Events & Things To Do

NYCxDESIGN 2023: What to see and do at New York City’s annual celebration of design

Photo: © 6sqft

May 8, 2023

NYCxDESIGN 2023: What to see and do at New York City’s annual celebration of design

By Michelle Cohen

NYCxDESIGN: The Festival, New York City's official celebration of design, returns to the city from May 18 to May 25. This major international design event, now in its 11th year, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to celebrate globally renowned creative accomplishments, discover new ideas, and inspire through design. Anchored by several major industry fairs, including ICFF and WantedDesign, the festival is packed with independent shows, open studios, and exhibitions that inspire audiences and showcase new talent. The annual festival promises to be an opportunity to discover the newest and most exciting contributions in furniture, lighting, textiles, and accessories–many of which you'll be seeing in magazines, blogs, and showrooms for years to come–and an opportunity to get ideas for your own living space. Read on for a few highlights.
NYCXDesign Festival 2023 highlights, this way

Community-created memorial honoring New Yorkers lost to Covid on view at Green-Wood Cemetery

All photos courtesy of Green-Wood Cemetery

May 4, 2023

Community-created memorial honoring New Yorkers lost to Covid on view at Green-Wood Cemetery

By Aaron Ginsburg

A massive new public art memorial at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery honors lives lost during the Covid-19 pandemic. Curated by Naming The Lost Memorials and City Lore, the "The Many Losses from Covid-19" memorial is made up of personalized tributes to the 79,000 New Yorkers lost to the virus, as well as those suffering from long Covid. Created by 20 local community groups, the month-long display will be located alongside the cemetery's historic wrought-iron fence near the main entrance at Fifth Avenue and 25th Street.
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A suspended spherical concert hall will hang in The Shed at Hudson Yards

A rendering of Sonic Sphere in The Shed’s 115-foot-tall McCourt space, 2023. Courtesy The Shed.

May 3, 2023

A suspended spherical concert hall will hang in The Shed at Hudson Yards

By Aaron Ginsburg

A 65-foot-tall spherical concert hall will hang suspended inside The Shed in Hudson Yards. Created by avante-garde architects Ed Cooke, Merijn Royaards, and Nicholas Christie, the Sonic Sphere offers concertgoers a truly unique experience with immersive 3-D sound and light explorations of music that redefine the idea of a concert hall. Performances in the sphere will run from June 9 through July 7.
See more here

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25 ways to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in NYC

Photo courtesy of 7beachbum on Flickr

May 1, 2023

25 ways to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

During May, the country marks Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to honor and recognize the achievements and culture of Asian Americans. Throughout the month, many of New York City's community organizations and cultural institutions will host activities and events celebrating the city's diverse Asian communities, from learning about Chinatown's historic monuments and making K-Pop-themed crafts to catching a set from an AAPI comedian and taking a virtual Vietnamese cooking class.
Our picks here

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Dine-in movie theater to open at Bjarke Ingels’ VIA 57 West

Image via WikiCommons

April 27, 2023

Dine-in movie theater to open at Bjarke Ingels’ VIA 57 West

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new dine-in movie theater is opening inside a luxury residential building in Midtown next month. Located within the Bjarke Ingels-designed and Durst Organization-developed VIA 57 WEST, Look Dine-In Cinema's new flagship location offers a premium movie experience with large screens, state-of-the-art sound systems, luxury seating, and extensive food and beverage options. The theater opens on Thursday, May 4.
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Get a sneak peek of AMNH’s Studio Gang-designed Gilder Center before it opens

The Staircase in the Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium. Photo courtesy of Iwan Baan

April 27, 2023

Get a sneak peek of AMNH’s Studio Gang-designed Gilder Center before it opens

By Aaron Ginsburg

The American Museum of Natural History's highly anticipated science center officially opens next week. Designed by Jeanne Gang's Studio Gang, the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation will serve as a space for scientific discovery with cutting-edge collections, research facilities, next-generation classrooms, and interactive exhibitions. Opening on Thursday, May 4, the Gilder Center is also New York City's latest architectural treasure, with its curving structure inspired by caves and canyons now nestled within the museum's existing historic campus.
See inside the new science center

