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Welcome to the Sugary Scoop, my free weekly newsletter where I help you see and experience the magic of NYC that I love so much through curated events, experiences, artists, and community stories.
Served up extra crispy w/ a healthy dash of oregano and red pepper flakesâĻ
Whatâs new this week?
A Slice of NYC
So fresh off the amazingness that was my partnership with SummerStage, Iâm thrilled that another partnership came a knockinââĻ
And this time itâs going to be surrounding something I think all New Yorkers can get behindâĻ
PIZZA!Â
YeeeeesâĻyou heard right.
Sugary is pleased to announce an official partnership with NYC Pizza Week!
About a month or so ago Sugary member and long time friend Andrew Young approached me about this idea he had had to take his pizza crawls that so many of us know and love and âtake it to the next levelâ.
What does that mean?
Well, because Andrewâs pizza crawls have been so successful heâs made friends with a sizable slice of the pizza making community (pun intended).
And so this initiative is to rally the entire NyC community around our favorite independent pizza shops.
Not the Prince Streets, Patsys, and LâIndustries of the worldâĻthey get enough love.
Iâm talking more about the lesser known neighborhood haunts, the places that exist as go-tos on your neighborhood corner, the mom and pop shops that struggle to keep up with the times and the new upstarts trying to reinvent this centuries old recipe.
And I have a feeling that once we participate in this citywide initiative, weâre gonna find our commonalities fitting perfectly within that ubiquitous yet welcoming 16 inch cardboard boxâĻdifferent flavors yet somehow all too familiar where it counts.
So whether itâs umami or undercarriage, char or cheese, toppings or texture, thereâs clearly something for everyone here.Â
Some might judge pizzas on âone biteâ because âeveryone knows the rulesââĻbut around this town, no one ACTUALLY cares, there are no rules, we love what we loveâĻ
âĻand we take as many bites as we want.Â
I look forward to sharing many pies with all of you!
Sugary đŦ
I saw the sign, (and it opened up my eyes)âĻ
Loop Tape
Let me ask you somethingâĻ
Do you believe in signs?
Particularly the ones that flirt with serendipity and serve as omens of both good and evilâĻ
For my entire life, I never haveâĻ
âĻthough I canât deny that every now and then something comes my way, that really does defy logical probability and opens the door with allusions of greater meaning.
Some would say itâs celestial alignment, some insinuate paranormal forces at play while others immediately cast their gaze upward (or downward) towards a more deific influenceâĻ
Look, I really donât know and I suppose this particular jury will always be up for debate. But, when something happensâĻyou canât help but wonder.
And well folksâĻsomething happened.
As many of you know, two weeks ago, I was invited to partner with SummerStage on their largest blockbuster free concert of the season.
It was in celebration of Verve Recordâs 70th anniversary.
At the time that I was offered this opportunity, I was given the license to select whichever concert resonated most with me from their slate of âfree to the publicâ concerts. Quickly scanning the entire calendar, the moment I saw the lineup for the September 3rd show, I knew it was the one.
It had to be the one.
You see, I come from the music world. And more specifically, my entryway into music was jazz. So when you tell me there is a lineup featuring Grammy award winning artists Samara Joy (vocalist) and Christian McBride (bassist) with support from the incredible Mei Seimones (bossa nova) and aSparklmami DJ setâĻ I got two words for you:
âIâm inâ.
And I honestly didnât need to even give it a second thought. This was definitely gonna be the concert I was going to get behind. As the day of the show arrived, I woke up with eager anticipation for what the evening would bring. Â
The crowded flocks amassed to witness jazz greatness and a heavy representation of the Sugary community numbering over 100+ present to enjoy this moment as a community.
I was stokedâĻ
âĻand then a news notification popped up on my phone. I didnât immediately look at it because I was too focused on getting the day started and eventually the notification got lost in the sea of other texts that I got throughout the day confirming attendances for the evening.
As the evening kicked off, I beamed at seeing my logo splashed across the screens as introductory speeches gave away to the performance itself.
And it was amazing.
But when it came time for the headlining performance, something unorthodox happened.
After the introduction, instead of the band coming out, only one person emerged and beelined it to the microphone.
It was none other than Christian McBride.
Christian had a solemn look on his face as he addressed the audience and asked them to memorialize the passing of legendary jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson.Â
A ripple of shock and gasps rippled through the audience as a projection of Cassandra image appeared on the big screen.
1955 - 2026.
Age 70. Far too young.
Christian then proceeded to ask the audience if they would indulge him with one song that he wanted to perform in honor of her before the headlining show. No one objected.
