Top things to do in New York — week of March 30

Big week, small apartment, fast subway. End of March is a transition week in NYC — the indoor calendar is still full and the rooftop calendar starts to peek. I am writing this from a Verve in Williamsburg that is almost certainly going to be a different cafe by next year.

The live version of this list lives on the NYC this-week page. It updates daily and is honestly better than my drafts.

Monday: a quiet one

Monday is reading-group night for me. There is a small AI safety reading group in DUMBO that meets at 7 — about ten people, free, intellectually intense. If reading groups are not your thing, skip Monday entirely.

The "founder networking" event in Midtown that keeps showing up in my Luma feed is, I am sorry, sponsored by a real estate firm. Hard pass.

Tuesday: AI Founders Dinner, LES

The standout. Twelve seats, long table, $40 covers food. No slides, no pitches, the host enforces it. The room is roughly half people who have shipped real things and half people who are about to. The Mistral and Anthropic alums I sat next to last month were better company than most of my actual dinner parties.

RSVP fills up Friday. If you miss it, the AI events in NYC answer page has parallel options.

Wednesday: House of Yes

Bushwick, $20, doors at 9. The Wednesday programming has been unreasonably good this quarter — the kind of theme night that is somehow always on theme without being precious about it. Costume optional. The bar is fast on Wednesdays in a way it definately is not on weekends.

Thursday: Brooklyn Steel

A touring act I am not naming because I want a ticket and the show is at 70%. $40-ish, doors at 8, the sound at Steel is the best in BK and the floor is exactly as crowded as it should be.

If you want a calmer Thursday, the gallery openings in Tribeca are quiet, free, and you will leave with at least one strong take.

Friday: Comedy Cellar late

The 11pm slot, $25 plus the famously enforced two-drink minimum. The drop-in policy means you'll see at least one big name testing material — the locals on the lineup are who you actually came for. If you have never been, sit at the bar, not in the room. Better view, less pressure to laugh on cue.

Saturday: Llama Inn or Webster Hall

Two strong options.

• Llama Inn, Williamsburg — long dinner, Peruvian, the cocktails are legitimately worth the markup. Reserve.
• Webster Hall — touring DJ, $30 advance, expect a line until 11.

I am doing Llama Inn because I had a mid week and want a mid weekend. You do you.

Sunday: matinee, then bagels

The Eastville Comedy matinee is reliably good in a "all four comics are working things out in real time" way. $20. Get a bagel after at the place on Bedford that does not need naming.

If you want serious culture, the Sunday afternoon talks at the New Museum are worth it. Otherwise, do nothing and let the week land.

Twelve things — most of them on Rifio, a couple of them word-of-mouth. I will be at the Tuesday LES dinner and the Cellar Friday late. Say hi if you spot me, I will be the one ordering espresso at 11pm.

For the events I cut, the free tech meetups answer page is — wait, that's London. Try the search instead, it works.