Sightsology
Fourth of July guide: fireworks, freebies, webcams
The 33rd Annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks this year moves to the Hudson River to mark the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s first voyage there.
 The 26-minute SOUSA Firework shows will start at 9:20 p.m. with more than more than 40,000 shells fired from six barges in the river between 24th and 50th streets.
Tune your radio to 10101 Wins, which will broadcast the live music in sync with the fireworks. NBC will broadcast the fireworks show, along with the live performance, which will feature the New York Pops, Rob Thomas, Jewel, Karen Olivo and the cast of Broadway’s “West Side Story.”
See Macy’s suggested fireworks public viewing areas as well as the city’s street closures. The NYPD advisory notes “no large backpacks, coolers or alcoholic beverages will be allowed in the viewing area.”
Fireworks cruises
South Street Seaport’s Schooner Pioneer
World Yacht Fourth of July Dinner Cruise
Spirit of NY Fireworks Dinner Cruise
Manhattan by Sail cruise
NY Waterway - waitlist
Fireworks viewing locations
Chelsea Piers
Empire State Building
Top of the Rock
Circle Line’s Rooftop Party
Roof deck of Pier 66
Fireworks on the Hudson at Hudson Terrace
Extreme eating
Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest - July 4 noon at Coney Island
Special museum events
Declaration of Independence, in Thomas Jefferson’s hand, at the NY Public Library at Fifth and 42nd from 1 to 5 p.m.
Free admission at the New-York Historical Society if you wear red, white and blue
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July 3, 2009 11:39 AM Comments (0)
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Statue of Liberty crown tickets sold out until Labor Day
While the Statue of Liberty is on track to reopen her crown to the public on the Fourth of July, tickets to climb up her steps are already all-but sold out through the Labor Day weekend.
Tickets first went on sale June 13 and demand was so high that the website and telephone lines were difficult to access. (The website has been slow again this morning.)
 Only 30 people per hour will be allowed to take the stairs to the crown under escort from a National Park Service ranger.
It’s important to note that currently the plan is to keep the crown open for two years only. After that, it will close again for a project to make the interior safer to visitors and hopefully allow more people to visit each day.
The crown has been closed since Sept. 11, 2001, mainly for fire safety reasons, the National Park Service has long said. The torch has been closed to the public since 1916, when Liberty’s arm was damaged by a massive rail yard explosion in nearby New Jersey. There are no plans to ever reopen the torch to the public.
You can also follow the the Statue of Liberty on Twitter (it’s an official NPS account;) or flickr; or take an eTour.
What you need to know to get tickets to the Statue of Liberty’s crown:
Crown tickets can be reserved up to a year in advance through Statue Cruises, the only company licensed to ferry the public to Liberty and Ellis islands. The $3 crown fee will be on top of the regular ferry ticket, currently priced at $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 877- LADY-TIX (877-523-9849) between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Eastern time.
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July 2, 2009 9:49 AM Comments (0)
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Water Taxi Beach Governors Island soft opens July 4
Water Taxi Beach Governors Island will make its unofficial debut this weekend, with the grand opening now set for July 11, a spokeswoman for the Harbor Experience Companies told NewYorkology.
The new Water Taxi Beach will be open this Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. “with very limited food and beverage service,” she said.
See the official Governors Island blog for the new beach awaiting its sand.
The Harbor Experience Companies already operates two other Water Taxi Beaches, in Long Island City and at the South Street Seaport, (pictured.)
The Governors Island beach fully opens July 11 with food, drink, volleyball, basketball and live music. The Beach at Governors Island concerts kick off July 11 with Grateful Dead-tribute band Dark Star Orchestra.
The full concert season:
July 12 - DJ khz at 4 p.m.(free show)
July 18 - Wheel Up! w/ DJs DRM (Bastard Jazz) + Erik The Red (Giant Step) at 2 p.m. (free show)
July 19 - Tragedy, all-metal tribute to the BeeGees at 2 p.m. (free show)
July 25 - The Beatards at 2 p.m.(free show)
July 26 - Turntables on the Hudson at 3 p.m. (free show)
Aug 4 - Erykah Badu at 8 p.m.
Aug 15 - Hip-Hop Karoke BBQ at 2 p.m. (free show)
Aug 18 - B52s at 8 p.m.
Aug 23 - Turntables on the Hudson at 3 p.m. (free show)
Sept. 6 - Turntables on the Hudson at 3 p.m. (free show)
Sept 12 - Mos Def at 9:30 p.m.
Sept. 26 - Buckethead at 8 p.m.
When there are evening concerts, New York Water Taxi will provide service during and after the shows to the Battery Maritime Building. Concert tickets include ferry transportation.
Picture credit: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
Earlier: New Water Taxi Beach location: Governors Island
July 1, 2009 12:20 PM Comments (0)
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Live web feed from Apollo's Michael Jackson tribute
 The transmission’s cutting in and out, but you’ll want to click over to catch the live webfeed from the Michael Jackson tribute at the Apollo Theater.
