Ponies, Politics, and Halloween Keep Things Interesting on UES
Two therapy ponies were a big hit at Sunrise East 56. They were a break from politics, including a debate-watch party and people angling for Jerry Nadler’s seat next year.
| 27 Oct 2025 | 12:11
Two of HorseAbility’s miniature therapy ponies, Aiden (seen above) and Pearl, visited the residents of Upper East Side assisted living facility Sunrise East 56. (
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Pearl, one of the two miniature ponies from HorseAbility, is a gentle presence for seniors. (
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More on that Jerry Nadler Seat—As we inch closer to the 2025 election on Nov. 4, the race for Jerry Nadler’s 12th Congressional seat in 2026 is taking on momentum. There’s a myriad of declared and undeclared candidates tossing their names in the ring or having them tossed by others. Declared candidates from the West Side include Assemblyman Micah Lasher, and Liam Elkind, a not-for-profit leader who lost to Nadler in what turned out to be Nadler’s last- ever primary. So far, the only declared candidate for the seat on our side of town is East Side Assemblyman Alex Bores. He did so with a war chest of over $1 million. Bores’s fundraising continued at Bubo’s Midtown restaurant, where he celebrated his 35th birthday. Earlier in the day, his campaign video went viral. It showed Bores in his new Daddy role with son Charlie. So far, the Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen Councilman Erik Bottcher, who raised over $600,000 immediately after opening a campaign account, said he is also “strongly considering” a run, and West Sider Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy is mulling a bid. Also on the East Side, attorney and civic activist Howard Teich posted on Facebook that he was “seriously considering” the 12th Congressional race. [Full disclosure: Teich and I co-chair an Upper East Side community organization.]
Ready to run for the Bores seat—Vanessa Aronson, who came in second in a tight CD 4 primary in June and is former president of the Lexington Dem Club, has announced that she’s running for Alex Bores’s Assembly seat next year. Assemblyman Bores says he wants to run for Jerry Nadler’s Congressional seat, and can’t run for both seats at the same time. Heavily armed with a roster of endorsements from local and statewide Democratic leadership, Aronson will be participating in the state’s matching funds program. Wondering if there will be any other contenders?
The Dems came to watch—State Senator Liz Krueger and the Lex and Four Freedom Dem Clubs hosted a Watch Party for the Oct. 22 mayoral debate on NY1 at Sojourn Social. Lots of free food. Eighteen dollar drinks. Fellow Dems. What more could you want as you watched Cuomo/Mamdani/Sliwa have at each other before mail-in voting began? My take was that most of the crowd was for Mamdani. Not so much Sojourn Social customers, whom I queried as they made their way through the Dem crowd. Two 20ish women accompanied by their dogs didn’t declare their vote, one saying only “I’m Jewish,” the other saying that her king-size poodle was a rescue from Mexico and that she named her Laila Tov, which means “good night” in Hebrew. Dogs also didn’t commit. As two Sojourn Social customers who came to dine—not watch—were leaving, I asked who they were voting for. They raised their thumbs and said, “Cuomo, we’re voting for Cuomo.”
Ponies, not politics—Thanks to Sunrise at East 56, a leading assisted living community on the Upper East Side, two of HorseAbility’s miniature therapy ponies, Aiden and Pearl, came to visit with senior residents. Aiden and Pearl are forever stall mates. He’s 15. She’s 17. The two Shetland ponies was escorted from the van by the Sunrise Hospitality team to an upper-floor terrace to mingle with residents. As Aiden and Pearl ambled to the building entrance, they were met by a crew of media reporters and photographers. For the record, Aiden and Pearl weren’t commenting, but passersby were just beaming as they watched the ponies amble along the city sidewalk. Therapy ponies are gentle and are specially trained to provide comfort, joy, and therapeutic interaction for seniors. According to HorseAbility, time spent with their mini horse team can help individuals of all ages, including seniors, to improve their physical, emotional, and social well-being.
Halloween trick or treating—Come again to this year’s Halloween Trick or Treat, sponsored by UES Community Unity on Friday, Oct. 31 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Shake Shack plaza on East 86th Street, between Third and Lexington avenues. Thanks to Faith Bondy for making it happen.