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.
By mayoral proclamation, today is Sesame Street Day in New York City.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the New York-based children’s show, the city erected a temporary “123 Sesame Street” temporary street sign at 64th Street and Broadway, across from Sesame Workshop’s corporate headquarters.
NYC & Co., the city’s official official tourism marketing group, and Toys R’ Us and Babies R’ Us are marking the occasion with a line of co-branded plush toys and clothing, including an NYC fire fighter, police officer, taxi driver and sanitation worker.
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.
Met Opera, NYC Opera offer rush seats for $25 or less
Some of the best seats in the house at the Metropolitan Opera are available for a mere $20 through the Varis Rush Tickets all season.
All regular performances Mondays through Thursdays will offer 150 orchestra seats for $20. The catch is the tickets go on sale only at the Met Opera box office starting two hours before curtain, subject to availability.
An extra 50 tickets are reserved for seniors (65 or over) at the $20 price. The senior tickets are available starting at noon on the day of each performance and may be reserved online or by calling (212) 362-6000.
The $20 tickets are not available for special events, galas or opening nights.
The New York City Opera, which begins its season later this week, again will offer tickets for $25 or less through its Opera for All program.
There are two ways to get the cheap seats at City Opera. On Mondays at 10 a.m., you can buy that week’s $25 orchestra rush seats at the box office, online or by phone (212) 721-6500. Use the offer code OFA1.
In addition to the rush seats, City Opera also sells $20 and $12 tickets for for every performance in the theater’s 4th and 5th ring.
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:
World Series game day: Times Square rally, free food
Tonight at 7:57p.m., the New York Yankees host the Philadelphia Phillies for Game 1 of the 2009 World Series. Here’s the feed from the hype machine:
Times Square today at 12:30 p.m. will host a Yankees Pep Rally. The event will take place on Broadway between 44th and 45th streets. Be there or watch via the Times Square webcams.
The Empire State Building tonight and Thursday will light up blue and white for the Yankees.
There will be free Yankees cupcakes today courtesy of Crumbs and the Cupcake Stop Truck.
Free cheesesteak sandwiches — courtesy of the Greater Philadelphia Marketing and Tourism Commission — today at Shorty’s on Ninth Avenue from 4 p.m. until game time at 7:57 p.m.
First Lady Michelle Obama and the vice president’s wife, Jill Biden, will attend tonight’s game, NY1 reports.
FishBowlNY has pictures of the morning’s front pages, featuring plenty of trash talk.
Ticket brokers say resale prices for World Series tickets are going lower, the Associated Press reports.
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.
NY's ghost tours, cemetery treks, and a free 'Phantom'
There are a few upcoming haunted tours, cemetery treks and other Halloween-themed events on the calendar:
The Merchant’s House Museum which claims bragging rights to the title “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” leads Candlelight Ghost tours through the end of the month. This Sunday, it will lead the annual procession to New York City Marble Cemetery, re-creating a funeral from 1865.
Trinity Wall Street will toast resident Alexander Hamilton (“Non-alcoholic beverages will also available.”) in the graveyard on Oct. 30, followed by a screening of Phantom of the Opera” in the Gothic cathedral with live organ accompaniment by Robert Ridgell. Both events are free.
Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx will lead three flashflights-required tours of sites associated with its most tragic guests.
