EXCLUSIVE: Saratogian's NYC takeover
PLUS: What’s 'really' getting Saratogians out of the house.
🌆 (EXCLUSIVE): Saratogian author’s NYC takeover
If you’re in NYC this month, look around for this familiar face.
If you’re down in the city this month, take a look around — you might see a familiar face.
Literally.
Saratogian Molly Dunn, an esteemed advertising exec and — as of yesterday, an author — is currently the star of NYC subway ads that are running all over Manhattan and Brooklyn for the month of January.
The reason: Dunn’s exciting debut novel, the psychological thriller The Circuitry We Share.
“I wanted to catch the attention of folks on the streets of NYC,” says the Queens native who also lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn before migrating north. “The best part of [New York City] is the people — they have a taste level like no other — so if New Yorkers purchase and read The Circuitry We Share and something within it resonates with them, well then, slam f***ing dunk.”
Dunn herself went down to NYC for her book — and MTA — debut, but will be back in the Spa City soon enough. (Buy her book at Northshire and mark your calendar for her book signing event there on Friday, Feb. 27.)
“Being back in the city,” she says of her exciting NYC trip, “to brighten the steps of subway stations feels surreal!”
The Circuitry We Share’s “mind-bending” story follows four highly intuitive women from different parts of the world, whose lives collide after falling for the same Silicon Valley filmmaker.
For more info on Dunn’s in-person event, visit northshire.com.
📚 Keep reading about Dunn and other local authors!
In brief
Saratoga Springs agrees to police reform regarding protest response
The City of Saratoga Springs has agreed to a “landmark” reform agreement regarding police response to protests, the New York Attorney General Letitia James announced yesterday. The announcement detailed a four-tiered system that the city must adhere to "to ensure that policing decisions reflect actual safety needs, and are not influenced by political pressure from local officials.” It added that the tiered approach is an attempt to de-escalate so that “the default response” is not a “large deployment of officers.”
Local skincare brand land sweet grocery store deal
Skin Deep Naturals, a skincare company that launched in the Capital Region’s Honest Weight Food Co-op, is branching out — to Market 32/Price Chopper stores all over the region, reports Sam Raudins in the Albany Business Review. Founder/owner Octavia Maxwell has been making body butters, scrubs and other skincare products for more than a decade, says the outlet.
For a more exhaustive aggregate of Saratoga news, please subscribe to my partner Saratoga Report for a morning run-down that’s emailed daily!
⛷️ What’s getting you out of the house?
Let’s take a pause from the endless (we’re guilty!) “what to do” lists. We asked Saratogians: What’s actually getting you out of the house during these peak ‘winter doldrums’?
Finding fun new things to do in the middle of an Upstate New York winter requires…a certain mindset. So we asked Saratogians what is actually getting them out of the comforts of their warm houses and into the great outdoors.
Lydia Mawad, pediatrician at Amsterdam Internal Medicine & Pediatrics
“I’m going ice skating this year! And I want to try cross-country skiing.”
Where To Go:
Saratoga Springs offers two indoor ice skating rinks on Weibel Avenue, from Olympic to NHL-size. You can rent skates there. (Those and other nearby ones on saratoga.com.) Plus, there are a number of public ponds and lakes to tackle if you’ve got your own blades.
Lesley Hostetter, EVP at Lautman Maska Neill & Co:
“I’m looking forward to using my Indy Pass this year with my family, and checking out new-to-us mountains like Saskedena Six and Magic Mountain, as well as old favorites like Bolton Valley and West.
What’s the Indy Pass?
Buy one pass for access to 270+ resorts on four continents. Boo-ya!
Christa Hyland, social service provider at Wellspring Cares
“I want to go sledding more this year — both in my neighborhood and around town.”
Where To Go:
Options abound, from formal tubing and sledding activity centers at West Mountain and Lapland Lake, to killer hills at McGregor Links Country Club, Woods Hollow Nature Preserve, and Saratoga National Historical Park. (See saratoga.com for the most thorough roundup.)
Laura Tilton, manager and sales enablement
“I want to go cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing a lot this year.”
Where To Go:
Once again, Saratoga Springs and the surrounding areas abound with cross-country skiing options. Saratoga Spa State Park offers 12 miles of trails. Into the Woods Farm offers guides snowshoe adventures, with rentals available.
Kathleen Willcox, roving reporter and general global rover
“I am getting revved up for the Christmas Tree Disco Inferno!”
See you there?
Yup, I (Kathleen) will be on the scene for the big event, which burns this year’s finished Christmas trees (it’s not too late to donate) during a brewery bash — and the money goes to the South Glens Falls Fire Dept. Read all the details here:
📌 ICYMI…
Race to birth: dad trapped on tarmac at ALB
Saratoga Arts is baaaack… (party’s Jan. 9!)
UPH kicks off 2026 with 2 sold-out shows