All articles by Aaron Ginsburg

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s new ice skating rink is now open

All images courtesy of @glidebk

November 17, 2023

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s new ice skating rink is now open

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Strap on your skates! Brooklyn Bridge Park's first-ever ice skating rink is now open. Located under the Brooklyn Bridge at Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, the rink, called Glide at Brooklyn Bridge Park, offers skating for guests of all ages, rinkside food and beverages from the nearby Time Out Market, and spectacular Manhattan skyline views. The rink is open through March 1, 2024.
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SOM completes $100M restoration of Midtown’s Lever House

All photos courtesy of Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

November 17, 2023

SOM completes $100M restoration of Midtown’s Lever House

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The $100 million restoration of Park Avenue's famous Lever House tower by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the iconic building's original architects, has been completed. The project revitalized the tower for the 21st century while preserving the distinct architectural aesthetic the building has expressed since it was first completed in 1952. Lever House features a reimagined lobby, ground-level public plaza, modernized building systems, and a new indoor and outdoor hospitality suite called the Lever Club.
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NYC completes restoration of national medallions along Avenue of the Americas

Photos courtesy of the NYC Department of Transportation on Flickr

November 16, 2023

NYC completes restoration of national medallions along Avenue of the Americas

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The city's Department of Transportation completed the full restoration of the national medallions found along the Avenue of the Americas. The medallions, which were originally installed in 1959, had fallen into disrepair, with only 18 of the original medallions remaining in early 2023. The medallions depict the emblems of 43 nations and territories across the Western Hemisphere and are now on display atop lampposts along Sixth Avenue between Canal and 59th Streets.
learn more here
Eataly opening new store in Soho

All photos courtesy of Eataly

November 16, 2023

Eataly opening new store in Soho

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Eataly's third New York City outpost will open in Soho next week. Located in a landmarked building at 200 Lafayette Street, the store will offer Eataly's world-renowned authentic Italian goods, a specialty market with curated Italian and local delicacies, a restaurant, and an all-day cafe. Eataly Soho will open its doors on Saturday, November 25 at 12 p.m.
take a look
NYC’s first 100% affordable housing development with new public library opens in Sunset Park

All photos courtesy of Brooklyn Public Library

November 16, 2023

NYC’s first 100% affordable housing development with new public library opens in Sunset Park

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The Brooklyn Public Library and Fifth Avenue Committee on Wednesday opened the Sunset Park Library and Apartments, a first-of-its-kind development with 100 percent affordable housing above a new state-of-the-art public library branch. The eight-story mixed-use building at 372 51st Street brings new affordable housing homes to Sunset Park for the first time in two decades. Officials say the project could establish a new model for co-located affordable housing developments in the city.
get more details
Fifth Avenue to transform into car-free holiday wonderland

Photo by Josh Wilburne on Unsplash

November 15, 2023

Fifth Avenue to transform into car-free holiday wonderland

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Attention revelers: the streets of Midtown will soon be filled with fun, pedestrian-friendly cheer. As part of a special holiday open street, Fifth Avenue will close to cars and transform into a winter wonderland on three Sundays in December. The Fifth Avenue Association on Tuesday revealed the "Gift of Fifth" campaign that will turn the historic corridor from 49th Street to 59th Street into a holiday destination, with jolly decor, festive food and beverages, photo-ops, store giveaways, and more.
DETAILS HERE
NYC launches first-ever Hart Island public walking tours

Image courtesy of David Trawin on Flickr

November 15, 2023

NYC launches first-ever Hart Island public walking tours

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Hart Island, the nation's largest public cemetery, will open to the public for the first time this month. The city's Parks Department on Wednesday announced that free walking tours of the Bronx island will be offered twice per month starting November 21. Hart Island, which has served as the final resting place of more than one million people since the Civil War, has long been inaccessible to visitors, with extremely stringent security and once-a-month visitation days. Now, with NYC Parks managing the site, the public can get an up-close look at the island's history, helping undo historical stigmas. The tours will last roughly 2.5 hours, with ferry transportation provided to and from the island.
learn more about the walking tours
First look at Olympia Dumbo amenities, including NYC’s highest private tennis court

All photos courtesy of Pavel Bendov for Olympia DUMBO

November 14, 2023

First look at Olympia Dumbo amenities, including NYC’s highest private tennis court

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The impressive amenities at Dumbo's latest luxury tower are now complete and new photos provide a first look at the stunning spaces. Olympia Dumbo, the neighborhood's tallest and most expensive residential building, offers 38,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities spread across three floors, including New York City's highest private outdoor tennis court, indoor and outdoor pools, and a playroom, shipwreck-themed playground, and waterpark for kids.
take a look
Museum of Natural History explores the ‘secret world’ of elephants in new exhibit

The exhibition features a life-size model of an African elephant—the largest living land animal. All photos courtesy of Alvaro Keding / © AMNH

November 13, 2023

Museum of Natural History explores the ‘secret world’ of elephants in new exhibit

