N.Y. Today: She Wanted Her Hair Done for a Special Day. She Left the Salon in Tears.

April 5, 2026

A woman in a printed dress sits in a chair in a salon and poses for a portrait.

Eva Woolridge for The New York Times

She Wanted Her Hair Done for a Special Day. She Left the Salon in Tears.

A Black woman is pushing for changes in the hair industry after claiming in a lawsuit that she and her 7-year-old were turned away from an Ulta Beauty salon in Manhattan because of their hair texture.

By Skylar Mitchell

A brownish brick building on the left in the foreground, with trees on the right, and several new high-rises in the back.

Are These Crumbling New York City Housing Projects Worth Saving?

The city thinks four developments in Chelsea are too run-down to be saved, and wants to rebuild them, adding mixed-income housing. Some residents are opposed.

By Mihir Zaveri

A man with long hair and a beard wearing a chartreuse shirt stands at a stove, ladling beans into a skillet.

Tom Valenti, Who Made Lamb Shanks a Showstopper, Dies at 67

At Ouest, on the Upper West Side, and other Manhattan restaurants, he served robust dishes in a style he called “haute cuisine with the grandma gene.”

By Pete Wells

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