Perry Richardson Returns With King of Memphis Part II: The Next Move, A Story of Power, Strategy and Legacy

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

By Lennard James

Memphis has always been a city where ambition, influence, relationships and survival intersect. In Perry Richardson’s upcoming King of Memphis Part II: The Next Move, those elements return to the chessboard in a story that explores what happens after a man has established his position and realizes that maintaining power may be more difficult than obtaining it.

Built around the theme “Same Board… Bigger Moves,” King of Memphis Part II continues a Memphis-centered story of power, strategy, business, community and legacy. But this time, the stakes are higher.

The title itself signals evolution.

This is not simply another move. It is The Next Move, the decision that can determine whether everything already built becomes a lasting legacy or begins to fall apart.

Richardson uses the imagery of chess throughout the concept, an appropriate metaphor for a story centered on calculated decisions. In chess, every move has a consequence. A player cannot focus only on what is directly in front of him. He must anticipate what happens next, understand his opponent and recognize that the most dangerous threat may not always be obvious.

That philosophy sits at the heart of King of Memphis Part II.

The book’s striking cover reinforces that message. Memphis’ illuminated skyline, the Hernando de Soto Bridge and the city’s iconic Pyramid rise behind a chessboard filled with gold and black pieces. At the center stands the king.

But a king never stands alone.

There are queens, knights, bishops, rooks and pawns surrounding him. Every piece has a role. Every piece has value. And depending on how the game is played, even the smallest piece on the board can change everything.

That imagery provides a powerful foundation for Richardson’s story.

King of Memphis Part II examines what happens when success creates new challenges. As influence grows, relationships change. People who once appeared loyal may begin pursuing their own interests. New alliances emerge. Old conflicts return. Decisions that once seemed insignificant can suddenly have major consequences.

And the higher someone rises, the more people begin watching every move.

That is where The Next Move finds much of its tension.

The story is not simply about who possesses power. It asks a more complicated question: What does a person do with power once they have it?

Richardson’s Memphis becomes its own character within the story.

The city represents ambition and opportunity, but it also represents history, neighborhood loyalty, entrepreneurship and survival. Memphis has always produced people who understand how to create something from limited resources. That spirit provides the backdrop for a narrative where characters must constantly determine whom they can trust and what they are willing to risk.

The concept of legacy becomes especially important.

There comes a point when success can no longer be measured only by money, recognition or influence. The question changes from “What can I get?” to “What will I leave behind?”

That transition can be difficult.

A person who spends years fighting to reach the top may discover that the instincts required to survive are not necessarily the same qualities needed to build something that lasts.

That is one of the intriguing directions suggested by King of Memphis Part II.

The book also explores the difference between movement and strategy.

Anyone can make a move. Strategy requires understanding why the move is being made, what it could cost and what will happen several steps later.

In Richardson’s world, characters are forced to think beyond immediate victories. Business decisions affect relationships. Personal relationships affect power. Loyalty can become currency. Information can become leverage. And one emotional decision can disrupt years of carefully constructed plans.

The chessboard therefore becomes more than artwork for the book.

It becomes a representation of life.

Sometimes people are protecting the king. Sometimes they are attacking him. Sometimes the person believed to be a pawn turns out to have much greater power than anyone anticipated.

And sometimes the biggest opponent is not sitting across the board.

It is the person sitting beside you.

For Richardson, King of Memphis Part II also represents an opportunity to tell a Memphis story from a perspective rooted in the city’s culture and personality. Instead of using Memphis merely as a location, the book embraced the city as part of its identity.

The Pyramid, bridge, skyline and Mississippi River featured prominently in the book’s visual presentation immediately establish where this story belongs.

This is Memphis.

But the themes go far beyond the city.

Power, betrayal, loyalty, ambition, family, business and legacy are universal experiences. Readers do not have to come from Memphis to understand the pressure of making decisions when other people’s futures depend upon them.

The story also speaks to entrepreneurs and leaders who understand that reaching a certain level of success often changes the nature of the game.

When nobody knows your name, you fight to be noticed.

When everybody knows your name, you have to decide what that name will represent.

That is the territory King of Memphis Part II: The Next Move appears ready to explore.

With its cinematic visual identity, Memphis setting and chess-inspired themes, Richardson is positioning the sequel as more than a continuation. It represents an expansion of the world introduced through King of Memphis and an opportunity to examine what happens when the board becomes larger, the players become smarter and the consequences become greater.

Because eventually every king discovers the same truth:

Getting to the top was only the first move.

Staying there, and deciding what you will leave behind, is where the real game begins.

Perry Richardson’s King of Memphis Part II: The Next Move is coming soon.

Same Board… Bigger Moves.

All for His Glory: DeAnna Armstrong Brathwaite Invites Readers to Discover God’s Grace, Healing and the Purpose Beyond the Pain

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

By Lennard James

What happens after you have prayed through the pain, survived the season that nearly broke you, and finally begun to heal? For Christian author, evangelist and inspirational speaker DeAnna Armstrong Brathwaite, that is when another important journey begins, the journey of discovering what God intends you to do with the life He has restored.

That powerful message is at the center of Brathwaite’s All for His Glory: Living Redeemed, Walking by Faith, and Reflecting God’s Glory, a faith-centered book that invites readers to move beyond simply surviving and begin discovering the deeper purpose God may have for their lives.

Brathwaite’s message is rooted in personal experience. Her journey has included brokenness, restoration and a renewed understanding of her identity in Christ. Rather than allowing those experiences to remain private memories, she has transformed them into ministry, using her writing to reach people who may be facing their own moments of uncertainty.

“God brought me out of the shadows, restored what pain tried to take, and reminded me who I am in Him, but He was not finished with my story,” Brathwaite explains.