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A new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History dives into the astounding 60-million-year history of elephants. Now open, the exhibit, known as "The Secret World of Elephants," explores new science about modern and ancient elephant relatives, delves into the species' extraordinary minds and senses, explains their vital importance to the health of their ecosystems, and shares efforts that are currently underway to ensure their survival. The exhibition is located on the fourth floor of the museum in the LeFrak Family Gallery.
details this way
New images and details unveiled for 420-foot-tall Upper East Side condo

All renderings courtesy of Elad Group

November 13, 2023

New images and details unveiled for 420-foot-tall Upper East Side condo

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New images and details for a high-rise condominium on the Upper East Side were released last week. Developed by Elad Group, the 32-story building at 201 East 74th Street, going by The 74, will be home to 42 two- to five-bedroom apartments. Not only making a statement in the neighborhood for its height, the tower also stands out for its design, which includes squeezing in next to, and cantilevering over, a 110-year-old walk-up apartment building.
see it here
A festive roller rink is opening inside the Oculus

All photos courtesy of the Oculus

November 10, 2023

A festive roller rink is opening inside the Oculus

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A roller rink is opening inside the World Trade Center's Oculus this month. "Winter Whirl" invites skaters of all ages to skate inside the Lower Manhattan shopping mall and underneath the architecturally stunning skylight designed by Santiago Calatrava. The rink will open for the season on Friday, November 24, and operate through late January.
go for a winter whirl
What to know about NYC’s 2023 Veterans Day Parade

Photo by Sgt. Randall A. Clinton for MarineCorps New York on Flickr

November 10, 2023

What to know about NYC’s 2023 Veterans Day Parade

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The country's largest Veterans Day commemoration takes place in New York City this Saturday. On November 11, the 104th annual Veterans Day Parade kicks off with 20,000 marchers and 150+ vehicles traveling up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in honor of the military. This year's parade starts at 9:30 a.m. from 26th Street and Fifth Avenue and moves north until ending at 47th Street. The Army is this year’s featured service.
learn more about this year's parade
517-unit luxury development tops out along Gowanus Canal

Renderings courtesy of PMG

November 10, 2023

517-unit luxury development tops out along Gowanus Canal

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A huge mixed-use development with over 500 apartments has topped out along the Gowanus Canal. The two-tower, 21-story project at 267 Bond Street and 510 Sackett Street measures over 600,000 square feet and includes 57,300 square feet of retail space and a new park and esplanade along the famously polluted waterfront. Developed by PMG and Carlyle, the development is part of the 2021 Gowanus rezoning effort, which will bring thousands of new homes to the Brooklyn neighborhood. The development, dubbed Society Brooklyn and Sackett Place, has a completion date of 2025.
more about luxury canal living
See gingerbread recreations of iconic NYC landmarks

The American Museum of Natural History by Loretta Bricchi Lee. All photos by Brad Farwell for MCNY

November 9, 2023

See gingerbread recreations of iconic NYC landmarks

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These gingerbread creations take the holiday cookie tradition to the next level. The Museum of the City of New York is hosting its second annual gingerbread competition, Gingerbread NYC: The Great Borough Bake-Off, featuring the work of professional and independent bakers tasked with creating festive displays depicting New York City icons in neighborhoods across the five boroughs. The installation will be on view at the museum from November 10 through January 15 and visitors are invited to vote for their favorites.
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Empire State Building receives ‘Elf’ takeover for movie’s 20th anniversary

All photos by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust unless noted otherwise

November 9, 2023

Empire State Building receives ‘Elf’ takeover for movie’s 20th anniversary

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The Empire State Building is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the holiday classic "Elf" with new festive decorations and screenings of the movie in the skyscraper's 80th-floor observatory. Visitors will be able to snap photos with a life-sized cutout of Buddy the Elf, view ground-floor window displays featuring Elf-themed merchandise for purchase, and more.
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Barbara Walters’ $17.75M Upper East Side apartment finds buyer

All photos courtesy of Donna Dotan unless noted otherwise

November 8, 2023

Barbara Walters’ $17.75M Upper East Side apartment finds buyer

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Barbara Walters' longtime Upper East Side apartment, last listed for $17.75 million, has found a buyer, less than a year after the beloved journalist's passing. Located at 944 Fifth Avenue, the home received a $2 million price cut from its initial asking price of $19.75 million in April. Walters lived in the five-bedroom, five-bathroom pre-war apartment for 30 years until her death last December at the age of 93.
see the late journalist's stunning home
Coney Island rental a block from the beach opens lottery for 299 units, from $410/month

Renderings courtesy of BFC Partners

November 8, 2023

Coney Island rental a block from the beach opens lottery for 299 units, from $410/month

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Applications are being accepted for 299 mixed-income units at a new 100 percent affordable development one block from the beach in Coney Island. The 10-story mixed-use building at 1607 Surf Avenue is the second phase of a development project from BFC Partners that includes 1,000 new affordable homes. New Yorkers earning 30, 50, 70, and 120 percent of the area median income, or between $17,006 for a single person and $210,120 for a household of seven, can apply for the apartments, priced from $410/month studios to $2,656/month three bedrooms.
see if you qualify
25 places to order takeout Thanksgiving dinner in NYC

