Events &amp; Things To Do

If you're looking for a way to become more involved in your neighborhood and the decisions that shape New York City, the city's community boards are a good place to start. New York City is comprised of 59 community districts across the five boroughs: 12 in Manhattan, 12 in the Bronx, 18 in Brooklyn, 14 in Queens, and 3 in Staten Island. Formed in 1977, community boards are the city's most local form of representative government. Though they're strictly advisory–they don't have official authority to make or enforce laws–community boards weigh in on vital issues from zoning and landmarks to transportation and parks to education and neighborhood services. Below, we outline what these city government organizations actually do–and how you can join yours.
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Cuomo announces expansion of the Museum of Jewish Heritage

An aerial view of Battery Park City showing the Museum of Jewish Heritage, via Wikimedia Commons

January 8, 2020

Cuomo announces expansion of the Museum of Jewish Heritage

An aerial view of Battery Park City showing the Museum of Jewish Heritage, via Wikimedia Commons "To address the disturbing number of anti-Semitic and other discriminatory attacks in New York, the Governor is proposing a first-in-the-nation domestic terrorism law," reads a bullet point from Cuomo's 2020 agenda. As part of this larger hate crime anti-terrorism act, the Governor has directed the Battery Park City Authority to develop an expansion plan for the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust so that it will become a "learning destination for school children across the state."
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Events & Things To Do

9 ways to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in NYC

The 2019 MLK celebration at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum; Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Children’s Museum/ Winston Williams

January 8, 2020

9 ways to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in NYC

Every third Monday of January, we celebrate the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy of activism and unity. Recognized as a federal holiday since 1983, MLK Day gives New Yorkers who get the day off from work a chance to honor King's life through live performances, panel discussions, and storytelling. As one of two federal holidays designated as a national day of service, the January 20 holiday, seen as a "day on, not a day off," also provides an opportunity to volunteer in communities across the city. We've found MLK Day activities, events, and service opportunities for New Yorkers of all ages, from a walking tour of historic Harlem to community-building workshops in South Brooklyn.
Get the full list

Events & Things To Do

New public art installation brings illuminated, interactive seesaws to Midtown West

All photos by Alexandre Ayer

January 7, 2020

New public art installation brings illuminated, interactive seesaws to Midtown West

Yesterday, The Garment District Alliance unveiled its latest public art installation along Broadway between 37th and 38th Streets. Titled "Impulse," it's a collection of 12 oversized seesaws that light up and night and become an "urban instrument" when they emit various sounds as New Yorkers play on them.
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Events & Things To Do

Williamsburg’s William Vale hotel opens rooftop ice skating rink with skyline views

Photo courtesy of The William Vale

January 6, 2020

Williamsburg’s William Vale hotel opens rooftop ice skating rink with skyline views

In the warmer months, the 23rd-floor rooftop of The William Vale is one of the hottest spots for an outdoor drink, and now the hotel has introduced a fun way to take advantage of those skyline views during the winter. Vale Rink is a public ice skating rink, as well as a tented lounge that offers hot chocolate and other treats. Admission is $20 for adults and includes your skate rental.
Get the details

Events & Things To Do

Roosevelt Island’s Nellie Bly memorial revealed

Design by Amanda Matthews; courtesy of RIOC

January 3, 2020

Roosevelt Island’s Nellie Bly memorial revealed

The design of a new memorial honoring investigative journalist Nellie Bly has been officially unveiled. Tapped by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, artist Amanda Matthews of Prometheus Art presented during a town hall last month "The Girl Puzzle" memorial, which will feature sculptures of Bly and four faces of women and girls who she interviewed. The memorial, whose design was first spotted by THE CITY, will be installed in late 2020 at the tip of Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island.
See it here

How to get around NYC this New Year’s Eve

Image by Anthony Quintano via Flickr

December 30, 2019

How to get around NYC this New Year’s Eve

Tomorrow roughly one million people will brave the cold and uncomfortable conditions to witness a quintessential New York celebration: New Year’s Eve in Times Square. The event is free and open to the public but NYPD will begin restricting traffic in the area as early as 4 a.m. and the viewing areas will start filling up around 11 a.m. so planning ahead is crucial. Here’s what you need to know.
All the NYE details here

New Year’s Eve in numbers: Fun facts about the Times Square ball drop

Photo by Kohei Kanno on Flickr

December 30, 2019

New Year’s Eve in numbers: Fun facts about the Times Square ball drop

By Diane Pham

Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31, anticipation runs high as the world holds its breath waiting for the sparkling New Year's Eve Ball to descend from its flagpole atop One Times Square. We all know that the countdown starts at 10, but there are a handful of other fun facts to muse over when it comes to the city's most lauded tradition. From the wattage of the ball to the weight of trash produced to how long it takes to get it all cleaned up, see what we've rounded up, in numbers, ahead!
More on New Year's Eve in Times Square here

