37. Farewell, NYC MetroCard
Reporting live from the NYC Transit Museum on the last day of the MetroCard.
Today’s letter includes: “Brain supporting” chili and GLP-1 friendly Pizza are a thing, Bianca Censori's furniture line, Brooklyn Mirage's new owner, and three A-listers walk into Wild Cherry in West Village...
This week, it’s my pleasure to hand over the opening monologue to Bodega Betty (ie. Christina) for some field reporting. Christina is often my partner in crime on adventures that I end up covering in this very newsletter (case in point here and here).
Christina has exquisite taste, the fanciest dog (a Lagotto Romagnolo, which I like to take credit for hearing about at the AKC dog show), and they spend their time directing the public art in Times Square after many years as the Director of Residencies and Classes at Pioneer Works. So if Christina cares about the Transit Museum, we care about the Transit Museum! (It is a pretty good museum though…bring back the steampunk party).
Take it away Christina…
On New Year’s Eve, my friend Emem and I were struggling to plan a hang during that limited window when the City is quiet for the holidays. To that end, I pitched the Brooklyn Museum to see the Monet exhibition, but Emem had recently gone.
Next, I suggested Vato, the new Park Slope tortilleria and bakery. I’ve recently become obsessed with their sourdough tortillas, but alas, it was closed. With options waning, I hit her with my closer: the Transit Museum. I had heard that the museum was a sleeper hit for all ages, but most importantly, it felt fitting because it was the last day of the MetroCard. The confluence of the last day of the year and the last day of the MetroCard felt poetic.
During the holidays, I admit I was driving more because finding parking was so much easier with folks out of town. But for this occasion, I naturally opted to take the train. After a quick glance around in the subway station, I didn’t clock any actual MetroCards in use. Looks like the MetroCard may have already crossed the River Styx…
Read the full report:
If you don’t, you’ll miss the merch in the gift shop, some wholesome Poetry in Motion, and Christina’s favorite TikTok genre.
Rumor has it that Substack is suppressing free content. If you’d like to resist the algorithm pushing paid content only, then liking, sharing, quoting and restacking this newsletter will help! <3
Korean strawberries in Uncrustables! I didn’t really need viral Korean strawberries in an uncrustable but now that it’s an option I also did not, not need it. I have been meaning to get over to Cafe 20 Grams inside Jubilee Marketplace in Greenpoint, known for hits such as the “Korean McGriddle.” But alas, I missed this uncrustable pop up - if anyone made it there please report back.
NYC’s congestion pricing is still working. Nearly a year since the $9 toll launched for Manhattan below 60th Street, the controversial program has exceeded expectations. Here’s what surprised me: storefront vacancies in the toll zone actually dropped because more people are walking instead of driving through. More stores = a more vibrant city. Despite critics predicting economic disaster, the program has reduced pollution, surpassed revenue goals, and improved foot traffic for businesses. Your city might be next.
Sometimes branded content really feels like branded content, and not in a cute way. Sometimes an inherently unsexy brand like Bissell manages to create a seriously engaging video series. “Drivin’ Dirty” is like a mini-sode of Pimp My Car but instead of making your car cooler, it just simply makes it clean. The team shot 12 episodes over the course of four days.
Why I think it works:
@bloodyosiris is a perfect host - engaging, funny, and dressed in outlandish fits, plus the 614K followers he brings to the table.
The concept scratches an itch. It combines the voyeurism that hooks people on shows like Hoarders (you want to see whose car is so dirty and why) with the satisfaction that those TikToks where someone cleans their whole apartment with different gadgets gives you.
The product is actually necessary to reach the end result. The thing they are trying to sell isn’t superfluous to the situation. You literally can’t clean a car without some type of vacuum. Watching them pour the dirty water from the carpet cleaner vessel is like watching a pimple get popped.
169 Bar needs help! In addition to being a classic NYC institution, two of my friends who are on Broadway once dreamed of throwing their wedding here. Now the bar is having a dispute with their landlord.
The B train is the least on time, Delta is most on time. The B train arrived late 26% of the time in 2025, but at least it’s consistent? Delta was the most on-time out of all North American carriers in 2025, according to Cirium’s annual rankings. Globally, Aeroméxico was the best, with a 90% on-time rate.
Brooklyn Mirage lives on. And now, as with most things, is owned by Dubai. Both the troubled club and its parent company, Avant Gardner, have a new owner: FIVE Holdings, the holding company also owns Pacha.
Kanye’s wife made some super weird furniture. Bianca Censori, known only to me as Kanye’s wife who is always naked (including when we were at the Florence 4 Seasons at the same time - I did not see her with my eyes), apparently wants to now be known for “Medical Sex Dungeon Furniture.” It premiered in Seoul.
Has anyone been to Wild Cherry? It seems that Annabelle Wallis, Sebastian Stan & Emily Ratajkowski were there for dinner at the same time as Bradley Cooper. Dear readers, is the food good or is it just a celeb hot spot?
If you can’t get into Red Hook Tavern… The chef behind Red Hook Tavern’s Lunar New Year parties is popping up at Runner Up ahead of his brick and mortar’s debut this summer.
For those who care about PR pitching: Jyoti Mann (formerly Business Insider) is joining The Information to cover Meta.
Tom Brady is the new face for GLP-1s. I kind of hate everything Tom Brady is doing but obligatory reporting I guess. And in the same vein Chris Danton connected the dots on “biological dining” with this roundup: Sweetgreen teamed up to launch a Longevity Menu alongside Function. Goop launched a collab with Andrew Huberman on a “brain-supporting” chili. Blaze Pizza kicked off the year with GLP-1-friendly pizzas (56g of protein per pie).
Thanks for reading!
I’m going to need a follow up on the uncrustables investigation
Thanks for the shout out!