I Still Heart New York

The current trend for museums to increase visitors and subsequently their cash flow is to have exhibits that are fantastical and awe-inducing. It is no longer enough that there are ancient, historical artifacts at any museum. If it isn’t presented in a new or interesting way then not enough people seem interested. How far would museums go? Witness the New Museum where they cut holes in two floors for Carsten Höller’s Untitled a.k.a Slide for his Experience show as seen above or the recent Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum. Actually, you may not have seen any of these as the lines may have been insanely long especially the closer you get to the closing date of the exhibition. A good way to skip the lines is to buy a museum membership but as in the case of the popularity of the McQueen exhibit, they did not even honor the line-skipping properties of said membership. It would be interesting to see how much wackier and to what lengths museums and galleries would go to in the coming months.
P.S. The other photo is from All by Maurizio Cattelan shown at the Guggenheim.

Tags: art, carsten höller, exhibit, installation, modern art, museum, museums, new york city, nyc, spectacle

Last year I gave out tips on spending New Year’s Eve at Times Square. What I didn’t know was how exciting it can be at New Year’s Eve Eve. On December 30th, the stages are already set up and rehearsals and pre-taping are done for the big night. You can expect the hosts of some of the shows to be there. I saw Ryan Seacrest and Jenny McCarthy last year. They host Dick Clark’s Rockin’ NYE. Some singers and musicians will also do sound checks and pre-taping of their segments. Probably not the headliners, but it will be entertaining just the same. It’s a good way to feel what it might be like on the actual night only less crowded and you can actually move about freely.

Tags: december 30, new year's eve eve, new york city, nyc, times square, tips for times square, tips for tourists

My best tip for attending the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting is DON’T! STAY AT
HOME and WATCH IT ON TELEVISION. This tourist trap has gotten too big to enjoy on any level under than VIP status or as a special guest. If you are lucky enough to be of the connected few or perhaps served in the military or a first responder and/or was specially invited to be part of the televised audience for the ceremony, then more power to you. If you are just a casual visitor or a curious New Yorker I would advise against attending. I really want to like the Rockefeller Tree Lighting. It looks so good on television, but that slickness has a price. To show off the pretty Channel Gardens with its fountains and the statue of Prometheus in its golden glory, the entire area is blocked off from access to anyone but the television crew and talent. You will be lucky if you find a spot where you can see the tree within 50 yards. Most people will be stuck on the side streets without a view of the tree at all. There is a jumbo video monitor for you to try to watch the proceedings but this is usually awful and the audio or video feed keeps turning off. You may be a savvy New Yorker and know of the underground shopping plaza under Rockefeller and think you would sneak a peek of the program there. You would be wrong. As early as 5 P.M., or earlier, people are not allowed access here. So, to summarize, you will not see the performers or celebrities in the ice skating rink, you will barely see anything on the monitors, you will only sort of hear the musical acts and you will be lucky if you see the tree. Oh, I forgot, as soon as the event is over, there is a one hour or so clean-up period where everyone is kicked out so you can’t even hang around to take a photo.
Can one enjoy this event at all? Sort of. First, have low expectations. Secondly, be prepared to stand waiting for a looooong time. The show starts around 8 P.M. but if you aren’t in the area by 6 P.M. do not bother. You will most probably end up at the end of the block where you won’t even hear anything. Talk to the people around you. Most will be tourists and have interesting things to say. If a photo is what you are after, they keep a walkway path open around side streets of the Rockefeller Plaza. You can walk this path and take a quick photo or two before New York’s Finest will tell you to keep it moving.
Sounds pretty bleak, doesn’t it? Despite this negative review, I challenge the organizers of this Christmas Tree Lighting to find a way to make this enjoyable again. I am sure you can come up with a way. One suggestions is to provide bleacher seating. That should at least offer a few hundred fans a good view. Another is, open up the side streets. You do not need all that space shut just for a clean look on television. If safety hazard is a concern, then limit the number of people, but let them in so they can at least see the tree when it is lit for the first time. I am sure there are other things I can think of. When I do I will update this post. Even a fully working video monitor of the event will be a small improvement.
If you want to enjoy a tree lighting ceremony, I highly recommend the one in Bryant Park. They know how to do it right. There are also smaller celebrations at Madison Park on 23rd Street and at the South Street Seaport. Otherwise, stay hopeful this holiday and stay away from the debacle that is the Rockefeller Tree Lighting.
BONUS TIP: On the evening before Thanksgiving, they pre-tape one or two of the musical performances for the Tree Lighting around 7 P.M. Get there at 5 P.M. for a good spot and get a nice preview. Much more enjoyable than the actual day.

