The Big Screen is Going Green at This Legendary Film Studio

You may see movies in color, but the name of the game at New York’s Kaufman Astoria Studios is now green.
The studio, currently home to “Sesame Street” and Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie,” starring Edie Falco (and future home of the “Smurfs” Movie, to be released next year--no, we can’t wait either) is converting to green energy. Kaufman Astoria is the oldest functioning movie studio in the city; more than 120 silent and sound films have been produced there. They include the Marx Bothers’ “Animal Crackers,” as well as “The Wiz,” “All That Jazz,” and Woody Allen's "Radio Days.”
The studio is switching from commonly used heating oil to a new mix of petroleum and biodiesel, produced by Brooklyn-based company METRO and known as “Greenheat.” It’s made from 5 percent biodiesel fuel (which includes used vegetable oil from restaurants, as well as soy and canola oils and algae) and 95 percent petroleum. The biodiesel burns much cleaner than oil and has no sulfur. The studio will be supplied with 80,000 gallons of the fuel each year, which will earn it the distinction of being the largest commercial user of Greenheat in New York.
METRO also supplies other distinctive clients--the Hampton Jitney (the bus service that ferries beachgoers to the tony Hamptons) and the City of New York.
The company will be opening a 110-million-gallon processing plant in Brooklyn later this year, which will add not just cleaner energy--but a spate of new jobs as well.

Black History Month in New York Offers Plenty to Do

Black History Month in New York means no shortage of ways to celebrate, educate yourself, or simply have a good time. Below, a smattering of events running throughout the month at institutions around the city.
If it’s art you’re after, check out the exhibition “African Americans: Seeing and Seen: 1766-1916” at the Babcock Galleries (724 Fifth Avenue, between 56th and 57th Streets; 212 767-1852).The show looks at both positive and negative portrayals of African Americans in fine art, going back to Colonial times.
Over at BAM (BAM Cinema; 30 Lafayette Street in Brooklyn; 718 636-4100), a schedule of films is running throughout the month under the heading “The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival.” Coming up: “Made in Jamaica,” on Feb. 19, which explores the world of reggae music. Events are also running at the Brooklyn Public Library (10 Grand Army Plaza; 718-230-2100) and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (145 Brooklyn Avenue; 718 735-4400).
Up at the Dwyer Cultural Center (258 St. Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan; 212 222-3060), both music and theater are on the bill. This week (Feb. 9) “Rivers Run Deep: The Paul Robeson Story” is being presented.
And New York’s Lincoln Center is offering a roster of performances throughout February. On Feb. 11, for example, swing to “Basie and the Blues” with Wynton Marsalis (Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway and 60th Street; call 212 721-6500.)
So beat those February blues with culture and education. Get out there!

Treasures, Trash, and Everything in Between at the Outsider Art Fair

Let the Museums have their Picassos and Raphaels, their Monets and Renoirs. This weekend in New York, attention is on the unknowns at the Sanford Smith Outsider Art Fair (Feb. 5-7).
The fair includes almost 40 exhibitors from both New York and abroad, with lectures and events organized by The American Folk Art Museum. The event began 18 years ago as a way of recognizing an overlooked and unheralded market—art created outside of mainstream society. The artists are generally untrained or self-taught, and often work in primitive styles.
Presenters include New York’s Fountain Gallery, a not-for-profit cooperative highlighting works by artists living with mental illness; St. Louis’ Galerie Bonheur, which is focusing on the work of late Bahamian artist Amos Ferguson; and Galerie St. Etienne, which has a history of exhibiting works by artists who have gone on to gain fame in the mainstream art world, such as Grandma Moses.
What can you expect to see? Well, one artist showed up at the opening event wearing a coat she had made from human hair. Another uses trash boxes found in his work as a janitor. And another makes handbags out of Ramen Noodle packets. There’s even a work made entirely of beads, sewn by Haitian artist who lost all her material possessions in the recent earthquake in Haiti.
The fair is located at 7 West 34th Street, near Fifth Avenue; today (Sunday) it runs from 11 am to 6 pm. Sanford Smith and Associates can be reached at (212) 777-5218. The American Folk Art Museum can be reached at (212) 265-1040.
So come on, what’s the Superbowl compared to this?

