Mary Kate Murray

5 days ago | robertsimonson.substack.com | Robert Simonson |Mary Kate Murray

You keep The Mix with Robert Simonson running. To support us, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or a Bar Regular!About a year ago, Robert quoted A. J. Liebling, saying, “Freedom of the press is confined to the people who own one.” He mentioned that Liebling was referring to the big press, but even still, this applies to The Mix too. We write whatever we want here, free of interference from sponsors or advertisers, because you, the independent readers, help keep us going.

3 weeks ago | robertsimonson.substack.com | Mary Kate Murray |Robert Simonson

One thing you realize the longer you live in New York City is that each generation to arrive here thinks that they discovered it, as if nothing had existed before they laid eyes on it. It was no different for me. This is key to becoming a New Yorker. Somehow, we each take personal ownership of a city that belongs to more than 8 million people. Which can be very problematic now, as developers often act first when it comes to their plans, and apologize later. Even the skyline is at risk.

2 months ago | robertsimonson.substack.com | Mary Kate Murray

A few months ago, I was scrolling through Instagram and paused on a post from the Long Beach Island newspaper The Sandpaper (a thinly veiled penny-saver). The Catholic sisters of their Maris Stella Retreat & Conference Center were selling an oceanfront portion of their property in the town of Harvey Cedars for $21 million. As a Catholic who grew up spending summers in my parents’ house in Harvey Cedars, Maris Stella was known to all.