Pre Covid-19 we searched the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you didn’t have to.”
We made it as easy as 1-2-3.
Covid-19 has required some changes for the time being.
Stay Safe.
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For the month of July we are going to try a different format – on some days we will go visual and offer a selection of the very best NYCity Instagram photos or YouTube videos. Some days you will find “the Nifty Nine”, all the NYC news you need to start your day, or the Top Online Travel Forums with NYC info. On other days we will offer “Corona Culture” – updated info and video especially suited to these difficult times.
We hope you will come back often to see what’s cooking here.
Today it’s Best NYCity Restaurants.
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With restaurants partially opened or only open for takeout, this info is more useful for that glorious time when we have beaten the virus and life has returned to some form of normal.
It’s not difficult to find a place to eat in Manhattan. Seems like there is at least one restaurant on every block. The New York City health department inspected over 10,000 eating establishments in Manhattan alone last year. And the selection of restaurants includes cuisines from all over the world.
Finding a good place to eat is a bit harder. We could start with New York City’s 72 Michelin-Starred Restaurants, but they are more suitable for those on expense accounts or celebrating a special event. No worries. There are many guides to good eating available, if you know where to look.
Here are a few of my favorite guides to the best restaurants in various neighborhoods:
Best Places to Eat in Times Square (tripsavvy.com)
Best Restaurants in 55 NYC Neighborhoods (zagat.com)
Where To Eat Uptown in NYC (fodors.com)
The Definitive Midtown Dining Guide (thrilist.com)
Where to Eat and Drink Near the High Line (thrilist.com)
The Grub Street Guide to Affordable Sushi in New York (grubstreet,com)
The Absolute Best Restaurants in the Meatpacking District (grubstreet,com)
11 Tastes of Chinatown (nycgo.com)
Restaurant Row Guide (nycgo.com)
The 15 Best Places with a Happy Hour in the Upper West Side (foursquare)
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We hope you enjoy this change of pace, then please return here August 1, and every day for our daily, hot off the presses event guide with “Only the Best” NYCity event info.
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Lower Manhattan – Did you know?
New York City, a city of neighborhoods, is filled with sights that every tourist should see. No neighborhood has more spectacular sights than Lower Manhattan. Today’s feature:
World Trade Center Transportation Hub
“Designed by famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub brings together the PATH train from New Jersey and, eventually, 11 MTA subway lines in a dramatic new addition to the City’s architecture.
The all white transit hub is meant to resemble the wings of a dove, but also bears similarities to a rib cage.The hub is centered around a stunning, cathedral-like oval known as the Oculus, which allows daylight to stream into the massive, column-free space two stories underground.The skylight will open to the elements on certain sunny days, as well as every year to commemorate September 11.
In a city of iconic architecture, nothing is quite like the Oculus. The bi-level concourse is ringed by a wide variety of retail stores as part of the Westfield World Trade Center shopping center, a retail destination for top fashions, tech goods and high-end jewelry. The (open-air) Oculus Greenmarket operates on Tuesdays during winter months, but on any day of the week you can find great food options throughout the WTC complex—including at the renowned Eataly NYC Downtown. The underground concourse leads to Brookfield Place, which houses a host of affordable eating options and upscale shops.” (nycgo.com)
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Now how about some other useful information during these trying times.
NYC-Arts Top Five Virtual Picks: July 03 – July 09
Interesting. Unusual. Uniquely NYC. Highlights of this week’s top virtual events include The Lotus Effect, THE LINE, Figurative Summer and more. Follow links to a fuller description for each.
Get the NYC-ARTS Top Five in your inbox every Friday and follow @NYC_ARTS on Instagram or @NYCARTS on Twitter to stay abreast of events as they happen.
Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Bronze
LongHouse Reserve
Long Island
Wed, Jul 08, 2020 – Sun, Oct 31, 2021
THE LINE
The Public Theater
Manhattan
Wed, Jul 08, 2020, 7:30 pm – Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 11:59 pm
Figurative Summer
Jenkins Johnson Gallery
Brooklyn
Wed, Jun 24, 2020 – Thu, Aug 27, 2020
The Lotus Effect
Rubin Museum of Art
Manhattan
Thu, Jun 18, 2020 – Mon, Jan 04, 2021
Black Dance Stories
Manhattan
Thu, Jul 02, 2020 – Thu, Jul 30, 2020
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GD: In the age of Covid-19 this info from City Guide is one of the best sources of info on What’s Happening, even if some are only available in your home, and not in your favorite venue. Stay Safe.
Things to Do This Weekend in NYC (7/10-7/12)
(7/10-7/12) New York City has entered Phase 3 of its cautious reopening and there’s more to do in NYC than there’s been since our mid-March lockdown. This detailed map of open restaurants shows over 7,300 venues now serving; included in that number are 4,000 places where you can eat outside. Entire streets are being closed to traffic and opened to expanded outdoor dining plans, including Arthur Avenue in the Bronx; Doyers Street in Chinatown, East 101st Street in Harlem, 46th Street along Midtown East and West, stretches of the Meatpacking District, Broadway in the Flatiron, Orchard and Broome Sts., on the Lower East Side, and Mulberry Street and Hester Street in Little Italy; Brooklyn will be welcoming along Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, in addition to stretches of Red Hook and Dumbo; Bell Boulevard and 41st Avenue in Bayside will represent Queens and New Dorp Lane for Staten Island. Read on for more reopenings and other things to do in NYC this weekend!
CHELSEA PIERS POP-UP ROOFTOP
Credit: Hornblower Cruises and Events.
You can enjoy the city skyline from entry points in both New York City and New Jersey with Spirit Cruises. A regular program of outdoor dining experiences will be available from Saturday, July 11 onwards aboard the Spirit of New Jersey, which has a fabulous rooftop experience, sailing from its home port of Lincoln Harbor Marina in Weehawken. Delicious cuisine and a full array of drinks are equalled only by unbeatable views of the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and Statue of Liberty. Prices start at $69 for lunch and $120 for dinner and and include a multi-course menu of freshly prepared entrees, salads, and desserts. Across the Hudson in Chelsea, come out this Friday, July 10th for an outdoor pop-up experience onboard at Chelsea Piers. There will be table-side bar service and light bites available for purchase, with free entry (first-come first-served in accordance with current capacity limits). Vessels offer expansive decks, providing plentiful space and fresh air, ensuring more than enough room on board for everyone to stay safely apart. For more on SafeCruise by Hornblower’s industry-defining standards for health, safety, and security, see above or read more at hornblower.com/safecruise. Spirit of New York: Chelsea Piers, 212-727-2789; Spirit of New Jersey: Lincoln Harbor, 201-333-8600; spiritcruises.com
NEWLY REOPENED!
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The Starbucks Reserve® Roastery New York in the Meatpacking District is a place to experience Starbucks like never before. This 23,000-square-foot plant contains not only retail space but also an operating coffee roastery. Back open and welcoming visitors again, you can enjoy a variety of coffee classics and roastery creations—each drink is handcrafted with Starbucks’s rarest coffees, roasted on site. In addition, there are Princi Italian pastries made fresh daily, and “Family Meals” that you can enjoy at home. New cleaning and social distancing protocols will keep guests safe. 61 Ninth Ave., 212-691-0531, starbucksreserve.com/newyork
Photo: Jin Lee
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum has reopened the plaza to the general public as of Sunday, July 5th.
