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.

Last spring, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation issued a request for proposals (RFP), seeking out partners interested in constructing and operating a seasonal ice-skating rink in Emily Warren Roebling Plaza.

Under the RFP guidelines, Glide BK will be responsible for assembling and operating the temporary rink from November through mid-March and disassembling it. The management group is responsible for ticketing, maintenance, renting skate equipment, and programming, according to Brooklyn Bridge Park’s website.

Tickets start at $15 for adults and $10 for children during off-peak hours. The rink offers special pricing for groups and can be rented for large events. Additionally, a limited amount of discounted tickets (starting at $9) will be available daily for NYC residents with proof of residency.

More information on Glide BK can be found here.

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• An ice skating rink is opening under the Brooklyn Bridge
• 14 ice skating rinks in NYC to visit this winter
• With the opening of Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, original plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park is complete

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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.

“This renovation brings Lever House into the 21st century,” Chris Cooper, a design partner at SOM, said. “With completely updated plaza and outdoor spaces, a fully restored lobby, and brand new mechanical systems throughout the building that improve its energy efficiency, we’ve modernized this midcentury icon to its original splendor, to make it, once again, Park Avenue’s premier boutique office building.”

SOM thoughtfully restored the building’s public and private spaces and installed key infrastructure upgrades, including a new energy-efficient dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) to improve Lever House’s energy performance. The architects worked closely with Integrated Conservation Resources to create a space that rejuvenates the landmarked building’s original appearance from 1952.

The lobby’s original terrazzo flooring has been restored, and a glass mosaic tile wall located in the elevator vestibule has been cleaned and repaired. The vestibule also features a new diffused lighting system that improves brightness while also being more energy-efficient.

SOM even located the original stone quarry for the building, using the stone to extend the original finishes past the lobby to the interiors of the elevator cabs and the new tenant’s cellar entrance. Marmol Radziner has furnished the lobby and tapped Ellsworth Kelly who has provided sculptures that are located throughout the entry space and into the ground floor plaza.

The property’s plaza has been replaced with durable cast-in-place concrete that matches the design of Lever House’s original exterior paving. One of the ceilings that experienced water damage has been replaced with a new, high-quality plaster, and the original stainless steel-clad columns that line the site have been refinished.

In addition, SOM collaborated with TM Light to replace the original lighting and illuminate the space with energy-efficient, long-lasting LED lights.

Landscape architecture firm Reed Hildebrand designed a new landscape program across the property, spanning from the plaza’s lobby-level planters to the third-floor terrace. Lever House’s landscaping has changed frequently over the decades and is now more unified under a birch tree canopy and a lush distribution of native plantings throughout.

The new hospitality suite, the Lever Club, takes up the entire third floor and has 15,000 square feet of outdoor terrace space. The club will feature a central bar area with lounge and cafe seating surrounding it, as well as a dining room and conference rooms for private events. Tenants will be able to enjoy meals and snacks on the go during workday hours.

Seen as a pioneering feat of architecture upon its completion in 1952, Lever House was one of the first buildings in the United States to feature a glass curtain wall facade. Its design served as a benchmark for modern skyscraper construction in the decades that followed.

The structure’s facade and slim tower allow for sunlight to reach all of its floors, and its podium sits atop stainless steel columns, allowing for expansive public space on ground level. Lever House is one of only 50 buildings in the world to receive a Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Lever House was one of the first, and most recent, modern buildings to be designated a New York City Landmark in 1982. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) decided to add the building to its register due to concerns that it could potentially be replaced with a larger skyscraper, according to The Architect’s Newspaper. The LPC approved the most recent renovation project in July 2021.

The building underwent its first major renovation in 2001 when its glass facade was restored.

RELATED:

• Lever Club will bring a new dining and lounge option to Lever House tenants after renovation
• $100M restoration of Midtown’s iconic Lever House skyscraper has begun

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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.

“With the installation of these medallions along the Sixth Avenue corridor, we honor and celebrate the immigrant story that is New York City,” Ydanis Rodriguez, commissioner of the DOT, said. “The combined contributions of immigrants from these lands to New York have made New York such a diverse and attractive city for its culture, for its food, for its neighborhood, and for its inclusivity.”

At the end of World War II in 1945, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia renamed Sixth Avenue the Avenue of the Americas in honor of Pan-American unity. During Mayor Robert Wagner’s administration roughly a decade later, the nearly 300 original medallions were installed, celebrating a unified hemisphere after the end of the war.

