2025 – 2026

I spent the last part of the year sleeping. It was as if my body needed to reboot. 2025 was a good year. Wonderful family affairs, and the entire family is back and living in NYC, which makes our hearts sing.

Gotham has been a wild roller coaster, as all start-ups are, particularly in an industry that continues to operate like the Wild West, changing and evolving. Everyone in the industry is thrilled to see movement in the right direction, rescheduling cannabis. I hope federal legalization is not far behind. It is such an absolute shit show that change is needed. Gotham has added The Highrise, a salon, where we hope to spark interesting conversations in the cannabis industry. Apply today!

This year, the Community Fund raised nearly $12 million to advance resident leadership, workforce development, digital equity, community health, and neighborhood revitalization across NYCHA communities. These investments translated into paid jobs, scholarships, and direct financial support for residents, while also delivering visible and lasting improvements to public spaces, community centers, and quality of life for tens of thousands of New Yorkers.

I got to spend time in a variety of different places with good friends and family. The white noise of what is happening in our country has cast a pall over my path, making me more cynical than ever. Although, as the saying goes, only the paranoid survive.

On a positive note, I am optimistic about seeing young people run for office and win. We need change. I talk to young people in the art world who are thinking differently about the industry’s realities. Phones are being banned in schools, and kids are filling their time with clubs and games. People want to meet in person. Media is shifting to new platforms, and individuals can find an audience and a voice because old-school media needs to regain some trust. The Knicks are doing well.

Women are making a greater impact, although we still have far to go. It’s obvious the men right now aren’t doing a very good job and seem to have no empathy. Currently, power seems like a very ugly game.

I can’t think of a genre that isn’t shifting onto a new path. It may be the post-COVID world, where being disconnected was not a good thing, where big business has become like the Wizard of Oz, and where it is hard to trust anything. People seem to be leaning into a more socially conscious society. I hope so.

In 2026, I will be 65, and after sleeping for six days, I am going to take it down a notch, and that might mean blogging less, or not. Only time will tell. I am excited about the year ahead, and as always, it is a good time to take a look at the landscape before surging ahead into 2026.