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New Car-Free Zones Make Times Square 36% Less Disgusting
Most tourists don't realize this, but real New Yorkers don't hang out in Times Square. In fact, they avoid it whenever possible, giving a wide berth to the crowds packing Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. and the ESPN Zone in favor of more authentic hangouts downtown. But Times Square suddenly got a whole lot more palatable to natives this week with the introduction of several new pedestrian-only zones, where you can hang out and gawk at all the neon and plasma without worrying about being mowed down by a taxi. It was a move I never thought I'd see in a city that has seemingly favored drivers over walkers in recent years, so I had to check it out. Armed with a camera and a copy of The New Yorker, I explored the new car-free oasis of Times Square during my lunch hour on Thursday, and I've got to tell you: it's great.
Tags: Public Art / Art / Parks / → All Tags
Public Art Travel: Tree Houses in NYC
New York will get another big time public art installation before its waterfalls have even been put away for the winter. Tadashi Kawamata's "Tree Huts" will start going up in Madison Square Park beginning September 23, and the exhibition officially opens October 2.
The pieces, which basically look like treehouses, will be created on site, using at least some found materials from the park. Maybe that means Shake Shack burger wrappers will be involved?
The huts will be similar to installations the artist created for Art Basel 2007 and other recent shows in Europe. It'll be the first time Kawamata's worked in New York since 1992.
Related Stories:
· Madison Square Art/"Tree Huts" [Official Site, via]
· Public Art coverage [Jaunted]
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Movie Set Travel: Hancock
Whenever we're watching action blockbusters and the hero's tearing up highways and crashing through buildings, we often wonder, um... who's cleaning up the mess?
"Hancock" is sort of a version of that story. Will Smith plays a down and out drunken superhero in LA who spends lots of time saving lives but causing millions of dollars of damage in the process. Obviously, he has a very love-hate relationship with the public.
One day he saves the life of a PR guru (Jason Bateman) who decides Hancock could use a better image. When he sets out to help as a favor, Hancock gets involved with the man's hottie wife (Charlize Theron) and all sorts of self-examination ensues.
We hear it's entertaining--and, hey, it's really the only decent opening this holiday weekend. Just don't go into this one thinking Hancock's a Marvel comic.
The feature was filmed entirely in Los Angeles, so we're giving you some things to explore there with your superhero self.
Tags: Celeb Travel / Julia Roberts / Parks / → All Tags
Private Park Travel: Julia Roberts' Kids Play Where You Can't
Hazel and Phinnaeus, twins of megastar Julia Roberts, ran around in New York City's exclusive Gramercy Park recently while younger brother Henry tagged along with the nanny.
Too bad you won't be visiting the lovely oasis of Gramercy: Keys to the private park are granted only to people who live in buildings surrounding it, and the property is tightly controlled. But those who have keys often don't use the park, the president of the Gramercy Park Block Association told The New York Times:
It was always an ornamental park. A lot of people don't even go in to enjoy it. They're so thrilled just to see it. It's like a hotel room with a view of the ocean."
Of course, with Madison Square Park and Union Square within walking distance, it's not as if neighborhood residents lack for park space, but as the old saw goes, the grass is always greener in the park you can't get into. Just ask London residents!
Related Stories:
· The Guardian of Gramercy Park [NYT]
· Julia Roberts' Kids [ONTD]
· Greenspace Travel: Act All Civilized Like in London [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Celebrity Baby Scoop]
Tags: National Parks / Ferries / Outdoor Travel / Summer Travel / Parks / → All Tags
National Park Travel: New York's Island Oasis Reopens This Weekend
If Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons have always seemed a little too, er, remote, try Governors Island: The former military base-turned-public park in New York Harbor is back for another season of wild-enough fun with a skyline.
An operational base for the Coast Guard and Army until 1996, the island is now co-managed by the National Park Service and a nonprofit which last year solicited plans for a redesigned isle to suit its profile as "the park at the center of the world." Until that's underway, though, you can enjoy the creepy old army hospitals and footpaths which mark the grounds.
Governors Island opens Saturday and will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through October 5. Catch the free ferry from the Battery Maritime Terminal (at South Street and Whitehall Street) and you can stay all day for free.
Related Stories:
· Governors Island [Official Site]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: epicharmus]
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Movie Set Travel: Noise
First screened at last year's Rome Film Fest, "Noise" is an indie film now in limited release about how horribly loud New York City can be. Tim Robbins plays a vigilante car alarm destroyer with co-stars Bridget Moynahan as his wife and William Hurt as Gotham's mayor.
Anyone who's spent more than a night in the city knows it can indeed be a terribly loud place to hang out, so we're bringing you some relief with a few quiet places where you can enjoy a moment or two of silence.
Where to Stay: The Library Hotel It's hardly on the quietest block in the city (at 41st and Madison) but the Library keeps things hush-hush with only six rooms per floor and Dewey Decimal-inspired decor. The thousands of books scattered throughout the hotel will certainly dampen footsteps in the hall, and if that's still not enough, the New York Public Library is a couple blocks away on 42nd and 5th.
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Movie Set Travel: Hotel Gramercy Park
This week, our movie pick is something a little different. Though the Tribeca Film Festival is winding down, there are still plenty of screenings on. Our pick would be "Hotel Gramercy Park," a documentary about the famous hotel showing tonight at the Village East Cinema.
Director Douglas Keeve went inside the downtown landmark as Ian Schrager prepared the hotel for its grand re-opening. Along the way, he tells the story of the property from back when the Kennedys rented an entire floor to the raging party times of the 80s.
