When will this freaking rain stop?!  Sure It's not a bad thing for plants and the Earth for those who like to ride their motorcycles Whole statistics show the vast majority of accidents occur on clear or cloudy but dry days that's because there are simply way more people out riding motorcycles on these days Not only because the roads can be slick due to the rain mixing with oil on the roads and bikers are itching to get out and ride Mike Cejka from WIVB News 4 Buffalo gave his 7-day forecast: I looked at Mike's forecast, which is always very accurate, and compared it with The Weather Channel to give bikers an outlook for the week It can be one way in the southtowns and totally different in the northtowns so take this with a grain of salt and realize it can change Tuesday actually looks decent because isolated thunderstorms mean not necessarily the entire area The Northtowns should be fairly clear while the Southtowns are looking at evening showers Morning showers in the Southtowns look to be giving way to clear conditions for the rest of the day Showers will be happening in the Northtowns throughout the day but rain doesn't appear to be in the forecast for either region of WNY Friday is a tough call. It says above there are showers, while The Weather Channel says it will be just cloudy but rain-free also looks fantastic for riding if you can All days don't appear to have much wind Remember, if you want to learn to ride, do what I did: get a Honda motorcycle from Hamburg Honda, where Honda Rebels currently have pre-tarriff pricing. It's cheaper to own a Honda Rebel than it is to pay for your cell phone bill. Learn more CLICK HERE Also, take the MSF Safety Course. You do not need a motorcycle to take part in the Motorcycle Safety Course, which gets you your license if you pass. Those go on most weekends through the summer in West Seneca, SUNY Niagara, and Jamestown. Learn more CLICK HERE I'll be doing the safety course this weekend at SUNY Niagara from 7 am to 1 pm While rain is in the forecast, there will be plenty of days to get out and ride this week.\nRead More Mike Cejka from WIVB News 4 Buffalo gave his 7-day forecast: I looked at Mike's forecast, which is always very accurate, and compared it with The Weather Channel to give bikers an outlook for the week Friday is a tough call. It says above there are showers, while The Weather Channel says it will be just cloudy but rain-free Remember, if you want to learn to ride, do what I did: get a Honda motorcycle from Hamburg Honda, where Honda Rebels currently have pre-tarriff pricing. It's cheaper to own a Honda Rebel than it is to pay for your cell phone bill. Learn more CLICK HERE Also, take the MSF Safety Course. You do not need a motorcycle to take part in the Motorcycle Safety Course, which gets you your license if you pass. Those go on most weekends through the summer in West Seneca, SUNY Niagara, and Jamestown. Learn more CLICK HERE Dubai Bars have become a viral sensation online.  But if you've had a hard time getting your hands on one there's a new dessert that could fill the void for you My sister in law came back to Buffalo a couple of weeks ago and along with all of the things she wanted to do while she was in town she mentioned that she was hoping to try a Dubai Bar.  She heard you could find them around here in Western New York.  At the time but they're huge on TikTok.  People have been losing their minds trying to get their hands on them Read More: Kaylena Marie's Bakery Opening 4th Location In Downtown Buffalo Dubai Bars are obviously a treat from Dubai.  It's a chocolate bar that's filled with what looks like a green pistachio filling that's mixed with Tahini.  It's also got a crunch to it thanks to the crispy kataifi.  Then it's all wrapped up in a casing of milk chocolate Dubai Bars have become a viral sensation online But if you've had a hard time getting your hands on one there's a new dessert that could fill the void for you Read More Read More: Kaylena Marie's Bakery Opening 4th Location In Downtown Buffalo Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission This article was featured in One Great Story, New York’s reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly I went to the West Village to meet a West Village Girl When I arrived at the whitewashed wine bar she chose just two blocks from the brownstone stoop Carrie Bradshaw made famous Miranda McKeon was journaling in her notebook and sipping a cup of green tea and a black sweatshirt that read SELF-EMPLOYED because she is a full-time influencer — or “creator,” as it is more polite to say in this part of town rosy-cheeked 23-year-old from New Jersey has over a million followers across TikTok and Instagram most often about her charmed life in the West Village: sweating it out at Pilates drinking espresso martinis with her girlfriends Over a photo of herself walking down the street Wear cowboy boots year round if you love them!!! McKeon knew she wanted to rent in the West Village long before she moved to New York In college at the University of Southern California she started hearing from high-school friends that it was the place to live — a cobblestoned paradise where a young woman like herself could live an entire life within a block McKeon started obsessively combing StreetEasy for the perfect postgrad apartment and watched Sex and the City for the first time (She identifies as a Carrie with some of Miranda’s “girlboss energy”; she majored in entrepreneurship.) Now eight months in she likes that the neighborhood reminds her of being back on campus insofar as she is constantly running into people she knows they are girls she follows or who follow her “I feel like a freshman in New York,” she said to be a remarkably well-adjusted and unjaded New Yorker she likes going out for what she calls a “three-drinker” (a nice dinner with her girlfriends with a self-imposed three-cocktail minimum) She knows the names of the important restaurants (the Corner Store “I went out to dinner with two girls last night both of whom live on my street,” she told me Maybe her only complaint so far is her apartment there have been the occasional cockroaches and — just this morning — a strange brown substance that dripped out of the brick wall onto her roommate’s comforter She’s planning to resign the lease next year anyway slapping the table between us with both hands “There’s a cult mentality” to the neighborhood It’s true that many of the young women passing by the bar looked like her clones They move through the neighborhood in packs and hair slicked back into a tight ponytail McKeon cheekily pointed out through the window “I feel like everyone else here in some way,” McKeon told me transformed into a fabulous theme park for young women of some privilege to live out their Sex and the City fantasies They all seem to keep impressive workout routines (“Hot this and hot that,” McKeon said) and juggle busy heterosexual dating schedules (The boys they consort with tend to be of the fratty variety.) They work in finance tech — often with active social-media accounts on the side They have seemingly endless disposable income their lives seem fairly apolitical; as one 27-year-old lawyer on a walk with her best friend succinctly put their collective interests to me one day in April drinks with your girlfriends — that type of energy.” (They may be more political than they appear: “You can have a Cartier Love bracelet and still care about immigrant rights,” said one person who lives in the neighborhood.) This isn’t the first time a generation of socially ambitious young women has descended on the West Village and as one fashion executive explained to me with just a hint of an eye roll “made the neighborhood their whole personality,” fundamentally changing it along the way If Sex and the City washed out the last of the neighborhood’s bohemians two decades ago and turned the West Village into a celebrity playground where real adults with real incomes live the pandemic turned it into something else entirely: a bustling sorority house Let’s go out and have fun and be ourselves Play hard,” said a new arrival from Texas with blonde highlights while polishing off a bottle of rosé with her girlfriends one afternoon “Basic isn’t a bad thing,” a crew of Cosmo drinkers at Anton’s “There’s a reason everyone wants to be like that.” (There’s a sense lately that the entire city or at least much of downtown Manhattan and the trendier parts of Brooklyn “They’re everywhere,” almost everyone I talked to for this story told me.) A so-called real New Yorker might survey a neighborhood overtaken by this homogenized mass and scoff at what was once a haven for artists and gays admiringly described to me by multiple people as like Charleston But to the actual people living in those places who broadcast their lives like reality television to their millions of followers They seem to be enjoying their city more than the rest of us do “Finding a new restaurant to have an Aperol spritz and hang out That’s a new level of enlightenment,” said Kit Keenan an influencer and former Bachelor contestant who helped put this new version of the neighborhood on the map Are the West Village Girls doing something right then a 27-year-old former Refinery29 producer moved to the neighborhood from the Lower East Side styling herself on TikTok as a Samantha Jones type and giving her hundreds of thousands of followers — whom she called her “gorgeous (She popularized the Gen-Z catchphrase “Do it for the plot.”) The neighborhood some of its residents presumably having fled for the Hamptons or Connecticut (save for the diehards holed up in rent-stabilized apartments) Kerrigan rebranded the West Village as a haven for single women dubbing the West Side Highway “Club West Side Highway” and using the newly opened restaurant American Bar as a sort of local country club the restaurant put her name on the menu; you could order the chopped salad “SFK style,” meaning with a negroni a group of girls had taken over an entire section all of them wearing black fascinators as if attending a funeral The hostess explained that it was a young woman named Mallory’s “RIP to my 20s” birthday dinner Kerrigan wasn’t the only up-and-coming influencer posting furiously through the pandemic and giving the neighborhood a younger but the background was the same: the West Village made