Out of Manhattan
Here you'll find information about New York City's four outer boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island,) as well as spots that make good daytrips from Manhattan.
City pays $96 mln for Coney land, plans new rides in '10
The City of New York inked a $95.6-million deal to buy 6.9-acres of Coney Island property along the boardwalk to create a massive year-round 27-acre amusement and entertainment district, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday.
The city has been in tumultous negotiatons with developer Joe Sitt of Thor Equities who bought much of the property in recent years and kicked out many tenants, including Astroland. Sitt — who said at the Thursday press conference that his high school nickname was “Joey Coney Island” for playing hookey at the beach — will retain ownership of an adjacent 5.6 acres for future hotels and shops.
“This is a win for all of us in New York City. This is a win for all of us in America that want to see this great brand brought back to life. And this is a great win internatioanlly for all the folks that have followed along,” Sitt said. “It was a brand, forgive me, that was left almost as a legacy that was gonna die out.”
In the near-term, the city will invest $150 million for infrastructure improvements, including underground projects, more repairs to the boardwalk and a brand new Steeplechase plaza, the mayor said. The plan is to return Coney to a sparkly “people’s playground” like in its heyday a century ago.
“Beginning this coming summer, we anticipate that nearly 10 acres of the amusements and attractions will be open for busnesss, which is about double what it was this past summer,” Bloomberg said.
Coney Island is currently home to the Cyclone roller coaster, the Wonder Wheel, the New York Aquarium, the Cyclones minor-league baseball team, the original Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand and the Coney Island Polar Bear Club.
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.
Yankee Stadium tours resume after World Series win
Tours of the new Yankee Stadium resumed today, after a short hiatus for a little post-season play that resulted in the 27th World Series win for the Bronx Bombers.
The $20, 45-minute Classic Tour includes visits to the dugout, Monument Park, the New York Yankees Museum, and sometimes - the clubhouse.
The tours are offered several times a day through mid-March.
40,000 people from 105 countries participated in the 2009 ING New York City Marathon today, the 40th time the race has been run here. Meb Keflizghi finished the route with a time of 2:09:15, becoming the first American man to win the race since 1982. Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia, clocked in at 2:28:52, taking first place for the women.
Filled with pop images of the Rolling Stones, Elvis, U2, Blondie, Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, Run DMC and Madonna the Brooklyn Museum on Friday will open “Who Shot Rock & Roll,” a show it’s billing as the first major museum exhibition devoted solely to rock photographers.
“This is Brooklyn Museum’s version of a limited-edition Double LP with gatefolds signed by the artists,” said Matthew Yokobosky, the chief designer at Brooklyn Museum, who edited and designed the exhibition.
“Over 50 percent are original prints,” he told NewYorkology on Thursday during a media preview. That means the images tend to be smaller than a typical museum photographic exhibition since the originals were printed for magazines, newspapers and album covers, Yokobosky said. “It was important to get the vintage prints.”
But if you like your rock big and loud, this may not be your show. It’s possibly more pleasing to the connoisseur, who relishes the vintage, the need to lean in close to the original, sometimes in an is-that-David-Bowie-naked kind of way.
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.
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.
