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Fun Travels Across the United States:

NEW YORK CITY

News Attractions Discounts Guest Apartments Hotels Museums Restaurants Spas

NEWS (Towns follow the News)

The Bernic Opens in East Midtown Manhattan’s Storied “Turtle Bay”

Check Out the National Museum of Mathematics

Introducing Park Hyatt New York in the Heart of the City

ATTRACTIONS

New York Expo Center Has Opened & Is Fantastic

The New York Expo Center boasts an amazing 10-acre venue space located directly on the East River Waterfront. Featuring 90,000 sq feet interior space with a 60,000 sq foot main event space, the New York Expo Center is a perfect place to host any large scale event, festival or concert. The prominent smoke stack on site can be seen from across the East River, the Major Deegan Expressway, the Bruckner Expressway and the Triborough Bridge, offering unique branding and promoting opportunities as well as an easily recognizable landmark for your guests. Perfect for festivals with its dual indoor/outdoor staging options, huge waterfront lawn as well as an interior space that’s longer than a football field, this property is also fully bordered and contains multiple entrances/exits.

Its Size Is Grand Scale:

12,000 Sq Ft Mezzanine
60,000 Sq Ft Main Exhibit Hall
90,000 Sq Ft Interior Space
435,000 Sq Ft Venue Space

The 136,000-square-foot Exposition Center serves as the largest indoor event space north of New York City between Boston and Cleveland. With 110,000 square feet of clear-span floor space, The Expo Center is set to host major shows and special events, including car, boat, and consumer and trade shows. During the 2018 New York State Fair, the massive venue will be transformed into a temporary ice rink as a centerpiece to host hockey, figure skating, broomball and other attractions to showcase its versatility. It will also host the new I LOVE NEW YORK exhibit, which highlights some of the state's major outdoor recreation and key tourism locations through interactive exhibits.

The Expo Center, with 110,000 square feet of clear-span floor space, has the capacity to hold more than 500, 10'-by-10' trade show booths. The massive venue, which also features 4,000 retractable seats, will attract major shows and special events, including car, boat, and RV shows, pet expos, consumer and trade shows, home and garden shows, tech expos and more-many of which were previously unable to come to upstate New York due to the lack of suitable space. The Expo Center increases the amount of available indoor space on the Fairgrounds to more than 450,000 square feet.

An EZ-Pass Plus tolling system and cash lanes are also new to the Orange and Brown Lots this year. In addition, new LED lighting, sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian refuge areas were added to make it even easier to walk to and from the Fair. Three new bus stops with bus shelters were also installed, along with signage and an extensive drainage system for the entire lot.

The improvements mark the completion of Phase 2 of Governor Cuomo's revitalization plan. Phase 1 of the transformation plan included a full-service RV park for 313 campers and a larger, relocated Midway area that allows for more open space for Fair programming and non-Fair events. A new Main Gate entrance was also built, along with a new exhibit area for the New York State Police, and the Sky Ride, a 1,400-foot long chairlift ride. The Indian Village also received renovations to its Turtle Mound, the home of cultural performances during the Fair. Since the beginning of renovations, State Fair attendance has grown by more than 28 percent and non-Fair event estimated attendance has grown 57 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Two E Lounge at the Pierre Hotel (2 East 61st Street, New York, NY 100655; 212 940-8113) Along with The Mighty Atom, 2014 -- Acrylic Paint on Aluminum Panel 50 x 46 x 1/8"

Spanierman Modern has announced its first solo show of Louise P. Sloane. The show consists of a selection of Louise's brightly colored paintings. Each work is infused with highly personal text that inspires and motivates her to keep growing and experimenting. Louise P. Sloane's paintings emanate from a long and rich tradition in art history. The visual language of her paintings embrace the legacy of reductive and minimalist ideologies while celebrating the beauty of color, and a human affinity for mark making.

Painters that came of age around 1960 were determined to go in an opposite direction. Some of these artists spoofed the new consumer culture, others ignored it. All of them responded to the arresting colors and hard edges of its graphic design. They accomplished this by employing all kinds of abstract forms and color contrasts that stimulated the partnership of eye and mind. Many artists experimented with one or more 'Op' techniques, as they came to be called, in exactly the same creative spirit that many twentieth-century painters and sculptors studied Cubism without a thought of becoming 'cubists'.

To see more of Louise P. Sloane's work, please visit the website spaniermanmodern.com.

The public is welcome to see the exhibition any time the lounge is open from 12 noon-10 PM

Asia Society

Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.
Asia Society is headquartered in New York, with centers in Hong Kong and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, and Washington, D.C.  

Asia Society 725 Park Avenue | New York, NY | 10021 | t 212.327.9271 | f 212.794.1332 |

James Beard House

The James Beard House was once the residence of legendary James Beard, America’s first celebrity chef who is revered today as the dean of American Cookery. Mr. Beard lived in the Greenwich Village townhouse until his passing in 1985. A gifted impresario who along with his close friend, Julia Child, led the way for many of today’s celebrity chefs, James Beard established cooking schools and published over 20 cookbooks, many of which are still in print. As important, he left a legacy of culinary excellence and integrity for generations of America’s home cooks and professional chefs.

About the James Beard Foundation (JBF)

Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation celebrates, nurtures, and honors America's diverse culinary heritage through programs that educate and inspire. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts, instilling in them the value of wholesome, healthful, and delicious food. Today JBF continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships for culinary students, publications, chef advocacy training, and thought-leader convening.

For more information, please visit jamesbeard.org. Find insights on food at the James Beard Foundation’s blog Delights & Prejudices. Join the James Beard Foundation on Facebook. Follow the James Beard Foundation on Twitter and Instagram.

National Museum of Mathematics

National Museum of Mathematics
11 E. 26th Street (between 5th and Madison)
New York, NY

About the National Museum of Mathematics

The National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) strives to enhance public understanding and perception of mathematics in daily life. The only math museum in North America, MoMath fulfills an incredible demand for hands-on math programming, creating a space where those who are math-challenged-as well as math enthusiasts of all backgrounds and levels of understanding- can revel in their own personal realm of the infinite world of mathematics through more than 30 state-of-the-art interactive exhibits. MoMath was awarded the bronze 2013 MUSE Award for Education and Outreach by the American Alliance of Museums. MoMath is located at 11 E. 26th on the north side of popular Madison Square Park in Manhattan. The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, visit momath.org.

Radio City Music Hall

There's always a great show to enjoy at the Radio City Music Hall -- especially during the Christmas Season. Accessible and companion seats are available via the Disabled Services Department at 212-465-6115. Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Rockettes, and Radio City Music Hall are trademarks of MSG Holdings, L.P. or its affiliates. ©2014 MSG Holdings, L.P. All rights reserved.

TIBET HOUSE

Lincoln Center

Lincoln Center, the largest performing arts complex in the world, is home to 11 resident organizations representing the highest standards of excellence in symphony, opera, chamber music, theater, dance, film and arts education. Over 5 million people annually visit the 16-acre, 30-venue campus whose resident organizations are: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the School of American Ballet and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. For more information on Lincoln Center, please go to LincolnCenter.org.

A good way to start a Lincoln Center holiday visit is to come by the visitors’ center, the David Rubenstein Atrium (Broadway and 62nd Street), which is open every day of the week.  It offers daily guided tours (for groups and individuals), a discount ticketing facility, and an array of programs, services, and amenities designed to welcome, inform, and (with Target® Free Thursdays and other programs) entertain the thousands of people who visit Lincoln Center every day.  A staffed information desk can provide information about performances and help with ticket purchasing. For information, visit atrium.lincolncenter.org
 
Before or after a performance patrons can visit Lincoln Center’s restaurants and cafes, offered at all price levels. Chef Jonathan Benno’s Michelin-starred Lincoln Ristorante has a stunning view of the reflecting pool and Henry Moore’s sculpture Reclining Figure; David Rubenstein Atrium’s ‘wichcraft, overseen by the chef/owner of the Craft family of restaurants, Tom Colicchio, offers fresh breakfast items, sandwiches, soups, salads, and pastries daily;  Lincoln Center Kitchen, a spot for all-American fare just opened in Avery Fisher Hall; and American Table Café and Bar by Marcus Samuelsson in Alice Tully Hall, serves a varied American menu with a global twist.   

Family Films

Ongoing

The Film Society of Lincoln Center schedules family-favorite films for December – silent comedy, classics, animal life and fantasy – with added shows over the school break. For further information on screening times, visit filmlinc.com/films/series/family-screenings.

Tickets start at $15 (non-members) and are available at FilmLinc.com or by visiting the box offices located at the Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th Street, north side/upper level, between Broadway and Amsterdam) and in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 West 65th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam). Screenings are held in the Walter Reade Theater or in the theaters of the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER

Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St.
 
The spirit of the winter holiday season has always been best captured by the music that holidays inspire. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and special guest vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant (who The New York Times said “radiates authority and delivers a set with almost a dramatic arc”) celebrate “the most wonderful time of the year” with Big Band Holidays, a jazzy celebration now in its fourth year.
Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased through jalc.org or CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10 AM to 9 PM.  

Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor.  Box Office hours: Monday-Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM (or 30 minutes past curtain) and Sunday from noon to 6 PM (or 30 minutes past curtain).
(The Big Band Holiday concerts will be webcast live, for free, via jalc.org.)

LINCOLN CENTER THEATER -- THE METROPOLITAN OPERA--NEW YORK CITY BALLET

Tickets are currently on sale online at nycballet.com, in person at the theater box office, and by phone at (212) 496-0600.    

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC

Tickets, from $49, are available at nyphil.org, by phone at (212) 875-5656, or in person at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office.

Tickets, from $33, are available at nyphil.org, by phone at (212) 875-5656, or in person at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office.

 THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN ATRIUM

The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, a vibrant, new public space, open every day and located on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd streets, includes a discount ticketing facility and is home to an array of programs, services, and amenities designed to welcome, inform, and entertain local residents, the general public, and the thousands of people who visit Lincoln Center and its surrounding community every day.  Visit atrium.lincolncenter.org.
 
This public space for the arts offers services including:
                       
-A community gathering place to linger in and enjoy, with plenty of places to sit
            Free weekly performances
            Chef Tom Colicchio’s ’wichcraft café
            The starting point for guided tours of the Lincoln Center campus
            A staffed Information Desk
            Restrooms
            Free Wi-Fi access
Week-of discount tickets to performances at many New York-area performing arts institutions
 
The David Rubenstein Atrium is open 7 days a week, 365 days per year, from 8 AM - 10 PM Mondays through Fridays, and from 9 AM - 10 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. Discount tickets are sold Tuesdays through Sundays, with discount tickets for Monday performances sold on Sundays. Every Thursday evening, Target® Free Thursdays presents free-to-the-public performances in the Atrium.
 
Discount and Full-Price Tickets Details

Among the David Rubenstein Atrium’s varied programs and services is a one-stop box office location for available, week-of discount performance tickets to Lincoln Center events, as well as events at a number of other top cultural organizations in the New York metropolitan area:  City Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Miller Theater at Columbia University, and 92nd Street Y. Tickets are discounted from 25 percent to 50 percent off regular prices. The Rubenstein Atrium also offers help and guidance to patrons who want to purchase full-price tickets for future performances.

DINING AT LINCOLN CENTER

Lincoln Ristorante

Lincoln combines high-concept design with the impeccable contemporary Italian cuisine of Chef Jonathan Benno. Designed by the architectural firm of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, Lincoln's unique design features glass curtain walls, a signature sloping lawn roof and a spectacular view of the reflecting pool and the Henry Moore sculpture. The restaurant's environment is both comfortable and refined—with an open kitchen, bar, lounge, two dining rooms and private dining accommodations.
Chef Benno's cuisine emphasizes superior ingredients treated simply and with impeccable technique. Dishes are contemporary, but respectful of the regional Italian tradition.
 
Lincoln Ristorante is open for lunch Wednesday through Friday, and weekend brunch on Saturday and Sunday. It is open for dinner seven days a week. It can be accessed at street level on 65th Street or via Hearst Plaza.
For reservations call (212) 359-6500.
 
In Avery Fisher Hall: 

Lincoln Center Kitchen

A casual, stylish, full-service restaurant from Chef Ed Brown, serving classic American fare such as jumbo lump crab cakes, bacon blue mac & cheese, wild mushroom popovers, and crispy baby chicken. The beverage menu will include distinctive beers and local brews, acclaimed American and international wines, and specialty cocktails. Signature bar snacks will offer a light dining option. Guests can dine at the bar, in the lounge or in the center room.
 
Hours of Operation:
Dinner: Tuesday–Saturday, 5 PM–11 PM
Lunch (performance season only): Saturday, 11:30 AM–2:00 PM and when there are matinees
Closed Sunday & Monday
For reservations, call (212) 874-7000. 

Espresso Bar

This casual and stylish espresso bar serves a wide variety of Illy Coffee espresso and coffee based drinks as well as sandwiches, salads, pastries and desserts. The mix of communal and lounge seating allows for comfortable areas for patrons to sit, chat and enjoy their refreshments.
Open daily on performance days.
 
In Alice Tully Hall: 

American Table Cafe and Bar

by Marcus Samuelsson is a 75-seat eatery in Alice Tully Hall. In collaboration with Restaurant Associates, Samuelsson’s team serves a varied American menu with a global twist, as dishes are influenced by the cuisines of Mexico, Ethiopia, Sweden, and other places around the world. The cafe is designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and mixologist Eben Klemm is in charge of the diverse beverage list.
 
The cafe is open seven days a week, unless closed for special events.
Sunday–Thursday 11 AM–10 PM
Friday and Saturday 11 AM–11 PM
For updated schedule information, visit americantablecafeandbar.com.
 
In David Rubenstein Atrium:
 
The David Rubenstein Atrium houses the first Upper West Side outpost of ’wichcraft'. Open daily, ’wichcraft offers breakfast items, sandwiches, soups, salads, and pastries made from scratch every day, and also features a full bar of reasonably priced wine, beer, and cocktails that are served along with a selection of small plates in the evening. ’wichcraft welcomes guests to enjoy food and drinks before and after a show, or anytime they’re in the neighborhood and want to experience Lincoln Center’s public space.
 
Open during the same hours as the David Rubenstein Atrium: Monday–Friday 8 AM–10 PM; Saturday–Sunday 9 AM–10 PM.
 
In the Metropolitan Opera House: 

The Grand Tier

The restaurant features contemporary American cuisine while the Revlon Bar offers sushi, paninis, crostinis and a full service bar. Both are open at 6 PM for pre-curtain and intermission dining. Available to all Lincoln Center ticket holders. Pre-ordered intermission dining available.
 
Open Monday through Saturday for dinner and intermission services. Also serving lunch for Saturday matinees.
Reservations suggested: (212) 799-3400. Visit grandtier.com for more information.

In the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center:

 indie food and wine is award-winning chef and restaurateur Jason Denton's latest venture. The lounge café serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and provides concessions for the Film Center. indie is an innovative approach to the café and communal dining experience with quick and friendly service to stay or to go, made with quality and simple ingredients.
Open daily from 8 AM to midnight.

SHOPPING AT LINCOLN CENTER

Juilliard Bookstore

The Juilliard Bookstore, a great resource for musicians and music-lovers, sells printed music, books, classical CDs/DVDs, cold weather Juilliard apparel and gifts.  For the holiday season, the store offers classical holiday recordings, Christmas and Hanukkah sheet music, gift books, and whimsical gifts for musicians, dancers, performers and arts lovers, such as housewares, jewelry and accessories handmade by independent artists, wireless speakers and instrument lamps.The Juilliard Bookstore is located at 144 W. 66th Street, open Monday–Saturday from 10 AM–6 PM; Sunday noon—5 PM.
 
Lincoln Center Theater Shop

Located in the main lobby of the Vivian Beaumont Theater, it is open from one hour before curtain to conclusion of performance, selling theater merchandise including posters, CDs, etc. of current production.
 
Vera List Art Project at Lincoln Center

Lincoln Center houses an outstanding public art collection of modern masterworks. Its celebrated Vera List Art Project commissions primarily limited-edition prints as well as posters for sale to the public. A selection of prints is on view in the art gallery in Avery Fisher Hall's lower lobby. Patrons are encouraged to visit during show times, or by appointment. Appointments can be made by phone (212) 875-5061 e-mail: awilliams@lincolncenter.org
 

Metropolitan Opera Shop

The Met Opera Shop is located in the north lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House. Open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM – one-half hour after last intermission and Sundays from noon–6 PM.
For information call (212) 580-4090
 
New York City Ballet Gift Shop

Located on the Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater, the gift shop is open during the season of the New York City Ballet. Open 30 minutes before the performance begins, during all intermissions, and 30 minutes after the end of full-length ballets.
 
New York Philharmonic Gift Kiosk

Located in the Grand Promenade during New York Philharmonic concerts, the kiosk sells New York Philharmonic and classical music related gifts and CDs, including an extensive collection of children's books related to music for all ages as well as ladies' and men's personal accessories.
Open 30 minutes prior to each concert through intermission, and 15–30 minutes after daytime performances.

TOURS AT LINCOLN CENTER

David Rubenstein Atrium

The David Rubenstein Atrium is the departure point for Lincoln Center campus tours. Learn more about Lincoln Center’s iconic landmarks—including the Revson Fountain, the transformed Alice Tully Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House—which have been showcased on Sex and the City and in movies such as Black Swan, Moonstruck, and Ghostbusters. Go behind the scenes at venues where a spectacular range of artists have performed, including Luciano Pavarotti, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leonard Bernstein, Renée Fleming, and Bruce Springsteen.
 
Tour options include foreign language tours in Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Japanese (for groups, by reservation only); specialty outings for art and architecture fans (also for groups, by reservation); and special Jazz at Lincoln Center tours. Daily walk-up tours for the public are offered between 10 AM and 4 PM.  Prices for Lincoln Center tours range from $15 to $18, depending on packages and student and senior discounts.  For more information on tours call (212) 875-5350, or email tour_desk@lincolncenter.org.

The Metropolitan Opera

Go behind the scenes for an exclusive look at what it takes to make operatic magic at the Met. Tours offer a fascinating backstage look at one of the world's premiere performing arts organizations and include visits to production areas not usually seen by the general public. Tours begin and end in the Met lobby and are held during the Met performance season on most weekdays at 3 PM and select Sundays at 10:30 AM and/or 1:30 PM. For tickets and more information, please call (212) 769-7028 or visit metguild.org. Tickets are $22 for the General Public, $20 for Guild Members, and $18 for students and groups of 10 or more.

American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)

The American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869, is one of the world's preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The Museum encompasses 45 permanent exhibition halls, including the Rose Center for Earth and Space and the Hayden Planetarium, as well as galleries for temporary exhibitions. It is home to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, New York State's official memorial to its 33rd governor and the nation's 26th president, and a tribute to Roosevelt,s enduring legacy of conservation. The Museum, five active research divisions and three cross-disciplinary centers support 200 scientists, whose work draws on a world-class permanent collection of more than 32 million specimens and artifacts, as well as specialized collections for frozen tissue and genomic and astrophysical data, and one of the largest natural history libraries in the Western Hemisphere. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, it is the only American museum authorized to grant the Ph.D. degree. In 2012, the Museum began offering a pilot Master of Arts in Teaching program with a specialization in Earth science. Approximately five million visitors from around the world came to the Museum last year, and its exhibitions and Space Shows can be seen in venues on five continents. The Museum,s website and collection of apps for mobile devices extend its collections, exhibitions, and educational programs to millions more beyond its walls.