Events & Things To Do

How to say goodbye to your Christmas Tree: NYC’s Mulchfest

Photo: NYC Parks / D. Avila

December 24, 2019

How to say goodbye to your Christmas Tree: NYC’s Mulchfest

By Cait Etherington

Not quite sure how to get rid of that Christmas Tree? From December 26 to January 11, NYC will be hosting its annual Mulchfest so that you can recycle your tree at a local park. With 67 total drop-off sites throughout the five boroughs—32 of which are chipping sites—it's easier than ever to get your tree turned into mulch that will be used to help nourish trees and plants across the city.
How to participate this year

A look back at the City Hall Christmas tree lighting, a bygone NYC tradition

Image of the first Christmas tree in City Hall park in 1913; via Library of Congress In 1912, the nation's first public Christmas tree went up in Madison Square Park and sparked a new trend that would soon spread to parks across the city and beyond. The following year, acting Mayor Ardolph Kline initiated a similar tradition when he asked a young boy to help him light a Christmas tree in City Hall Park. By 1934, tree lighting celebrations became a citywide effort, with the Parks Department putting up 14 fifty-foot Norway Spruce trees throughout the city. Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia dedicated the trees from City Hall Park and broadcasted the ceremony to sites across the city.
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Photo ©AMNH/ R. Mickens

December 23, 2019

Where to celebrate Kwanzaa 2019 in NYC

On Thursday, the week-long holiday Kwanzaa kicks off as a celebration of African American culture and heritage in the United States. From Dec. 26, through Jan. 1, New Yorkers can learn about the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba, through traditional music and dancing, kinara lighting, African folklore storytime, and a bar crawl featuring only black-owned businesses. Ahead, find the best places in NYC to celebrate Kwanzaa, from family-friendly arts and crafts and lectures at the Brooklyn Children's Museum to live performances at Harlem's iconic Apollo Theater.
The full list, ahead

Events & Things To Do

Dumbo’s Time Out Market adds rooftop igloos for festive cocktails

Photo: Time Out/Ali Garber

December 20, 2019

Dumbo’s Time Out Market adds rooftop igloos for festive cocktails

Ever since Instagram made popular Midtown bar 230 Fifth's rooftop "igloos" an international sensation, other drinking and dining establishments have been hopping on the dome train, too. The latest comes from Dumbo's Time Out Market food hall, where guests can enjoy a special wintery cocktail menu in an enclosed bubble overlooking the Manhattan Bridge and skyline. Called the Rooftop Iglounge, the three domes are available on a first-come basis and can each accommodate eight guests.
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Artist Kent Monkman’s new murals at The Met reexamine Manhattan’s colonial past

Photos by Anna-Marie Kellen

December 19, 2019

Artist Kent Monkman’s new murals at The Met reexamine Manhattan’s colonial past

Two new paintings by Canadian Cree artist Kent Monkman are now on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Great Hall. As part of a new series in which the museum invites contemporary artists to make work in response to the Met collection, Monkman reappropriated motifs from Western artists such as Emanuel Leutze and Eugéne Delacroix to tell a different narrative that foregrounds themes of arrival, migration, displacement, and the Indigenous experience.
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Events & Things To Do

How to spend New Year’s Eve 2020 in NYC without going near Times Square

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

December 17, 2019

How to spend New Year’s Eve 2020 in NYC without going near Times Square

New Year’s Eve is one of those events where it seems all of humanity has converged upon New York City. If you fancy rubbing shoulders (or more) with at least a million of them, Times Square is your best bet. But if you’d rather enjoy a more curated, yet still public, experience, check out any of the many events happening in the city as the second decade of the millennium lurches to a close; below is just a sampling. Debauch responsibly–hindsight, as they say, is 2020.
2020, this way

Events & Things To Do

Snap a photo with the ‘2020’ New Year’s Eve sign in Times Square

Photo by Ian Hardy for Countdown Entertainment

December 16, 2019

Snap a photo with the ‘2020’ New Year’s Eve sign in Times Square

The new year has arrived in New York City...at least in numbers. Two seven-foot-tall numerals, the "2" and "0" in 2020, are currently on display in Times Square, offering the public a chance to snap a photo with the famous digits before they are placed on top of One Times Square. The 2020 signage sits below the crystal-filled New Year's Eve ball and will light up at midnight on December 31, marking the start of a new decade.
Details here

