The Inner Circle dinner, NYC political writers’ longtime staple, is their shove it up from media pros who cover these pols all year. The first, 1923’s Gov. Al Smith. The last de Blasio since nobody understood what he did.

Short Abe Beame had been a natural. Also Ed Koch hollering how great he was. At Saturday’s annual black-tie night, the predinner chat? All Eric Adams. Will he/won’t he? The early writing was sharp. No more. Now just a chorus of lined-up amateurs singing in crappy clothes. Eric’s lines sounded professional. The Inner Circle not. It must go outer. People stared at one another.

Another beatdown of our once mighty city. Fie on cracks and smacks. The annual NYC press corps peeing on the pros — gone. This year, flat. No zing. Years past, in a skit: A pretend Chuck Schumer singing “Trump is a tool and acts like a fool, whatcha gonna do?” A quasi Kirsten Gillibrand: “Filibuster!” Audience: “Oy!”

I also viewed another public ensemble. At Theater for the New City, it’s a painful drama about those stressed caregivers caring for those stressed with dementia. A subject I know well. We dealt with it within the family for years.

The play just ended. The disease not. It takes not only your money, but your heart, patience, fears. And for a caregiver — endless tears. Titled “Remembrance,” it was written by Patricia Goodson who experienced this within her own family. We plan to sit and talk about it later this week.

The hills may be alive with “The Sound of Music” — but their Beverly Hills parlors are crawling with future directors. Like Kathy Bates who says this “Matlock” is more issue driven than before. Heavy-duty “Matlock” now does heavy-duty stuff — like jury tampering, witness intimidation, all ripped from headlines. She wants to do more than just star. She wants to direct several episodes.

Surprise! Surprise! Comes soon another Bill O’Reilly read. Title: “Confronting Evil: Assessing the Worst of the Worst.” The cover has shots of Putin, Hitler, Mao and the nice holy man running Iran. “Took me a year to write,” says O’Reilly. 

So who’s doing what? Rep. Nicole Malliotakis at the Pierre shoveling down corn. Better she should hit the State Fair. A dude hunting work enters Trump Tower. Routinely trashing Donald, he now works on the seventh floor, an office paid for by Ronald Lauder. He once worked for Kirsten Gillibrand. 

Meanwhile, geniuses who squeeze Hollywood are into Cheech Marin. His newie film’s “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip.” Now there’s a good new fresh name for a theater with a 20-foot marquee. Cheech: “I’m the grandfather of this movie. I made the same trip with my family to Mexico City before I was 12.”

Eva Longoria: “I play the matriarch. And it doesn’t go as planned. Many bumps in the road.” Yeah. Right. Like producing it. On Disney+ now.

Everyone’s on a diet. Everyone’s losing weight. Everyone’s sticking needles into their varying parts. So this drunk stepped to a parking meter. Inserted a coin. The scale went to 60. “How do you like that,” he said. “I now weigh an hour.”

And that’s only in New York, kids, only in New York.