However, the medallions were neglected, and after a few decades, they began falling apart. The original medallions were made of materials like porcelain enamel that were not easily accessible, and so without maintenance, they began to corrode and rust. Gradually, the medallions were removed for safety concerns due to their deterioration.

The new medallions were designed, fabricated, and tested by DOT’s team of in-house engineers. Instead of porcelain, the new circular medallions are constructed out of light, weather-resistant aluminum.

Measuring roughly three feet in diameter, the new medallions are closer in size to highway signs than DOT’s standard street sign materials and have been installed with sturdier brackets which will ensure their durability and make it easier to maintain them. They will also be easier to move out of the way for events like the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The signs were produced at the transportation department’s sign shop in Maspeth, Queens, and then transported to Manhattan. Before creating each emblem, the DOT worked with the Mayor’s Offices of Immigrant Affairs and International Affairs, the Public Design Commission, consulates general, and other key stakeholders to make sure each of the nation’s emblems is authentic, according to the agency.

“New York City is the most diverse city in the world, and that diversity makes us the greatest city in the world,” Mayor Eric Adams said.

“We’re all from somewhere — and the iconic national medallions on the Avenue of the Americas celebrate the tremendous contributions of our immigrant communities across this city. 

In January, DOT unveiled nine of the restored medallions on the Avenue of the Americas, representing the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Argentina, St. Lucia, and Uruguay.

RELATED:

• NYC unveils first restored national medallions along Manhattan’s Avenue of the Americas
• NYC holiday open streets return to Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center
• 40 blocks of Manhattan’s Third Avenue to be transformed with bike and bus lanes

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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.

The new store will span roughly 20,000 square feet, encompassing a restaurant, cafe, and marketplace. The restaurant will serve as Eataly Soho’s anchoring experience, offering a vast menu featuring signature dishes including handmade fresh pasta, pizza, seafood, and meat dishes.

Menu highlights include the “Tajarin al Tartufo Bianco,” a handmade pasta dish served tableside with shaved white truffle, a wide selection of made-to-order pizzas, and premium meats like the new “Fornello Pugliese,” a Pugliese-style skewer served with sides. The restaurant’s wine menu will also feature more than 300 Italian bottles in addition to a dense selection of cocktails and mocktails.

The marketplace sells thousands of imported Italian and local products, as well as fresh house-made ingredients. Customers can browse more than 200 varieties of salumi e formaggi (cured meats), 100 extra virgin olive oils, aged balsamic vinegar, 200 shapes of both fresh and artisanal pasta, sweets, meat cuts and seafood, and seasonal produce.

Opening just in time for the holiday season, Eataly Soho will carry a large selection of panettoni and pandori, including the new Eataly Panettone, and an extensive selection of gift boxes.

The cafe, the store’s all-day coffee bar experience, will serve premium espresso and cappuccino, pizza alla pala, and a selection of sweet and savory bites. Pastries are made by Eataly’s in-house pastry chefs daily, which include chocolate and vegan croissants, and an assortment of cakes and tarts. At the end of the day, the cafe will serve wine glasses and cocktails.

“We are very proud to expand our presence in New York City with a third store and to open in such an incredible and iconic neighborhood as Soho. North America is the focus for expansion over the next five years, and we are actively pursuing several initiatives throughout the territory, from increasing the floor space of our flagship store in the Flatiron district to actively seeking new locations in Manhattan and throughout the United States and Canada,” Tommaso Brusò, CEO of Eataly North America, said.

“Eataly embodies in its DNA the authentic Italian culinary culture and lifestyle and our goal is to continue building our love story with the North America community, especially with this opening in a magical city that has welcomed us from the beginning.”

Eataly Soho made its United States debut in 2010 when it opened its flagship store in the Flatiron District, followed by a second New York City store near the World Trade Center in 2016.

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• Eataly Flatiron unveils rooftop restaurant inspired by the Italian countryside
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• Eataly looks to buy or lease part of shuttered Barneys flagship

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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.

Designed by Mitchell Giurgola Architects, the building’s new library occupies the first two and a half levels of the building. The expanded branch spans over 20,000 square feet, roughly twice the size of the old Sunset Park branch. The new library features bright lighting, and an open, flexible layout with modern technological systems including an HVAC system.

The library, considered the BPL’s busiest branch, now features the largest dedicated space for teens of any library in the borough, a new recording studio, and a community program room that can be rented for community events during and outside of regular library hours.