Tags: advice on the rockefeller tree lighting, attending the rockefeller tree lighting, ceremony, christmas, christmas tree lighting, event, holiday, insider tips, is rockefeller tree ceremony worth attending?, new york city, nyc, Rockefeller Center, rockefeller tree lighting, tips on rockefeller tree lighting, tourist tip, tourist trap

There are a few holiday events mostly heralding the coming of Christmas that take place in New York City on the last week of November and all through December. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is probably the best event of all. Mostly because we haven’t yet felt betrayed by the commercialism of Christmas until after a few weeks after it.

If you want to avoid putting an early damper on your Christmas joy avoid the debacle that is the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting. This event can only be enjoyed if you are one of the chosen few specially invited to be in the Rockefeller Rink. Otherwise, you will not see anything at all. Most of the performances happen inside the Rink and you will not be able to see it where the general public are allowed on the streets. Trust me, avoid this place if possible. I plan to post a full post on it soon. There are other tree lighting events happening on the same week that are more in keeping with the spirit of Christmas and not overly hyped. I really want to like you Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting but you pretty much killed this dream for me.

If you want to embrace your inner Grinch you can join the debauchery that is Santacon. It is at times a rowdy gathering of dirty carolers, drink all day drunken bar crawlers and genuine flash mob lovers. It is also a fundraiser for local food banks where food donations are highly encouraged at the meeting points. In true flash mob style, meeting points are kept secret until the night before. Your best bet for updates are social networks like twitter and internet search engines. Like the Grinch, you may have hated the holiday season, but after Santacon you may end up loving Christmas after all.

There are other smaller events such as the Guggenheim free Christmas Concert, the Tuba Christmas at Rockefeller, various holiday window displays and the Nostalgia Train in the Subway. After starting this post, I realized there are too many to properly list at this time. Look for my Pick of the Week section through the whole month of December to check out what’s going on. Happy Holidays!

Tags: christmas, events, holidays, new york city, nyc, winter

I was trying to think of when it may be good to visit New York if you are a tourist and I think it depends on what you like. In the summer there are so many free concerts and cultural events that if you love music, dance and arts, that would be the time to go. If you want to see weirdness and experience surreal moments, October might be the time. There are a few events that just make October seem crazy with the biggest being Halloween and the Village Halloween Parade. A program called Open House New York (OHNY) opens buildings and areas in New York normally closed to the general public for a weekend such as old lighthouses and residential skyscrapers or landmarks. Haunted Houses also open their doors at this time as well. There are usually one or two zombie conventions a few weeks before October 31 to get people in the mood. Is there anything weirder than seeing hordes of the undead parading in the street terrorizing pedestrians and motorists? The New York Comic Con and Anime Festival usually takes place in the middle of the month to provide more strangeness. How often are you going to see Superheroes and Supervillains using public transportation? Or high five a dancing robot? Or dance with a dancing robot? In an old lighthouse? While avoiding zombies? Only in October, only in New York.

Tags: a good time to visit, autumn, new york city, nyc, october, surreal, things to do in new york, weird

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 has come and gone. There were many, many ceremonies that were planned around town. Some were more inspired but none more important than the other. There are many different kinds of people in New York and many ways to grieve or remember or both. It seemed just like yesterday when the Twin Towers fell and most of us have not completely come to grips with all the complex emotions of that fateful day.
I was able to visit the National 9/11 Memorial in its first week. It looks exactly like it does in the drawings which already impresses on its own. I found the name of a high school friend who died that day. I only found out details about his life while searching for his last name before my visit. He was closer to my best friend but now I feel a bit closer to him. No one in his company made it out alive. He left behind a wife who he was just starting out his life with. I am reminded to live my life like there’s no tomorrow. We’ll never forget you Harold.

