https://www.westsidespirit.com/city-arts/a-look-inside-the-artsy-and-freaky-freeman-alley-with-karen-s-quirky-new-york-YI6219809 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T12:20:38-04:00 A Look Inside the Artsy and Freaky Freeman Alley with Karen’s Quirky New York https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/1-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-2026_4-11125222_20260922154702.jpg Karen Rempel welcomes you to the famously graffiti-covered Freeman Alley, a popular downtown haunt for the avant-garde and rebellious artists. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/2-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-2026_4-11125238_20260922154702.jpg Freeman Alley buzzes with podcasters, Instagrammers, TikTokers, graffiti artists, and snoops. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/4-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-2026_4-11125244_20260922154927.jpg Graffiti art: paint and collage, adorned with unexpected greenery in Freeman Alley https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/5-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-2026_4-11125247_20260922154927.jpg Karen Rempel surrenders to being immersed in graffiti in Freeman Alley. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/6-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-2026_4-11125250_20260922154928.jpg 3 Freeman Alley is the entrance to Untitled, a boutique minimalist hotel with a rooftop bar. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/7-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-2026_4-11125253_20260922154928.jpg Karen Rempel transforms into a trickster ready to take New York. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/8-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-2026_4-11125256_20260922155052.jpg Freeman Alley is a living art space, continuously regenerating. Here a graffiti artist prepares the canvas for a new iteration. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/9-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-2026_4-11125259_20260922155052.jpg The ominous Freeman Alley at night seems to harken back to its coffin-maker roots. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/10-karen-s-quirky-new-york-sept-202_4-11125262_20260922155053.jpg A Tesla Cybertruck, spotted on Chrystie Street, around the corner from Freeman Alley has been hit with “LOOT’s throw” (graffiti tag). https://www.westsidespirit.com/features/education-guide/teaching-advice-from-the-late-great-frank-mccourt-KJ6182509 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T13:57:36-04:00 Teaching Advice from the Late, Great, Frank McCourt https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/frank-mccourt-by-old-stuy-high_4-11084202_20260909163154.jpg Frank McCourt, before a photo of the original Stuyvesant High School on East 15th Street, where he was a creative writing teacher for 20 years before becoming the Pulitzer Prize winning author of “Angela’s Ashes.” https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/angleas-ashes_4-11084375_20260909163154.jpg Frank McCourt was born in Brooklyn, NY, but wrote about the hard scrabble life growing up in Limerick in his Pulitzer Prize winning memoir. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/img-2164a-0_4-11084379_20260909163154.jpg The writer Tom Allon campaigned to have the public high school at 145 W. 84th Street named for the former teacher and Pulitzer Prize winning author. The school was named for him on Oct. 6, 2009, less than three months after McCourt’s death on July 19 at the age of 78. https://www.westsidespirit.com/features/education-guide/kids-cooking-program-deserves-a-chef-s-kiss-ED6151503 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T13:59:13-04:00 Kids’ Cooking Program Deserves A Chef’s Kiss https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-08-28-at-12-17-07-pm_4-11048697_20260828123152.png Cultured Kids Cuisine offers free online classes that educate children about culture and history through cooking to help our next generation develop a broader palate and celebrate diversity. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-08-28-at-12-07-20-pm_4-11048699_20260828123156.png Cultured Kids Cuisine is run by a global team of several hundred student volunteers, and every virtual workshop is inspired by a traditional recipe connected to a region or culture from around the world. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/aboutpage-founderimage-dd36fbb05b40ac_4-11048701_20260828123202.jpg Mia Kotikovski is the founder and CEO of Cultured Kids Cuisine and a medical student at The Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, focusing on pediatric surgery. https://www.westsidespirit.com/features/education-guide/seven-changes-shaping-city-public-schools-in-the-new-academic-year-IG6181129 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T14:05:02-04:00 Seven Changes Shaping City Public Schools in the New Academic Year https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-09-09-at-3-30-48-pm_4-11084209_20260909155433.png Students line up for their first day of school at P.S. 257 in 2024. https://www.westsidespirit.com/features/education-guide/as-school-begins-nyc-families-keep-watch-for-ice-CY6199848 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T14:07:51-04:00 As School Begins, NYC Families Keep Watch for ICE https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-09-15-at-1-58-29-pm_4-11103056_20260915135850.png Juan, Margarita’s 18-year-old son, leaves to take his siblings to their first day of school. https://www.westsidespirit.com/features/education-guide/stuyvesant-high-school-student-receives-billie-jean-king-award-YC6206203 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T14:10:38-04:00 Stuyvesant High School Student