Yes, everyone's drowning in NYC Waterfalls coverage today, so here are some quick bits you may not already know. ...
The waterside decks of the South Street Seaport afford views of all four waterfalls.
But if you want to eat and drink while contemplating their meaning, head to the Seaport's new outdoor Waterfall Cafe that boasts views of all four falls. An offshoot of nearby Sequoia, they open at noon daily, seven days a week. Closing time depends on the weather and business -- sometimes 10:30 p.m., or earlier. Burgers, ($10,) salads, ($7 to $18,) mussels, ($9,) desserts ($6.50,) beer ($6 or $7,) wine ($8 by the glass/$26 by the bottle,) and margaritas ($9) are all on offer.
Bike and Roll will be offering a twice-daily bicycle tour of the waterfalls. They depart from the South Street Seaport at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. for a two and a half hour ride that goes over the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, making eight to 10 stops. Normally $40, those tours are free this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Call (212) 260-0400 to reserve a spot.
Starting Friday, you can call the city's 311 information line and listen to artist Olafur Eliasson talk about his waterfalls, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during this morning's news conference.
The waterfalls will be turned on daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. except Tuesdays and Thursdays when they will run from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
High in the Sky at Peninsula hotel's new Salon de Ning
NewYorkology contributor Vidiot commits journalism by night, edits Cocktailians and explores NYC by day. He's especially interested in the infrastructure, transit, architectural wonders, drinking establishments, and hidden corners of the greatest city in the world.
Not long ago, I decided that my air conditioner wasn't quite up to the task of coping with the New York heat, so declared defeat and headed outside. To Salon de Ning, the new bar atop the Peninsula Hotel, to be specific. Occupying the former Pen-Top space, Salon de Ning opened last month and seems to be doing quite well, attracting a stream of the well-to-do (and wannabes, like me) to its boozy aerie. I settled on a barstool to peruse both the drink menu and the clientele.
The "Ninglet", comprised of Hendrick's gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and fresh-squeezed lime juice, was tart and bracing, but the cucumber note from the gin and the floral taste from the St. Germain manage to sneak through. Could you want more in a summer cocktail? My friend had a "Ning Sling" of Absolut Mandrin, Soho lychee liqueur, fresh mint leaves, and lychee and passion fruit juices. She pronounced it "sweet and silly" -- this was a positive -- and I cadged a taste and found it to be very good; I'd feared that with an ingredient list like that, the cocktail would be too sweet, but it was a surprisingly well-balanced drink.
Firmly in the "too-sweet-and-proud-of-it" category was the Tiramisu Martini, which bartender Alan let us sample. Absolut Vanilia, Kahlua, Amaretto, white Godiva chocolate liqueur, and whipped cream, all topped with chocolate shavings: it was dessert in a cocktail glass, and an unapologetic one.
Salon de Ning's terrace boasts fantastic views up and down Fifth Avenue, not to mention the upper Midtown skyline. Drinks are in the $22 to $24 range, and the menu includes other spirits and Champagnes. If all the fab-ness has made you peckish, there's also a selection of small plates for $35-45.
Salon de Ning is on the rooftop terrace (23rd floor) of The Peninsula New York, 700 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, map. The bar has a direct elevator from the hotel lobby.
Picture credits: Vidiot (full photoset on flickr.) View of Fifth Avenue, (top,) cooling cocktail glasses (right,) the Ning Sling (left) and the terrace at Salon de Ning.
Barney Greengrass turns 100 today and it's rolling back its prices to 1908 rates, no asterisk included. The family-owned, "Sturgeon King," is often cited as one of the best smoked fish purveyors in New York City.
The 4th of July hot-dog contest at Coney Island sponsored by Nathan's Famous may drop the epic eating fest down to 10 minutes from the 12-minute race it's been for at least two decades, the Brooklyn Paper reports. Evidence has surfaced that it started at 10 minutes. As Major League eating announces:
Major League Eating has elected to conduct all qualifying rounds of the 2008 multi-city Nathan's Famous circuit tour as 10-minute competitions and may shift to this duration permanently, making it the official contest length. More information will follow.
Read the brutal New York Times take-down of Ago, the restaurant in Robert DeNiro's much-hyped new Greenwich Hotel. It starts with the bartendaer's “Poseidon Adventure� of wine spills on the reviewer's date during the 52 minute delay for their table that was "little bigger than a bike wheel." Oh, there's more:
This restaurant isn’t in the hospitality business. It’s in the attitude business, projecting an aloofness that permeated all of my meals there, nights of wine and poses for swingers on the make, cougars on the prowl and anyone else who values a sort of facile fabulousness over competent service or a breaded veal Milanese with any discernible meat.