Lincoln Center to host public celebration of Harry Belafonte’s life

Photo via Wikimedia

April 26, 2023

Lincoln Center to host public celebration of Harry Belafonte’s life

By Devin Gannon

New Yorkers will come together this week to remember one of their own. Harlem native Harry Belafonte, who died Tuesday at the age of 96, was not only a legendary performer and EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) winner but a political activist who befriended and supported Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Lincoln Center will host a public celebration of Belafonte's life and his influence.
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7 ways to celebrate Earth Day in NYC

April 20, 2023

7 ways to celebrate Earth Day in NYC

By Devin Gannon

New Yorkers have been celebrating Earth Day ever since the holiday was created over 50 years ago. During the first observation on April 22, 1970, the city closed Fifth Avenue to traffic from Union Square to Central Park as part of an "ecological carnival." For the last several decades, New York City has marked Earth Day with environment-focused events, volunteer opportunities, and educational workshops. This year, honor Mother Nature by attending the city's largest-ever car-free celebration, taking in artwork that explores our relationship with Earth, learning about NYC's edible plants, shopping sustainably, volunteering at a park clean-up, and more.
Our picks here

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80+ free outdoor performances happening in Times Square this summer

Images courtesy of the Times Square Alliance

April 20, 2023

80+ free outdoor performances happening in Times Square this summer

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's annual celebration of its diverse creative community returns to Times Square this May. Hosted by the Times Square Alliance, TSQ Live will offer over 80 free, open-air performances at plazas throughout the neighborhood, allowing performers to show their craft on one of the world's most public stages. Running through September, TSQ Live features a variety of events, including live DJ sets, concerts, and dance performances from NYC institutions like Carnegie Hall, Pioneer Works, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
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Ancient Egypt and South Central L.A. meet in monumental installation on the Met’s roof

Lauren Halsey (American, b.1987) Installation view of The Roof Garden Commission: Lauren Halsey, “the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture(I),”2022 ©Lauren Halsey. Courtesy of the artist; David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles/New York. Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photo by Hyla Skopitz

April 19, 2023

Ancient Egypt and South Central L.A. meet in monumental installation on the Met’s roof

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's latest rooftop commission brings to life the history of South Central Los Angeles with the use of ancient Egyptian architecture. Created by artist and activist Lauren Halsey, "the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I)" consists of a cube-like structure that rises 22 feet tall and has more than 750 glass-fiber-reinforced concrete tiles, surrounded by four columns and four sphinxes. Located on the museum's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, the towering structure provides a new perspective of Central Park and the city skyline through an open ceiling and large entryways.
Learn more here

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Popular Articles

Rockefeller Center plans to fill vacant office space with its first luxury hotel

Photo courtesy of qwesy qwesy on Wikimedia

April 19, 2023

Rockefeller Center plans to fill vacant office space with its first luxury hotel

By Michelle Cohen

Rockefeller Center has announced a deal with Aspen Hospitality to open a luxury hotel at the iconic Midtown campus. Aspen plans to open the second location of its Colorado-based Little Nell Hotel on 10 floors of vacant office space above the NBC "Today" show studios, the Wall Street Journal reports. The proposed conversion of unused office space is the latest move to address the substantial shift away from full-time office work since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Lincoln Center’s summer arts festival to feature free events and garden-like outdoor spaces

Hearst Plaza design by Clint Ramos. Rendering by Evan Alexander

April 17, 2023

Lincoln Center’s summer arts festival to feature free events and garden-like outdoor spaces

By Aaron Ginsburg

A three-month-long arts festival will return to Lincoln Center this summer, with its iconic campus transformed into a botanical-inspired oasis. After a successful debut season last year, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announced on Monday the second annual "Summer for the City" festival, which will feature hundreds of free events and thousands of artists across 16 acres of outdoor space from June to August. And for the first time in its history, Lincoln Center's outdoor spaces will be reimagined by a single designer: Creative director and designer Clint Ramos.
Get the details