That final thought, He was not finished with my story, is what gives All for His Glory such an intriguing foundation. The book does not end at healing. It asks readers to consider what happens next.

Brathwaite believes healing is not the destination but part of a larger spiritual journey that can lead to deeper faith, growth and purpose. Through All for His Glory, she brings together her personal testimony, biblical truth and calling as an evangelist to encourage readers to trust God, learn His ways, grow as disciples and share the good news with others.

The title itself captures the progression. Living redeemed means understanding that the past no longer has to possess authority over the future. Walking by faith means trusting God even when the complete road ahead cannot be seen. Reflecting God’s glory means allowing faith to become visible through the way a person lives, loves, serves and uses their gifts.

Throughout that journey is another essential theme in Brathwaite’s work: God’s grace.

Grace becomes particularly meaningful when someone realizes that their most difficult chapter did not become their final chapter. It is present in the opportunity to begin again, in the strength to continue when life becomes difficult and in the realization that purpose can still emerge from places once associated with pain.

That connection between All for His Glory and Brathwaite’s broader message of God’s Grace gives readers something more than encouragement. It offers an invitation to examine their own lives and ask whether they have truly accepted the possibility of a new beginning.

Have you survived but stopped dreaming? Have you healed but remained afraid to move forward? Have you allowed something that happened years ago to continue determining how you see yourself today?

All for His Glory challenges readers to consider those questions while pointing them toward faith rather than fear.

Brathwaite has a particular heart for women who need to be reminded of their identity and value. She wants women to recognize themselves as beautiful, God-created life-givers with purpose, not people whose worth is determined by disappointment, rejection, relationships, mistakes or the opinions of others.

For the woman who has spent years caring for everyone except herself, there is a message here. For the woman rebuilding after disappointment, there is a message here. For the woman who knows God has brought her through something but still wonders what comes next, there is a message here.

And for the reader who simply wants a closer relationship with God, Brathwaite offers a reason to continue turning the pages.

Her hope is that readers will recognize the faith, hope and spiritual fruit God can bring forth through their lives and become inspired to use their gifts for His glory. The objective is not simply to finish another Christian book. It is to finish the book thinking differently about your own journey.

“My prayer is that readers will be stirred to know and trust Him, live for His glory, and share His good news with others,” Brathwaite says.

That desire also connects to legacy. Brathwaite lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and is passionate about leaving a legacy of hope for her family and future generations. Her writing reflects the understanding that what one generation learns about faith can become strength for the generation that follows.

Perhaps that is one of the most compelling reasons to read All for His Glory. The book asks readers not only to think about where they have been, but also about what they are leaving behind.

What if your healing could encourage your daughter? What if your testimony could strengthen your granddaughter? What if the lesson you learned during your darkest season becomes the wisdom someone else needs during theirs?

Suddenly, surviving becomes bigger than survival.

It becomes purpose.

Brathwaite summarizes her message with words that speak directly to anyone who may feel forgotten, wounded or uncertain about what comes next:

“You are not alone. There is hope. There is healing. There is purpose.”

Those words are more than an inspirational statement. They capture the invitation behind All for His Glory and the message of God’s grace running through Brathwaite’s work.

Your pain may be part of your story, but it does not have to be the ending. Your scars may explain where you have been, but they do not have to determine where you are going. And healing may be one of the greatest gifts you receive, but according to Brathwaite, healing could also be preparation for what God wants you to do next.

For readers ready to discover what may exist on the other side of brokenness, All for His Glory: Living Redeemed, Walking by Faith, and Reflecting God’s Glory offers an invitation worth accepting.

Because sometimes the most exciting part of a testimony is not simply what God brought you out of, it is discovering what He is calling you into.

Learn more about DeAnna Armstrong Brathwaite, All for His Glory, God’s Grace and her faith-centered work through her official author website.

DeAnna A Brathwaite- Author Website – Home

New York’s Small Agencies Are Repricing Their Retainers. Many Are Doing It on Instinct

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

Walk into any ten person agency in Brooklyn or the Flatiron District and ask the owner which client is their most profitable. You’ll get an answer. Ask how they know, and the answer gets vaguer.

That gap matters more here than almost anywhere else, because the cost side of an agency’s business in New York is unforgiving. Senior creative talent is expensive, the commercial rent is expensive, and the clients are sophisticated enough to negotiate hard. A retainer that quietly stopped covering its work eighteen months ago is not a rounding error in that environment.

A lot of small shops are repricing right now. The ones doing it well have numbers. The ones doing it badly are guessing, and guessing tends to produce two specific errors: raising the fee on a client who was already profitable, and leaving the actual problem account untouched because the relationship feels good.

Why retainers drift

The mechanism is well understood and almost nobody prevents it.

A retainer is priced against an assumed scope. Over time, the work expands by increments that each seem too small to raise: an extra round of revisions, a quick social asset before a launch, a report nobody asked for in the original agreement, a weekly call that was supposed to be monthly. None of these are unreasonable individually, which is exactly why they accumulate.

The second source is internal. Hours spent on proposals, internal reviews, team meetings and account admin come out of the same payroll as the client work. When nobody measures how much of the week goes there, billable utilisation declines while the salary cost stays flat, and the agency feels busier and poorer at the same time.

Neither of these is visible without a record. By the time it shows up in the bank balance, a year of mispriced work has already been delivered.

How agencies measure client profitability

The firms repricing from evidence rather than instinct have done one unglamorous thing: they track hours against a client, project and task, and they separate billable work from internal work at the point of entry.

That structure is what makes the two useful reports possible. The first sets billable revenue against labour cost per client, which produces margin by account rather than margin across the agency. The second compares estimated hours against actual, which shows where the proposal was wrong and by how much.

