New York Election Live Results 2024

Published

2 years ago

November 5, 2024

Press Room

Thomas SchiavoniT. SchiavoniSchiavoni Democrat 56%

Stephen KielyS. KielyKiely Republican 44%

81%

Jodi GiglioJ. GiglioGiglioincumbent Republican 65%

Tricia ChiaramonteT. ChiaramonteChiaramonte Democrat 35%

84%

Joseph De StefanoJ. De StefanoDe Stefanoincumbent Republican 61%

Trina MilesT. MilesMiles Democrat 39%

71%

Rebecca KassayR. KassayKassay Democrat 50.4%

Edward FloodE. FloodFloodincumbent Republican 49.6%

58%

Douglas SmithD. SmithSmithincumbent Republican 65%

Michael ReynoldsM. ReynoldsReynolds Democrat 35%

73%

Philip RamosP. RamosRamosincumbent Democrat 65%

Daniel MitolaD. MitolaMitola Republican 35%

61%

Jarett GandolfoJ. GandolfoGandolfoincumbent Republican 63%

Garrett PetersenG. PetersenPetersen Democrat 37%

80%

Michael FitzpatrickM. FitzpatrickFitzpatrickincumbent Republican 66%

Steven BasileoS. BasileoBasileo Democrat 34%

85%

Michael DursoM. DursoDursoincumbent Republican 66%

Steven DellaVecchiaS. DellaVecchiaDellaVecchia Democrat 34%

73%

Steve SternS. SternSternincumbent Democrat 56%

Aamir SultanA. SultanSultan Republican 44%

75%

Kwani O’PharrowK. O’PharrowO’Pharrow Democrat 50.2%

Joseph CardinaleJ. CardinaleCardinale Republican 49.8%

71%

Keith BrownK. BrownBrownincumbent Republican 57%

Thomas CoxT. CoxCox Democrat 43%

81%

Charles LavineC. LavineLavineincumbent Democrat 57%

Ruka AnzaiR. AnzaiAnzai Republican 43%

51%

David McDonoughD. McDonoughMcDonoughincumbent Republican 60%

Ellen Lederer DeFrancescoE. Lederer DeFrancescoLederer DeFrancesco Democrat 40%

51%

Jake BlumencranzJ. BlumencranzBlumencranzincumbent Republican 55%

William MurphyW. MurphyMurphy Democrat 45%

54%

Gina SillittiG. SillittiSillittiincumbent Democrat 51%

Daniel NorberD. NorberNorber Republican 49%

66%

John MikulinJ. MikulinMikulinincumbent Republican 62%

Harpreet ToorH. ToorToor Democrat 38%

44%

Noah BurroughsN. BurroughsBurroughs Democrat 85%

Danielle SmikleD. SmikleSmikle Republican 15%

44%

Edward RaE. RaRaincumbent Republican 64%

Sanjeev JindalS. JindalJindal Democrat 36%

80%

Eric BrownE. BrownBrownincumbent Republican 63%

Tina PosterliT. PosterliPosterli Democrat 37%

57%

Judy GriffinJ. GriffinGriffin Democrat 55%

Brian CurranB. CurranCurranincumbent Republican 45%

51%

Michaelle SolagesM. SolagesSolagesincumbent Democrat 64%

Ian BergstromI. BergstromBergstrom Republican 36%

45%

Stacey Pheffer AmatoS. Pheffer AmatoPheffer Amatoincumbent Democrat 51%

Thomas SullivanT. SullivanSullivan Republican 49%

87%

David WeprinD. WeprinWeprinincumbent Democrat 61%

Ruben CruzR. CruzCruz Republican 36%

75%

Nily RozicN. RozicRozicincumbent Democrat 53%

Kenneth PaekK. PaekPaek Republican 47%

69%

Edward BraunsteinE. BraunsteinBraunsteinincumbent Democrat 68%

Robert SperanzaR. SperanzaSperanza Conservative 32%

74%

Sam BergerS. BergerBergerincumbent Democrat 57%

Angelo KingA. KingKing Republican 43%

79%

Andrew HevesiA. HevesiHevesiincumbent Democrat 58%

Jonathan RinaldiJ. RinaldiRinaldi Republican 42%

83%

Alicia HyndmanA. HyndmanHyndmanincumbent Democrat 86%

Dwayne MooreD. MooreMoore Republican 14%

78%

Steven RagaS. RagaRagaincumbent Democrat 60%

Brandon CastroB. CastroCastro Republican 40%

74%

Khaleel AndersonK. AndersonAndersonincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Vivian CookV. CookCookincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Clyde VanelC. VanelVanelincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Jessica Gonzalez-RojasJ. Gonzalez-RojasGonzalez-Rojasincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Larinda HooksL. HooksHooks Democrat