So This is What Winter's All About: Get Out and Play at Snow Jam

Snow may be falling from the sky…but probably not enough to explain the drifts covering parts of New York’s Central Park today.
From whence the snow? Why, it’s Winter Jam NYC, a free sports festival from 11 am–4pm today near the Bandshell in Central Park (enter at 72nd Street.)
Watch the snowboarders riding the rails at Switch Academy Rail Jam. Head down to the Lake Placid Snow Jam, and strap on cross-country skis or show shoes. Or, what about pretending you’re five and just playing in the snow? ORDA (the Olympic Regional Development Authority, one of the co-sponsors, along with the NYC Parks Department), has been making snow for a week in preparation for the event. So get out there and make snow angels and snow forts and of course, the classic snowball.
Or, if you don’t feel like getting covered in snow yourself, watch “Red Bull Project X,” a documentary about Sean White training for the Olympics in Silverton, Colorado.
And what’s a snow day without hot chocolate? The Pride of New York Winter Market is the place to go. (Free samples will abound.)
In addition, kids can check out the inflatable Slap Shot Booth and perfect their hockey skills; and watch The Skyriders, trampoline acrobats (since when is that a winter activity??)
So come on! Perfect clean snow to play in without worrying about shoveling or getting to work through the resulting slush! How often does that happen in New York?

Can't Find the Subway? A New Phone App Will Find it For You

Forget that unwieldy, old-fashioned street map--a new phone app can help you find the nearest New York City subway station just by glancing around you.
Wayfinder NYC gives walking directions to subway and PATH stations that are calculated by GPS. The directions are superimposed over the phone’s camera.
The program won big last night (Thursday, Feb. 4) for having the best new use of city data online.
Wayfinder, which works on Android mobile phones, was designed in response to the city’s “NYC BigApps” competition, which gave programmers 170 sets of city data and the mandate to find new ways to use them online. Data provided included everything from restaurant inspection results to taxi info to library catalogues and traffic updates.
Mayor Mike Bloomberg presented the awards last night to Victor Sima and Steven Lao at the IAC building in Chelsea. More than 110 applications were submitted in this inaugural competition.
The point of the challenge? To give a nod to New York’s high-tech and media industries--and also to give New Yorkers much-needed improved services in certain areas. It was also designed to make New York City government more accessible to New Yorkers. The competition was part of Mayor Bloomberg’s initiative to make city government more transparent to the public.
Mayor Bloomberg, of course, made his sizeable fortune in information technology himself, so although the designers won about $7500 in prizes, who knows what’s next?

Can't Get to the Academy Awards? This Year, They're Coming to You

Secretly longing to go to the Academy Awards? (Really, who isn’t?) Wishing you could jet off to the land of palm trees, paparazzi, and pampering like the stars? Well, we can’t promise you any of that unless you’re Angelina Jolie, but if you’re in New York City on Oscar Day (March 7) you too can have your taste of Oscar glamour.
This year, for the first time, a live viewing of the Oscars will be held at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, it was announced this week. The celebration, which comes complete with a cocktail reception (as well a minimum price tag of $150, depending on the package that’s purchased), is the final event in a weeklong celebration of Academy Award-winning movies that were filmed or took place in New York City; they’re being screened at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. (Tickets go on sale Feb. 11; call 212 875-5601)
It’s the first time that Oscar Night America, a series of events that take place across the country to raise money for various local charities, has set up shop in New York. Proceeds from the event will go to NYC and Company, the city’s tourism and marketing arm.
So quick--can you name any New York-centric movies?
For starters--pretty much anything by Woody Allen, as well as Taxi Driver, West Side Story, Midnight Cowboy, and even the recent Julie & Julia.
Who says LA has all the fun?

