First time to New York? You might want to consider the perfect way to introduce yourself to all the wonder and excitement that New York has to offer. On the second floor of the most famous building in the world, the Empire State Building is a simulated skyride narrated by actor Kevin Bacon, which takes you on a half hour fantastic adventure across the iconic New York skyline to visit almost three dozen of New York’s most incredible landmarks.
Visitors stand on a specially engineered platform before an 18-foot high-definition screen, and feel like they are on a magical voyage of exploration. When you are finished, it is just a step away to visit the must-see Observatory, where the magic of New York truly comes to life.
Enjoy the New York Jewish Film Festival from January 11 through January 26. This is an annual event celebrating its 21st year of bringing the most innovative and provocative films which focus on the Jewish experience throughout the world to the people of New York.
The Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center together present these less well known films, which sometimes go on to become quite successful, gaining entry into theaters around the country and broadcasts on television. Ajam was one such movie; a crime thriller shot on the streets of Jaffa in Israel, which was featured in the 2010 New York Jewish Film Festival and went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film.
For more information visit the web site of the Jewish Museum.
Four Hundred Miles to Freedom is just one of the many fascinating films which will be shown at the festival.
Back in 1962 $3.50 was a lot of money; it at least could pay for a ticket to see a performance of Paul Taylor’s “Aureole,” a dance piece set to the music of Handel. You might think that those days are long gone; but no, The Paul Taylor Dance Company announced last Thursday that they are planning on adding one special performance during its three-week season for which the audience will only have to shell out $3.50 for a seat. The great price is in honor of the 50th anniversary of this unique work.
One of a rare breed of choreographers, Paul Taylor is one of the few still alive whose work is considered classic. There is no other dance company in New York whose repertoire is so beloved that a season of performances by the 54-year-old modern dance troupe is considered an annual event not to be missed.
Paul Taylor
The 2012 season opens on March 14th and continues through April 1st, at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. The additional show for which tickets are rolled back to 1962 prices, the year that Aureole was first staged, will take place on March 13th. There will also be a Gala performance, including dinner, dancing on the Promenade and a Dutch Auction, on the evening of March 15th.
This year’s celebration of the Chinese New Year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the founding of modern China. According to one opinion this year marks the 4709th year since the adoption of the Chinese calendar, and beginning on January 23rd, 2012, it is the year of the dragon. (Many hold that since the Chinese calendar is cyclical it is not relevant to give a number to the years that are passing.)
No matter which version of the Chinese calendar you adhere to, there is no question that the Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in the
Year of the Dragon
traditional Chinese calendar, and is celebrated with great joy. The New York Chinese Cultural Center invites everyone to celebrate the coming year of the dragon on January 28th, 2012, from 1pm until 4pm at the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center.
This celebration will be the biggest of its kind on the entire East Coast. To make this day even more special, for the first time in history there will be an indoor family cultural day event on the Chinese New Year for all New Yorkers to share in.
The festival will begin with arts and crafts for children and their parents. For about 90 minutes participants will try their hands at paper cutting, making dough figurines, having their faces painted, and calligraphy workshops. There will be entertainment on stage, with the traditional lion dance, folk dances, Shaolin Kung Fu acrobats, and wonderful music ensembles. All the programs are free to the public.
The Winter Garden, World Financial Center is located at 220 Vesey Street in lower Manhattan’s Battery Park City.
The most famous place to bring in the New Year is without a doubt Times Square. This is where the famous ball descends along its path on a flagpole atop number One Times Square at exactly 11:59pm, taking 60 seconds to make its way to the bottom, when the New Year officially begins on the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Billions of people can watch this event on television or over the internet worldwide, but those who are lucky enough to be in New York for New Year’s Eve will have a real treat this year. Beginning at 4pm the usually bustling Times Square ‘bow-tie’ intersection is closed to traffic, and people begin arriving. The revelers are placed into viewing areas by the police officers, and as one area becomes full, another section begins to fill with revelers.
From 6pm until 6:03pm there is a ceremony to light and raise the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball into place. The organizers of the event, Tim Tompkins and Jeffrey Straus, together with a few representatives of the Philips Lighting Company will flip the huge switch to light the Ball and begin its rise to the top of the pole to the accompaniment of some cool pyrotechnic effects.
The rest of the evening is filled with exciting surprises and entertainment, including the distribution of tens of thousands of hats, balloons, and lip balm in preparation for the famous midnight kiss. As midnight approaches wishes are read from the “confetti wishes” which are thrown up at the arrival of the new year, while there is a constant flow of singers, dancers, speakers and pyrotechnics to make sure the crowd of revelers is having the absolutely best time possible.
At 11pm Lady Gaga will perform, and from 11:53 pm until 11:59 there will be a special performance of the song “Imagine” by an as yet unannounced performer.
At 11:59pm New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will have the honor of pressing the button which brings the New Year’s Eve Ball down the 70 foot pole in its world famous 60 second descent. As it arrive at the bottom, the ball’s lights go dark and the numerals 2012 blaze on, signaling the moment of the beginning of the New Year.
Dara Ettinger is a New York City jewelry designer, and she is cutting her prices for the entire month of December for much of her inventory. For example, rose-gold stone necklaces are $25 instead of the retail $84. Brooklyn Heights at 214 Hicks Street, 718-875-3272; Mon–Sat 11am–7pm, Sun noon–6pm.
Fred Flare pop-up is a great place to hunt for that perfect gift on-line, and get free shipping, too. Or if you prefer go in the flesh to their outlet in the Chelsea Market during the holiday shopping season. Where else can you get a Nice Jewish Guys calendar for $18. 75 Ninth Ave at 16th Street. Thu 15–Sat 17 10:30am–7pm; Sun 18 10:30am–6pm; Mon 19–Fri 23 10:30am–7pm.
Seletti is the place for great household products, and now is the time to get some great deals. How about Pantone chairs for $20 instead of $91; and porcelain dining room tableware in the shape of the Palace Hotel are $30 instead of the retail price of $188; and dressers with three drawers are priced down from $1600 to $400. That’s a lot of savings for some really fantastic products. 18 Bridge St at John St, Dumbo, Brooklyn, 347-499-2871.
In upper Manhattan there is a less well-known branch of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, called The Cloisters. This fascinating building is dedicated to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, and the structure itself is an example of that, as it was assembled from both the domestic and religious elements that date back to the twelfth through fifteenth centuries.
The Cloisters and its surrounding gardens are located in Fort Tryon Park, in the northernmost end of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River on the west. A visit there is like visiting a medieval European monastery, but without the monks. In place of the monks you will find about three thousand artworks dating from as long ago as the ninth century, and no more recent than the sixteenth century.
The Cloisters is easy to get to by bus, car or subway, and from April through October the Trie Café offers light meals and snacks which are served outdoors in the French medieval Trie Cloister. If you visit now until April 22 you will be treated to a unique exhibit of what are most likely the most famous chess pieces in the world, the Lewis Chessmen. These carved ivory chessmen were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of
12th Century Lewis Chessmen
Lewis off the coast of Scotland, and date from the twelfth century. The chessmen rarely leave their home in the British Museum, but for this exhibit over thirty of the chessmen are on display, representing the largest assembly of these unique objects outside of the United Kingdom.
What helped to make these chessmen so famous is that replicas of them were used in the famous “Chess Game” scene in one of the Harry Potter movies, only enlarged to the size of people.
Check out The Cloisters and the Lewis Chessmen; It’s like a visit it Europe of the Middle Ages.
The Carlton was first opened in 1904, immediately before the opening of the New York City subway. Originally called the Seville, it is a wonderful example of the Beaux-Arts style which was all the rage in New York at the time. Harry Allen Jacobs designed and completed the elegant hotel, which helped to turn the area into one of New York’s swankiest destinations.
Recently the hotel has undergone a face-lift of unusual proportions, bringing the Carlton into the 21st century without sacrificing any of the old world class, or its unique, luxurious style. Designer David Rockwell executed the remake, successfully maintaining the historic hotel as one of New York’s grandest.
Come visit and view what the hoteliers believe is the pinnacle of the Carlton’s new look: the two-story modern waterfall flowing in the lobby which reveals a large, vintage black and white photo of the Seville Hotel as it was in 1924.
Laughing Lotus is a yoga center with a twist. Opened in 2000 by partners Dana Flynn and Jasmine Tarkeshi; the Laughing Lotus is dedicated to “inspire devotion, and to celebrate community and spiritual life.”
It all began at a rooftop playground in New York City in the summer of 1999, a year after Dana and Jasmine met and realized their shared love for music, art, dance, transformation and yoga. Soon after Laughing Lotus was born. There are now two centers, one in San Francisco, and the other, right here in New York City.
One class known as Laughing Lotus’ signature experience is the Friday night jam, which was begun back in 2000 and designed for rebels and those who seek the truth. The jam begins at 10pm and continues until midnight, during which time the participants will experience deep fluid asana set to live music or DJ’s. To attain a true spiritual high the music includes phat beats and ancient, traditional mantras.
As the Laughing Lotus says, “All rebels are welcome.”
Located at 59 West 19th Street at Sixth Avenue. Call 212-414-2903 for more information.
Certainly, landmark locations in New York are precious to the history of the State, as they tell a story of times gone by. The current Hotel Belleclaire owned by Shimmie Horn, located at 250 West 11th Street on the Upper West Side is one such landmark.
Originally completed in 1903, this landmark hotel was created as a 10 story, 121,000 square foot building and was designed by Emery Roth. The original design had the building as an apartment hotel which was intended to offer temporary and permanent dwellings. It included a restaurant service, but no kitchens in each individual unit. It was designed in the Art Nouveau-Secessionist style and was designated by the city as a landmark in 1987.
Preserving the one hundred year old traditional of this landmark, hotel operator and owner Shimmie Horn has recently guaranteed the continuation of the hotel for another 40 years. Last month, Shimmie Horn renewed his lease of the property, signing a 40 year renewal with property owner Lophijo Realty. The new lease is good until June of 2051 and offers Shimmie Horn the option to purchase the historic building anytime between 2026 and 2051, should he desire to do so.
Today, the Hotel Belleclaire with Shimmie Horn includes a 242 room hotel that has preserved the look and regal feel of the original location.
