Posts Tagged ‘New York City’

Going out in New York is not for the weak. For those just visiting (or in some cases, those of us over 30), a day of walking the city, dinner, a show and a stroll back to the hotel is enough to wipe ‘em out.

But for the die-hards who need to wind down with other night owls after the partying and before they go home; OR for the locals that work 13 hours a day to pay 4x the rent any other city would realistically charge for a similar apartment; OR the folks that work the off hours schedule to keep their family going down the Shore on weekends, the normal “day-time” activities or stores that are open in the still dark hours of the morning are a true blessing!

CHOW DOWN
Tried to eat light to impress that guy you just met at the Buddha Bar? Or did you dance off all the appetizers and need a refill to keep going? You may have the happy luck to come across a falafel food cart open all night, but save yourself (hopefully) from a future stomach ache and hit up one of these places when the hunger pains hit. These spots are all open 24hrs.

L’Express
Craving seared tuna or roasted rabbit? Have your most exotic food late at night and visit L’Express for fine dining any time of the night.
I249 Park Ave South at 20th
212-254-5858

Sarge’s Deli

This Jewish delicatessen is top notch. Nothing more needs to be said. 548 Third Ave (between 36th and 37th
212-679-0442

Yaffa Café
Up to no good in the East Village and need a quick hideout? This basement is a definite must visit when partying near St. Mark’s. The Middle Eastern food isn’t the best, but it is vegetarian friendly and your fellow dining patrons are anything but boring.
97 St. Marks Pl between First Ave and Ave A
212-674-9302

Han Bat

Craving Korean? Go here for your fix. Food is not bad.
53 W 35th St between Fifth Ave and Sixth Ave
212-629-5588

HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD
Have an urge to lay some tile? Want to finally change the lightbulb that your super keeps saying he will change? Nuthouse Hardware has three hardware filled floors that will keep you browsing into the wee hours–oh wait, it already is the wee hours.
202 E 29th St between Second and Third Aves
212-545-1447

GET PRETTY
Did you chip your pedicure dancing? Lose a hair extension running for that cab? Or are you just really busy and only have free time at 4 am to get that cut and color? Hop the #6 train to 28th Street and visit Hair Party 24 Hours
76 Madison Ave (at 28th St) Midtown East
212-213-0056

PUMP IT UP

We all know that 24 hr fitness is open all hours, but for something different — head to The Rock in Queens (believe me it is worth the trip) and shake up your workout with a rock wall climb (its 30′ tall)!
Mon–Fri open 24hrs; Sat ’til 11pm; Sun ’til 10pm

STEEEEEEEEEEEERIKE!

Want some late night fun that doesn’t require a lot of thinking? Go Bowling! But wait — if you are like many of us, we are tired of having to dress up to go bowling at all of these new chic “alleys” that try to make bowling a high society event. In Queens, Whitestone Lanes is possibly the last remaining REAL bowling alley in the city. Take the No. 7 train to the end of the line, walk through Flushing and end up in 48 lanes of bowling heaven.
Families, League bowlers, couples and the lone wolf with his own engraved ball (you know the type) frequent Whitestone and best of all–no one will look down on you for wearing that old shirt with the teeny-tiny mustard stain.

DRUGS

No — not THOSE drugs. Throughout the city 24hr Duane Reade’s are literally a sight for sore eyes. Visine, Listerine, Cold Meds, gummy bears and pajamas (don’t ask me how I know that) are all readily available. For a list of 24hr locations go here.

FIND OUT YOUR FUTURE PARTNER’S NAME

There is nothing like a psychic reading and although Zena closes at midnight — that may work out perfect if you’re making it an “early” night. A $20 reading gets you 10 minutes to find out whatever you need to know. She is in the Village and accepting of groups–as long as they wait their turn outside.
82 Seventh Ave South at Bleecker St
212-807-0498

I am happy to re-proclaim my aspiring (and inspiring) travel writing career but I also have to do a little self promotion with my recent published articles at a newspaper in the greater New York City area. The paper—the Daily Record– covers the hub of New Jersey: Morris County (in Northern New Jersey about 25 miles outside of Manhattan).

I am happy and proud to be a freelance writer for this paper and lately my articles have consisted of interviews with bands that have been either new to me and/or prominent bands that are known for their ability to ROCK.