Tags: 9/11, 9/11 memorial, 9/11 national memorial, lower manhattan, memorial, new york city, nyc, remembrance, tenth anniversary, tribute, world trade center plaza

I attended Summer Streets for the first time this summer. I was sorry I missed it last year since I didn’t know much about it. Each year brings different featured activities designed to get people more active and eating healthier. This year featured a climbing wall and sand castle building. There are also so many free giveaways. There were two gardening sections that gave away free seeds and showed you how to grow your own plants. I got some nutrition bars from Odwalla, some organic popsicles and they were giving out free bike helmets but I skipped that line. I took advantage of the free bike rental and was surprised that one could travel from 50th Street to City Hall in 20 minutes. That was possibly the best part for me. I also loved walking into the old Pan Am building now the Met Life building into the Grand Central tunnel passage usually only reserved for vehicles. I could have just stayed there all day to be honest taking pics of all the unusual people walking, running, biking, skating or whatever by. Only in its fourth year, there is a lot of potential left for this street festival to expand to even bigger and more spectacular events, but in the meantime its main focus is still to make people get up early, do a bit of exercise and enjoy car-free streets. Oh, be sure to arrive early to properly take advantage of the free stuff. Lines can get loooooong.

Tags: 2011, event, new york city, nyc, street festival, summer outdoors, summer streets

If you have visited this blog before, you know I have always considered Manhattanhenge to be a bit of a hoax. Read my previous posts where I talk about the astrophysicist who probably just likes to see lens flare on the internet here. In my quest to disprove Manhattanhenge, I went to the tallest observation deck currently in existence in New York, the Empire State Building. It was quite an exciting visit because shortly after I arrived at the top, a rainstorm with gusts of over 50 mph blew through the city and felt magnified on that 88th floor. The staff ushered everyone inside the building with most having to hold on to the railings to keep from being blown away. I overheard one mention lightning was also about. Being a gigantic lightning rod, I wasn’t so sure the ESB was the best place to be just then. Of course, in New York, anything that powerful usually passes quickly. After about ten minutes, the rain stopped and the Observation Deck crew gave the okay to go back outside and to everyone’s great glee, the rain produced a double rainbow! You hear of this occurring, but to experience one is such a joy! Then, unicorns came! And then in what was even more unbelievable, the reason why I was even up there revealed a secret. I came to disprove Manhattanhenge but then realized it was so much more. A good-looking, gentle giant comes out shortly before sunset and gathers reflections of the sun from the Hudson River. He then places one of each glowing orbs at the designated grids where photographers gather and they mistake them to be the sun lining up on the grid! This is probably the reason why the astrophysicist, Neil Degrasse Tyson of the American Natural History Museum, who coined the term Manhattanhenge, always recommends for viewers to pick a spot on the Easternmost end. You don’t see the giant as he is covered by the skyscrapers from there! That’s my story and I am sticking to it.

Tags: explain manhattanhenge, hoax, how manhattanhenge happens, manhattanhenge, manhattanhenge explained, new york city, nyc, solar phenomenom, the secret of manhattanhenge, what causes manhattanhenge, what is manhattanhenge

I hesitate to post about temporary events but often they do define a memorable moment in time for New York City. The Park Avenue Armory has so far presented quite a few of these moments and the current (as of this posting, anyway) installation is no exception. Ryoji Ikeda:The Transfinite is a sound and video installation taking up the massive space that is the Wade Thompson Drilling Hall. It’s a bit loud and a bit of an eyestrain if you stay long but definitely something that may never be seen or heard again. Be one of the few that say you did see it and be able to give an authoritative critique of whether you loved or hated it

Tags: art, installation, modern art, new york city, nyc, park avenue armory, ryoji ikeda, the transfinite, wade thompson drilling hall

The Dance Parade is one of the odder parades in New York City but no less entertaining. According to the official site, it was put together to organize the dance community and bring attention to the non-recognition of dance as an art form by the Educational Department. It shimmies and shakes it way down Broadway into the Village area and culminates in a Festival at Tompkins Square Park. It’s also a great excuse to enjoy the beauty of the movement of the human body.

Tags: dance, dance parade, festival, new york city, nyc, parade