Uncontested

Zohran MamdaniZ. MamdaniMamdaniincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Claire ValdezC. ValdezValdez Democrat

Uncontested

Jenifer RajkumarJ. RajkumarRajkumarincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Catalina CruzC. CruzCruzincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Ron KimR. KimKimincumbent Democrat 55%

Philip WangP. WangWang Republican 45%

67%

Kalman YegerK. YegerYeger Democrat

Uncontested

Rodneyse BichotteR. BichotteBichotteincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Brian CunninghamB. CunninghamCunninghamincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Robert CarrollR. CarrollCarrollincumbent Democrat 85%

John BennettJ. BennettBennett Republican 15%

91%

Michael NovakhovM. NovakhovNovakhovincumbent Republican 50.5%

Joey Cohen-SabanJ. Cohen-SabanCohen-Saban Democrat 49.5%

75%

Alec Brook-KrasnyA. Brook-KrasnyBrook-Krasnyincumbent Republican 53%

Chris McCreightC. McCreightMcCreight Democrat 47%

75%

William ColtonW. ColtonColtonincumbent Democrat 61%

David SepiashviliD. SepiashviliSepiashvili Republican 39%

72%

Simcha EichensteinS. EichensteinEichensteinincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Lester ChangL. ChangChangincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Emily GallagherE. GallagherGallagherincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Marcela MitaynesM. MitaynesMitaynesincumbent Democrat 77%

Erik FrankelE. FrankelFrankel Republican 23%

67%

Jo Anne SimonJ. SimonSimonincumbent Democrat 94%

Brett WynkoopB. WynkoopWynkoop Conservative 6%

>95%

Maritza DavilaM. DavilaDavilaincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Erik DilanE. DilanDilanincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Latrice WalkerL. WalkerWalkerincumbent Democrat 92%

Berneda JacksonB. JacksonJackson Republican 8%

63%

Stefani ZinermanS. ZinermanZinermanincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Phara ForrestP. ForrestForrestincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Monique Chandler-WatermanM. Chandler-WatermanChandler-Watermanincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Jaime WilliamsJ. WilliamsWilliamsincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Nikki LucasN. LucasLucasincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Charles FallC. FallFallincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Michael ReillyM. ReillyReillyincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Sam PirozzoloS. PirozzoloPirozzoloincumbent Republican 58%

Matthew MobiliaM. MobiliaMobilia Democrat 42%

80%

Michael TannousisM. TannousisTannousisincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Grace LeeG. LeeLeeincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Deborah GlickD. GlickGlickincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Linda RosenthalL. RosenthalRosenthalincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Edward GibbsE. GibbsGibbsincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Micah LasherM. LasherLasher Democrat

Uncontested

Jordan WrightJ. WrightWright Democrat 91%

Seson AdamsS. AdamsAdams Republican 9%

72%

Al TaylorA. TaylorTaylorincumbent Democrat 87%

Joziel AndujarJ. AndujarAndujar Republican 13%

68%

Manny De Los SantosM. De Los SantosDe Los Santosincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Alex BoresA. BoresBoresincumbent Democrat 74%

Awadhesh GuptaA. GuptaGupta Republican 26%

91%

Harvey EpsteinH. EpsteinEpsteinincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Tony SimoneT. SimoneSimoneincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Rebecca SeawrightR. SeawrightSeawrightincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Landon DaisL. DaisDaisincumbent Democrat 75%