T. rex: The Ultimate Predator

From fluffy hatchling to massive killing machine: new exhibition explores the life history, remarkable abilities, and ancient relatives of tyrannosaurus rex

It’s the star of blockbuster movies and children’s imaginations, the inspiration for viral memes and inflatable Halloween costumes. Yet despite its high profile in the public consciousness, our perception of Tyrannosaurus rex and its relatives is often much different than the reality. T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, a new exhibition opening at the American Museum of Natural History this spring, will explore the latest research and discoveries about the genus of dinosaurs known as tyrannosaurs, with an emphasis on the most famous and impressive member of the family—T. rex.

The full tyrannosaur story includes dozens of different species and spans over 100 million years of evolution, with T. rex appearing only at the very end of that period. Most tyrannosaurs were not giants like T. rex, which, fully grown, weighed between 6 and 9 tons. Early species were small and fast, likely avoiding confrontations with larger dinosaurs. So how did mega-predators like T. rex evolve from such humble origins? How did T. rex grow so quickly in adolescence, ballooning from the size of a chicken to the size of a truck in just 21 years, gaining up to 4.6 pounds per day? And what kind of super sensory skills and traits did it use to become such an efficient killer? T. rex: The Ultimate Predator addresses these questions and more with life-sized reconstructions of tyrannosaurs at various life stages, real fossils and casts, large-scale video projections, hands-on interactives, and an exhilarating virtual reality experience that lets visitors work in a group to assemble a T. rex skeleton

Visitors will encounter a massive life-sized model of a T. rex with patches of feathers—which, as scientists now know, were likely present on nearly all non-avian dinosaurs (all dinosaurs other than birds)—as well as reconstructions of a fluffy, helpless T. rex hatchling and a four-year-old juvenile T. rex; a “roar mixer” where visitors can imagine what T. rex might have sounded like by blending sounds from other animals; a shadow theater where a floor projection of an adult T. rex skeleton will come to life; and a magnetic wall where visitors will be tasked with placing various tyrannosaur family members in the correct time period. They will also encounter a life-sized animation of T.rex in the Cretaceous and explore real data from fossil specimens, CT scans, and microscope images at a tabletop Investigation Station.

In collaboration with HTC VIVE, the Museum will present V. rex (working title) as its first interactive, multi-player virtual reality experience. Visitors will team up to build a T. rex skeleton bone by bone and then watch as it comes to life in what is now Montana, as it was 66 million years ago.

T. rex and its relatives have a long history at the Museum. The first T. rex skeleton was discovered in 1902 by the Museum’s legendary fossil hunter, Barnum Brown, and the Museum boasts one of the few original specimens of T. rex on public display, in the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs. Mark Norell, who is curator of T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, joined the Museum in 1989 and has led and participated in a number of scientific investigations into the biology and evolutionary history of tyrannosaurs and other theropods—the group of dinosaurs most closely related to modern birds—including the first discovery of a feathered tyrannosaur, Dilong paradoxus, in 2004. Many of the studies led by Norell, who is chair and Macaulay Curator in the Museum’s Division of Paleontology, and his colleagues and former students are reflected in the new exhibition. Gregory Erickson, professor of anatomy and vertebrate paleontology at Florida State University, is a consultant for the exhibition.

Major funding for T. rex: The Ultimate Predator provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund.

Become a fan of the American Museum of Natural History on American Museum Of Natural History, 79th Street & Central Park West, New York, NY (212) 496-3306 United States

About the American Museum of Natural History (amnh.org)

The American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869 and currently celebrating its 150th anniversary, is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The Museum encompasses 45 permanent exhibition halls, including those in the Rose Center for Earth and Space plus the Hayden Planetarium, as well as galleries for temporary exhibitions. It is home to New York State’s official memorial to Theodore Roosevelt, a tribute to Roosevelt’s enduring legacy of environmental conservation. The Museum’s approximately 200 scientists draw on a world-class research collection of more than 34 million artifacts and specimens, some of which are billions of years old, and on one of the largest natural history libraries in the world. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, the Museum grants the Ph.D. degree in Comparative Biology and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree, the only such free-standing, degree-granting programs at any museum in the United States. Annual on-site attendance has grown to approximately 5 million, and the Museum’s exhibitions and Space Shows can be seen in venues on six continents. The Museum’s website, digital videos, and apps for mobile devices bring its collections, exhibitions, and educational programs to millions more around the world. Visit amnh.org for more information.

Hours

The Museum is open daily, 10 am–5:45 pm. The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Admission

Museum admission is free to all New York City school and camp groups.

Pay-what-you-wish admission is available only at ticket counters, where the amount you pay is up to you.

General Admission, which includes admission to all 45 Museum halls and the Rose Center for Earth and Space but does not include special exhibitions, giant-screen 2D or 3D film, or Space Show, is $23 (adults), $18 (students/seniors), and $13 (children ages 2–12). All prices are subject to change.

General Admission Plus One includes general admission plus one special exhibition, giant-screen 2D or 3D film, or Space Show: $28 (adults), $22.50 (students/seniors), $16.50 (children ages 2–12).

General Admission Plus All includes general admission plus all special exhibitions, giant-screen 2D or 3D film, and Space Show: $33 (adults), $27 (students/seniors), $20 (children ages 2–12).

Public Information

For additional information, the public may call 212-769-5100 or visit the Museum’s website at amnh.org.

The new exhibition T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, the Museum will present anniversary programming and exhibitions inspired by its legacy of scientific exploration and science education, parts of its dual mission underpinned by more than a century of world-class research in disciplines spanning paleontology, genomics, and astrophysics. The first major exhibition of the anniversary focuses on the world-famous Tyrannosaurus rex, a species discovered on a Museum expedition in 1902, and reveals groundbreaking advances in the understanding of the biology of this extraordinary carnivore, with the public unveiling of a life-size T.rex model that is the most scientifically accurate to date.

A new website, amnh.org/150, which launched the end of February, will provide opportunities for people everywhere to join in the anniversary by submitting their stories, pictures, and memories of the Museum to be featured on the anniversary page and by participating in an online community celebrating the Museum’s history and civic role in New York City.

Initiatives for the Museum’s 150th anniversary include:

the opening of T. rex: The Ultimate Predator—with a new look, based on the latest research, at the most famous of all dinosaur species

an exhibition, opening later this year, about the Theodore Roosevelt equestrian statue at the Museum’s entrance on Central Park West, in which experts and visitors respond to the representation of Theodore Roosevelt in relation to the Native and African figures in the grouping; reflect on racism and cultural representation; and discuss the role of monuments in public spaces in light of the 2017 Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments, and Markers

the revitalization in July of the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites, a gallery devoted to exploring the origins of the universe

the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing in July with a SpaceFest, reflecting the Museum’s legacy of bringing the latest space science to the public since the establishment of the Hayden Planetarium

the convening in October of a major scientific conference about human genetics, building on the Museum’s longstanding role in illuminating scientific breakthroughs with implications for human health 

the re-opening in Fall 2020 of one of the most beloved and popular spaces in the Museum, the completely redesigned Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, which will bring the latest geological science and most dazzling specimens to light

the redesign and reinterpretation of the first and most historically distinguished of the Museum’s cultural galleries, the Northwest Coast Hall, scheduled to reopen in Winter 2021

the culminating event, the opening of the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation

Offering a New Look at the King of Dinosaurs

The story of the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex begins at the American Museum of Natural History, whose legendary fossil hunter Barnum Brown discovered the first specimen of a T. rex in 1902, in Montana. The public first saw a fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex when it went on public display at the Museum in 1906, sparking admiration and inspiring echoes in popular culture that continue today. On March 11, the Museum will open the first major exhibition of the 150th anniversary celebration, T.rex: The Ultimate Predator, which explores how tyrannosaurs evolved to include one of the largest and most fearsome carnivores of all time. Incorporating the latest scientific discoveries about these ancient predators from Mark Norell, the Museum’s Macaulay Curator of Paleontology, and his colleagues, the exhibition will include stunning life-size reconstructions of feathered tyrannosaurs at various life stages, real fossils and casts, large-scale video projections, hands-on interactives, and a multiplayer virtual reality experience created specifically for this exhibition that will allow visitors to virtually assemble a T. rex skeleton and watch it come to life. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum’s annual Identification Day, which invites visitors to bring in their own collections for identification by Museum scientists and which will be held on March 23, will focus on predatory species across all animal groups.

Inviting New Yorkers and Museum Fans Worldwide to Share Stories

Launching today, a new website at amnh.org/150 will provide opportunities for the public to join in the anniversary celebration online.
The website will provide a calendar of anniversary activities and updates in addition to featuring a series of new videos, launching in April—the month in 1869 when the Museum was incorporated—that will offer in-depth looks at how some of the most iconic exhibits at the Museum, including T. rex, the blue whale model, the 15.5-ton Willamette Meteorite, and others, have inspired New Yorkers and visitors from around the world through the years.

Visitors are also invited to share their stories, pictures, and reflections about the Museum and its place in their lives by submitting media files to the Museum for publication online. A curated gallery of social media posts will create a lively, ongoing conversation about the Museum and its role in the lives of New Yorkers and visitors from all over the world.

Exploring Beyond Our Planet

In January 2020, the Museum premiered an all-new Space Show in the Hayden Planetarium Space Theater, displaying an astonishingly realistic view of planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies based on a 3D map of the observable universe maintained by Museum scientists and visualization experts.

The 150th anniversary Space Show explores our immediate cosmic neighborhood: our Solar System.

Adding Sparkle to the Anniversary

Fall 2020 will witness the reopening of the completely renovated Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, where a gleaming new exhibition designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates creates a showcase for the world-renowned collection.

Featuring large-scale new specimens including a sparkling pair of amethyst geodes—a 9-foot-tall specimen and a 12-foot geode that is one of the largest in the world—as well as such celebrated gems as the 563-carat Star of India sapphire, the exhibits will tell the fascinating story of how approximately 4,500 different types of minerals arose on our dynamic planet, how scientists classify them, and how humans have fashioned them into gems and used them throughout history for personal adornment, tools, and technology.

One of a series of renovations that are transforming and updating the historic core galleries of the Museum in conjunction with the 150th anniversary, the redesign of the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals creates a contemporary space to house stunning new large-scale specimens, connects the galleries directly to the new Gilder Center to improve visitor circulation, and enables the Museum to present the most current understanding of how minerals form—and of how minerals are inextricably linked to their natural environment and biology on the one hand, and to technology and culture on the other.

Reinterpreting a Masterwork

The Museum’s first cultural hall is undergoing a major project to refresh and enrich the historic gallery, update interpretations, and represent the living cultures and traditions of the Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest. In October, the Museum named renowned Nuu-chah-nulth artist and cultural historian Haa’yuups (Ron Hamilton) a co-curator of the restoration, working with Museum Curator Peter Whiteley. In addition to the curatorial role of Haa’yuups, the Museum is consulting with a diverse group of core advisors that includes Native scholars, artists, and other authorities from Alaska, Washington State, and British Columbia.

The restoration project includes a major effort by the Museum’s Objects Conservation Laboratory to conserve more than 800 items from the Northwest Coast collection, including the six iconic totem poles in the gallery as well as smaller pieces, such as ceremonial masks and rattles, in consultation with Native scholars and artists.

The distinguished design firm wHY is working with Museum staff to renovate the physical structure while preserving the elegant historic gallery. Work on the Northwest Coast Hall will continue throughout the anniversary celebrations, with a reopening and rededication anticipated in early 2021.

Breaking Ground for a New Era

The Museum will be building its future as it breaks ground on the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. This 230,000-square-foot, $383 million facility, featuring an acclaimed architectural design by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang and exhibition design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, will at long last connect the Museum’s disparate buildings, linking them in a continuous ring, while spanning the whole of the Museum’s mission and helping to advance and better reveal the Museum’s full program of scientific research, exhibition, and education for all ages.

The Gilder Center will include a multi-story, glass-walled Collections Core housing nearly 4 million scientific specimens, enabling visitors to look into active storage and research areas for the first time and to see the physical evidence that underlies scientific knowledge and fuels scientific research. The Gilder Center also will introduce visitors of all ages to the powerful role insects play in the ecosystems of our planet in the new Susan and Peter Solomon Family Insectarium, the Museum’s first gallery in more than 50 years dedicated to the world’s most diverse group of animals; a year-round Butterfly Vivarium, which will be a permanent and expanded experience based on the Museum’s popular temporary exhibition; an immersive Invisible Worlds theater revealing such unseen environments as the microscopic frontiers of 21st-century science and other phenomena too small, too slow, too fast, or too deep in time to be explored in traditional exhibition galleries; and education spaces including classrooms, learning labs, and age-specific student and teacher zones in addition to a fully renovated library that will include programming space and study areas for members of the public.


Additional details and anniversary celebration programs will be announced later this year. Please check amnh.org/150 for details and updates.

Public Information

For additional information, the public may call 212-769-5100 or visit the Museum’s website at amnh.org.

Location:
American Museum Of Natural History, 79th Street & Central Park West, New York, NY (212) 496-3306 United States

Visit amnh.org for more information.

The American Museum of Natural History Opens A New Permanent Exhibit of a 122-Foot-Long Gigantic Dinosaur

Generations of visitors have flocked to see the renowned blue whale and iconic Tyrannosaurus rex at the American Museum of Natural History. On January 15, 2016, the Museum added another must-see exhibit on its fourth floor: a cast of a 122-foot-long dinosaur so new that it has not even been formally named by the scientists who discovered it. Paleontologists infer that this dinosaur, a giant herbivore that belongs to a group known as titanosaurs, weighed in at around 70 tons--as much as 10 African elephants. Since this titanosaur is too large to fit into the gallery, part of its 39-foot-long neck will extend out towards the elevator banks, welcoming visitors to the fossil floors.

The massive cast, created over six months by Research Casting International in Ontario, Canada in association with the Argentina's Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, is based on 84 fossil bones that were excavated in Argentine Patagonia in 2014. In total, scientists have discovered 223 fossil bones from six individuals at the site. The finds included a colossal 8-foot femur, or thigh bone, whose unique shape and size indicated to scientists that they discovered a new species˜and one of the biggest dinosaurs ever found. One femur found at the site will be among five original fossils on temporary view with the titanosaur.

"Titanosaur fossils have been unearthed on every continent, and an abundance of discoveries in recent years has helped us appreciate the deep diversity of this group," said Michael Novacek, the Museum's Senior Vice President and Provost for Science.

The Discovery

The dinosaur on which the Museum's new cast is based was excavated in the desert near La Flecha--135 miles west of Trelew, Patagonia--by a team from Argentina's Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio. The team was led by JoséLuis Carballido and Diego Pol, who received his Ph.D. in a joint program between Columbia University and the American Museum of Natural History, in the lab of noted Museum paleontologist Mark Norell. The team was tipped off to the site in 2012 by a rancher who stopped by Museo Paleontológico to tell the scientists there about fossils on his land. The excavation team made several trips to the site over 18 months, building roads and removing part of a hill with bulldozers and other heavy machinery. Both Dr. Pol and Rubén Cúneo, Director of the Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, were in New York for the unveiling.

The fossils from the original discovery that will be on temporary display with the titanosaur are the femur (thigh bone) and forelimb (front limb)˜including the humerus, ulna, radius, and scapula. Researchers use mathematical approaches to translate the length and thickness of the animal‚s limb bones, particularly the femur (thigh) and humerus (upper arm), into an approximation of its weight.

Excavations at La Flecha have uncovered remains of six of these giant animals, all young adults, whose deaths happened at three distinct moments in time, anywhere from a few years to centuries apart. Among many herding animals, young adults may be isolated from the group and sometimes die of stress and hunger often near water sources. Scientists working at the site think this is one possible reason for the death of these titanosaurs, who would have lived in the forests of today's Patagonia around 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.

On Exhibit

In preparation for this colossal new exhibit, the Museum closed the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Orientation Center in September to remove the gallery's previous occupant: a life-sized--but, by comparison, diminutive--fleshed-out model of a juvenile Barosaurus that had been on display since 1996. Similar to the Barosaurus, the new dinosaur is also a sauropod, a type of massive plant-eater with a whip-like tail and long neck--but a much, much bigger one. Based on the size of its front limb, scientists think this titanosaur would have stood 20 feet (about 6 meters) from the ground to its shoulder, or 46 feet (14 meters) tall with its neck held at a 45-degree angle. Even with its head and neck bowed, the Museum's titanosaur will almost touch the gallery's approximately 19-foot-high ceilings.

The life-sized skeleton on display doesn't include any real fossils, which are far too heavy to mount. Instead, its bones are lightweight 3D prints made of fiberglass. In addition to casts of the 84 bones discovered in Argentina, the skeleton includes 'missing' bones modeled based on analysis of this titanosaur‚s close relatives.

Paleontology at the Museum

The American Museum of Natural History's Division of Paleontology is home to one of the largest and most diverse collections of its kind in the world, with 6 million specimens including more than 5 million fossil invertebrates and nearly 1 million fossil vertebrates. Annual fieldwork in some of the richest fossil localities in the world continues today. Since 1990, Curators Michael Novacek and Mark Norell have led expeditions to the Gobi Desert with colleagues from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, yielding discoveries of dinosaur, bird, and mammal fossils.

Hours

The Museum is open daily, 10 am-5:45 pm. and is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Admission

Museum admission is free to all New York City school and camp groups.
Suggested general admission, which supports the Museum's scientific and educational endeavors and offers access to the Museum's 45 halls including the Rose Center for Earth and Space, is $22 (adults) suggested, $17 (students/seniors) suggested, $12.50 (children) suggested. All prices are subject to change. The Museum offers discounted combination ticket prices that include suggested general admission plus special exhibitions, IMAX or 3D films, and Space Shows.

Museum Plus One includes one special exhibition, IMAX or 3D film, or Space Show: $27 (adults), $22 (students/seniors), $16 (children)

Museum Supersaver includes all special exhibitions, IMAX or 3D film, and Space Show: $35 (adults), $28 (students/seniors), $22 (children)

Visitors who wish to pay less than the suggested Museum admission and also purchase a ticket to attend a special exhibition, IMAX or 3D film, or Space Show may do so on-site at the Museum. To the amount they wish to pay for general admission, they add $25 (adults), $20.50 (students/seniors), or $13.50 (children) for a Space Show, special exhibition, or IMAX or 3D film.

Public Information

For additional information, the public may call 212-769-5100 or visit the Museum's website at amnh.org.

Gigantic Dinosaur Inspires New Permanent Exhibit

Generations of visitors have flocked to see the renowned blue whale and iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, among other fossil dinosaurs, at the Museum. In January 2016, the Museum added another must-see exhibit when a cast of a 122-foot-long dinosaur will be installed on the fourth floor. Paleontologists have inferred that this dinosaur, a giant herbivore that belongs to a group known as titanosaurs, weighed in at around 77 tons˜as much as 14 or 15 African elephants. The cast will graze the gallery‚s approximately 19-foot-high ceilings and is just a bit too long to fit completely into the space. Instead, its neck and head will extend out towards the elevator banks, welcoming visitors to the 'dinosaur' floor.

