Sports
Joey Chestnut eats 68 Nathan's dogs, wins mustard belt
 Joey Chestnut today set a new world record by eating 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes to win the 2009 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Runner-up Takeru Kobayashi ate a mere 64 and a half Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and buns.
The annual Independence Day contest is held at the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island.
Other competitors in the International Federation of Competitive Eating-sanctioned event included Crazy Legs Conti, “Eater X” Tim Janus, Sonya Thomas, Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti, Marco “Mongo” Marquez and Micah “Wing Kong” Collins.
On Friday, the elephants won the people vs. pachyderm hot dog-bun eating contest, which was set up to promote Ringling Brothers’ Boom A Ring circus’ summer residency at Coney.
Earlier: Corned-beef champ eats 16-3/4 sandwiches in Midtown
July 4, 2009 12:42 PM Comments (0)
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In demand: free bike program at max on weekends
The wheels are hitting the road through Downtown Alliance’s free summer bikes program, which has found success this season, especially on weekends.
 Since Bike Around Downtown started May 13, the program has been at capacity for every weekend. A total of 2,454 reservations had been made through June 30, according to numbers provided to NewYorkology by Downtown Alliance.
The 30 free bikes are available seven days a week during three time slots: 9:30 a.m. to noon; 12:30 to 3 p.m.; and 3:30 to 6 p.m. The bicycles are provided through Bike and Roll, which also rents bikes and offers bike tours of New York.
Once you reserve online, free bikes can be picked up at the Bike and Roll’s kiosk at the South Street Seaport and returned at the same location, or at the Bike and Roll kiosks at Pier A in Battery Park, or 12th Avenue and 43rd Street, or on Governors Island when it’s open on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays.
The bike share program runs through Sept. 30.
Governors Island also offers free one-hour rentals every Friday through Oct. 9
Picture credits: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
Earlier: Free bike rental opens downtown, May 13 to Sept. 30
July 1, 2009 7:16 AM 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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Car-free Summer Streets to return Aug. 8, 15 and 22
Almost 7 miles of Manhattan roads will be closed to traffic again this summer as Summer Streets will return August 8, 15 and 22 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The 6.9-mile route will give way to bikers, skaters, walkers and others from the Brooklyn Bridge, up Lafayette/Centre Streets, along 4th Avenue and Park Avenue up to 72nd streets, map.
However, main cross-town streets will remain open to vehicles crossing the car-free zone.
“This is only its second year, but Summer Streets is already a New York tradition,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said at the news conference announcing the dates.
In addition the city has creating 13 extra car-free street events in other neighborhoods in all five boroughs, ranging from one to seven blocks long. Here are the dates of the remaining dates for those events:
Image source: NYC Summer Streets website
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June 30, 2009 12:17 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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VIP auctions: Broadway backstage to Agassi's US Open
 VIP New York is yours for the taking — from a private U.S. Open tête-à-tête with Andre Agassi to a table for eight at Rao’s — merely for a contribution to a worthy charity.
A number of auction sites can get you into Fashion Week, backstage on Broadway, ono the set of “30 Rock,” or even high up a crane in the Brooklyn container port.
Current auctions at CharityBuzz include:
Watch the US Open with Andre Agassi from a Luxury Suite - Current bid: $8,000.
Lunch and Tarot Card reading with Cyndi Lauper - Current bid: $1,100.
Meet Alec Baldwin on the set of “30 Rock” - Current bid: $2,300.
Rao’s dinner reservation for eight on June 25. “Please note that food and wine are not included.”: Current bid: $3,750.
Yankees vs. Red Sox, four Legends Suite tickets - Current bid: $1,700.
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June 5, 2009 2:12 PM Comments (0)
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Paul McCartney confirms July concerts at Citi Field
 Tickets will go on sale June 15 for a pair of Paul McCartney concerts in July at Citi Field stadium, the first such shows at the Mets’ new ballpark, USA Today confirms this morning.
The McCartney concert dates will be July 17 and 18.
McCartney told the paper he’ll play bits of Beatles, Wings and solo material.
The Mets’ recently demolished Shea Stadium, hosted the history-making August 15, 1965 Beatles concert.
Update: Tickets go on sale Monday, June 15 at 10 a.m. at 507Tixx.com.
Image source: 507Tixx.com.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that tickets will go on sale June 15, not June 8.
June 3, 2009 7:55 AM Comments (1)
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Governors Island opens for 2009 with polo, free bikes
Governors Island today opens for the 2009 season, with a family festival, bike rentals, a new picnic area facing the Statue of Liberty and a polo match featuring Prince Harry of England.