Obviously, this one was shot in NYC. Here are some things to do in the neighborhood.
Where to Stay: Gramercy Park Hotel Might as well stay at the namesake, now a super-luxe property where rooms go for around $700 a night. Just be ready for what HotelChatter calls the hotel's "gothic sex dungeon theme." You'll be in good company in the hotel's bar, where Paris Hilton isn't allowed, and be sure to ask for a key to Gramercy Park.
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Adventures of Link: Springtime Pedals
Yeah, pedals, not petals. Something about this super nice weather has us wanting to rent a bike and ride around some parks. Picnicking and day drinking are, of course, optional.
In Paris, those Velib bikes are the way to go, and other European cities have similar bike-sharing programs. Stateside, Washington, DC is launching a similar program next month, starting with a fleet of 120 bikes. The initiative is called SmartBike DC, though its set-up seems a little less tourist-friendly than some other programs. (Something about a $40 annual fee...)
At NYC's Central Park, you can go official and rent bikes at The Boathouse or just grab one from a tout in Columbus Circle. Oh, and if you shoot a crazy video while biking, do send it our way.
Related Stories:
· Velib [Official Site]
· DC to Launch Nation's First Euro-Style Bikes [AP, via Google]
· Bike Rentals at the Boathouse [Official Site]
· Europe Loves "Free" Bikes [Jaunted]
· Even Americans Can Ride Velibs [Jaunted]
Tags: Movie Set Travel / Coffee Shops / Parks / → All Tags
Movie Set Travel: Baby Mama
We'll admit it, this week was a little low on solid new movie releases, so our pick should bring some dumb humor into your weekend. "Baby Mama" is fresh from the great (female) minds at "Saturday Night Live." Tina Fey plays Kate Holbrook, a successful executive who, at 37, finds she can't have a baby. She discovers Amy Poehler, as South Philly lady Angie Ostrowiski, who can--easily.
Angie becomes Kate's surrogate mom and Kate goes into over-preparation mode for parenthood. A snafu lands Angie on Kate's doorstep to live out her pregnancy and Kate's attempts to groom her just so. Stereotypical jokes ensue, but that there are some genuine laughs and Fey does her normal, paranoid/stellar job.
This is one movie that was actually--shockingly--filmed in and around the city. So here are some fun things to check out in New York:
Where To Hang Out: Communitea Head to this Long Island City teahouse where expansive windows and a very laid back vibe set the scene. It's literally a community with a neighborhood clientele and a huge selection of imported tea and coffee. We hear the service can be spotty, but if you're patient it'll work out.
Tags: Shopping / Shopping-In-Brooklyn-Map / Bakeries / Parks / → All Tags
Shopping in Brooklyn: Vikings in Kings County
Though the area is now dominated by Middle Eastern and Chinese populations, Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood once housed thousands of northern Europeans. During the late-19th century influx of immigrants, Scandinavians arrived in New York's ports side-by-side with eastern Europeans and Italians and settled southwest of Prospect Park.
Norwegians, Swedes, Finns and Danes, however, have since almost vanished from the area. Writing for the site Forgotten New York, blogger Kevin Walsh recalls Bay Ridge's past:
My family and I went to a restaurant called the Scandia, bought bread at Lund's Bakery, our super was Norwegian, Nordisk Tidende (Norway Times) was on every newsstand and I was regularly bullied by guys named Bergstol and Hedberg.
Even though their numbers have dwindled, Bay Ridge still has a few shops, a park and even a parade commemorating its Nordic roots. In Brooklyn, the adage holds true: There are two ways to do things, the right way or Norway.
Tags: Parks / Croatia / → All Tags
Croatians Love Potatoes
Eastern Australia might have their giant potato (which unfortunately resembles a massive dinosaur turd), but the Croatian town of Belica is about to go even more mad about potatoes.
This small town wanted to dedicate a new park to something, and while war heroes and wars seemed the more obvious theme, potatoes won the day when the local farmers' union got involved. The park will include a potato-themed playground for kids (with swings and slippery-dips shaped like potatoes), potato flower beds and information plaques educating visitors about different kinds of potatoes. Hopefully some bright spark will also sell fries at the entrance.
Related Stories:
· Town Plans Potato Park [Ananova]
· Fossilized Dino Poop Down Under [Jaunted]
[Photo: cuorhome]
Tags: Embedded Travel Guides / Matt Chesterton / Buenos Aires Tours / Parks / → All Tags
Jaunted Embedded Travel Guides: Buenos Aires Grass
Embedded Travel Guides: We are searching the world for folks who can take you on a field trip of their "backyard." When we find these folks, we then stealthy embed them into their local travel scene and ask them to be our eyes and ears out in the field.
We are expecting the same sort of grainy video, choppy sentences, and snapshot photos that you are use to seeing from embeds. The rub is, at the end of the day we should be left with a backyard travel guidebook like no other.
Our first embed is Matt Chesterton of Buenos Aires. You might remember this x-Time Out Travel star from HotelChatter's hit series The Thinkers' Guide to Staying in Buenos Aires.
You may have got the impression from my last report that BA is some kind of Blade Runner-esque dystopia with no green spaces worth mentioning. Not the case. While asphalt definitely trumps arboretums in the Argentine capital, there are plenty of gardens, parks and plazas that Porteños frequent regularly, kids and dogs in tow. But it's not like Manhattan where you simply walk towards the middle until you hit the park: you have to work a bit harder and schlep a little farther to score some grass in BA, but it's definitely worth the effort.