legible for women fresh out of a Big Ten school She posed with a Blank Street matcha on a stoop; in front of the pastry case at Bar Pisellino; with her iPhone outside the wine bar St Everything in both Keenan’s and Kerrigan’s accounts was calibrated to be just the right level of accessible yet enviable: fast fashion and white sneakers all set against a picture-perfect backdrop of New York City recognizable from everyone’s favorite middlebrow television shows Among its other most attractive attributes: The Friends apartment is there which Taylor Swift featured on Lover in 2019 The young women who follow Kerrigan and Keenan — fellow New Yorkers and transplants alike — soon flooded the neighborhood So many that it became a memeable stereotype: “the West Village Girl.” In a post last September a TikToker named Kayla Trivieri summed up the type under the caption “POV: you’re on a date with a girl from the west village.” The monologue went like this: “So what are you into?” “Pilates and my dachshund …” “What kind of music do you like?” “Sabrina Carpenter and Morgan Wallen once in a while.” When I asked Trivieri about the send-up recently the native Canadian told me she became familiar with the type before she even moved to the States “She was the cultural Zeitgeist on TikTok,” Trivieri said I felt like people in Toronto were even dressing like that in head-to-toe Pilates gear.” (The influencer Tinx sells a $75 crewneck that reads RICH MOM WEST VILLAGE.) To put New York youth culture into high-school terms Kerrigan said the West Village Girls are “the Plastics years after she started posting from the neighborhood she often has to wait on line to get coffee at her favorite shop “I’m thinking about how that’s kind of my fault,” she added But it’s a beautiful sharing of information are a good place to meet friends.) Kerrigan said the West Village is now filled with “young powerhouse women with vision boards,” ambitious zoomers who idolize Alex Cooper and Carrie Bradshaw in equal measure The appeal is “the main-character energy you get when you’re in the West Village,” which feels when the luxury industry was thriving and Sex and the City was in its first run the West Village was an if-you-know-you-know kind of place for the fashion set — publicists and stylists who had just arrived from the provinces and were similarly hoping to have a good time kind of like a college town,” said Bonnie Morrison a former publicist and magazine editor (living in the West Village was a positive attribute in her first interview at Condé Nast) Within convenient walking distance was the Meatpacking District “It was all about coming home at five in the morning coming home in Manolos on the cobblestoned streets,” said the British socialite Lucy Sykes “There was blood everywhere” — there were still slaughterhouses in Meatpacking “You really did not know what could happen The DJ changes the music and then all of a sudden ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ is playing because Axl Rose just walked in,” said Morrison you could hit the all-night diner Florent with the off-duty drag queens “I’d come home and somebody would be passed out in my bed with Sky Ferreira,” said Savannah Engel a fashion publicist who moved to the neighborhood in 2009 “I’d wake up on a Tuesday and there’d be ten people passed out in my apartment We’d all be in black” because that’s what they were required to wear to work “It was fabulous.” Her rent cost around $900 a month called the Greenwich Avenue Equinox the Chic-quinox: “Everybody was there at six in the morning so they could be skinny in their sample sizes for Patrick McMullan,” the party photographer and so did the Sex and the City–loving tourists Bleecker Street had transformed into a proper shopping destination and Brunello Cucinelli opened stores — BLEECKER’S BECKONING the New York Post squawked — and Maison Margiela and Juicy Couture soon followed It became a high-end outdoor mall for window-shopping if not actual shopping “The colorful bohemia has crossed the tracks,” read a 2007 New York Times report “leaving a respectable neighborhood of high rents The children replaced the gays — the men have left for Chelsea gobbling up the newly sanitized neighborhood’s real estate Rupert Murdoch bought his 25-foot-wide townhouse for $25 million in 2015; the next year Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick purchased two adjacent townhouses for $34.5 million Graydon Carter’s Waverly Inn became a “celebrity playground” of “idling SUVs,” as one person put it The Post termed a corner of the neighborhood near West 11th Street “the real Billionaires’ Row,” citing Mets owner Steve Cohen and former Facebook president Sean Parker as residents But the retail scene couldn’t handle the rising rents most of the storefronts on Bleecker Street were vacant “The landlords started jacking up the prices,” said Rowley The pandemic offered an opportunity for a cultural reset which helps online-only brands find and operate their first brick-and-mortar began scooping up tranches of empty addresses on Bleecker The company currently leases 11 stores in a four-block stretch It then staffs and operates the spaces for its brands “Any time we go into launching a cluster of stores we think about whether or not it’s an area we can grow,” said Amish Tolia “Energy begets energy.” (The company now operates more than 100 stores total mostly in trendy but touristy shopping areas like Abbot Kinney in Los Angeles and Armitage in Chicago.) Leap had evidence that its bet on the neighborhood would pay off: Several of its brands were already shipping often to apartments in the neighborhood It was a strategy Brookfield Properties had already been pursuing pre-pandemic (It sold them last year for $20.25 million.) “We merchandised to support the market,” said a Brookfield representative “I don’t think it’s accidental that our businesses were very female oriented We took advantage of noticing who was patronizing this community.” As for the apartments the businesses were shipping to the average one-bedroom in the neighborhood is now $5,995 a month A dingy one-bedroom can easily go for $7,500 (expensive but doable on a finance salary or with help from parents) Most of the young women who approach Compass agent Heather Domi opt to live nearby instead she said: “If the girls aren’t living in the West Village they’re consuming the West Village.” (Still data shows that more 25-to-34-year-olds moved to the West Village between 2019 and 2023 than any other age group.) Now the area has been remade in their image Every other storefront seems to be a coffee shop Everything that isn’t a bar is called one: There’s BeamBar (for teeth whitening) a “charm bar” (for build-your-own bracelets) which hawks monogrammed makeup bags; a TikTok-friendly candy shop; and the ultragirlie ultrasuccessful clothing brand LoveShackFancy selling a Bella Hadid–collaboration two-piece Magnolia Bakery’s signature banana pudding briefly came matcha-flavored The storefronts are filled with fake pink flowers Signs placed on the sidewalks outside seem made to beckon the girlies inside Outside Joe & the Juice: THIS WEEK BEEN SO ROUGH MY COFFEE NEEDS COFFEE “We’re trying to figure out how to manage the amount of traffic we’re getting in stores “The racks will be empty because everyone’s trying almost everything on in the dressing rooms It looks like a Black Friday thing.” In April I visited a new “jewelry bar” on Bleecker called Ana Luisa Jewelry an influencer brand that specializes in affordable rings and earrings It opened in the corner store that used to be Marc by Marc Jacobs and Sarah Jessica Parker’s shoe store before the brand shut down last year Ana Luisa won the location in an aggressive bidding war and sold $1,000 worth of inventory in the first 30 minutes They come here and then to Magnolia Bakery,” he said this is the neighborhood that’s rebounded the fastest.” This month another jewelry store will open 230 feet away The original West Village Girls — those who have remained in the neighborhood and didn’t jet off to Greenwich or to a classic six uptown — aren’t entirely pleased with their new neighbors a former Calvin Klein executive who bought a loft in the neighborhood in 1997 but this is the pinnacle of what happened to this fucking neighborhood,” she said when we sat down at Bar Pisellino was packed with young women ordering spritzes and pastries It’s so unpleasant.” Not to mention it’s impossible to get a table at I Sodi or Via Carota these days two once-neighborly Italian restaurants that were tumbled through the TikTok recommendation machine and came out nearly unrecognizable with lines of day-trippers waiting down the block at all hours of the day “I used to go to I Sodi when they had an answering machine The last time she tried to have dinner with a friend Another common complaint is the neighborhood’s current pedestrian experience Vernon occasionally passes Carrie’s stoop to give the influencers a talking-to: “I say to them That’s actually trespassing.’ ” Earlier this year the resident was granted permission to install a gate to deter them from making what has become a sort of pilgrimage (TikTok is filled with recommendations for other neighborhood backdrops to take photos in front of if you get shooed away from this one.) A curly-haired 20-something sat down across the bar from us and ordered a bowl of olives and a negroni well-dressed woman having a snack on her own.” Another chief complaint among the originals is that these new West Village Girls don’t seem to be having enough fun (or it wasn’t about getting the right workout look,” said Rachelle Hruska MacPherson “It wasn’t so health conscious,” said Rowley noting that her morning walks on the West Side Highway weren’t always as crowded as the New York City Marathon People didn’t walk around in their leggings and sneakers.” The old bars and restaurants are also adjusting to the new whims and tastes “I have regulars who come in all the time and say ‘What happened?’ It’s just an army of Levi’s and white tank tops,” a bartender at Bayard’s a newly popping but long-standing Irish pub on Hudson Street she showed me a box of lost phones and another box of abandoned clothes which she lugs to Housing Works once a month.) In the fall of 2023 the restaurant and bar Cowgirl decided to convert one of its margarita machines into one for frozen espresso martinis I don’t know where they’re getting their money from We never had demand like this.” The Spaniard a cocktail bar by day and a shockingly rowdy hookup spot by night had to hire an entire security team after what one manager described as a “mass exodus” of the older (Its top-three sellers now are spicy margaritas which are pre-batched into kegs.) At L’Artusi told me he’s selling less expensive wine post-pandemic the crowd was kind of that classic West Village type Masters of the Universe with good jobs and no kids,” he said “A $150 bottle of wine doesn’t compare to a vodka-soda.” As a waitress at La Bonbonniere an old-school diner that has been around since the 1930s Now it’s young people with the social media no one would go on the record getting too snarky about any of this; it all makes for good business And some former West Village Girls admitted eventually that in their descendants they could see their younger selves “I think they’re probably doing what I did when I was 20 This is where they want to go around and get drinks and run into people and look cool,” said Hruska MacPherson We were also discovering ourselves.” Annelise Peterson echoed this thought: “We were discovering ourselves I stayed down there until my ex-husband told me it was time to move to the Upper East Side What the West Village will be in 20 years might be something very different It’s easy to get reflective after a few brunchtime cocktails “Was I one of these little fuckers?” Savannah Engel wondered aloud to me one Sunday after Bloody Marys at Cafe Cluny and as the neighborhood is most days of the week but especially on Saturdays and Sundays and especially when good weather calls for day-drinking the scaries away If I hadn’t spent so much time there recently I might have been shocked to pass three stoops in a row all occupied by young women staging photo shoots I met a collection of thin blonde women in pink They told me they work in finance and marketing and had just moved to the neighborhood after graduating from Washington and Lee University “The girls that we knew from college who moved to New York before us told us to go to the West Village and we just kind of trusted them,” said one They do what we do; we live parallel lives they told me they can’t quite imagine staying in New York forever “I don’t think I’ll raise kids here or anything like that,” said the pink puffer a group of two dozen women in matching leggings came jogging by chitter-chattering over their huffing and puffing At the front of the pack was Miranda McKeon “How did people find this?” she yelled to the ladies behind her “Miranda’s a beep-bop girl too,” a brunette who works in marketing and just moved here from Georgetown told me we like to beep-bop around.” I asked the group What are young people in New York looking for it’s clear these young women have found something that eludes most of us “I’ve been really trying to do more in-person things,” said McKeon It’s nice seeing real people.” Upon our arrival several older millennials who appeared to be co-working at the shop grimaced alternately catching up over white-wine spritzers and taking brief breaks to absent-mindedly look at their phones clock in to her Hinge account (no new messages) then throw a few heart reacts into yet another group chat she told me she settled here two years ago after a breakup; it’s a good place to be single By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York The premise is simple: It's hard for a person to be healthy without access to safe housing nutritious food and reliable transportation a solution to that problem has long been elusive driving health inequities in cities such as Buffalo people aren't able to be well," said Kathryn Diebold vice president of behavioral health and wellness programs at Jewish Family Services of Western New York "They're not able to even think about following up with medical providers behavioral health providers if they don't have those basic needs." is aiming to do something about that as one of the earliest agencies participating in Western New York Integrated Care Collaborative's social care network for Erie Buffalo nonprofit WNYICC built a system of 70-plus community-based organizations that will help Medicaid members access nutritional meals transportation and other social services – the kinds of things that can significantly affect a person's health The creation of these social care networks is a critical part of the state's health goals for New Yorkers and those efforts are pushing forward even amid the threat of federal cuts to Medicaid Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in January 2024 approved New York State's $7.5 billion Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver The effort includes nearly $6 billion in federal funding and is focused on actions that will boost health equity cut health disparities and bolster access to primary and behavioral health care the waiver includes $500 million to build the infrastructure for nine social care networks across the state WNYICC can receive up to $36.8 million through March 2027 WNYICC already has distributed more than $5 million to its network organizations to help them build capacity and to get ready to provide social care services who has scaled up her own agency from five employees to 25 full-time employees in less than a year "We're right on that precipice of having it really start going bigger," said Kmicinski noting the network's outreach and promotion will start this month Nikki Kmicinski is CEO of Western New York Integrated Care Collaborative JFS received an infrastructure grant through WNYICC of just under $300,000 That helped the organization to hire and train staff Diebold said JFS will have six staff members supporting the social care network work: two social care navigators a housing manager and a manager of outreach and engagement The timing of starting up the social care network also aligned well for JFS, which had to cut some positions this year after the programs it provides to refugees were disrupted by the Trump administration's suspension of foreign aid programs two employees who were furloughed from the agency's refugee resettlement services were brought back as social care navigators while two other employees who would have lost their jobs were retained as housing navigators supporting the social care network "We're committed to do that as much as we possibly can at the agency and they've built these strong relationships in the community," Diebold said JFS will provide two main services under the social care network: screening and navigation Diebold explained the agency's screeners and navigators will meet with Medicaid-eligible or Medicaid-enrolled clients to go through a brief screening to determine their needs the navigators will be responsible for connecting clients with health-related social needs services within the social care network go over leases and help support them to stay in housing is the housing services will now be Medicaid reimbursable services in New York Diebold said housing programs were largely dependent on grants "Being able to do these housing navigation services and have them reimbursable by Medicaid that's pretty much a game-changer in our region," Diebold said WNYICC will get up to $36.8 million over 2½ years as the social care network for Western New York expanding into social care and housing navigation services was "a natural fit," Diebold said JFS already has an established care coordination program so it has experience working with Medicaid enrollees with chronic health conditions The agency also has long provided housing services within its refugee resettlement program so now JFS can lean on that experience to serve a different clientele "the client sits at the center of a group of people looking to support their well-being" by connecting the client to needed services such as housing assistance "Those are three big things that really prevent people from being well," Diebold said housing and utilities services available within the social care network of providers include home modifications such as ramps repairs to fix water leaks to prevent mold growth For Medicaid-eligible individuals interested in the social care network, Kmicinski said the first step is to complete a 12-question screening. That screening can be done online at wnyscn.org or by visiting any of the network partners Kmicinski said clients are assigned a navigator who will determine what services they are eligible for and then work with the client to get them connected to those resources "The navigators are really that heart and soul of the whole service for the member," Kmicinski said "They will be with them throughout the whole journey and make the various referrals and make sure that the member is pleased with the service." Jon Harris can be reached at 716-849-3482 or jharris@buffnews.com. Follow him on X at @ByJonHarris Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly Email notifications are only sent once a day Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account The start to the month of May will be a very wet one here in Western New York We might all have to start singing the "Rain, Rain Go Away" song if we want to see some sunshine in the 716 it looks like that rain will continue today and into the work week heavy rain showers are expected to move through the region starting this afternoon and will continue into the evening The long-range forecast from the National Weather Service in Buffalo calls for rain showers across Western New York and most of New York State for most of this week READ MORE: OLD FARMER'S ALMANAC CALLING FOR WARM/WET MONTH OF MAY IN WESTERN NEW YORK Thursday looks like the first day this week we won't have rain in the forecast A large cut-off low-pressure weather system is spinning over the eastern half of the U.S which is causing the rain showers to stay over our area So you will want to make sure you have your umbrella and the kids have their rain gear for the next several days At least all this rain is not snow. Check out some of the snowiest days in New York history Gallery Credit: Dave fields More rain showers are in the forecast for Western New York.