Landlords of roughly 2,800 buildings still use No. 4 heating oil, a major source of air pollution in New York City. But some building owners say they don’t feel prepared to pivot to cleaner alternatives as mandated, despite government-funded incentives to help make the switch. This fuel source is now on a fast track to being abolished citywide, after the New York City Council voted in February to accelerate a ban. Akin to the new restrictions on gas stove hookups, the ban on No. 4 fuel oil is necessary for improving the city's air quality and reducing the effects of climate change, but landlords say the up-front expenses of phasing out heating oil has created logistical costs and hurdles. Click "listen" in the player to hear the story, and head to Gothamist for more details. 

The Robot Barista. Imagine a white egg-shaped creature with arms on the countertop. It almost looks like a combination of R2-D2 and the Baymax character from the Big Hero 6 movie. And you get coffee from it. Eater NY's Luke Fortney has been reporting on Botbar Coffee in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He joins Weekend Edition host David Furst to discuss the rise of the machines.  

It's Memorial Day Weekend in New York City. And for those of us not at the beach, there are plenty of opportunities for theatre and music in town. WNYC's Culture and Arts Editor, Steve Smith joins Weekend Edition host David Furst for another edition of our Weekend Arts Planner. 1. The Lower East Side Festival of the Arts Theater for the New City is hosting its 28th annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts over Memorial Day weekend. The event provides an ample smorgasbord of theater, poetry, music, film, performance art, children's events and more, all meant to celebrate the storied neighborhood’s cultural and ethnic heritage. This year's Lower East Side Festival includes contributions from more than 200 performing arts organizations, independent artists, poets, puppeteers and film makers. The theme is "Global Warming: The Heat Is On," so you can anticipate a strong showing of activist art in various forms -- including a visual art exhibition and some of the films and plays. As the name indicates, it's all focused on the Lower East Side, and chiefly at Theater for the New City, at 155 First Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets. Evening events are happening there from 6 p.m. until well past 11, Saturday May 27 and Sunday, May 28. But Saturday is the bigger deal: there's a street fair on East 10th Street between First and Second Avenues, starting at 10 am - and that includes an outdoor stage running from 1 to 5 pm. There's an entire slate of children's activities happening between 2 and 4, and a film program running from 1 to 11. It's a whole lot, basically, and you can find out more at Theater For The New City. 2. New music with the New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is presenting two very special programs over the next two weeks to wrap up their 2022 - 2023 season. We'll start with next Thursday, June 1, when the Phil presents a world premiere by New York City composer and Bang on a Can founder Julia Wolfe. We can't predict exactly what this new piece will sound like, but Julia Wolfe's LAST New York Philharmonic premiere, "Fire in My Mouth," illustrated a kind of musical activism. The piece was a multimedia work with multiple choruses, inspired by the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and more broadly on issues of immigration and labor, all set to beautiful and powerful music. Something similar could be in store for Julia Wolfe's new piece, "unEarth," which is a 45-minute work for choruses of men and children with video projections and special lighting and staging. "unEarth" is a response to climate change, taking into account forced migrations, land loss and changing seas. In her program note, Wolfe acknowledges that "art can not solve the crisis," but her piece is meant to get people involved in the conversation. You'll be able to hear "unEarth" at three performances on June 1, 2 and 3. And that sets the stage beautifully for the FINAL season program, which includes the New York premiere of "Become Desert," the latest in a series of profoundly beautiful and deeply immersive hymns to nature by composer John Luther Adams. The Philharmonic will play "Become Desert" in a thoughtful and appealing program that also includes water-inspired works by Benjamin Britten and Toru Takemitsu, and it's happening June 8, 9 and 10.  

New York City Council Members wrapped up a month's worth of hearings that pored over Mayor Eric Adams' proposed spending plan, which currently stands at nearly $107 billion. It's part of an annual lengthy process where both the council and the administration hash out how they're going to spend taxpayer money. And it's coming on the heels of some enormous challenges. As the city enters the final phase of budget talks, David Cruz, WNYC's People & Power editor joins Weekend Edition host David Furst for an update.