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In a follow-up conversation with Jordan Scott, the 25-year-old founder of a dating website, idk tonight, she talks about launching an app amidst a New York business shut down, the forgotten world of couples, and how to actually get shit done. 

2020 was supposed to be a great year for Jordan Scott. 

In September of 2019, months before any talk of Coronavirus or a New York business shut down, the 25-year-old founder’s website, idk tonight had emerged as a top resource for couples looking for fun date ideas. While the Apple app store seemed to feature a new dating app each week, Scott and her 50,000 plus readership had carved out a niche for themselves with the seemingly forgotten customer base of New York couples.  

An App for Couples, Not Just Singles

In 2019, Scott and her team had silently been working on a new type of app for couples called COBBLE. Built for “life after the swipe”, the premise was simple. Take a traditional dating app like Tinder, but instead of swiping on single people to date, you swipe on experiences; like dinner at Panna II, a paint and wine night, or a movie night at home. If you and your partner both swipe right on the same experience, you get a MATCH, and an option to put the date on the calendar for the both of you. 

Design by Ma’am Creative

Cobble took the curated dates and pre-existing readership from idk tonight and turned it into a way to help couples make better, faster decisions together. “Couples’ wellness doesn’t fall into the self-care umbrella”. Scott said. “We don’t discuss the fact that when our relationships are not feeling 100%, nothing else feels 100%. We think that when couples make authentic decisions together – they feel healthier.”

“Couples’ wellness doesn’t fall into the self-care umbrella. We don’t discuss the fact that when our relationships are not feeling 100%, nothing else feels 100%.

A quick google search proves just how forgotten couples are in the app world. In a list of the top 10 apps for single people, a seemingly endless list of dating apps emerge, from Coffee Meets Bagel to Hinge
to Tinder to Happn to OKCupid. The top 10 best apps for couples
include a mishmosh of apps ranging from Raft, a calendar syncing app, Kindu, a sex life app, and Venmo, yes, the totally unsexy but practical payment app. 

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The Time All of New York Business Shut Down

As Cobble prepared for an eventful 2020 launch, Scott began reaching out to investors. All seemed to be moving along until the entire world and all of New York business shut down in March. “We started investor meetings the first week of March. On March 14th, everything crumbled. The investors we had spoken to could not think about anything but their businesses”. 

On top of that, as the city entered a shutdown, traffic to idk tonight dropped completely. Couples weren’t looking for fun date ideas anymore, nor were they exploring neighborhoods or finding places to eat. Within the span of one month, Scott’s two businesses had flipped upside down. 

“Those were the most intense weeks of work… I didn’t really have idk tonight anymore and had already spent too much money on building Cobble. Nothing about it felt ready, but Covid forced me to launch anyway”. 

After pivoting to include “stay at home” content, Scott and her team launched in June, just in time for outdoor dining. Launching to her already established customer base of couples from the idk tonight readership, the app has already garnered over 240,000 date night swipes. The reason for the app’s success? Content. 

“I really do think though that when you look at a brand like Glossier, that started as the blog, Into the Gloss, or how we grew Cobble, that started with idk tonight, the best way to build a successful product is to build the audience first. That way, you build for the audience, and not what you want.”

Jordan Scott (top left) and her team worked virtually through the Pandemic.

Learning to Pivot in a Pandemic

In July, Scott reached back out to the earlier investors, showing them the pivot to include “at home” content. Utilizing the comments and excitement of fans from the app, they were able to raise over $3 million in seed funding. At a time when all of the world and New York business shut down, Scott was able to prove that she was able to pivot, and Cobble was here to stay. 

Maybe 2020 is looking to be a pretty good year for Jordan Scott after all. 

