June 14, 1995

Why am I doing a blog post about a particular date more than 30 years ago?

Because that's the day I graduated from high school.

The ceremony wasn't particularly memorable except that the lights in the theater at Alice Tully Hall were bright as hell, and Bill Cosby was actually there (his daughter was in my class but I didn't know her nor did I meet him, just saw him). 

Later that night I went to the Senior Party in Midtown and hung out, for the last time, with my schoolmates (in my school, no one cared about the prom, the Senior Party was The Thing). While we partied, I started talking with this girl who I barely knew and who was a year younger than me. She had gotten super-crazy-drunk and began talking to me non-stop. Then she started snuggling up to me, hugging me, all over me, it was really weird. This was not a regular occurence in the life of yours truly, most girls at that time in my life regarded my slightly less favorably that roadkill. At one point this girl took one of my hands and started kissing my fingers methodically, slurping on them.

Being a gentleman, and also a total loser who had no game, I did nothing. I might have been able to be a pig and taken advantage but I did not. I was a good boy. Then I went home -- alone.

Anyway, besides those lovely weird memories, I also recall that this was the same night when a big interview with Michael Jackson and his then-wife, Lisa Marie, daughter of Elvis Presley, was broadcast. I remember it was playing on TVs in the bar in the background although I ignored it (I literally had a girl on my shoulder!). This was the interview to prove that their love was real! I guess it turned out not to be and less than 15 years later, Michael would be dead.

Also, earlier that morning, Howard Stern did a show where he talked about the OJ trial, tattoos, air ventilation, and life in general.  

A lot has happened since that day 30 years and 6 weeks ago, both in my life and in the culture and world in general. But ... it's fascinating to remember what I was doing on that life changing day, and what was going on in the city and the culture and the world in general at the same time.

Oh, and as for that girl who slobbered on me? She ended up going to a great college, has a big time career, is happily married with a child, and is crushing life. 

And me? I'm doing pretty good too!

The Great NYC Summer Soak of 2025

What Does AI Think of Mr NYC?

Last year I asked Chat GPT to describe this blog. You can read it here.

And now I've asked Grok and Google AI to describe this blog and got the following:

Google AI:

The blog mrnyc.blogspot.com is a "fun, upbeat, and thoughtful blog about this great city". It aims to capture the "soul of the world's greatest city" and is described as "part of the NYC underground". The blog appears to cover various aspects of New York City life and culture. The author, sometimes identified as [REDACTED], maintains an active presence on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) under the handle @MrNYCBlog and Facebook. The blog has been running for almost two decades and has reached a considerable milestone, having been clicked on over a million times.

Grok:

The website https://mrnyc.blogspot.com/ is a blog titled "Mr NYC," dedicated to capturing the spirit and culture of New York City. It describes itself as "Blogging the soul of the world's greatest city. Part of the NYC underground. Feel free to comment!" The blog covers a wide range of topics related to NYC, including its history, culture, media, politics, and notable figures, often with a personal and opinionated perspective.

Key points about the blog based on its content: 

• Focus: It explores various aspects of NYC life, from apartment living and late-night television to local politics and cultural events. Posts often reflect on the city's unique character, its underground scene, and its historical significance.
  
  
• Content Style: The blog combines personal anecdotes, cultural commentary, and critiques of current events. For example, it discusses the significance of NYC in late-night TV history, the impact of apartment living, and political developments like the NYC mayoral race.
  
  
• Recent Posts: As of July 31, 2025, recent posts include discussions about Awkwafina and Marc Maron talking about Queens, the history of NYC apartment living, the decline of late-night TV in NYC, and political commentary on the NYC mayoral election.
  
  
• Social Media Presence: The blog has associated social media accounts, as mentioned in a post encouraging readers to explore its "multi-tentacled" digital presence.
  
  
• Tone and Perspective: The author often takes a critical stance, particularly towards political and economic issues, as seen in posts criticizing corporate influence in politics and media, and expressing frustration with figures like Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Cuomo.

The blog is hosted on Blogspot and has been active for years, with posts referencing earlier writings (e.g., a 2018 post about a Stephen Colbert show taping). It positions itself as an independent voice in the NYC cultural landscape, often highlighting lesser-known or nostalgic aspects of the city.