There on the stage, Christian took up the bass with his masterful hands and made those low tones weep with a distinctive Mississippi vibe that spoke of a girl once born in Jackson.
It was heartfelt, it was necessary, and it was beautiful.
As I stood there in disbelief, it suddenly dawned on me that I had actually received a news notification earlier in the day and immediately went to my phone and scrolled up. Sure enough, the news of the morning would have spared me the surprise of the evening.
Because apart from the fact that Cassandra was truly a legend in every known circle of music and jazz, thereâs a deeper significance to my personal storyâĻ
Please tell meâĻwhat are the chances that I end up with my biggest official brand partnership, hosting a night celebrating jazz and Verveâs 70th Anniversary, in a genre that I got my start in, on the day Cassandra Wilson died at age 70âĻ
âĻand as it turns out Cassandra had been the first official jazz concert I ever bought a ticket to see and it was at the legendary Blue NoteâĻ
âĻright at the exact time I was exploring culture at large in NYC and my friends had strongly suggested that I immerse myself in the world of jazz, given its rich history, both in terms of the music itself, but also its relationship with the cultural fabric of the cityâĻ
âĻand it was at that exact concert that I came to appreciate the talent that was Cassandra but became utterly captivated by her young touring pianist during the summer monthsâĻ
âĻthat pianist was Jon Batiste.
Can you imagine, that this was THE first gateway into the music industry which set forth the chain of events that would end up defining my life for nearly the next two decades, first in representing Jon but echoing forward into everything else that I have done with my life up to this pointâĻ
âĻcrazy right? But it gets deeper than that.
During my time working with Jon, there was exactly one major label that saw the promise that I saw so early in JonâĻ
âĻit was Verve RecordsâĻ
âĻand more specifically it was a young VP of A&R there, Dahlia Ambach Caplin.
Dahlia felt as I felt, Jon was gonna be a generational talent. But as is often the case with âunproven talentâ, the top execs werenât convinced and she didnât have the juice at the time to just sign him outright.
I was heartbroken for Dahlia, because I felt her passion as it mirrored my own, but she never lost her faith and always kept an eye on Jon. As the years went by she left Verve for a spell and came back into the Verve family this time becoming their SVP for A&RâĻ
âĻnow she had the juice. And immediately she signed Jon as one of her first signings in her new roleâĻ
âĻ25 nominations and 8 Grammys later, the rest is history.
How you like âdem apples?
Dahlia was at the concert and we hugged that night for the memories and all the significant moments we shared for so long together.
Oh and by the way, the only reason I was offered this SummerStage opportunity in the first placeâĻ
âĻwas because of SummerStage board member Steven BeerâĻ
âĻwho also ended up being Jonâs first official lawyer and got Jon his first indie label dealâĻ.
What a fucking incredible ride. Â
A full circle moment for me.Â
Talk about lifeâs loop de loops. And it obviously made me reflect on all of it.
Never in a million years could I have planned this, and yet it happened that exact way in the rarest confluence of events.
Just unbelievable.
As I walked home, I was kind of awestruck by how this one evening encapsulated so much of my life. When I got home, the first person I texted was Jon and I expected to hear backâĻsometime this year.
But when I woke up in the morning, two texts showed up:
âW O W!!!!!â
âOMG!!!!!!â
Yes JonâĻmy sentiments exactly.
As I continue to reflect on that evening, Iâm still figuring out thereâs a lot to process. But Iâll tell you one thing that has become clear to meâĻ
âĻeverything that I have done in the past reflects on the present. Itâs afforded the chance to enjoy this brief yet utterly precious realization. Â
I honestly felt a deep sense of pride that I was not only there for this entire story, I participated deeply in it.Â
And while acclaim and fortune are slow to catch up, I certainly feel very fortunate that I got to experience it all and earn the right to share this gift with so many people within my ever expanding community currently and beyond.
And also one other thingâĻ
âĻpeople are remarkable.
I came to this city searching as so many do for their âNew York Storyâ and I found it through the incredible people I associated with and showed up for.
Whatever forces are at play here are not for me to know. But what I do know is thisâĻ
âĻI can be a force in my own life and by doing so, impact the lives of countless others. Â
A drop of water will inevitably produce ripples.
What kind of ripples am I creating by serving as a cultural curator in the city fostering community and connection and choosing to lead with empathy? Â
Who knows, but Iâll tell yaâĻ
âĻI canât wait to find out.
Sugary đŦ
New York has Fashion Week. Restaurant Week. Broadway Week. And somehow, despite being arguably the most famous pizza city on Earth, it has never had a citywide celebration devoted to the humble New York slice.
NYC Pizza Week is finally fixing that.
Running September 20 through October 4, 2026, this inaugural initiative turns more than 20 independent pizzerias across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens into destinations for a two-week edible scavenger hunt.
Each participating shop creates its own signature slice, available exclusively during NYC Pizza Week.
No ticket, reservation, or special app is required. You simply walk in, order the slice, eat it, and if you want, rate it from your phone. At the end of the celebration, one creation will be crowned âBest Slice of NYC Pizza Weekâ.
And these aren't minor variations on a cheese slice. No no noâĻ
The inaugural lineup includes local favorites such as Paulie Gee's Slice Shop, Stretch Pizza, Slicehaus, Unregular Pizza, Diamond Slice, Hots Pizza, Traze Pizza, Pizza Loves Sauce, and Rome to Brooklyn.
The creations get appropriately adventurous: Stretch's Domino Park location is serving an Al Pastor slice with braised pork, salsa verde, pineapple ricotta, and cilantro; Paulie Gee's is making its Red, White & Greenpoint Square with provolone, sausage, spinach, and hot cherry peppers; and Slicehaus is combining smoked mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and black garlic.
Elsewhere, Diamond Slice is pairing mortadella with pesto and stracciatella; Hots Pizza is making a pickle pie with crème fraÎche, mozzarella, dill, Calabrian ranch, and Parmesan; Pizza Loves Sauce is doing chicken shawarma; and Rome to Brooklyn is venturing into blackberry, ricotta, basil, and hot honey. Perhaps the most wonderfully unhinged contender is Traze Pizza's Dolly: ground beef in cream of mushroom, tater tots, and extra-sharp cheddar.
Crazy right? And Iâm here for all of it.
But beneath the outrageous toppings is a much more interesting story about community.
Founder Andrew Young developed Pizza Week after spending two years organizing monthly NYC Pizza Crawls. What began as a way to discover great pizza increasingly became a way of discovering the families, characters, neighborhoods, and stories behind the slicesâand watching strangers become friends while doing it.
Young's history actually extends well beyond pizza: he previously helped organize Techstars Startup Weekend NYC and Reddit NYC gatherings, and even dumpling crawls. This experience has given his projects a consistent throughline of creating approachable reasons for strangers to show up and connect.
Pizza may be uniquely good at doing exactly that.
Think about it.Â
It crosses generations, neighborhoods, income levels, and social scenes. You don't need to understand fine dining or belong to a particular community to participate. Nearly everyone has a favorite shop, an opinion about crust, and a place they're convinced everyone else has been sleeping on. NYC Pizza Week takes that universal language and gives New Yorkers a reason to move through and discover more of their city with it.
The competition encourages exploration, which is what I love most about it.
Instead of ordering from the same neighborhood spot you've visited for a decade, you're given a reason to head to Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Clinton Hill, Ridgewood, Long Island City, the East Village, or the Lower East Side. You could try one slice on your lunch break or perhaps gather friends and construct an absurdly ambitious borough-spanning pizza crawl.
There's also a give-back component baked into every slice which absolutely speaks my language.
For each Signature Slice sold (up to 250 per participating shop), NYC Pizza Week will donate to Slice Out Hunger, the New York-born nonprofit that has raised more than $2 million for hunger and disaster-relief efforts since 2009.
In that sense, Pizza Week feels like the natural evolution of what Young was already building through NYC Pizza Crawl. Pizza is the attraction, but it's also the social infrastructure.
Because maybe the most New York thing about pizza has never really been the pizza itself.
It's the corner shop you swear is better than everyone else's, the person behind the counter who knows your order, and the friend willing to take three trains because you told them they have to try this place.
For two weeks this fall, NYC Pizza Week is turning the entire city into one very large pizza crawl.
No ticket required. Just show up hungryâĻand with opinions.
 Sugary đŦ
Connect IRL. Experience Fabrik.
Fabrik is a home for communities and where everyone has a place to belong. With spaces designed to feel more like your living room than your office, Fabrikâs 'third spaces' are vibrant hubs where you can come together in real life, explore interests, forge meaningful connections, and enjoy a sense of community.
Sign-up here to experience a free trial at Fabrik.
Weekly events at Fabrik HERE
Thank you for taking the time to read to the end!
I hope you found something inspiring and meaningful in my content and until next time, explore the possibilities of NYC.
-Sugary
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