Frontiers Lecture Series
Select Mondays monthly, 7:30 pm

This dynamic lecture series features prominent scientists, authors, and Museum experts. Learn about cutting-edge research and more. Kaufmann Theater, first floor

The American Museum of Natural History Announces The Power of Poison

The American Museum of Natural History announces The Power of Poison, a new exhibition that explores poison’s paradoxical roles in nature, human health and history, literature, and myth. Whether as a defense against predators, a source of magical strength, or a lethal weapon used as lifesaving medical treatment, the story of poison is surprising at every turn. Inviting visitors to explore some of history’s most puzzling poisoning cases, the exhibition also includes an interactive section where eyewitness accounts and clues can be used to solve poisoning mysteries and a theater where live presenters share dramatic stories of poisonings and forensic detection.

Location: American Museum of Natural History,  Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192

The Carter Center (CarterCenter.org)

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.

Beginning with the Center,s leadership of the international Guinea worm eradication campaign since 1986, which has reduced cases by more than 99.9 percent, the Center has pioneered neglected disease eradication and elimination by targeting river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, blinding trachoma, and malaria (island of Hispaniola). The International Task Force for Disease Eradication is housed at The Carter Center and chaired by Carter Center Vice President for Health Programs Dr. Donald Hopkins.

The Center uses evidence-based practices to carefully evaluate whether its interventions are significantly reducing the burden of disease. In conjunction with ministries of health and other partner organizations, The Carter Center conducts rigorous annual peer reviews and evaluations of its five infectious disease health programs.

WAVE HILL

About Wave Hill: A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.
Hours: Open all year, Tuesday–Sunday and many major holidays: 9am–5:30pm. Closes 4:30pm, November 1–March 14. Admission: $8 adults, $4 students and seniors 65+, $2 children 6–18. Free Tuesday, Saturday until noon. Free to Members, children under 6.
Directions: Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transport you to and from the front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, the W. 242 St. stop on the #1 subway line, and to and from our free offsite parking lot. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Complete directions and shuttle bus schedule at wavehill.org.

Target Free Days Target sponsors free Tuesday and Saturday morning

Support for Garden Programs is provided by the Hagedorn Fund. Support for Public Programs is provided by The William Froelich Foundation. The buildings and grounds of Wave Hill are owned by the City of New York. Wave Hill’s operations are supported with public funds through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquariums Grant Program administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

ADMISSION TO THE GROUNDS DIRECTIONS
Open year-round, Tuesday–Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM–5:30PM. Closes 4:30PM, through Mar 14. $8 adults, $4 students and senior 65+, $2 children 6-18. Free Tuesdays and Saturdays until noon. Free to members, children under 6. Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, the W. 242 St. stop on the #1 subway line, and to and from our free offsite parking lot. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Complete directions and shuttle van schedule at wavehill.org.

DIRECTIONS:

Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, the W. 242 St. stop on the #1 subway line, and to and from our free offsite parking lot. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Complete directions and shuttle van schedule at wavehill.org.

Birding at Wave Hill

The Hudson River valley hosts an impressive diversity of bird species. Naturalist Gabriel Willow contributes his extensive knowledge of birds and their behavior on these captivating Spring Walks through the gardens and woodlands, as well as at a special Birding Boot Camp. Observe the plants, insects and habitats at Wave Hill that make it an appealing destination of a wide variety of flying visitors. And have the chance to enjoy special access to the grounds on a quiet, spring morning before Wave Hill opens to the public. Don’t forget to document your discoveries in a Bird-Sighting Log at the Perkins Visitor Center. Naturalists will summarize the data collection each season and upload the information to Wave Hill's website.
Ages 10 and older welcome with an adult.

All walks and nature programs are free with admission to the grounds. All walks meet at the Perkins Visitor Center.

Garden Walks
Free with admission to the grounds, walks are held light rain/snow or shine.

Statue of Liberty

Liberty Island, the icon of freedom has opened symbolically on the day that America declared its own freedom. The NPS has announced an enhanced visitor experience with reduced wait times.

Statue Cruises is expanding its daily Statue of Liberty Harbor Tours, giving visitors even more opportunities to enjoy the closest views of the Statue of Liberty. With up to 20 departures a day, seven days per week, the tours offer visitors and locals exceptional flexibility and choice. Statue Cruises has a tour to fit everyone's schedule.

Passengers experience the closest possible views of famed New York City landmarks and may even interact with National Park Service Rangers on-board. Rangers will sail on every harbor tour to lend their valuable expertise to passengers. Sites include the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the 9-11 Memorial, the South Street Seaport, Governors Island and the Brooklyn Bridge, among others. The hour-long tours depart from Battery Park at the foot of Manhattan every 30 minutes, seven days a week.

Tickets for the narrated sightseeing tours are $24.00 (adults); $17.00 (seniors) and $12.00 (children). Tours depart daily from Battery Park at the foot of Manhattan. Prior to embarking, passengers can purchase tickets online at www.statuecruises.com, by phone at 201-604-2800, or at the seawall in Battery Park. For more information, please visit www.statuecruises.com.

About Statue Cruises Statue Cruises, the official concessioner to the National Park Service, is the premier harbor cruise operator in New York Harbor, sharing the sights of New York with over 4.0 million annual visitors from around the world.

NOTE: While the cruise is excellent, be aware that you cannot carry any knives, not even a tiny one. If you forget to leave it home, as I did, it will be taken away. I begged the officer to hold it for me until I returned back to the dock, but he refused - as did the captain of the boat. I had simply forgotten it was in my backpack from a previous fishing trip and the guard felt the 'huge' 2 inch blade was a danger. Later that week I found the same knife on e-Bay!! What a coincidence, right? I still resent the fact that it was taken away, and that there was no place to hold it or any other personal belongings where visitors could stow their things in case they, too, forgot and brought something with them that could be taken away. One woman even had her nail file taken away! No doubt that, too, could be found on e-Bay along with hundreds of other confiscated item innocently carried in one's pocket or handbag. This procedure is totally unfair and uncaring - so please heed my warning. By the way, I filed a complaint with the National Park Police when I was at the island, but never heard from them again although I requested a follow-up phone call or e-mail.

Sail to Wedded Bliss in New York Harbor

It's the perfect romantic backdrop- a wedding on the water with New York City's spectacular skyline in the background. That's exactly what Manhattan By Sail, New York City's premier maritime sightseeing company, creates when helping couples plan their big day.

Performing scores of weddings per season while also playing host to several proposals, Manhattan By Sail's two magnificent vintage ships (Clipper City and Shearwater) provide the perfect venue for an unforgettable wedding. Both boats feature "below deck quarters" for wedding preparation, customized food and beverage menus for any reception and an experienced crew who can execute every aspect of the nuptials. Head Captain Chris van Nes can also officiate any wedding for a minimal extra fee.

Weddings aboard either boat typically last anywhere from two to three hours and can accommodate up to 48 people on the Shearwater and up to 150 people on Clipper City at any time of day. Both boats depart from convenient lower Manhattan locations, with these wedding sails providing world class views of the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Ellis Island and more of New York City's most iconic sites.

For more information on the Clipper City and Shearwater, a list of public tours or to plan a private event such as a birthday party, anniversary, corporate meeting or family event, visit www.manhattanbysail.com.

About Manhattan By Sail

Manhattan By Sail is New York City's premier sailing company, providing a wide range of public tours and private events throughout each season. Servicing over 60,000 customers per year, Manhattan By Sail was founded by Tom Berton in 2001 following his love for recreational sailing and recognizing the full potential that New York's waterfront has to offer.

About Shearwater

Hand built in 1929 from native hardwoods, the 82-foot schooner Shearwater harkens back to a bygone era of yachting. New York City's only designated floating landmark, Shearwater has been taking New Yorkers and the city's visitors sailing in the harbor since 2001. Celebrating her 80th birthday last year and still going strong and sailing gracefully, the Gatsby-era yacht comfortably accommodates up to 48 passengers.

About Clipper City

The newest and biggest addition to our fleet, the topsail schooner Clipper City, is a 158-foot long sailboat with masts and rigging reaching up 120 feet from the deck. A replica of the lumber-hauling schooners that drove America's industry more than a century ago, Clipper City was built in the mid-1980s using plans purchased from the Smithsonian. Designed with her new cargo in mind, her decks are spacious and comfortable, with ample seating, a full bar amidships and a raised quarter deck back aft that allows for unparalleled views of the harbor.

The Morrison Hotel Gallery Has a New Fine Art Sports Brand

The Morrison Hotel Gallery features a Fine Art Sports Brand. Known world-wide for their fine art music photography, the gallery is featuring fine art sports photography from some of the most famous sports (and music!) photographers ever.

It includes a roster of renowned sports photographers including Neil Leifer, Walter Iooss, Ken Regan, Neal Preston, Theo Ehret and Michael Zagaris. The Morrison Hotel Gallery's SoHo location in New York City will feature the esteemed work of photographer Neil Leifer (Sports Illustrated, LIFE, TIME). Mr. Leifer, who has shot record numbers of Olympic Games, World Soccer Cups, World Series, Super Bowls and heavyweight title fights, cites his favorite subject as that of the great heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, who he has had the opportunity to photograph on nearly 60 different occasions.

Peter Blachley, owner of the Morrison Hotel Gallery, states "Our entry into fine art sports photography fits well with our brand and our customers' needs. As we have demonstrated our success in offering fine art music photography, we are now excited to offer the most beautifully photographed sports images, from the most iconic and historically significant to the most esoteric as taken from the archives of the leading photographers in the field."

About The Morrison Hotel® Gallery

Peter Blachley, a former record company executive, Richard Horowitz, a music industry professional, and Henry Diltz, a legendary music photographer, founded the Morrison Hotel Gallery in 2001. The gallery has since grown to become a major brand in fine art music photography and is respected amongst peers and artists alike. In February 2013, the Morrison Hotel Gallery will open its Los Angeles location at the Sunset Marquis Hotel, with a gallery space in the lobby as well as having photographs throughout the property of the hotel. Morrison Hotel Gallery also exhibits photography in key sports facilities and retail outlets throughout the United States.

Location: The Morrison Hotel Gallery
The Loft at Morrison Hotel Gallery
116 Prince Street
New York, NY

Prospect Theatre Company

Prospect Theater Company is one of America’s leading producers of new musical theater. Since 2000, the company has fully produced 18 new musicals in New York City, in addition to mounting productions of new plays and classic works, and supporting numerous developmental opportunities for emerging musical theater writers. Prospect was founded in 1998 by five graduates of Princeton University in order to allow a diverse group of emerging theater professionals to work together in pursuit of artistic excellence and innovation. The company membership now includes a network of almost 1,000 affiliated artists. Notable productions include: Iron Curtain (2006, 2011), Myths and Hymns (2012), Cole Porter’s NYMPH ERRANT (2012), With Glee (2010), The Blue Flower (2008), Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge (2009), The Hidden Sky (2010), Illyria (2002, 2008), and the Drama-Desk nominated The Pursuit of Persephone (2005).

Brooklyn Brewery

The Brooklyn Brewery offers free tours on Saturday, including free tastings, starting at 1 PM.

Central Park

Free performances, skating, a boat basin, miles of trails, sculpture are just a little this vast park has to offer. The Central Park Conservancy Tours are a great way to discover the history of the park, plus garden tours, Belvedere Castle tours, and free events most days.

The Cloisters

This wonderful hidden gem is a place to experience peace. Overlooking the Hudson, it contains three cloistered gardens, over 300 species of plants and flowers dating back to the Middle Ages and fabulous voices. A branch of The Metrop;olitan Museum, it is America's only museum dedicated to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Here, you'll find portions of five medeval cloisters that wee shipped to Manhattan and put together to resemble a church. Go inside and view 3,000 works of art dating from the 9th to 16th centuries, including Robert Campin's Annun ciation Triptych, and a tiny prayer book once owned by the queen of France.

Fort Tryon Park

Near the Cloisters, this park - designed by Frederick Law Olmsted - offers fragrant gardens that are especially nice to view during spring and summer.

American Museum of Natural History

I could spend days in this fantastic museum and kids just love the beautiful displays of wild animals. Check out the special events at 212-769-5100 or amnh.org.

Central Park Zoo

If you love animals, you'll love roaming around this outstanding zoo, but do bring comfy shoes. Information at 212-439-6583 or centralparkzoo.com.

Manhattan Children's Theatre

Musicals shown on Saturdays and Sundays at noon and 2 p.m. Information at 212-226-4085 or mctny.org.

Dana Discovery Center

(212-860-1370) in the northeast corner of Central Park, loan a pole for lots of fun engaging in their catch-and-release fishing in the Harlem Meer, a beautiful lake also frequented by numerous species of wild birds. The Center also sponsors educational workshops for children, or loan a pair of binoculars to enjoy birdwatching. Open daily, April to October, from 10am to 5pm (4 pm in winter).

City Hall

This, the oldest City Hall in the nation, houses its original governmental functions, and is considered one of the finest architectural achievements of the early 1800s designed in the Federal style, with French influences.

Featuring a formal staircase that sweeps up to the one-story portico fronting the building, the Governor’s Room has served as a museum and reception room celebrating the civic history of New York and the nation. It houses one of the most important collections of 19th century American portraiture as well as historic furnishings, including pieces by Charles Christian and Honoré Lannuier, and other notable artifacts, such as George Washington’s desk. Many distinguished guests have visited the Governor’s Room, including the Marquis de Lafayette and Albert Einstein. The Room hosted President-elect Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and then served as the backdrop for his coffin in 1865 as he lay in state. For more information call 212-NEW-YORK.

Fashion Institute of Technology

This famous school has thousands of designer costumes and accessories, fabrics from around the world and the work of renowned fashion photographers in the institute's free museum. For more information, call 212-217-5800

Federal Hall National Memorial

One of Downtown's most historic landmarks, has reopened to the public after a 16-month, $16 million restoration. The Birthplace of American Government, it was here on the corner of Broad and Wall Street, that General George Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States. Home to the first congress, supreme court, and executive offices, the original Federal Hall was trully the birthplace of the current government of the United States. The current structure, a Greek revivial style Customs House, later served as part of the US Sub-Treasury. The building still serves the Federal Government as a museum and memorial to the first president and the beginnings of the United States of America. For more information visit NPS.gov/FEHA, or call the Ranger Desk at 212-825-6888. The Memorial is located at 26 Wall Street

Forbes Magazine Galleries

Enjoy toy boats and soldiers, presidential papers, paintings, Fabergé Imperial Easter eggs, objets d'art and other memorabilia. Entrance is free and the gallery is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Guided tours of the collection are available free of charge, but reservations must be made one month in advance by calling 212 206-5548

Gracie Mansion

This museum is administered by the Gracie Mansion Conservancy and is open to the public from the end of March through mid-November. Tours on Wednesdays, by reservation only. For more information, call (212) 570-4751.

In 1799, a prosperous New York merchant named Archibald Gracie decided to build a country house overlooking a bend in the East River. At the time, the location he selected was five miles north of the City that was clustered at the lower tip of Manhattan. However, two decades later, his finances took a turn for the worse and Gracie had to sell his house to Joseph Foulke. Eventually the City of New York appropriated the estate in 1896, incorporating its 11 acres of grounds into the newly-formed Carl Schurz Park.

The building itself didn't fare very well, ending up as a concession stand and restrooms for the park. Happily, Gracie Mansion was restored and became the first home of the Museum of the City of New York, then a historic house museum run by the Parks Department. Parks Commissioner Robert Moses convinced City authorities to designate it as the official residence of the Mayor, and in 1942, Fiorello H. La Guardia moved in. The house was enlarged in 1966 with the addition of the Susan E. Wagner Wing, which includes a grand ballroom and two intimate reception rooms.

Restoration in 2002 transformed it into the People's House with increased accessibility to the public and to City agencies. Today the Gracie Mansion Conservancy is a private not-for-profit corporation established to preserve, maintain and enhance Gracie Mansion - one of the oldest surviving wood structures in Manhattan and a member of The Historic House Trust. The main floor is open to the public and is a showcase for art and antiques created by New York designers, cabinetmakers, painters and sculptors. Several pieces belonged to the Gracie family. At the center of the faux-marble entryway floor, a painted compass recalls the ships that built the Gracie fortune.

Grand Central Terminal

The Municipal Art Society offers a free tour of the magnificent Beaux-Arts Grand Central Terminal Wednesdays at 12:30pm. Tours depart from Grand Central Terminal''s information booth. Although the tour is free, consider making a donation (they do pass a hat at the very end) to support their excellent work.

Juilliard School

Great performers have and do train here, but it's also a great venue for free performances, including a great library for rare and special collections. The Peter Jay Sharp Special Collections Room includes hundreds of individual manuscript scores and autograph letters including two songs by Johannes Brahms, almost 200 first and early editions of Franz Liszt’s original piano works, transcriptions, and arrangements. The school's web site lists dates and times of free performances.

National Museum of the American Indian

Part of the Smithsonian Institution, this is said to be the largest collection in the world devoted to North, Central, and South American Indian cultures. Opened in October 1994, the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian is in lower Manhattan at the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, a truly gorgeous building on the water. Permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as public programs — including music and dance performances, films, and symposia. Admission is free. For more information, contact the museum at One Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004; 212-514-3700

The New York Botanical Garden Announces Highlights of 2020 Exhibition -- KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature, Featuring New Work by Celebrated Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama

On view thru November 1, 2020.

Yayoi Kusama, 2020

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) has announced highlights of its expansive 2020 exhibition KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature featuring work by internationally celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), including new experiences and immersive installations, four of which will debut at the Botanical Garden. NYBG is the exclusive venue for KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature. On view May 9 through November 1, 2020, the exhibition will be installed in and around the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, across the Garden’s 250 acres, and in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Building.

Visitors to New York can easily reach the exhibit in 20 minutes from Grand Central Terminal in Midtown via Metro North to the Botanical Garden Station. They can also take advantage of the Exclusive Grand Hyatt New York Hotel & Ticket Package. The property is located next to Grand Central and visitors can book online at grandhyattnewyork.com, using the code NYBG. They’ll receive 10% off the nightly room rate at Grand Hyatt New York, two round-trip Metro-North Railroad tickets to NYBG and two KUSAMA All-Garden Pass tickets.

New Kusama Works Debut

The exhibition reveals Kusama’s lifelong fascination with the natural world beginning in her childhood spent in the greenhouses and fields of her family’s Nakatsutaya seed nursery. Multiple installations will be on view, including her signature mirrored environments and organic forms, colossal polka-dotted sculptures of flora, and mesmerizing paintings of plants and flowers and their diversity of colors and patterns. Several of these works are newly completed and will be shown along with archival works that have never been publicly exhibited, and more that will be on view for the first time in the United States.

Among the new works debuting are:

Flower Obsession (2020), Kusama’s first-ever obliteration greenhouse where visitors apply coral flower stickers throughout the interior;
Dancing Pumpkin (2020), a monumental, 16-foot-high sculpture presented on the Haupt Conservatory Lawn;
Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart (2020), an immersive outdoor installation responding to changing light throughout the day and seasons; and,
I Want to Fly to the Universe (2020), a brightly colored, 13-foot-high biomorphic form with a yellow face and polka dots.