\nRead More We might all have to start singing the "Rain, Rain Go Away" song if we want to see some sunshine in the 716 The new week will start off with continued unsettled weather, though it will also turn warmer. Lighter/spottier showers tonight will give way to more widespread showers and some storms from the Genesee Valley west on Monday - a few storms may produce gusty winds/hail/heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/PZ9pDI3XmJ The long-range forecast from the National Weather Service in Buffalo calls for rain showers across Western New York and most of New York State for most of this week READ MORE: OLD FARMER'S ALMANAC CALLING FOR WARM/WET MONTH OF MAY IN WESTERN NEW YORK At least all this rain is not snow. Check out some of the snowiest days in New York history The Best New Restaurants in Queens, According to Eater Editors The Best New Restaurants in Brooklyn, According to Eater Editors The Best Brunch Spots in New York City, According to Eater Editors A restaurant tucked inside a swanky department store to a West Village restaurant with quiet confidence The Eater New York Heatmap has existed for nearly two decades to answer the age-old question: “What’s hot and new in Manhattan?” Eater editors do thorough reporting on the most exciting restaurant openings to hit NYC as well as smaller openings and hidden gems worth having on the radar Though the local dining scene has endured tremendous challenges in recent years the city’s spirit of breaking ground and exploring new cuisines and forms continues every month we narrow the field to those places that are drawing the most excitement focusing largely on restaurants that have only been open for six months or less When an Eater editor visits a new restaurant we share insider tips on what to expect and what’s worth ordering as well New to the list in May: Fedora, a reborn restaurant from the St. Jardim team in the West Village; and, Maison Passerelle Top Chef and James Beard-winner Gregory Gourdet’s flagship restaurant inside the Financial District department store Printemps Sam Yoo is known for Golden Diner downtown. But for his next act he headed uptown and took over his parents’ massive bi-level restaurant that faces Rockefeller Center The space is split into two concepts: Upstairs Golden HOF serves casual Korean American gastropub dishes like wings with glaze options like gochujang focusing on Korean barbecue (certain tables are set up with their own grills) little neck clams with a sesame-perilla mignonette and crispy kimchi pancakes with a jalapeño soy sauce Borgo is Andrew Tarlow’s Manhattan project; it’s his first restaurant across the bridge from the Brooklyn restaurant empire he built at Diner This one is the most timeless and mature from the operator The Best Italian Restaurants in New York City Fedora takes its name not from the hat, but from its former owner, Fedora Dorato, who ran it as a red-sauce restaurant for decades. Restaurateur Gabriel Stulman took it over from her until his version of Fedora closed during the pandemic. Now, it’s been reborn again — this time from the team behind wine bar St. Jardim around the corner the menu could’ve just as easily trended towards basic bistro fare the Le Rock alum put forth a menu of familiar items (chicken Cordon bleu) with twists (like subbing out ravioli for pierogies) but there are a few larger tables — moody lighting is fit for a date Bar Recommendations From the City's Top Drink Makers 13 New York Restaurants With Great Specials Bánh Anh Em initially gained fans from its Upper West Side restaurant Bánh. When opening this downtown offshoot owners Thu Ton and John Nguyen wanted to offer something distinct: all bread for the bánh mì and noodles for phở (like the Nam Định with several cuts of beef) are made in-house Maximé Pradié has long been a one-to-watch chef leading the kitchen at Zimmi’s (in partnership with Jenni Guizio he’s cooking the homestyle Southern French cooking he grew up with but doesn’t often make its way to restaurant menus in New York Dishes like the la pastasciutta (tagliatelle with ragout and sage) and the vegetable terrine were early standouts A wine bar and bakery are on the way next door The Best Restaurants Open on Monday in New York City Following West Village hits Dame and Lord’s, husband-wife duo Patricia Howard and chef Ed Szymanski opened their third — and largest — restaurant in the neighborhood. Though the first two have looked specifically at British food, Crevette expands its reach with touches of the South of France and a can’t-miss pineapple rum cake with butterscotch An Eater Editor’s Favorite Seafood Spots in NYC The Best Restaurants in the East Village Right Now We hate to break it to you, but Bradley Cooper’s new Philly cheesesteak spot may be the best rendition of the sandwich New York has yet to see. That’s no surprise since the 12-time Oscar nominee teamed up with Philadelphia’s owner of Angelo’s Pizzeria Whether this spot is worth braving the insanely long lines (and limited hours) that have followed since the shop was first announced is a different story Momofuku’s first New York opening in years, Kabawa You might remember the alleyway space as Ko which the team has flipped following its closing to turn into a Caribbean restaurant with modern inflections It first launched with Bar Kabawa: an a la carte front area where patties (with stuffings like conch) are served alongside expertly crafted daiquiris the back dining room — and main stage — has opened with an $145 for three-course prixe-fixe menu which include choices like pepper shrimp spiked with sorrel and thyme; cassava dumplings stewed in a Creole sauce; black bass with curry; and coconut and cream cheese turnovers for dessert Cactus Wren features a hard-to-place menu that leans heavily on seafood. Think: smoked eel tart, lagoustine beignet, and pizza with romesco and Oaxacan cheese. The team’s fine dining roots aren’t far away, both literally, in that their restaurant, 63 Clinton caviar add-ons are available (which you can skip; there’s a more interesting Anthony Ha and Sade Mae Burns built a following by running one of NYC’s most exciting pop-ups under the Ha’s Đặc Biệt name an offshoot and permanent headquarters for a rotating selection of Vietnamese-influenced snack items in a bistro atmosphere flowing with natural wine (it’s been hinted that a larger restaurant is on the way) This husband-wife team knows how to make a dining room feel warm and the tight quarters work to their benefit — the kind of place that is filled with casual exuberance that feels like an extension of a dinner party they might host at home But the tuna with dates is even more special Jimmy Carter made a campaign stop in West New York just before the New Jersey primary in 1976 I journeyed about 30 blocks north to watch the proceedings Folks like to talk these days about how mean and nasty politics has become things were not always civil nearly 50 years ago either While waiting for Carter to arrive at the campaign stop - somewhere on Bergenline  Avenue - a spirited debate ensued on the sidewalk I vividly recall a man haranguing a woman and Carter supporter The man said that Carter was "going to bus that child - bus her into the central ward of Newark." Busing to integrate and racially balance schools was a big issue back then and this guy clearly was not a fan of busing - or Carter won the nomination and came back to the area during the fall campaign for a rally at North Bergen's Scheutzen Park which dated back to the early twentieth century when northern Hudson County was mostly German but a New York Times report noted that Carter was being heckled "The slogans and Bronx cheers continued until halfway through Mr when someone in the crowd punched one of the hecklers." The point of these anecdotes establishes the inevitable "Jersey connection" to just about everything Much is now being written about Carter's presidency after his death Sunday at 100 Many people know how he won the presidency after the corruption of Watergate by promising to be decent and honest - and regular He famously walked the inaugural parade route Also well remembered was how high energy prices inflation and the Iranian hostage crisis destroyed his presidency Carter and the initiative he created have spent decades working to settle disputes overseas monitor elections and eradicate some awful diseases There also was his work with Habitat for Humanity It's impossible to think of a president who has done more for the common good after leaving office It is worth mentioning here that Carter's faith as a born-again Christian can not be overlooked Follow politics for a bit and you often hear candidates and officeholders talk piously about their faith - and how they are guided by a belief in a higher power A lot of times this tends to be lip service That didn't seem to be the case with Carter whose faith was genuine He taught Sunday School into his 90's and he continued to live in Plains a small hamlet in the southwest part of the state he had no need to live in a mansion in an exotic location - or for excessive material treasures Jimmy Carter will not be judged as a great president But he will be judged as a great former president would do well to watch live coverage of President Carter’s Funeral today I would like to receive emails from Insider NJ Broadway Off-Broadway Off-Off Broadway Cabaret Dance Opera Classical Music Nashville Minneapolis / St. Paul Connecticut Atlanta Chicago Los Angeles WEST END UK Regional Canada Australia / New Zealand Europe Asia Latin America Africa / Middle East TV/Movies Music Audiences across America have been loving Tevye in New York! it arrives at Theatre West for two performances as Tevye tries to balance tradition with what it means to be an American Jew Tom Dugan is an acclaimed playwright/actor. His previous plays include Wiesenthal, Cemetery Pub, The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln Oscar to Oscar and Frederick Douglass- In the Shadow of Slavery His screen credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm He also has numerous regional theatre credits He portrays the title character in Tevye in New York he directed Cemetery Pub at Dugan's Backyard Playhouse He is the Producing Director of the Alliance Repertory Company a long-established non-profit organization in the Valley He's been a familiar face on television first from daytime drama including General Hospital an award-winning stint as