So is Rolling Stone next for me? YES! OF COURSE! Who knows! But my love of music combined with my love of travel— that can only mean one thing: Groupie! Music Road Trip!! Now if I can only convince my husband to agree to me having a VW bus again…

Here is my latest article on the legendary band Little Feat on their latest acoustic venture.

Little Feat

Stay tuned, especially if you are a fan of Western Swing, Gypsy Jazz and Traditional Irish Music!

New York City is known for being a leader in movies, fashion, food and of course, music.

New York’s position as the musical center of the United States started in the mid-1800′s and continues to present day. It started with groups singing religious hymns, military bands and family groups (those family groups really stood the test of time didn’t they…) and morphed into Opera with the opening of the Metropolitan Opera House in 1882 and Carnegie Hall in 1891,

In the 60′s, Greenwich Village was arguably the biggest musical neighborhood in the United States and in the 70′s and 80′s things really took off with the clubs like CBGB that offered new artists their first stage. (Side note: my good friend Lisa saw one of the first shows the Police ever did in a small club in Greenwich Village with basically a pallet for their stage. I am so jealous).

Each decade has its list of stars that made NYC their own and of course tons of these musicians are NYC natives including Lou Reed, Neil Diamond, Joan Baez, Sammy Davis Jr. and Billy Joel.

NEIL!!

But perhaps no decade can claim a bigger dent on the global music scene than what New York generated in the ’90′s. I know what you are thinking: “the 90′s? Wait, wasn’t that the grunge decade? Didn’t that happen on the West Coast”?
True, grunge did have a huge impact on music, but it wasn’t the only musical genre born in the 90′s — New York City actually was a very big player in the 90′s music scene and introduced some long term rockers and perhaps more well known— birthed most of the pioneers of hip hop and rap. In fact, New York was the only city with a major hip hop scene for many years. Guys like LL Cool J brought hip-hop to the mainstream for the first time while rap reached near perfection here from artists such as Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy Run DMC and Jay Z.

How do I know all of this? Well, aside from the regular research any good writer does and the fact that I am a big ’90′s music fan (yes, there are some exceptions: N’Sync, Backstreet Boys), I recently had the pleasure of leisurely roaming around the newest exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art : Looking at Music 3.0. This exhibit runs through June 6 and displays, through collected art in various forms, the influence NYC artists had on the music we listen to today.

The exhibit focuses mainly hip-hop/raps’ roots, but ample attention is also paid to the NYC Rock scene with videos from Grace Jones and eclectic recordings from David Byrn and Brian Eno.
Other ’90′s topics are also featured with festivals and ad campaigns focusing on the fight against AIDS, the impact of graffiti and MTV’s continuing presence.

In the center of the exhibit, a massive projector rotated music videos from featured artists and the videos emitted a blue and white flash that induced a prominent “head-nod” reaction by this visitor.

Original lp’s, cassettes (ahhh Nostalgia), interactive displays and smaller tv’s complete with wrap-a-round headphones that let you listen to music or watch videos of these NYC artists that kept MTV in the picture (come back MTV, please… no more reality shows…) such as my favorite-the Beastie Boys and their video Sabotage directed by the brilliant Spike Jonze.

Diana rocking out to the Beastie’s

a picture of the Beastie Boys featured in the exhibit

Nirvana and Pearl Jam will always have a place in my heart; grunge is part of my formative years growing up in Seattle, but these NYC artists really brought it and like the grunge heros from the opposite coast, they are music trailblazers that deserve their claim on the 90′s.

Some of the artists featured in the exhibit but not mentioned in this article include:
KRS-One
Slick Rick
Grandmaster Flash
Fab 5 Freddy
the Wu-Tang Clan
Salt and Peppa
Public Enemy

Whoo hoo — check it out!
See my guest post on GotSaga on some things to do in NYC that aren’t technically mainstream, including: the Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Park and the church turned rave club turned boutique shopping center known as the Limelight Marketplace… click here to see what else!

Brooklyn Museum

Prospect Park

Limelight

Read, enjoy and come visit the best city in the world!

In August I did a little self promotion when I proudly introduced my freelance writing gig on www.seenyc.com, a website dedicated to New York City and a perfect site for everything there is to know about getting to, staying in and enjoying yourself in this great city!

