Upper East Side
Museums open late for fall/winter 2009/10 in NYC
 Many museums stay open late at least one night a week, often in conjunction with free admission hours, live music and cocktails.
Here are the New York City museums with late-closing hours listed by day of the week:
Mondays
New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex at Grand Central Terminal - 8 p.m. (always free)
Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame Annex - 8 p.m., with last admission at 7 p.m. ($24.50)
Tuesdays
China Institute Gallery - 8 p.m. (free 6 to 8 p.m.)
Society of Illustrators - 8 p.m. (always free)
New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex at Grand Central Terminal - 8 p.m. (always free)
Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame Annex - 8 p.m. with last admission at 7 p.m. ($24.50)
Wednesdays
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art - 7 p.m. ($10)
New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex at Grand Central Terminal - 8 p.m. (always free)
Museum of Jewish Heritage - 8 p.m. ($12)
Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame Annex - 8 p.m. with last admission at 7 p.m. ($24.50)
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November 4, 2009 10:28 AM Comments (0)
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Shakespeare in the Park '10 'Merchant,' 'Winter’s Tale'
 “The Merchant of Venice” and “The Winter’s Tale” have been chosen as the two free plays for Shakespeare in the Park for the summer of 2010, The Public Theater announced today.
Daniel Sullivan will direct “Merchant” while Michael Greif will direct “Winter’s Tale.” Casts will be announced later.
Normally Shakespeare in the Park stages one play at the begging of summer, takes a break and starts a second. But in 2010, they’ll play in rotating repertory from June 9 through Aug. 1. The same company of actors will perform in both plays.
Image source: Official website for Shakespeare in the Park.
Earlier: Tragic reviews for ‘The Bacchae’ in Central Park
‘Twelfth Night’ in Central Park draws excellent reviews
November 2, 2009 4:36 PM Comments (0)
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Free day at Guggenheim marks museum's 50th anniv
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum today marks its 50th anniversary on Fifth Avenue by opening its doors for free all day.
The museum, which was first known as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, is currently mounting a major exhibition of Vasily Kandinsky, whose art is fundamental to the Guggenheim collection.
Today, the museum also opens Anish Kapoor’s “Memory.”
The celebrations today will include family activities, a 4:30 p.m. architecture tour via Twitter, as well as a screening of the documentary “Art, Architecture, and Innovation: Celebrating the Guggenheim Museum.”
The Guggenheim today will be open for free from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. It’s worth noting that the museum offers pay-what-you-wish admission every Saturday from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. Regular adult admission is normally $18.
(A few blocks up the street, the Cooper-Hewett is free every day through this Saturday for Design Week.
The Empire State Building will also mark the anniversary by tonight lighting up “in the museum’s signature red,” according to a news release issued by the skyscraper’s publicity team.
Picture credit: Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
Earlier: Museum free hours in NYC for fall/winter 2009/10
Guggenheim turns 50 with major Kandinsky exhibition
Guggenheim Museum for sale, by Lego
Guggenheim opens Frank Lloyd Wright blockbuster
Guggenheim Free Fridays moving to Saturday donation
October 21, 2009 8:21 AM Comments (0)
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NYC ice skating rinks reopening for cold season
 You’re already bundled up, now lace up. The ice rinks are opening.
Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park opened for the season today, while The Rink at Rockefeller Center, Abe Stark Rink at Coney Island and the Staten Island War Memorial Ice Skating Rink in Clove Lakes Park opened earlier this month.
Opening dates for the city’s other seasonal ice rinks:
Trump Lasker Rink on the north end of Central Park - Oct. 24
Prospect Park’s Wollman Rink - Nov. 26
The Pond at Bryant Park - Nov. 6.
Riverbank State Park - mid-November (Skate office: 212-694-3642)
Year-round indoor ice skating is available at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, Aviator Sports in Brooklyn and the World Ice Arena at Flushing Meadows, Queens.
Two of last season’s new outdoor rinks will not be returning for 2009-10. Neither Seaport Ice at the South Street Seaport nor the faux-ice Polar Rink at the American Museum of Natural History will reopen, officials said.
Picture credit: Rockefeller Center by Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
October 20, 2009 12:46 PM Comments (0)
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Average NYC hotel rate climbs to $234, deals disappear
After dipping below $200 this summer, the average hotel room rate in New York City is back up to $234.45 as of the first week of October, according to Smith Travel Research. While that’s 21 percent less than the same time a year ago, consumers aren’t likely to find any comfort in the discounts out there now.