Norman Sobe McGillN. McGillMcGill Republican 21%

57%

George AlvarezG. AlvarezAlvarezincumbent Democrat 74%

John SantiagoJ. SantiagoSantiago Republican 26%

62%

Chantel JacksonC. JacksonJacksonincumbent Democrat 80%

Sharon DarbyS. DarbyDarby Republican 16%

58%

John ZaccaroJ. ZaccaroZaccaroincumbent Democrat 68%

Nicholas MarriccoN. MarriccoMarricco Republican 27%

73%

Jeffrey DinowitzJ. DinowitzDinowitzincumbent Democrat 77%

Kevin PazminoK. PazminoPazmino Republican 23%

84%

Michael BenedettoM. BenedettoBenedettoincumbent Democrat 69%

Juan De la CruzJ. De la CruzDe la Cruz Republican 31%

90%

Carl HeastieC. HeastieHeastieincumbent Democrat 89%

Stephanie LiggioS. LiggioLiggio Republican 11%

74%

Amanda SeptimoA. SeptimoSeptimoincumbent Democrat 77%

Rosaline NievesR. NievesNieves Republican 20%

59%

Emerita TorresE. TorresTorres Democrat 79%

Kelly AtkinsonK. AtkinsonAtkinson Republican 18%

61%

Yudelka TapiaY. TapiaTapiaincumbent Democrat 75%

Woodrow Hines, Jr.W. Hines, Jr.Hines, Jr. Republican 23%

57%

Karines ReyesK. ReyesReyesincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Amy PaulinA. PaulinPaulinincumbent Democrat 61%

Thomas FixT. FixFix Republican 39%

23%

Gary PretlowG. PretlowPretlowincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Nader SayeghN. SayeghSayeghincumbent Democrat 55%

John IsaacJ. IsaacIsaac Republican 45%

13%

Steven OtisS. OtisOtisincumbent Democrat 62%

Katie MangerK. MangerManger Republican 38%

17%

MaryJane ShimskyM. ShimskyShimskyincumbent Democrat 59%

Alessandro CroccoA. CroccoCrocco Republican 41%

18%

Chris BurdickC. BurdickBurdickincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Matthew SlaterM. SlaterSlaterincumbent Republican 64%

Zachary CouzensZ. CouzensCouzens Democrat 36%

70%

Dana LevenbergD. LevenbergLevenbergincumbent Democrat 60%

Michael CapalboM. CapalboCapalbo Republican 40%

29%

Patrick CarrollP. CarrollCarroll Democrat 58%

Ronald DizR. DizDiz Republican 42%

80%

John McGowanJ. McGowanMcGowanincumbent Republican 50%

Aron WiederA. WiederWieder Democrat 46%

63%

Karl BrabenecK. BrabenecBrabenecincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Christopher EachusC. EachusEachusincumbent Democrat 51%

Tom LapollaT. LapollaLapolla Republican 49%

61%

Paula KayP. KayKay Democrat 52%

Louis IngrassiaL. IngrassiaIngrassia Republican 48%

83%

Brian MaherB. MaherMaherincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Christopher TagueC. TagueTagueincumbent Republican 64%

Janet Tweed TweedJ. TweedTweed Democrat 36%

93%

Sarahana ShresthaS. ShresthaShresthaincumbent Democrat 64%

Jack HayesJ. HayesHayes Republican 36%

95%

Jonathan JacobsonJ. JacobsonJacobsonincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Anil BeephanA. BeephanBeephanincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Didi BarrettD. BarrettBarrettincumbent Democrat 58%

Stephan KrakowerS. KrakowerKrakower Republican 42%

66%

Chloe PierceC. PiercePierce Democrat 55%

Scott BendettS. BendettBendettincumbent Republican 45%

62%

John McDonaldJ. McDonaldMcDonaldincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Gabriella RomeroG. RomeroRomero Democrat 72%

Alicia PurdyA. PurdyPurdy Republican 28%

81%

Phillip SteckP. SteckSteckincumbent Democrat 58%

Jeff MaddenJ. MaddenMadden Republican 42%

93%

Angelo SantabarbaraA. SantabarbaraSantabarbaraincumbent Democrat 62%

Joseph MastroianniJ. MastroianniMastroianni Republican 38%

86%

Mary Beth WalshM. WalshWalshincumbent Republican 61%

Joe SeemanJ. SeemanSeeman Democrat 39%

20%

Carrie WoernerC. WoernerWoernerincumbent Democrat 56%

Jeremy MessinaJ. MessinaMessina Republican 44%

19%

Matthew SimpsonM. SimpsonSimpsonincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Billy JonesB. JonesJonesincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Scott GrayS. GrayGrayincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Kenneth BlankenbushK. BlankenbushBlankenbushincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Robert SmullenR. SmullenSmullenincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Marianne ButtenschonM. ButtenschonButtenschonincumbent Democrat 50.5%