“Sunset Park has always been one of our busiest libraries, and we’re thrilled to welcome the neighborhood back to a new space built on a foundation not only of concrete, but of community input, engagement and passion,” Linda Johnson, President and CEO of BPL, said.

“In addition to providing a large, inviting and functional library for visitors to enjoy our programs and collections, the building also provides urgently needed 100 percent affordable housing in Sunset Park — the first collaboration of its kind in the city. We are profoundly grateful to Fifth Avenue Committee for their invaluable partnership, to the State and City of New York, and to our elected officials and other key partners who helped make this project a reality.” 

Library patrons are welcomed by two large-scale murals created by Tatiana Arocha, featuring captivating scenes of nature that are as diverse and vibrant as Sunset Park itself. On display in the library’s vestibule is destellos naranjas en la copa de los árboles (glimpses of orange between the treetops), a portrait of an urban forest that depicts plants native to Brooklyn and animals from distant lands.

Arocha’s second artwork, Antes del amanecer (Before Dawn), is installed on the blue wall of the main reading room and features a large, mystical tree with two owls.

The affordable housing component is located on floors two through eight of the building; there are 49 permanently affordable units across about 50,000 square feet. The residences are a mix of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedrooms.

Apartments are reserved for low- and moderate-income residents earning between 30 percent and 80 percent of the area median income. There are additional apartments for Section 8 recipients and formerly homeless households.

A second-floor roof deck with roughly 2,000 square feet of outdoor space will host library programming and also be used for recreation. The laundry room is located adjacent to the roof deck and provides natural lighting and easy access to the outdoor space. The building also features energy-efficient kitchen appliances, high-end finishes, bicycle storage, high-speed internet, an on-site superintendent, Wi-Fi in common areas, and views of Lower Manhattan and the New York Harbor.

The project is the result of a unique collaboration between the library, FAC, New York State Homes and Community Renewal, and the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The development of the library cost $17 million, approximately half of what it would cost to build a similarly-sized standalone library on its own. Funding was sourced from an NYSED State Grant, capital funds from BPL, and revenue from the sale of BPL’s Brooklyn Heights Library.

The Brooklyn Heights Library opened on the ground floor of the luxury condo One Clinton last year, becoming the second-largest library in the system.

“The opening of the new Sunset Park library has been long awaited by many in our community,” Council Member Alexa Avilés, who represents the neighborhood, said. “Libraries provide some of the most key bedrock services that city government has to offer and I’m grateful to BPL and Fifth Avenue Committee for their hard work. Coupling construction with some of the only truly affordable housing created in Sunset Park for many years has meant delivering on spaces our community both deserves and needs.”

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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.

Last week, Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to fully pedestrianize Fifth Avenue from 48th and 59th Streets, expanding the open street by three blocks to reach Central Park. Additionally, select streets around Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall will be closed to cars every day throughout the holiday season, ensuring that the hundreds of thousands of people visiting the festive area have a safe experience.

The Fifth Avenue Open Street will run on December 3, 10, and 17 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will be 11 blocks of curated programming, 19 food and beverage partners, eight performance areas, 15 participating retail brands, and about 500,000 visitors.

“Fifth Avenue is always iconic, but during this holiday season everything will be even more exceptional and beautiful,” Marie Boster, president of FAA, said. “The Gift of Fifth gives all New Yorkers and visitors more beauty, more music, more creative seasonal food, and for the first three Sundays in December, more space beyond the sidewalks to take it all in. We are grateful to our partners for sharing in our vision to transform our streetscape into a winter wonderland for everyone.”

Kicking things off on November 20, the upper portion of Fifth Avenue will become a winter wonderland. The corridor will feature all-new sidewalk decor, including an installation of 150 live Fraser and Noble firs twinkling with warm white lights sitting atop 50 custom silver platforms. Visitors will also be able to snap a photo under a double arch made of holiday greenery outside GM Plaza at 767 Fifth Avenue.

On December 17, the Doris Duke Foundation will feature Grammy Award-winning jazz singers to pay tribute to Fifth Avenue’s intricate role in jazz history. The avenue was better known as “Swing Street” during the early 20th century due to its hosting of legendary jazz musicians like Miles Davis and Billy Holiday.

Other performers will include Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra, a jazz ensemble provided by Hire Juilliard Performers, the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Metropolitan Klezmer, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School.