a long-running character on ER and many episodic TV appearances including Star Trek: The Next Generation Proceeds from these two performances will be applied to further the ongoing artistic and educational activities of Theatre West LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE presents one of August Wilson’s greatest triumphs focusing on the decade of the ‘50s, the Pulitzer Prize winning play FENCES, directed by Yvette Freeman-Hartley (Laguna Playhouse acclaimed production of Ain’t Misbehavin’). FENCES  will run through Sunday, May 18 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Dr. in Laguna Beach. Blue Pen Theatre, a new voice in L.A.'s independent theater scene, launches its inaugural production with STUPID FUCKING BIRD by Aaron Posner-a sharp, hilarious, and deeply human remix of Chekhov's The Seagull. Ezekiel Theater Company has announced the world premiere of To Be Liberated, a powerful new play commemorating the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese occupation. The piece feels like a sophisticated relative of Cirque du Soleil and, with a striking funeral procession, a chorus of women villagers, and a revolving quartet of confessions, somehow also lands like a well-worn gem of musical theatre. function closestickysocial(){document.getElementById("foxsocial").style.display="none";}@media(max-width:1024px){.most-popular,.video-row{display:block;margin-top:25px}}Videos and exclusive discounts on tickets to your favorite shows © 2025 - Copyright Wisdom Digital Media, all rights reserved. Privacy Policy developers are hoping to take advantage of what they call a perfect location for an enormous retail center Thousands of people drive right by this location every day It's the former site of what used to be the Seneca Mall But there are some developers who are hoping to turn it into a 56-acre outdoor retail center with all kinds of stores Developers from Benchmark Streamline spoke at a West Seneca board meeting about their plans Martin Dellebovi from Benchmark Streamline said that they already have grocery stores there but they're hoping to bring in other categories of stores like sports They're even planning on areas for fuel and drive through fast food restaurants but that will entail a zoning change for that property In December Benchmark Streamline and NS Retail Holdings LLC bought the property for $22 million I've always wondered why there weren't more stores jumping to build in that area We lived in Springville when I was going up and we used to go to the Seneca Mall all the time Dellebovi pointed out that "the southern part of our Western New York area is underserved for retail development." Ralph Lorigo is the attorney for the project He mentioned that it's where so many of our highways all meet the project would start phase 1 as early as October of this year.  Phase 3 would end in January of 2028 Phase 2 will be somewhere between those two dates It would be pretty cool to see some of the stores and restaurants that we don't already have here take up residence in that retail center Can you even imagine if we could get a Raising Cane's or a Bojangles here The lot that has been vacant since 1994. Now, developers are hoping to take advantage of what they call a perfect location for an enormous retail center.\nRead More In December Benchmark Streamline and NS Retail Holdings LLC bought the property for $22 million By: 6:30 am on May 3 Permits have been filed for a nine-story residential building at 1779 West Farms Road in Crotona Park East Located between the Cross Bronx Expressway Service Road and East 174th Street the lot is closest to the 174th Street subway station is listed as the owner behind the applications The proposed 85-foot-tall development will yield 51,389 square feet designated for residential space most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 676 square feet The masonry-based structure will also have a 20-foot-long rear yard Yuriy Menzak of Menzak Architect is listed as the architect of record Demolition permits have not been filed yet An estimated completion date has not been announced Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates Like YIMBY on Facebook Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews Great to see the investment in redevelopment As long as it doesn’t run everyone out of the hood ga('send', 'event', 'beautyofblock', 'Impression', 'https://newyorkyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Standard_336x280-100-2.jpg', { nonInteraction: true }); ADVERTISEMENT ga('send', 'event', 'PCRichards Builders Division', 'Impression', 'https://newyorkyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PCR_Beko_Compact_YIMB_336x280.jpg', { nonInteraction: true }); ga('send', 'event', 'yimby+', 'Impression', 'https://newyorkyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image.png', { nonInteraction: true }); Follow on Instagram var sb_instagram_js_options = {"font_method":"svg","placeholder":"https:\/\/newyorkyimby.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/instagram-feed\/img\/placeholder.png","resized_url":"https:\/\/newyorkyimby.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sb-instagram-feed-images\/","ajax_url":"https:\/\/newyorkyimby.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php"}; © COPYRIGHT New York YIMBY® LLC, YIMBY IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF NIKOLAI FEDAK / NEW YORK YIMBY LLC, 2025 Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations A New Jersey man was convicted of attempted murder on Friday for stabbing author Salman Rushdie in 2022 Friday’s conviction of Hadi Matar, 27, came three years after the incident, in which authorities say Matar attacked Rushdie while he was speaking on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York state Police tackled Matar to the ground shortly after he stabbed Rushdie multiple times This is a developing story and may be updated. Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Salman Rushdie's name. Officials said Gov. Hochul has abandoned her push for a new criminal offense of "masked harassment." The agency's president used their paychecks to fund his own lavish lifestyle, Manhattan authorities allege. Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily. Gothamist is a website about New York City news I'm a born and raised New Yorker. I grew up in Queens, and after a four-year stint in Washington, DC, for college, I moved to Manhattan I thought I was going to live there for the rest of my life and I thought I wouldn't be able to live without a grocery store Then, I packed up and moved to Los Angeles and I wanted to experience the "perfect" California weather that so many rave about I knew there would be differences between life on the East Coast and West Coast but here are a few things that have surprised me most so far I knew Los Angeles was a driving city but I didn't realize how common it is for people here to treat their cars like big It feels like the norm to spend significant amounts of time and money washing and caring for vehicles here when someone has a car in New York City (and can actually find a parking spot for it) they really only drive it on weekends to leave the city — and they're almost certainly not souping the vehicle up LA-style my friends and I usually casually barhopped without a clear plan We might have chosen a neighborhood or had a starting point in mind but we'd always end up walking a block or two to try to find our next hangout spot In contrast, I've found that Los Angeles bar culture seems more destination-oriented People pick a spot — maybe two — and that's the night There seems to be more forethought and logistics involved in night-out plans perhaps because a lot of people drive and don't want to leave their cars or they need to plan their drinking around sobering up to drive home drinking alcohol in LA doesn't seem as popular here as it did in New York People in New York are more likely to use public transportation so they don't have to worry about getting behind the wheel after a night out It also feels easier to make plans that don't involve alcohol in LA since the warm weather lends itself to a lot of other options for socializing Since LA's weather is great most of the time people here are quick to be unhappy when it's anything less than perfect I've noticed that Angelenos seem more likely to cancel plans or be quick to complain I decided it was too chilly to write in my yard and went inside — it was 65 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny with a slight breeze and cheese boards to bask in the sun all day New Yorkers know very well what all the highs and lows of changing seasons can look like and a little rain or wind doesn't stop them In my opinion, hustle culture doesn't feel as glamorized in LA as it did back home Where being busy can translate to looking important in NYC — I've been that girl with her computer at the bar on a Friday night — people I've encountered in LA seem to set better boundaries to protect their work-life balance I can't help but think the perfect weather has something to do with it this city is also full of people chasing their dreams but it feels a lot easier to stop and take a break when you've got the California coast at your fingertips and there is nothing better than stopping in and grabbing a hot dog or two off the grill for lunch or dinner Western New York is known for its amazing food. From wings to beef on weck to pastry hearts, you will find great food all over the 716 If you are looking for somewhere new to grab a dog this week here are some can't-miss places in Western New York This is the one place every Western New Yorker has visited at least once Ted's has been around since 1927 and has locations all over Western New York Many people who leave Buffalo make it a point to get a dog from Ted's when they come back to visit Lucky's is one of the many "Red Hot" places in Western New York This made the list for me because I grew up in West Seneca and remember my dad taking us here all the time and it just feels like Buffalo when you sit down to eat Of course, every person has their list of the best places for Hot Dogs. If your favorite spot didn't make my list, let me know HERE or send in the name using our APP Gallery Credit: Dave Fields Check out the best spots to grab a Hot Dog in Western