Tools built for agency work are organised this way. actiTIME, for example, lets an agency set time, billing or labour cost budgets at client or project level to match each retainer, shows a progress bar as hours consume the budget, and can notify managers before an estimate or budget is exceeded. Every entry is tagged billable or non billable, so client work and internal activity are separable in reporting rather than blended.

It isn’t the only option, and the right one depends on whether your bottleneck is billing, resourcing or project management. This comparison of time tracking software for agencies runs through the main contenders and what each is actually suited to, which is worth reading before committing a team to anything.

The budget alert is the part that changes behaviour. Knowing a retainer is 80 percent consumed with two weeks of the month left is a scope conversation you can still have. Knowing it afterwards is just a loss you’ve already taken.

The repricing conversation is easier with a number

This is the practical payoff, and agency owners consistently underestimate it.

“We need to revisit the fee” is an assertion, and clients treat it as an opening position in a negotiation. “The retainer assumes roughly 40 hours a month and we’ve averaged 61 over the last two quarters, here’s the breakdown by activity” is a different kind of conversation. It stops being about whether the agency deserves more money and becomes about which of the two variables, the fee or the scope, the client would prefer to change.

In my experience most clients choose scope more often than agencies expect. They had no idea they were asking for that much, because nobody was counting on either side.

When to reprice a retainer client

A reasonable sequence for a small shop.

Track hours properly for one quarter, including internal time, with no change to how anyone works otherwise. Apply real cost rates, including the senior people whose hours are the expensive ones. Then rank every client by margin, worst to best.

That ranking almost never matches the revenue ranking, and the mismatch is the whole point. It tells you which accounts to reprice, which to rescope, which to leave alone, and occasionally which to let go, a decision far easier to make with a number attached than with a feeling.

For agencies operating on New York cost structures, the difference between knowing that and assuming it is usually the difference between a difficult year and a fine one.

Is Commuting From New Braunfels, TX to Austin or San Antonio Worth It?

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

Lower home prices are the main reason buyers look at New Braunfels, Texas instead of Austin or San Antonio. The main hesitation is the commute. Buyers want to know how long the drive really takes and whether the savings on a house make up for the time on the road.

Yitzchak Pierson, an eXp Realty Broker Associate who helps buyers relocate along the I-35 Corridor, says the answer depends largely on how much the buyer earns at the job they are commuting to.

What the Daily Drive Looks Like

According to Pierson, the commute from New Braunfels to either major city is similar.

“It’s typically going to be 45 minutes to an hour to downtown Austin, and the same with San Antonio,” he says.

Commuters have a few routes to choose from. Toll roads are an option for reaching Austin, and drivers heading to San Antonio can take either I-10 or I-35. Buyers should test the drive at the time of day they would actually be commuting, since traffic can change the picture.

How Your Salary Changes the Math

Pierson says the clearest way to decide whether the commute makes sense is to weigh it against income.

“If they’re making maybe an $80,000 salary, 80 to 100, 150, then the drive time may be worth it,” he says. “If they’re only earning 50 to $60,000 a year, then the drive time may not be worth it for them anymore.”

The reasoning is practical. At a higher salary, the job pays enough to justify two hours a day on the road, and the housing savings in New Braunfels add real value. At a lower salary, the cost of fuel, vehicle wear, and time can eat into those savings. A buyer in that range may be better off finding work closer to home.

“The amount that they get paid going and driving to a higher salary kind of is going to be what dictates that drive time,” Pierson says.

Remote Workers Have the Most Flexibility

The commute question matters less for buyers who work remotely or only go into the office a few days a week. Pierson says many buyers moving to the cities between Austin and San Antonio are in this group.

For them, New Braunfels offers lower prices, more land for the money, and access to both metro areas when they need it. The occasional drive becomes a small trade-off rather than a daily cost.

Questions to Ask Before You Commit to the Commute

Pierson spends time with relocating buyers learning how they actually live before recommending an area. He says a commute that works for one spouse may not work for the other, so both people’s routines should be part of the decision.

Before buying, it helps to answer a few questions. How many days a week will you drive into the city? Does your salary justify the time and cost of that drive? Is your employer likely to change its remote work policy? Could you or your partner find work closer to New Braunfels if needed? And how much does being close to schools, family, or daily errands matter to your household?

Buyers who answer these honestly usually know quickly whether the commute is a fair trade for a lower home price. Pierson answers more common questions from relocating buyers on his FAQ page.

Yitzchak Pierson is a Broker Associate with eXp Realty in New Braunfels, Texas, serving buyers, sellers, and investors across the I-35 Corridor, including Canyon Lake, San Marcos, and Seguin. He has been named Best Real Estate Agent in New Braunfels three years in a row and hosts the YouTube channel Living in New Braunfels.

Disclaimer: This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.

Into the Vortex, The Perfect Storm Finds Its Next Chapter in Nature’s Fury

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

By: Chuck Crossman

The house is already airborne. A fiery tornado tears through the earth while a storm-chasing vehicle accelerates ahead of it. Nearby, a news helicopter hangs in the sky, watching the destruction unfold. This is the imagery The Perfect Storm has chosen for its forthcoming album, Nature’s Fury. For James, Matty, and Ethan, the scene contains a surprisingly personal account of what it means to keep a band moving.

James sees the tornado as the forces that hold people back: fear, destruction, the possibility of being swallowed by circumstances. The vehicle carries the musicians and their listeners, affectionately called Storm Chasers. The helicopter represents the media outlets that have followed their progress. And the burning house? That is comfort, sacrificed to the obligation to improve.

“If we sit still, we will get devoured by the tornado,” James explains.

It is an elaborate metaphor for a familiar second-album predicament. A debut establishes an identity. Its successor asks whether that identity can grow without losing the qualities that made anyone care in the first place.