Here’s How You Can Get Your Idea Started

Every time we speak to an entrepreneur, we ask for tangible advice for our readers. Here are Jordan’s tips for someone looking to bring their idea to life:

  • Set a Hard and fast rule — Look at your calendar for the week. Hardass block off one hour for each day. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
  • Brain Dump – Open a Google doc and just start writing down any ideas, for an event or anything. Whatever. Set a timer on your phone, and you cannot stop until the timer goes off. And if you keep doing it – the shit will come. It will happen. You’ll find yourself going over the timer. You’ll find yourself editing that video. But it does start with a blank piece of paper. 
  • Be a big believer in just doing it. If you have a lot of interests, content is a nice way in. Find a way to be weird and different in doing what you want. That is the only thing that sticks out. What’s your differentiator? Start filming yourself. Start writing. Content is level one. Then the audience comes. Then the product.

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ciaooo! is an NYC based editorial site, newsletter, and events company. We're the local's guide to conquering NYC. Follow us on Instagram @ciaooomag for the latest. Nice to see you here!

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Governor Cuomo is reopening indoor dining at half capacity in regions across upstate New York. This popped off just weeks after 100 upstate restaurants jointly SUED New York State for discrimination. Using NYS’s own data, they proved that restaurants and bars accounted for only 1.4  percent of COVID-19 cases. The bulk of the spread came from small, indoor gatherings with an insane 75 percent transmission rate.

Aaron Ho, co-founder of Sour Mouse, a Billiard and social club in the Lower East Side shares below what it’s been like for affected businesses.

Sour Mouse was slated to open on April 15, 2020. Due to COVID-19, businesses shut down and our doors did not open. The launch was on pause, and we remained closed for six straight months until October 3rd when phase 3 of reopening procedures went into effect. In 2020, my business venture; a social club and billiards hall operated for only 14 weeks out of the year. 

Nestled in the heart of the Lower East Side, Sour Mouse is a destination that welcomes nostalgia. It prompts you to put down your phone and enjoy a variety of recreational activities. From the physical space and its fixtures to games, music, and entertainment, the concept I wanted to create was a nouveau social environment that’s perfect for meeting friends, spending quality time with family, and creating the party of a lifetime. A hub of fun for the community and tourists.

From Hong Kong to the Lower East Side

My parents migrated from Hong Kong in the ’70s, and I was born and raised on the Lower East Side. Eventually, I ventured over to the UWS and attended John Jay College. From there, my masters and Ph.D. in Criminal Justice brought me to New Jersey and Rutgers University. In 2016, when I became an entrepreneur and opened my first business venture I wanted to stick to my LES roots. I was already closely connected to the community and opened a coffee shop.  It quickly became a hip destination and a fixture in the vibrant Lower East Side. 

Bar/restaurants only account for 1.4% of all COVID-19 transmissions

Leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, when the second shutdown was mandated by the city, I think many business owners in hospitality were appalled, discouraged, and not prepared. They were also not financially equipped. Bar/restaurants only account for 1.5% of all COVID-19 transmissions—so, the punishment doesn’t seem to fit the crime, We have all felt the wrath and financial consequences of two city-wide shutdowns, but the hospitality industry defines New York City and supports hundreds of thousands of local jobs. 

Based on my experience as a business owner, I fit into a certain category that will not get financial support from the city. It’s frustrating because I can personally apply for a loan but I feel that any establishment, new, or old – any business that facilitates what has made NYC a hub of eclectic dining, entertainment, nightlife, music, and more deserves some type of relief- regardless of years in business, fiscal equity, and reputation of being highly altruistic and socially responsible. 

Here is how I’m weathering the storm: 

  • Being Compliant: We agree with city officials that we must do everything to restore hospitality businesses as soon as possible – and as safely as possible. Working with the city as more and more vaccines are deployed, we hope to move forward as quickly as the public health and the safety of our customers allows.
  • Being Prepared: I was not prepared for the second shutdown. Sour Mouse has been following safety procedures that are more strict than any city or state requires. We’re equipped with modern air filtration, UV lighting, PPE equipment, and more. As we commence 2021, I have taken preemptive measures to account for any situation. 

I launched Sour Mouse to the public under restrictive guidelines. Because of this, promotion and programs for the space became secondary. I wanted to first ensure that anyone who entered Sour Mouse, from the staff to customers, would feel safe. My efforts and budget for entertainment instead went to installing UVC Lighting and hand sanitizer stations throughout the space as well as a True HEPA to filter airborne bacteria. During these financially challenging times, as a business owner, Sour Mouse’s existence is now a reminder of the city’s hope and resilience.