Food lovers will be able to enjoy blackcurrant donuts and non-alcoholic eggnog from the Modern, a two Michelin-starred restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art, hot chocolate from the world-famous Longchamp’s pop-up cafe, and bao buns and bubble tea from local vendors Mao’s Bao and Tea and Milk.

A selection of Fifth Avenue brands, including Assouline, Bergdorf Goodman, Coach, DIOR, P448, The Plaza, Puma, Tag Heuer, and Victoria’s Secret, will create fun pop-up retail experiences.

In October, it was revealed that last year’s Open Streets program on Fifth Avenue drove an additional $3 million in spending at businesses on pedestrianized streets. According to a study conducted by Mastercard, merchants on pedestrianized streets saw an average of $90,000 in additional spending per day.

RELATED:

• NYC holiday open streets return to Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center
• Last year’s holiday open streets in Midtown drove $3M in spending at local businesses
• NYC proposes pedestrian-friendly path on Fifth Avenue from Bryant Park to Central Park

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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.

Hart Island has served as the city’s public cemetery since 1869, with New Yorkers who were unable to afford private burials or who were never claimed by family. While currently only used for burials, the 131-acre island has previously been used as a quarantine station, a psychiatric hospital, a tuberculosis ward, a reform school, a homeless shelter, a rehabilitation facility, a military base, and a jail.

The highly-anticipated NYC Parks walking tours aim to enrich participants on the island’s public history, how the area became a municipal cemetery, its wildlife and natural features, the burial process, and current advocacy efforts to sustain it.

“We’re thrilled to begin offering free public history tours of Hart Island, allowing New Yorkers an intimate look at the island for the very first time. Our Urban Park Rangers have created informative and reflective programming that highlights the island’s important role in New York City history,” NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said.

“As Hart Island will continue to be the City’s main burial ground for the foreseeable future, we’re also pleased to unveil, in collaboration with sister agencies, the positive improvements and beautification efforts that have taken place to improve the experience at gravesite visits for those visiting loved ones buried on the island. I encourage New Yorkers to join the Urban Park Rangers to explore Hart Island’s unique past, present, and future.” 

The first tour is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 21. To attend a tour, interested participants must register through an online form and then be selected by a lottery.

Additional public tour dates include:

• December 5, 2023
• December 19, 2023
• January 16, 2024
• January 30, 2024
• February 13, 2024
• February 27, 2024
• March 12, 2024
• March 26, 2024
• April 9, 2024
• April 23, 2024
• May 14, 2024
• May 28, 2024

The free public walking tours aren’t the only activities coming to the island. New nature classes, known as the Urban Park Rangers Weekend Adventures, will be offered in the next few months. These classes include activities like canoeing, hiking, archery, and fishing.

In November 2019, the City Council approved legislation transferring ownership of Hart Island from the city’s Department of Corrections to the Parks Department and the NYC Human Resources Association (HRA). The transfer of management took place in 2021, following years of advocacy from groups who wanted to ease the process of visiting the island to pay respects to loved ones buried there, improve its dilapidated conditions, and make it more publicly accessible.

Since the island’s transferral, the area has seen significant upgrades that improve the visitor experience for guests, including the demolition of deteriorating buildings, new plantings, and additional beautification efforts.

HRA, which manages the island’s burials and landscaping, cleared overgrowth that previously blocked graves for decades and created a landscaped area with seating near the ferry dock.

Future plans include the creation of a 3.5-mile shuttle bus from the 6 train to the ferry, or a new dedicated water route from the Bronx, according to the New York Times.

Additionally, the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) recently finished a $32 million project that removed 15 old structures from the island, which resulted in better views and a more open feel. DDC is continuing to work on stabilizing the island’s historic chapel.

More information on the tours can be found here.

RELATED:

• City Council votes to make Hart Island, nation’s largest public cemetery, more accessible
• NYC might get a COVID-19 memorial on Hart Island
• NYC Council considers turning mass gravesite on Hart Island into a city park

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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.

Developed by Fortis Property Group and designed by Hill West Architects, Olympia Dumbo contains a total of 76 one- to five-bedroom residences and penthouses designed by Workstead. While the building’s unique sail-shaped and its meticulously designed residences are a sight to behold, Olympia’s amenities suite is on another level.

The amenity package takes up three floors: The Garden, The Bridge, and The Club. The club, located on the building’s lower level, is centered on fun and fitness. Here you’ll find a game lounge, bar, bowling alley, fitness center, spin studio, boxing gym, and a maritime-themed children’s playroom.