For The Perfect Storm, Maiden Voyage provided the introduction. Songs including “We Fell in Love,” “Magic Feeling,” and “The World That’s Cold” gave listeners entry points into a sound assembled from multiple influences. Family, friendship, affection, and perseverance supplied its emotional vocabulary. With Nature’s Fury, the trio is widening that vocabulary while examining how much further its musical instincts can travel.

The possibilities James describes are unusually varied: a surf rock instrumental, a synthesizer-driven dance song, Latin rhythms, and a Christian country-rock-pop song. Another track makes room for a jazz drum solo, with a mid-song breakdown recalling the showmanship of players such as Buddy Rich.

“When you listen to The Perfect Storm, you are listening to a music experience, not a genre,” James says.

That ambition depends on a willingness to entertain ideas before deciding whether they belong. Matty identifies an open mind as one of the most useful lessons from making the first record. The writing process remains largely familiar, he says, although recording and mixing now involve two locations and better equipment. The larger change is permission: the musicians seem more prepared to follow an unexpected suggestion.

“Try anything, try something, because you never know what might work if you don’t try new things,” Matty says.

One example emerged from the ordinary business of rehearsal. “Surfing the Wave,” an instrumental, began as a warm-up exercise. Its upbeat, frenetic character was within the band’s abilities all along. Releasing a song without lyrics, however, required a different kind of confidence.

Matty recognizes that instrumentals face challenges at terrestrial radio. The success of Maiden Voyage nevertheless encouraged the group to take the chance. A practice-room habit became a creative decision: something worth recording because the musicians enjoyed where it led.

Ethan locates the album’s evolution in composition and arrangement. The band has always combined genres, he explains, but the new songs reflect a noticeable development in how those ingredients come together. He also hears greater ambition and some “heavier hitters” among the material.

Asked about expectations after the debut’s radio and chart achievements, Ethan describes a more private standard. His concern is improving upon his own previous work.

“In my mind, if I can’t improve on what I’ve already done in some way, then the song probably isn’t ready yet,” he says.

That statement gives the album’s dramatic imagery a quieter counterpart. Behind the tornado is the patient work of reconsidering a composition, refining an arrangement, and deciding whether an idea has earned its place.

James’s songwriting continues to draw on love and family, with faith also entering the new collection through songs about God and doing the Lord’s work. The expanding musical palette still carries subjects close to the people making it.

Each member describes the journey differently. Matty imagines reaching land after the debut’s uncertain waters, only to encounter fresh obstacles. Ethan feels caught in the vortex himself, balancing music with work, hobbies, and other responsibilities. He hopes listeners will hear the hours and passion invested in the record.

James’s wish is simpler: that these songs become part of someone’s life.

Taken together, their answers reveal three musicians measuring progress through effort, curiosity, and connection. Nature’s Fury gives that process a spectacular visual setting, but its human stakes are recognizable. The Perfect Storm wants to keep growing, make work it believes in, and bring its listeners along. Somewhere ahead of the tornado, there is another song to finish.

Chrysler Building Renovation Gets $235M Office Revival Plan

NY Weekly Staff 2 on October 7, 2026

Tishman Speyer has finalized a 150-year ground lease for the Chrysler Building, with the arrangement including $235 million plus lease payments to Cooper Union. The Chrysler Building renovation will modernize core systems, add new amenities, and prebuild much of its vacant office space as Manhattan leasing activity remains elevated.

Key Takeaways

  • Tishman Speyer and Cooper Union announced the new 150-year Chrysler Building ground lease on October 7, 2026
  • The agreement includes $235 million plus continuing ground lease payments to Cooper Union
  • Plans call for prebuilding 75% of current and upcoming vacant space, along with major infrastructure and amenity upgrades
  • Colliers reported Manhattan office availability at 12.5% in August, its lowest level since September 2020
  • Tishman Speyer has not announced a completion date for the full renovation program

The Chrysler Building Renovation Starts With a 150-Year Lease

The Chrysler Building renovation is moving forward under a new long-term agreement between Tishman Speyer and Cooper Union, placing one of Manhattan’s best-known office towers into a major repositioning program.

The parties announced the agreement on October 7, 2026. Tishman Speyer will hold a 150-year ground lease covering the 77-story tower at 405 Lexington Avenue. The arrangement includes $235 million plus ground lease payments to Cooper Union, which owns the land beneath the building.

The structure differs from a conventional building sale. Cooper Union retains ownership of the land, while Tishman Speyer gains long-term control of the leasehold and responsibility for the planned work at the property.

The agreement also follows a period of uncertainty for the building. In September 2024, Cooper Union said the previous ground lessee had stopped making required monthly payments. Cooper Union terminated that lease and took control of the property while retaining Cushman & Wakefield to manage the building.

The new arrangement gives the property another long-term operator less than two years after that transition.

Tishman Speyer CEO Rob Speyer framed the timing around conditions in the office sector.

“We are pursuing an ambitious plan for the Chrysler Building at a historically strong moment for the Manhattan office market,” Speyer said in the October 7 announcement.

Current leasing figures provide context for that statement. They do not determine how an individual property will perform, but they show that the new lease begins during a period of stronger Manhattan office activity than the market experienced in several previous years.

Cooper Union’s connection to the property stretches back more than a century. The institution has said it has owned the land beneath the Chrysler Building since 1902, making ground lease revenue from the site an important part of its finances.

The building opened in 1930. Designed by architect William Van Alen, it became known for its Art Deco exterior, stainless steel crown, and automobile-inspired decorative elements. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has identified it as a significant example of Art Deco architecture and part of the city’s architectural heritage.

The Office Strategy Targets Faster Occupancy and New Amenities

The planned work extends beyond restoration of the Chrysler Building’s exterior.