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ciaooo! is an NYC based editorial site, newsletter, and events company. We're the local's guide to conquering NYC. Follow us on Instagram @ciaooomag for the latest. Nice to see you here!

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Earlier this month, Mayor De Blasio announced an ambitious amount of vaccinations in New York City. A whopping ONE MILLION dollars…I mean, vaccinations. PS – if you don’t get the reference, check it here. Here’s everything you need to know about the Coronavirus Vaccine.

“We are going to expand our hospitals, clinics, neighborhoods across the city. Our goal is upwards of 250 locations citywide. This is going to be a massive effort, part of the largest single vaccination effort in the history of NYC. It’s going to take a lot of work.” – Mayor DeBlasio

But, things aren’t quite that simple. 

Originally, the US had lofty goals of distributing over 20 million vaccinations by the end of 2020. According to the CDC, only 12.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed, and only 2.8 million people inoculated. 

Bottlenecks, Bottlenecks, Bottlenecks. 

Why? For starters, bottlenecks in production. Earlier this summer, glass vials, cargo planes, dry ice, and even wooden pallets were some of the items on backorder that would slow things down. Plus, no game plan. Distribution was left to hospital and health officials who were already overwhelmed by patients. 

Who’s to say what will happen in the next month? 

The new stimulus package allots another $8 billion in funding for vaccine distribution. In the meantime, we’ll be keeping our masks on, hands sanitized, and socializing through Zoom with our cat. 

As for vaccine plans for 2021? 

Expect another 125 vaccine sites to pop up by the end of the month, 24/7 vaccine facilities (we are currently operating during the week only), and additional groups to be vaccinated in phase two including police officers, firefighters, teachers, pharmacists, and grocery store workers. 

In this article, we’ll be tackling all the questions you have about the Coronavirus vaccine, such as – Is the Coronavirus vaccine safe? Will I be able to take the vaccine? Do I have to pay for the vaccine? Fasten your seatbelts folks, because you’re in for a ride.

Editor’s Note: This article was created with the help of Danielle Deschaine, a Pharma marketing executive working on the distribution of two Coronavirus vaccines.

Here’s some more resources from our Corona series:

First off, let’s start from the beginning. What is a vaccine?

According to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), vaccines contain the same germs that cause the disease. Vaccines have germs that have been, “killed or weakened to the point that they don’t make you sick. A vaccine tricks your immune system into producing antibodies that act as your body’s defense.

Ok, I Slept Through High School Biology. Explain the Coronavirus Vaccine.

We promise, there’s a point to all of this!

Let’s create a parallel world with football.

Imagine you’re playing against a team called, oh let’s say the “Covid-19ers”. They’ve been absolutely crushing every team this season and somehow, your coach has managed to get their old playbook.

Let’s call this playbook the, “Vaccine”. This book has every single play, strategy, team member, strength, and weakness that the team has ever used.

“Pfizer and Moderna have estimated that they will have enough to vaccinate, at most, 22.5 million Americans by year’s end, with the required two doses, a few weeks apart”  – NYT

Now, your coach (who’s been an expert for years and years) studies the playbook and knows exactly how the Covid-19ers think, play, and operate. In fact, she’s studied hundreds of playbooks of hundreds of other teams.

She helps to devise a strategy for your team – when to run and shoot offense, and what plays to use based on that foundational knowledge vetted by thousands of other football experts.

Having the playbook is an essential tool for your team to understand your opponent, develop a defense strategy, and beat the team. Having the vaccine is an essential tool for your body to understand Covid-19, and develop antibodies to the virus. Think of the playbook as the vaccine, and your “coach” as the global medical team of experts behind the vaccines. What up, Fauci!

What’s so special about the Coronavirus Vaccine?

Now, to make things a little more complicated, the Covid-19 vaccine is a Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine. The mRNA tells our cells to make a clone of the spike on top of the coronavirus – which triggers our immune system. This would be like, not only has your team studied the playbook, it made a clone of the Covid-19ers‘ head quarterback to beat its own team.

