and said they're making her life easier. Kate, that's the nicest thing anyone's said to us since the person at Zabar's let us cut the lox line. (That hasn't happened. But we're manifesting it.)

Keep it coming. Reply to this email or send your best UWS photo to [email protected].

🎒 A THANK YOU FOR SHARING: TWO FREE SUMMER CAMP GUIDES

We put together two guides that we hope make life a little easier right now.

The West Sider Summer Camps 2026 Guide — 129 camps across Manhattan (43 on the UWS alone). Sports, arts, STEM, theater, climbing, chess, you name it.

Every Kid Deserves a Great Summer — 24 special needs and inclusive programs, 7 completely free, and over half offer financial aid.

No ads. No sponsors. No one paid to be listed. Just a parent who did the research.

If you find these helpful, share them with anyone figuring out summer. Forward this email or send them to thewestsider.beehiiv.com.

📣 SHARE THE WEST SIDER

That's Issue #3. There are over 220 of us now, no ads, no algorithm, just neighbors telling neighbors. Tell one more person this week and we'll keep growing the way the UWS does everything: one block at a time.

See you next week.

— The West Sider