We’ll take any rooftop bar in NYC when the weather starts turning in our favor, but we’re especially partial to the ones that are basically secret gardens in the middle of the concrete jungle. Scenic case in point: Gallow Green, the verdant sanctuary set atop The McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea (530West27thStreet), which will be returning for the summer season on Thursday, May 9.
Alas, spring did see the end of The McKittrick’s iconic, long-running Sleep No More series, but the relaunch of the hotel’s rooftop garden bar and restaurant is enough to put a smile back on our faces. The indoor-outdoor venue is filled with fresh flowers, hanging vines and other greenery designed especially for the space by Jen Stone of Stonekelly Events & Florals.
And the cocktail menu has also been given a springtime spruce-up with drinks like the “Sleep No More”(pea flower-infused vodka, elderflower, and rosé cider), the “Gallow Green” (tequila, cucumber, fennel and kale agua fresca, and fresh lemon),and the “Summer Coven”(mezcal, mango puree, ancho reyes and lime). A selection of wine by the glass or bottle, local beers, and seasonal ciders are alsoavailable.
To complement the drinks, executive chef Pascal Le Seac’h (an alum of New York’s Balthazar, Pastis and Daniel) will lead the food menu and will be whipping up globally inspired and shareable bites, like raw oysters, grilled salmon, a classic cheeseburger and more.
And along with being one of the lushest rooftop bars in the city, Gallow Green will also host special events throughout the season, including family-friendly Potions & Planting tea parties on select weekends. Reservations are now open, with hours of operation set at Sunday through Thursday from 5:30pm until midnight, and Fridays and Saturdays from 5:3pm until 1am.
Check out photos of some of Gallow Green’s food-and-drink offerings, and those garden-fresh digs, below:
Photograph: Noah Fecks | Gallow Green cocktail at Gallow GreenNoah FecksCheeseburger at Gallow GreenPhotograph: Noah Fecks | Salmon at Gallow GreenPhotograph: courtesy of Gallow Green
“This ship is sailing,” the team behind Mary’s Fish Camp—a summery seafood shack that shucked up raw offerings, warming chowders and one of the city’s best lobster rolls on the West Village for more than 20 years—announced back in February on Instagram, much to the chagrin of NYC locals who love great shellfish and nautical charm.
“We hope to spend the next 2 months celebrating what a great restaurant we have grown into. We would like to salute everyone who has contributed to our success: every single employee, all of our regular and new customers, all of the great companies that we have worked with. You all felt like family and made MFC feel like home. ❤️” the closing announcement continued. “This will not be the end, we are hoping for fair winds on our next fishy endeavor. Anchors aweigh!”
Owner-chef Mary Redding and the rest of the Fish Camp crew ladled out its last conch chowder as of the end of April, and fans of the dearly departed restaurant have taken to social media to lament and tribute Mary’s Fish Camp, its coastal Florida-style cooking and that inviting, plant-filled exterior that occupied the corner of Charles and West 4th Streets since 2001.
Those sentiments were echoed in a sweet Instagram carousel that the beloved restaurant posted of drawings and notes from some of Mary’s Fish Camp’s younger patrons:
“Thank you for being a constant in my life mary’s!! i’ll miss you and i’ll never forget the last 6 years of amazing food 🙏🏻🙏🏻” – @seb_a.h
“You were a balm to a sore heart in the months after 9/11 and have remained so ever since. You will be missed.” – @nickdebaun
“No!! Whyyy🥺😭 thank you for being my all time fav💔” -@yaelkochva
“Thank you for so many cod sandwiches, fries with malt vinegar, and hot fudge sundaes. This place was special. MFC forever ❤️❤️” -@anmassa
Sure, if we want to get technical, Cinco de Mayo is one single date on the calendar. But, joyfully, it looks like the Stone Street Historic District didn’t get that memo: instead of relegating the fiesta to just one day, the pedestrian-only street (located between 85 Broad Street and Hanover Square) is highlighting all things Mexico with a three-day Cinco de Mayo celebration this weekend.
From today, May 3 through Sunday, May 5, the margaritas will be flowing, the mariachi bands will be jamming and the vibes will be good at one of the city’s largest Cinco de Mayo celebrations. The Financial District street fest will feature festive activities spearheaded by Mad Dog & Beans Mexican Cantina, including complimentary tastings of tequilas, mezcals and Mexican beers, as well as giveaways and raffles with big prizes like AirPods, beach gear, bicycles, and a $1,000 gift card!
Other participating restaurants and bars will set up tents in the street during the Stone Street Cinco De Mayo Street Fest, pouring out frozen drinks, tequila shots, Mexican beers and shareable 100-ounce margarita towers. With all of that free-flowing fun, you’re going to need to pad out your stomach with Mexican favorites like tacos, street corn, chips and guacamole, empanadas, burritos and more. Along with the great Mexican grub, there will also be American BBQ, British and Irish pub fare, Italian classics and more available. (Though the event is free to attend, food and beverages will be for purchase.)
Every day will be soundtracked by traditional Mexican mariachi bands and DJs playing Latin beats, including Mariachi Sol Azteca De NYC, Hot Lava, Kicking Nash and Uptown Royalty.