Complementing the artworks on view, Garden horticulturists will create spectacular in- and outdoor displays through the seasons. Glorious displays of tulips and irises in spring transform into masses of pumpkins and autumnal flowers in fall. Kusama’s plant-inspired polka-dotted sculptures will be installed across the Garden in dialogue with meadow grasses, bellflowers, water lilies, and other plantings. In the Conservatory, stunning floral presentations will bring one of Kusama’s paintings on view in the Library Building to life through a seasonal progression of violas, salvias, zinnias, chrysanthemums, and other colorful annuals. In fall, displays of meticulously trained kiku (Japanese for “chrysanthemum” and one of the country’s most heralded fall-flowering plants) will create a dramatic finale for the exhibition.

Sketchbooks, Paintings & Polka Dots
The exhibition will include works from throughout Kusama’s prolific career and multifaceted practice. On display in the Mertz Library Building, her sketchbooks from adolescence signal the beginning of Kusama’s connection with the natural world that has inspired her aesthetic and practice across mediums. This early work also portends avant-garde ideas she developed while living in New York between 1958 and 1973, as a contemporary of Joseph Cornell, Eva Hesse, Donald Judd, and Claes Oldenburg, and continues to explore rigorously today.

The Library Building presentation will also feature examples of her botanical sketches, paintings, works on paper, biomorphic collages, assemblages, and recent soft sculpture and canvas works depicting flora and their limitless variety of patterns. Life (2015) provides an immersive experience as visitors navigate a circular space enclosing polka-dotted forms with mosaic surfaces. Pumpkins Screaming About Love Beyond Infinity (2017) comprises a mirrored cube reflecting an infinity of polka-dotted pumpkins. It is accompanied by a statement by the artist that reads, in part, “My pumpkins, beloved of all the plants in the world. When I see pumpkins, I cannot efface the joy of them being my everything, nor the awe I hold them in.”

Public Programs

KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature will be accompanied by a roster of public programs for all ages, including lectures; film screenings of Kusama Infinity (2018) and Kusama’s Self-Obliteration (1967); fun-filled Polka Dot Picnics in spring; and Pumpkin Power Weekends in October with activities amid thousands of pumpkins of myriad shapes and sizes. Artist-designed merchandise will be available for purchase at NYBG Shop and there will be special Kusama- inspired menu items offered in the Hudson Garden Grill and Pine Tree Café.

The KUSAMA All-Garden Pass ticket includes access to the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Building, Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Flower Obsession (2020) obliteration greenhouse, and garden features, including the Rock Garden, Tram Tour, Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, and grounds. The KUSAMA All-Garden Pass + Infinity Mirrored Room ticket includes KUSAMA All-Garden Pass access, plus timed entry to the Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart immersive outdoor installation. Tickets go on sale for NYBG Patrons and Members on February 19, 2020, and to the general public on February 26, 2020.

Visit nybg.org/kusama for additional ticketing information and pricing and to sign up for e-mail alerts on the exhibition.

The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of plants located at Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road. It is easy to reach by Metro-North Railroad, bus, or subway. The Garden is open year- round, Tuesday through Sunday and Monday federal holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.. For more information, please call 718.817.8700 or visit nybg.org

Location: The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10458

The New York Botanical Garden Welcomes Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx

Garden-wide Exhibition of Lush Gardens; Paintings, Drawings, and Textiles; and the Sights and Sounds of Brazil That Inspired the Life and Work of One of the Most Significant Brazilian Artists of the 20th Century and His Contributions to Plant Discovery, Conservation, and Garden Design

In the Modernist Garden, strikingly patterned paths will lead through extensive curvilinear planting beds to an open plaza with a large pool framed by a wall carved in relief, its creation influenced by a Burle Marx installation in the Banco Safra building in São Paulo. Other inspirations include Burle Marx’s work in private landscapes, such as the Cavanellas garden near Rio de Janeiro; constructed landscapes, such as the roof garden at the Ministry of Education and Health and the Avenida Atlântica in Rio de Janeiro; and large parks, such as the Parque del Este in Caracas. The plant palette will include bromeliads, elephant’s ears, colorful annuals, and other plants characteristic of Burle Marx’s pioneering work. Mature palm specimens, primarily native Brazilian and Caribbean, dotted throughout the site will provide a sense of scale and enhance the tropical nature of the garden.

The Explorer’s Garden will highlight many of the tropical rain forest plants Burle Marx discovered and incorporated into the landscapes he designed. The more intimate indoor installation will interpret Burle Marx’s efforts to introduce Brazilians to their country’s remarkable biodiversity through his landscape designs. The bold forms of philodendrons, bromeliads, and other plants favored by Burle Marx will be on display.

The Water Garden will explore Burle Marx’s cosmopolitan plantsmanship, celebrating his use of plants from a variety of tropical regions in his designs in Brazil and beyond. Bismarck palms, traveler’s palms, and elephant’s ears will surround a pool containing hardy water lilies from NYBG’s collections, augmented with tropical water lilies and other aquatic plants used by Burle Marx, including a hybrid of the enormous, much-celebrated Victoria amazonica, which produces leaves that can grow to six feet in diameter.

Burle Marx’s Art and Garden Lifestyle Philosophy Examined in the Library Building

An exhibition of Roberto Burle Marx’s paintings, drawings, and textiles, inspired by the culture and nature of Brazil, from the final 30 years of his career and life (1964–94) in the Art Gallery of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library will allow visitors to better understand the interconnected threads of Burle Marx’s career and artistic practice. The art exhibition will be curated by Edward J. Sullivan, Ph.D., the Helen Gould Shepard Professor of the History of Art and Deputy Director, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

The Art Gallery will feature a grouping of Burle Marx’s abstract, vibrantly colored paintings, drawings, and tapestries, which engaged with ever more complex and diverse abstract forms. The tapestries and paintings on fabric demonstrate the range of media the artist employed, and a series of lithographs depicting Brazilian ecosystems dating to 1991 offer a rare example of figurative art from this late period. Collectively, these works showcase Burle Marx’s ongoing exploration of abstract geometric and biomorphic forms as well as his engagement with Brazilian and tropical plants.

The Library Building’s Britton Rotunda will bring to life the Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, the estate the artist purchased in 1949 and where he lived and worked for decades. The site houses a nursery, multiple gardens, greenhouses, and a studio, as well as Burle Marx’s home, where he lived, worked, and famously entertained friends and colleagues, many of whom were leading botanists, artists, and cultural figures in Brazil and worldwide. Large-scale wall graphics will re-create the hand-painted tile walls of the Sítio’s colonnaded dining room. Interpretive panels will display images of the site and introduce some of the prominent figures in Burle Marx’s circle, including architects Lúcio Costa, Rino Levi, and Oscar Niemeyer; botanist Henrique Lahmeyer de Mello Barreto; botanical artist Margaret Mee; and landscape architects Conrad Hamerman, Raymond Jungles, and Haruyoshi Ono.

In the Britton Science Gallery, a science installation focusing on botany and conservation will feature plants of three key biomes of Brazil: the dry region surrounding Brasília known as the Cerrado, the world’s most biologically rich savanna, which is home to more than 10,000 species of plants; the geographically isolated Atlantic Coastal Forest, which has one of the highest percentages of species of plants found nowhere else; and the Amazon, Earth’s largest tropical rain forest, which is home to more than 30 million people, including 350 indigenous and ethnic groups. Displays will explore plants of particular ethnobotanical and economic importance in Brazil, Burle Marx’s own botanical study of Brazilian plants, and the work of NYBG’s scientists in the region.

An illustrated catalog, which features essays by Dr. Sullivan and other scholars and includes an interview with Raymond Jungles, will be published in association with the exhibition.

Complementary Exhibition Programming

A diverse and engaging schedule of public programming for all ages will accompany Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx. Some of the components will include a scholarly symposium, live performances of Brazilian music and dance, a Poetry Walk that explores Brazilian modernist themes important to the work of Burle Marx, a Brazilian plant tour, hands-on activities for young visitors and their families in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, and a Burle Marx-themed Interactive Mobile Guide.

Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx is part of NYBG’s year-long #plantlove series of exhibitions, programs, and projects exploring the essential connections between plants, people, and the environment.

For more information, including updates on ticket availability, please visit http://r20.rs6.net.

Location: The New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10458

New York Public Library

Located at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, this majestic Beaux Arts building opened in 1911 with over one million books available to the public. Besides admiring the building (inside and outside), the Library offers some wonderful biblio treats. Free exhibits, concert, films and other special events in Bryant Park which has become one of midtown's best urban parks.

Sony Wonder Technology Lab

Located at 550 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022; 212-833-8100 -- this hands-on communication technology and entertainment museum is for all ages. Admission to the Lab is free to be enjoyed by both adults and children. Occupying four floors and 14,000 square feet, from the very beginning visitors know this is something special. In the lobby there’s an robot who actually interacts with the children waiting to enter the Lab. It’s not until later in the visit that the secret is revealed. The robot is actually controlled by an unseen master using goggles and gloves to make the robot an extension of operator’s own body.

Visitors start at the fourth floor by logging into the computer network. The sophisticated computer system records your face and voice when you first log in (all of the logs are wiped clean every evening) and codes it on a plastic card you swipe at each of the exhibits. This enables the personalization of their displays. Walking along the history of communication bridge for example, which provides 150 years of communication and entertainment history, you may see your face on the video displays. Although all the exhibits are fun and informative, there is a particularly special experience called Shadow Garden and Sand Interactive. A very long and fancy name for playing with shadows, with a twist. Visitors stand in front of a translucent wall which displays the image of cascading nuggets. But the wall interacts with shadows cast by visitors, and the sand nuggets accumulate on visitors’ shadows, pooling on shoulders, heaping in cupped hands. Soon visitors discover that they can link shadows and strangers learn to work together to pass the sand back and forth. There’s also movies screened in their High Definition television theater. All exhibits are wheelchair accessible and the Lab also offers American Sign Language tours. Reservations for these ASL tours are available for individual families and groups.

New York City’s Newest Destination: St. George

Spring 2015 marked the groundbreaking of the largest commercial waterfront development in New York City’s history and a redefinition of the city’s harbor. Located steps from the Staten Island Ferry, St. George will become a world-class destination offering unparalleled shopping, dining, culture, and entertainment, all concentrated in one square mile, making it the world’s most active waterfront. The Staten Island Ferry currently attracts millions of tourists annually; this initiative is expected to attract six million visitors annually and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in spending.

New York City welcomes more than 56 million visitors annually who enjoy all that the city has to offer including shopping, theatre, culture, sightseeing, sports, and history. When complete, St. George will offer all of these and more.

At the center of this redevelopment is The New York Wheel.  Opening in early 2017, the Wheel will be the world’s tallest observation wheel at 630 feet high. A free 20-minute ferry ride from downtown Manhattan, the Wheel will offer unparalleled views of New York Harbor, One World Trade Center, and Lower Manhattan. The Wheel will welcome 30,000 visitors per day to experience its 38-minute ride.” In addition, the 25,000-square-foot playground will feature dedicated bar and dining pods, an outdoor beer garden, a 4-D experiential theatre, and a bike rental facility. The Wheel’s six-acre green roof will be one of the largest in North America, equipped to host concerts, food festivals, and corporate gatherings. The Wheel will feature over $7 million in LED lighting, creating the most vibrant canvas in the New York skyline with a nightly harbor light show. For more information, visit newyorkwheel.com.

Empire Outlets will be a category-defining retail destination and New York City’s first and only shopping outlet. Developed by BFC Partners, this world-class shopping destination will be the centerpiece of New York City’s newest entertainment district on Staten Island’s waterfront. As the first and only outlet center in New York City, Empire Outlets will offer an unparalleled shopping experience for New Yorkers and tourists alike. Currently, shoppers must drive west to New Jersey or north to upstate New York to enjoy access to exclusive brand names and affordable, quality apparel retailers that are found in other leading outlet centers. Empire Outlets will capture that economic activity for the first time in the city’s history, creating thousands of jobs. The initiative will transform an underutilized municipal parking lot into a one-million-square-foot retail complex. The multi-million dollar project will include 340,000 square feet of prime retail space with up to 125 designer-outlet retailers, a 190-room full-service hotel featuring a rooftop venue with expansive waterfront views, a 1,250-space structured parking garage, and a 40,000-square-foot food and beverage deck that will provide extraordinary views of the Manhattan skyline. For more information, visit empireoutletsnyc.com.

Visitors to St. George will be also able to experience the harbor at Lighthouse Point, the destination’s historic waterfront esplanade. A collection of bistros and cafés, museums, and local craft shops will be built within St. George’s restored historic buildings. Lighthouse Point will also feature a 200-room hotel and 120 premier residences.

Visitors will have a variety of options to reach St. George. New York Water Taxi will offer service through its All-Day Access Pass program. This service will connect St. George with midtown Manhattan, downtown Manhattan, and Brooklyn. Multiple other ferry operators will provide service to the site from Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. A new ferry dock will be constructed to accommodate water transportation companies.

Staten Island’s current popular attractions include: Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, a distinguished regional arts center where history, architecture, visual and performing arts, environmental science, agriculture, and horticulture continue to provide dynamic experiences for all ages; The St. George Theatre, New York City’s second largest theatre and host of top music, comedy, family, and cultural acts; and Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the minor-league Staten Island Yankees and one of the prettiest ballparks in the United States.

About St. George

Located on Staten Island’s North Shore, St. George is the borough’s leading destination and the largest commercial waterfront development in New York City’s history. At the centerpiece of this $1 billion initiative is the New York Wheel, the world’s largest observation wheel; Empire Outlets, New York City’s first and only premium outlet shopping destination; and Lighthouse Point, a waterfront esplanade boasting a collection of dining, cultural, and local retail experiences built within St. George’s restored historic buildings. A 20-minute, free ferry ride from Lower Manhattan, St. George is already home to a range of cultural and recreational offerings including Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, St. George Theatre, and the Staten Island Yankees. Visitors will experience a harbor cruise; breathtaking views of the Statue of Liberty; world-class shopping; waterfront activities; great dining, culture, and entertainment; and much more. For more information, visit destinationstgeorge.com, connect online at @tourstgeorge (Twitter and Instagram), or visit Facebook: facebook.com/destinationstgeorge.

Staten Island Ferry

Runs 24 hours a day and is free at all times. Enjoy the ride to and from Staten Island and Lower Manhattan, the visit to Staten Island, and the spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty. Ferry information: 718-815-BOAT.

Tweed Courthouse

The Old New York County Courthouse, better known as Tweed Courthouse, is the legacy of Tammany Hall boss William M. Tweed, who used the construction of the building in the mid 1800s to embezzle large sums from the budget. Boss Tweed was tried in 1873 in an unfinished courtroom in this building and was convicted and jailed. After the Tweed Ring was broken up, work stopped on the building from 1872 to 1876. Construction progressed slowly after the Tweed years, and it was not until 1881 that the building was finally completed.

In 1999, a comprehensive restoration began to return Tweed to its original grandeur and today Tweed is home to the Department of Education. The first floor features the City Hall Academy, which serves approximately 200 elementary and middle school students each day from schools throughout the City. The school offers public school children an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of New York City and its history.

Union Square Tours

On Saturdays at 2 pm, take a free walking tour offered by the 14th Street-Union Square Business Improvement District including stops at New York's first film studios, opera houses, grand theaters and nickelodeons, "Ladies' Mile" and Union Square Park. Call first at 212-460-1204

Emerging Filmmaker Alex Ross Perry Celebrated with Museum Retrospective

Alex Ross Perry has become one of the most accomplished and provocative American independent filmmakers, with four disparate feature films that reinvent genres, are emotionally transgressive, feature scabrous dark humor, and evoke great cinema of the past while pushing ahead towards new forms.

Museum Admission: $12.00 for adults; $9.00 for persons over 65 and for students with ID; $6.00 for children ages 3–12. Children under 3 and Museum members are admitted free. Admission to the galleries is free on Fridays, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. 

Location: 36-01 35 Avenue (at 37 Street) in Astoria.
Subway: M (weekdays only) or R to Steinway Street. Q (weekdays only) or N to 36 Avenue.
Program Information: Telephone: 718 777 6888; Website: movingimage.us
Membership: movingimage.us/support/membership or telephone 718 777 6877

The Museum is housed in a building owned by the City of New York and located on the campus of Kaufman Astoria Studios. Its operations are made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum  and Library Services, and the Natural Heritage Trust (administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation). The Museum also receives generous support from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals. For more information, please visit movingimage.us.

Socrates Sculpture Park

Located at 21-01 Vernon Boulevard at Broadway, Long Island City, NY 11106; 718 956-1819 presents exhibitions of sculpture and multimedia installations as well as a variety of community events and an outdoor summer film series. As a free outdoor museum located on the East River in Long Island City, Queens, it serves as both a major art institution and reclaimed open space allowing public access to the waterfront with impressive Manhattan views. Open daily until sunset.

Downtown Information Center Opened

The Wall Street Rising's Downtown Information Center is a state-of-the-art space and the newest must stop destination for tourists and New Yorkers alike.  It features a one-of-a-kind interactive model of Lower Manhattan that uses video projections, photographs, text and a historical narrative to tell the compelling story of Lower Manhattan’s past, present and future. The installation is a key addition to Downtown for tourists, school groups, New Yorkers and others to learn about the storied community in an innovative and exciting way--a true must stop destination for anyone in the area!

For more information about all there is to see and do in New York City, log on to nycvisit.com or visit New York City’s Official Visitor Information Center at 810 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street, the kiosks located in Lower Manhattan at City Hall Park, and in Chinatown at the triangle where Canal, Walker and Baxter Streets meet.

Queens Library

The Queens Library serves 2.3 million people from 62 locations plus seven Adult Learning Centers and two Family Literacy Centers. It circulates among the highest numbers of books and other library materials in the country.

Upcoming Programs: ‘Asia Society in Queens’ Series in 2015
Asia Society and Queens Library recently announced an unprecedented collaboration. The Asia Society in Queens series will bring some of Asia Society’s top-tier arts, culture, and policy programs to Queens Library at Flushing. The initiative will present free programs to Queens Library patrons, and introduce Asia Society to new audiences.

DISCOUNTS

CityPASS® Offers Huge Discounts at Famous Attractions

Those looking for great destinations can get huge discounts with a CityPASS
An iPod-sized booklet consisting of numerous tickets for admission to the most popular museums and attractions in a city, CityPASS offers visitors a savings of 46% off regular combined admission prices.

For example, the CityPASS for New York saves travelers nearly half off the combined cost of admission to the participating attractions and has collected and vetted the top must-see, must do attractions; admission includes:

-- Empire State Building 86th-floor Observatory, plus audio tour

-- American Museum of Natural History, plus the Rose Center for Earth and Space and a Hayden Planetarium Space Show

-- The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA, plus audio tour

-- The Metropolitan Museum of Art (including special exhibitions, plus $1 off audio guide

-- Guggenheim Museum, plus audio tour, OR Top of the Rock

-- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, including admission to both Liberty Island and Ellis Island Immigration Museum, OR a Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise

In addition, CityPASS holders take the VIP route, skipping most main entrance ticket lines.l

CityPASS clears the clutter to reveal the most visited and iconic places in town, its booklets crammed with attraction information, maps, select values and how to get around on public transportation (often the surprise hit of a city visit). Parents and kids alike will appreciate zipping past ticket lines to get to the dinosaurs, sharks, or the top of the Empire State Building, the Philadelphia National Constitution Center, the New York City American Museum of Natural History and many more places of interest for everyone in the family.