It's a Long Way to the Top, at Least in This Race

Think you’re in good shape? How does an 86-floor, 1,576-stair climb sound? Not going to try it any time soon? Well, yesterday (Feb. 2) more than 300 athletes raced to the top of New York’s Empire State Building, starting in the lobby and ending on the 86th floor Observation Deck. It’s a fifth of a mile, or 1,050 feet (although by the time you reach the top, it probably feels like a lot more.)
We’ll just stay put, thanks.
The race, which has been held 33 times since 1978, drew participants from 19 states and 17 countries. The overall winner was professional stair-racer Thomas Dold (yes, that's really what he does), with a time of 10:16--he took the top honors for the fifth year in a row. The fastest woman, Melissa Moon, hails from New Zealand, and is a 40-year-old mountain runner (You go girl!) Her time: 13:13. (The fastest the race has ever been run is 9:23.)
Nether of the top two women had ever climbed the Empire State Building before. The second-place woman was New York’s Gretchen Hurlbutt (let’s hear it for hometown girls!), who had never done any kind of stair race before.
And yes, it is a real thing, and that is a real term. Stair races are held all over the world, and are often used to raise money for charities. (One is coming up in Chicago at the Presidential Towers at the end of March, for example.)
But still, we’ll stick to the Stairmaster.

Hey, New York, Now There's Somewhere Else to Read

New York loves its libraries. New hardcovers that you don’t have to buy! A place that’s not your cramped living room to sit and read! Surreptitious glances at People Magazine!
Now New Yorkers have somewhere old-but-new-again to hang out and read.
One of New York’s City original libraries is reopening to the public after a 2-year, $9.5 million renovation. The St. Agnes Branch, on New York’s Upper West Side (44 Amsterdam Avenue, near 81st Street; 212 621-0619) opened its doors to the public in 1906. Before that, it was a parish library; it also housed a collection of books for the blind. It’s one of New York’s 67 original branch libraries, and has been in is present location since 1906.
Although the official opening ceremony is next week (Feb. 11); the branch is already open.
The three-story building was built with funds given to the city by steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie; they were designated for library branches to be built across the city. It was built by the firm of Babb, Cook and Willard. (In 1901, they also designed a mansion for Andrew Carnegie; it now houses the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum.)
What’s new? An entire floor dedicated to children’s books; 40 public computers; and a new story-hour room.
The Feb. 11 event will include a day of free events, from a morning ceremony to a branch tour to programs for kids and teens (balloon animas; magic; a singing program for preschoolers; gaming with Nintendo Wii) to a neighborhood history talk and job workshops.
So get out there and welcome back an old friend--with some great new facilities.

Trying to Stay Healthy? The City Wants to Help You

Honestly, now: How many of you look at the postcard you get in the mail reminding you to get a checkup (or a blood pressure screening; eye exam, etc.) and immediately rush to the phone to make an appointment?
Right, we thought so.
New York wants you to be healthier, people, and now someone’s doing something about all those reminder flyers you get in the mail.
They’re calling you directly.
So now, you can throw away, but you can’t hide.
A new initiative is being launched today in New York City that will notify people who are due for health services--and call them so they can’t wiggle out of it.
Aimed at needy patients, the new Panel Management Program will determine when someone is due for a blood pressure screening or cholesterol check, for example--and then, gently but firmly, we hope, get on the phone and ask patients to schedule an appointment right then and there.
The Health Department has partnered with 20 medical practices, and will use electronic health records to locate the patients. The two-year pilot program is being funded privately by Pfizer, and is part of Mayor Bloomberg’s initiative to reach out to needy New Yorkers. The goal is to catch high-risk New Yorkers before an emergency.
Those targeted include patients with diabetes, heart conditions, or are obese.
Last year, a modified program was tested in a few practices. City staff were lent to the practices to help do outreach—and as result, 567 patients with heart conditions were reached--and 60 percent of them went in for long-overdue testing.

From the Titanic To Tut, Where Else But Times Square?