Photo courtesy of BLACKBARN

November 8, 2023

25 places to order takeout Thanksgiving dinner in NYC

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While Thanksgiving is meant to be a cheerful time full of expressing love for those closest to you, some who host the big dinner dread the hours of preparation that come along with it. Luckily, many New York City restaurants offer Thanksgiving meals for takeout or delivery, allowing New Yorkers to spend more time with friends and family instead of toiling away in the kitchen. Here are a few of the best Turkey Day meal packages, from a traditional Thanksgiving feast from Carmine's and Citarella to smoky twists on turkey at barbecue joints Hill Country, Virgil's, and Blue Smoke.
OUR PICKS HERE
Have a Thanksgiving-inspired stay at Martha Stewart’s upstate NY farmhouse

All images courtesy of Booking.com

November 7, 2023

Have a Thanksgiving-inspired stay at Martha Stewart’s upstate NY farmhouse

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Booking.com is offering fans of Martha Stewart a unique opportunity to experience a Thanksgiving-inspired stay at her scenic farmhouse in upstate New York, complete with appearances by the "Queen of Thanksgiving" herself. A pair of lucky fans will stay in the Tenant House on the farm in Bedford, located about 90 minutes from Manhattan, tour the property, receive signed copies of Martha's cookbooks, and even eat brunch with the lifestyle legend/entrepreneur. Booking for the November 18-19 stay, priced at $11.23 in honor of Thanksgiving, opens on November 16 at noon on a first-come first-served basis.
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Vintage NYC subway rides are back every Saturday during the holidays

Photo: MTA New York City Transit / Marc Hermann on Flickr

November 6, 2023

Vintage NYC subway rides are back every Saturday during the holidays

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The New York Transit Museum's Holiday Nostalgia Rides are back this season. Every Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Yorkers can embark on old-school NYC subway trains in Manhattan from 2nd Avenue on the uptown F line platform and 145th on the downtown D line platform. The Holiday Nostalgia rides include eight cars used in the 1930s.
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Second Avenue Subway extension to East Harlem gets funding boost from Biden administration

Image courtesy of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

November 6, 2023

Second Avenue Subway extension to East Harlem gets funding boost from Biden administration

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The plan to extend the Q train to East Harlem received a funding boost this weekend. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Saturday announced a $3.4 billion federal grant for the Second Avenue Subway extension, covering nearly half of the project's estimated total cost of $7.7 billion. The plan will extend the Q by 1.8 miles and connect its current endpoint at 96th Street on the Upper East Side to 125th Street in Harlem, with fully accessible stations between them at 106th and 116th Streets.
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Construction officially begins on Hudson River tunnel project

Photo courtesy of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office on Flickr

November 3, 2023

Construction officially begins on Hudson River tunnel project

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Work to replace a decaying rail tunnel under the Hudson River is moving ahead after receiving $3.8 billion in federal funding. Gov. Kathy Hochul, United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other officials on Friday announced the start of the first phase of the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, part of the Gateway Program. This early phase of the project will create concrete casings for trains to travel under the Hudson River and through to Pennsylvania Station and will raise a section of road in New Jersey that will feed into the mouth of the new tunnel.
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Morris Adjmi’s 100-unit Soho project approved by LPC, the first under rezoning

Rendering courtesy of Morris Adjmi Architects

November 2, 2023

Morris Adjmi’s 100-unit Soho project approved by LPC, the first under rezoning

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The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved plans for a 13-story mixed-use building with 100 housing units at 277 Canal Street, a landmarked three-story building atop the Canal Street subway station. Developed by United American Land (UAL) and designed by Morris Adjmi, the project is the first development to be approved for the historic district following the Soho/Noho rezoning that passed in 2021.
Details here
All-electric 30-story tower with 324 apartments and academic space breaks ground in Downtown Brooklyn

Rendering courtesy of RXR

November 2, 2023

All-electric 30-story tower with 324 apartments and academic space breaks ground in Downtown Brooklyn

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Construction has begun on an all-electric residential building in Downtown Brooklyn that includes 324 apartments and academic space for Long Island University. RXR on Monday broke ground on the 30-story tower at 89 Dekalb Avenue, which is set to be one of the developer's most sustainable projects as the building is fully electric, features a smart glass facade system, and has electric vehicle charging stations.
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6-acre light installation at proposed Midtown East casino site to open in December

All renderings courtesy of the Soloviev Foundation

November 2, 2023

6-acre light installation at proposed Midtown East casino site to open in December

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A sprawling light installation coming to the site of a proposed casino in Midtown East is opening next month. Designed by Bruce Munro, Field of Light at Freedom Plaza includes 17,000 low-light, fiber-optic stemmed spheres that change hues and create a dreamlike landscape across six acres near the United Nations headquarters. Free tickets are now available to book to visit the installation, which officially debuts December 15. The display is financed by the Soloviev Group, which owns the vacant land and is looking to build a mixed-use development called Freedom Plaza, anchored by a casino.
learn more about the installation
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