The newly commissioned USS New York departed New York City this morning. The warship, made with seven and a half tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center towers, officially joined the US Navy fleet Nov. 7.
The last one to charge a fee, the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, dropped its $3 admission charge as of Oct. 1.
The only caveat, a parks spokesperson told NewYorkology, is that a few of the sites charge transportation-related fees, such as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which may only be reached by a ferry operated by Statue Cruises. But once visitors reach the island, admission is free.
Other National Parks sites in New York include the African Burial Ground, Federal Hall, General Grant National Memorial, St. Paul’s Church, Floyd Bennett Field, Fort Wadsworth, Fort Tilden and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
Museums, zoos, ice rinks, clubs open Thanksgiving Day
In case you find yourself in New York City on Nov. 26, 2009 looking for something to do besides share a bird with your beloved family members, here are some places that will be open on Thanksgiving Day in NYC:
The Macy’s 83nd Thanksgiving Day Parade will begin at 9 a.m. at 77th Street and Central Park West. The new route this year starts out the same, traveling south down Central Park West to Columbus Circle. But this year it will skip Broadway,and instead turn onto Central Park South and then south on 7th Avenue. Once it reaches, 42nd Street, the parade will head east until it reaches Bryant Park at 6th Avenue. The parade will continue south on 6th (Avenue of the Americas) until it reaches 34th Street, where it will turn towards Macy’s at herald Square.
Cirque du Soleil’s “Wintuk” at Madison Square Garden - performances at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Broadway Thanksgiving Week schedule includes Thanksgiving Day performances of “Hamlet” at 7:30 p.m. as well as “Chicago,” “Oleanna,” “Phantom of the Opera” “West Side Story” and “White Christmas” at 8 p.m.
Yankees to parade up Canyon of Heroes 11 a.m. Friday
A parade honoring the World Champion Yankees will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday and head north up the Canyon of Heroes, according to a taped message on 311, the city’s official information service.
The parade will be followed by a ceremony at City Hall Plaza.
Update: An early-morning press release from the mayor’s office offered a few more details abut Friday’s ticker-tape parade.
The parade will begin on Broadway at Battery Place at 11 a.m. and continue northbound up Broadway toward Chambers Street. The parade will be followed by a ceremony at City Hall Plaza, at which Mayor Bloomberg will present the Yankees with Keys to the City.
Downtown Alliance’s 30 free bikes were used more than 7,000 times this past summer. There were “no thefts and no vandalism,” a spokesman told NewYorkology on Monday.
The free rentals were available in two-and-a-half-hour windows from May 13 through Sept. 30 through Bike and Roll. The catch was that you needed to provide a credit card, which would be billed for the bike if you never returned.
The program may return for summer 2010 if funds are available, a Downtown Alliance spokesman said.
Details on the 2009 Bike Around Downtown program:
- Approximately 7,612 bike reservations were made, an increase of 52 percent over 2008.
- 87 percent of riders were New York City residents; 4 percent were from New Jersey; 2 percent were from Long Island; and 1.2 percent were from California.
- Among the NYC residents 65 percent were Manhattan residents, including 46 percent from south of Chambers Street. Half of all participants described themselves as Downtown Workers.
Picture credit: Brooklyn Bridge bike lane. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
The USS New York arrived in New York City this morning, passing the Statue of Liberty before heading toward the World Trade Center site to offer a 21-gun salute in honor to those who died September 11, 2001.
The USS New York warship is a San Antonio-class LPD (Landing Platform Dock.) Its bow stem includes seven and a half tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center towers.
The video:
Later today, the USS New York will dock at Pier 88 on the Hudson River to be formally inducted into the United States Navy at a shipboard ceremony Nov. 7.
The USS New York will be open to the public, free of charge from Nov. 4 though 11. The opening times:
Broadway's 'Next to Normal' to debut a 'Twitter song'
Broadway’s “Next to Normal,” which in May tweeted its entire show online, today will premiere a “Twitter song,” written in collaboration with its social media followers.
The song, “Something I Can’t See,” will make its debut tonight at 7 p.m. at 92Y Tribeca — and on Twitter.
“‘Next to Normal’ has solicited suggestions from the Twitter followers on all aspects of the new song, from which characters are performing it and where it takes place in the musical’s storyline, to song structure and lyric suggestions,” producers said in a news release. “The song will not be incorporated into the Tony-winning musical.”
Picture credit: The company of “Next to Normal.” Picture by Joan Marcus/Hartman Group.
WIRED magazine will open its annual holiday pop-up shop Nov. 21 in the Meatpacking District, this year with a design assist from Moby, a gaming area hand-picked by Tony Hawk and a green section curated by Adrian Grenier.
The WIRED Store will be located at 415 W. 13th St., map, officials for the magazine announced today.
The pop-up shop will let visitors get their hands on more than 150 items chosen by the magazine’s editors, including TVs, laptops, cell phones, games, active gear, home goods and toys. There will be a WIRED Café with chef demos and wine tastings, Geek Dad Saturdays and Game Day Sundays.
The WIRED Store will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday. The pop-up takes it toys and goes home Dec 27.
Picture credit: Wired Store sign from 2008. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