Walking through anything in New York City’s Times Square--whether the Sephora or Toys R Us Stores; the line at TKTS or the pedestrian mall--has a larger-than-life, slightly carnival-ish, sideshow feel.
So the Discovery Times Square Exposition on West 44th street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue; 866-987-9692) fits right in.
The exhibits there are larger, splashier and somehow more brazen than anything you’d find at another New York museum. Witness “Titanic: the Artifact Exhibition,” which runs through Feb. 28. Experience the ship’s maiden voyage! Take on the identity of a Titanic passenger! (Without the unfortunate end result.)
No, you won’t be getting that at the Guggenheim. You can also experience a recreation of the ship’s grand staircase and, to be fair, actually see artifacts from the ship (hence the name.) The objects recovered from the ocean floor include china, jewelry, clothing and documents.
While you’re there, you can also check out “Leonardo Da Vinci’s Workshop,” running through March 14. Gaze at full-scale models of some of his inventions, such as a self-propelled cart and a robot knight (chivalrous and high-tech.) Participate in a family workshop (there’s one today at 1 PM) and come up with your own invention. Or simply play with the touch screens that allow visitors to transform sketches into 3D models.
Coming in April: “King Tut: Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.” It opens on April 23. Ten galleries will showcase 130 artifacts, including some of the possessions from Tut’s tomb.
Bigger, larger-than-life, more over-the-top? Where else but Times Square?

Turn in a Car Seat, Ride a Ferris Wheel at New York's Toys R Us

Out with the old, in with the new: In New York City as well as across the country, Toys R Us is spearheading an initiative so parents and caregivers can trade in potentially unsafe, old, and used baby products as part of “The Great Trade In” event. Items that can be traded in include used car seats, strollers, play yards, high chairs, toddler beds, and cribs. (Many of these items are old and still in circulation, but should not actually be used or passed on to someone else.)
In exchange for turning in these products, consumers will receive a 25 percent savings on certain new baby items.
The program began yesterday, and continues through Feb. 20.
During the first trade-in event, in Sept. 2009, tens of thousands of items were brought in; used car seats were the number one item brought to stores--as well as the number one item purchased.
In New York, the place to head, of course, is the Toys R Us in Times Square. (1514 Broadway at 44th Street; 1-800-TOYSRUS). In addition to ridding yourself of those baby products that have been sitting in the attic, kids can partake of the giant Ferris wheel; walk-in Barbie Dream house; and the "R Zone," a 5500-square megalopolis of the newest in electronic games, DVDs, and other tech gizmos. Customers can play on giant plasma screens (and those over 30 are guaranteed to walk out with unsteady balance and buzzing in your ears, not to mention your brains, so be forewarned.)
Oh yes, watch out for the 5-ton, 20-foot-high, 34-foot long animatronic dinosaur inspired by “Jurassic Park.”
If you weren’t unsteady on your feet after the Ferris Wheel and the game room, you will be after an encounter with him.

For a Photo Finish to Your Week, ICP Offers a Wide Range of Shows

It’s a big week for Museum goings-on in New York City, what with paintings being accidentally ripped (The Metropolitan Museum of Art); and preparations for the Biennial (The Whitney Museum of American Art). Over at The International Center of Photography (ICP), four new shows open today (January 29).
Fist off, there’s ”Twilight Vision: Surrealism, Photography and Paris.” More than 150 photos, films, books, and periodicals have been brought together to show how photographic images were used to create both real and imaginary images of Paris. Man Ray, Ilse Bing, and Dora Maar all have works in the show.
In “Miroslav Tichy,” the exhibition highlights the work of the reclusive Czech photographer, known for his cardboard cameras and haunting images of women and landscapes. (In addition to photographs, a number of his homemade cameras are on view.)
“Alan B. Stone and the Senses of Place” explores the idea of “place” and memory through black-and white photos. Works of the Montreal photographer include both the photos of male pinups that he sold in the 1950s, as well as his photographs of his home city.
Finally, 31 vintage prints of the work of famed photographer Eugene Atget are on display in “Atget, Archivist of Paris.” All the images have been taken from the museum’s permanent collection.
All exhibitions run though May 9. ICP, which is located at 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street, can be reached by calling 212 857-0000. The museum also offers a broad spectrum of classes, lectures and workshops.