The Pfizer BioNTECH vaccine has proven to have nearly a 95% success rate after the second dosage. The efficacy also seems to work equally amongst older, obese, black, white and latino candidates as well.

Science, amirite?

How long have vaccinations been around?

Vaccinations have been around for over 100 years. Prior to vaccines, the average life expectancy of a human being was 35 years old, meaning half of Williamsburg’s emotionally unavailable single population would have been 6 feet under instead of texting you 6 days later.

Today, the average life expectancy in the United States is 78.7 years. You can thank vaccines for that. Tuberculosis, Measles, Diphtheria, Polio, and Yellow Fever were all diseases that would have cut off the life expectancy had it not been for vaccines.

If we continue to allow Coronavirus to spread the way it is, you can expect over 40 million people to die. 

Ask an Expert: How do vaccines work?

Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett is an American immunologist, research fellow, and the scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Center (VRC). Her team is responsible for the research that led to Moderna’s vaccine. She had this to say about vaccines:

“They work in two ways. They prevent you from being sick and prevent transmission in the community. Herd community can only be achieved effectively by vaccination. People have doubts about the process, but the vaccine concepts that are put into Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson, and Johnson and etc.. the actual sequence of the protein that is being used to vaccinate people, we worked on that sequence for 6 years since I got to the National Institute for Health

Listen to Dr Corbett discuss her thoughts on the vaccine via Ense

Because we understand so much about how to make the right immune response for Coronaviruses, this is why we are seeing 90% efficacies…which are just astonishing efficacy rates for any vaccine. They’re reviewed by a diverse panel of experts external to the company who have nothing but the best interests of mankind“.

How many Coronavirus Vaccines are in Production?

In the United States, there are currently two vaccines in production – Pfizer and Moderna. In total, there are five U.S.-backed candidates in phase three trials including Astra-Zeneca and Johnson and Johnson.

Coronavirus vaccines require two shots to be taken within two weeks of each other. Pfizer and Moderna estimate that they will be able to create an additional 60 to 70 million doses by January. The UK started its first dosages on December 8th with the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine.

Why should we trust this rushed vaccine?

The Coronavirus vaccine isn’t “rushed” in the traditional sense.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publicly rallied AGAINST rushing the science. Two months of follow-up safety data required for the vaccine application is actually more than is traditionally required!

A lot of what COVID has done is strip away a lot of the process-driven inefficiencies of vaccine development and push resources towards this vaccine on a global scale. While the strain of Covid-19 is new, the formulation of the vaccine is based on a foundation of vaccine knowledge that has been going on for years.

“The actual sequence of the protein that is being used to vaccinate people, we worked on that sequence for 6 years since I got to the National Institute for Health. 

Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett, American immunologist

In an oversimplified analogy, think of the Apple team of developers making a new update for the Apple iOS system. They are building updates and fixing bugs based on past iOS systems, not relearning coding from scratch for each update. Experts are building off the foundational knowledge of vaccines and coronaviruses from years prior.

The biggest hurdles for the Coronavirus vaccine in regards to FDA approval are actually production capabilities, not testing.

Moderna has not brought a single drug to market. How can we trust this rushed vaccine?

Moderna specifically focuses on developing mRNA “directions” which is the exact method Pfizer uses. In tests, the two saw similar results, so if nothing else Pfizer is a widely-known public company also using the same technique and science- mRNA

Moderna also, in an effort to be transparent, actually published their protocol for the clinical study on the COVID vaccine so ANYONE can read it. You can see the results of the trial for yourself in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

How will NY prioritize who gets the vaccine? I want one ASAP.