New York\nRead More Western New York is known for its amazing food. From wings to beef on weck to pastry hearts, you will find great food all over the 716 This is the one place every Western New Yorker has visited at least once Frank is art. pic.twitter.com/IhBg64q7nf Lucky's is one of the many "Red Hot" places in Western New York Of course, every person has their list of the best places for Hot Dogs. If your favorite spot didn't make my list, let me know HERE or send in the name using our APP (WHAM) — Mike Rogers and Elias Maldonado have seen and heard recent reports of drone sightings in New York and New Jersey Both have felt uneasy about the news in recent weeks I think that if it is someone using it appropriately that there should be more transparency about it," said Rogers BACKGROUND:New York State Police investigating reports of drone sightings across state that all of a sudden these sightings are starting to happen (and) they're not just drones like the average people have," said Maldonado The reported sightings in recent weeks have generated quite a bit of curiosity and speculation New York State Police announced an investigation Friday after receiving numerous reports of sightings above the state Gov. Kathy Hochul then called for more federal support and for Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. Essentially the act would strengthen the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of unmanned aircraft systems "I think with the proliferation of more drones and more people using them it may need to be looked at more in terms of regulation," said Rogers In a joint statement Thursday the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security addressed the reported sightings in New Jersey The agencies said authorities had historically experienced cases of mistaken identity in which reported drones were later found to be manned aircraft and this had been the case in recent weeks saying in part: "The FAA regulates drones to keep our neighborhoods safe and efficient where they can fly them and at what altitudes." The FBI/DHS statement continued on to say the reported sightings do "highlight the insufficiency of current authorities." The director of the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport said the airport was working with the FAA and was not aware of any recent issues Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker A fast-moving storm front is set to bring "enhanced" severe weather to New York State Your commute home from work or school could be greatly impacted by the weather Most of New York State is expected to be impacted by this storm system this afternoon and this evening There is an "enhanced" risk of severe weather starting this afternoon for the City of Buffalo and parts of Western New York It looks like the storm system will miss most of New York City and the surrounding areas There is a slight chance of rain tonight and into Wednesday morning the weather should be slightly above average for this time of year Some really nasty weather is set to impact parts of New York State today.\nRead More Most of New York State is expected to be impacted by this storm system this afternoon and this evening We are monitoring potential for severe T-storms late Tuesday P.M. into Tue evening. There is a Marginal (level 1 of 5) to Slight (level 2 of 5) Risk for areas north & west of Albany with damaging winds the main threat. Storms should weaken as they push south & east Tue night. pic.twitter.com/uuwJozxpAJ It looks like the storm system will miss most of New York City and the surrounding areas. There is a slight chance of rain tonight and into Wednesday morning, but overall, the weather should be slightly above average for this time of year. Flash flood warning until 12:45 Tuesday morning for portions of Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming counties RadarImpactful lake snow once again on the way to Western New Yorkby John Buonaugurio — Colder air is making its way into Western New York to start 2025 and lake effect snow has already begun across parts of the region Wednesday afternoon A trough diving across the Great Lakes will usher in markedly cooler air to the region just days after record warmth was in place across the same area lake snows will begin to kick up off of Lake Erie for areas west of Rochester rain will continue to change over to snow heading into Thursday morning This pattern will be in place through Sunday afternoon While the initial prolonged snow event will come to a relative close on Sunday it appears as though more light snow will follow by the middle of the following week Temperatures over the next 6-10 days will average about 10-15 degrees below the normal highs with indications of even colder air in the medium-range term as well As this much colder air moves over unfrozen lakes we can expect more lake snows through mid-January due to the orientation of the wind over the next few days out of the west-northwest Rochester proper will likely not see prolonged lake snows Lake snow totals should approach and even exceed 18-24 inches for areas near Tug Hill east of Lake Ontario which likely means 8-12 inches by the END of the snow event are a good possibility for Wayne County Travel east on Route 104 will be very difficult to nearly impossible at times travel along Interstate 90 from Hamburg to Erie will be very difficult at times Parts of Wyoming County could see 6-12 inches through the weekend as well Rochester and other areas closer to Lake Ontario could see roughly 3-6 inches by the weekend It is because of these snow amounts that a lake effect snow warning will go into effect until 6 p.m Stay with 13WHAM throughout the week and weekend to get the latest updates The Lent season is here, which means people across Western New York will be heading out for Friday Fish Fries Fish Fries are very popular here in Western New York especially during Lent when many people won't eat meat and opt for fish instead Lent is the 40-day period of prayer and fasting for Christian religions Friday Fish fries during Lent started way back in the late 1800s and the first fish fry for Lent can be traced back to German immigrants in Milwaukee There are usually several different sides served with Friday fish fries the fish fry is also served with tartar sauce Most restaurants in Western New York will offer a fish fry on Fridays during Lent Some places also have a Fish Fry on the menu all year long since they are very popular in the 716 some churches and fire halls will offer a fish fry on Friday Many of them will offer the fish fry as a drive-thru option so you can pick them up on the way home from work or school and restaurants will offer a fish fry during the Lent season this year Check out 45 different places to grab one in the 716 below The Lent season is less than a month away and that means people all across Western New York will be heading out for Friday Fish Fries Read More The Lent season is here, which means people across Western New York will be heading out for Friday Fish Fries Friday Fish fries during Lent started way back in the late 1800s Most restaurants in Western New York will offer a fish fry on Fridays during Lent Mother nature has struck again.  A massive lake effect storm is currently sitting over Western New York and it's making travel an issue They've been forecasting this storm for days.  Now that it's here it's living up to the hype.  Governor Kathy Hochul has already declared a State of Emergency for our area.  The National Weather Service has issued a Lake Effect Snow Warning for Western New York until 1 pm on Friday afternoon (12/13) which means that this isn't going to get better for a little while Your best decision is to stay home if you can.  That's not just for your own safety but also to help make the jobs of the people who are trying to keep the roadways clear a little easier.  If there are fewer people on the roads they're able to clear them up a little more efficiently.  Think about when you're trying to snow blow your driveway.  Is it easier when there aren't any cars in it As of 9 am , in Western New York, there are multiple travel bans and advisories in effect These advisories and bans will change throughout the day.  We will try to keep them updated as they come in.  Please avoid driving in these areas if at all possible Mother nature has struck again. A massive lake effect storm is currently sitting over Western New York and it's making travel an issue.\nRead More As of 9 am , in Western New York, there are multiple travel bans and advisories in effect 1 of 2: There are now new Driving Bans for the Town and Village of Orchard Park, Town of Aurora and Village of East Aurora and Town of Elma.There are also Driving Bans in the Towns of Brant, Evans and Hamburg and Villages of Farnham, Angola, Hamburg and Blasdell. pic.twitter.com/icmPWOBMMN Absolute whiteout conditions here in Hamburg, NY. Roads are quickly becoming impassable @RadarOmega @foxweather pic.twitter.com/ob3yzE3MR3 12/12 -10:30 a.m. - Travel Ban in Towns of Aurora, Boston, Brant, Elma, Evans, Hamburg, Orchard Park & inclusive villages. Travel advisories: South half of City of Buffalo, Lackawanna, West Seneca, Marilla, Holland, Wales, Colden, Concord, Eden, North Collins, Collins, Sardinia. pic.twitter.com/wX76ZtrSwU TRAVEL ALERT - I-90: The westbound on-ramp to Rt 219 south at exit 55 (Springville - Orchard Park - Lackawanna - West Seneca - US Route 219 - Ridge Road) is now closed until further notice Route 400 North closed from Route 16 in Aurora to I-90 in West Seneca. Reported 10:38 am.We can't say this enough. Lake effect snow is intense. Strong winds are creating painful windchills.Stay indoors as much as you can. Stay off roads so plows & emergency vehicles can work. pic.twitter.com/5PbzT0cBWK Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More Areas that received heavy lake-effect snowfall in recent weeks were hit with more heavy snow during the latest weather event According to the National Weather Service in Buffalo here are some of the latest snowfall amounts that landed on the ground:  To see if your area has a recorded snowfall amount, click here for the official NWS map. Seven people have been arrested over ‘horrific’ death of Sam Nordquist A similar case in Wyoming once helped fuel the LGBTQ+ rights movement So far, seven people