Tishman Speyer said it intends to modernize the tower’s mechanical, elevator, electrical, and air-handling systems. The company also plans work on its cooling towers, façade, and stainless steel crown.

A substantial portion of the strategy focuses on how tenants will use the building.

The 61st floor is planned as an indoor and outdoor amenity area with a lounge, outdoor access, food and beverage service, and gathering space. Additional fitness, wellness, and meeting areas are planned for the building’s underground arcade.

Those additions place the property within the broader Midtown office amenity competition that has shaped renovations across higher-end Manhattan buildings. Shared lounges, fitness areas, meeting rooms, and hospitality-oriented spaces have become more prominent as landlords compete for companies evaluating multiple office options.

The Chrysler Building’s location near Grand Central Terminal gives the renovation a major transit connection. Tishman Speyer is also addressing another practical issue in office leasing: the time and construction required before a tenant can occupy new space.

The company plans to prebuild 75% of the property’s current and upcoming vacant offices. Those spaces would be finished before tenants sign leases, reducing the need for lengthy custom construction after agreements are completed.

Tishman Speyer said the strategy is particularly aimed at smaller office users seeking ready-for-occupancy suites. The company previously used a similar approach at nearby 6 Grand Central.

Prebuilt offices can broaden the types of tenants able to consider a large property. Rather than depending entirely on companies prepared to design and construct full floors, the tower can offer finished spaces to businesses working with shorter occupancy timelines.

The strategy does not establish how quickly the vacant space will lease. Pricing, tenant demand, construction execution, and competition from other buildings will remain important factors. It does show that the Chrysler Building plan is centered on leasing operations as well as architectural restoration.

The planned amenities follow the same practical approach. Lounges, fitness areas, and shared meeting rooms have become increasingly common in renovated Manhattan office properties. For older towers, those additions can accompany infrastructure work intended to meet changing workplace requirements.

The Chrysler Building therefore enters its latest renovation with two parallel priorities: preserving recognizable architectural elements while updating the systems and office formats used by modern tenants.

Manhattan Leasing Data Raises the Stakes for the Revival

The Chrysler Building office revival is beginning in a tighter Manhattan office market than property owners faced during the height of post-pandemic vacancies.

Colliers reported that Manhattan companies leased 3.25 million square feet of office space in August 2026. Year-to-date leasing reached 29.91 million square feet, 9.4% higher than during the same period in 2025.

Availability also continued to decline. Colliers placed Manhattan’s overall office availability rate at 12.5% in August, with 65.4 million square feet available. That was the lowest total available supply recorded by the firm since September 2020.

The first half of the year had already shown increased leasing activity. Colliers recorded 22.8 million square feet of leasing during the first six months of 2026, the strongest first-half result the firm had recorded since 2002.

Those figures indicate a more active market, but conditions remain uneven across properties. Building quality, transit access, floor sizes, lease economics, and tenant requirements can produce different results from one address to another.

The distinction matters for the Chrysler Building because Manhattan’s older commercial properties are following multiple paths. Some remain office buildings through renovation and repositioning, while others have entered the city’s growing NYC office conversion activity as property owners pursue residential uses.

Tishman Speyer’s plan places the Chrysler Building firmly on the office side of that divide.

The decision is supported by the tower’s location next to a major transportation hub and by the architectural identity that has kept the building prominent on the Manhattan skyline. At the same time, name recognition alone does not resolve the operational requirements of modern office tenants.

That explains the emphasis on elevators, air handling, electrical systems, finished suites, and shared amenities. The proposed work targets areas that can directly affect daily occupancy while retaining the exterior characteristics associated with the landmark.

Restoration of the façade and crown also carries additional significance because the building is a designated New York City landmark. The renovation therefore involves both the operational needs of a commercial property and the physical stewardship of protected architecture.

The New Lease Sets the Building’s Office Strategy

The 150-year agreement gives Tishman Speyer an unusually long operating horizon for the property. The planned renovation pairs that timeline with immediate changes intended to address the building’s systems, vacant offices, common areas, and historic exterior.

For Cooper Union, the agreement restores a long-term ground lease structure tied to land it has owned for more than a century. The institution has said revenue associated with the property supports its broader financial planning.

For Tishman Speyer, the work combines restoration with ready-for-occupancy suites, building-system upgrades, and new shared spaces. The company has not announced a completion date for the full program.

How the tower performs will depend on execution and tenant demand as individual phases of the renovation progress. The defined plan, however, establishes that the Chrysler Building will remain an office property while undergoing a substantial modernization of both its infrastructure and workplace environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in the Chrysler Building renovation?

The plan includes restoration of the façade and crown, along with upgrades to mechanical, electrical, elevator, and air-handling systems. Tishman Speyer also plans new amenity areas and ready-for-occupancy office suites.

How much is the Chrysler Building agreement worth?

The new 150-year ground lease includes $235 million plus continuing ground lease payments to Cooper Union. The $235 million figure forms part of the broader lease and property arrangement rather than serving solely as a construction budget.

Who owns the land beneath the Chrysler Building?

Cooper Union owns the land beneath the Chrysler Building and has said its connection to the property dates to 1902. Tishman Speyer holds the newly finalized long-term ground lease for the tower.

What will happen to the Chrysler Building’s vacant offices?

Tishman Speyer plans to prebuild 75% of the building’s current and upcoming vacant space as finished suites. The approach is intended to reduce the custom construction required before smaller office tenants can occupy the property.

When will the Chrysler Building office revival be completed?

Tishman Speyer has not announced a completion date for the full Chrysler Building office revival. The announced plan establishes the renovation scope and leasing strategy, while the complete project timeline remains unspecified.

