This one is definitely a case of cultural exclusion (it's very New York), even knowing the Spangram isn't necessarily much help - and the answer in the middle is just ridiculous...
Was going fine but just couldn't figure out the last two, as one of them was only two letters - until I realised that I'd scrolled down a bit to hide the top row...
Still, I learnt something, which is that letters already "taken" by completed answers can still be used to generate hints.