A New York moment: 

Workers just put up the dreaded scaffolding outside of my apartment building. Under a 1980 law, passed after a piece of falling facade killed a pedestrian, all city buildings must have periodic facade inspections. Indeed just last year, two blocks from me, a huge chunk of a facade fell onto the sidewalk—thankfully injuring no one. 

LOS ANGELES—When Weird Wave Coffee opened doors between a pawnshop and a check-cashing agency in the mostly Latino neighborhood of Boyle Heights, its owners envisioned someplace different from Starbucks or hausfrau coffee bars. They wanted to create a cozy communal space for the community—but they didn’t anticipate that the community might not have space for them.

Balthazar, a large gray tabby, circles our table. Soon he jumps up and lounges between us, allowing us to stroke his fur. Other cats of various breeds and colors roam around the dining area. Some sleep in quiet corners, inside an old drum set, and in a hollowed-out computer monitor. One climbs up and down a rope-wrapped tree in the center of the room that leads to, well, catwalks hanging from chains 9 feet up. A television plays cat videos. This is a typical afternoon at the Blue Cat Café in Austin, Texas, one of a growing number of such cafés around the country.