State Of The Street

Investigative reporting on policy, power, money, and decisions shaping how New York eats, works, survives, and who really pays the price when the city changes.

State Of The Street

THEY BOUGHT YOUR CRM. THEY BOUGHT THE AD ENGINE TWO DAYS EARLIER.

Jun 5, 2026

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4 min read

THEY BOUGHT YOUR CRM. THEY BOUGHT THE AD ENGINE TWO DAYS EARLIER.

DoorDash now owns the data on every guest who ever booked through SevenRooms. The same company also runs a billion-dollar ad business. The operator built the inventory.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

NEARLY $8B IN SNAP RUNS THROUGH NEW YORK. WASHINGTON JUST REDREW THE LINE FOR WHO GETS TO ACCEPT IT.

Jun 1, 2026

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5 min read

NEARLY $8B IN SNAP RUNS THROUGH NEW YORK. WASHINGTON JUST REDREW THE LINE FOR WHO GETS TO ACCEPT IT.

The cut came dressed as a hunger story. Underneath it is a small-business closure program, and the corner store is the target.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE GREAT NEW YORK COOKIE BOOM IS RUNNING OUT OF DOUGH

May 30, 2026

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2 min read

THE GREAT NEW YORK COOKIE BOOM IS RUNNING OUT OF DOUGH

A cookie used to be the quietest thing in a bakery.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE RESTAURANT LABOR PIPELINE COLLAPSED. NOW EVERYONE IS ASKING WHO WILL WORK THE KITCHEN.

May 28, 2026

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3 min read

THE RESTAURANT LABOR PIPELINE COLLAPSED. NOW EVERYONE IS ASKING WHO WILL WORK THE KITCHEN.

For decades New York’s restaurant industry ran on a labor system that everyone relied on and almost nobody talked about.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THEY'RE SELLING GOWANUS AS THE NEXT AMSTERDAM. THE BLOCK THAT MADE IT IS GOING DARK.

May 25, 2026

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4 min read

THEY'RE SELLING GOWANUS AS THE NEXT AMSTERDAM. THE BLOCK THAT MADE IT IS GOING DARK.

Something strange has been happening over the last few weeks.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

INFLUENCERS ARE NOW SHARING POSTS ABOUT PEOPLE HATING FOOD INFLUENCERS. MAKE THAT MAKE SENSE

May 21, 2026

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2 min read

INFLUENCERS ARE NOW SHARING POSTS ABOUT PEOPLE HATING FOOD INFLUENCERS. MAKE THAT MAKE SENSE

Something strange has been happening over the last few weeks.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WHEN A BANK BUYS FOOD MEDIA, IT IS NOT BUYING JOURNALISM. IT IS BUYING THE MOMENT BEFORE THE SWIPE.

May 17, 2026

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2 min read

WHEN A BANK BUYS FOOD MEDIA, IT IS NOT BUYING JOURNALISM. IT IS BUYING THE MOMENT BEFORE THE SWIPE.

When JPMorgan Chase acquired The Infatuation in 2021, the reaction across the food world was mostly confusion. A bank buying a restaurant recommendation platform sounded strange at first glance. Finance and food media did not appear to belong in the same business conversation.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

BLACK-OWNED BAR EVICTED BECAUSE JIMMY'S CUSTOMERS "DON'T LOOK LIKE" THE OTHER TENANTS

May 15, 2026

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3 min read

BLACK-OWNED BAR EVICTED BECAUSE JIMMY'S CUSTOMERS "DON'T LOOK LIKE" THE OTHER TENANTS

The complaint is filed. The Durst Organization won't address the racial discrimination allegations. Here is exactly what the lawsuit says happened.

New York Eats Here, +1

State Of The Street

THE GENERATION WITH THE WORST PALATE NEW YORK HAS SEEN IN YEARS

May 14, 2026

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3 min read

THE GENERATION WITH THE WORST PALATE NEW YORK HAS SEEN IN YEARS

Walk through New York today and the city appears obsessed with food. Lines stretch around bakeries before noon. Desserts engineered for social media sell out in hours. Burgers arrive stacked like architecture before anyone takes a bite.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

NYC HAS BEEN SUBSIDIZING GROCERY ACCESS SINCE 2009. THE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE STILL WAITING.

Apr 30, 2026

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6 min read

NYC HAS BEEN SUBSIDIZING GROCERY ACCESS SINCE 2009. THE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE STILL WAITING.

The FRESH program promised healthy food for underserved New Yorkers. It delivered luxury apartments with a grocery store attached.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

TOM COLICCHIO IS THE COOLEST CHEF IN AMERICA. HE'S NEVER ONCE TRIED TO BE.

Apr 28, 2026

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4 min read

TOM COLICCHIO IS THE COOLEST CHEF IN AMERICA. HE'S NEVER ONCE TRIED TO BE.

Fifteen years of unpaid testimony, $28.5 billion in operator relief, and three rooms on the east side of Manhattan that prove what loyalty actually costs.

New York Eats Here

State Of The Street

INFATUATION DOESN'T REVIEW RESTAURANTS. JPMORGAN CHASE DOES.

Apr 28, 2026

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4 min read

INFATUATION DOESN'T REVIEW RESTAURANTS. JPMORGAN CHASE DOES.

