This is what’s driving us bonkers in NYC right now and making us (almost) want to move
We live in a walk-and-talk kind of town—I get it. When I’m on my morning commute or running between meetings, you can bet your ass I’m using that precious time to “catch up on calls,” which is code for “calling my mother.” However, I see more and more people roaming the streets while FaceTiming. This behavior is unacceptable.
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Listen, I can understand that the occasional tourist would want to share their trip to the Best City on Earth through the lens of their iPhone for someone back home. But this is not what’s happening here. These distracted lollygaggers are always discussing some meaningless nonsense (personally, my conversations are witty, informative and brief) with some groggy pal in a disheveled bed right here in the tristate area.
While I get the allure of a face-to-face convo, these FaceTimers are pinballing into pedestrians and completely ignoring the flow of traffic. Must I get bumped around so that you can whisper sweet nothings to your boyfriend in Yonkers?
Let’s bring back the days when New Yorkers just obnoxiously shouted into their phones with a robust disregard for others. At least then they would see where they were going.
Time to yeet 2024 to the curb and ring in the new year right with the best New Year's Eve events in NYC. No matter how you’re hoping to ring in 2025—sloppy, sober, laid-back or buckwild—we’ve got the NYE celebration for you.
So don your festive getups and get ready for a night of amazing dinners and more first-of-the-year festivities with this roundup of the best attractions and events for ringing in the New Year.
New Yorkers unafraid of braving the freezing waters of Coney Island will return to the ocean for the Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day from 11am-1pm.
Every New Years Day for 122 years, swimmers sporting their skivvies or wild costumes dive into the freezing Atlantic to symbolically wash away the year before. Organizers expect over 4,000 to take the dive this year, matching—if not surpassing—the 4,300+ who dove last year.
Fun fact: The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest winter bathing club in the United States, dating back to 1903.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s gorgeous, after-dark illuminated spectacular is back through January 5, 2025.
Lightscape, an illuminated trail of art from local and international artists, featuring the iconic Winter Cathedral, all set to over a million lights, color and music.
As always, a curated playlist of music brings the light art to life, and there will be food concessions along the trail that will still offer seasonal treats like hot cocoa, hot cider, and mulled wine as well as light bites, cookies and sweets.
This year’s show offers off-peak and peak pricing, ranging from $24-$45 for adults and $12 to $23 for kids.
As the world commemorates the centennial of James Baldwin's birth, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) presents Turkey Saved My Life - Baldwin in Istanbul, 1961–1971, a landmark exhibition featuring rare photographs of the iconic writer by Turkish photographer Sedat Pakay.
Running between December 12, 2024 and February 28, 2025 in the Grand Lobby of the Central Library, this exhibition offers an unprecedented glimpse into Baldwin’s transformative years in Istanbul from 1961 to 1971, when the author-activist moved to Istanbul seeking refuge from the entrenched racism and homophobia he experienced in America. The exhibition will be accompanied by public programs, including panel discussions, film screenings, and readings that further explore Baldwin’s unique connection to Turkey.
Only one night of holiday celebration? Please. Hanukkah (or Chanukah or even Hanukah) means you have more than a week to celebrate. Hanukkah 2024 starts at nightfall on December 25, 2024 and ends with nightfall on January 2, 2025. L’chaim!
We've rounded up all the details on menorah lightings, concerts, and more.
The weather outside is, indeed, getting frightful, so this holiday season, cozy up to the "Island of Warmth" activation at Manhattan West. Along with an electrifying urban bonfire, there will be music and dance performances (from Harlem Lite Feet with Chrybaby Cozie, the Maimouna Keita School of Dance, and Music from the Sole), memorable holiday photo opportunities, and a show-stopping winter lights display that is sure to mesmerize the whole family.
Enjoy complimentary hot chocolate by Daily Provisions on December 4, caroling around the campfire on December 11 and a Hanukkah celebration featuring the Brooklyn Klezmer Trio Plus on December 18.
The Camp store does it again (and even better this time around!): the popular toy store recently launched its newest immersive experience, this year dedicated to the Australian animated TV series Bluey, and, although previous on-site activations (Encanto, Trolls) certainly delivered, this one feels like a notch above the rest.
The entire space is transformed into Bluey’s home, the prevalent setting on the cartoon, so guests actually feel like they’ve been catapulted into the cute puppy’s very life with his family. Inside, you won’t just get to play around Bluey’s house (complete with a cardboard box castle with a slide, a pillow fort, tons of toys and shopping opportunities) but also look for the characters, listen to a story and try to cook some food in the kitchen.
On Location Tours and GetYourGuide has a new NYC guided tour for Swift fans. Led by “ultimate Swiftie” Hannah Kulawiak, it encompasses 13 spots, including Housing Works, Washington Square Park and Electric Lady Studios, the Greenwich Village recording studio commissioned by rock legend Jimi Hendrix.
When it first started in 2018, Raw Like Sushi was a way for sushi chef/DJ Fresh Rollman to combine his passion for music with his culinary expertise. These biweekly events have combined sushi with slinking grooves across New York. You can attend one at Manhattan’s Studio 151 on Monday nights or each Thursday at The Last Call in Williamsburg.
If you’re not into sushi, this might not be the night for you, but the Williamsburg bar also offers chili cheese fries and chicken wings on sushi and vinyl nights. Plus, on a lucky night, you might run into legends like Anderson .Paak or Statik Selektah. Between the variety of options to nosh on and beats booming throughout the night, you can’t miss Raw Like Sushi.
Step inside Common Country, a spanking new 3,400-square-foot country-themed bar in the middle of Manhattan at 344 Third Avenue in Kips Bay. Common Country’s interior details will make you feel like you’re somewhere in the south, complete with real deer taxidermy mounts and farmhouse beams imported from Kentucky.
Their menu will transport your tastes buds, too: the drinks focus on a selection of Tennessee and Kentucky-forward whiskey, craft beer and cocktails inspired by the South, including Spiked Sweet Tea. There’s also a selection of Tex-Mex food, including elote fritters, cornbread, bloomin’ onion, and Texas twinkies, which are breaded jalapeños stuffed with cheese.
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