Christine EspositoC. EspositoEsposito Republican 49.5%

79%

William BarclayW. BarclayBarclayincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Joe AngelinoJ. AngelinoAngelinoincumbent Republican 66%

Vicki DavisV. DavisDavis Democrat 34%

64%

Brian MillerB. MillerMillerincumbent Republican 63%

Adrienne MartiniA. MartiniMartini Democrat 37%

61%

Donna LupardoD. LupardoLupardoincumbent Democrat 59%

Lisa OKeefeL. OKeefeOKeefe Republican 41%

81%

Christopher FriendC. FriendFriendincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Anna KellesA. KellesKellesincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

John LemondesJ. LemondesLemondesincumbent Republican 54%

Ian PhillipsI. PhillipsPhillips Democrat 46%

74%

Albert StirpeA. StirpeStirpeincumbent Democrat 58%

Timothy KellyT. KellyKelly Republican 42%

75%

Pamela HunterP. HunterHunterincumbent Democrat 62%

Daniel CiciarelliD. CiciarelliCiciarelli Republican 38%

62%

William MagnarelliW. MagnarelliMagnarelliincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Brian ManktelowB. ManktelowManktelowincumbent Republican 54%

James SchulerJ. SchulerSchuler Democrat 46%

35%

Jeff GallahanJ. GallahanGallahanincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Philip PalmesanoP. PalmesanoPalmesanoincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Andrea BaileyA. BaileyBailey Republican 65%

Colleen Walsh-WilliamsC. Walsh-WilliamsWalsh-Williams Democrat 35%

94%

Josh JensenJ. JensenJensenincumbent Republican

Uncontested

Jen LunsfordJ. LunsfordLunsfordincumbent Democrat 60%

Kimberly DeRosaK. DeRosaDeRosa Republican 40%

84%

Sarah ClarkS. ClarkClarkincumbent Democrat 69%

Orlando RiveraO. RiveraRivera Republican 31%

75%

Demond MeeksD. MeeksMeeksincumbent Democrat 72%

Marcus WilliamsM. WilliamsWilliams Republican 28%

47%

Harry BronsonH. BronsonBronsonincumbent Democrat 62%

Tracy DiFlorioT. DiFlorioDiFlorio Republican 38%

74%

Stephen HawleyS. HawleyHawleyincumbent Republican

Uncontested

William ConradW. ConradConradincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Crystal PeoplesC. PeoplesPeoplesincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Patrick BurkeP. BurkeBurkeincumbent Democrat 50.7%

Marc PrioreM. PriorePriore Republican 49.3%

>95%

Patrick ChludzinskiP. ChludzinskiChludzinski Republican 52%

Monica Piga WallaceM. Piga WallacePiga Wallaceincumbent Democrat 48%

>95%

Paul BolognaP. BolognaBologna Republican 62%

Michelle RomanM. RomanRoman Democrat 38%

>95%

Angelo MorinelloA. MorinelloMorinelloincumbent Republican 61%

Jeff ElderJ. ElderElder Democrat 39%

>95%

Karen McMahonK. McMahonMcMahonincumbent Democrat 60%

Deborah KilbournD. KilbournKilbourn Republican 40%

95%

David DiPietroD. DiPietroDiPietroincumbent Republican 68%

Darci CramerD. CramerCramer Democrat 32%

88%

Joseph SempolinskiJ. SempolinskiSempolinski Republican 64%

Daniel BrownD. BrownBrown Democrat 36%

30%

Jonathan RiveraJ. RiveraRiveraincumbent Democrat

Uncontested

Andrew MolitorA. MolitorMolitor Republican 63%

Mike BobseineM. BobseineBobseine Democrat 37%

>95%

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How a Museum Security Guard and Artist Lives on $51,000 in Parkchester

Published

4 days ago

July 6, 2026

Press Room

How a Museum Security Guard and Artist Lives on ,000 in Parkchester

How can people possibly afford to live in one of the most expensive cities on the planet? It’s a question New Yorkers hear a lot, often delivered with a mix of awe, pity and confusion.

