Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry celebrates hip-hop’s cultural influence through stunning jewelry from some of its iconic stars. Highlights include Slick Rick’s glittering crown, the Notorious B.I.G.’s legendary gold “Jesus piece,” the diamond-studded Roc-A-Fella medallion for the record label co-founded by Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj’s sparkling “Barbie” pendant, and pieces from Erykah Badu, A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, and…
Back in 2018, the Palace Theatre at 1564 Broadway by 47th Street was shut down for a pretty massive renovation and restoration project that included plans to raise the landmarked venue about 30 feet in the air.
And now, just in time for Broadway darling Ben Platt’s upcoming three-week residency on site, the theatre, originally focused on vaudeville acts, is ready for its closeup and a much anticipated grand reopening.
It’s important to note that, given the 14-million-pounds institution’s landmark status, the $80 million restructuring project had to be completed without damaging—or, really, changing—the space’s arches, box seats and ceiling. Officials were able to build out a new orchestra pit and stage lifts, though, in addition to installing new finishes palettes and light fixtures inspired by the original Beaux-Arts style of the destination, according to an official press release.
Photograph: Courtesy of Palace Theatre
The theater also boasts a brand-new lobby, backstage area, stunning marquee and a fresh entrance on 47th Street.
The decision to move the entryway off Times Square echoes similar moves by other major Broadway buildings, likely directly linked to the constant pedestrian traffic that defines the neighborhood.
Fun fact: the Palace Theatre’s auditorium was actually originally built inside a box, a fact that allowed construction crews to quite literally lift it and add square footage dedicated to more bathrooms, a new lobby, ground-floor retail space and more at the site.
Photograph: Courtesy of Palace Theatre
“Teams from 10-12 construction and engineering firms emptied the building’s cellar and sub-cellar and installed an elaborate hydraulic jacking system and a large concrete ring beam around the theater,” reads the press release. “This created a pocket for the elevation to take place. Once the theater reached 16 feet, the lift paused so the new floors could be built.”
Who knew Broadway was also where feats of architectural marvel could still shock us?
By Consumer Affairs With the Fourth of July in the rearview mirror, the temperatures will only continue to skyrocket this summer, and consumers should know how to best handle the extreme heat. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released tips that will come in handy as the summer gets underway. “High temperatures…
Those seventy degree evenings we’ve been desperately craving for months are finally here, and Bryant Park is adding to our joy by bringing back its Paramount+ movie nights starting next month.
The screenings are going to take place every Monday at 8pm from June 10 through August 12.
This year, the movie nights are starting off strong with a screening of crowd favorite Forrest Gump, which is also celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Be warned, though: the screenings are very popular and Bryant Park recommends getting there at 6pm in order to snag a good spot, but we suggest getting there even earlier, perhaps by 5pm, when the lawn opens for picnicking.
As usual, the park will also play host to a number of food and drink purveyors, all options curated by Hester Street Fair, the pop up market that features a rotating lineup of artisanal vendors from all across the city.
Here is the full movie lineup for the summer:
June 10: Forrest Gump (1994)
June 17: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
June 24: Boomerang (1992)
July 1:The Gladiator (2000)
July 8: Old School (2003)
July 15: Funny Face (1957)
July 22: Cinema Paradiso (1988)
July 29: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
August 5: Arrival (2016)
August 12: Titanic (1997)
For more information on the screenings and other free programming at Bryant Park, visit their website.
Spirit in Sunset Productions is excited to present “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive – A Sweet R&B Ride on the Soul of My 45’s”TM A Multi-media Celebration of 1960’s and 1970’s Soul Music through Art, Literature and Performance. The program will start on June 6, 2024, and continue into next year. Artistic Director, Nikki Williams…
Summer travel into and out of JFK Airport almost always leads to headaches and major gridlock issues but officials are hoping to make things a bit easier in the next few months by potentially offering folks free AirTrain rides from or to Jamaica Station or Howard Beach Station.
Gothamist reports that Rick Cotton, Port Authority Executive Director, “is considering nixing the $8.50 fare for the train stopping at JFK terminals as the airport prepares for an expected record-breaking number of travelers this summer amid a $19 billion construction project.”
NYC’s major transportation hub is, in fact, poised for a major revamp: expected to be completed in 2030, a new international terminal at JFK will boast 23 gates and over 300,000 square feet of retail, dining and lounge space spread across 2.4 million square feet. You can check out the released renderings right here.
