Let's Go Dutch: Celebrate Hudson's Voyage with NY400 Week

Today marks the start of New York City’s NY400 Week (Sept. 8-13), a celebration of Henry Hudson’s 1609 voyage from Amsterdam to New York and the subsequent founding of New Amsterdam.
The festivities kicked off this morning with a flotilla of Dutch ships sailing into New York Harbor, and events roll out throughout the week. They include the following:

Wednesday, Sept. 9: The New Amsterdam Pavilion will be unveiled at Peter Minuit Plaza on The Battery; it’s a gift from the Dutch government to the city and represents the 400-year Dutch history in New York. 11:00 AM-noon.

Thursday, Sept. 10: Seventeen ships like the ones that Hudson and his crew sailed in will arrive at Governor’s Island. Captains and crew will answer questions, so think up some good ones. Late afternoon.

Friday, Sept. 11: Bike around town on a free Dutch bike (11 am-7:00 PM). Get yourself to Bowling Green (Broadway and Beaver Street) for a free orange NY400 bike to toodle around the city. They're available on a limited basis through Sept. 12, so do as the Dutch do and grab some wheels.

Saturday, Sept. 12: The New York Connection premieres: Come watch this documentary on Dutch history in New York at the Museum of the City of New York (1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street;6:30 PM.)

Sunday, Sept. 13: Harbor Day: The culminating event of NY400 Week takes place at six waterfront locations, from Governors Island to Battery Park City. Highlights include an Oyster Festival in Hudson River Park; and Battery Park City’s musical Harmony on the Hudson Festival. All the waterfront sites are acessible by free rental bikes and hop-on/hop-off boat sevices.

Call (646) 557-2277 for more information.

Past, Present, Future: The South Street Seaport Looks Back...And Ahead

New York’s South Street Seaport is offering a glimpse of the city’s history in “Seaport Past & Future," a free public exhibit that is running through next summer. It shows the changes that the Seaport has gone through over the centuries, and how they’ve affected both the city and the surrounding region. Multi-media demonstrations and scale models show the area through the years, culminating in an architectural model of the plans for a new, revitalized South Street Seaport.
One of the neatest features of the exhibit: Archival materials that show visitors the same views over time, so members of the public can see what’s changed and what’s remained the same.
The vision for the new Seaport, sponsored by General Growth Properties, includes hotels, shops, restaurants, residential housing and increased pedestrian use, as well as the conversion of the former fish stalls of the Fulton Fish Market into a specialty market. The plan will also rehabilitate the infrastructure of the pier and platform, as well as open site lines to New York Harbor and The Brooklyn Bridge.
Tying into the city’s East River Esplanade Project, part of a plan to "green” (the new buzzword, and you must use it as a verb to be truly hip) the city’s waterfront, setting aside five acres of space along a promenade has been proposed.
The exhibit is located at 191 Front Street, near John Street; check out southstreetseaport.com for more information.