We surveyed hundreds of New Yorkers about how they spend, splurge and save. We found that many people — rich, poor or somewhere in between — live life as a series of small calculations that add up to one big question: What makes living in New York worth it?

Ryan Compton knows a thing or two about gigs. To make it in New York, he has worked as a retail associate inside the Museum of Modern Art’s gift store, a cashier for a downtown taqueria and a paint mixer for Takashi Murakami. He has experienced the paradox of a city both known for its artists and for pricing artists out.

Financial constraints forced Mr. Compton, who is from South Jersey, to move away from New York twice over the course of two decades. He has lived in Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia, but remains convinced the resources and people inside New York are unparalleled.

“You never know who you’re going to run into,” he said. “Everyone’s curious about each other.”

Since moving back in 2022, he has whittled down his source of income to a single gig as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he made $51,000 before taxes last year. It’s his second time at the museum. He first worked there part-time in 2011 before leaving in 2015 to earn his master’s degree in sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

“I know I couldn’t afford graduate school and the cost of living in New York at the same time,” he said.

A third try at New York life has forced Mr. Compton, now 46, to confront the sustainability behind a career as both an interdisciplinary artist and a security guard — even inside one of the most famous museums in the world.

Love at First Sight (With New York)

As an undergraduate student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Mr. Compton looked forward to spending weekends at his friend’s apartment gallery in the East Village in Manhattan.

A combination of showing face and knowing the right person led to his side project at the time — fashioning 3-d printed stuffed animals with skull faces — which were featured in an issue of Vogue Japan. He even sold a few inside a handmade craft store in Tokyo’s Ginza district for about $1,000.

“I was interested in the contrast between fuzzy-shaped animals and skulls,” he said, later adding, “You know, stuff when you’re a 20-something-year-old being kind of edgy.”

The early moment of success propelled Mr. Compton to chase after opportunities to showcase his work. While supporting himself financially through retail and service jobs, he helped write the artist Roman Ondak’s interactive performance piece at MoMA, “Measuring the Universe;” and worked as a collaborator for “No Souls for Sale,” an experimental project temporarily at Dia Chelsea and later, the Tate Modern in London. Both went unpaid.

“The chance to work in modern art before I was 30 is unheard of,” Mr. Compton said. “It only happens in New York.”

A Slower Pace

Tens of thousands of people flock to the Metropolitan on weekends, and it’s Mr. Compton’s job — one he has found increasingly difficult — to make sure the art is untouched. He believes social media has altered the way visitors engage with the museum. Think more selfies and poses leaned against Hellenistic marble.

The one hour work commute from Parkchester in the East Bronx gives him time to prepare for a long day ahead. He splits a two-bedroom with a co-worker for $1,000 a month and pays $50 in utilities. Heat and water are included in his rent, and his roommate covers the cost of Wi-Fi. He pays $90 each month for his phone bill.

The slower pace of the residential neighborhood matches the stage of life he’s in now. In the last few years, Mr. Compton has slowed down as he has come to terms with the expenses behind his art.

He no longer has free access to fabrication laboratories pegged to his university, and he has opted for the more cost-friendly hobbies of zine-making and book binding. He is, however, eyeing a $1,000 3-d printer. For now, he has settled on $20 a month Photoshop subscription.

The largest constraint tempering Mr. Compton’s spending is his $100,000 student loan debt from graduate school. The window for his deferment period closed, and even with some money he inherited after his mother passed, he says he needs a miracle to finish paying off his loans. “I’m not sure what to do anymore,” he said.

Splurging on Plants and Experimental Harsh Noise Records

Mr. Compton may not have any children, but he is a proud “plant dad.”

His apartment houses $1,000 worth of plants sourced through Facebook groups, pop-ups and by following Brooklyn Horticulture online. He typically pays $30-$50 for medium to large sized plants, but he is constantly on the lookout for deals.