Receives Billie Jean King Award https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-09-17-at-4-01-22-pm_4-11114372_20260917160633.png Jayden Howard (center), a Stuyvesant High School student, received the Billie Jean King Tennis Junior Achievement Award at an annual City Parks Foundation fundraiser. Pictured alongside him (left to right): Kim Clijster, Peter Hurley and Billie Jean King. https://www.westsidespirit.com/features/education-guide/mayor-zohran-mamdani-artificial-intelligence-moratorium-DL6184151 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T14:15:37-04:00 School Is Back in Session With New AI Limitations https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/55504671868-2f16dc60fe-3k_4-11087820_20260910122127.jpg Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels announced a moratorium on student-facing generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in schools on Sept. 2, 2026. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/55504730134-61e336870f-o_4-11087823_20260910122128.jpg The announcement took place at the Brooklyn STEAM Center. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/55504571576-a6735579e5-o_4-11087826_20260910122129.jpg The moratorium was designed to “put students first” with a generative AI ban and age-appropriate screen time restrictions. https://www.westsidespirit.com/features/fall-education-guide-2026-YD6225616 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T14:31:59-04:00 Fall Education Guide 2026 https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/pexels-charlotte-may-5965787_4-11131980_20260924143200.jpg https://www.westsidespirit.com/news/author-says-famed-editors-of-conde-nast-were-first-social-media-influencers-LD6225872 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-24T18:44:47-04:00 Author Says Famed Editors of Condé Nast Were First Social Media Influencers https://www.westsidespirit.com/news/harlem-washington-heights-getting-new-public-toilets-DE6226173 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-25T12:18:45-04:00 Harlem, Washington Heights Getting New Public Toilets https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/mayor-mamdani-brings-17-new-public-ba_4-11133595_20260924164041.png Harlem and Washington Heights are receiving two of 17 new modular public toilets being rolled out citywide, City Hall says. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/locked-toilet_4-11137401_20260925121846.jpg Many of the city’s public restroom are often locked and unavailable to the public, critics have long complained. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/55532288541-9c23aa34a3-c_4-11133650_20260924164708.jpg The new bathrooms will come with a hard 10-minute limit, however, which has some people with gut conditions unnerved. https://www.westsidespirit.com/home/dad-of-two-hit-by-biker-in-central-park-is-near-death-family-member-KH6229693 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-25T15:56:55-04:00 Dad of Two Hit by Biker in Central Park Is Near Death: Family Member https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/west-drive-near-west-84th-st_4-11137857_20260925150445.jpg A stretch of Central Park near West 84th Street where a 41-year-old man was hit by a speeding pedal bike and suffered severe head trauma. A family member said the victim underwent two brain surgeries and is not expected to survive. https://www.westsidespirit.com/news/20-year-old-man-plunges-to-death-in-fall-from-uws-building-MY6230196 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-25T16:17:44-04:00 20-Year-Old Man Plunges to Death in Fall from UWS Building https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/2182-broadway_4-11138611_20260925171738.jpg The intersection of Broadway and West 77th St. Police said the body of a 20-year-old man was discovered outside the Larstrand Building, a luxury rental building at 2182 Broadway on September 23. https://www.westsidespirit.com/news-alert-section/from-camper-to-headliner-teen-speaks-at-central-park-climate-concert-CB6223523 hourly The Spirit - Westsider en 2026-09-25T16:19:54-04:00 From Camper to Headliner: Teen Speaks at Central Park Climate Concert https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/9-22-26-summerstage-youngthegiant-st_4-11132899_20260924151219.jpg Ian McKinney, a 16-year-old environmental activist from LaGuardia High School, speaks to a crowd of nearly 3,000 at the SummerStage Music For Action benefit concert. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/5c7a8514-ed4b-4585-95b6-bce4e182311e_4-11128724_20260924151222.jpg Ian McKinney and Eva Scarano, Founder of LymeLnk, which joined with the City Parks Foundation to sponsor the benefit concert. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/9-22-26-summerstage-youngthegiant-st_4-11132902_20260924151226.jpg Chrissy Word, CPF Director of Education, introduces NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura at the SummerStage benefit concert. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/828eb101-fa81-4dad-96f2-28f4c9b5a113_4-11128794_20260924151229.jpg Ian McKinney and Chrissy Word backstage at the SummerStage benefit concert in Central Park on Sept. 22. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/9-22-26-summerstage-youngthegiant-st_4-11132905_20260924151233.jpg Young The Giant performed at the Music for Action benefit concert for Climate Week NYC. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-09-23-180629_4-11128797_20260923183818.png Ian McKinney, a 16-year-old environmental activist, spoke to the crowd at a SummerStage benefit concert on Sept. 22. https://www.westsidespirit.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-09-23-180729_4-11128800_20260923183820.png Ian McKinney has a notice on the back of his t-shirt, urging people to be wary of tick bites.