The site has actually just been redone and is ready for action! Check it out for all of your NYC travel needs. Book flights and hotels with confidence knowing the search engine will find you the best deals and read the top 10 things to do in NYC (a revolving list) with pieces written by yours truly!

Be ready for up to the minute information on things to do and see. I LOVE this city!

Thanks for all who have visited and please keep coming back!

Many people don’t realize how big of a state NY is– and how far it reaches geographically. Although New York City has the majority of the population in the state, the state does offer many more areas to explore outside of “the city”.

Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers and Syracuse are the state’s largest cities after NYC but their average population of 200-300 thousand people each (data gathered from last census in 2000), falls far below New York City’s population of over 8 million. New York is so spread out that the residents of Buffalo would have to travel just as far to visit the city as to visit Montreal, Quebec in Canada.

New York City (made up of the 5 boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) is considered, by many upstate NY’ers, a different state. More liberal and well known than the rest of the state, NYC represents cement, skyscrapers and traffic–a much different landscape than the farmlands and rural roads that make up the majority of NY state.

So when NYC’s residents want to escape to the suburbs, they have many options, but where do they usually go?

They go to New Jersey.

Really? Jersey?

When people hear “New Jersey”, thoughts of murders, smog, gangs, slums and crime usually formulate in their minds. While Newark doesn’t have the best reputation (but in its defense, the crime rate has gone down the last few years), it is not a good representation of the Garden State.

New Jersey is close to NYC. Just a 10 min ferry ride over the Hudson River from midtown Manhattan or depending on traffic, a quick drive away via the Holland or Lincoln tunnels or over the George Washington Bridge. The train is another and perhaps the most popular form of travel for the “bridge and tunnel” commuters (the nickname given to New Jersey folks that live in Jersey and work or party in the city) or for those NYC’ers who want to get away.

Sonny Werblin, the owner of the NY Jets football team during the 1970′s, was asked about the New York Giants playing in New Jersey (both the Giants and Jets to this day play in Jersey), and he explained the geography of the New York City Metro area perfectly by saying “If you pave the Hudson River it becomes 13th Avenue.”

He was right. Jersey, only separated from NYC by the narrow Hudson River, is a small state, but it is also the most densely populated of all the states. Within direct view from Manhattan are the towns of Hoboken (birthplace of Frank Sinatra) and Jersey City. Both cities had their trials and tribulations just as NYC did in the ’80′s, but as of the last 5 years have been revived into the hippest cities in New Jersey for the college grads, young families and those that work in Manhattan but don’t want to pay Manhattan rent. Jersey City and Hoboken boast some of the best views of Manhattan and with easy access by ferry from Jersey City to the Statue of Liberty (also technically in Jersey) there are many reasons to visit this “6th Borough”.

view of Manhattan from Jersey City

Just twenty six miles outside of NYC is Morristown, NJ (where I lived for a short time after first moving to the East Coast). Morristown has recently been compared to a smaller Manhattan complete with a “central” park known as “the Green”, coffee shops (Greenberrys Coffee is my favorite) and mom & pop stores that ooze with a small town feeling. In fact, nearly all of the towns in Jersey have their own “main street” small town shopping districts with strong local town pride that presents itself in the town parades and community events. Even though Morristown is one of the new cool places to visit and live, it also has a bit of a country feel when you get just outside the city limits.

just out of the Morristown city limits

Head south just a bit more and you will be in one of my favorite town in Jersey: Princeton. Yes, that Princeton. Not only is it home to the prestigious Ivy League University with a very gorgeous and walkable campus, but is also a small town with high end shops, cute restaurants and the resting place of many well known historical figures such as the President Grover Cleveland at the nearby cemetery (also very walkable and interesting in its own right).