When he isn’t at home with his plants, Mr. Compton treks into Manhattan to do his weekly grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s. He prefers the prices there to local spots in the Bronx and estimates he spends $70 each week.

A cash guzzler of Mr. Compton’s food budget is the $20 a day — an additional $80 a week — he spends at the Metropolitan’s staff cafeteria for breakfast and lunch. When working 12 hour shifts, “I’m not gonna go home and make something to bring the next day,” he said.

On his days off, he seeks out affordable food deals. He frequents Vanessa’s Dumplings in Chinatown for their $8 dumpling special.

When in the mood to treat himself, Mr. Compton rides the train a few more stops out to Ridgewood, Queens and Bushwick, Brooklyn, to visit his favorite record stores like Fringe Records and Nexus Records. An experimental harsh noise aficionado, he spends no less than $100 each visit.

His biggest and most recent splurge was a 10-day trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka in Japan in February. He was able to cut his $900 round trip ticket to $700 with credit card points. Add in the cost of hotels, meals and souvenirs, he spent close to $5,000 total.

“I wanted to go because my artwork had been to Japan, but I haven’t been to Japan,” he said.

Looking Ahead

Mr. Compton wants to strike a balance between saving and enjoying the life he dreamed of in New York. To help pay off his loans, he considered applying to be an art handler for the Metropolitan, a job with a slight pay bump. But without his present benefit of overtime pay, he’s afraid he would be making less than he does currently.

Over the years, Mr. Compton has found community among other security guards at the Metropolitan, who, like him, are artists. He has also built inroads with notable names at the museum, one being Sheena Wagstaff, the former chairman of modern and contemporary art, who he said took the time to know Mr. Compton not only as a co-worker, but also as an individual, too.

Because of his connections, he feels like he has nowhere else to go. He considered a quieter lifestyle upstate in Westchester or the Catskills, but believes he will make less money outside of the city. And, of course, he would have to leave the place he’s called home for the majority of his adult years.

“I did four other cities, and they weren’t as good or great as I like New York,” he said. “I always end up here.”

We are talking to New Yorkers about how they spend, splurge and save.

New York

10-Minute Challenge: The Ceiling at Grand Central

Published

4 days ago

July 6, 2026

Press Room

10-Minute Challenge: The Ceiling at Grand Central

You made it time. If you want to look a little longer, just scroll back up and press “Continue.”

Look up.

Before you commute home to suburbs like Tarrytown and Larchmont, or race toward the next stop on your tourist map, take a minute.

Look up to see the stars.

One hundred and twenty-five feet above you are 2,500 stars and six signs of the zodiac along the ecliptic, a line that represents the path of the sun across the sky:

The signs are joined by a few others: Orion, Pegasus, Triangulum and, in the center of it all, Musca Borealis (the Northern fly, or sometimes called Apis, the bee). The Milky Way streaks across the ceiling in the opposite direction. The whole thing is ringed by intricate plaster moldings along the clerestory windows. Fifty-nine of the stars twinkle.

Who says there isn’t magic in Midtown?

The original early 1900s plan for the ceiling was to build a massive skylight so commuters could look up at the actual stars:

But time and money were short, so the architects asked the artist Paul Helleu to design a version of the sky on the ceiling instead. Helleu took inspiration from star atlases from the 1600s. His main resource was the Uranometria from 1603, a lushly illustrated volume that was the first detailed cataloging of individual stars, their positions and brightness. See how similar the figures are. This is Aries:

Here’s Taurus, the bull:

A heart balloon — one of several — had floated up the day we took this photograph, nestling between Orion’s club and Taurus’s horn (maybe an earthly sign that this heavenly hunt might finally resolve).

Converting the flat drawings of a spherical sky re-projected onto a semi-cylindrical vaulted ceiling would have been no easy task. The design work was done by a famous scenic designer and muralist, James Monroe Hewlett, and was overseen by the Columbia astronomy professor Harold Jacoby, who in 1910 assured a panicked public that Halley’s comet would not hit Earth.

Dozens of painters got to work. The terminal opened at midnight on Feb. 2, 1913. The New York Central Railroad boasted “that many school children will go to the Grand Central Terminal to study this representation of the heavens.”