Looking for a Little Controversy With Your Art? Get Ready for the Whitney Biennial

One of the great art world events opens in about six weeks in New York City: The Whitney Biennial comes to town on Feb. 25 and runs through May 30.
The 75th Biennial will feature 55 artists, as opposed to 82 in 2008.
The show is always known as much for the controversy it provokes as the survey of American Art it undertakes. This year, artists include Lorraine O’Grady, a performance artist who worked as an intelligence analyst for the government; Aki Sasamoto, whose performance art will take place in the galleries next to her sculptures, which incorporate objects from everyday life; and Suzan Frecon, whose work hangs in New York’s MOMA and who is known for her large paintings of geometric designs.
Video installations, which used to be scattered throughout the building, will now largely be offered on a single floor.
For the first time, women outnumber men.
And if you can’t wait until mid-Feb., in preparation for the event, a show that opened mid-Jan. at the Museum focuses on past artists who have been included in the Biennial. Entitled, “Collecting Biennials,” it focuses on a mix of artists, including some big names like Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock.
You can also go to the Museum’s website (wnitney.org) to watch a series of brief videos about the preparation for the event, focusing on artists and curators, as well as the installation and preparation of a number of the works.
The Whitney Museum is at 945 Madison Avenue; call 212 570-7721 for more information.

In New York, Even Scaffolding Can Get a Makeover

Walking under an ugly piece of scaffolding, or “sidewalk shed,” is as much a part of many New Yorkers' days as the morning subway ride or the line at the bank. But now, in an effort to make those dark, creepy, ramshackle enclosures less, well, dark, creepy and ramshackle, a new design is set to be unveiled.
The sheds are designed, ostensibly, to protect walkers from being hit by runaway debris while a building is being renovated or repaired. They’re found on both residential and commercial properties.
An international design competition was held to determine a new design: The winner was Young-Hwan Choi, a first-year architecture student at the University of Pennsylvania.
The design, entitled “Urban Umbrella,” will have customizable, transparent roofs. A UV-stabilized film could be used for the application of either different colors or a variety of art work; in other words, the roofs would become the basis for public art projects.
Mayor Bloomberg issued a statement saying that although the city changes, the sheds themselves have not. (Wouldn’t faster, more efficient work also be a solution, to get rid of the sheds faster? But we digress.)
A prototype should be up this summer. Supposedly more than 6000 sheds exist in New York City--this works out to more than one million linear feet. (You’re welcome for doing the math.)
So keep your eyes open—but your head covered--when you approach a sidewalk shed in upcoming months.

Come Hungry, Eat Hearty During New York's Restaurant Week

Feeling hungry...for someone else’s cooking? Longing for a nice meal...with somebody not related to you to wash the dishes? Well, grab your penny jar and head out, because it’s Restaurant Week in New York City.
The event, which began yesterday and runs through Feb. 7, offers three-course, prix-fixe lunches for $24.07, and dinners for $35 at some of the city’s top eateries. On the list: 21, Aquavit and Asia de Cuba; Blue Smoke, Butter, and Capsouto Freres. Down at the other end of the alphabet, you can dine at Orsay, The Palm, Rosa Mexicano and The Water Club. Several websites have additional information and ways to make reservations; check out nycgo.com.
While the restaurants don’t always bring their A game—expect a lot of chicken and fish--it’s still a chance to enjoy a meal in some of New York’s most famous dining establishments.
But even if you don’t feel like setting foot inside, say, Tribeca Grill, you can still enjoy soup from a roving Restaurant Week Truck. Hungry New Yorkers can find offerings from twenty-four restaurants at three street corners (Broadway between 50th and 51st from Jan. 25-29; Fifth Avenue between 18th and 19th from Feb. 1-3; and Greenwich Street, between Warren and Murray Streets, from Feb, 4-5.) The trucks, new this time around, will generally be there between 11 am and 2 pm, and will offer such soul-warming goodies as City Crab’s New England clam chowder, and gingered sweet potato and lobster bisque from The Sea Grill.
And if you need more incentive, $1 from every $6 truck purchase will go towards The Haiti Relief Fund.
Eat well; help others. A win-win deal all around.