have been charged with the murder of Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old Black transgender man who was tortured and murdered in western New York state last month. It was a case that Capt Kelly Swift of the state police’s bureau of criminal investigation said was “one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated”. Some similarities between the deaths of Nordquist and Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who was brutally attacked, tortured and left to die while tied to a fence outside Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998, are becoming apparent. Two men were eventually convicted for Shepard’s murder, and his death became symbolic of anti-gay hate and helped fuel the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Seven people have now been charged in connection with the murder of Nordquist, but it’s not yet clear if his death will help to kick off a comparable movement focused on anti-trans hate. Details of the Nordquist case remain sketchy, but the suspects are accused of subjecting Nordquist of “prolonged physical and psychological abuse” after he had travelled from Minnesota to the Finger Lakes region in September to meet a girlfriend, Precious Arzuaga, whom he met online. Nordquist’s family reported him missing on 9 February. Police began a missing persons investigation, and investigators found his body three days later in a field 15 miles south-east of Patty’s Lodge motel in Hopewell, New York, where he had been staying. Arzuaga, 38, of Canandaigua, New York, is among those charged with murder. Read more“I had a bad feeling from the start it wasn’t going to end well,” Nordquist’s older sister, Kayla, said earlier this month “He thought he was in love with this woman and he thought that this woman loved him back.” His mother described Sam as “outgoing … with a heart of gold” Details released in a felony complaint for five of the defendants said they had “recklessly engaged” in conduct that created “a grave risk of death … by torturing sexually assaulting [him] with a table leg and broomstick and repeatedly subjecting [him] to prolonged beatings” Evidence suggests that Nordquist had been subjected to physical abuse between December and February culminating in what the Ontario county district attorney said was “by far the worst homicide investigation that our office has ever been a part of … no human being should have to endure what Sam endured.” Prosecutors have declined to designate Nordquist’s murder as a hate crime citing the fact that “Sam and his assailants were known to each other and at least one of the defendants lived with Sam in the time period leading up to the offense.” Five were initially charged – Precious Arzuaga; Patrick Goodwin who carries a conviction for disseminating indecent material to minors; Jennifer Quijano both charged with second-degree murder of depraved indifference Under New York law a hate crime is defined as an offense committed “in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct” It does not matter – in theory – how the assailants identify It is the victim’s identity that is important and the assailants’ attitude towards it Many questions remain how or if Nordquist’s gender and race played in his death But one thing is certain: the horrific crime happened at a time when trans rights are under attack across the US “The murder of Sam Nordquist shows us that we have not done enough to change the material conditions of trans people’s live, particularly trans people of color,” said Raquel Willis, the Black trans co-founder of Gender Liberation Movement The investigation is unfolding against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s cuts to legal protections for trans people Donald Trump ordered the government to define sex as only biologically male or female The National Park Service eliminated all references to transgender people from its website for the Stonewall national monument in New York that commemorates a 1969 gay rights riot the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dropped lawsuits related to transgender discrimination claims and openly transgender service members are now barred from the US military The administration also moved to end federal support for gender transition care in people younger than 19 and to bar transgender athletes from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams In a February press release the Anti-Violence Project (AVP) said regardless of classification anti-trans violence often intersects with racism hate violence and intimate partner violence A report in the Washington Post last week pointed to an increase in the number of trans people looking to arm themselves replicating a tradition of members of US minorities purchasing guns for safety including the Black Panthers in the 1960s and women seeking self-defense options in the 1970s and 1980s “There is definitely a heightened sense of anxiety and fear that things are getting worse when they were bad to start off with,” said Eric Stanley a UC Berkeley gender studies professor and author of Atmospheres of Violence Prosecutors in western New York have not ruled out the possibility of more arrests in the Nordquist case and warn that it was still a “very fluid” investigation Meanwhile, vigils and tributes to Nordquist are being held across the region. New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, said in a statement that she had directed state police to provide “any and all support and resources” as law enforcement officials investigate Nordquist’s death and whether it was a hate crime But, for the moment, the echoes to the Shepard case remain. In a statement, the foundation in his name said it was joining the LGBTQ+ community in mourning Nordquist’s death, reposting a statement by the Human Rights Campaign: “Trans people are our friends They deserve to live their lives with dignity and joy Lake effect snow and strong winds will make for difficult travel A complex storm is heading toward the Western New York region on Wednesday and Thursday A wintry mix across the area Thursday morning will make for a slow commute The wintry mix will change to all rain early Thursday before changing back to snow Thursday afternoon Winds will be strong and temperatures will drop late Thursday Any slush will freeze up making for a slow Thursday afternoon commute Valentine's Day will be quiet with highs near 20 The next system arrives Saturday morning with snow continuing through Sunday evening A rain and snow mix in possible Saturday afternoon Early model runs are forecasting 5 to 10 inches of snow by late Sunday No warm-ups are on the way as temperatures are expected to stay below normal through February 24 A decision on whether a data center will come to an advanced manufacturing site in Genesee County could happen this week The Genesee County Economic Development Corporation will select from three possible tenants to build the data center at the Western New York Science and Advanced Manufacturing Park mega site in Alabama The development corporation’s staff recommends proceeding with Project Double Reed the codename for the project by Stream Data Center USA in close consultation with the technical team particularly from an environmental standpoint and provided the best overall fit at the STAMP site,” Masse said in the statement The two other options were Project Potentia and Project Rampart which both offered less capital investment and fewer jobs but also required less than half the total tax exemptions of Project Double Reed but large-scale facilities didn’t come onto the scene until Google built its 1.3 million-square-foot facility in 2006 Why did GCEDC recommend Project Double Reed?A memorandum from the development corporation staff detailed the rationale behind promoting Project Double Reed Data Centers proposal by the numbersThe project calls for developing roughly 59 acres of property on the west side of Crosby Road for multiple buildings totaling 900,000 square feet Opposition from the publicThe hearings saw opposition to any data center from around upstate New York with concerns about the demands on local utilities and impacts on the nearby wetlands and Tonawanda Seneca Nation Adjacent protected areas include Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area A total of 618 comments were submitted by email with an additional 57 comments submitted at the hearing One complaint at the first public hearing was the timing Allies of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation issued a statement on March 3 opposing the selection of Double Reed They cited its high energy usage of 250 megawatts a year and a public investment cost-per-job of $3.9 million and face opposition from other WNY communities concerned about their noxious public health and environmental impacts,” the statement said “The proposed data center would be sited on a parcel of land characterized by wetlands and located immediately adjacent to the Reservation Territory of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation climate and the Great Lakes for the Democrat and Chronicle he has covered myriad topics over the years national politics and economic development in New York and Utah One of the more storied rivalries in the history of the NFL the 2024 edition of the Dolphins-Bills series wraps up Sunday in Orchard Park The Dolphins enter at 2-5 looking to close the gap on the 6-2 Bills who are looking for the sweep after winning 31-10 in Week 2 at Hard Rock Stadium Here's what the Dolphins players and coaches are saying ahead of this crucial divisional matchup Head Coach Mike McDaniel: "They thrive on other people's mistakes They're literally challenging you to do right longer and take advantage of groups of players that are unable to execute down-in and they do a masterful job of putting it on the other team to earn the win." You go in there knowing it's going to be hostile You just love when you're able to do good as a team as a unit and be able to quiet those guys down Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.: "This is a Bills team that's been to the playoffs since Josh Allen has been there so it's just about finding ways to overcome that hurdle and that obstacle." Focus heading into the second half of the season Safety Jordan Poyer: "You try to do one percent extra and continue to