Given the extent of the construction and the fact that, according to Gothamist, the airport is expecting 700,000 more travelers this summer than last year (which happened to be the busiest on record), it should come as no surprise that officials are brainstorming ways to keep disruptions at a minimum—especially following the chaos that ensued at LaGuardia back in 2016, when the hub underwent major renovations. Remember when people would nonchalantly step out of their cabs and run to the airport in an effort to actually make their flights?
In addition to perhaps allowing folks to use the AirTrain for free (the ride within the airport system is already complimentary for all), the Port Authority is also opening a lot next to the Lefferts Boulevard AirTrain station to make the whole ordeal a bit smoother, according to ABC7.
Overall, it seems like summer travel plans will be defined by a bit of chaos at JFK, so you might want to follow a few tips released by officials this week, including allowing extra time for your journey, using public transportation as much as possible, considering alternate pick-up and drop-off locations and, of course, constantly monitoring social media for important updates.
By HWM This past Saturday, the streets of Harlem were buzzing with activity as over 30 volunteers participated in Assembly Member Al Taylor’s annual “Love Your Community Day.” The event, focused on the Polo Grounds Towers, Rangel Houses, and Holcombe Rucker Park, brought together residents, local organizations, and participants from The Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing…
As an automated tool, web crawlers play an important role in today’s information age. It can automatically browse information on the Internet, capture, analyze and store it, providing users with effective data support. In all walks of life, including market research, competitive intelligence, public opinion monitoring and other fields, web crawlers play an indispensable role.…
The door leading into the new Banksy Museum at 277 Canal Street looks just like you’d imagine the entrance to a space dedicated to the most elusive character in street art would look like: industrial, anonymous, almost mysterious.
Head up a flight of stairs, though, and you’ll be greeted with what is meant to be Banksy’s ideal canvas: a city of walls.
“We recreated the street to respect the rule of street art because the work has to be reproduced on a wall and can’t be sold,” says museum founder Hazis Vardar during a recent walkthrough of the new destination.
Photograph: Erald Kraja
Vardar’s devotion to his new project and the artist that inspires it is made clear through the precision of the works on display: all reproductions, also made by anonymous artists, minutely resemble the original works they are inspired by, despite the fact that many of them may no longer even exist.
Banksy’s murals, after all, are just as ephemeral as the artist himself.
Whether painted over, removed or damaged, his street art often gains attention because of its temporary nature and unpredictable locations. Banksy himself has, in the past, commented on the impermanent nature of the form, acknowledging that it may not last forever.
Photograph: Erald KrajaPhotograph: Erald Kraja
“Almost 80% of these works have been destroyed already or white washed,” explains Vardar. “You can’t see them anymore.”
At the new museum—which has previously been mounted in Barcelona, Brussels, Krakow and Paris—the street art, cloned on actual walls, shares space with framed copies of Banksy’s paintings and a reproduction of the artist’s famous Walled Off Hotel, originally designed by Banksy and other creatives in 2017 as a temporary exhibition in Bethlehem, in the West Bank.
Photograph: Erald KrajaPhotograph: Erald Kraja
The Canal Street exhibit, which Vardar refers to as a museum because he hopes will stay put permanently, is loosely split into geographical regions.
Visitors will first get to look through murals that Banksy installed throughout London (“we started with London because he’s from there,” notes Vardar), moving onto France, New York—including the “Hammer Boy” mural that remarkably still stands today on the Upper West Side—and the Middle East. The lower level of the warehouse-like space is dedicated to Banksy’s work in Ukraine, reminding viewers that, at its core, the artist’s creative pursuits are political commentary.
Photograph: Erald Kraja
“To me, Banksy is a revolutionary and his work has a meaning, something inside of it,” says Vardar. “I’m an Albanian son of immigrants so I understand his position on immigration, women’s rights [and more]. His work touches me more and more.”
Although representative of Banksy’s craft with over 160 works on display, the new museum feels more like a celebration of the artist rather than an objective exploration of his output. Not necessarily a flaw, the obvious allegiance to the enigmatic Banksy might, though, say more about the founder of the museum than the subject itself—a fact that might not be lost on Vardar.
“If I could talk to Bansky, I would say ‘well done,’,” he confesses. “Thanks for shaking people’s brains.”