Watch Your Step: Picasso Gets Tripped Up

Art has its perils—at least if you were a visitor to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street) on Friday.
A visitor--Overenthusiastic? Awkward? Cursed?--lost her balance and fell into the Picasso painting “The Actor,” valued at $80 million.
The visitor tore a six-inch gash in the lower right-hand corner of the painting, unusual in part for its large size—6 feet by 4 feet. The work is also important in that it signaled a move from Picasso’s “Blue Period,” in which he used mainly shades of blue, to a rose period. Picasso painted “The Actor” in the winter of 1904-05. It was donated to the Met in 1952 by automobile heiress Thelma Chrysler Foy, and has hung in a second-floor gallery since then. The painting shows a stick-thin figure in a pink stage costume, and is displayed with some of Picasso’s other early works.
The woman who damaged the painting was participating in an adult education class in the afternoon, and somehow stumbled and fell.
A Museum statement says that the damage can be fully repaired, and that the hole was not made in a focal point of the painting.
The painting, which was removed from the gallery, will supposedly be repaired in time to be displayed in an exhibit of 250 Picasso works entitled “Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art” that opens April 27 and runs through August 1.
Considering the sheer numbers of people that move through the Museum each day, if not each hour, it’s actually a wonder that more accidents don’t happen more often.

What Lurks Beneath? Open the Manhole Cover and Find Out

Of all the urban legends about New York, one of the greatest and most prevalent has to be what prowls under the city streets. Well, now is your chance to find out, sort of. The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel tours are running this weekend, as well as on Saturday, January 30, and many folk will get the chance to hop on board. Or, rather, to descend under the yawning bowels of the city and see what lurks beneath.
The tours are part of openhousenewyork, an organization that take visitors behind the scenes to see some of the inner working of the design and architecture of the city. In October, for instance, free tours that showcase some of New York’s startling design innovations are offered. (ohny.org for information).
This time around, the organization, along with the Brooklyn Historical Railway Association, offers a guided tour of the world’s oldest subway system. It was constructed, amazingly, using only basic hand tools—in just seven months. Bob Diamond, who rediscovered the tunnels in 1980, leads the tours. He will set off twice each day though the half-mile space. (Tours fill up very quickly.) It works sort of like a secret society--meeting times and so forth are given to you after you've purchased your tickets; go to the website for info.
All sorts of caveats exist, apart from the obvious (no high heels, duh.)
The tunnel entrance is a manhole cover in the middle of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. (How Secret Agent!)
Even if you don’t go, isn't it kind of cool to know that such a thing exists?

The Economy May be Hairy, But "Hair" Helped with a Food Drive

With many raises cut, jobs in question, and unemployment up in New York, donations to food pantries and shelters are down in this less-than-stellar economy. So the New York Daily News/City Harvest food drive found a unique way to chip in yesterday—aspiring performers auditioning at an open casting call of the musical “Hair” were asked to bring canned goods along with their resumes.
Glossy headshots, pages of sheet music and cans of baked bean, soup and other staples were a common sight at the Public Theater on Friday, where the tryouts were held. By 8:30 am, more than 960 actors had already lined up for their chance to belt out 16 bars of a song and hand over their cans.
But New York, don’t despair if your singing chops weren’t up to par and you weren’t possessed by that renegade-counterculture hippie spirit—you can still donate food.
Donations are accepted at all police and fire stations across the city; Modell’s sporting-goods stores across the five boroughs; and the lobby of The New York Daily News (450 West 33rd Street in Manhattan).
The latest incarnation of “Hair” opens on Broadway on March 9.
So come on, New York, grab a can of pasta fagioli or black bean soup, and get yourself to your nearest police or fire station. Or combine a trip to buy sneakers for little Bobby with a drop-off that’s seriously needed.
Hair, hair!