Princeton University

Of course one of the best “suburbs” of NYC is the Jersey Shore area. While the Shore towns of Pt. Pleasant, Seaside and Long Beach Island are closer in miles to Pennsylvania than to NYC, the Shore is an easy train ride away from the city or about a 2 hr drive. While New York has coveted beach towns of its own in the Hamptons, the Jersey Shore is extremely clean (NJ is the only state that requires a fee of $7 to visit the public beaches and that fee goes directly to beach maintenance), has more affordable beach rentals than the Hamptons and is popular with all ages because of the vast stretches of clean beach (some crowded, some not), the surfing and the multiple boardwalk amusement parks.

a crowded beach at the Shore

rental homes just off the boardwalk

less crowded beach

boardwalk amusement park

These mentioned towns are just a few that make up the ‘burbs of NYC and while the Jersey residents know their state acts as a suburb (all of the news shown on tv is NYC based and many Jersey residents are employed in NYC) there is still a great deal of Jersey pride that is obvious to the visitor. Whether you want to get out of NYC for a day or make it a longer trip and visit the home state of Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi, New Jersey, in its own right, deserves a visit.

Everyone knows to hit Chinatown for cheap knock-offs and Times Square for the lights and photo-ops, but what about the neat stuff NYC has to offer that isn’t spelled out in the guide books?

Here are three “must stops” to add to your itinerary next time you are visiting or showing someone around the great city of NYC.

Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market

Any market named Hell’s Kitchen and has the motto of “we’ve tempted thousands of shoppers” is OK by me.

Hell’s Kitchen (sometimes known as midtown West) is the hip area nearly adjacent to Times Square on the Hudson River side. The flea market is located just south of 42nd Street and offers views of midtown Manhattan including The Empire State Building and the new New York Times Building.

Year round, tourists, locals and even the resident celebrities frequent the market for vintage items such as antiques, collectibles, clothing and jewelry. The market is a frequent stop for me while roaming the city on a lazy, sunny weekend morning. I stop for a coffee at the Cupcake Cafe (ok, and maybe a cupcake or two) and then head to the market to browse–especially for cool vintage ’80′s era t-shirts.

The Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood has quite the history– it was the home and gathering spot for many mafia gangsters as well as being known for the ethnic conflicts that inspired the musical West Side Story. Fast forward to the modern day, the mafia residents have been replaced by name brand actors and theatre performers due to its proximity to Broadway. Some actors, past and present, that have called Hell’s Kitchen home are: Madonna, Jerry Seinfeld, Alicia Keys, and Sylvester Stallone. After getting your fill of vintage at the Flea Market, you can also get your comedy fix and attend a taping of the Daily Show or my favorite, the Colbert Report; both film in this area.

Top of the Rock

Although this may not sound like its off the beaten path, I mean–its is Rockefeller Center; how mainstream is this??—but many locals don’t even know about the view “the Rock” offers and its benefits over their much more famous neighbor, the Empire State Building.

I have had, no joke, 28 different visitors that I have toured around New York, showing them nothing but the best tourist spots but also the hidden NYC gems. When most people visit they immediately ask to go to the Empire State Building. I patiently agree with them that the Empire is an American Icon and the setting for so many of their favorite movies. I kindly interrupt the gushing and explain the average wait to get to the top during the day (a minimum of 90 min unless you are extremely lucky to be in the city when NO one wants to visit the top–like when its hailing). I also comment that one of the most beautiful sights in all of NYC is Central Park, which for the most part is BLOCKED by Rockefeller Center in the view from the Empire State Building. As this gets their attention, I hook them with the fact that, when you are IN the Empire State Building, you cannot SEE the Empire State Building which stands so tall in the landscape of downtown Manhattan.
I sweeten the deal by letting my visitor(s) know that the wait time at the Rock is normally no more than 20 min. EVER.
It may sound like I am convincing them to lean to the Rock for lesser wait times… but truly I am excited each time i go up there myself and will argue anyone that its the best view in the city.

The ticket line at the Rock goes smooth and fast and after a quick (nonintrusive) xray machine the visitor is lead to a walkway of photographic history of Rockefeller Center including the famous shot that many people incorrectly think was taken at the Empire State Building.

After a short video on the history of the Rockette’s, the building of Rockefeller Center (with a wonderful tribute to the Rockefeller family that provided so many jobs during the Great Depression) and NBC’s history hosted by Tom Brokaw you are taken quickly by elevator up to the viewing platforms, the highest at 70 stories.

There are a couple different viewing platforms. One at the main elevator level behind glass, one up a level that has some glass barriers and finally–the TOP that has you looking north at ALL of Central Park and into Harlem with the Hudson to the West and the East River–well, to the East.