Funny Mane P Is Creating His Own Lane and Bringing Memphis Comedy With Him

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

By: Lennard James

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Memphis has always been a city filled with personality. From music and food to neighborhood conversations and unmistakable Southern expressions, the city has produced generations of entertainers who understand how to turn everyday life into something memorable. Rising comedian and content creator Funny Mane P is working to add his name to that tradition while making one thing clear: he is not interested in becoming a copy of anyone else.

Funny Mane P is building his brand through a raw, unfiltered approach to comedy inspired by the city that raised him. His material draws from everyday situations, Memphis culture, relationships, personalities and real-life experiences. Through roasting, storytelling, improvisation, characters and Southern humor, he takes familiar moments and transforms them into comedy.

Funny Mane P is not simply coming out of Memphis. He is bringing Memphis with him.

That distinction is important to understanding the entertainer he is becoming. Rather than separating himself from his hometown as his audience grows, he views Memphis culture as part of his comedic identity. The expressions, attitudes, personalities and experiences found throughout the city provide him with an almost endless source of inspiration.

Authenticity is central to his approach. Funny Mane P wants audiences to feel as though the person they see performing or creating content is connected to the person they might encounter away from the camera. His comedy is intended to feel spontaneous and recognizable rather than overly manufactured.

He believes one of his greatest strengths is his ability to think quickly.

“What makes me the best in my niche is my quick-thinking ability, improv skills and cleverness,” Funny Mane P says. “So it’s really like a mix of all these.”

Improvisation can be especially valuable for a comedian because live comedy rarely follows a perfectly predictable path. Audiences react differently, conversations change direction and unexpected moments can become some of the funniest parts of a performance. Funny Mane P’s ability to respond in the moment allows him to turn those situations into opportunities.

His approach also helps him connect with a broad audience. Funny Mane P describes his target audience as adults between 18 and 65, regardless of race or gender. He credits his ability to communicate across different groups to years of interacting with people from varied backgrounds.

That broad perspective has helped shape a style of humor based on shared experiences. Funny Mane P understands that audiences may come from different neighborhoods, generations and walks of life, but laughter can create common ground.

As his profile develops, Funny Mane P wants people to understand that there is more behind the comedian than a photograph, short video or social-media post can reveal.

“I want the readers to get a better understanding of me, like get the details most wouldn’t understand just by looking at me,” he says. “I want them to know Funny Mane P.”

That means introducing audiences not only to his jokes but also to his creative process and personality. Whether performing onstage, standing behind a camera, developing a character or creating his next skit, his objective remains straightforward: make people laugh while giving them something they have not already seen countless times.

For Funny Mane P, originality is essential.

“I’m not trying to be like anybody else,” he says. “I’m creating my own lane and setting myself apart from the rest. That’s the highlight.”

That philosophy reflects a changing entertainment landscape in which comedians no longer have to depend entirely on traditional stages to develop audiences. Digital platforms allow performers to experiment with characters, short-form comedy, improvisational moments and original concepts while remaining connected to supporters between live appearances.

Funny Mane P is using both worlds.

Live performance gives him the immediate response of an audience, while digital content allows his personality and comedy to travel beyond Memphis. Together, those platforms give him an opportunity to develop an entertainment identity that can continue expanding without abandoning the Southern foundation behind it.

Audiences can follow his work across several platforms. He can be found on Facebook as Phil Jackson, TikTok as FunnyManePski, Instagram as FunnyManeP and YouTube as FunnyManeP. Each platform provides another opportunity for supporters to experience his comedy and follow his development.

The next stage of Funny Mane P’s career will be about continuing to turn that visibility into a recognizable entertainment brand. His combination of improvisation, storytelling, roasting, characters and Memphis humor provides the foundation. His personality gives the material its identity.

Most importantly, he wants his journey to demonstrate the value of beginning instead of waiting for ideal circumstances.

His personal message captures that philosophy in five words:

“Don’t Wait To Be Great!!!!”

For Funny Mane P, those words are more than a catchphrase. They represent an approach to entertainment built around creating opportunities, developing original material and moving forward.

Memphis has produced its share of unforgettable personalities, and Funny Mane P is determined to establish himself on his own terms. He is bringing his humor, quick thinking, creativity and hometown perspective along for the journey.

He is not trying to follow somebody else’s lane.

Funny Mane P is creating his own.

Hua (Melody) Chen Bridges Piano Performance, Music Education and Public Engagement Through a Growing International Practice

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

The Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame inductee continues to connect performance and education, most recently appearing at a sold-out benefit concert in Tangshan, China

For pianist and music educator Hua (Melody) Chen, performance and education have never existed as separate pursuits. One informs the other: the discipline required at the piano shapes her approach to teaching, while years spent working with students have deepened her understanding of how musicians develop interpretation, confidence and an individual artistic voice. Recognized by the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame, Chen has built a professional practice centered not only on how music is performed, but also on how it is understood, communicated and shared with a wider public.

That philosophy was reflected in Chen’s recent appearance at the closing benefit concert of the 2026 Strongest Voice Concerto Art Festival, held in Tangshan, China, on July 5. The concert filled all 808 seats and received support from the Tangshan Musicians Association, the Symphony Orchestra of Tangshan Song and Dance Theatre, Poly Theatre, and other participating organizations. Presented as a benefit performance, the event brought professional musicians and cultural institutions together around music appreciation, public arts engagement and cultural exchange.

Chen’s role in the concert highlighted the connection between her work as a pianist and her perspective as an educator. She presented an adapted interpretation of the existing work “Confession in the EveningBreeze & Farewell letter,” approaching the familiar melody through piano and orchestral arrangement. Rather than attempting to redefine the original composition, Chen focused on how voicing, dynamics, orchestral texture and pacing could alter the emotional perspective from which audiences encounter it. The result reflected a central principle in her musical thinking: interpretation can bring new meaning to familiar material without losing respect for its original identity.