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Knicks, Nets, Devils, Islanders, and Rangers all in playoffs for the first time since 1994

Image via WikiCommons

April 17, 2023

Knicks, Nets, Devils, Islanders, and Rangers all in playoffs for the first time since 1994

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York-area sports fans rejoice: All five local hockey and basketball teams made the playoffs this year for the first time in nearly 30 years. The Knicks, Nets, Devils, Rangers, and Islanders are kicking off their postseasons, the first time all teams have been in the playoffs together since 1994 when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup and the Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets in a seven-game series in the NBA Finals.
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Brooklyn’s borough-wide ‘bookstore crawl’ is back

Photo of Powerhouse Arena in Dumbo by Wgreaves on Flickr

April 14, 2023

Brooklyn’s borough-wide ‘bookstore crawl’ is back

By Aaron Ginsburg

The beloved Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl is returning to the borough for its largest outing yet. The event, which kicks off on April 22 and runs through Independent Bookstore Day on April 29, invites bookworms to visit the 25 book shops participating in this year's crawl for a chance to win prizes while supporting local businesses.
Bookworms, this way

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Art installation offers rare look inside Bushwick’s historic William Ulmer Brewery

Image courtesy of Aaron Asis

April 13, 2023

Art installation offers rare look inside Bushwick’s historic William Ulmer Brewery

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new immersive art installation in Brooklyn lets visitors inside New York City's first landmarked brewery building before it undergoes a major restoration. Located in the abandoned William Ulmer Brewery in Bushwick, the experience by artist Aaron Asis, dubbed Ulmer: Conveyance, invites guests to tour the "raw and dormant state" of the brewery through several installations and performances both on the upper levels and the rarely accessed basement levels. The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place on April 15, 16, and 22 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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See inside NYC’s first Virgin Hotel, now open in Nomad

All photos courtesy of Virgin Hotels New York City unless otherwise noted

April 12, 2023

See inside NYC’s first Virgin Hotel, now open in Nomad

Nomad is becoming a hot spot for boutique hotels, from the newly reopened Ned Nomad to the new Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad and the Ace Hotel. And this tiny neighborhood north of Madison Square Park is where Sir Richard Branson has opened his first New York City hotel. It joins Virgin’s U.S. hotels in major cities like Chicago, Dallas, and Las Vegas. The Virgin Hotels New York City property occupies the entire block between 29th and 30th streets and Broadway.
See more here

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8 best spots to roller skate in New York City

April 11, 2023

8 best spots to roller skate in New York City

By Aaron Ginsburg

Once the winter months melt away and spring rolls around, New Yorkers swap ice skates for roller skates. New York City is home to lots of fun spots to roller skate, from funky roller discos to chill, laid-back rinks perfect for practice laps. Ahead, find some of the city's best roller skating rinks, from the retro-themed Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace at Rockefeller Center to scenic skating in Prospect Park.
Let's skate

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‘Miss Subways’ contest returns to NYC for first time since 2019

2018 Miss Subways. Photo courtesy of Phil Buehler

April 11, 2023

‘Miss Subways’ contest returns to NYC for first time since 2019

By Aaron Ginsburg

After years of hiatus due to the pandemic, the Miss Subways contest is returning to New York City. Hosted by the City Reliquary Museum, the event is an adaptation of the historic beauty contest hosted by the city from 1941 to 1976, and a rejection of traditional beauty standards associated with the original competition. Taking place in Coney Island this year, the event features underground talent who will present a performance portraying their relationship with the NYC subway system. The pageant will take place at Coney Island USA's Sideshows by the Seashore Theater on Friday, April 28.
Who will be crowned Miss Subways 2023?