In the United States, each state and health system will decide on their own guidelines as to which groups get priority vaccinations. The CDC recommends:

  • Senior citizens in nursing homes (they have accounted for 39% of deaths nationwide)
  • Healthcare workers and essential personnel like those who work in schools, emergency responders, police officers, grocery workers, corrections officers, public transit workers, and others whose jobs make it hard or impossible to work from home. (85 million people)
  • Adults with medical conditions that put them at high risk of coronavirus infection, such as diabetes or obesity, and everyone over 65
Vaccine Priority Chart - Covid Vaccine
Vaccine Priority Chart – Coronavirus Vaccine

In New York, Governor Cuomo has suggested:

  • At risk, older people over the age of 65 in nursing homes
  • Healthcare professionals and essential workers
  • Black, brown, Asian, Undocumented, and high-risk populations (such as those living in NYCHA public housing). Governor Cuomo issued a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to include these communities to be covered by the vaccine. 

The priority, of course, will be the medical professionals. We need to protect medical workers and those on the front lines first to ensure they can keep us all safe.

Regular folks like you and I will be waiting for vaccines as they amp up production. Dr Fauci estimates vaccinations for the general public will not start until April 2021.

When will life return to “normal”?

In order for life to return to “normal”, we need to have herd immunity, or have over 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated.

There are many variables, but the general consensus can be summed up by Dr. Bob Wachter, a Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF. He expects over 150 million people by June 21, and the entire US by December 21, 2021.

*Please note the CDC does not explicitly give a date beyond “the first vaccines will be available before the end of the year,” so you can hang up your party hats. 

What are the negative side effects of the Coronavirus?

Coronavirus vaccine side effects have been documented as follows:

Moderna noted that there were no serious safety concerns in their 30,000 person trial either, but that the lesser side effects more commonly happened after the second dose. Studies on children or pregnant women have not been done yet, so we aren’t sure of the side effects.

Will the coronavirus vaccine lift travel bans?

America is unlikely to take any drastic action until our caseload is under control and we’ve reached herd mentality.

We need to vaccinate the health care workers, the vulnerable, and essential workers GLOBALLY. That will ultimately be how we keep folks the safest – vaccinate those most at risk and the rest of us patiently wait our turn. So, short answer: Unclear but candidly really not a priority for anyone to figure that out right now.

Do I need to pay for the Coronavirus Vaccine?

  • Short answer: MAYBE. Long Answer: It’s complicated. See below. 
  • The CARES act has designated the COVID 19 vaccine as a preventative health service. Anyone with insurance would get it covered 100%, full-stop. 
  • The government has been brokering deals to ensure the Coronavirus vaccine is affordable. Individual drug makers are making deals with other countries to sell it for under 40$ a dose. The Flu vaccine actually costs 67$ a dose, for reference! 
  • Read up on health insurance plans to see what’s covered. Medicare and Medicaid are aiming to make coverage affordable. The uninsured (or underinsured) will be vulnerable to price gouging, and may not be able to afford it at all. 

In the meantime, wear your masks, avoid small and large gatherings and stay safe. We have a long winter ahead of us but, with some old school New York grit, we’ll make it out together.

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ciaooo! is an NYC based editorial site, newsletter, and events company. We're the local's guide to conquering NYC. Follow us on Instagram @ciaooomag for the latest. Nice to see you here!

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It’s Election 2020!

If you’ve been glued to your phone aggressively checking the results of the 2020 Presidential Election,  you are not alone. Now on Day Four, it’s come down to six battleground states and their electoral votes: Alaska (3), Arizona (11), Georgia (16), Nevada (6), North Carolina (15), and Pennsylvania (20). Now, let’s get to the good stuff. What the heck is the Electoral College?

What is the Electoral college?

While it may sound like a college or university, the Electoral College is simply a group of colleagues. To make things simple – think of it as a “colleague of electors”. 

Implemented over 200 years ago, the Electoral College was created to ensure all states had equal representation in the voting process, regardless of population size. At the time, the United States was still a budding country, and some states were simply more advanced than others. Some had larger populations, easier access to newspapers, and solidified education systems, while others were still getting on their feet, made up of farmers dispersed across several states. 

The founders feared putting the presidential election in the hands of such a dispersed, varied, and in some areas, uneducated community. They instead decided to select “electors”, a group of educated individuals selected by each political party. . This was driven by the popular vote or number of votes made by the citizens.