Gourmet magazine has weighed in with its ode to Florent, the much-loved Meatpacking stand-by that will close forever as of June 29. Hit eBay for its CBGB-style sale of its interiors.
In the same neighborhood, Lotus will shutter June 15 according to Eater.
Kimpton's boutique VU Hotel in a converted 1930s printing factory isn't yet taking reservations, but it's aiming for a fall opening at 653 11th Avenue at 48th.
The new Thompson Lower East Side is accepting reservations for July 15 with rooms from $299. That gets you free wi-fi, light-box headboards with Lee Friedlander photography, terry robes, Fresh bathroom products, a flat screen TV with movies on demand, i-Pod docking stations, SFERRA linens and minibars stocked with snacks from Dean and Deluca and Eli Zabar.
The Plaza makes Travel + Leisure’s annual hotel It List, but the magazine says the hotel is "still wet behind the ears" as "service is a little shaky." But it suggests boking "Plaza or Deluxe rooms adjacent to an Edwardian Park Suite—they’re the cheapest ones partially overlooking the park."
The 75-foot, 35th story swimming pool at Mandarin Oriental at Columbus Circle qualifies for Portfolio magazine's best hotel pools list, with an added insider's tip: "While you usually have to check in to dive in, guests of the Spa at Mandarin Oriental can simply take the elevator inside the spa up to the hotel pool."
60 Thompson's exclusive A60 rooftop bar has reopened for the season, but it's only for members and hotel guests.
In a trend story about posh hotels upgrading their best suites, the Wall Street Journal notes that the Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons NY has a "bathroom sink carved from a solid block of rock crystal" -- and costs $30,000 a night. And there's this tip" "At the Waldorf-Astoria, a regular who is known to get in late at night and leave early in the morning, might get put into the presidential suite as a perk."
The Bryant Park Hotel's "Sex and the City" package puts the emphasis somewhere, and it's not on the city, HotelChatter.com learns.
Robert DeNiro's Greenwich Hotel joined up with hip-only bookers Tablet.
Lawmakers are seeking legislation to crack down on the illegal hotels in NYC, the Sun reoprts.
There are fears that Brooklyn's hotel boomlet could sour with the economy and create a hotsheet hotel row.
There are 2,474 hotel rooms in downtown NY and an additional 2,363 in the works at sites that are already under construction, (plus 3,720 more proposed,) according to Downtown Alliance's April report (in pdf.)
Artist Olafur Eliasson's NYC Waterfalls continue to take shape along the East River, targeting a spigot-starting date around the end of June.
Here's a roundup of the most recent news, views, tours and hotel packages tied to the Waterfalls project:
Brooklyn may get an extra viewing spot, the Tropolism blog reports, with renderings for a quickie park at the recently cleared Pier 1 just south of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Starting July 19, Sail NYC will start offering Waterfalls champagne cruises aboard the 1920's-style yacht Manhattan for $40.
The Seaport Inn Waterfalls package actually offers views of the waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge. For $469 per night, you get a suite, a Water Taxi cruise to the Waterfalls, views of the Waterfalls during dinner at Harbour Lights Restaurant at the South Street Seaport and a free glass of wine.
Free drinks as Canadians open Rock Center roof garden
Well hello, this is a travel website about New York, so why should there be an item here plugging the Canadian Tourism Commission? Simply put, the Canucks were smart enough to choose a magnificent venue rarely open to the public: the Rockefeller Center roof garden atop the British Empire Building.
The event -- scheduled for tonight and Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. -- is open to the public and completely free, including hors d'oeuvres (including some foie gras and lobster at last night's media preview,) and whatever you want from the full bar.
You'll get eye-level with the spires of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, you can gaze across at the old Scribner's sign and other private roof gardens and look down on Fifth Avenue and the weird contraption currently covering part of Rockefeller Center's main plaza. Oh, and you can learn all about Canadian tourism, too.
The location is the seventh floor of the 620 5th Avenue building, but enter on 50th Street.
Circle Line launching a $50,000 NYC Waterfalls tour
While several ferry companies have already announced plans for summer cruises that will get spectators close to artist Olafur Eliasson's NYC Waterfalls, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises is hoping to top them all when it comes to pure excess.
For $50,000 you can get a private Circle Line boat (with crew) to cruise aroound the waterfalls while sipping Dom Perignon, dining on a six-course meal from Chef Daniel Boulud's Feast & Fêtes catering and sharing chocolate Knipschildt's La Madeline au Truffes.