The arrangement begins quietly, with the melody emerging in the piano’s upper register. Chen associated the opening with images of an evening breeze, starlight and the tenderness of an early romantic memory. As the orchestra gradually enters, the scale of the music expands. What initially feels private and intimate develops into a broader symphonic environment, while changes in texture and dynamics gradually introduce a more reflective emotional tone. The melody remains recognizable throughout, but the context surrounding it allows the listener to experience it from a different perspective.

This attention to interpretation also plays an important role in Chen’s approach to music education. She distinguishes between technical proficiency and musical understanding, viewing precision and discipline as foundations rather than final objectives. For Chen, a developing musician must also learn to understand phrasing, structure, emotional progression and artistic intention. A student may master the mechanics of a passage, but meaningful performance requires an understanding of where that passage is going and why it matters within the larger work.

Her recognition by the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame reflects the educational dimension of a career in which teaching and performing continually reinforce one another. Working with students requires Chen to articulate musical ideas that performers sometimes understand instinctively; returning to the stage, meanwhile, gives her new questions about interpretation and communication to bring back into the teaching environment. This exchange has helped shape a professional identity that extends beyond the conventional boundaries between performer and educator.

Chen also sees public performance as part of a broader educational mission. Music education often takes place in private studios, classrooms and conservatories, but she believes audiences can also develop a deeper relationship with music through direct experience. A listener does not need formal training to recognize tension and release, intimacy and distance, or the way an orchestral texture can transform the emotional weight of a melody. In that sense, a benefit concert can become another kind of educational space, one where professional music reaches people who may encounter it outside a traditional academic setting.

The Tangshan appearance also continued a broader period of artistic exchange associated with Strongest Voice. In the previous year, the initiative established a presence in New York, Shanghai and Boston; in 2026, its activities began in Beijing before continuing to Tangshan. The cities differ in language, cultural history and audience, yet the movement between them reflects an idea central to Chen’s work: musical expression can create connections across different cultural settings without requiring every listener to share the same background.

As Chen continues to develop her work as a pianist and educator, that relationship between rigor and accessibility remains central. Her professional path is grounded in disciplined musicianship, but its purpose extends beyond technical accomplishment. Whether she is working with a student, interpreting a familiar melody or performing before a full concert hall, Chen’s focus remains on helping music communicate with greater clarity and meaning.

For her, the measure of a musical experience is not simply what happens while the notes are being played. It is what the listener, student or performer is able to carry forward after the music ends.

The Nurse Who Wrote Her Mother’s War and How Martine Cave’-Rankel Turned Family Memory into History

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

There are stories that families tell, and there are stories that families live. She Crossed The Channel belongs to the second kind. Written by Martine Cave’-Rankel, the memoir revisits the emotional wounds left by war, separation, and social shame. It does so through the eyes of a woman who has worked as a nurse for more than forty years.

Martine Cave’-Rankel was born in Belgium and raised in England until the age of nineteen, then moved to the United States as a young military bride. She earned three nursing degrees and built a career that spans more than four decades. She is also a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, part of the living legacy of the journey she chronicles. That dual perspective, clinician and daughter, shapes how she explores what happened to her mother and what it cost.

The memoir is more than a love story, though love runs through it. It works as a case study in resilience, and Cave’-Rankel brings a nurse’s understanding of trauma to a deeply personal history.

A Daughter’s Promise

The book opens with a confession. For decades, Cave’-Rankel knew only fragments of her mother Monique’s journey. She grew up with a single haunting image of an eighteen-year-old girl on the deck of a ferry, clutching infant twin daughters, with almost no money and even less English.

She waited to write the story until after her mother had passed. Over time, what was once spoken of in lowered voices, an unmarried mother and twins born out of wedlock, revealed itself as endurance, sacrifice, and an unshakable will to keep going. She Crossed The Channel grew out of that reckoning.

The Crossing

The narrative moves from the liberation of Belgium in 1944–45 to the moment Monique met Douglas, a British Royal Marine. They fell in love in the fragile aftermath of occupation. Duty called Douglas home, and he left England unaware that Monique was carrying his children.

What followed, according to the memoir, was an act of astonishing courage. At eighteen, with twin infants in her arms, Monique crossed the English Channel alone, with little money, few words of English, and no certainty of welcome. The book does not romanticize the journey. It records the kindness of strangers who helped her on the ferry and in London, and the cold reality that awaited her at Douglas’s door.

The Rejection

That first reunion ended in heartbreak. The memoir recounts that Douglas denied the twins were his and that his family was hostile. Monique, displaced and isolated, was eventually forced to return to Belgium.

Back in Aalst, she faced social judgment, gossip, and the shame of a community quick to condemn. Her own mother refused an adoption suggestion and declared that no one would take her grandchildren. These pages are not easy, but they show the real cost of the love story that followed.

The Nurse’s Lens

Here Cave’-Rankel stands apart from most family historians. After four decades of nursing, she has seen human fragility up close, and she brings that experience to the page. She writes with compassion about what she sees as Douglas’s unspoken war trauma, the conflict that did not end when the battles stopped.

Trauma, in her telling, lingers beyond the people who lived it and passes to their children. Shame can wound as deeply as any physical injury. Resilience, she suggests, is a daily practice rather than a slogan. Her account draws on lived experience, nursing practice, and historical research instead of family lore alone.

The Legacy

Eventually, Douglas asked Monique to return. His fiancée had learned the truth and refused to move forward, and he had to take responsibility. Monique crossed the Channel a second time, wiser and more careful, but no less courageous.

They married in a simple courthouse ceremony, built a home in Loudwater, and raised five children. Their marriage lasted sixty years. The book closes with an epilogue addressed to future generations: children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. It preserves a legacy so that names become faces and memories become history.