Although the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island remain temporarily closed, Statue Cruises is once again out and about in New York Harbor. Sixty-minute tours, complete with history and stunning views, can now be booked, with a focus on safety. Tours run four times daily out of the Battery Park departure point in Lower Manhattan at 10am, 11:30am, 1pm, and 2:30pm. These tours will continue until Liberty Island and Ellis Island reopen (Statue Cruises is the exclusive provider of ferry service for the National Park Service to the two landmarks). Tickets are $26/adult, $19/seniors, $14/child and free for children three years and under. Tickets may be purchased in advance (strongly encouraged) from the Statue Cruises website or at Gangway 5 in Battery Park. statuecruises.com
PIANO IN BRYANT PARK
One of Bryant Park’s most popular programs, “Piano in Bryant Park,” is back again. Audiences are encouraged to wear masks and practice social distancing while seated in the park’s iconic moveable bistro chairs. On July 6, 7, and 9 enjoy the sounds of jazz pianist Kuni Mikami. Piano in Bryant Park, which showcases the finest ragtime, stride, and jazz pianists, takes place Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 12:30 to 2:30pm through August.
NYC RESOURCES
The Metropolitan Opera is streaming operas FREE nightly.
The French Institute Alliance Française is taking its annual Bastille Day celebration online this year. From Saturday, July 11th through Tuesday, July 14th, head to Zoom and Facebook for a four-day virtual fête that comes complete with virtual performances, film screenings, rosé and Champagne tastings, cooking events, kids activities, dance parties, and much more. fiaf.org/event_tag/2020-bastille-day
The New York Public Library provides access to more than 300,000 FREE e-books and e-audio books.
NYC Health information page for COVID-19.
NYC restaurant world information.
Stream hundreds of Broadway shows (by subscription).
15 Broadway shows you can watch from home.
Broadway performances live—from stars’ living rooms.
The New York City Ballet presents a spring digital season.
Virtual programming will keep you connected to the York Theatre Company.
One World Observatory has made One World Explorer, the attraction’s Digital Skyline Guide, available for remote watching. Virtual helicopter tours of the city’s most iconic sites are available now.
51 New York TV shows and movies.
5 eras of New York to enjoy in books and movies.
2,500 museums and galleries you can visit virtually.
The New York Botanical Garden in bloom from home.
Exploring Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square.
The Top of the Rock launches a brief virtual tour on YouTube.
Fun at-home activities for kids.
6 podcast series to help you understand New York.
Discover the best of New York, from hidden gems to iconic landmarks, through The New York Landmarks Conservancy’s “Tourist in your own Town” Video Series.
VIRTUAL MUSEUMS
Explore the world of design with Cooper Hewitt.
Experience the Intrepid Museum anywhere.
New-York Historical Society from home.
Virtually visit the Louis Armstrong House Museum.
The Merchant’s House Museum from home.
You can take a virtual tour of the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room at the Rubin Museum of Art. (You can find two hours of meditative chanting as well, if you’re searching out some respite.)
VIRTUAL TALKS, LECTURES, AND EVENTS
Thought Gallery has hundreds of livestream talks, lectures, performances, and more. Check out sessions with celebs, live concerts, and opportunities to learn the latest on everything from science to philosophy to social justice
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WFUV Live Online (July 02 -July 08)
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Scheduled Shows7/4 – Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic with Kurt Vile, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Margo Price, Sheryl Crow, Devon Gilfillian and more ($) 7/5 – Grateful Dead “Fare Thee Well” Marathon rebroadcast from July 2015, the final time that Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann shared the stage together 7/6 – Waxahatchee performs the entirety of her latest album, Saint Cloud ($) 7/7 – Ringo Starr celebrates his 80th birthday with a concert: Paul McCartney, Ben Harper, Gary Clark Jr., Sheila E. and more 7/7 – SummerStage Anywhere: Femi Kuti and DJ Rich Medina 7/8 – Dalai Lama Global Meditation: Mantras & teachings set to music; each meditation is hosted by guests from around the globe 7/8 – SummerStage Anywhere: Live session with British singer/songwriter Shura |
Get a running list of Live and Archived online concerts at wfuv.org
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STAY HOME FOR A BIT LONGER – MASK UP AND STAY SAFE.
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 