Two weeks later, a commuter from New Rochelle (and a hobby astronomer) looked up at the ceiling and realized that west was east and east was west and the sky was not, actually, in a proper arrangement. Only Orion was shown in the “correct” orientation. He wrote a “wrathful” letter to the station. As The New York Times reported in 1913, officials at Grand Central “did not deny the charge that things were a bit mixed, but held that it was a pretty good ceiling for all that.”

How this happened is still a matter of debate, given Professor Jacoby’s astronomical blessing.

Michael Allison, a former NASA planetary scientist at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (and a former adjunct in the Columbia astronomy and astrophysics department), met me last month at the great clock under the ceiling to explain his theory.

“I’ve stared at the ceiling I don’t know how many hours,” he said. “I keep hoping I can discover one more thing.”

The liberties taken, Mr. Allison said, like re-sizing the constellations to fit the space and flipping Orion (in relation to the rest), were carefully done. Ultimately, a good marriage of art and science. He thinks Jacoby was a victim of big project bureaucracy, that it was all a mixup.

Jacoby probably expected the design he approved to be projected overhead, where the result would match the plans if you held them above you. The painters put them on the floor instead. Hence, the flip.

But this “heavenly view” — the stars as if they could be seen from above, looking down — may not be a bad view at all.

“There are just so many bad things happening in the world now that I think the sky offers a perspective that can lift us above that,” Mr. Allison said.

For Deirdre Newman, the great-granddaughter of the muralist Hewlett, who painted the ceiling, the imperfection “is what art is.”

Ms. Newman, it turns out, is also a painter of murals and ceilings. But these days, if she has to flip an image, she just hits a button on the projector.

“Anytime I make a mistake painting, I’m like, this proves that it’s art,” she said. “It is not perfection, and it shouldn’t be — it would be a sad thing if it was.”

The stories that we’ve given to the stars over millenniums, some of the most retold tales in history, are hardly orderly — stories of fate, violence, betrayal, revenge, sex and punishment. Cancer helps Hera in pinching a rival’s foot. Orion, son of Poseidon, is placed in the stars by Zeus, locked in an eternal hunt. The two fish of Pisces (Aphrodite and Eros) are linked together to escape the monster-of-all-monsters, Typhon.

Or the stories are totally different if you were Babylonian or Egyptian, Greek or Roman. Today, the stars mean something else again to a devoted user of the horoscope app Co-Star, seeking reassurance after a breakup. And to a commuter standing in Grand Central, looking up while waiting for the train, the stars might just be a momentary diversion, a decorative way to pass the time. Or more.

Take what you want. Take what you need.

***

By the 1940s, the ceiling had fallen into disrepair, so they painted a whole new one on four-foot-by-eight-foot asbestos sheets over the old one. This is the version that exists today. Eventually that second ceiling, too, grew dark with grime and had to be cleaned from 1996 to 1998. The difference was stark. As you were zooming in, you may have noticed a little dark square by Cancer. They deliberately left one bit of the uncleaned ceiling here:

The best time to take all of it in — the ceiling, and the majesty of the station — might just be coming this weekend. The setting sun will line up with Manhattan’s street grid and should (pending clouds) bathe the terminal in a beautiful golden glow Saturday at 8:19 p.m. and Sunday at 8:20 p.m. I plan to be on the east balcony looking west on Sunday for that moment.

See you there.

How we took the photograph

To generate a high-resolution panorama of the ceiling, The Times captured 232 close-up images. We then used software to stitch these photos into an equirectangular projection, to approximate the curve of the ceiling. We also developed custom computer vision software to ensure consistent color blending across varying lighting conditions. To optimize for display efficiency and clarity during navigation, the image was then re-projected into the shape of a cube. We think it’s still a pretty good picture for all that.

This is an installment in our series of experiments on art and attention. If you liked this one, you may like these past exercises: a finished, unfinished portrait; a sudden rain over a bridge; a unicorn tapestry; some buckets from Home Depot; and a Whistler painting.

Sign up to be notified when new installments are published here. And let us know how this exercise made you feel in the comments.