stay the course and have that belief that things will turn because what a cool opportunity this week to go to Buffalo Outside linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah: "It's not too late We've still got a lot of games left to be played we've got to go out there and handle business." Fullback Alec Ingold: "I think it's been obviously a tough start to the year So being able to stop hesitating and ask ourselves what's going on and just continuing to try and fix problems what does it mean and how do we use it to move forward." For more on the Dolphins, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield Dolphins add former Doak Walker Award winner in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft The Dolphins make it two Terrapins in three picks adding safety Dante Trader Jr returns to his hometown after fulfilling lifelong dream of being drafted by the Miami Dolphins The NFL selected Miami Dolphins fan Lucas Rossetti as the 2024 NFL International Fan of the Year at the 2025 NFL Draft NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: (L-R) Olivia Lili Sutton and Joshua Valdez attend while Teton Ridge brings "Window To The West" series from the heart of Texas to the streets of NYC on September 12 (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Teton Ridge) along with members of the Western New York legislative delegation sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul outlining concerns with the illegal migrants entering Western New York.   lawmakers highlight concerns of illegal immigrants being given housing throughout Western New York communities in the wake of a contract termination with DocGo NYC How much the new housing situation is going to cost local taxpayers if residents in existing facilities will be notified that migrants are moving in and who will be responsible for keeping track of individuals due for asylum hearings are just some of the concerns being voiced by the lawmakers A private investor has purchased a 28-unit apartment building in West New York for $3.95 million in a deal arranged by Cervelli Real Estate and Property Management changed hands after a marketing effort that yielded 45 offers The final sale price equated to a capitalization rate of 4.9 percent adding that the building “presented a significant opportunity for upside.” we secured exceptionally favorable terms for the owner,” firm Principal Michael Cervelli said The team noted that the property is just a few blocks from the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail’s Bergenline Avenue station has been covering New Jersey commercial real estate for 13 years Many industry leaders view him as the go-to real estate reporter in the state a role he is eager to continue as the editor of Real Estate NJ He is a lifelong New Jersey resident who has spent a decade covering the great Garden State Restaurant chain Bojangles has opened along a major commercial corridor in Piscataway as part of a previously announced deal brokered by The Goldstein Group All RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright 2023 Real Estate NJ 101 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland Our site uses cookies. Learn more about our use of cookies: cookie policy While Canadian tourists typically spend billions in the United States business owners and tour operators in New York and New Jersey say they’re feeling a financial chill this year as Canadians stay home over trade war concerns used to be a regular visitor to Buffalo Niagara and she doesn’t plan to visit while Donald Trump is the president “I’m too chicken,” Grech said while stopped at a gas station in Niagara Falls After hearing stories about people being detained for extended periods at the border, having their phones searched and even being mistakenly deported to El Salvador, Grech doesn’t want to risk a similar fate “And our dollar is (weak) compared to yours When Trump began talking about putting tariffs on Canadian imports earlier this year – slinging insults in the process – some Canadians vowed not to buy American products or visit the United States for as long as Trump is in power Canadian cross-border traffic at Buffalo Niagara’s four local bridges dropped 17% in March compared to last year People cross the Rainbow International Bridge from Canada into the U.S Canadian shoppers – who make up a significant part of the Canadian tourist trade – have more options closer to home than they did years ago It’s a swift drop that had been predicted by local tourism professionals when the brouhaha began And the situation has only gotten worse as the president continues to insist that Canada should become America’s 51st state “I did an interview on CTV a couple weeks ago we received several calls from many Canadians across the country who said ‘This has nothing to do now with the tariffs This really is about our sovereignty,’ “ said Patrick Kaler president and CEO of tourism board Visit Buffalo Niagara Hospitality professionals worry that recent events surrounding troublesome border crossings will have a further chilling effect on tourism Fears of rising prices and economic instability are changing the way some consumers spend strategically making big-ticket purchases early to avoid tariffs or impulsive "doom spending." “The vast majority of individuals who are authorized to enter the United States are being inspected and admitted without issue,” said John F. Quill, chair of immigration practice at Mintz law firm in Massachusetts, in a blog post filled with extra precautions travelers can take when they visit the United States there have been numerous instances of individuals being detained and/or summarily removed (and) deported from the United States based on questionable decision making and legal analysis by the Department of Homeland Security and by Customs and Border Protection officers,” he said The Canadian dollar periodically dipped below 70 cents from late January to mid-March – a more than five-year low – although it has regained some of its value and now is worth around 72 cents which is closer to the range it has traded in since 2022 A lower Canadian dollar makes it more expensive for Canadians when they purchase things in the United States Canadian shoppers – who make up a significant part of the Canadian tourist trade – also have more options closer to home than they did years ago There’s now a factory outlet mall in Niagara Falls which gives Canadians an alternative that doesn’t require crossing the border where wait times at the region’s international bridges can commonly top 30 minutes and discourage Canadians from making what otherwise might be a quick trip to the U.S But as stories of negative incidents at the borders trickle out fewer Canadians seem to want to chance running afoul of them just to cross the border for an overnight shopping trip or a stateside getaway “People can relate to these tourists – they see these detainees as experiencing something that could very well happen to them,” said Timothy Hellwig a professor of political science at the University at Buffalo that could spell big problems on this side of the border That’s because Canadian tourism to the United States is a big deal Our neighbors to the north are our top international visitor making up 20.4 million visits last year and spending $20.5 billion That Canadian spending supports 140,000 American jobs even small declines can make a huge difference would mean $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 lost jobs The economic uncertainty caused by the Trump administration's tariff policies already are hurting the Buffalo Niagara job market - and it likely will only get worse in the coming months And it’s not just tourism from Canada that is suffering Trips to the United States from Europe have fallen according to the National Travel and Tourism Office Visitors from Western Europe fell 17.2% in March; from the Middle East by 17.7%; South America 10.4%; and Central America 23.9% who visited Niagara Falls State Park last week said she had second thoughts about traveling in the United States while Trump is president “But we have relationships here and they’re more important than him,” she said several travelers – from places such as Spain and the United Kingdom – said crossing the border into the United States had been easier than they were expecting many said they were too nervous about the United States’ political situation to be quoted by name about their travel Softness in the Buffalo Niagara tourism market has ripple effects in the larger economy And local tourist attractions depend heavily upon Canadian tourists “When fewer Canadians cross the border into the United States the aquarium often experiences a decline in attendance,” said Christine Stephans a spokesperson for the Aquarium of Niagara “As a regional attraction located just minutes from the Rainbow Bridge Canadian visitors – especially those from southern Ontario – make up a meaningful part of our guest mix particularly during the peak travel season.” Tourists take pictures from Prospect Point in Niagara Falls State Park earlier this month “We had several members reach out to us via our social media accounts to let us know that they would not be renewing their memberships due to the policies of our current administration,” Stephans said “They expressed that they enjoyed visiting the Aquarium for years and that their decision had nothing to do with the quality of our offerings.” said the big danger is that Canadians keep staying away throughout the nearly four years remaining on Trump’s term you are more likely to be able to weather the storm if it’s only six months or a year gas stations will feel it the most in terms of lost revenue and jobs the entire area will likely also feel it in terms of lost tax revenue,” Lindsey said business owners and tour operators in New York and New Jersey say they’… (WKBW) — We're heading into the first weekend of March Here are seven things to do in Western New York You can find more information about these events in the video at the top of the page and in the links provided We want to hear what’s going on in your community Share your voice and hear from your neighbors The latest lake-effect snow band has hit several counties in Western New York this week here are some of the latest snowfall amounts that have landed on the ground: