Events &amp; Things To Do

Last Thursday, MTA Arts and Design announced a new installation going up in Grand Central Terminal. “Landmark City” showcases photographs of iconic landmark buildings that have been altered to appear on completely empty streets. The installation, by acclaimed photographer Marc Yankus, is set to run for a year in GCT’s East Dining Concourse.
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Events & Things To Do

Development with affordable housing and city’s first civil rights museum gets the green light in Harlem

Rendering courtesy of Empire State Development

July 22, 2019

Development with affordable housing and city’s first civil rights museum gets the green light in Harlem

New York’s first civil rights museum will soon land in Harlem, as the city pushes forward with a new $260 million development near the Adam Clayton Powell office building on 125th Street. Empire State Development is planning a 17-story mixed-use building that, in addition to the museum, will house the headquarters of civil rights nonprofit National Urban League (which was founded in the neighborhood in 1910 and currently has offices downtown), office space (including below-market-rate for Harlem-based nonprofits), retail, and 170 affordable apartments targeted to New Yorkers making 30-80 percent of the area median income.
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Nostalgia trains to roll into Coney Island this weekend

Photos via the New York Transit Museum

July 18, 2019

Nostalgia trains to roll into Coney Island this weekend

This weekend, both history buffs and New Yorkers looking to hit the beach can ride on one of the NY Transit Museum’s vintage subway cars. Part of the museum’s “Nostalgia Rides,” on Saturday, passengers can board 1910s BMT B-Type Standards and 1930s IND R1-9 cars and ride them from the 96th Street/2nd Avenue station in Manhattan all the way to Coney Island.
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8 things you may not know about the American Museum of Natural History

Photo via Flickr cc

July 18, 2019

8 things you may not know about the American Museum of Natural History

By Lucie Levine

This year, the American Museum of Natural History celebrates its 150th anniversary. Though best known for its spectacular T. Rex skeletons and incredible hanging blue whale, the story of this Upper West Side museum isn’t just one of dinosaurs and dioramas. For example, did you know that Ulysses S. Grant laid the cornerstone? Or how about that in the 1930s, there was a proposal to build a promenade through Central Park to connect the Museum with the Met? Ahead, we've rounded up eight things you might not know about the American Museum of Natural History.
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Photo via Blue Man Group

July 17, 2019

New Blue Man Group exhibit at MCNY lets visitors play their iconic pipes

NYC’s favorite blue-painted performance group is getting its very own exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York. Starting this Friday and lasting until September 2nd, Blue Man Group will debut an exhibition that showcases their unique, paint-covered style. The exhibit is just as zany as the group, and features LED screens with endlessly scrolling text, an interactive camera, and their original 27-year-old PVC pipe instrument decorated with UV paint, on loan from the Group's archives. Visitors are encouraged to interact with the installation, as well as bang out some tunes of their own.
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Events & Things To Do

All photos courtesy of the Garment District Alliance

July 12, 2019

An urban garden will grow on a Garment District block this summer

One of the city’s busiest neighborhoods is getting a little slice of peace. The Garment District Alliance and the city's Department of Transportation unveiled a new street art installation Wednesday afternoon. The nearly 180-foot painting by artist Carla Torres, "Nymph Pond," takes up the stretch of Broadway between 37th and 38th Streets. The best part? The block with the mural is being temporarily set aside as an “urban garden” until the end of the summer.
See it here

Final Manhattanhenge of the year returns tonight

Via Flickr

July 11, 2019

Final Manhattanhenge of the year returns tonight

An event that makes even locals stop and stare returns to New York City tomorrow night. Manhattanhenge, when the sunset aligns with the east-west streets of the borough's grid, happened on May 29th and 30th, and the final two days of the phenomenon returns for the last time this year tonight and tomorrow at 8:20 p.m. and 8:21 p.m., respectively. Not only does the setting sun sit perfectly between Manhattan's many skyscrapers during this biannual event, but an orange-yellow glow hits north and south side streets, creating a picture-perfect moment.
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Images courtesy of Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and Pexels

July 10, 2019

15 ways to celebrate Bastille Day in NYC

Independence Day may have been last week, but if you haven’t had your fill of red, white, and blue festivities, Bastille Day is this Sunday. Whether you’re a history aficionado or just appreciate French culture and cuisine, there is plenty to do this weekend to celebrate the 230th storming of the Bastille.
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Events & Things To Do

Immersive installation with hammocks and a waterfall has arrived at MoMA PS1

By Michelle Cohen

Back in March, as 6sqft reported, MoMA PS1 revealed the winning design in the museum's 20th annual Young Architects Program. This year’s winning architectural installation, “Hórama Rama” by Pedro & Juana, a Mexico City-based studio founded by Ana Paula Ruiz Galindo and Mecky Reuss, is an immersive “junglescape” with a cyclorama perched atop the museum courtyard's concrete walls. The 40-foot-tall, 90-foot-wide structure now floats over this year's Warm Up outdoor dance music series which kicked off on July 6.
See more pictures of the 40-foot

Events & Things To Do

Jersey Shore’s first five-star hotel opens in Asbury Park, with room rates up to $1,050/night

Photo by Nikolas Koenig

July 9, 2019

Jersey Shore’s first five-star hotel opens in Asbury Park, with room rates up to $1,050/night

A slice of New York City luxury moved to the Jersey Shore last week. The Asbury Ocean Club, a 17-story hotel-condo, officially opened its doors on the boardwalk of Asbury Park, an evolving seaside community in Monmouth County. The 54-room hotel occupies the building's fourth floor, overlooking both the ocean and pool deck. Marketed as just a 70 minute-drive from NYC, the Asbury Ocean Club hopes to attract New Yorkers with its proximity and its prices. During peak season, rooms start at an introductory rate of $425 per night and go up to more than $1,050 per night for a penthouse suite. In the winter, rooms are offered as low as $195 per night, according to the hotel's website.
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Yayoi Kusama’s polka-dot pumpkins are coming to the New York Botanical Garden

Kusama with Pumpkin, 2010 ©YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo / Singapore / Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London; David Zwirner, New York

July 9, 2019

Yayoi Kusama’s polka-dot pumpkins are coming to the New York Botanical Garden

Over the next year, celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama will have a big moment in New York City. In addition to the forthcoming exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery this fall—which will include some of the artist’s insanely popular Infinity Rooms—the New York Botanical Garden has just revealed that its blockbuster 2020 exhibition will be dedicated to Kusama. The exclusive show will include a range of works, old and new, that shed light on the artist’s lifelong engagement with nature, including everything from her famous polka-dot pumpkins to her signature Infinity Rooms.
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Events & Things To Do

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim becomes a UNESCO World Heritage site

Photo via Wiki Commons

July 8, 2019

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim becomes a UNESCO World Heritage site

By Michelle Cohen

Eight buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright have been named UNESCO World Heritage sites, including New York City's iconic Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The buildings were given heritage status by the organization's World Heritage Committee at a July 7 meeting (h/t Dezeen). Additional Wright creations named to the list are Fallingwater (Pennsylvania), Frederick C. Robie House (Illinois), Hollyhock House (California), the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House (Wisconsin), Unity Temple (Illinois), and Wright's homes and studios at Taliesin, Wisconsin and Taliesin West, Arizona.
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July 8, 2019

The 10 best things to do on Governors Island

Governors Island is one of New Yorkers' favorite places to visit come the warm weather. Less than a 15-minute ferry ride from downtown, the Island is both a national park and one of the few places in NYC where you won't find any cars, making it the perfect place to get away without really leaving. Pack your sunglasses and a picnic blanket, because we've rounded up the 10 best things to do on Governors Island, from kayaking and running a 10K to lounging in a hammock and taking yoga in a lavender field.
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Events & Things To Do

Everything you need to know about NYC’s ticker-tape parade for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team

Via NYC DOT on Flickr

July 8, 2019

Everything you need to know about NYC’s ticker-tape parade for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team

New York City will celebrate the United States women's soccer team winning its fourth World Cup title with a ticker-tape parade on Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced. The team defeated the Netherlands on Sunday 2-0. The parade, which starts at 9:30 a.m., will take place along the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan. A ceremony will take place after the parade and requires tickets. Find out how to get to the parade, learn which streets will be closed, and register for the celebration, ahead.
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Events & Things To Do

‘Cash Cab’ game show set to film in Manhattan this summer

Via Flickr

July 5, 2019

‘Cash Cab’ game show set to film in Manhattan this summer

The game show that takes place in the back of a New York City taxi cab is back. Hosted by comedian Ben Bailey, "Cash Cab" is set to start filming its next season in Manhattan this summer, according to amNY. The game show, which rewards passengers with cash prizes for answering trivia questions correctly, originally aired between 2005 and 2012, when it was canceled. After a five year hiatus, the show returned in 2017.
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Events & Things To Do

Yearlong event series explores the future of New York City’s transportation infrastructure