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This art installation makes it look like visitors are climbing a four-story NYC brownstone

Photo by Gus Powell, courtesy of the Liberty Science Center

April 7, 2023

This art installation makes it look like visitors are climbing a four-story NYC brownstone

By Aaron Ginsburg

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Jersey City's Liberty Science Center is launching one of its most ambitious exhibitions yet. The center is kicking off its Big Art initiative, a new art program with two inaugural installations by Argentine conceptual artist Leandro Erlich and Brooklyn-based artist and Pioneer Works founder Dustin Yellin. Titled The Building, Erlich's interactive installation features a model of a New York City brownstone on the ground, allowing visitors to climb across its facade and pretend to hang from the fire escapes. A giant mirror reflects the scene, creating an optical illusion.
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Events & Things To Do

What you need to know about the 2023 Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in NYC

Photo courtesy of Phil Roeder on Flickr

April 7, 2023

What you need to know about the 2023 Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

A procession of marchers wearing vibrantly over-the-top bonnets will take over Fifth Avenue on Sunday. Hosted by the Fifth Avenue Association, New York City's annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival takes place on April 9 between East 49th to East 57th Street. New Yorkers are invited to watch as revelers march up Fifth Avenue while showing off their most intricate bonnets and outfits. Here is everything you need to know about one of NYC's age-old traditions, the Easter Parade.
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Rockefeller Center unveils 193 new flags inspired by NYC food

All photos courtesy of Rockefeller Center

April 6, 2023

Rockefeller Center unveils 193 new flags inspired by NYC food

By Aaron Ginsburg

Normally representing the 193 nations recognized by the United Nations, the flags around the plaza at Rockefeller Center will look a little different this month. Rockefeller Center collaborated with City Harvest, the city's largest food rescue organization, on its fourth annual Flag Project, an art installation that transforms the flags around the Rink at Rockefeller Center with designs submitted by the public. This year's theme celebrates the global food culture of New York City, with new flags displaying iconic scenes of neighborhood bodegas, food markets, favorite restaurants, and iconic city grub like hot dogs and pizza.
See more here

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10 underrated NYC parks to visit this spring

April 5, 2023

10 underrated NYC parks to visit this spring

Everyone knows how gorgeous Central Park and Prospect Park are but the concrete jungle is actually much greener than just those big, famous parks. Throughout New York City, peaceful parks and gardens, both big and small, beautify neighborhoods and provide a taste of nature in the big city. Ahead, find 10 of them to check out on one of those perfect New York spring afternoons.
Discover your new favorite park

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NYC to host largest-ever car-free Earth Day celebration

Photo courtesy of the New York City Department of Transportation on Flickr

April 5, 2023

NYC to host largest-ever car-free Earth Day celebration

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is marking Earth Day with its largest car-free celebration yet. The city's Department of Transportation's annual Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day event connects 100 open streets across the city, 22 plazas, and over 1,000 miles of the five borough's bike network to promote environmental activism and sustainable forms of transportation. This year's celebration will be held on Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and include seven separate signature event locations and 23 community-produced locations featuring live performances, fitness instruction, giveaways, and educational programming.
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A Queens-themed photo installation is now on view at JFK Airport

Photo courtesy of JFKIAT

March 31, 2023

A Queens-themed photo installation is now on view at JFK Airport

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new digital art installation in JFK Airport's Terminal 4 explores what "home" means to New Yorkers. The T4 Arts & Culture program partnered with the Museum of the City of New York to bring New York Now: Home, the first installation of an ongoing photography series at the museum that debuted this month, to the terminal. The 15 images now on display throughout Terminal 4 were either created by an artist with a connection to Queens or who make the borough the subject of their work.
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Coney Island opens for the season this weekend

Photo courtesy of Luna Park

March 30, 2023

Coney Island opens for the season this weekend

By Aaron Ginsburg

Coney Island's beachfront amusement parks are opening for the 2023 season this weekend. Starting on March 31, Luna Park, home to the famous Cyclone rollercoaster, is hosting its traditional opening weekend ceremonies, which include the egg-cream christening and first ride of the Cyclone. To celebrate the iconic rollercoaster's 96th birthday, the first 96 riders get a free ride and an egg cream. And Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park will celebrate its 103rd birthday with its annual "Blessing of the Rides" and free rides on its historic Ferris wheel on Sunday, April 2.
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