Look the other direction and you can see all the people at the Empire State Building looking towards you and wondering why you are blocking their view of Central Park. Look a little further and you see the very teeny Statue of Liberty floating in the Hudson as well as the now empty south skyline where the World Trade Center buildings once stood.

Harlem

Harlem, now known as the African American capital of the US, got its start as a rural Dutch community and then as a destination choice for upper class New Yorkers. With the changing history, Harlem still has a bad reputation for violence and crime. While every part of NYC has its areas of issue (as does every city) Harlem has grown into a very “in” area that New Yorkers choose to reside in/hang out in/support. It is no secret that Harlem overflows with historical pride and its residents are very aware of its up and coming spot in NYC proper.

There are many organizations that offer walking or bus tours through Harlem and all, at quick glance, seem very informative. I am the type though that likes to research, then self tour.
Walking the Upper West side is always fun and once you get to the streets in the 100′s past Central Park you are, in what I deem, Harlem.
On your walk—or tour should you deem necessary— you will see famous sights and landmarks such as St. John the Divine Cathedral (awe inspiring), Columbia University, Morning Side Heights, St. Nicholas Avenue (where Duke Ellington lived), the Cotton Club, and the famous Apollo Theater. If you plan ahead and visit Harlem on a Sunday, you will most likely be welcomed by one of the many local congregations for Sunday worship service and the amazing feeling that Gospel music can instill, regardless of your religious beliefs.

Looking up at St John the Divine & the Apollo on Amateur night

all pics taken by diana ellefson

I realized that I have never done a post on this subject— but for good reason as its only been recently that I have even seen any celebrities in NYC. When I first moved here 3 yrs. ago, I’d head to the city and not TRY, but still try to look for some celeb sightings– yet I always came up empty. The real disappointing part was when I’d get home I’d hop onto one of the many gossip websites during my nightly internet surfing and see where celebs were spotted just blocks away from where I was (i.e. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, etc). Now though, if I am to pass one on the street, I don’t really notice them–wait, who am I kidding? I totally notice them!

Before I name names, its important that I give my readers the low down, so when you visit this fine city you are prepared. Its fine to get all giddy, but keep it cool, after all—-this isn’t LA.

NYC is different than LA. In LA, celebs are out and about and from what I hear (and have witnessed), they WANT to be seen. They make themselves visible and many go to places that other celebs hang at so to guarantee that their picture is taken. In NYC, celebs want to just fit in. Many of them live here and perhaps even the same ones that go to LA to be seen, come to NYC to just be.

So–for that reason, if a celeb is sighted in NY–it is so NOT cool to go up to them and a) gush; b) ask for an autograph; c) tell them you are their biggest fan; d) ask for a picture with them (side note: I have yet to see Jon Bon Jovi or David Beckham in person and if I do, all rules go out the window as I WILL do all of the above).

So the top 3 people that I’d categorize as celebs that I have seen in the past couple months are in order of appearance. I’ve also added some commentary and attached pics that are all readily available on the internet.

1. Kiefer Sutherland. Sat in front of me on the plane from Seattle to NY. He is short and thin. He was wearing skinny jeans. He did look though like he could have saved us all from a dire emergency if necessary as he is Jack Bauer (24). But seriously–the skinny jeans. No. Just no.

2. Elvis Costello. Saw this classic music man in Soho walking amongst the locals carrying some shopping bags. He was cool So cool. Definitely a highlight for me.

3. Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor (Ben Stiller’s wife or Marsha from the Brady Bunch remake movies): On 5th Ave right outside Tiffany’s. As with Keifer, Ben is short, very, very short and was sporting some crazy wild gray messy hair that only he could pull off. His wife–gorgeous.

Who have you seen?

Now and again, when I have a free minute, I go through all of my magazines that seem to pile up (this includes my online subscriptions), many of which are centered on NYC and I am amazed at the eye catching, sometimes odd things I discover. New York is a melting pot of all that is good, bad and weird in the world and here are some things of late that caught my attention.

Posh Icelandic couple sued for putting IKEA kitchen in swank Gramercy Park Hotel pad
courtesy of the Daily News

Apparently, the swank GPH is far too glamourous for run of the mill Ikea sinks. People, COME ON! Don’t you know that you need to ask all of the important questions (like if the iron steams horizontal or vertical or the brand of the sink) BEFORE you agree to rent a room… Geez. Obviously not locals.

