New York Magazine October 10-23, 2022

1 New York’s latest issue featured a special section examining “The New Asian America” (September 26–October 9). Radio producer Samantha Lui said it was “essential reading for everyone,” and The New Yorker’s Michael Luo praised the “fantastic, thought-provoking package. Sifting through it all and thinking about it all. Kudos to everyone … who worked on this.” Although the cover, a self-portrait by artist Susan Chen, was inspired by her survey of Asian Americans on what they were buying to protect themselves from violence during the pandemic, several commenters criticized the magazine’s use of it. Evelyn Yang, the wife of former presidential and mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, wrote, “This is awful framing and an editorial offense.” On Instagram, Jeff Li commented, “I can appreciate the intent of the message, but painting…

Ask any three kids... what the future will be like and you’ll get three completely different answers. That’s the beauty of a child’s imagination: It’s limitless, and never is that more apparent than during creative play. Spontaneous, unstructured playtime fosters innovation, problem-solving, and confidence, in addition to helping children develop fine motor skills and learn to cope with their feelings. In fact, 95 percent of children in the LEGO® 2022 Playwell Study said creative play helps them try out new ideas. As a reminder of what the world could be like if only we dreamed it, we gave three kids piles and piles (and piles) of LEGO bricks and let their imaginations run wild. With the help of a LEGO Master Builder (yes, that’s a real job), they created everything…

INSIDE: A schools consultant for Brooklyn’s panicked parents / Curtain call for Phantom’s longtime hands / A talk at the end of a life RECESSIONS HAPPEN. The last one was the shortest on record, but what a blip: About one-sixth of the country lost their jobs over 60 days when COVID hit, and it could have been worse if not for a worldwide plan to subsidize everyone and everything. Twelve years had elapsed since the start of the prior recession—a jerky climb out of a Wall Street–made mess with a Wall Street–made bailout that, in turn, warped an anything-goes national psyche into a distrustful, paranoid one. Now another recession feels all but inevitable just as we’re totally out of faith in the government’s ability to do anything about it. The…

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S Phantom of the Opera arrived from London in January 1988 amid enormous hype, chandelier-crashing its way to seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. With several other big imported shows (Cats, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon), it would reshape Broadway toward spectacle and tourist appeal. “We thought we were hot shit,” says Russell Easley, who got his first job on Broadway as a dresser for the actor playing Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. “And we were!” He’s among a small group that stayed with Phantom—then just kept staying. When it ends on February 18, the show’s run will have reached 35 years and 13,909 performances, by far surpassing all previous Broadway records. (It will continue in London, for now, and on tour.) For old-timers like Easley, this is the end…

I SPEND THE WHOLE entire spring and summer telling people not to procrastinate, to do a consult in spring or summer or to book me for the fall,” Joyce Szuflita says when her face fills my Zoom screen, sounding like a high-school soccer coach who warned everybody to run in the offseason. She doesn’t say the words, but her tone conveys the message: These people never fucking listen. It’s a rainy Wednesday morning, and I’ve managed to secure two hours with the most coveted dispenser of advice in Brooklyn, a one-name celebrity known simply as “Joyce” from Ditmas Park to Greenpoint. She is booked solid for the next three weeks. Clients are swarming her inbox to reserve one of the few remaining slots in November. For the better part of…

RECENTLY, MY PARTNER Adam’s grandfather David called to let us know he was proceeding with his plan to die. He had Parkinson’s, and in the past two years, as his mobility and quality of life deteriorated, he’d been openly considering what is commonly referred to as voluntary assisted death. We—Adam and I, David’s three kids, and his extended family and friends—knew that he’d gone so far as to locate a facility in Switzerland that would help him, but even so, the timing surprised us. He was only 85 and still lived a relatively independent life. Adam and I were both recovering from COVID-19. He was testing negative, so he booked an early flight the next day to say good-bye. I wasn’t well enough to travel yet, so I called David…