Because of the variance in state populations, they decided to make the number of electors mirror the size of the population. Each state has a certain allocation of electoral votes. This is based on the population of each state. States with larger populations have more electoral votes. California for instance has 55 electoral votes whereas Rhode Island has 4. New York has 29.

How Electoral College Votes Are Determined

The total amount of electoral votes in the United States

The total amount of electoral votes in the United States

While the simple answer is that the number of electoral votes a state gets are based on population, the in depth answer is that electoral votes are based on the number of members in Congress (100 Members of the Senate, 435 members of the House of Representative, 3 members of the District of Colombia) totaling 538 electoral votes.

The number of congressional representatives each state has is based on the population size, whereas the Senate always stays the same (2 per state). The founders decided that the the House would be based  on population and the Senate would have equal representation. This agreement was part of what is referred to as The Great Compromise.

Side note, this is why the US Census is SO important! Having an accurate representation of the population will dictate how many representatives each state gets in Congress – and in hand, the electoral college. 

How are Electors Selected?

Electors are not official government employees.

Electors are not official government employees.

These are people selected once every four years by each political party to cast a ballot for their state during the presidential election. They are NOT government employees and generally do not have their names publicly posted. The way electors are selected varies by state, but are primarily chosen by the political party and include, “state elected officials, state party leaders, or people in the State who have a personal or political affiliation with their party’s Presidential candidate”.

A lot of people may get confused by electors and the House of Representatives – they are both an entirely different group of people. A simple way to remember is that the House of Representatives are Congress members INSIDE the HOUSE and serve two-year terms. A prime example of a Congresswoman / Representative is Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who represents the 14th district (Bronx, Queens).

Electors…well, we don’t always know who they are. According to the Atlantic, “Right now, the nomination of electors is a backroom process completely opaque to voters. Electors are not listed on most general-election ballots, and many voters who select a presidential candidate on a ballot don’t even know they’re actually voting for electors, much less have any idea who those electors are”. The reasoning is that their identities should be kept secret to prevent bribery or personal harm. Since electors are not government officials, technically, they aren’t bound by law to cast a ballot for the winner of their state’s popular vote.

Has an elector ever voted for someone OTHER than their state’s winning candidate?

Electoral Votes are equal to the number of representatives of each state.

YES. These people are known as “faithless electors”. It has happened over 165 times since the electoral college was instituted, but they have never turned an election. According to Fairvote.org,

“Faithless electors have never changed the outcome of a presidential election. To date, only one elector has cast a vote for the opposite party’s nominee instead of his own in a close contest. “

Generally, faithless electors have done so because of the death of a nominee or some other odd, extenuating circumstance. Electors are chosen because they are considered loyal, and have historically voted for the candidate that won the popular vote of that state.

So How Does A Candidate Win The Election?!!!

The popular vote informs the electoral vote.

In order for a presidential candidate to win they need to win the electoral vote, not the popular vote. This is going to be confusing but bear with us. The simplified process looks like this:

  1. Individual citizens aka YOU vote (called the popular vote).
  2. A candidate is determined the WINNER of that state based on the popular vote.
  3. The winning candidate is awarded the electoral votes of that state. The loser gets 0 for that state.

The winner of the election is the one who gets 270 electoral votes or half of the total electoral votes (538).

How Can A Candidate Win the Popular Vote But Lose the Popular Vote?

What area swing states aka “battleground” states?

If a candidate wins a state, they get all of the electoral votes of that state. States with large populations and electoral votes – like California, NY, Texas, Florida, Penn, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, NC, Georgia, Virginia – are often sought after by presidential candidates. A candidate could win the electoral votes in these 11 states, LOSE electoral votes in all other 39 and still WIN the entire election. 

In 2016, Hillary won the popular vote, but Trump won because of the states with higher electoral votes.  In total, Clinton had 2,864,974 MORE votes than Trump, making it the,” largest popular vote margin of any losing presidential candidate in U.S. history”, according to ABC. Trump, however, won with 304 electoral votes versus Clinton’s 227 electoral votes.

Whether the electoral college will go away anytime soon is a question for the times. Until then, we’ll be sitting here refreshing our screen to see what the next four years will look like.