In keeping with the above posh theme…

Posh Soho House boots ‘uncool’ members
courtesy of the NY Post

This very, very, VERY elite hotel in one of my fave hangouts, the Meatpacking District, seems to be ditching the crowd that may look too elite (even the Sex in the City girls got booted in an episode). If you can get into Soho House parties (in particular, their pool parties on the roof are FAMOUS) you are definitely living right– but now it seems, unless you can fit into the restructuring plan to get the House back to its “creative roots”, well– forget it. Even the early members (4500 in total with 3000 on the waiting list) are having their membership renewals declined because from what I can gather from this article– the image of stuffiness and corporate-ness is clearly uncool and a thing of the past; the management even requested that members not wear suits and ties. What apparently is still supported by the management is the “encouragement of under 27 memberships”.

Side note: my very fabulous friend Justin (under 27), artist and film producer, actually had an invite to one of the pool parties last summer and INVITED ME! Sadly I was out of town and I recall wondering that I’d be a bit nervous for Tom and I showing up because maybe WE were not elite enough— I mean, I actually swim when I go to pool parties–CANNONBALL! Anyway, now no need to worry about that! I am calling Justin to see about this summer!

… and to wrap this up I want to bring the last example down a level—one the common man can relate to: motorcycles.

New York Magazine had a feature on some new shops that offer complimentary food and drink while you shop. This in itself doesn’t sound too odd; in this economy you gotta do what you can to bring the consumer in, right? One of the stores’ food and merchandise pairing though does seem to be a category in the childhood game of “one of these things doesn’t belong”.

NYC Motorcycle Federation on 6th Ave sells biker jackets, stylish gem encrusted helmets, customized leather seats and shredded Harley tees.
The food: Illy coffee, Ceci-Cela croissants and prosciutto panini.
Did I mention that their logo is a skull of the Statue of Liberty, her crown still intact?

Anything about this seem weird? Something about this combo of Harley and croissants doesn’t quite work… but in NYC, well everything works.

For those that think NYC is a concrete jungle–well, they are sort of right… but if you spend any time here and get out of the tourist packed Times Square area–the city has many parks spread throughout Manhattan but also through the other boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx). One of the newest parks to hit the city and definitely the one getting the most press these days is High Line Park–even though it doesn’t follow the normal M.O. for parks.

The High Line is on the lower West Side of Manhattan beginning in the Meatpacking District around 16th Street (for those of you unfamiliar with Manhattan–the Meatpacking district is a very trendy area full of restaurants, boutiques and in general– just a neat place to be) and is an elevated walkway that allows you to traverse the West Side above the city streets with sweeping views of the Hudson river on one side and the city on the other. Currently the park is just in its first phase of completion. Once all phases are completed, the park will be a mile-and-a-half-long running through not just the Meatpacking District but also through the neighborhoods of West Chelsea and up to Hell’s Kitchen.

In the Summer months, tasty food vendors are scattered around selling Gelato and pretzels while sunbathers and those wanting to escape for a while with a book or a friend take a seat in one of the oversized teak lounge chairs that are plentiful (but I can attest– get pretty full, pretty quickly). I was fortunate enough to have a seat all to myself one day while a tenant from one of the many neighboring apartments that surround the park held a free jazz concert on their fire escape.

To get some energy for your walk on the High Line, first stop by 5 Ninth conveniently located in the triangle of the Meatpacking district on 9th Ave. Their friendly bartenders and famous Cobb Salad will keep you coming back.

While enjoying the atmosphere and food, it may cross your mind as to how an elevated park was ever considered; I mean, how much work must that have been to get it constructed with this economy and NYC’s very public budget issues…

Well, turns out, this “park” was a pre-existing structure constructed in the 1930′s to lift freight trains up off the streets of Manhattan. As you walk the park you see the beautiful landscaping planted in and around the old existing railroad tracks. Pretty neat– a great combination of what once was and what is now.

Check out the park’s website for more information. The park is open 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM daily during these Winter months and later in the Summer.

Below are some shots of the High Line and a sweet view of the Empire State Building from the park.