Awkwafina & Marc Maron Talk Queens

You should listen to this episode of WTF with Marc Maron where he talks with the actress/comedienne Awkwafina.

Starting around 19:45 minutes into the show, they talk about living in Queens and NYC, and what makes it fascinating. 

And here's the video that made this Chinese-Korean Queens girl famous:

Water, Power, Waste, and Other Schist

@The New York Hall of Science:

You might also find this related post from 2009 interesting.

Architecture & the City

The apartment is the heart and soul of NYC living.

Yes, many of us live in houses but the vast majority of NYC's 8.5 million residents live in apartments, from rich to poor, young to old, of every religion, race, color, creed, gender, nationality, in every borough. 

This city would not be what it is without apartments.

So what are the most common kind of NYC apartments -- and how did most New Yorkers end of living in them? Was it inevitable? 

These two fascinating videos give some insight and history into how apartment living became de rigueur for New Yorkers, what so many of us call home.

NYC Makes & Late Night Takes

I remember it well: in early 1993, shortly after Bill Clinton took office as President, David Letterman dramatically announced his departure from NBC and his 12:30 AM show Late Night to go host the 11:30 PM Late Show on CBS.

America waited with baited breath: would the quintessential NYC late night host pull up stakes and move his new show in a better time slot on another network to LA?

In the end, Dave stayed put, moving into the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway and making NYC a late night powerhouse for the first time since the 1960s -- and for the next 32 years. 

Part of the reason he stayed is that then-NYC Mayor David Dinkins moved heaven and earth to keep the Letterman show here. And when Letterman retired in 2015, CBS was bribed to keep his replacement Stephen Colbert in NYC with generous tax breaks. The same thing had happened in 2014 to move the Tonight Show back to NYC. 

We, the taxpayers of NYC, basically financed late night TV. 

And now ... the show has been cancelled, late night TV is in freefall -- and got stuck with the bill! All of that revenue that might have come into NYC without these tax breaks are gone -- and can never be recovered.

So when we hear scary stuff about "socialism" just remember -- we already have socialism but it's for the rich and big corporations ... and not for the rest of us.

"A Chorus Line" @ 50 Flash Mob

Late Night in Winter

Late night television was born in NYC.

When the Tonight Show with Steve Allen premiered in 1954, it created a whole new world, not only for television, but for the entire culture. Late night TV was a America's bedtime story. During his 30-year reign as host of the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson was the nation's comforter-in-chief. In the years and decades since, so many other late night shows and hosts have come and gone that it's hard to keep track. And, of course, late night TV extended for beyond NYC, into "beautiful downtown Burbank" and the West Coast.

But late night TV has always been, at heart, a New York City thing. Like the city itself, it's always been a little edgy, a little nasty, a little smartass, a little offbeat, and yet always had a big welcoming heart.

Think Letterman. Think Jon Stewart. 

So it's a sad occasion that the Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been cancelled. In May 2026 it will end completely. Its network, CBS, is getting out of the late night business altogether. The reasons for this cancellation are, according to CBS, purely financial. But it's entirely possible that it was done to help grease the wheels of a huge merger that is taking place between CBS and Skydance. Skydance is owned by ultra-Republican billionaire Larry Ellison and Colbert used his show daily to bash Trump. Ending the show not only saves CBS money but also appeases the FTC to approve the merger, as well as Larry Ellison's ego (it's rumored that he'll turn CBS into another Fox News).

The financial and the political are, let's face it, one and the same. One hand washes the other. Power speaks to power. 

Also, the economics of late night TV awful: the Tonight Show is down to four nights a week, Late Night lost its band, other late night shows have been cancelled and not replaced, it's a shrinking, dying breed. People would rather watch streaming or YouTube or watch their phones. Who needs late night TV?

But it's a sad moment for late television, for the culture, and for NYC. Something has been lost, never to be replaced. We'll remember late night TV the same way some people remember cigarette ads on TV or other cultural ephemera. Gone, but not forgotten.

P.S. the Colbert show is the only late night show that I went to a taping of, and I wrote about it briefly in 2018. 

Why NYC is Sexy