CityPass is also available in Atlanta, where kids can “compete” against Olympic Athletes at the Atlanta History Center’s new Centennial Olympic Games Museum, in Seattle, Museum of Flight. Other CityPASS destinations include Toronto and New York City.

The CityPASS Web site, www.citypass.com, offers advance ticket booklet purchase, brochures and maps, a new special exhibits section of notable traveling exhibitions, transportation options, an insider’s tip on the best time to visit, a pricing grid to compare savings in each city, and the “look inside” web technology to see every ticket in the book. For recorded information, call 1-888-330-5008.

NYCtrip

NYCtrip.com is the quickest, easiest and most affordable way to write your own ticket to the perfect New York City vacation without breaking the bank. Developed by New York City Vacation Packages (NYCVP), the only independent tour company devoted exclusively to New York City travel for the past 10 years, NYCtrip.com offers a choice from hundreds of unique vacation packages and an ala carte option to enhance your trip to the Big Apple using NYC TripQuoteSM.

All vacations planned with NYCtrip.com are individually customized, and reviewed by NYCVP Personal Vacation Planners. All trips start with hotel accommodations at your choice of Manhattan, Brooklyn or New Jersey hotels and always include a host of freebies including:

Admission to the Empire State Building Observatory or a guided tour of Rockefeller Center;
Admission to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History or Top of the Rock;
A VIP invitation to the CBS Early Show;
Shopping discounts at Macy's, Bloomingdales, and South Street Seaport;
Parking discounts at hundreds of Manhattan garages
And more.

NYCtrip.com lets you personalize your vacation by adding sold out tickets to Broadway shows, special and sporting events, private or group guided tours by land or sea, spa services, horse-drawn carriage rides, behind the scenes glimpses, meals at a famous New York City restaurant like Tavern on the Green, luxurious World Yacht dining cruises and more. Once you've booked your New York City vacation package from the comfort of your home or office with NYCtrip.com, your New York City itinerary and tickets will arrive at your home or office via FedEx or DHL. The package will include vouchers for your hotel stay, tips for visiting the Big Apple compiled by New York City travel experts and more.

New York Pass

Visitors to New York City can save time and money visiting the Big Apple's top attractions this year by using New York City's premier money-saving attraction card, New York Pass.
 
The $75 New York Pass day pass ($55 for children) gets holders into blockbuster  attractions all across New York City for a single price, many with exclusive "fast-track" entry privileges, allowing card holders to whiz past long holiday lines.  Attractions include: Top of the Rock; The Met; The Guggenheim; The Whitney; The Museum of Natural History; the Museum of Sex; the Museum of Television and Radio; Bodies...the Exhibition, and MOMA. Behind-the-scenes tours at Madison Square Garden; NBC studios; Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. Free entry to zoos, aquariums, parks and gardens, and places of interest like Madam Tussaud's; The Empire State Building Observation Deck; New York Skyride, the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island ferry. The New York Pass also includes shopping discounts at stores like Macy's and Bloomingdale's-it even includes discounts on New York City helicopter rides!

 New York Pass also offers two-day passes, $110 for adults, $90 for children; three-day passes, $140 for adults, $120 for children; and seven-day passes, $180 for adults and $140 for children.
 
For more information visit www.newyorkpass.com.  

New York Pass, the City's premiere money saving attraction card, announced that it is available for purchase uptown at one of its major attractions: the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is the first time the New York Pass has been sold at an uptown attraction, making it convenient for visitors to the area and local residents to access the Pass. 
 
Every New York Pass comes with a free 180 page guidebook that includes detailed maps, hours of operation, tips and directions to every New York Pass attraction. The guidebooks are now available in English, German, Spanish, French and Italian. 
 
 The New York Pass can be purchased online at www.newyorkpass.com or picked up in person at the following attractions: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, New York Skyride, NBC Experience Store, Planet Hollywood, Bike and Roll NYC Bike Rentals and Radio City Music Hall.

HOTELS

Hotel Indigo® Williamsburg Brooklyn to Open Doors July 2019
Upscale Boutique Hotel to Bring Vibrant Energy to the Borough with Sleek Design, Dual-Level Restaurant and Extensive Meeting Space

Valor Hospitality Partners have annouonced plans to open the 187-room Hotel Indigo® Williamsburg Brooklyn in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. An InterContinental Hotels Group property, the luxe hotel is slated to open July 2019 and will be Williamsburg’s newest boutique hotel, featuring ultra-contemporary architecture, sleek interior design, a stunning dual-level restaurant, open-air sundeck and nearly 20,000 square feet of flexible event space.

Hotel Indigo Williamsburg Brooklyn guest rooms will incorporate elevated finishes, hardwood floors and spa-inspired bathrooms. The hotel will offer 25 suites, including bi-level Loft Suites and a 1,100-square-foot Williamsburg Grand Suite. Some rooms will have large balconies, with views of the neighborhood and the historic Manhattan skyline, just across the East River.

The hotel’s modern design is enhanced with a stunning pool, complete with an open-air sun deck, and a fully stocked poolside bar and grill. Hotel Indigo Williamsburg Brooklyn will also feature a dual-level restaurant, with outdoor seating and a chef-driven menu, guaranteed to become a favorite of both guests and locals with its approachable design, al fresco dining and playful menu offerings. Other amenities include a large outdoor courtyard, fully equipped fitness center and on-site parking.

“We’re looking forward to becoming a part of the incredible Williamsburg community and bringing a fresh hotel and dining experience to our guests,” said Tracey Rucks, General Manager of Hotel Indigo Williamsburg Brooklyn. “In addition to well-appointed rooms and upscale design, we’re thrilled to have an incredible event space to host corporate groups, along with weddings, banquets and other social gatherings.”

Hotel Indigo Williamsburg Brooklyn will have one the largest meeting and event spaces in Williamsburg, with a 6,630-square-foot Williamsburg ballroom, a 2,800-square-foot pre-function space and a 480-square-foot Union Mezzanine. The nearly 20,000-square-feet of flexible event space will cater to corporate groups and will have a big focus on local social events. The hotel will also have a Kosher kitchen.

Hotel Indigo Williamsburg Brooklyn will be located at 500 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11211, steps away from the neighborhood’s best nightlife, chic boutiques, award-winning restaurants, and a buzzing art scene. Programming will cater to both leisure and business travelers and will reflect the culture of the vibrant Williamsburg neighborhood.

For more information visit www.indigowilliamsburg.com

Made in Manhattan: DoubleTree by Hilton Opens in Times Square West

The DoubleTree by Hilton Times Square West! opened February 10th, 2017 in Times Square! It features a stunning rooftop bar in the heart of New York City. Built by Hilton, the newly built highrise hotel is just steps from the Broadway theater district, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, dozens of shops and restaurants, the Empire State Building and many other New York attractions. The 37 story property features 612 modern rooms, each with Theater District inspired artwork and many offering stunning views of the city or the Hudson River.

Times Square is the heartbeat of New York City, offering travelers a convenient respite between their business meetings and a thrilling destination to enjoy the theater district, shopping and diverse cuisine options. Double Tree offers its warm DoubleTree Cookie and delivering award-winning service throughout the stay. Breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline are on the menu at Lovage Rooftop & Indoor Lounge, which offers unique cocktails, light fare and nightly music until 2 a.m., plus delectable dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner that's available at Magnolia Restaurant - an American Bistro with menu items curated by Executive Chef Brian Pancir, a longtime chef for the New York Yankees and New York Giants. A rarity for a Manhattan hotel, outdoor seating is also available on the patio in front of and behind the hotel.

Each guest room features DoubleTree Sweet Dreams® Sleep Experience beds, a work desk with WiFi, access and an adjustable desk chair, coffeemaker and a large window that opens. Guests may also order room service; or pick up snacks, sandwiches, salads, beer and wine in the convenient onsite 24 -hour Made Market Pantry. Business meetings and events accommodating up to 75 guest s may be held in the hotel’s 1,000 square feet of meeting and banquet facilities. A state of the art sound system and A/V equipment are also available, as is a fully equipped 24-hour business center. The hotel also provides a full complement of services and DoubleTree by Hilton brand amenities, including an assortment of gourmet in room tea and coffee offerings by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®
and a refreshing array of the Crabtree & Evelyn natural skin and body care line.

The Bernic Opens in East Midtown Manhattan’s Storied “Turtle Bay”

At the turn of the past century, Edgar Allan Poe used to launch his row boat from this very street. In the 1960s, Andy Warhol’s artist collective — the Silver Factory — was here.  And it was on this block that Jacki Onassis visited her favorite boutiques. History repeats itself on East 47th Street as eclectic culture returns to Turtle Bay, which still remains a quaint neighborhood within bustling city blocks.

The Bernic, a 96 room, 21-story new-build hotel, is slated to open June 2016 on 145 East 47th Street, with a new restaurant and sky lounge in tow. The property lies just blocks away from the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal and within striking distance from the shopping destinations of midtown Manhattan, Rockefeller Center and Times Square. Floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies in almost every room offer a view, so vivid, guests will almost be able to touch the city’s iconic skyline.

The property commissioned blind contour artist Ian Sklarsky to produce works for the lobby, public areas and for every guest room, taking cues from the nearby United Nations with a weltanschauung theme centered on eight “cities of the world.”

Guests at the Bernic will be treated to luxe touches like a bespoke pre-arrival concierge app, house-made signature lavender lemonade and the exquisite scent of white tea and thyme wafting through the halls. Rooms feature radiant floor heating, bath amenities by Beekman 1802, complimentary coffee via an en-suite Nespresso machine, Apple TV, luxury linens and terry, Sterns and Foster luxury bed, turndown service via Chocolat Moderne and a book collection curated by Strand Bookstore.

Gourmands will be treated to on-site eatery Allora, whose menu features a modern reinterpretation of New York’s great old-school red sauce restaurants of yore. Signatures include a variety of house-made pastas, grilled whole fish and throwback tableside preparations like Steak Diane and Zabaione. The Bernic’s sky lounge will offer contemporary classic cocktails topped off with a jaw-dropping city vista.

For more information and reservations, please visit www.thebernic.com.

New Downtown Fairfield Inn Rolls Out Packages to Showcase
the Best of New York City Gems

The Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Downtown East, whose sleek and modern interiors reflect the vibrancy of its neighborhood in the Lower East Side, is offering two new packages for guests to explore the ever evolving city that never sleeps and its surrounding areas.

For the adventurous at heart, the hotel’s Biking Experience Package features 24-hour cruise-style bicycle rentals for two that will promise guests a more thrilling experience of New York. With a growing network of bike lanes, Manhattan and its neighboring boroughs have become extraordinary biking destinations, offering a fresh, car-free experience that is perfect for discovery. This overnight package also includes two bottles of water to take on the ride, bike maps and locks, Wi-Fi access, a hot breakfast buffet for two, and 2 p.m. late check-out. Package rates start at $149 per night.

For visitors who want a direct line from the city for the ultimate shopping experience may book the true Woodbury Commons Shopping Package that introduces guests to the region’s high-end premium outlet with over 200 stores. The package includes overnight accommodations for two, two tickets for coach bus transportation to the Woodbury Common Outlets, a hot breakfast buffet, Wi-Fi access, and a 2 p.m. late check-out. Package rates start at $159 per night.

The hotel’s convenient location in Downtown Manhattan also makes it easy to explore popular attractions by foot, most notably World Trade Center, South Street Seaport and the Wall Street areas. Guestrooms are modern and sophisticated, offering sweeping views to the East River and Manhattan Bridge.

Complete information on all hotel packages and online booking is available www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-deals

About the Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Downtown East

The Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Downtown East hotel welcomes travelers to experience New York City from its contemporary new lodging in the heart of some of the city's finest attractions and destinations. Featuring courteous, 24-hour service and affordable accommodations, this exciting hotel is designed to provide travelers with everything needed for a relaxed and productive stay whether traveling for business or leisure. The hotel's stylish lobby is aptly designed so guests can eat, work or play and features a fitness center and a 24-hour business center. The Corner Market is also always open for the convenience of guests and offers an inventory of snacks and personal items. The Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Downtown East is located at 95 Henry Street, New York, NY 10002. For more information, please click www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nycfm-fairfield-inn-and-suites-new-york-manhattan-downtown-east, or call +1-212-227-0709.

Park Hyatt New York

Park Hyatt New York premiered in October 2014 as the most prestigious address in New York City for high-level business travel, corporate meetings, and unmatched events. Already recognized by some of the luxury travel industry's most influential leaders, Park Hyatt New York provides guests with an enriching, sophisticated and uncommon experience.

Experience all the city has to offer while being located one block from Central Park and nestled near cultural icons such as Carnegie Hall and the Museum of Modern Art. Travelers will enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, the largest guest rooms among luxury hotels in the city, 24-hour access to a state-of-the-art fitness facility, and house car service to nearby destinations. Luxury is personal at Park Hyatt New York.

To reserve your experience now call 646 774 1300, email salesnycph@hyatt.com or visit web site parkhyattnewyork.com

The High Line Hotel

New York City's - The High Line Hotel - opened in May 2013. Its 60 rooms and suites are carved out of the red-brick General Theological Seminary complex, a registered Manhattan landmark on Tenth Avenue at 20th Street. The hotel is located in Chelsea, adjacent to the iconic High Line "railroad-line park," dozens of restaurants, clubs and the city's hippest art gallery neighborhood. Behind the hotel, the secluded gardens and additional 19th-century buildings still quietly function as a seminary of the Episcopal Church.

The High Line is not just another cool hotel, it is utterly unique. When it was being created by MCR Development LLC and The Brodsky Organization, instead of opting for standard hotel furnishings, design firm Roman and Williams undertook a massive project of scouring stores, barns, warehouses and flea markets up and down the East Coast. The result is "collegiate gothic," with every room, suite, corridor and public space furnished with Victorian or Edwardian antiques, period art, Tiffany-style lamps, rewired 1920's dial telephones and a vast collection of authentic Oriental carpets.

The crown jewel of the High Line Hotel is the Refectory, a 3,500-square-foot cathedral-like, Gothic paneled hall reached by an immense baronial marble staircase. It soars four stories to a gabled gilt encrusted roof, complete with minstrels' gallery and towering windows. The space has already been utilized for a variety of high-visibility media and fashion events.

The uniqueness is not just within the hotel. On Tenth Avenue, turn-of-the-20th-century gas lamps line the sidewalk and entry. A shiny 1960s Citroën truck serves coffee and snacks to New Yorkers, a water course gurgles, and garden chairs and tables entice guests to linger (in winter, complete with heaters and cozy blankets). The coffee truck is manned by Chicago-based Intelligentsia, which also maintains a coffee counter in the High Line lobby to provide all day drinks and room-service breakfast.

  Located in the hotel's historic courtyard in Chelsea at 10th Avenue and 20th Street, Champagne Charlie's is an outdoor restaurant and lounge featuring small plates (oysters, crudos, salads, burgers and a daytime brunch menu) designed to accompany a selection of premium Champagnes and wines (by the glass or bottle), signature cocktails and beer. Ideal for socializing before or after viewing a show in the hotel's Refectory, Champagne Charlie's will be the perfect vantage point from which to take in one of the most dynamic times of the year in New York City.
 
For more information on Champagne Charlie's, visit www.champagnecharliesnyc.com and follow @ChampagneCharlies on Instagram.

Nestled within a cluster of landmarked buildings in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, The High Line Hotel is an urban sanctuary offering guests a respite from the city in a historic setting. Originally built in 1895 as student housing for the General Theological Seminary, the intimate 60-room Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors-designed property is located within a rare, cloistered community overlooking the High Line park and an enclosed private garden. Blending eclectic Americana with European style, the property pays tribute to its English collegiate Gothic roots. A destination of its own, the hotel's lobby is the home to Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee's first East Coast outpost. The High Line Hotel is a development of MCR Development LLC and The Brodsky Organization.

The High Line Hotel and Epicurean Group Debut Alta Linea Outdoor Restaurant

Alta Linea at The High Line Hotel

Epicurean Group, known for neighborhood restaurant favorites dell'anima, L'Artusi, L'Apicio and Anfora, partners with The High Line Hotel to open Alta Linea, a seasonal outdoor restaurant in the hotel's front courtyard and garden [180 10th Avenue between 20th and 21st Street, 212.933.9735, www.altalineanyc.com]. With Alta Linea, executive beverage director Joe Campanale brings the Italian culture of aperitivi and al fresco dining to Chelsea, offering a vibrant beverage menu of aperitivi cocktails such as spritzes and negronis (frozen and otherwise) along with a modern Italian menu. Customized picnic baskets will also be available for pick-up for those visiting the nearby High Line and Hudson River Park.

Branzino in Cartoccio
Fea turing a modern take on rustic Italian cooking for which Epicurean Group is known, the menu focuses on Aperitivi (traditional Italian small plates) such as Frito Misto with calamari, shrimp, and lemon aioli; Crispy Artichokes with salsa verde, and bread crumbs; Funghi Misti Bruschetta with pickled mushrooms, lemon gremolata, fried egg and parmesan; and Grilled Summer Beans with preserved lemon vinaigrette, chilies, feta, pine nuts, and mint; and an entire section dedicated to grilled flatbread, cheese and salumi. Salads include Fregola with Cerignola olives, endive, radicchio, celery and herb vinaigrette; Market Salad with heirloom carrots, spring peas, toasted sunflower seeds, and pecorino; alongside sandwiches like Mortadella & Taleggio Panini with aged balsamic and arugula. A section of Secondi such as Branzino in Cartoccio with olives, fregola, fennel and garlic; and a Summer Vegetable Terrine with goat cheese, peppers, roasted tomatoes, quinoa and arugula pesto, round out the menu. A vintage gelato cart offers a selection of seasonal housemade sorbetti and gelati available by the scoop or in ice cream sandwiches like Strawberry Shortcake and Caramel & Chocolate Sea Salt. The menu will change seasonally, featuring fresh market ingredients.

Frozen Negroni

The beverage program, from Joe Campanale, focuses on summer aperitivi cocktails. The spritz list features cocktails like The Punto with Cocchi Americano, Punt e Mes, soda, sparkling wine and grapefruit and The Casoni with Casoni, soda, sparkling wine and orange, among others like the classic Aperol Spritz and Campari Soda. The negroni offerings include a classic version, alongside the Negroni Bianco (with Cocchi Americano, Dolin Blanc Vermouth and Miller's Gin) and, in partnership with Kelvin Natural Slush Co., the Frozen Negroni with Campari, Carpano Antica Formula red vermouth and Greenhook Ginsmiths gin. Other cocktails are highlighted as well, like the Rum Punch with Banks 5 year rum, pineapple, Strega and black pepper, Isola Privata with tequila, watermelon, Cocchi Rosa and Dolin Blanc, and The Abbey with Michter's Bourbon, honey syrup, market berries, and sage dram.

