OPINION: Manhattan Day time again
May 14-It's time again for Manhattan Day. I hope as many of you as possible will take part.
By "take part," I'm not asking for much. I'm just asking you to get together with your neighbors on the first Saturday in June. This year, that's June 6.
Manhattan Day is an event invented by us at The Mercury more than 20 years ago to celebrate Manhattan and its neighborhoods. We picked this time of year because it is when two groups of settlers joined together in 1855 to form what is now Manhattan. We decided that what really needs to be promoted is just neighborliness, the chance to get together with those around you, in a way that seems to happen less than it ought to.
The whole thing is no more or less complicated than an invitation to hold your own neighborhood picnics, barbecues, cookouts, ice-cream socials, block parties, carnivals, or high teas, if you're so inclined. There aren't any rules; you get to determine what constitutes your neighborhood and what you want to do.
We have been joined in the effort by the Manhattan city government, which waives the usual fees for groups that want to block off public streets in order to have a gathering, and also by local grocery stores that supply buns and/or hot dogs to encourage neighborhoods to have gatherings that involve cookouts. In the last few years, we've been joined in putting this on by our radio colleagues from Manhattan Broadcasting.
To participate, we ask that you register your get-together with us by signing up at themercury.com/manhattanday. To reserve hot dogs and buns, you'll need to do so by May 27. The deadline is the same if you need to obtain a block party permit - in other words, if you are going to need to block off public streets - from the city government's customer service office, 785-587-2480.
Your designated neighborhood rep will then need to stop by the Manhattan Broadcasting office at 2414 Casement Road on Friday, June 5, to pick up the dogs and buns.
You don't have to do any of that, either. What we hope you do most of all is just simply gather with your neighbors to reconnect to each other.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 3:49 AM.