Ahoy, New York: It's the New York Boat Show

Stop anchoring yourself to your couch, New York, and sail off for the Javits Center. Yup, you guessed it--the annual New York Boat show has arrived. The 105th show, at the Javits Center through Sunday, Jan. 24, is the Holy Grail to boat aficionados. The world’s longest-running boat show is in port from 10 am to 10 pm today and Saturday, and from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday. (The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is at 655 West 34th Street; the main entrance is on 11th Avenue and 35th Street; 212 216-2000.)
The show primarily features boats and marine gear for sale. Perhaps with a nod to the economy, it includes an “Affordability Pavilion” (their phrase), with boats costing less than $250 a month. Also in store: boaters (or those who love talk) can enter the “Fish Tales” contest: Share your best fishing tale, and if the judges deem you triumphant, you could win a Fishfinder/Chartplotter. Isn't fishing lingo the best?
New this year: A traveling Nature and Maritime Museum on Wheels. Yes, mom, when dad gets that fanatical gleam in his eyes, you and the kids can slink off to this exhibit. The space is designed to feel like a boat (surprise, surprise) with some pirate-ship-like features thrown in. Nautical artifacts, interactive exhibits, educational displays, and other exhibits designed to highlight ocean and estuary life take center stage.
And clearly, someone over at the Boat Center has a sense of humor; because here are some of the seminars you can attend: "Don’t Wake for Me!" (Basic Rules of the Road, Safety, and Navigational Aids) and "What Knot to Know" (Basic knot tying and uses).
It’s all shipshape over there, so cast away!

Like Your Thrill Rides Nausea-Inducing? You'll be in Luck at Coney Island

If you live for over-the-top thrill rides, daring drops, nauseating spins, and stomach-churning twists, then New York’s Coney Island is the place for you this coming summer. As part of the amusement park’s major renovation, Zamperla USA has won the right to bring their wares to a 7-acre parcel of land; it includes the now-defunct Astroland. Zamperla USA runs the very popular Victorian Gardens Amusement Park in Manhattan’s Central Park each summer. They were competing with other vendors such as Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and Steel Pier. Zamperla could have the rights for the next 10 years; after that, a permanent developer is expected to turn Coney Island into a year-round entertainment and retail spot.
The city hopes that at least some of the rides will be ready by Memorial Day weekend, but a final agreement has not yet been reached.
Proposals were submitted by all the competing companies, which had to put forward plans for development of at least one of the three available areas of land. Zamperla’s proposal covered all three areas.
The company won’t reveal which rides will be unveiled this summer, but a list of their most popular attractions include The Disk-O-Coaster, a mix of a spinning ride and roller coaster that spins in circles while going over tracks (why not just pump riders’ stomachs while they’re at it?); and The Vertical Swing, a swing ride 125 feet in the air that moves at dizzying speeds. Also a hit with riders: The Giant Discovery, which flips riders from a giant pendulum and turns them upside down; and The Flash Tower, offering freefalls from 120 feet.
Please--no hot dogs beforehand.

A New York Novel for Children Takes the Newbery Award

A novel set in New York, and written by an author who was born in the city and resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, has won the Newbery Award, the most prestigious award given for children’s literature.
The announcement was made Monday that the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature was given to Rebecca Stead for “When You Reach Me.” The novel takes place in 1979, on the Upper West Side, and focuses on the story of Miranda, a sixth-grade girl whose best friend stops taking to her; she also starts receiving notes telling her that it’s up to her to figure out how to prevent a tragic event from happening in the future.
The novel deals with issues of time travel, class, and friendship; has a rich, complicated structure; and has spent eight weeks on "The New York Times" best-seller list for children's chapter books. The classic children’s book “A Wrinkle in Time,” which itself won the Newbery Award in 1963, also plays a vital part in the novel.
The neighborhood in the book resembles the one in which Ms. Stead grew up, she has said, and the lives of the characters are modeled on her own experience growing up in the city. The apartment in the story was inspired by her mother’s apartment; the school was patterned after the one she attended on New York’s west side.
In fact, Manhattan becomes as much a character in the novel as any of the characters themselves.
So congratulations to Rebecca Stead--and to New York for being such a great role model.