The 90-seat space features a variety of options for dining and drinking among the tree-lined courtyard, from round high-tops to a communal counter and banquette seating. The airy space channels the culture of Italian al-fresco dining with a bubbling fountain, string lights, large white umbrellas and yellow-striped seat cushions along the banquette, reminiscent of cosmopolitan Italian piazza dining from which the concept is inspired. A white-marble topped bar offers a focal point on one side of the space, beneath the shade of trees and hanging paper lanterns.

During the warm weather months, Alta Linea is open seven days a week for dinner (Sunday through Thursday from 5pm-10pm, and Friday and Saturday from 5pm-11pm), weather permitting. Brunch service will begin in the coming weeks.

For more information, call 212.933.9735 or visit www.altalineanyc.com.

Quin Hotel

The newly opened Quin hotel, located just two blocks from Central Park at 57th and Sixth Avenue, offers many events under the aegis of Quin Arts, an innovative arts and culture program of the Quin Hotel's programs.

Reservations are available by calling (855) 447-QUIN (7846) or online at www.theQuinhotel.com.

Pod 39 Hotel

This new hip 336-room hotel in a renovated heritage building in Manhattan's Murray Hill neighborhood has fun ctional rooms, but the emphasis is on public areas encouraging guests to mingle and interact. The rooftop bar is quite popular, and the tall ceilings in the rooms make up for the tiny quarters.

For more information call 212-865-5700 or go to thepodhotel.com

The Roosevelt Hotel

Location: The Roosevelt Hotel, 45 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017
For more details check web sites www.theroosevelthotel.com and www.vanderbar.com

Private Events

mad46
Your private event is looking up. Manhattan's premiere rooftop bar and lounge is the best place to plan your next group outing in the big city. Enjoy deliciously crafted cocktails and exquisite cuisine atop New York's iconic skyline. The chefs are prepared to cater the menu to your specific tastes and create a night that will rise above any other. Plan your gathering today by calling 212-885-6095 or email events@mad46.com.

Contemporary rooftop lounge meets classic New York hotel.

Book a Superior or Deluxe level room at The Roosevelt Hotel and receive two complimentary cocktails and an appetizer at Mad46 rooftop loung                                     

Mad46 is located atop the 19th floor of The Roosevelt Hotel and is open Monday through Saturday from 5pm - 12am.

What's New at the Roosevelt Hotel?

Book Direct and Save!

Rates starting at $159

Reserve your room directly through our website and receive the best guaranteed rate. Enjoy luxury accommodations, Concierge service and free Wi-Fi.

Hot Happenings

Don't miss the weekly promotions & events at mad46 Rooftop Lounge!
Martini Mondays - Tequila Tuesdays - Sangria Fridays
Hotel Guest Happy Hour:
ALL Day Saturday --- Mon - Fri after 10pm

Be Here for the Holidays

Prix Fixe Dinner Menu
Holiday dining doesn't have to be difficult. Spend your weekends with The Roosevelt and delve into the delicious flavors of our prix fixe menu at The Madison Club Lounge. Every Saturday and Sunday night features a 3-course meal for only $29, with incredible dishes like dry boat scallops, basil crusted lamb chops, pan seared Long Island striped bass and a sweet lineup of desserts like cheesecake and chocolate molten lava cake. Stress less this holiday season and leave the cooking to The Roosevelt, weekend evenings from 4:30-9:30pm.

Location: 45 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017

For more information check web site www.theroosevelthotel.com - www.mad46.com

Bryant Park Hotel

The Bryant Park Hotel has become known as a pillar of sophistication, where the contemporary fashionista meets storied New York. Located on the edge of Bryant Park, the hotel is housed by the landmark American Radiator Building, the subject of the iconic Georgia O'Keeffe painting. Made of black manganese-dipped brick and topped with gold leaf, the building’s facade is illuminated at night to resemble a glowing radiator coil.

Inside the sleek rooms feature hardwood floors, Tibetan rugs and spacious travertine marble bathrooms.

The Bryant Park Hotel is home to celebrity favorite Asian-fusion Koi Restaurant and the subterranean Cellar Bar, which features high Guastavino tile vaulting reminiscent of the nearby Grand Central. The property also houses one of the only RealD screening rooms in the city, attracting the city’s top film directors, who regularly screen dailies in its state-of-the-art 70-seat theatre.

A veritable exhibition hall during New York Fashion Week, the Gothic architecture of the Bryant Park Hotel serves as a dramatic backdrop to style arbiters in residence year-round.

St. Giles Hotel New York

The 199-room The Court and 121-room The Tuscany share one of New York City’s most fashionable addresses, steps away from Park Avenue on townhouse-lined East 39th Street in the historic Murray Hill district of Manhattan. Steeped in history and home to American icons and former residents such as The Murray family, J.P. Morgan, The Astors, The Lunts, Theodore and Eleanor Roosevelt, today Murray Hill maintains its desirable status recently dubbed ‘the best place to live in New York’ by New York Magazine.

Intimate in size yet offering some of New York City’s largest guestrooms with standard rooms averaging 425 square feet, The Tuscany and The Court are considered a tremendous value. Accommodations feature oversize closets, decadent baths outfitted with imported marble and high-end fixtures along with ample closets, state-of-the-art technology and luxury Treatment amenities. Most significant is the locale of the properties within walking distance of the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, Fifth Avenue shopping, menus, Grand Central Station, a short taxi ride from restaurants and Broadway. In the know concierge staff provides guests with tips on “must see” attractions and events and can easily secure tickets for attractions, shows and concerts. 

Headquartered in London, England, St Giles Hotel, LLC and St Giles Hotels are affiliated of Cititel Hotel Management or CHM-Hotels. St Giles Hotels is a well known group of centrally located mid-market hotels in London. CHM-Hotels is a consulting and management concern that encompasses Concept Development, Market & Feasibility Studies, Facility Planning, Marketing Strategies & Planning, Equipment & Product Selection and Procurement. It is a subsidiary of the Malaysian-based IGB Corporation, a property and investment holding company, known for its excellence in both commercial and residential property development. The company’s portfolio consists of three, four and five-star hotels and is known for its collection of centrally located hotels in London. 

The Kitano New York Hotel

Conveniently located in Manhattan’s historic Murray Hill district, the 149-room Kitano New York invites guests to enjoy a truly unique cultural and hospitality experience with its Tatami Suite. As the hotel serves as New York’s first and only Japanese-owned hotel, it is home to the city’s only traditional $1 million Japanese-style guest suite. With its authentic furnishings, steeped traditions and cultural services guests feel they have stepped into Japan upon entering the Tatami Suite- with the only the spectacular views of Park Avenue and the Kitano New York’s esteemed reputation to remind them they are still in the heart of Manhattan.

As guests enter The Kitano New York’s Tatami Suite, after following the Japanese tradition of removing their shoes so as not to track in contaminants, they will first notice the distinct aroma of the tatami mats. This earthy aromatic is thought to calm and sooth the soul in Japanese culture, allowing guests to enter into a state of tranquility. The 805 square-feet suite offers a sleeping quarter with two twin beds, which can be replaced with traditional futons if the guests prefer. The sleeping quarters is connected to an authentic tea pantry. With this unique feature, The Kitano New York can easily convert the sleeping quarters after removing the beds into an authentic tea ceremony room with access to the pantry. The suite also features a spacious common area that measures eight tatami mats (a standard unit of measurement in Japan) as well as a traditional Japanese bathroom in which a large tub for soaking and a separate shower for bathing.

The most significant aspect of Kitano New York’s suite is the tatami matting that lines the floor, which symbolizes a higher class level in the Japanese culture. The mats are constructed with woven rush plant on the surface and rice straw inside-two common goods that grown abundantly throughout the country.  In addition signifying class level, tatami mats are also used commonly used in Japan to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer as it also acts as a cooling agent in the hot and damp climate. Typically, the mats last for approximately four years; however, once become worn, they can easily be replaced without changing the rush underneath. The mats are also eco-friendly as they can be used as a fertilizer once they are no longer used as flooring.

Each design aspect of the Tatami Suite, which cost nearly $1 million to construct and features artworks, furnishing and cedar accents imported directly from Japan, incorporates the strict tradition of the Japanese culture. The formal entry way, sleeping quarter/tea ceremony room and common area all feature a Tokonoma, a small alcove that often houses decorative scrolls and signifies that the most important guest should be seated with his or her back facing the area. The walls are constructed with the traditional Juraku, a sand-based well cement that removes moisture from the air, while the ceiling features the Sukiya Zukuri architectural design component that hides all nails from sight.                

In addition to enjoying the Tatami Suite accommodations, guests can also experience all of The Kitano New York’s on-site offerings such as the Michelin-rated Hakubai Restaurant, which features some of the country’s most authentic Japanese cuisine with its unique Kaiseki delicacies. Guests of the Tatami Suite are invited to enjoy this dining experience in-room as the hotel will arrange for service and presentation to take place in the suite’s common area. The hotel also offers The Garden Café, which is situated in a historic townhouse adjacent to the hotel. The restaurant is located in a tranquil urban garden setting of exotic plants and vegetation. It features American contemporary cuisine.  The Kitano Boutique also is a great spot to select a keepsake memento from a New York escape, as it features a unique collection of handmade items by European and Asian artists.

The Kitano features traditional East and West services and amenities that are unmatched anywhere in the world. Asian hospitality merges seamlessly with New York style for an ambience that is pure Kitano. Awarded the AAA Four-Diamond rating, The Kitano New York is distinguished by a contemporary interior that is both elegant and supremely comfortable. The newly-refurbished guestrooms feature custom-made mahogany and cherry furniture, down comforters, exquisite artwork and Roman pleated shades with windows that open to views of the historic Murray Hill, Grand Central Terminal, the Empire State Building and other New York landmarks. The renovation was designed to bring the same sense of serenity combined with the maximum level of comfort and service for which the hotel is known to the guestrooms. For hotel reservations, visit www.kitano.com or call 212-885-7000.

Brooklyn's Trendy Hotel LeBleu

Located on Fourth Avenue in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, within close proximity of the historic Brooklyn Bridge and offering easy access to Manhattan and major thoroughfares, hotel le bleu is the first luxury boutique hotel to open in Brooklyn. In recent years, Park Slope has become one of New York’s most desirable addresses representing a hip neighborhood in what is considered the city’s coolest borough. It is home to artists, celebrities and transplanted Manhattanites. Known for its stately and historic brownstones, and beautiful parks, Park Slope attracts visitors from around the world. It offers an abundant night-life featuring world-class restaurants with cuisine from around the world, jazz clubs, and neighborhood bars. Park Slope also offers access to some of Brooklyn’s biggest cultural assets including the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. 

hotel le bleu, Brooklyn’s first luxury boutique hotel, is a sleek chic architectural structure designed by the award-winning architect Andres Escobar. The well-appointed guestrooms are decorated to maximize space and provide the ultimate experience in comfort. Luxury items such as Egyptian cotton bedding, orthopedic mattresses and high-end in-room amenities offer the ultimate in relaxation.  hotel le bleu offers luxury, comfort and service comparable to Manhattan hotels but at significantly lower rates.

The hotel’s guestrooms feature custom designed ergonomic furnishings, Bose Wave DVD system, WiFi, Cable High-Speed Internet, iPod docking station, flat plasma televisions, mini bars, coffee and tea service are a few of the room features. However, the most impressive feature of the hotel are the guestroom balconies with unrestricted views of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline.

Located in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn, Body by Brooklyn is a spa and lounge offering a unique blend of services that evoke a genuine sense of comfort and style. Body by Brooklyn lets guests indulge in a steamy mix of health and hedonism! Throughout the ages, cultures around the world have recognized the health and communal aspects of the “traditional bathhouse.” The spa promotes the curative effects of water and heat and provides luxurious spa treatments administered by world-class massage therapist or esthetician.   Guests can enjoy the Russian Bath, Turkish Aroma Steam Room, Cedar Sauna, Thermal Hot Tub, Cold Plunge Pool or simply relax with friends in front of a fire while sipping cocktails.

For information and reservations contact hotel le bleu at (866)427-6073 or <mailto:info@globiwest.com>info@globiwest.com. Rates are subject to change, based upon space availability and exclude tax and gratuities. Rates cannot be combined with any other offer.

hotel le bleu is owned and managed by Globiwest Hospitality Group, a second generation family owned hotel development and management corporation headquartered in Artesia, California. Summer 2008 hotel le bleu will welcome a signature restaurant Vue that will feature continental cuisine. Globiwest provides operations, marketing and distribution services to its diverse portfolio of recognizable hospitality brands and franchises such as: Carlson, Choice, Hilton, IHG and Marriott Hotels. The company’s properties are located throughout the United States. Most recently the company launched the first of two in a collection of new boutique hotels in Park Slope and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, trendy neighborhoods and Borough of New York City within close proximity to Manhattan.  hotel le bleu and hotel le jolie feature sleek, comfortable contemporary décor and design, state-of-the-art technology, impeccable service and cutting edge culinary options. Globiwest is a member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association (HSMAI) – NY Chapter. The company is also proud sponsors of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, NYC & Company, Brooklyn Philharmonic & Brooklyn Academy of Music.  Contact Globiwest at www.globiwest.com or 562-402-6191. 

Hotels & Guest Apartments

The 93-room, newly built hotel, owned and operated by Hersha Hospitality and designed by Datumzero Design Office, is located on stylish Smith Street and sits squarely at the intersection of four intriguing Brooklyn neighborhoods: Downtown Brooklyn, home to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Courthouses, and the offices at MetroTech Center;  Boerum Hill, where streets are lined with elegant brownstones and French bistros; Cobble Hill, a blend of old-world shops, bakeries and gardens; and Carroll Gardens, an old-fashioned Italian neighborhood with wide streets, chic restaurants and antique shops. Together, these areas possess all the requisites for a unique, insider’s experience.  

NU Hotel showcases a design approach intended to maximize space, light and air.  The project is nestled in an upscale residential complex suggesting a local neighborhood refuge, while the beauty and friendly nature of the neighborhoods ensure that guests feel safe and secure as they explore the gems that Brooklyn has to offer.  Whimsical references such as stenciled quotes from famous Brooklynites, “found objects” from local landmarks and other daring local art strive to echo the authentic, confident character of Brooklyn.

Guest rooms are available in three styles – the NU Standard, the NU Friends Suite, and the NU Urban Suite – and are outfitted in a clean, natural palette and replicate the style of an urban artist’s dwelling. NU Friends Suites feature with bunk beds and modular furniture that adapts for friends and family – ideal for children and in keeping with the fun, casual atmosphere that NU Hotel aims to provide. NU Urban Suites boast a cozy bed niche with leather surroundings, a sitting area and designer hammocks suspended from the ceiling for relaxed lounging.

In addition to presenting a luxurious, bright and airy space, NU Hotel reflects a commitment to eco-friendly living.  Cork flooring appears in rooms, as do organic bedding materials and custom furnishings crafted from FSC-certified recycled teak wood.  Amenities include 32” flat-screen televisions with “jack packs” to dock audio, video and computer electronics and complementary WiFi access. Spacious bathrooms are equipped with unique chalkboard walls where guests can jot notes for housekeeping, travel mates, or simply record their own musings.  Sleek light fixtures, stone and glass showers, rain head showers and Aveda bath products complete the luxurious sensibility.   

Guests can mingle with fellow travelers and locals alike at NU Bar, the hotel’s café/lounge – located adjacent to the lobby – where café beverages, cocktails, and light fare will be available.  The NU Gym includes the latest cardio equipment and free weights in addition to a boxing bag and yoga/pilates mats and accessories.  The NU Hotel also offers bike storage and bicycle use service for guests interested in exploring New York on two wheels.  Additional amenities located in the lobby include the business center, and a custom concierge service.  Those seeking a quiet corner can retreat to the “library nook” where comfortable seating and antique accents create a warm space to delve into a book. 

Rates begin at $200 per night.  For more information, or to make a reservation, call 718-852-8585 or visit www.nuhotelbrooklyn.com.

About Hersha Hospitality

Hersha Hospitality currently operates over 60 hotels in the most valuable markets in the nation.  In addition to boutique hotels, Hersha Hospitality also provides turnkey hotel management and asset management for properties with leading brand affiliations through Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood, and Intercontinental Hotel Group. Our highly experienced team is accustomed to serving as a fiduciary to publicly traded companies, joint ventures, institutional real estate owners and private investors.

With 45 rooms, the six-story hotel evokes the unique style of Manhattan’s fashionable loft living, complete with high ceilings, tall windows filling rooms with natural light, hardwood floors and clean modern décor. Designed by noted architectural firm Gene Kaufman Associates and renowned interior designer Paul Vega, the Hersha Hospitality Management property integrates the unique character of Tribeca with the needs of sophisticated travelers.                                                                                                                               ” 

Understated Elegance & High-Tech Amenities

Each of the 45 rooms feature custom-designed residential furniture, natural wood, slate bathrooms with chrome and marble fixtures. Amenities include a work desk, high-speed and WiFi Internet access, 32-inch plasma TV with premium cable, and a CD player/clock-radio with MP3 hook-up. Both queen and king-size guest beds are outfitted with European cotton linens, luxurious duvet comforters and a state-of-the-art “healthy” pillow-top mattress with washable hygienic liner. Three room sizes – Superior, Deluxe and Executive – are soothingly appointed in shades of pale green and blonde wood (Superior) and gentle lilac and cherry wood (Executive and Deluxe).

Additional amenities will highlight the splendors of the Tribeca neighborhood – including floral arrangements from Elan Flowers and access to award-winning cuisine for in-room dining from top-rated local restaurants. In addition, the Duane Street Hotel is home to ’beca Restaurant, where guests will find an array of culinary comforts, as well as fine Italian coffee and both European and Japanese tea service.  The restaurant also provides room service for the hotel.

Room rates at the Duane Street Hotel begin at $300. For more information, please visit www.duanestreethotel.com, email info@duanestreethotel.com or call 212-964-4600.

About Hersha Hospitality Management

Hersha Hospitality Management currently provides asset management services at 14 properties and hotel management services at over 50 upscale and mid-scale hotels in the most valuable markets in the nation, including Boston, Hartford, New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, metro Washington D.C., the Southeastern US, California and Arizona.  Hersha Hospitality Management provides turnkey hotel management and asset management for properties with leading brand affiliations through Marriott, Starwood, Hilton and Intercontinental. Our highly experienced team is accustomed to serving as a fiduciary to publicly traded companies, joint ventures, institutional real estate owners and private investors.

Located in the heart of the historic preservation district at 12 West 44th Street, the 126-room Mansfield Hotel has emerged from a 12-month restoration to debut as the City's newest renovated boutique hotel and an architectural and historic landmark.

Originally designed by James Renwick and the firm of Renwick, Aspenwall and Owen, the Mansfield opened its doors in 1904, revealing a property designed in the Beaux-Arts and Second Empire styles, and in keeping with traditional European hostelries constructed during the era.

Over the years, the Mansfield was home to wealthy socialites and luminaries such as John Butler Yeats and Max von Gerlach, the rumored inspiration for the Great Gatsby. Over a century later, hotel owners Brad M. Reiss and John Yoon, principals of Willow Hotels, the managing company for the Mansfield, were inspired by the elegance and architectural grandeur of the hotel which led to their restoration of the property.

Paying homage to its rich and storied past, the Mansfield exudes a classic New York feel, while boasting contemporary conveniences. Many original details remain integral to the Mansfield's design - oval staircases with wrought iron balustrades, terrazzo floors, and the Grand Lobby's 16-foot ceiling supported by columns and accented by bobesches - and demonstrate a careful craftsmanship throughout the hotel.

Featuring varied room types amont 90 guest rooms and 27 suites, each encompasses a sense of classic style while maintaining form and function. Each room's interior - gracefully masculine in design - features aneutral color palette of ivory and beige, accentuated by dark wood appointments and ebony-stained hard wood floors. To further enhance guests experience, the hotel offers an updated list of amenities and services as well.

For more information or reservations, check web site www.mansfieldhotel.com

Premier Hotel

The deluxe Premier Hotel in Times Square (a Millennium Hotels and Resorts property) is breaking new ground, changing the quality of travel and wellness of its guests with the introduction of its new Premier Pure rooms which feature an allergen-friendly environment. The Premier Pure rooms are free of 98% of bacteria and viruses which are eliminated via a special purification technique. The hotel is also introducing therapeutic natural skin care products by LATHER as its bath amenities

The Premier is the first New York City hotel to introduce allergen-friendly rooms utilizing an innovative, one-of-a-kind high-tech cleansing and maintenance process developed by Pure Solutions, North America. Premier Pure rooms are available on three floors of The Premier (16 guest rooms), the Penthouse and Fitness Center. This is the first Fitness Center in the New York and the world that has received this utterly new process. Each room has been treated comprehensively to remove allergens from all surfaces, fabrics and air flow.

The innovative and rigorous conversion process designed by Pure Solutions ensures that heaters and air conditioners are deep cleaned and sanitized then equipped with the company’s patented Tea Tree Oil Cartridge. PURE Tea Tree Oil is an all natural antiseptic and disinfectant gel that maintains the sanitary conditions created during the initial conversion process. Soft surfaces are cleansed then sanitized to eliminate contaminants that trigger allergies. The room next undergoes a 4-5 hour high ozone shock treatment to kill any remaining living organisms and their associated odors. A bacteriostatic barrier called Pure Shield is then applied on virtually all surfaces to minimize the growth of bacteria.

To maintain ideal conditions in the room, a state-of-the-art air purification system is installed, creating air quality that averages four times cleaner than the threshold for asthma patients. This system is registered by the FDA as a Class II medical device. Special micro-fiber hypo-allergenic pillow cases and mattress covers are used in the room to eliminate dust, dander and dust-mite related allergens usually associated with common bedding.

The Premier Pure Room concept is envisioned by Millennium Hotels and Resorts as part of a program provide the best experience to its guests. The allergy friendly environment is meant not only to provide a clean-air environment but also to help ease respiratory problems, asthma and allergies. Medical research shows that more than 70 million Americans suffer from various airborne allergies or asthma.

In June 2006, the 125-room Premier also converted to a fully non-smoking facility. The hotel’s smoking rooms (24 rooms in total) underwent a special deep cleaning process prior to conversion to non-smoking rooms. The Premier became one of the first non-smoking deluxe hotels in New York City.

The hotel is also introducing LATHER bath amenities including body, skin, and hair care products made from the finest and most effective natural ingredients including essential oils, antioxidants, extracts from rare fruits and herbs. LATHER may go to the ends of the earth to source ingredients, but packaging is kept clean and simple. That’s because LATHER believes “it’s what’s inside” that counts.

Some product examples include LATHER’s Bamboo Crème collection which draws on the hydrating benefits of shea butter and micronized bamboo to moisturize skin and hair. The combination of products works together, providing rich, creamy formulas that gently cleanse and condition without stripping skin of its natural oils. Delicate scents of mandarin, lavender and chamomile restore balance to the senses and impart a sense of renewal.

The Pure system reduces or eliminates biohazards and other irritants from all room surfaces and filters them from the air. Bedding, carpeting, walls, furniture, air conditioning systems, water and practically everything in the room is specially treated to remove contaminants and significantly hinder their return.

About Millennium Hotels and Resorts

Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR), established in the United States in 2000, is the North American arm of London-based Millennium and Copthorne Hotels plc (MLC). The MHR portfolio includes 20 holdings in The Americas, and the company operates properties including: Millennium Broadway Hotel, New York City; Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, New York City; Millennium Airport Hotel, Buffalo, New York; Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles; Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel, Chicago; Millennium Bostonian Hotel, Boston; Millennium Hotel, Minneapolis; Millennium Hotel, St. Louis; Millennium Hotel, Cincinnati; Millennium Harvest House, Boulder; Millennium Hotel, Durham; Millennium Alaskan Hotel, Anchorage; Millennium Resort, Scottsdale, McCormick Ranch; and the Millennium Maxwell House, Nashville. MLC holdings outside of the Millennium brand include the Millenium Hilton Hotel in New York City.

For further information on Millennium Hotels and Resorts, call 866-866-8086 or visit www.millenniumhotels.com.

GUEST APARTMENTS & RESIDENCES

The Phillips Club II

Millennium Partners, which set the standard for urban fractional real estate with its first Phillips Club residence in New York City eight years ago, has just launched Phase II of The Phillips Club, also located in the heart of New York's Lincoln Center neighborhood.

Phillips Club II offers its member-owners furnished luxury apartments and hotel-style services and amenities in an 88-unit building at 155 West 66th Street. The address had been the site of an extended-stay Phillips Club lodging developed by Millennium in the mid-1990s. Having sold through its first fractional ownership club last year and seeing significant demand to add more product, Millennium decided to convert the extended-stay property into a new fractional.

The new club offers 704 total memberships in 88 apartments - a single membership represents one-eighth ownership in a Club residence. The apartments in Phillips Club II include 14 studios, 62 one-bedrooms, and 12 two-bedrooms, with fractional share units ranging from $190,000 to $380,000.

Pre-sale interest was so high, among Phillips Club I owners looking to buy additional units as well as others seeking to enter the high end of New York's fractional ownership market, that Millennium Partners reports having gone to contract on more than 52 memberships since obtaining approval for its offering plan at the end of June.

Fractional ownership offers multiple benefits for regular visitors to New York, eliminating the high expense and maintenance hassles of owning a co-op or condo, while providing a level of personalized service hard to find in a hotel. Similar to a country club membership, Phillips Club members purchase shares in the club rather than stays for specific weeks. Phillips Club members can stay at the property as often as they want subject to the club's reservations policies and procedures. Reservations can be made with as little as one-day's notice or as far ahead as 14 months. If all the members were to use their share equally, they would have 45 days per year. However, some members will use it less than others thereby creating more availability. The result is an on-demand luxury residence in one of New York‚s premiere neighborhoods.

'The Phillips Club provides a welcome sense of belonging to a comfortable, well-appointed home, to a vibrant and cultured neighborhood, and to a fabulous city,' says Pamela Malkani, the Millennium Partners principal in charge of the Club‚s development and operation.

The economics of a Phillips Club fractional are understandably attractive for a part-time New Yorker. A one-bedroom unit share of 800 square feet is priced at approximately $250,000. A comparable New York co-op or condominium apartment with equivalent amenities could easily command $1.2 million. Aside from the fact that a hotel wouldn't have near the space or a full working kitchen, a one night's stay at a quality lodging would cost around $700, a sum that becomes expensive spread across 30, 40 or 50 nights a year.
Home-Stocked Home: 'Personal Storage Unit is The Best.'

Phase II apartments feature kitchens with granite counters, top-line appliances by GE, and a full set of Villeroy & Boch dinnerware, crystal and silverware. The units also boast marble bathrooms and living rooms with Panasonic 42‰ high definition flat screen plasma TVs and Bose entertainment systems. Bedroom amenities include high definition LCD televisions, Italian linens and Matelasse coverlets. Daily maid service is available for members in residence and each unit offers wireless and T-1 lines for high-speed Internet connections. There's even an in-room safe and ironing board/iron in each residence.

As was the case with the original Phillips Club, all Club II members will have an individual, secure wardrobe for storing a few personal items, such as seasonal clothes, running shoes, or toiletries. The wardrobes - kept in storage while members are away and rolled into the apartment before arrival -have proved to be among the club's most popular amenities, allowing members to travel light, with the comfort that key possessions will be waiting for them when they take up residence.

Another welcome touch is the Phillips Club's personal shopping service, part of the general concierge service that makes The Phillips Club as hospitality-centric as the city's best hotels. But unlike at a hotel, Phillips Club members can have a fully-stocked kitchen waiting when they arrive, courtesy of an abundance of quality food stores around Lincoln Center, including gourmet shop Balducci's, adjacent to The Phillips Club.

The Phillips Club also features quality public spaces, including an on-site business center and a members‚ library- lounge with wireless Internet service. For many members, one of the highs of club ownership is privileges to the Reebok Sports Club/NY, a block away on Columbus Ave. The 140,000- square-foot complex, itself a Millennium Partners property, is one of New York's largest sports-fitness facilities.

Fractional Economics Hard to Resist

Millennium is bringing its second Phillips Club to market as a number of hotel operators and developers are starting to catch on to the appeal of urban fractionals. 'We have a decided advantage, having pioneered the concept in New York and sustained it successfully for the past eight years, through soft conditions as well as through white-hot real estate and tourism markets,' Ms. Malkani said.

Ms. Malkani said the decision to launch a new fractional club was driven by market demand, including from members hoping to buy additional units for themselves and their families. 'Months before our plan was approved, we had a waiting list of well over 200,' she said. 'Even though our extended-stay lodging was operating at 90% capacity, the opportunity to quickly open a fully-ready fractional adjacent to our existing club was too good to pass up.'

Phillips Club works on so many levels, for culture lovers seeking a regular fix of theater and restaurants; for former city residents returning to visit family and friends; or for business commuters who need to settle into the city for days or weeks at a time.

Judging by the demographics of its first fractional, Phillips Club II will likely include a healthy mix of younger members with strong ties to New York, as well as older couples who want a reliable place near their New York children and grandchildren. More than a few members are actually full-time New York residents who use their club share to house visiting guests and grown children.

One Phillips Club member, who lives only 60 miles outside of Manhattan sums up her attachment to the Club and its location: 'I see friends for dinner, go to Lincoln Center, the theatre, ballet, without ever having to worry about catching the last train home. Before I purchased, I had an apartment in New York. This is so much better -staying at The Phillips Club is more comfortable at a fraction of the cost and without the headaches of owning a place. Everyone goes out of their way to be helpful. It's one of the best decisions I have made.'

Members are also adamant about what The Phillips Club is not - as in, not a typical time share, with its unpredictable accommodations and reservation restrictions. As one owner of a Club I unit notes with some pride, 'This is so much more personal than time share living. Carrying my purse and laptop, I'm immediately at home. My grandchildren sleep over; their toys are tucked away in our wardrobe filled with other essentials. The night before our arrival, I fax a grocery list; the kitchen is replenished with my preferences. The club is home away from home.'

As Manhattan hotel prices continue to surge upword, consumers and business travelers might wish to experience New York from a neighborhood perspective -- and get a price Deal in the process. Metro-Home is a premier provider of short-term and extended stay apartment accommodations in New York. The company offers an inventory of 200 master-leased units (studios, 1 & 2-bedrooms) in neighborhoods throughout Manhattan.

The Deal

Metro-Home's value-based pricing from $209 per apartment per night represents a 20-25 % savings, on average, over traditional hotel pricing. That's $100 in potential savings for a two-night weekend stay over a traditional hotel, $350 in possible savings for a weeklong reservation and $1500 + in potential savings for a month-long stay! Unlike many extended stay providers, with Metro-Home guests can stay the night, the weekend or for the month - there is no minimum number of nights required for a reservation. With Metro-Home's Concierge, guests can experience New York like a New Yorker with an apartment in their neighborhood of choice -- and still enjoy the hospitality services of a first rate Concierge.  Metro-Home's Concierge can do everything from securing dinner reservations in that hard-to-get-into restaurant, get tickets to the latest Broadway Show, make airline or charter reservations, find a qualified baby sitter, provide business services such as fax and Internet access, order and deliver up everything from flowers to Chinese and nearly anything in between!

Metro-Home has more than 200 fully furnished guest apartments, from budget to luxury. Studio, one and two bedroom units are available. The apartments are located in quaint Manhattan neighborhoods, each offering a unique mix of amenities to discover and enjoy, including fabulous restaurants, art & antique galleries, museums, boutiques, wonderful shopping and more.

To learn more about Metro-Home or for guestroom reservations, contact 212.813.2244 or toll-free 800.987.1235, or visit <mip://02d1e750www.Metro-Home.com.

MUSEUMS

VISITOR INFORMATION

Hours Fridays and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays–Thursdays 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Met Holiday Mondays in the Main Building: October 13, and December 29, 2008; January 19, February 16, and May 25, 2009 Met Holiday Mondays sponsored by CIT 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. All other Mondays closed; Jan. 1, Thanksgiving, and Dec. 25 closed

Suggested Admission
(includes Main Building and The Cloisters museum and gardens on the same day) Adults $20.00, seniors (65 and over) $15.00, students $10.00 Members and children under 12 accompanied by adult free Advance tickets available at www.TicketWeb.com or 1-800-965-4827. For More Information (212) 535-7710; www.metmuseum.org
No extra charge for any exhibition.

NEW YORK CITY RESTAURANTS

Enjoy the Height of Fine Southern Italian Dining At New York’s Iconic
The Leopard at des Artistes

Everyday dishes done with respect to Southern Italian cultural traditions, absolute quality of ingredients, hospitality and outstanding service – that is the formula of New Yorkers favorite fine Italian dining destination: The Leopard at des Artistes. This Upper West Side hot spot, owned by husband-and-wife-team Gianfranco Sorrentino and Paula Bolla-Sorrentino, and partner Chef Vito Gnazzo, invites diners to enjoy exceptional food in a warm and inviting atmosphere. The Leopard’s décor, which features famed Howard Chandler Christy murals in the dining room, is inspired by the elegance of the 1963 epic film with the same name.

Chef Vito’s culinary signature of authentic southern Italian comfort food is what draws visitors and locals alike to the restaurant. The Leopard boasts a diverse menu that finds its roots in the area once known as The Kingdom of Two Sicilies of the mid-1800s, and the culinary traditions of Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Apulia, Sardinia, and of course, Sicily. The menu also features dishes traditionally found in regions outside of southern Italy, such as Lazio and Umbria. The restaurant continues to attract a wide array of celebrities, including Steven Spielberg, Howard Stern, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Hank Azaria, Steve Martin, William Kentridge, Madame Francoise Gilot, John Anthony Baldessari, Giuseppe Penone, James Levin and Valery Gergiev.

Signature dishes include the Pan-Seared Duck Breast “Porchetta” with fennel pollen, cipollini with aged balsamic vinegar, pickled raisins and vegetable caponata; Halibut “In Brodetto” with baby artichoke and fingerling potatoes; and Maltagliati with wild game and porcini mushroom ragú. The dessert menu boasts specials such as Traditional Zabaione with fresh mixed berries; Traditional Torta di Mascarpone “tiramisu” style; and Nutella Chocolate Mousse served on hazelnut crunch and banana gelato. The restaurant offers an extensive wine and cocktail selection with a wine pairing service offered with the “A Taste of The Leopard” set menu.

The Il Gattopardo family of restaurants include Il Gattopardo, The Leopard at des Artistes and Mozzarella & Vino. Originally from Naples, Italy, Gianfranco Sorrentino carries over 40 years of experience in restaurant management from the Quisitana Hotel in Capri, Dorchester Hotel in London, Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo, Bice restaurant in New York, Sette MoMA restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art of New York, and Union Bar & Grill in Great Barrington, MA. In September 2001, Sorrentino opened Il Gattopardo, just across from MoMA, and most recently (2011) the Sorrentinos embarked on one of the most rewarding journeys of their careers; the re-birth of the restaurant at New York landmark Hotel des Artistes.

Brazilian born and raised, of Italian parents from Veneto, Paula Bolla-Sorrentino is passionate for art, design and Italian culture. With fashion and design background, she had the opportunity of traveling around the world with top fashion designers, as well as worked in one of the most prestigious design firms of New York, Pentagram Design, as Graphic Designer. Graduated from FIT, but with the hospitality industry in her heart, Paula runs all visual and organizational aspects of the company, from Art Direction and flowers, graphic design, and customer relations, to make sure that guests are not only exposed to a wonderful gastronomical event on the table, but to a whole sensorial experience.

About The Leopard at des Artistes
The Leopard at des Artistes is owned by husband-and-wife-team Gianfranco Sorrentino and Paula Bolla-Sorrentino, and partner Chef Vito Gnazzo. Chef Gnazzo is the culinary artist of the Il Gattopardo group’s three restaurants: Il Gattopardo, Mozzarella & Vino and The Leopard at des Artistes. Located in the New York landmarked Hotel Des Artistes, and surrounded by the astonishing 1920s murals by Howard Chandler Christy, The Leopard at des Artistes finds its roots in the area once known as “The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies” (mid 1800s) and in the culinary traditions of the regions of Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Apulia, Sardinia, and of course Sicily, reaching a balance between dishes based on rural elements, such as pasta, vegetables, cheese, and seafood ingredients from the Costiera.

For more information, call 212-787-8767, or visit www.theleopardnyc.com
Facebook: TheLeopardatdesArtistes | Instagram: theleopardnyc | Twitter: @IlGattopardoNYC

Location: The Leopard at des Artistes
1 West 67th Street
(At Central Park West)
New York, NY 10023

Hours:

Monday-Friday: 5:00 PM – 11:30 PM dinner
Saturday: 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM brunch; 5:00 PM – 11:30 PM dinner
Sunday: 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM brunch; 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM dinner

Gallaghers Steakhouse Has Been Beautifully Renovated

Gallaghers, the iconic New York steakhouse located on West 52nd Street is owned and operated by restaurateur Dean Poll, who also owns Central Park’s quintessential New York dining destination, the Loeb Boathouse.

Dean Poll purchased the 87 year old steakhouse in 2013 and transformed the historic eatery with a multi-million dollar renovation, including a brand new 220-seat dining room with an open kitchen facing the dining room, oak floors, updated food and cocktail menus, and more. The renovations breathed new life into Gallaghers, while still maintaining the elements that showcase the restaurant’s rich history, such as the iconic horseshoe bar, windowed meat locker and familiar wait staff.

Gallaghers’ revamped menu goes above and beyond typical steakhouse fare, with dishes such as the Fluke Crudo made with orange, fennel, pistachios, and coriander from the new raw bar, a wide selection of appetizers and sharable sides. Gallaghers is the only restaurant in New York City that grills its steaks over hickory coals. Kept at blistering temperatures all day long, the heat of the hickory coals sears the steak and offers that slightly smoky flavor that is unique to Gallaghers.

Gallaghers first opened as a speakeasy and steakhouse in 1927 by former Ziegfeld Girl Helen Gallagher, wife of legendary Vaudeville comedian Ed Gallagher, and partner Jack Solomon. In 1964, Gallaghers was sold to Jerome Brody, known for transforming the New York City dining culture as operator of the Four Seasons restaurant, the Rainbow Room, and the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal. After Jerome’s death in 2001, his wife Marleen continued to operate the restaurant until she sold it to Dean Poll.