Searching for the last weekend in October, Quikbook offers almost nothing under $250. If you poke around on other nights you can find rates from:
Comfort Inn Midtown West - $136
Ace - $219
The GEM Hotel, Midtown West - $229
Hotel Metro - $236
Cooper Square - $280
City Club - $289
Likewise, GetaRoom doesn’t deliver a deal for the Halloween weekend, but promises lower rates for other nights:
Wellington Hotel - $153.30
Best Western President Times Square - $170
Beekman Hotel - $231.20
HotelChatter has the heads-up on several soon-to-open properties, including the almost-ready Sanctuary Hotel, which is opening rooms as they’re upgraded from the old Portland Square Hotel digs. The new rooms are priced at $159 a night during construction.
While the fancy new The Standard still promises rooms from $195, you may be hard-pressed to find that rate available.
The Pod Hotel, which is now requiring a two-night minimum for most weekends, can be booked for as low as $149 per night in October (or $129 in November) if you’re willing to share a bathroom down the hall.
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October 15, 2009 11:03 AM Comments (0)
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El Museo to reopen with more space, free Saturdays
 After a $28 million renovation, El Museo del Barrio will reopen Saturday with a free open house to debut its 10,000 square feet of new space filled with Latino art with a very strong connection to the New York City experience.
“It’s a long tme coming, but we finally look like a museum,” Tony Bechara, the chairman of the board of trustees of El Museo, said Wednesday during a media preview.
The museum, now 40 years old, started in a classroom, migrated to a storefront and in 1977 moved into its current multi-use Fifth Avenue building, which was originally an orphanage. Twelve years ago it drew fewer than 20,000 visitors anually; before it closed for renovations last year, more than 125,000 people came through the museum’s doors, El Museo director Julian Zugazagoitia said.
The renovation not only provides extra gallery space, but has opened up the Central Park side of the building with more glass and a redesigned courtyard with an entrance to El Cafe, (which has a Pan-Latino menu culled from 17 cultures.) The goal is for the courtyard to serve as a gathering spot for East Harlem and the Upper East Side at the top of the Museum Mile, said architect Jordan Gruzen. (Although Zugazagoitia noted they’ll cede the “top” title to the Museum for African Art when it opens at 110th Street.)
The art itself is as much about New York City as it is Puerto Rico, Latin American or the Caribbean. The inaugural exhibition, “Nexus: New York: Latin/American Artists in the Modern Metropolis,” focuses on the avant-garde art produced from 1900 to 1942 in NYC as well as Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Peru and elsewhere.
Displayed in airy galleries featuring bold colors and text in Spanish and English, the walls are filled with works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and the caricatures of Miguel Covarrubias, (who Al Hirschfeld credited as an influence.)
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October 14, 2009 3:11 PM Comments (0)
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Open House NY 2009 guide, links, updates, RSVPs
 Now in its fifth year, Open House New York this weekend will open hundreds of sites for free tours, allowing the public to wander through cheese caves, a subway power station, the abandoned hospital buildings of Ellis Island, and into well-appointed private apartments, hotels and offices.
And while all the events are free, not all the sites are accesed with equal ease.
While there is a free printed OHNY guide (also available online in PDF) there have been many changes since its publication, including cancelations, new sites, and altered hours. Official updates can be found on the OHNY website and its blog. (Yes, you need to go to three different locations to get a full list of changes.)
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October 8, 2009 9:46 PM Comments (0)
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Michelin adds Daniel to list of best NYC restaurants
The New York City 2010 Michelin Guide hits the shelves today, proclaiming Daniel, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, Masa and Per Se the best restaurants in NYC.
One notch below, each with two stars: Alto, Corton, Gilt, Gordon Ramsay at The London, Momofuku Ko and Picholine. Forty-four other restaurants get one star.
The additional Bib Gourmand list (“Inspectors’ Favorites for Good Value,”) is available online.
The Michelin guide, now in its fifth year covering New York City, for this edition adds a symbol to denote restaurants with worthy cocktails or sake, expands its under-$25 listings, beefs up its Brooklyn and Queens coverage and adds a “small plates” classification.
October 6, 2009 2:52 PM Comments (0)
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Open House NY reservations-required free tour list
Open House New York will open hundreds of sites for free tours during the weekend of October 10 and 11. Several locations will require reservations. Here’s the list of some of the most interesting OHNY tours that promise to fill up fast.
(Editor’s note: The final update to this list was Thursday night.)
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution - weekend tours at 12:30 (full on Saturday) and 2 p.m., includes free museum admission.
Lefferts Historic House - cellar-to-attic tours from noon on Saturday and Sunday. (718) 789-2822 ×10. Update: Only two spots remain noon on Sunday, all others full.