New York

Metropolitan Diary Challenge Day 2: How to Write Your N.Y. Story

Published

1 week ago

June 30, 2026

Press Room

Metropolitan Diary Challenge Day 2: How to Write Your N.Y. Story

By Ed Shanahan Illustrations by Agnes Lee

Ed Shanahan has been the editor of Metropolitan Diary for 10 years. Agnes Lee has drawn more than 2000 illustrations for the weekly column since 2017.

June 28, 2026

Welcome to Day 2 of the Metropolitan Diary challenge, part of our celebration of the column’s 50th anniversary. On Day 1, we gave you tips for identifying your New York City story. Today, we’ll help you write it. (Missed Day 1? It’s not too late to start.)

What makes for a good Diary? It’s simply a good story that happens to be set in, and capture, the essential New York-ness of the city. While this isn’t a full writing course, we do have guidance on the kinds of elements that the submissions we publish include. They typically have: a beginning, middle and end; sharp details; catchy dialogue; a bit of surprise; some humor, warmth or emotion. But there is no formula, so flouting these loose rules can be worthwhile.

Don’t worry if you don’t think of yourself as a “writer.” Focus on being a “storyteller.” Pretend you are telling your story to the person who’d most appreciate it, using whatever conversational language or pacing that would hold their attention. Do it out loud if you want, maybe give that person a call and tell them your story (or tell it to them again). Then write it down.

That’s the big picture. For more tips, read on.

Here is an example of a published Diary that we (and readers) really liked, and a few thoughts on why that may help crystallize yours.

Unacceptable

Dear Diary:

I went to a new bagel store in Brooklyn Heights1 with my son.

When it was my turn to order, I asked for a cinnamon raisin bagel with whitefish salad and a slice of red onion.2

The man behind the counter looked up at me.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t do that.”3

— Richie Powers

One of this item’s best qualities is that it is short and snappy. Only 53 words! Although we will use stories of up to 300 words, many don’t need to be that long and the column doesn’t work if we don’t have a mix of long, medium and short, so we are always looking for stuff like this. Here’s another one!

A black and white illustration of a doorman holding the door for two people entering a building.

At Attention

Dear Diary:

It was December 1967. I had just finished basic training at Fort Dix in New Jersey and was traveling to Boston in uniform. For reasons I no longer recall, I stopped in New York City on the way.1

Walking on the Upper East Side2 in a snowstorm, I spied another man in a uniform. He was older, and his cap bore the familiar gold band that identified him as an officer.

I rendered a snappy salute. It was not returned. 3The uniform was unfamiliar, so I guessed he was a foreign officer. Military courtesy still required me to salute.

A little farther down the street, I encountered another officer and offered another salute that went unacknowledged.4 His uniform was strange to me as well.

The third time it happened, the man I saluted ignored me while holding the door for a couple 5on their way into a large apartment building.

I realized I had been saluting doormen.6

— Stephen Salisbury

To get your storytelling muscles going, think through or jot down the answers to some of these questions.

Let’s start with setting the scene.

When and where in the city did this happen? Is this place well-known?

Was there anything particular about that point in your life that’s relevant?

What did you see, hear, smell? Was there something notable about the weather?

Now, let’s move to the middle, the meat of the story.

Did you have an exchange with someone?

What details are important to how events unfolded, especially in setting up the ending?

And now, the end.

What’s the resolution? Is there a punchline?

Does the story end with a sense of shared humanity or some other warm feeling that lingers? You don’t need to name it. A good description will often allow readers to feel it too.

Why has this experience stayed with you?

Lines like “and that’s why I love New York” are almost always unnecessary.

That’s it. Keep your story simple and use the kind of plain language you use in conversation. You are sketching a moment in time. The details are important. Let them move the story along. Have fun and good luck.

Once you’re done, read through what you’ve got. What details are less important and can be left out? (Remember, there is a strict 300-word limit.)

Write your Metropolitan Diary however you like, on paper, on your phone or wherever! When you’re happy with what you’ve written, put your diary entry into the box below, fill out your information and submit it. You might just hear from me about including it in a future column.

That’s it! Submit your Metropolitan Diary.

This is the official submission form, so make sure to double-check your work before hitting submit.

By transmitting your submission, you grant The New York Times Company a perpetual, royalty-free license to use the submission in any medium. They may be edited, and may be republished and adapted in all media. You may reprint your story elsewhere after it appears in The Times.