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ciaooo! is an NYC based editorial site, newsletter, and events company. We're the local's guide to conquering NYC. Follow us on Instagram @ciaooomag for the latest. Nice to see you here!

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For the last three years, I’ve lived in a crappy little apartment above a bakery.

Although the neighborhood skews primarily Orthodox, my building is a little enclave, mostly of immigrants. Beyond the three doctors-to-be across my hall, or the grandma on the floor above me whose absurdly large bags of onions I carry up the stairs when I see her, or the salwar kameez-clad women who stop me in the lobby to ask me if I’m married, in proper New York fashion, I don’t really talk to any of them.

My neighbors are deeply communal, knocking on my door when my keys are left in the lock, sliding misdelivered mail between door and jamb, and never once claiming my boozy misdeliveries for their own.

I think everyone who’s lived in a NYC apartment at least once has been in a place with a little nook where their neighbors leave out things for others to take—clothing that’s well-worn but not worn out, books that won’t be read again, a purse that you thought you loved but now just makes you sick.

During the last few months of the pandemic, people don’t just put out reminders of exes long past—they put out food. Cans of tomatoes, and mushrooms, and fruit. A head of lettuce and cabbage. A bag of apples. Cream cheese and shelf-stable milk and a carton of eggs nestled beside an open window to keep them cool.

I’m not much for holidays, but this feels like Thanksgiving.

-Ilysse Weisenfeld

As we reveled in what a “New York Thanksgiving” feels like (especially during Covid), we asked fellow New Yorkers to share some of their favorite recipes. Continue reading to see more.

Eat

A Halal One Pan Roast Chicken by @MuslimFoodies

We asked MuslimFoodies is an Instagram account run by 3 Muslim girls on the search for the best Halal food across NYC (hint: you can find a map here).

Materials:
Baking dish (preferably aluminum)
Tongs
Basting brush

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (7 lbs) thoroughly cleaned
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp adobo seasoning
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp of Trader Joe’s “Everyday Seasoning”
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 whole lemon, halved
10 smashed garlic cloves
3 medium-sized yellow onions, halved
3 pounds of red potatoes, cut into small pieces
3 carrots, sliced up
3 stalks of celery, sliced up
2 tbsp salted butter

Instructions:
Make sure the chicken is patted dry and puncture holes everywhere with a sharp knife.
Take a cup and mix olive oil and all seasonings together.
Pour the mixture all over the chicken, coating entire chicken evenly into the holes and under the skin to trap in the mixture.
Marinate for up to 8 hours or overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat aluminum tray with cooking spray or olive oil.
Place all red potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, and only 2 onions on a tray (sprinkle salt & pepper if you wish, the chicken drippings will add all the flavor).
Take out marinated chicken and stuff the halved lemons, a few garlic cloves, remaining onion, and rosemary sprigs inside the chicken.
Tie up chicken’s ends, place breast-side down on top of the veggies, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, toasting the chicken over breast-side up halfway.
Periodically baste the chicken with its juices and salted butter when in the oven
When done, mix up all the veggies up in juices and serve.

Eat

An Easy Breezy Steak Dinner by @Dlapidous

Looking for a super easy recipe? @Dlapidous recommends the quick and efficient pre-marinated steak tips from Trader Joe’s.

“The steak tips are awesome! They’re in the butcher section at TJ’s in a vacuum-sealed bag and pre-marinated and all you do is fry them in a pan or grill, etc. not much of a recipe”.

Ingredients:

Steak

Trader Joe’s Steak Tips

Salad

Lacinato Kale
1.5 lemons, Juiced
3 minced garlic cloves
Shaved Parmesan
1/8 – 1/4 Olive Oil

Directions:

Cook steak according to directions. Sear on medium-high heat in a pan in oil until preferred texture.

Salad:
Combine olive oil and the juice of ~ 1.5 lemons, 3 minced garlic cloves. Add salt and pepper to taste. Rub the dressing into a torn bowl of Lacinato Kale and add some shaved Parmesan. Give it time to rest/marinate but not required.

 

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