Flags 8th Avenue -- Tuesday, May 26, 6:17 PM

Knicks Go to the NBA Finals -- First Time in 27 Years!

Brooklyn Bridge at Sunrise -- May 19th, 2026, 8:19 AM

The Ed Sullivan Theater Goes Dark

Stephen Colbert signed off The Late Show last night and now, after 33 years, one of the big 11:30 PM talk shows is gone. I attended a taping of the show back in 2018 and blogged about it at the time.

It's sad to think that all of the talent and energy I saw that day is now gone. Colbert and this show deserved better but the monsters who now run CBS decided, in the most cowardly way possible, to censor him for political reasons.

So it goes.

The Late Show ran for all 33 years from The Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway and 53rd Street. The theater was, in many ways, the first sign of the theater district and the entire Times Square area. When you came upon it you it was like the theater was welcoming you to the cultural heart of NYC -- and America.

I didn't spend a lot of time in the theater district as a kid but I remember that when I was there I would pass The Ed Sullivan Theater which, at the time, had a big black and white marquee. It would announce various taping for various shows -- including the 1980s sitcom Kate & Allie. Often the theater would lie empty and it looked a little run down. It just seemed to sit there -- it's amazing history as the place where Ed Sullivan changed the culture with the Beatles and numerous other artists long in the past.

Then, in 1993, it found its second life.

David Letterman started The Late Show that year and it once again became a massive cultural hub, basically the nerve center for NYC cultural hub. I was in high school at the time and it was really exciting! The theater screamed "New York!" to the rest of America -- and the rest of America loved it. 

And now it's all over.

The Ed Sullivan Theater is once again just sitting there empty. It's gone dark. So far there are apparently now plans to use it for anything again. That would be tragic. It's a beautiful space in the heart of Manhattan and it let it wither would be criminals. But since our country is being run and owned by criminals, I don't hold out hope.

Light a candle for the Ed Sullivan Theater. It needs the love.

NYC: The Movie Theater

Summer in NYC is always busy and wild, lots always going on. But one of the best things is that there are lots of free outdoor movies all over the city that friends and family can enjoy.

The most famous one is the long-running free outdoor movies in Bryant Park: I've seen A Streetcar Named Desire, MASH, and others there since I was in high school.

But there's lots more free outdoor movies around town including in Central Park, Riverside Park, the Intrepid and the other four boroughs. It's a cornucopia of cinematic goodness. 

Here's a list of links to all outdoor movies around NYC this summer. All you need is a blanket and water -- and seeing a movie on the big screen with lots of your fellow New Yorkers is so much better than being alone with a streaming service!

LIRR Strike ... Over!

LIRR Strike!

The first in 30 years ... swaths of Queens and Brooklyn cut off!

Letterman and Colbert Bid "The Late Show" Adieu ... with Wanton Destruction

"Tony" ... Is Coming

The late chef/food writer/TV-travel host, all-around NYC legend and my former neighbor Anthony Bourdain died by suicide in 2018.

But now his life story, specifically, his early years learning to cook in Massachusetts while romancing his first wife Nancy, has been turned into a movie called Tony that will be coming out this summer.

This is strange -- I've never seen a bio-pic about a person, let alone a couple, that I've actually met and been in the apartment of. Nancy still lives in my parents' building and I've run into a few times -- she's a very sweet, friendly lady so I hope this movie does her well. 

I'll be interested to see it!

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