Why This Book Matters

She Crossed The Channel is a tribute to Monique and an offering to the relatives who follow her. Courage often arrives quietly, the memoir suggests, and forgiveness is possible but demands change. The most extraordinary legacies can begin with a single act of faith, a young woman, two babies, a journey across the sea, and a hope she refused to abandon.

Families that have lived through hardship of their own may recognize themselves in these pages. The book is a true story of courage, rejection, and redemption that spans countries and generations, and it keeps one young mother’s endurance on record for the people who carry her name.

Photo Courtesy: Unsplash.com

From Computer-Generated Charts to Conversational AI, How Personalized Astrology Is Changing

NY Weekly Staff on October 7, 2026

AI is transforming personalized astrology from static chart reports into interactive, conversational experiences tailored to individual charts.

For decades, computerized astrology followed a familiar pattern. A person entered a birth date, time, and place, and software generated a chart accompanied by a fixed interpretation. The technology became more sophisticated over time, but the basic experience remained largely static: input data, receive a report, read the result.

Artificial intelligence is now changing that model.

Instead of simply producing predefined interpretations, newer astrology platforms are beginning to offer a more interactive experience, allowing users to ask questions, explore specific themes, compare relationships, and examine current planetary influences in a conversational way.

One platform that reflects this transition is 12andus, a personalized astrology service launched in 2016. Over the past decade, the platform has developed from a large library of individualized astrological interpretations into a multilingual system that combines traditional chart calculations with AI-assisted exploration.

Today, 12andus is available in 16 languages and covers a broad range of astrological techniques, including natal charts, transits, synastry, composite charts, relationship analysis, planetary aspects, houses, and personalized forecasts.

Photo Courtesy: 12andus.com (A natal chart as 12andus calculates it: planets, signs, houses, and the web of aspects between them. Every reading, static or conversational, starts from this data.)

The shift toward conversational astrology represents a significant change in how people interact with this kind of information.

Traditional astrology software can generate extremely detailed reports, but users often face another problem: knowing what to look for.

A birth chart contains many interconnected elements. Someone may have questions about relationships, career, emotional patterns, family dynamics, or a particular period of change, yet a conventional report may require reading dozens of separate interpretations before finding the pieces that feel most relevant.

Conversational AI creates a different path.

Rather than navigating through a large collection of reports, users can begin with a question.

They might ask why a particular relationship feels intense, what current transits suggest about a period of uncertainty, how two charts interact, or which parts of their natal chart are most relevant to a specific life concern.

The system can then draw from the individual’s astrological data and respond within that context.

This is the idea behind the AI Insights chatbots developed by 12andus. Instead of functioning as a generic chatbot that simply discusses astrology, the system works with the user’s actual chart information, and a second person can be added to the same conversation to turn it into a relationship analysis.

Photo Courtesy: 12andus.com (An AI Insights conversation on 12andus. The question is answered from the member’s own chart and current transits, not from generic sign descriptions.)

That distinction is important.

A generic AI model can explain what Venus in Taurus means or describe the symbolism of Saturn. Personalized astrology, however, requires combining many factors at the same time: planets, signs, houses, aspects, current transits, and, in relationship analysis, the interaction between two different charts.

The result is closer to an ongoing exploration than a single report.

This development also reflects a broader change in digital personalization.

People have become accustomed to technology that adapts to their questions rather than forcing them through a predefined structure. Search engines, recommendation systems, educational tools, and digital assistants increasingly respond to individual context.

Astrology platforms are beginning to follow the same direction.

For 12andus, AI did not replace the underlying astrological framework. It was added on top of a system that had already been producing personalized reports for years.

The platform’s foundation remains based on calculated astrological data. AI is used primarily as a way of navigating, combining, and explaining that information in a more flexible way.

That approach may also address one of the longstanding limitations of automated astrology.

Astrology is highly combinatorial.

A single placement can have one meaning in isolation and a very different emphasis when considered together with other placements. A planet may be affected by its sign, house position, aspects, relationship to the chart angles, and current transits.

This is one reason highly personalized astrology has traditionally required either substantial study or consultation with an experienced astrologer.

Software has been able to calculate these combinations for decades, but presenting them as a coherent whole has always been more difficult.

AI offers a new tool for connecting those pieces.

Another major development has been accessibility.

12andus now provides its astrology content in 16 languages, opening detailed personalized interpretations to users who may not be comfortable reading complex astrological material in English.

This matters because the way people use astrology is also changing.

For many users, astrology is no longer something they consult only when ordering a birth chart report. It can become an ongoing reference point: checking current transits, understanding relationship dynamics, exploring emotional patterns, or reflecting on important decisions.

Mobile access and conversational interfaces naturally fit that more continuous style of use.

There is, however, an important distinction between personalization and prediction.

The most useful role of astrology may not be telling someone exactly what will happen next. Instead, personalized systems can help users identify themes, timing patterns, areas of tension, or recurring psychological dynamics.

In that sense, AI may be most valuable not because it makes astrology more certain, but because it makes complex astrological information easier to explore.

The technology also creates new questions.

As AI becomes more capable of generating interpretations, astrology platforms will need to distinguish between generic language generated on demand and systems grounded in precise chart calculations.

Accuracy, transparency, and the quality of the underlying astrological model may become increasingly important.

For 12andus, the next stage is therefore less about replacing traditional astrology and more about changing the interface through which people experience it.

The birth chart remains the same.

The calculations remain the same.

What is changing is the conversation around them.

After decades in which computerized astrology largely meant receiving a static report, users can now interact with their chart, question it, explore different areas of life, and move from one layer of interpretation to another.

That shift from report generation to dialogue may ultimately be one of the most important ways AI changes personalized astrology. Anyone curious can create a free account, enter their birth data, and start the conversation with their own chart.

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