The 25 Best Pizza in America list isn't food media. It's customer acquisition for a $550 credit card. Here's the paper trail.

New York Eats Here

State Of The Street

NEW YORK HAS THE BEST FOOD CULTURE ON EARTH. IS ALSO HAS THE BEST PR MACHINE FOR MEDIOCRE FOOD.

Apr 28, 2026

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5 min read

NEW YORK HAS THE BEST FOOD CULTURE ON EARTH. IS ALSO HAS THE BEST PR MACHINE FOR MEDIOCRE FOOD.

Three things the hype machine sold you. The operators paying for it never got asked.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

SIX THOUSAND NYC RESTAURANTS PAID A LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT THEY NEVER SIGNED.

Apr 27, 2026

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7 min read

SIX THOUSAND NYC RESTAURANTS PAID A LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT THEY NEVER SIGNED.

DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub spent three years in court fighting the city over delivery fees. They won. Your restaurant covers the difference.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

SMALL PLATES. BIG BILL. THE FASTEST WAY TO MAKE A NEW YORKER HANGRY.

Apr 22, 2026

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2 min read

SMALL PLATES. BIG BILL. THE FASTEST WAY TO MAKE A NEW YORKER HANGRY.

Walk into half the restaurants opening in New York right now and the script is almost identical. You sit down, the server introduces the menu, and somewhere in the explanation you hear the same line. The menu is designed for sharing. What that usually means in practice is something simpler. There are no real plates.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE MUSIC WILL TELL YOU WHAT THE MENU WON'T.

Apr 22, 2026

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9 min read

THE MUSIC WILL TELL YOU WHAT THE MENU WON'T.

A field guide to reading any NYC restaurant before you sit down.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WHEN YOUR NEIGHBOR BECOMES YOUR RESTAURANT

Apr 20, 2026

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5 min read

WHEN YOUR NEIGHBOR BECOMES YOUR RESTAURANT

California recently legalized something cities have fought for decades. People can now sell meals cooked out of their homes under a permit system.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE CITY IS OPENING A GROCERY STORE IN EAST HARLEM. THE GROCERS ALREADY THERE FOUND OUT FROM THE NEWS.

Apr 17, 2026

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3 min read

THE CITY IS OPENING A GROCERY STORE IN EAST HARLEM. THE GROCERS ALREADY THERE FOUND OUT FROM THE NEWS.

Mayor Mamdani committed $30 million to build NYC's first publicly owned market next to La Marqueta. The independent operators already feeding that block were not consulted. Victor Vazquez, 33, who manages one of those stores, found out the same day everyone else did.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE CITY ASSIGNED YOUR WASTE HAULER. HARLEM HAS 3 WEEKS TO PUSH BACK.

Apr 16, 2026

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5 min read

THE CITY ASSIGNED YOUR WASTE HAULER. HARLEM HAS 3 WEEKS TO PUSH BACK.

Brooklyn North and Upper Manhattan are next in NYC's Commercial Waste Zone rollout. The comment window closes May 8. Most operators have no idea this is coming.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE DIRTY SECRET OF NYC FOOD MARKETS: SMALL VENDORS BECAME THE CONTENT

Apr 16, 2026

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7 min read

THE DIRTY SECRET OF NYC FOOD MARKETS: SMALL VENDORS BECAME THE CONTENT

Food markets promised opportunity for entrepreneurs. The structure quietly shifted toward spectacle, novelty, and entertainment-driven economics.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THE APP THEY TRUSTED TO FEED THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS STEALING FROM IT THE WHOLE TIME

Apr 15, 2026

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4 min read

THE APP THEY TRUSTED TO FEED THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS STEALING FROM IT THE WHOLE TIME

For nearly three years, hundreds of Asian immigrant restaurant owners in New York City were charged fees that were illegal. The city just proved it.

Reagan Payne

State Of The Street

IF YOU CAN’T COOK, YOU DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO EAT

Apr 14, 2026

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8 min read

IF YOU CAN’T COOK, YOU DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO EAT

In New York, taste has been outsourced to apps, hype, and vibes. When people stop cooking, standards collapse and bad food survives at premium prices.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

BEFORE I DATE YOU, I NEED YOUR EATING RECORD

Apr 12, 2026

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4 min read

BEFORE I DATE YOU, I NEED YOUR EATING RECORD

There are many things people can fake on a date.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

THERE'S NO MORE CHEESE IN THE MEATBALL BUSINESS

Apr 8, 2026

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8 min read

THERE'S NO MORE CHEESE IN THE MEATBALL BUSINESS

The Meatball Shop closed April 4, 2026. Hell's Kitchen. 798 9th Avenue. Last one standing.

Marco Shalma

State Of The Street

WASHINGTON IS PLAYING GAMES WITH THE LIGHTS, AND YOUR RESTAURANT IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT

Apr 8, 2026

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9 min read

WASHINGTON IS PLAYING GAMES WITH THE LIGHTS, AND YOUR RESTAURANT IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT

Two offshore wind projects sit half-built off the coast of Long Island. A million homes — and every kitchen running on the Brooklyn grid — hang in the balance. Here's what's really going on.

Marco Shalma