Cruel Summer

The heat wave is on! This entire week is going to be brutally hot, with temperatures approaching 100 degrees. People tend to leave Manhattan when the summer hits; they tend to be brutal around here, and they’ve been especially bad over the past few years. Native Americans who lived here back when it was “Manna Hata” thought the European settlers were nuts for not leaving when the summer hit.

When the heat is THIS bad, there’s certain things you need to get your mind off it. First, you need a bottle of water - take one everywhere with you. Minimize your alcohol and caffeine intake, too. Technically, you should avoid alcohol and caffeine, but this is New York. In this town, bars are a big part of your social life - plus there’s a deli or a Starbucks every 2 blocks. It’s almost impossible to avoid getting a beer or a latte, so don’t try; just cut back.

Second, you need something to do. This is never hard around here, but being comfortable *AND* entertained can be a problem. If you’re willing to brave the heat there’s two outdoor shows coming up Thursday, which is when the weather people say the heat will break; both are courtesy of the great River To River Festival. On July 20th, Josh Rouse plays at Castle Clinton, in Battery Park. His great old-school pop sound will cool you off and mellow you out. If you like things hot and funky instead, you need the old-school hip-hop flavor The Sugar Hill Gang, who’ll be performing on Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport.

Generally, we focus on happenings in Lower Manhattan, but we’re intrigued by a new citywide charity called Right Rides & we’d like to call our readers’ attention to it. It’s a FREE volunteer service for women who don’t feel safe walking from the subway to their apartments at 3am on a Saturday morning. If you’re a woman who’s worried about being mugged, assaulted or worse, Right Rides will pick you up & drop you off. When you’re out alone between midnight & 3am, you can call their dispatch number and meet them at one of their pickup points. Right Rides will then drop you off at home, free of charge. Right now, they’re only serving 3 boroughs, mostly concentrated in Brooklyn. If interest picks up they’ll expand, so be sure to donate if you agree with their cause.

Finally, if you’re in need of some home A/C that won’t take a huge bit out of your wallet, we’ve got ‘em. There are two powerful, affordable SHARP window air conditioners available HERE and HERE, along with an excellent Maytag model HERE. For the rooms where you don’t have an A/C, there’s a huge selection of fans, to keep the air circulating & give you the breeze you need on these sizzling days.

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