The short ferry ride to the island from Lower Manhattan remain free this year.
This summer’s special events include Dorothy Parker Society’s 11th annual Parkerfest and Roaring Twenties Jazz Age Lawn Party and the FIGMENT Festival and the Folks on the Island music festival. Free Bike Fridays also returns this year, with twice as many bikes. The Governors Island Water Taxi Beach is scheduled to open in time for the 4th of July weekend.
The Water Taxi Beach will be built on the north side of Governors Island, facing Lower Manhattan. Currently a parking lot, it’s located next to the main ferry landing in spot that last year hosted one of Olafur Eliasson’s waterfalls. (Like at the Brooklyn Bridge, trees here were damaged by the salty waterfall, but are expected to recover, an NPS official said.)
On Friday, NewYorkology got a preview tour of the island with rangers from the National Park Service, which operates the historic portion of the island.
Starting today, Governors Island is open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, the rangers lead free tours on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but on those days you’re not allowed to roam the island, except as part of the 1.5-mile ranger tour.
Fridays through Sundays, when the full island is open, rangers will be at some locations to explain the history of the old fortifications. You can also pick up a free do-it-yourself walking tour brochure at the ferry terminal in Manhattan.
Castle Williams, the round, red fortification easily seen from the Staten Island Ferry, was built from 1807 to 1811 and is considered the first purely American-designed fort, as most earlier ones on U.S. soil used a starred-French design. Its soft, red sandstone came from Newark.
Castle Williams is also a new recipient of about $5 million of stimulus funds in the U.S. Economic Recovery Plan, Mindi Rambo, an NPS assistant public affairs officer, told NewYorkology.
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May 30, 2009 6:59 AM Comments (0)
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Prince Harry to visit NY, play polo on Governors Island
 England’s Prince Harry will make a formal trip to New York City later this month, to visit the World Trade Center site and play in a charity polo match on the opening day of Governors Island, the
BBC reports.
It will be the 24-year-old prince’s first visit to America since he was a child.
The Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic on May 30, which will have paid and free viewing areas, is a benefit exhibition match for the American Friends of Sentebale. Nacho Figueras, the captain of Black Watch, will also play, a spokesperson for the match previously told NewYorkology.
VIP benefit tickets range from $500 for an individual to $50,000 for a table of 10 in the royal enclosure. (Details in pdf format.)
This will be the second year in a row that a polo match will help kick off the summer season at Governors Island, which has only been open to the public since 2004. The island, located just off the southern tip of Manhattan, can be reached by a free ferry next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. (It’s actually closer to Brooklyn, with the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal extremely nearby, as the picture from October 2008 shows.) This year Governors Island will get its own Water Taxi Beach (opening the Fourth of July weekend) as well as new picnic grounds on the newly opened south side of the island.
During the royal visit, Prince Harry will also visit a Veterans Affairs medical center in Manhattan, the Sept. 11 tribute at the British Garden at Hanover Square, and the Harlem Children’s Zone with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, according to BBC and People magazine.
(Thanks to Meryl Cooper and LaForce+Stevens on Twitter for the BBC tip.)
Picture credits: Top Veuve Clicquot; QM2 as seen from Governors Island, Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
Earlier: Polo returning to Governors Island on Opening Day
Governors Island plans: more biking, art and cabanas
May 13, 2009 8:07 AM Comments (0)
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Free bike rental opens downtown, May 13 to Sept. 30
 Today is the first day you can register to borrow a free bike from the Downtown Alliance as part of its Bike Around Downtown program.
There are 30 bikes available every day from May 13 to Sept. 30.
There are three time slots for each day:
9:30 a.m. to noon
12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Bikes are free, but you must reserve with a credit card that will be used as a security deposit. (Be warned, the terms of use state: “Registrants give permission to Bike the Greenway LLC (dba Bike and Roll NYC) to charge their credit card in the amount of up to $300 per piece of lost/stolen equipment.”) In addition, if you return a bike late, you’ll be charged $2.50 per 15 minutes.
Bikes can be picked up at Bike and Roll’s kiosk at the South Street Seaport. You can return them to the same location, or at the Bike and Roll kiosks at Pier A in Battery Park, or 12th Avenue and 43rd Street, or on Governors Island, (which opens for the season on May 30.)
Reservations can be made up to 3 days in advance, and you can only have one pending reservation at a time - so no back-to-back rentals, schemers. However, when you’ve created an online account with the Downtown Alliance and given them your credit card, you can reserve up to four bikes (if friends or families are joining you for the same time slot.)
Helmets and locks are provided free to all riders.
May 12, 2009 11:15 AM Comments (0)
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