?What If!, a Leading Innovation Company weekend tours of Former Stuyvesant Polyclinic Hospital rsvp@whatifinnovation.com
Immaculate Conception School & Church - Saturday tours with openings at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. cetus@mindspring.com
Betances Community Center - Saturday tours with the architects in the Bronx. info@syarch.com. (All tours still have openings as of Thursday at noon.)
Trinity Church Cemetery & Mausoleum tours of Manhattan’s only active cemetery with historian Eric K. Washington. (212) 939-0994. All four tours — Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. — still have a few spots open (as of Thursday at noon) with the Sunday at 1:30 p.m. most likley to fill soonest.
Wild Project - weekend tours with Alive Structures landscape architects. (Spots still open on Sunday at 10 a.m.,noon and 4 p.m.) marni@alivestructures.com
Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity - Multiple tours during the weekend. (Sunday at 2 p.m. is still available as of Thursday at noon.) Steve_HTCathedral@yahoo.com
W hotels - tours of the Times Square, Union Square and Lexington Ave properties. rebecca.snyder@bbg-bbgm.com for Lex; nychappeningsrsvp@whotels.com, for others, specify which hotel. (As of noon Thursday, there are confirmed openings for W on Lex.)
The New School: Orozco Room - Saturday at 11 a.m. tour with Silvia Rocciolo, cocurator of the New School Art Collection, and James Wechsler, an independent scholar. Updated RSVP info.
Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church - Saturday and Sunday tours of the Romanesque Revival Church with Tiffany stained-glass windows. lrogers@lapcbrooklyn.org. Update: Reservations not required. “Just simply arrive during the allocated time (Sat. 12-1 pm, Sun. 1-5pm).”
Louis Armstrong House Museum - weekend tours still available (as of Thursday afternoon.) info@louisarmstronghouse.org
Brooklyn Museum - Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. tours of the Sackler Wing with Polshek architect. A few spaces are still available both days (as of Thursday afternoon.) grouptours@brooklynmuseum.org
Woodlawn Cemetery - weekend tours of private mausoleums by designers McKim, Mead & White, Carrere & Hastings, John Russell Poper, Tiffany, and Hunt & Hunt. Update: Reservations are preferred; spots available on the Saturday at 10 a.m. tour and Sunday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. tours. (718) 920-1470
Locations that may still have spots open: (NewYorkology has reached out to each of these groups to confirm availibility.)
Duane St Live/ Work Loft - Sunday tours. info@mparchitectsnyc.com.
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October 1, 2009 6:36 PM Comments (0)
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Museum free hours in NYC for fall/winter 2009/10
 The recession has caused many museums to raise admission, reduce staff and delay exhibitions, but the good news is that most are maintaining their free hours.
In addition to the list below, many New York City museums are always free or operate under a not-well-advertised “suggested donation” policy.
Museums with free or pay-what-you-wish hours
Mondays
Museum at Eldridge Street - Free tours every half hour from 10 a.m. to noon (normally $10)
Yeshiva University Museum - Free 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. (normally $8)
Tuesdays
Brooklyn Botanic Garden - Free all day (normally $8)
China Institute Gallery - Free 6 to 8 p.m. (normally $7)
Through October: Museum of American Finance - Free 10 to 11 a.m. (normally $8)
Through October: Wave Hill gardens - Free 9 a.m. to noon (normally $6)
From November-April: Wave Hill gardens - Free all day (normally $6)
Morgan Library & Museum - Free access to the McKim rooms (Mr. Morgan’s library and study) from 3 to 5 p.m. (full museum access $12)
Wednesdays
Bronx Zoo - Admission by pay-what-you-wish donation all day (normally $15)
Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust - Free 4 to 8 p.m. (normally $12)
Staten Island Zoo - Free 2 to 4:45 p.m. (normally $8)
Van Cortlandt House Museum - free all day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (normally $5)
Through October: Museum of American Finance - Free 10 to 11 a.m. (normally $8)
From Nov. 20 - Feb 27 only: Brooklyn Botanic Garden - Free all day (normally $8)
Through November: Brooklyn Children’s Museum - free 2 to 5 p.m. (normally $7.50)
NY Botanical Garden - Free grounds access all day, but “This does NOT include admission to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, Rock and Native Plant Gardens (April–October), or Tram Tour” (grounds-only access normally $6)
Thursdays
Museum of Arts & Design - Pay-what-you-wish 6 to 9 p.m. (normally $15)
New Museum - Free 7 to 9 p.m. (normally $12)
Museum of Chinese in America - Free all day, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (normally $7)
China Institute Gallery - Free 6 to 8 p.m. (normally $7)
Through October: Museum of American Finance - Free 10 to 11 a.m. (normally $8)
From Nov. 20 - Feb 27 only: Brooklyn Botanic Garden - Free all day (normally $8)
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September 30, 2009 1:07 PM Comments (1)
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