Extra Extra: Nothing says 'death comes for us all' like the Mister Softee jingle

July 11, 2025, 4:34 p.m.

Because the ice cream truck reminds us that all things are fleeting, here are your afternoon links: Square Diner employee detained by ICE, Mayor Adams' lifelong love of flight upgrades, ugly cakes and more.

a Mister Softee truck at the sunset

Good Friday afternoon in New York City, where we're all cheering for Amaya “Papaya” Espinal.

Here's what else is happening:

  • The New York City Council Minority Delegation this week officially endorsed Republican Curtis Sliwa for mayoral, which it's officially not allowed to do.
  • "When I flew Turkish Airlines, and other airlines, since I was a kid, when I walked into a plane, I asked for upgrades," Mayor Eric Adams told NBC this week.
  • Luis Fernandez, a 50-year-old server at the Square Diner in Tribeca who's been in New York for 35 years, was detained by ICE. Diner patrons are trying to help free him.
  • Hector's diner in the Meatpacking District is closing after 76 years in business.
  • "The ice cream melts, the seasons pass, and the child becomes a father, counting another year as it slips by." Sometimes the Mister Softee jingle gets you down.
  • Sometimes ugly cakes get you down.
  • Save the vultures!
  • And finally, checkin' out the impala: