A New “Must-See” New York Site: The 9/11 Memorial

Photo by Anthony Quintano

Photo by Anthony Quintano

The sights and sounds of September 11, 2001 will be forever etched in the hearts and minds of all those old enough to have understood the events of that dreadful and fateful day. On that day 2,983 people lost their lives when terrorists with horrifyingly murderous intent smashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York; the Pentagon in Washington DC; and a thwarted third attack which took the lives of all aboard Flight 93.

In honor of their memory and the loved ones they left behind, a memorial has been established on the site where the Twin Towers once stood. In their place are twin memorial pools with the names of the murdered are stencil-cut into the bronze panels surrounding the reflecting pools. Each pool covers almost an acre in area and are the biggest manmade waterfalls in all of North America.

A few steps away from the actual memorial there is also a museum. Unlike the memorial, which is free to visitors, the museum charges an entrance fee.  The museum tells the story of 9/11 using multi-media displays, archives, narratives and an artifact collection. Guided tours are available, and films, lectures and other special events take place at the museum.

If you can visit the museum, it is highly recommended. But if you can’t, there are still many ways to take the event and create something positive. During this holiday season those at the 9/11 Memorial are asking people to become part of their #2983 Campaign. The goal is to have the community at large help to complete at least 2,983 acts of compassion, gratitude and service as a tribute to each one of those lost in the attacks. If you would like to become part of this worthwhile undertaking, visit the 9/11 Memorial website.

New York with Teens Can be a Blast

Teenagers are a special challenge to please on a trip. They are not quite adults and might not find much fun the things their parents find enjoyable. And they are certainly not children, either. At some point in their growing up, they just can no longer tolerate activities that appeal to young children, even though parents are willing to sit through a lot of silly or boring activities for the sake of their toddlers, young children or pre-teens. So what to do?

Luckily, if you have decided to spend your precious vacation time in New York, it won’t be hard to keep your teens entertained, and even happy.

Here are some categories of teens and the activities that will catch their attention:

Sports and Fitness

•    Bike riding at either Bike and Roll and Bike the Big Apple. These outlets rent bikes and provide guided tours through some of the highlights of NYC, such as Central Park, across the Brooklyn Bridge, along the mighty Hudson River, or all over town.
•    How about learning to “fly through the air with the greatest of ease” for something different? Trapeze School New York offers single-class sessions for as young as six-years-old, so any younger brothers and sisters can also join in the fun.
•    Skating fans will love Pier 62 which features a carousel and a California-style concrete skate park.

Tours and Food

Have a couch potato among your number? Try:

•    On Location Tours brings people to sites around the Big Apple which have featured in famous TV shows and movies. If you have a dedicated TV viewer or movie goer in the family, this is sure to thrill.
•    In New York watching television taping is practically a way of life. Before you go make sure your teens meet the age minimum for the show. Saturday Night Live is one of those restricted shows, so be sure to check first.
•    Have a foodie in the family? Go on a culinary adventure such as Scott’s Pizza Tours or A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours. These tours aim to please the teenage palate. And of course their adult care takers that also love fun food.

As you can see, there is no reason to hesitate taking your teen along on an amazing adventure in New York.

Take the Kids to the New York Hall of Science

Since 1964, when it was built as part of the New York World’s Fair, the New York Hall of Science has been enthralling adults and children. When it was first opened it was one of the very few science museums anywhere in the world. After going through a period of severe deterioration and then renovation, it reopened in 1986 to unexpected crowds of visitors, inspiring even more expansion of the facility.

NY Hall of Science

In 2004 the museum’s north wing was opened. This wing is called the “Hall of Light” and differs significantly in design from the rest of the museum. Because of the semi-transparent fiberglass insulating panel system on the slanted roof and walls of the upper floor, sunlight is able to enter, eliminating the need for artificial lighting during daylight hours. This special design has resulted in a LEED certification for the building.

The fifth annual World Maker Faire is coming to the NY Hall of Science on September 20-21. The Faire will host over 700 ‘makers’ exhibiting such amazing examples of modern technology and scientific achievements as personal drones, wearables, 3D printing, humanoid robots, and much, much more.

The Faire will be housed in the northwest corner of Corona Park in Queens. Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the Faire. The museum is certainly worth a visit any time of year. Hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5:45pm. Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 4:45pm. Adults are $11 and children ages 2-17 cost $8. There is free admission in the winter/spring months from September to June on Fridays from 2-5pm and Sundays from 10-11am.

Red Bamboo Replaces Meat with Joy

This vegan restaurant will surprise and please even the most lustful meat eaters, as long as they have an open mind. The broad menu offers first courses, specials, pastas and burgers, salads, sandwiches and more. For instance, try the mouth-watering Soul ‘Chicken’ which is delicately breaded with panko, and seasoned with rosemary. This is a restaurant which will prove that there is much more to eating than “meat and potatoes.”

Red Bamboo between McDougal and 6th Avenue in the West Village

Located at 140 West 4th Street, the atmosphere is warm, cozy and even “homey.” You might even feel like you are eating at mom’s. Lunch is served, and you can easily take a date that is willing to experience something different for a change. Come in time for happy hour. Red Bamboo’s hours are: Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 11:30pm and Monday through Friday from 12:30pm to 11:30pm.

Take a Big Bite from the Big Apple!

Here is a brief description of some of the more interesting evening entertainment venues around town. It’s the Big Apple, so take a bite!

• Combine cruising with jazzing during this unique evening getaway. Sail down the East River while swinging to the cool sounds Duke Ellington himself would admire. See the spectacular skyline from a unique perspective aboard a private boat, get happy with a few drinks purchased at the bar and just simply relax.  Right now there are three trips you can join: Wednesdays on July 16, August 6 and October 8; from 7:00pm – 10pm. $85.
  
• Have you yet been to the most respected, and longest running open-mic event in the world? Well then quickly make your way to Open-Mic with Ron Grant, and maybe you’ll get to see the next Jamie Foxx, Prince or Mariah Carey shoot to stardom right from the stage. Every Sunday at 9:15pm. $15.
• Try out an improvisation show with just a touch of love. The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre- East go into the audience and find out about someone’s love life. Then UCB spins their stories into a hilarious but heartwarming skit guaranteed to bring tears of laughter to your eyes. Saturdays, July 12, 19 and 26 at 10pm. $10.

Take Part in the Audience of Your Favorite TV Shows

Here’s something to do that’s a little bit different, lots of fun, and best of all: Free! Join a studio audience and watch one of your favorite shows either live of being taped. New York City is a mecca for television these days, and you can choose from a great selection of popular and quite enjoyable venues.

Since there is generally a long wait on line for tickets at the last minute, its best to write in for your tickets ahead of time; the more time the better.

Bethenny

Bethenny Frankel

This syndicated daytime talk show features Bethenny Frankel. You may know her already from “Skinnygirl” and “Real Housewives of New York City.” What you will hear when you are there: discussions about pop culture, beauty, fitness, relationships and a lot more. To attend a taping you must be at least 18 years old, although if you are 16 you can come, but with someone else who is at least 18. Contact: tickets@bethennytv.com or bethenny.com to get your tickets.
Location: 528 W. 57th St. (bet. Tenth and Eleventh Aves.)
Schedule: Visit the show's official website for schedule details.

 

The Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert has hosted his own satirical news show since 2005 under the auspices of Comedy Central. He arrived from the wildly successful “The Daily Show” and has kept his audiences in stitches of laughter ever since. Although the scheduled taping session are booked far in advance, you can ask for tickets and keep checking back on-line using the show’s ticket-reservation system. If you don’t mind taking a chance not getting in, you can sign up for standby tickets at the studio starting at 4pm the same day as the taping.
Location: 513 W. 54th St. (bet. Tenth and Eleventh Aves.)
Schedule: The Colbert Report tapes Monday through Thursday.

Hungry? Go Eataly

At Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street you will encounter a feast for the discriminating palate, especially if said palette has a bit of a yearning for great Italian cuisine. Imagine what you might get if you mixed an Italian food court with a gourmet market- if you can do that you can imagine Eataly.

Eataly:delizioso!

Created by the well-known chef Mario Batali, make sure you are good and hungry when you arrive at this enormous restaurant. Upstairs on the roof’s birrerria not only will you find scrumptious Italian specialties, but also on hand is hearty Austrian and German food, served up with some fabulous beer.

Downstairs in La Piazza you will find exquisitely prepared sandwiches made with only the best ingredients, to be washed down with a wonderful glass of wine. On the lower-level there is also a full-service pizzeria and pasta restaurant; a raw bar and fish restaurant and beers on tap.

Located at 200 5th Avenue at 23rd Street in New York’s Flatiron district. Call for more information: 646.398.5100

Free New York!

Its almost time for spring break. Wouldn’t it be nice to take the kids out without breaking the bank or breaking your head thinking of where to go? Here are some ideas that you and your kids are sure to love.

Brooklyn Children's Museum

• The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is free every third Thursday of the month from 4.7pm, and the first full weekend of every month from 2-5pm.

• The Queens Botanical Garden is free Wednesdays from 3-6pm and Sundays from 4-6pm. Now until October 31.

• At the Museum of Modern Art the Theater has free film tickets on Fridays from 4-8pm. Children under 16 are always free.

• The Bank Street Bookstore, Books of Wonder, Greenlight Books and others have story times on their premises at different hours and on different days. It pays to find out when and where by contacting each bookstore.

New York definitely does not have to cost an arm and a leg to enjoy the special culture available in this spell-binding, child-friendly, city.

The World’s the Stage and You are Its Players…

If you have never heard of Accomplice, then you are in for a happy surprise. Accomplice combines street theater with a scavenger hunt, mystery, touring, barring and more in a way that the New York Times says is “Like being in the Michael Douglas movie ‘The Game.’”

Entering its ninth season at the end of the month, Accomplice has two versions in lower Manhattan. The longer, 2 ½ hour show is called Accomplice: New York; and the 1 ½ hour show, and less expensive, is called Accomplice: The Village. Both tours combine the best elements of scavenger hunts, interactive theater, and walking tours.

Accomplice takes a maximum of ten people on a journey through the streets of New York with the goal of solving a mystery using clues they find along the way. During the trek through some of the less traveled paths of the city participants will come in contact with mysterious cast members who will help them decipher the secret to the carefully crafted plot that slowly unfolds.

Accomplice promises to give participants an experience of New York they have never had before. For more information call: 347-559-6223

Seeing Ghosts: New York City Walking Tours

NYC is Haunted!

Ghosts of New York, part of the nationwide group Ghost Walks USA, offer walking tours of New York with a ghoulish twist.

Licensed guides take clients through what many people believe is the “most haunted city in America;” on the lookout for not only ghosts but ghostly experiences stranger than reality, mysterious sightings, scandalous and legendary stories, and much more.

Tours take about 90 minutes and cover less than a mile, walking at a leisurely pace so that the full impact of the haunted locales can be savored. Choices of tours abound, including:

• Peter Stuyvesant and his ghostly friends of the East Village
• From Ghost Busters to John Lennon: The Ghosts of the Upper West Side
• Ghosts of Brooklyn Heights

And many more.

Ghosts of New York promises to “enchant, entertain, inform, and scare” its clients. For more information contact “Ghosts of New York.”

Murray’s Cheese Class: Bite a Bit of New York

If it has anything at all to do with cheese, you will find it at Murray’s. With locations in Greenwich Village, Grand Central Terminal, and partner locations in many other states throughout the US, Murray’s knows just about all there is to know about cheese. But what is even better, they are willing to share much of what they know with the public.

Cheese at Murray's is a thing of beauty!

Murray’s takes pride in the many educational events they offer, which are not only informative, but amazingly fun. There are many different class offerings to choose from: The Cheese Course guides curious students through the tasting of half a dozen a point cheeses; City Winery offers instruction on the marriage of Murray’s exclusive cheeses with the perfect wines which are selected by the grape experts at City Winery are keen on sharing their knowledge with eager students; those really ready to tackle the secrets and intricacies of the cheese challenge can sign up for a three day intensive weekend of Murray’s Boot Camp. There are also private classes which can be customized to fit a group’s particular needs.

Not so sure you are ready for a cheese class yet? Well, Murray’s also offers a cheese club which delivers to your door a new, delicious cheese once a month. Club members receive a newsletter which includes tasting notes, cheese profiles, histories and other suggestions.