Image via Flickr

July 5, 2019

Yearlong event series explores the future of New York City’s transportation infrastructure

Two years after Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for New York's subway system, the future of transportation remains one of the city's most critical, ongoing conversations. It's also one of the more fraught topics, impacting more than 20 million residents on a daily basis. To deepen public understanding of the current state of things, as well as what the future might bring, Open House New York is launching a yearlong event series to both inform and "ignite the city's imagination." The Moving City will begin later this month and continue through next Spring, featuring a wide range of tours, presentations, and panel discussions that will bring much-needed context to this pressing issue.
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Developer Silverstein Properties funds a new artist residency at 3 World Trade Center

Images courtesy of Silver Art Projects

July 5, 2019

Developer Silverstein Properties funds a new artist residency at 3 World Trade Center

As rents and costs of living continue to rise in the city, artists have an increasingly hard time finding affordable studio space—particularly in Manhattan. In an effort to help struggling artists, a new artist residency is launching at 3 World Trade Center this fall. Funded by developer Silverstein Properties, Silver Art Projects is a “corporate social responsibility initiative” that will host 30 artists every September for up to eight months, providing them with 44,000 square feet of free studio space on the 50th floor of the building.
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South Street Seaport’s Pier 17 offering limited public access to see July 4th fireworks

Image via Wiki Commons

July 3, 2019

South Street Seaport’s Pier 17 offering limited public access to see July 4th fireworks

By Dana Schulz

For the first time in five years, Macy's has moved its July 4th fireworks display to the Brooklyn Bridge, along with four barges that will launch pyrotechnics off the shore of the South Street Seaport's Pier 17. The Pier, recently redeveloped by the Howard Hughes Corporation and designed by SHoP Architects, consists of food and drink options, retail, and a rooftop entertainment complex, all of which is supposed to be publicly accessible during operating hours according to a deal with the city. However, as Gothamist first reported, the only ways to check out the fireworks from Piers 16 and 17 are to drop $500 on a ticket to a party at Jean Georges' restaurant The Fulton, be cool enough to land on the VIP list for a party atop Pier 17, or have scored one of just 300 community spots on the Seaport's Wavertree ship (registration closed today at noon).
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Events & Things To Do

Your guide to getting around NYC on the Fourth of July

Image via Flickr

July 2, 2019

Your guide to getting around NYC on the Fourth of July

If you're one of the estimated three million people who will be watching the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks spectacular, you'll need to factor in how MTA's service changes and planned traffic interruptions might affect your plans. Once you've picked a viewing spot, check out our comprehensive guide to getting around town (or out of town, if you prefer) below.
Know before you go

Corey Johnson announces $19 million in new LGBT support programs, nearly doubling funding

Speaker Corey Johnson and the New York City Council March in the 2019 Pride Parade. Photo by John McCarten via Flickr, courtesy of New York City Council.

July 1, 2019

Corey Johnson announces $19 million in new LGBT support programs, nearly doubling funding

By Michelle Cohen

In honor of a World Pride weekend that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn uprising, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has announced $19 million in funding for LGBT support programs, which nearly doubles the funding in support of the city's gay community, the Daily News reports. The budget includes $2.3 million for Trans Equity Programs, $3.7 million for LGBT community services and $800,000 for LGBT inclusive curriculum in public schools. Johnson said, “Acceptance is not enough. Our local government must fund programs that support the LBGTQ community, particularly transgender people.”
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Jersey City will celebrate July 4th with NJ’s largest fireworks display and a concert headlined by Pitbull

Photo via Flickr cc

July 1, 2019

Jersey City will celebrate July 4th with NJ’s largest fireworks display and a concert headlined by Pitbull

Jersey City is getting ready to celebrate its sixth annual Fourth of July Festival, an epic full day celebration from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Exchange Place Plaza. The free event, called 50STAR FIRESHOW, will feature a carnival, beer festival, and a concert headlined by Jersey City’s own Akon and rapper Pitbull, before culminating with the largest fireworks display in the state.
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Events & Things To Do

Photo by Nicole Mondrus for 6sqft

June 28, 2019

NYPL will display a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence

While hotels and parks around the city are getting ready for the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Show, the New York Public Library is going the historical route with their celebrations--by putting a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence on display. This copy, written in Thomas Jefferson’s handwriting, will be available to view for a limited time next Monday and Tuesday at their iconic Bryant Park location.
Find out when you can take a look...

Need to get around NYC during WorldPride weekend? The subways want to help

Image: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit

June 28, 2019

Need to get around NYC during WorldPride weekend? The subways want to help