Masterfully crafted by Workstead, the garden is located on the ground floor and is where the “heights of Olympia come down to Earth,” according to the building’s website.

Featuring Workstead’s signature use of sculptural details etched into stone and wood, the entrance includes the building’s triple-height lobby and an elevated garden lounge that overlooks a private garden.

The bridge is located on the 10th floor and offers indoor and outdoor amenities centered around recreation and relaxation. Features include both an indoor and outdoor pool, a treatment room, a dry sauna, a steam room, a juice bar, a landscaped park, cabanas, barbecue areas, a shipwreck-themed children’s playground, and the city’s highest private tennis court that overlooks the Brooklyn Bridge.

Olympia Dumbo is shaped like a sail, with the building’s mass receding as it rises. This allows for no more than six units per floor and a pair of full-floor penthouses at the top of the building. Many of the residences feature ceiling heights as tall as 18 feet, wide plank flooring, private terraces, and outdoor spaces.

The building has broken several real estate records for the highly sought-after Brooklyn neighborhood, appearing as the top condo contract in the weekly Brooklyn luxury reports 27 times since 2022, including six times at the number one spot. Olympia has appeared in the list of the top 20 sponsor sales more than any other building in the borough’s history, according to the building’s public relations team.

Sales launched at the tower in October 2021. More than half of the building’s residences have already been sold, recently welcoming high-profile residents including Brooklyn Nets point guard Ben Simmons.

In January, a penthouse in the Olympia sold for $17,500,000 making it the neighborhood’s priciest sale on record. The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom penthouse on the 33rd floor boasts a nearly 500-square-foot terrace facing the East River.

Current availabilities at Olympia Dumbo start at $1,995,000, according to CityRealty.

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• Announcing 6sqft’s 2022 Building of the Year!

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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.

Throughout “The Secret World of Elephants,” visitors are introduced to the elephant family tree, which reveals information that might be shocking to some: not all of its relatives are hulking mammals with thick skin like hippos and rhinos, but instead include aquatic sea cows and rabbit-sized hyraxes.

The exhibit features life-size models of elephants and their relatives, including an accurate representation of a woolly mammoth shedding its fur. Museum visitors can view fossils and casts, engage in interactive displays, and watch videos that tell the story of these towering animals.

“Elephants are the world’s largest land animal, but we understand surprisingly little about them,” Ross MacPhee, curator of the exhibit and curator emeritus in the museum’s Department of Mammalogy. “Researchers are working toward assembling a much more complete picture of elephants and we’re learning new secrets about their minds, bodies, and ecological importance every day.”

“We also know elephants face an uncertain future. The global demand for ivory, along with climate change and habitat loss, are pushing them along the path to extinction. If we don’t act quickly, elephants could be gone before we ever truly get to know them.”

Visitors will learn about the animal species through a variety of contexts; including their bodies, minds, habitats, and relationships with humans. In exploring the science behind elephants’ bodies, guests can interact with a station that allows them to feel the extremely low sound waves known as infrasound that elephants use to send messages through the ground and the feet of other elephants.

A life-sized model of an African elephant with a video projection on one side of its body allows spectators to see the massive skeleton of the animal, get an inside look at how it processes the 300 to 500 pounds of food it eats every day, and learn about its gestation process, which can last up to almost two years, longer than any other living mammal.

Another part of the exhibit allows visitors to touch two teeth, one from a mammoth and another from a mastodon-like species, providing valuable insight into the ways the species chewed food.

An interactive display allows visitors to turn a wheel and flap the ears of a miniature elephant model, a process that elephants use to keep themselves cool in hot environments. Finally, an exploration of elephant poop, featuring a replica of elephant dung, explains how the animal’s excrement provides essential nutrients for plants and other animals.

Next, visitors will learn about the mind of elephants, including the animal’s five different vocalizations, and learn how to “speak elephant” by observing videos of elephant communication. Guests will learn how the animals greet, court, play, and mourn for one another.

An interactive mammoth tusk model shares ways that scientists use isotope “fingerprints” to discover how mammoths traveled across what is now Alaska roughly 17,000 years ago.

The exhibition also dives into elephants’ interesting relationship with humans, one that has grown over thousands of years. While never having been truly domesticated, the animals have long been used for work and war.