Events & Things To Do

Gramercy Park will open to the public on Christmas Eve for one hour

Photo by Sean Brady, courtesy of the Gramercy Park Block Association

December 13, 2019

Gramercy Park will open to the public on Christmas Eve for one hour

Photo by Sean Brady, courtesy of the Gramercy Park Block Association It's a Christmas Eve miracle. The gates to Gramercy Park will open to all for one hour on Dec. 24, the only time of year the public can enjoy the exclusive greenspace. The Gramercy Park Block Association on Friday confirmed to 6sqft that the private park between East 20th and East 21st Street will once again open from 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. for caroling this Christmas Eve. All other times of the year, the park is only accessible to residents with one of the 400 keys, provided to those who live in the 39 buildings surrounding the square.
What you need to know

Events & Things To Do

Image by Skeez via Pixabay cc

December 12, 2019

Despite a historic precedent, in NYC Mrs. Claus is basically a glorified elf

Though all across the U.S. of A., Santa Claus and his missus appear arm in arm, NYC Santas have no time (or budget) for a wife, according to the Wall Street Journal. Several women who don Mrs. Claus outfits in a professional capacity during the winter holiday season have said that they're not only paid about half what Santa gets–more along the lines of what an elf is paid, according to Brian Harrell, CEO of the Minneapolis-based All Time Favorites, Inc. which employs 600 “premium” Santa performers–but there's not much call for Mrs. Claus in the city at all.
Behind every good man–at least in pay

December 12, 2019

NYC’s 11 best starchitect-designed buildings that you can live in

By Lidia Ryan

The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, One World Trade Center: all buildings that instantly come to mind when you think of the iconic New York City skyline. But more and more new skyscrapers are beginning to pop up in that classic view. And while it’s likely many an architects' dream to contribute a design to the most famous skyline in the world, only a handful of world-renowned "starchitects" get to do it. Ahead, 6sqft has rounded up 11 starchitect-designed condo buildings that you can actually live in, from veterans like Robert A.M. Stern and Renzo Piano to some more up-and-comers like David Adjaye and Bjarke Ingels.
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What you need to know to survive SantaCon 2019

Photo by Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons

December 12, 2019

What you need to know to survive SantaCon 2019

For its 25th year, SantaCon planned a series of yacht parties that would have spared New York City the drunken "festivities" that many decry as "the worst day of the year." Alas, that plan was canceled after pushback from residents and local officials, so Midtown will once again be flooded with ho-ho-hordes of drunk bros in Santa outfits. Whether you embrace the event's mission of spreading "absurdist joy" or you consider this the one day of the year that you must stay indoors, here's what you need to know about the event, taking place on Saturday.
Brace yourself...

Events & Things To Do

December 11, 2019

What to do in NYC on Christmas Day

By Rebecca Fishbein

Despite being the City That Never Sleeps, New York does close down a bit on Christmas Day, with all sorts of museums, shops, restaurants, and other businesses giving their staff a break for the holiday. But for those of us who do not celebrate or won't be spending all of Christmas at home squabbling over politics with family, there’s still plenty to do in town, especially if you get a little creative. Here are seven great options.
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Events & Things To Do

December 10, 2019

2019 holiday gift guide: 20 gifts for the New Yorker who has it all

Not sure what to get the New Yorker who has it all? We've put together a list of 20 items at every price point that will satisfy even the most jaded New Yorker. From historic prints of old New York and classic mom-and-pops to skyscraper champagne flutes and Brooklyn map coasters to some more offbeat items like a sew-your-own Jane Jacobs doll and an authentic Katz's deli apron.
Check them all out here

Swedish photography museum Fotografiska to open in the historic Church Missions House

Renderings courtesy of CetraRuddy

December 10, 2019

Swedish photography museum Fotografiska to open in the historic Church Missions House

Stockholm-based photography museum Fotografiska is opening its first stateside outpost in New York City this month. Housed inside the former Church Missions House at 281 Park Avenue South, the organization will bring 45,000 square feet of exhibition and event spaces, alongside a restaurant inspired by European “grand cafés.” New York firm CetraRuddy led the restoration and redesign of the landmarked space, working with Higgins Quasebarth & Partners to preserve the stained-glass windows and limestone and granite facade of the Renaissance Revival building.
More info

2019 holiday gift guide: The best gifts for kids in New York City

Photo by @lordmaui via Unsplash

December 10, 2019

2019 holiday gift guide: The best gifts for kids in New York City

Nobody appreciates a great gift like a child, but New York City kids are a tough audience. They've already got the world at their feet, even if they're not possessed of a pile of material goods. Fortunately, there are lots of options for cool presents for your favorite pint-sized architects, athletes, fashionistas and foodies as well as the Big Apple babies on your list. Check out our list below for a handful of gift ideas for New York City kids.
Great gifts for NYC kids, this way

December 9, 2019

See NYC’s 2019 holiday windows (without facing the crowds)