Below is the recipe for Gallaghers’ signature cocktail - the 52nd Street Old Fashioned. 

1.5 ounce Bourbon
1 ounce Rye
0.5 ounce Demerara Syrup syrup
Dash of Angostura and orange bitters
Orange and lemon zest
Garnish with orange and lemon

The Strand Restaurant, An American Bistro, Opened at NYCs Strand Hotel

New York City's STRAND hotel unveiled The STRAND Restaurant, an American bistro, a 115-seat venue with a sophisticated bar and lounge, featuring classic American cuisine at lunch and dinner and sure to shine in the landscape of New York restaurants. The STRAND is located at 33 West 37th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.

The cool yet cozy scene is in total sympathy with the modern bistro menu prepared by a three-chef team comprised of veteran Executive Chef Greg Gilbert, Executive Chef Hector Tice of Manhattan's acclaimed Black Duck Bistro and energetic Chef de Cuisine Kelvin Fernandez. Chef Gilbert brings years of fine dining experience with him from notable kitchens throughout upstate New York and in New York City. Voted one of the top eight chefs in Westchester, Gilbert has received top-starred reviews in major media outlets, including The New York Times, as well as high praise from notable food critic Gerry Dawes who calls his cuisine 'eclectic American beautifully presented, conceptually not over the top and, most importantly, delicious.' Prior to the STRAND he was chef de cuisine for Rick Moonen at Manhattan's Oceana and at Crabtree's Kittle House in upstate New York, which boasts the third largest wine cellar in the world.

Menu items will showcase fresh products sourced as locally as possible, both form land and by sea. Diners will enjoy lunch menus featuring smoked trout, east coast oysters, crisp duck leg confit, fried oysters, golden beet carpaccio, classic lobster rolls and roasted Japanese eggplant, among other items. Dinner selections include Alaskan king crab, sesame crusted tuna sashimi, mac and cheese, grilled Merquez sausage, seafood risotto, pan roasted chicken, steak frites or ginger marinated tofu.

The interiors of this urban bistro were created by renowned New York City designer Chris Smith whose projects have included Buddakan in Philadelphia, Nobu in Manhattan, and numerous hotels around the country. From the first step into the sophisticated, low-lit area, guests feel cocooned from the city outside. Why not try the four-person swing as you sip a pre-dinner cocktail? Or perch by the translucent fireplace in the library lounge with books selected by the Bistro‚s resident Curator, many of which were purchased at the famous Strand Bookstore in Manhattan.

Perhaps the most stunning backdrop in the main dining room will be a 6 x 28 foot masterpiece entitled Hemaspora by San Francisco-based artist Rex Ray. A rising star in the world of art, Ray's work features exuberant, joyful, colorful patterns with a laid back and slightly mischievous vibe. The STRAND Restaurant will feature his largest piece of work yet.

The STRAND hotel, which enjoyed a December 2009 opening, is a member of the Green Hotel Association and is a new, modern tower featuring 20 intimate floors housing 177 deluxe guest rooms and junior suites at 33 W. 37th St. just off Fifth Avenue. The hotel is the newest addition to the Atlantic Stars Hotels & Cruises portfolio which operates boutique hotel and cruising experiences in New York City, Newport, RI, Martha's Vineyard, South Beach and the Caribbean.

Fresh and innovative guestrooms feature floor to ceiling windows framing Empire State Building views. The STRAND's lobby with staircase of stone and glass and a two-story waterfall engages the ear and helps guests leave the city‚s cacophony at the door. Fashion photographs from Conde Nast archives are found throughout the common areas and guestrooms and may be purchased. The hotel's rooftop lounge, Top of the STRAND, was recently named Best New Rooftop Lounge in NYC in New York Magazine's annual Best of New York issue. The lounge features a retractable glass ceiling and walls -- allowing guests to enjoy four seasons worth of Empire State Building views amid a private lounge ambiance. The lounge was designed by Lydia Marks, known most recently for creating the set designs for both Sex and the City movies. The Top of the Strand is open to both guests and the general public and features a full-service bar.

Located at 33 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018; (212) 584-4000
www.strandamericanbistro.com

Baraonda Italian Restaurant on the Move

Now that construction crews have started work on the Second Avenue subway line after decades of delays, the retail businesses and restaurants along the stretch of Second Avenue must find new locations. Some are more prepared than others.  Baraonda, the long running clubby Upper East Side Italian restaurant and late night boite, will debut its new location and debut its new chef on the very day it closes its old space on Second Avenue; not even skipping a day of business.

That's a remarkable feat for any business; thanks to Baraonda owner Enrico Prioetti's foresight (restaurants on the Upper East Side come and go, but Enrico Proietti has managed to attract a vibrant beautiful crowd to his dining spots Baraonda, Per Lei and Bella Blue for fifteen years).

Now Proietti, who New York Magazine said "has the very specific knack of creating a festive downtown atmosphere in a straight-laced uptown neighborhood'' is about to move Baraonda from 1439 Second Avenue to a bigger and better space at 1640 Second Ave. Apart from the main restaurant, there will be a sexy new upstairs lounge. The phone number will remain the same (#212-288-8555).

The new chef will be Christian Fantoni, lastly the executive chef at Fiamma (as well as Michael White's Chef De Cuisines for the four years before White's departure from Fiamma). His pedigree includes Le Bernardin and Le Cirque, as well. A graduate of APTS in Clusone, Italy, Fantoni will be bringing a whole new level of cuisine to the popular spot.  Fantoni began his culinary career in New York as sous chef at San Domenico, before returning to Italy to work at Dell 'Angelo and then Taverna del Colleonni in Bergamo.

T-Bar Steak & Lounge Opened on Upper East Side

Believe it or not, in the midst of New York's steakhouse mania, there is hardly an example of the current craze on the Upper East Side. That is, until now. Leave it to Tony Fortuna, to create a shining stand out amidst the area's trattorias and sushi bars. The man who ran the front-of-the-house at Jean Georges Vongerichten's 4 star Lafayette, and the Plaza Athenee's restaurant, now brings us an exciting stylish, modern steakhouse on the Upper East Side.

Ben Zwicker, executive chef of T-Bar Steak & Lounge, has created a menu that amuses all steak aficionados and seafood lovers. As the original chef from Lenox Room, Ben has stayed on board to revitalize this contemporary Upper East Side restaurant. The menu combines contemporary flavors and ingredients with traditional recipes. The raw bar includes a wide range of sweet, tangy, and savory tartars. There is a steak bar that includes four prime cuts including a 26-oz. T-bone, along with succulent tuna and salmon steak dishes. Inventive steak sauces like miso mustard and mint chutney are offered to compliment every steak. The appetizers are classic and market driven and are comprised of a Roast Hudson Valley Beet salad, Chopped Ceaser Salad, Smoked Salmon "Ravioli", and Honey BBQ Chicken Wings. The signature side dishes are the perfect accompaniment and include French fries seasoned with paprika and an Applewood Smoked Bacon and Aged Gruyere Potato Cake.

Desserts include a luscious version of strawberry shortcake with fresh plump fruit, whipped cream, moist pound cake and crisp meringue shells. Other desserts are comprised of a crème brule, beignets, and a banana pudding cake.

The design of the restaurant has a playful, colorful edge that feels zip codes away from the club chair stuffiness of most steak houses around NYC. Walls are adorned with glass light fixtures enclosed with seasonal dried leaves and flowers, the room pops with color, and the bar scene is as vibrant as the room. The hues throughout the room are a mix of greens and bright oranges and with crisp white tiles that enhance the feeling of a clean and modern restaurant.

T-Bar will no doubt give midtown steer palaces a run for the money. It is located at1278 3rd Avenue, NYC. For more information, call 212-772-0404

Lunetta Restaurant

Lunetta, the second coming, opened on October 29th, 2007 at 920 Broadway at 21st Street, NYC (212-533-3663). Executive Chef and Owner Adam Shepard, who will split his time between the original Lunetta across the street from his home on Smith Street in Brooklyn and the new Lunetta near Union Square, is expanding on his exquisite paean to Italian-American home cooking. Lunetta's menu is a mosaic of home cookery. Dishes are topped off with herbs and the sauces are a medley of flavors which complement and compel you to feast further.

Lunetta seats over 100 in the dining room, and 15 at the bar and will be open for lunch, dinner and brunch. Expect rustic seasonal cuisine, with pastas, small plates that double as sides, single ingredient medium plates and fairly large entrees.

The menu is market driven, specializing in slow, seasonal and sustainable food and wine. Lunetta is a steal and offers an extremely accessible wine list, a full bar and classic cocktails; specialty grappas and the finest espresso and teas. A few items on the menu, which have created loyal clientele all the way from NYC's upper east side to the local burgeoning gourmet scene, are the acclaimed Meatballs with toasted garlic-red sauce, the Ricotta lunette pasta pomodoro, and the Lunetta ricotta (which is made in-house).

The interior exudes period charm and home dining room playing a great part in this charming eatery in which wine, food and atmosphere exude a slightly sybaritic dining experience.

Saju, Hotel Mela's New Restaurant, Offers "Haute Vietnamese" Cuisine in the Heart of Times Square

Hotel Mela, New York’s new boutique hotel, announces the opening of Saju, a culinary experience featuring exotic “haute Vietnamese cuisine” in an enchanting and sophisticated atmosphere. Saju’s menu includes enticing delicacies created by Chef Hung Nguyen from the finest in fresh ingredients in a warm and seductive, Asian-inspired setting that blends city chic with “colonial Vietnam.” The restaurant, which seats 110 guests, is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and features a full-service bar offering several signature cocktails created with unique flavors such as ginger and lemongrass. 

Created by restaurateur Philippe Bernard, co-owner of the widely acclaimed Osteria al Doge, the restaurant was designed by Pierre Hitier to transport guests to an exotic oasis in the middle of Times Square. Accented in orange, yellow and green, the space features chic teak floors, an imported bamboo ceiling and stunning details including exposed brick walls that create an alluring setting. Saju compliments Hotel Mela’s modern, sophisticated and elegant style with its sleek design, swank decor and cosmopolitan ambiance.

Executive Chef Nguyen, born in Kansas City, Missouri, developed an interest and appreciation of Vietnamese cuisine at a young age by spending time in family friends’ restaurants. Realizing his passion for cooking, Nguyen enrolled in culinary school in Austin, Texas and began working for Tyson Cole, voted one of Food & Wine’s best new chefs in 2005. Under Cole, Nguyen mastered modern Japanese cuisine before making his New York City debut at Café Boulud and then Jovia where he worked under the expertise of Josh Dechellis. Expanding his culinary portfolio, Nguyen moved to Bouley where he relished his experience and education in French cuisine. 

With the opening of Saju at Hotel Mela on West 44th Street, Chef Nguyen introduces his approach to creating an exotic gastronomic experience. Saju’s menu will feature signature Vietnamese dishes, with select menu choices available for room service to all guests of Hotel Mela. The restaurant will also offer a separate room service menu for breakfast. In addition to the cutting edge cuisine, Saju’s philosophy and service represent the welcoming custom of Vietnamese culture. 


Hotel Mela is ideally located just steps from some of New York City’s most celebrated landmarks including Broadway, Times Square and Bryant Park, the location of choice for the upcoming fashion week extravaganza. 

For more information visit the web site at www.hotelmela.com or call 1-877-452-6352. 

About Tecton Hospitality and Desires Hotels

Tecton Hospitality and Desires Hotels, the boutique division, provides a wide range of management services to both institutional and individual owners of hotels in the United States and Caribbean. The Desires portfolio currently includes the award-winning 93 room Sagamore Hotel, the 66-room Wave Hotel, the 83-room Circa 39, the 40-room Hotel Astor, the 62-room Betsy Ross Hotel, the 24- room St. Augustine Hotel and the 87-room condo hotel The Strand Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, Fla., the award-winning 76-room San Juan Water & Beach Club Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the 110-room Glenn Hotel in Atlanta, Ga., and the recently opened 235-room Hotel Mela in New York City, NY. 

The Miami-based company also operates franchise hotels, including full and select service properties and resorts under the Marriott, Hampton Inn, Choice and Intercontinental Hotel brands. 

For more information about Tecton Hospitality and Desires Hotels, call (305) 577-8484 or visit www.tectonhospitality.com and www.desireshotels.com.

SPAS

Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa serves up a robust selection of treatments to make spa goers look winter wonderful -

While winter may be beautiful, it does not foster beautiful skin. Frigid temperatures and blustery conditions can damage skin and make anybody yearn for the warm, flushed feeling associated with drinking wine. The Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa offers a number of wine-based skincare treatments that can have spa goers looking and feeling winter wonderful. 

As the first vinotherapy spa in New York City, the Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa is increasingly becoming the destination for people that want a unique experience that leaves them looking radiant all winter long. The spa’s warm and inviting atmosphere feels like a winery and transports clients away from the cold and their cares. A trip to Delluva is less time consuming than visiting the Pinotage wine region of South Africa and clients can chose from a number of luxurious treatments to help winterize skin, such as:

TheraVine™ Barrel Bath:

In this decadently indulgent treatment, you are immersed in powerful Grape skin and Vine leaf antioxidant extracts, combined with indigenous essential oils to promote the fight against aging. Hydrotherapy uses water to achieve a deep state of relaxation, while the therapeutic jets massage you. Your skin will be left silky and smooth. The treatment includes a full body grapeseed exfoliation, hydrotherapy treatment and light application of Pinotage body oil. You may add on an optional 30 minute massage. (60 minutes, $120; 90 minutes, $175)

Firming or Contouring Body Gel Wrap:

This wonderfully nourishing and firming treatment will leave the skin feeling smooth, firm and soothed. It includes a full body grapeseed exfoliation, a 30-minute massage with Moisturizing or Slimming Pinotage body oil, firming body gel wrap and a light application of Cabernet body lotion. (90 minutes, $190)

Gift certificates for treatments are available online or at the Delluva Spa Boutique as are a wide array of wine-based and traditional skin and body care products, designer accessories, and gourmet food.

The Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa and Spa Boutique is located at 152 Franklin St., on the ground floor. For more information on treatments available at the Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa, call 212-937-7757 or visit www.delluvaspa.com.

ABOUT DELLUVA VINOTHERAPY DAY SPA

“Delluva” (pronounced dell ooo va) comes from the Italian conjunction dell ‘uva, which means “of the grape.” Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa offers indulgent, inviting surroundings where clients experience first-class service, internationally renowned vinotherapy treatments and unexpected delights.

Physical Advantage Massage and Personal Training

Founded by former bodybuilder Laurie Towers, Physical Advantage has established itself as the premier “serious” massage center in Manhattan, a favorite of actors, opera singers, professional dancers and professional athletes. All therapists are schooled in rehabilitation work and medical contraindications and are skilled at providing treatments designed for short-term pain relief and long-term results.  A regular in New York Magazine’s “Best of” issue, Physical Advantage now brings personal trainers to the workplace along with on-site massage. 

For more information check web site www.physical-knead.com, or call 212-460-1879.

Mandarin Oriental's Award-Winning Spas includes the Mandarin Oriental, New York

Mandarin Oriental is the recipient of a record number of international awards for spa in 2007. Guided by the Group’s Oriental heritage but influenced by local cultural diversity, Mandarin Oriental has created distinctive concepts with a unique sense of place in every location.

This year, the Group has been lauded as ‘Outstanding Spa Brand’ by the respected Luxury Spa Finder, and ‘Best Wellness and Spa Group’ by SpaAsia magazine, with many of the individual hotel spas receiving accolades for excellence.

Mandarin Oriental, New York has again received the coveted Mobil Travel Guide five star award and has been voted the ‘No. 1 Urban Hotel Spa’ by readers of Conde Nast Traveler, US, and ‘No. 2 Urban Hotel Spa’ in the US by Conde Nast Traveller, UK. Mandarin Oriental, Miami meanwhile, was voted the ‘No. 1 Urban Day Spa’ in the US, by Conde Nast’s UK readers and was also the recipient of the Mobil Travel Guide four star award. At another recent award ceremony, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London was voted the ‘Top Spa of the United Kingdom’ by Luxury Spa Finder and was also nominated as the second best spa in the UK by readers of Conde Nast Traveller. 

Mandarin Oriental’s newer spas have also already received recognition, including the spa at Mandarin Oriental, Prague, located in a former 14th century Dominican Monastery, which was nominated as one of  Conde Nast Traveler’s ‘Hot Spas’ for 2007. The same accolade was awarded to the stylish Shanghainese-inspired spa located in the recently renovated Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.

The Group continues to set benchmarks for spa innovation, excellence and training. The Oriental Bangkok’s new Ayurvedic Penthouse, the first authentic ayurvedic sanctuary in the city, has been awarded by readers of Conde Nast Traveller, UK, while Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai was named ‘Best Destination Spa’ by readers of  SpaAsia  and has also received an award for the ‘Best Therapist in Asia’.

Mandarin Oriental, Washington’s zen-like spa, where Chinese, Ayurvedic, European, Balinese, and Thai therapies are incorporated in a menu of treatments, and Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo’s vertiginous spa, perched on the 37th floor with views of the surrounding cityscape, have both been singled out internationally with awards from publications such as Luxury SpaFinder and The Mobil Travel Guide.

“We are delighted to have been the recipient of so many prestigious awards,” said Andrew Gibson, Mandarin Oriental’s Group Director of Spa. “The Spas at Mandarin Oriental are havens for contemplation and discovery, born out of a sincere understanding and passion for wellness. The Group is committed to delivering all aspects of wellness with integrity and honesty, providing inspiration for lifestyle change, in an environment that delights all the senses.”

For a full list of the Group’s recent award listings, visit www.mandarinoriental.com

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the award-winning owner and operator of some of the world’s most prestigious hotels and resorts, currently operating 20 luxury hotels with a further 17 under development in Riviera Maya, Mexico (2007), Beijing, Boston and Hainan Island, China (2008), Barcelona, Chicago, Costa Rica, Dallas, Las Vegas, Macau, Marrakech, and Turks and Caicos (2009), Grand Cayman, Guangzhou, Milan, Paris and Taipei (2010). In total, Mandarin Oriental now operates, or has under development over 9,800 rooms in 22 countries with 16 hotels in Asia, 13 in The Americas and eight in Europe and North Africa.

For more information check web site www.physical-knead.com

Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa Offers Soothing Skin Specials

Whether with a glass wine or a visit to a fabulous spa, people like to be pampered. New Yorkers can combine these two pleasures at the Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa in TriBeCa. Offerings luxurious wine-based skincare treatments that are high in antioxidants and indulgently relaxing, Manhattan’s first and only vinotherapy spa, Delluva, is offering two June specials that are the perfect way to savor the spa’s unique luxuriating treatments:

Gift certificates for treatments are available online or at the Delluva Spa Boutique as are a wide array of wine-based and traditiona

The Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa and Spa Boutique are located at 152 Franklin St., on the ground floor. For more information on treatments available at the Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa, rcall 212-937-7757 or visit www.delluvaspa.com.

ABOUT DELLUVA VINOTHERAPY DAY SPA

“Delluva” (pronounced dell ooo va) comes from the Italian conjunction dell ‘uva, which means “of the grape.” Delluva Vinotherapy Day Spa offers indulgent, inviting surroundings where clients experience first-class service, internationally renowned vinotherapy treatments and unexpected delights.

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