https://www.otdowntown.com/news/ahead-of-bill-hearing-carriage-workers-plead-case-to-keep-horses-EB5993215 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-02T16:35:32-04:00 Ahead of Bill Hearing, Carriage Workers Plead Case to Keep Horses https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4184_4-10879688_20260630170255.jpg Horse carriage rides resumed in the park June 23, after a six-day pause to pay respect for a fatal incident, in which a teen fell from a runaway carriage and died. It was halted again after the temperature soared over 89 degrees in recent days. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4259_4-10879161_20260630170247.jpg Christina Hansen, a carriage owner and spokesperson for the union, with Cheyenne the horse. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4182_4-10879690_20260630170258.jpg Horse carriages line up at the bottom of the park before picking up visitors to take around the park’s loop. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4215_4-10879684_20260630170251.jpg As the city prepares for a July 15 hearing on a bill to ban Central Park carriage horses, the union representing carriage owners says a ban will devastate the drivers’ livelihoods. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4200_4-10879686_20260630170253.jpg Central Park horses return to three different Hell’s Kitchen stables after working in the park. At the 52 St location, horses are kept upstairs and are watched over 24/7. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4174_4-10879692_20260630170301.jpg The union imposes strict guidelines for the care of the horses, including a weather restriction of 89 degrees for the horses to be outside and working. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4154_4-10879694_20260630170305.jpg Currently, horses do not have a designated place to line up in the park. https://www.otdowntown.com/food-drink/miss-subways-reunion-brings-extra-pizazz-to-ellen-s-stardust-diner-AC5994046 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-02T16:54:02-04:00 Miss Subways Reunion Brings Extra Pizazz to Ellen’s Stardust Diner https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4397_4-10881375_20260701172931.jpg Ellen Hart, owner of Ellen’s Stardust Diner and a former Miss Subways (1959), poses with Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal holding her original Miss Subways poster and a Proclamation in celebration of the Miss Subways reunion and her 85th birthday. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4573_4-10879394_20260701172935.jpg Ellen Hart posing with Juliet Papa, Reporter at 1010 WINS, (left) and Julie Coker, President and CEO of NYC Tourism and Conventions (right). Papa and Coker received the Miss Subways Honorary sashes. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4332_4-10881378_20260701172938.jpg Ellen Hart pictured with fellow Miss Subways. From left to right: Eileen Ryan Keating, Dolores Mitchell Byrne, Maureen Walsh Roaldsen, Mary Gardiner, Heide Hafner, and Ellen Hart. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4469_4-10881384_20260701172944.jpg Actor Samantha Stevens arrived dressed up as Marilyn Monroe and impersonated the actress’s 1962 performance of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.” Similarly to President John F. Kennedy, Hart was pleasantly cringing to the side. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4527_4-10881381_20260701172941.jpg A Starduster performing “New York, New York.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellen’s Stardust Diner struggled to survive the hardships of quarantine and limited tourism. The vibrant diner has since gotten back on its feet. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a4582_4-10881387_20260701172948.jpg The “Miss Subways” wall in Ellen’s Stardust Diner, showing the various women’s original posters which lined subway cars from 1941 until 1976. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/is-your-dog-getting-enough-electrolytes-in-this-heat-wave-BX6000377 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-02T16:57:27-04:00 Is your dog getting enough electrolytes in this heat wave? https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/pxl-20260702-162915079-mp_4-10888127_20260702162522.jpg Petco water fountain with bowls for animals. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/pxl-20260702-163258068-mp_4-10888134_20260702162523.jpg “Doggy Rade” electrolyte drink for dogs. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/public-pools-and-beachespreparing-for-historically-hot-summer-heatwave-CX6000747 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-03T09:30:10-04:00 Lifeguard Shortages Loom as Public Pools and Beaches Prep for Hot Summer https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/public-pools_4-10888307_20260702213558.webp Last year, the Parks Department opened the Gottesman Pool at the Davis Center in Central Park, replacing the old Lasker Pool and Rink. The pool will be one of Manhattan’s outdoor pool locations offering the free Learn to Swim program this summer although only a handful of the public pools in Manhattan will offer similar programs. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/empty-lifeguard-stand_4-10888657_20260703092405.jpg The Parks Department said it is adding lifeguards through mid-July, hoping to avoid shutting down certain beaches to swimming, such as this one on Beach 129 Street in Rockaway on June 6. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/mamdani-cannonballs_4-10888630_20260703085857.jpg Mayor Zohran Mamdani leaped into the Thomas Jefferson Pool in East Harlem in a two piece business suit to signal the opening of the city’s 53 free, public swimming pools, including 16 in Manhattan, on June 27. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/rockaway-beach-lifeguards_4-10888660_20260703092405.jpg The city needs about 1,400 lifeguards to fully staff its 14 miles of ocean beaches and 53 public swimming pools. Beach 130 in Rockaway seemed to have enough lifeguards when Straus News stopped by on June 6. But some nearby stands at Beach 129 Street sat empty that day. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/pba-blasts-nypd-for-lag-in-ot-pay-amid-crush-of-events-MH5999871 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-03T10:23:45-04:00 PBA Blasts NYPD for Lag in OT Pay Amid Crush of Events https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/police-massing-outside-msg_4-10889015_20260703100540.jpg Cops, such as the those above during the Knicks championship finals, have been facing mandatory overtime during a summer of Knicks, Taylor Swift, FIFA World Cup and America’s 250 birthday. The PBA is blasting the Mamdani Administration for delaying checks for overtime pay. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/nypdnews-x-mamdani-and-tisch_4-10889016_20260703100540.jpg Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced record low crime rate in the first half of 2026. But the PBA criticized top brass for delaying overtime pay for the mandatory overtime cops are being called on to perform. The city said it is working to correct the snafu. https://www.otdowntown.com/voices/if-only-taylor-swift-said-i-don-t-to-an-over-the-top-wedding-BX6000650 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-03T10:33:22-04:00 If Only Taylor Swift Said, “I Don’t” to an Over the Top Wedding https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-ruomoured-m_4-10888298_20260702192352.webp Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got engaged in 2025, and married over the July 4th weekend 2026 at Madison Square Garden in front of 1000 guests. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/wilson-finally-clinches-chelsea-city-council-dem-primary-HB5993283 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-03T12:12:29-04:00 Wilson Finally Clinches Chelsea City Council Dem Primary https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-07-01-at-6-51-15-pm_4-10879273_20260701185132.png Carl Wilson, who currently serves as City Council Member for District 3, won the democratic nomination for re-election in November after three rounds of ranked-choice voting for an over 50% majority. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/fired-intern-leads-rally-against-unpaid-interns-at-city-council-FE5996513 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-03T12:25:26-04:00 Fired Intern Leads Rally Against Unpaid Interns at City Council https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-07-01-at-12-27-47-pm_4-10880599_20260701124531.png Mina Farahmand addresses the crowd while demonstrating with dozens in front of City Hall in a dispute over unpaid interns in the office of City Council member Harvey Epstein. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/judge-bars-feds-from-freezing-gateway-funds-EC5994446 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-07-03T22:29:45-04:00 Judge Bars Feds From Freezing Gateway Funds https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-02-16-at-3-08-15-pm-4_4-10879710_20260630174248.webp A judge has permanently barred the Trump administration from freezing funds going towards the Hudson River Tunnel portion of the Gateway Project (above), after a previous freeze led to temporary layoffs.