Since you probably won't be sleeping on the boat, Circle Line will also throw in a night in a presidential suite in a hotel on par with the Waldorf, Mandarin Oriental or Four Seasons, a spokesman told NewYorkology.
Eliasson's four waterfalls are currently under construction under the Brooklyn Bridge, at Governors Island, at Manhattan's Pier 35 and below the Brooklyn Promenade. They'll be in operation from late June to mid-October.
Rockaways, Frying Pan to get Water Taxi on weekends
While the mayor made his big announcement today about new ferry commmuter service between the Rockaways and Manhattan, the more interesting news may lie in the New York Water Taxi's other plans for this summer, including weekend service to Rockaway Beach as well as the Frying Pan on the Hudson.
Service will also start to Red Hook's new Brooklyn Ikea starting June 18, but the Water Taxi has ditched all plans for Governors Island and the Mets Express this summer, a spokeswoman for the company told NewYorkology. (Governors Island will still be served by a free ferry from Lower Manhattan for the season, which starts May 31.)
Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City will officially reopen for the season on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, with Friday/Saturday/Sunday ferry service from E. 34th Street in Manhattan.
The NY Water Taxi is also ditching its weekday hop-on hop-off service which has been aimed at the tourist crowd. That service will remain on weekends (when ridership was higher and the boats won't be needed for the commuter routes.)
However, it will still run its evening sunset happy-hour cruises on most nights. And new this week, it's adding a TV and Movie cruise every Thursday. And once Olafur Eliasson's NYC Waterfalls art project starts flowing, the Water Taxi (along with Circle Line and NY Waterway) will start special waterfall cruises.
NY Water Taxi weekend service to the Rockaways -- at Riis Landing on National Park Service land -- is aiming to start weekend service in early summer. No pricing details are yet available (although the city-subsidised weekday commuter service on the same route will be $6 each way.)
Service to the Lightship "Frying Pan" would also start mid-summer, as a stop on the hop-on hop-off service. The "Frying Pan," which recently moved to Pier 66 from its longtime Pier 63 home on the Hudson River, hopes to reopen soon as a restaurant and bar -- the same facilities it offered in the old location, a spokeswoman told NewYorkology today.
Farther out on the horizon, the city is sinking $500,000 into a study on more routes, including LaGuardia Airport, Roosevelt Island, Coney Island, Riverdale, Camp St. Edward on Staten Island, W. 125th Street, Orchard Beach, Hunts Point, Sheepshead Bay, Bay Ridge, Astoria, and Manhattan's E. 20th , E. 75th, and E. 90th streets.
Statue of Liberty's insides twisted, but no beating heart
In Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City, which is apparently New York City in a parallel universe, a number of things in the video game are cleverly inspired by the real.
Serious Eats has charted the places to eat in Liberty City (including the "Steinway Beer Garden,") while Gawker points out that the "Statue of Happiness" in the harbor "contains at its heart... a beating heart, chained to the exterior walls."
But since NewYorkology dwells in the travel blog realm, it would be proper to proffer some pictures of what the inside of the Statue of Liberty actually looks like.
Also, keep in mind that if you're planning a trip out to the Statue of Liberty, it's key to buy your time-specific ferry tickets in advance and tick the box for the free monument pass (otherwise you can't see up inside the statue or gain access to the museum.)
Koons' 'Balloon Dog' marks its territory on Met roof
Artist Jeff Koons has installed three of his never-before-on-public-display schulptures in the roof garden of the Met Museum of Art, where they'll stay through the summer.
"Balloon Dog (Yellow,)" is similiar to “Balloon Dog (Magenta,)� which was installed at the
Palazzo Grassi in Venice in 2006.
It shares the rooftop space with "Sacred Heart (Red/Gold,)" and the Piglet-inspired "Coloring Book."
The Met's Roof Garden Cafe will serve new cocktails by the same names as the three art works, along with the usual fare of soft drinks, beer, wine and food. It will also provide a martini bar on Friday and Saturda evenings from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
"I think everything balanced out just perfect. I don't think I've ever been happier with any artwork I've ever done," Koons this morning told media gathered for his press preview in the garden.
In recent years, the garden has hosted the work of artists including Sol LeWitt and Frank Stella. The roof draws up to 800 people an hour on sunny days in the summer, Met president Emily Rafferty said.
"Jeff Koons on the Roof" will be on display in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden from April 22 through October 26.
2008 hours for the roof garden (weather permitting) are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays, plus Sundays; and 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Met Museum is closed Mondays except some holiday Mondays (including May 26 and Sept. 1.)