Yes, that’s Al Sharpton dancing.
The tribute continues into this evening. (Although the announcer on the stage just said the line extends up to 135th Street.)
On Wednesday night, Amateur Night will also be dedicated to Jackson.
(Link via NYC The Blog.)
Earlier: Free backstage tours at Apollo for 75th anniversary
Public invited to Apollo to say goodbye to James Brown
June 30, 2009 4:28 PM Comments (0)
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Jewish Museum cuts hours, adds 2-for-1 July admission
 Due to budget reasons, the Jewish Museum is changing its hours starting this week, closing its doors entirely on Wednesdays, and closing other galleries on some weekdays.
The museum will keep its free Saturdays policy (from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.,) plus for July only is offering two-for-one admission - if you have the printable flyer.
It will also add hours on Friday. Previously the museum was closed on Friday, but starting this week it will remain open until 5:45 p.m. until Oct. 16. For two Fridays — Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 — it will close at 5 p.m. Then from Nov. 6 through March 13, the Friday closing time will drop to 4 p.m.
On Thursdays, the museums will close at 5:45 pm rather than 8 p.m. In addition, the galleries to the permanent collection will close on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The change in the hours comes on top of a 10 percent staff cut through attrition and layoffs in March, which meant the loss of about 13 or 14 people, said Anne Scher, the director of communications for the museum. The recession, along with declines in the endowment and contributions, is the cause, but every effort is being made to limit the impact, Scher said.
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June 30, 2009 3:00 PM Comments (0)
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Rockaway Beach summer ferry service starts Saturday
 Weekend ferry service to Rockaway Beach starts this Saturday from Manhattan’s Pier 11 with one-way tickets priced at $6.
The trip takes 1 hour 15 minutes, with three departure daily from Pier 11 (near Wall Street on the East River.) The NY Water Taxi departs at 9:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.
Return departures are scheduled for 2:30 and 5 p.m. Most trips also include a stop at Brooklyn Army Terminal.
The Water Taxi docks at the former U.S. Coast Guard Station just north of Marine Park Bridge at 169 Street, and offers nearby access to Fort Tilden and Jacob Riis Park, (which was the scene-of-the-crime beach in this week’s Law & Order Criminal Intent with Raul Esparza.)
The subsidized summer service is offered in partnership with Gateway National Recreation Area and the NYC Economic Development Corporation.
Picture credit: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology
June 30, 2009 1:09 PM Comments (0)
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Full rainbow over Brooklyn Bridge during sunny storm
Picture credit: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
Update: Another view of the same rainbow, from east of Ocean Parkway, by Antonio M. Rosario.
June 27, 2009 9:46 PM Comments (0)
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Wimbledon rain-out still possible - at Rock Center
Old-style Wimbledon can be found in New York City — complete with the traditional rain-outs — thanks to the HSBC-sponsored public grass-court, open to the public for free in Rockefeller Center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Located in front of the old AP building, rackets and balls are available for walk-ups, or you can bring your own. Bleachers and a large screen is also set up for those who prefer to watch the real thing direct from England. This is the first year Wimbledon’s Centre Court has a retractable roof overhead.
This is the final day of the Wimbledon promotion in NYC, which also features free strawberries & cream carts, tennis clinics, and free London cab rides.
Related: Tickets recently went on sale for the U.S. Open tennis tournament, scheduled for Aug. 31 through Sept. 13 in Queens.
Picture credit: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
June 26, 2009 7:59 AM Comments (0)
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Twain-inspired drama finds life on the Hudson River
 A retired U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse tender will serve as the stage next month for a staging of a Mark Twain-inspired play “The Report of My Death.”
The one-man docudrama by Adam Klasfeld draws out a “darker and more political” Twain, as portrayed on stage by actor Michael Graves.
The venue will be the Lilac Steamship, docked at Pier 40 in the Hudson River where Houston Street meets the West Side Highway. The Lilac, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, served as a lighthouse tender for the U.S. Lighthouse Service from 1933 until 1939 and then as a buoy tender until 1972. She is the last unaltered steam propelled and steam hoisting lighthouse tender.
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June 26, 2009 7:13 AM Comments (0)
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Museum of Chinese in America to (soft) reopen Friday
 The Museum of Chinese in America will reopen Friday in its new location, debuting the design by Maya Lin.
A free Open House Family Day is scheduled for Sunday (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) with a lion dance, kung fu demonstration and dance performance. Admission will also be free this Friday (from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Saturday (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
The actual Celebration Ceremony will take place September 22, which is also when the museum will unveil the full MOCA core exhibit, “With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America” along with MOCA’s first group show, “Here & Now: Chinese Artists in New York.”
Until then, the museum will only be open select days this summer and for events such as the The First Asian American ComiCon and The 32nd Asian Ameican International Film Festival.
And starting next week, admission to the museum will be free every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., thanks to sponsorship from Target.
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June 25, 2009 4:50 PM Comments (0)
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