Good afternoon, everyone.
If you find yourself with an extra 90 minutes this week, may I suggest the Krasner and Pollock show at The Met, followed by a tuna and artichoke sandwich from Sant Ambroeus? My friend Allegra took me on this exact route last week, and I’m still thinking about the green paint used in Krasner’s paintings, which are shown alongside her husband Jackson Pollock’s work — her influence on him is astounding. The Met wasn’t too crowded, although I’m not sure if that is still the case after the show got a splashy write-up in last weekend’s New York Times Magazine. Rose Florence (who writes about art when she isn’t running brand at Alex Mill) published a great review of the show that peers deeper into Krasner’s life. (She was born in Brooklyn! Visiting MoMA in her 20s changed her life!)
Today’s newsletter includes: A recent Hamptons town hall meeting debated the fate of chain stores on Main Street, a New York baker making apple pie on par with McDonald’s (complimentary), a 96-room Montauk hotel is for sale, Anonymous Transit Expert on Jay-Z and Capex, Brooklyn’s oldest newspaper is launching a magazine, an election night party at Night Club 101, Kallmeyer proposes a holiday party uniform, and we might be approaching a B2B media renaissance.
🇺🇸 2026 MIDTERM NEWS 🇺🇸
The Atlantic is hosting their first live election special, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. — a live broadcast of the magazine’s flagship podcast, Radio Atlantic.
Semafor’s Max Tani reported that Mike Lawler’s campaign informed Bloomberg that it is “revoking all RSVPs and press credentials for Bloomberg reporters.” Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported that canvassers for Mike Lawler – a Republican candidate who is seeking reelection to represent New York’s 17th Congressional district, one of the bluer districts in the country currently held by a Republican – were suing his campaign for unpaid wages and discrimination.
Tani is hosting a live Election Day special on Semafor’s YouTube that starts later today.
Hell Gate is hosting an Election Day livestream, in addition to parties at bars around the city.
Bruce Springsteen has expressed his support of Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. On Instagram, The Boss wrote, “Dr. El-Sayed is a fighter for our American Constitution, he’s a fighter for our American Democracy, and he’s a fighter against the corrupt, lawless, and anti-American leadership currently in the White House. That’s why I’m in his corner 100%.” El-Sayed’s team then posted a video on social media set to Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”
Secret Ballot co-founder Audrey Horne is hosting an election night party at Nightclub 101 tonight.
He Said He Gets it Custom, You a Customer! By Feed Me’s Anonymous Transit Expert.
Guess who’s back? The Anonymous Transit Expert started writing Stand Clear – a transportation-focused column that served as Feed Me’s Metro Section – in 2024. The Anonymous Transit Expert has to stay anonymous because he has a Real Job in a Real Office.
I believe the AI infrastructure boom is being paid for with undisciplined debt, and the costs will eventually fall on ordinary people like you and me rather than the tech companies. But before we get to all that, let me tell you about Hot 97.
In 1988, a terrestrial radio station beaming hip-hop from the Empire State Building’s mast could still be called “new media.” Last month, however, New York’s Hot 97 earned its legacy stripes by shedding talent amidst a public boil-over in a way that would make a Newhouse magazine blush. The station was a load-bearing pillar of nineties hip-hop, and remained a tastemaker through the late 2000s. I have fond memories of driving down from our forested suburb to the old Yankee Stadium, picking up the station somewhere around Newburgh, and letting Lil Wayne and T.I. shake the panels of my dad’s Volvo in ways that were usually forbidden.
But today isn’t about Hot 97, or (thank god) the Yankees; it’s about the feeling I’ve had reading the Financial Times every morning for the last three years. Far too often I’m met with the same headline: “[Tech Company] signs $[XX] billion dollar deal with [Money Manager].” And each time, it puts me in mind of a Hot 97 moment that’s been seared in my brain for 15 years: Funkmaster Flex’s premiere of Jay-Z and Kanye’s “Otis.” He took a three-minute single and stretched it into 22 minutes, with 12 rewinds and an arsenal of explosion sound effects. If a listener were to engage with it unprepared, they’d risk being driven insane. When I see those FT headlines on the train each morning, I hear echoes of Funk Flex in my ear.
“More has been spent this year on AI Capex than transit infrastructure, office real estate, or housing. I’m sure this is all an extended Super Bowl for the contingent of the midtown vest brigade who fancy themselves not just sharp underwriters who know what duration-matching means but entendre-building esotericists who are smarter than you, and seek to prove it with referential SPV names.”