New York's WQXR Gets Hip, and Celebrates the Grammys

WQXR, the only remaining full-time classical music station in New York, and one of the only ones left in the country, is celebrating Grammy Month. (No, it’s not all about Lady Gaga.) Each week leading up to the awards ceremony on Sunday, January 31, WQXR will focus on one of the categories in which classical performances have been nominated. (WQXR switched to a public-radio format this past fall, and can now be found on 105.9 FM.)
Each week, pieces from the nominated albums will be played throughout that week, and also streamed on WQXR.org.
Categories include Best Classical Vocal Performance; Best Small Ensemble Performance; and Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (Without Orchestra).
You can vote for your faves on their website, and these days, you can even follow them on Twitter and read a series of blogs; yes, classical music has entered the digital age.
In other WQXR news, venerable WQXR radio host George Jellinek, 90, passed away over the weekend. Jellinek created the radio program “The Vocal Scene” in 1969, a year after becoming the station’s music director. The show, which ran for 36 years, focused on opera and opera singers. It was syndicated on classical stations around the country, and became synonymous with WQXR.
Although he retired as music director in the mid-1980s, Jellinek stayed on as a consultant with the station until a few years ago. He was one of the great old-time classical-music voices in New York.

It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Go Out and Do Good

It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and to celebrate here in New York, you can get out there and donate your time to the Day of Service being held across the city. Community Service projects are being touted with the slogan, “It’s a day ON, not a day OFF.” You can check the website serve.gov/mlkday for a list of suggested events in your community. (At the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, for example, New Yorkers can help by making kits for hospitalized children, preparing meals for the homeless, and more. The JCC is at 334 Amsterdam Avenue and West 76th Street; 212 505-4444)
Over at New York University, an entire week of events is being presented; they run the gamut from films to lectures to exhibits and community service initiatives. Check nyu.edu for details.
The littlest freedom fighters can head over to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan all day today, from 10 am to 5 pm (212 West 83rd Street; 212 721-1234). The Martin Luther King Jr. Festival features crafts projects, a performance by the Harlem Gospel Choir, and discussions of Dr. King’s work.
To cap off the evening, the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space is offering a free evening of music built around the theme of peace and justice. (2537 Broadway; 212 505-4493).
So get out there and celebrate, New York--and do some good in the process.

If You Text While You Drive, Your Government is Sending You Mixed Messages

It’s illegal to text while driving in New York City, right? That includes receiving as well as sending texts, correct? And that also includes reading texts while behind the wheel, no?
We’re just checking; because in what can only be called a magnificent piece of irony, New York state agencies send traffic-alert texts about road conditions that drivers receive…while they’re driving.
Which is illegal.
In part because the agencies that are sending these texts made it so.
Government in action.
The New York State Legislature outlawed texting while driving in New York this past fall. On November 1, it became illegal to use cell phones, ipods, and other electronic devices while driving. But Notify NYC, run by the Office of Emergency Management and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, alerts subscribers about traffic conditions and city emergencies by email, phone messages…and text messages. More than 25,000 New Yorkers subscribe to the service, which was launched last May.
A spokesman said drivers could check their messages when they stop, or can sign up for phone calls that can be answered with hands-free devices while driving.
The State Department of Transportation also sends out emails and text messages through TransAlert, which gives drivers information about traffic problems. Last November 772 alerts were sent out to drivers...who presumably read them while driving.
Hey, New York drivers? Be smarter than your local and state governments, OK? Act like grownups behind the wheel--not like 13-year-old girls at recess.

Even the Empire State Building Supports the New York Jets

It’s not St. Patrick’s Day, but green and white are the colors to display this weekend in the city in honor of the New York Jets football team. Even New York’s Empire State Building is getting into the action—the building will glow green and white all weekend in honor of the team’s making it into the playoffs.
The official lighting ceremony took place on Friday; former Jets wide receiver Wayne Chebret had the honor of flipping the switch that set the building aglow in the team’s colors. The Jets ”Flight Crew" cheerleaders and some former players joined fans for the ceremony.
The Jets are heading to San Diego, CA for the divisional playoff game on Sunday, at 4:40 pm. They play the widely favored San Diego Chargers. The Jets, if they win, will be one game away from the Super Bowl.
However, the Jets, for those keeping track, have not made it to the Superbowl in more than 40 years--since 1969.
Can’t make it to San Diego? Well, at least you can turn on your TV—and also go gaze upon the Empire State Building.
By the way, upcoming lighting schemes for the Empire State Building include red, black and green for this Monday, January 18, and the celebration of Martin Luther King Day; all red for the National Heart Association “Wear Red Day” (February 5); and red, pink and white for Valentine’s Day weekend.