Cultural artifacts on display throughout the exhibit illustrate this ancient connection, including puppets from Vietnam that depict the Tru’ng sisters, national heroes that are said to have rode elephants into war 2,000 years ago against a Chinese army, and a large figure of the Hindu god Ganesh, who has an elephant’s head and a human-like body.

“We are delighted to present ‘The Secret World of Elephants’, a comprehensive look at these intriguing and important animals and the latest scientific thinking about their abilities, environmental roles, social structure, history, and future,” Sean M. Decatur, President of the AMNH, said.

“This exhibition is an example of what the American Museum of Natural History does so well: by starting at a point of shared curiosity and fascination we can share larger stories about evolution, the environment, animal behavior, and the interactions between human and animals, thereby expanding understanding of the natural world and our impact on it.”

“The Secret World of Elephants” is curated by Ross MacPhee, curator emeritus in the AMNH’s Department of Mammology, with consultation by Raman Sukumar, honorary professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, and Alexandra van der Greer, a researcher at the University of Leiden, Netherlands.

The exhibition is designed and produced by the AMNH’s award-winning Exhibition Department under the guidance of Lauri Halderman, senior vice president for exhibition.

Tickets start at $28 for adults, $16.50 for children, and $22.50 for seniors and students. AMNH members can see the exhibition for free during every visit.

Tickets must be reserved in advance here.

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• Get a sneak peek of AMNH’s Studio Gang-designed Gilder Center before it opens
• AMNH’s revamped Northwest Coast Hall features exhibits curated by Indigenous communities
• See the Museum of Natural History’s sparkling new Halls of Gems and Minerals

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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.

Designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners, The 74 includes a six-story podium on Third Avenue with the the tower rising 31 stories above it, cantilevering to the north and south. The design is a nod to the city’s Art Deco gems like the Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Center, with a modern twist evident in its slender frame and terracotta facade.

The facade’s terracotta is brighter than the deeper shades seen in those NYC landmarks. The “pleated design” changes with natural light throughout the day and the seasons while also acting as a rain screen that reduces heating and cooling needs, making the building more sustainable.

The development features 42 residences, ranging from half floor two- and three-bedrooms to full floor four- and five-bedrooms, including a free-standing townhouse and a duplex penthouse.

The penthouse set backs create a zig-zag shape that play beautifully with the natural light and allows for views that are truly unique to the area. Residences and amenity spaces were conceived by AD100 designer Rafael de Cárdenas.

Amenities include an entertainment suite with a catering kitchen and video-conferencing room, a rooftop terrace, a fitness center, a children’s playroom with a Pilates studio, and a lobby lounge overlooking a private garden, according to Yimby.

“We are thrilled to unveil The 74, a boutique building that marks a new era of luxury living in Manhattan’s Upper East Side,” Orly Daniell, President of Elad Group, said. “With its prime location, exquisite design, and an array of curated amenities, The 74 presents a unique opportunity for discerning buyers seeking not just a residence, but a lifestyle that reflects the best of Upper East Side living.”

The development site was originally owned by Premier Equities, which revealed plans to build a high-rise condo tower with Thor Equities in January 2017 after purchasing the final piece of land for the building for $26 million, according to The Real Deal.

After the plans failed to move forward, the property was sold to Elad Group in April 2022 for $61 million, according to Yimby.

Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group is managing sales and marketing for The 74. Available apartments will start at $2.975 for two bedrooms, $4.8 million for three bedrooms, and $12.5 million for full-floor residences.

The 74 is slated for completion in the summer of 2025.

The building’s height is unusually tall for the neighborhood and has been controversial for UES locals. In particular, urban planner George Janes told Patch last year that the project was “illegal,” for violating a zoning code. The development’s base on East 74th Street will be 14-feet tall, instead of 60 feet, as is required.

The one-story entrance is being constructed within the rear yards of five-story tenements that lie on the block’s southern corner which currently houses restaurants JG Melon and Mezzaluna. The DOB ultimately rejected Janes’ challenge, stating that the 14-foot entrance was legal because the tenements are filed as separate projects.

The 74 is not the only new development on this block. On the other side of the 20th-century four-story apartment building at 1295 Third Avenue, which has remained due to zoning rules and rent stabilization protections, a new 18-story building at 200 East 75th Street is being constructed. Designed by Beyer Blinder Belle and developed by ESJ Development, the 214-foot structure will include 36 luxury apartments.

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The post New images and details unveiled for 420-foot-tall Upper East Side condo first appeared on 6sqft.