Officially, the fiesta will be held rain or shine on historic cobbled street between noon and midnight on all days (“If you want to bring your kids we’d suggest coming between noon-3 pm, before it gets too rowdy,” advises organizers), but pace yourself because some of the bars and restaurants on the street might keep the party going later!
This is the final entry in Cinco to Celebrate, a series highlighting five Mexican businesses in New York City that areworth your time and money this Cinco de Mayo—and beyond.Here’s more about the importanceof the series and where you can read every article.
Cumbia is a genre that incorporates basses, flutes, accordions, maracas, whistles, and typically hovers around 100 BPMs with clear staccatos, ideal for a sexy two step with a partner. But there’s an infinite range of creative individual flair that exists within cumbia, and that’s where many people get lost.
Growing up in Queens, Mark Saldana was surrounded by cumbia music. Although the genre originated as a folkloric dance in the coast of Colombia, it’s beloved by many throughout Latin America, including in the Mexican state of Puebla. In a neighborhood like Jackson Heights, where hundreds of cultures are packed within a few blocks’ radius, the lines are often deliciously blurred: Ecuadorian culture becomes Colombia culture becomes Peruvian culture, and so forth.
Growing up, Saldana’s mom collected cumbia CDs from the stores along Junction Boulevard, which Mark refers to as the “Mexican and Ecuadorian Times Square.” He mostly danced cumbias at quinceñeras, but he was so good at it that his aunt told him she’d buy him a trip to Mexico if he really focused on learning the dance moves. For months, Saldana watched YouTube videos and practiced in parks and streets with friends he calls his “cumbia sisters.” When he showed his family what he could do, they were very impressed and bought him a flight to Mexico.
Photograph: By Christian Garcia
When Saldana went to Mexico, his cousins danced cumbia differently than he did, and he picked up moves from their own versions of cumbia sonidero, a branch of cumbia that was developed in Mexico and tends to involve more instruments, faster rhythms, and more synths than its Colombian counterpart.
Violeta, a woman in the neighborhood who taught cumbia classes, saw Saldana dance at parties and approached him to teach a class. At first, he was hesitant. “I’m not a professional dancer or choreographer,” he tells Time Out. But Violeta was certain that he had what it took to teach—and since then, he’s been teaching free classes to New Yorkers every Saturday.
They’re keeping the music alive for us.
One of Saldana’s primary goals is to bring awareness around the genre and its rich history in New York. Many of the places where sneaked in to dance cumbias when he was underage, namely one place called El Tucanazo on Roosevelt Avenue, have closed since the pandemic. There’s really only a handful of places that play cumbias sonideras regularly now, including Queens Place, El Patron Lounge, and El Dorado Lounge. “These last remaining places are really important because they’re keeping the music alive for us,” he tells Time Out.
When you go to one of Saldana’s free classes, you can expect to see a variety of skill levels but mostly beginners. He likes to remind people that he’s still learning, too. “We’re all stumbling at the same time. I’m not a professional, I’m a social dancer,” Mark says. “If I mess up, we mess up together.” Hour-and-a-half long classes start with an introduction to the dance, and he’ll incorporate one or two more advanced dance moves towards the end.
It’s clear when I talk to him that cumbia has been a connecting thread for Saldana throughout his life—to his parents’ hometown in Mexico, and to a larger community of Latinos in Jackson Heights. Because he owes so much to cumbia, he wants to help younger generations be as passionate about the genre and continue the colorful legacy of the genre in New York, which is the product of so many cultures that came together to create something that feels fluid, dynamic, and like it belongs to no one and everyone at the same time—kind of like New York itself.
We’re all stumbling at the same time. I’m not a professional, I’m a social dancer. If I mess up, we mess up together.
“Cumbia culture has always been big but it’s never been top tier like salsa, merengue, bachata,” Saldana says. But with the help of initiatives like his, people are starting to pay attention. “Cumbia is exploding, it’s getting its recognition, but it’s always been amazing. We’ve always been here.”
Check out the free classes every Saturday from 12pm-1:30pm on 34th Ave in Jackson Heights. You can follow Saldana for more information on classes or check out the Open Streets events calendar.
For more than four years, the COVID-19 pandemic and its after-effects have gripped the world and changed so much. During that time, nearly 1.2 million people across the country—including 83,000 in New York City—have lost their lives to the virus.
To honor their memories, there’s a new installation at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery called A Big Slow, Majestic Covid Memorial. It’s on view now through Friday, June 3, and consists of tributes made by 22 community groups from across New York City.
The memorial took over a section of Green-Wood’s historic wrought-iron fence, near the main entrance at Fifth Avenue at 25th Street. The monument stretches horizontally for 200 feet and includes a dedicated space for public participation where New Yorkers can add nameplates to remember their lost loved ones. Pieces include paintings, drawings, floral displays, and words like “not forgotten” interspersed with names of the deceased.
Photograph: By Erik McGregor
The artwork also pays tribute to those suffering from long COVID. “The mounting toll of death and diminished health has inflicted immeasurable pain but also brought communities together to provide support and comfort to those suffering the reverberating effects of the virus,” event organizers said in a press release.
The theme of this year’s memorial comes from disability justice writer Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, who wrote in The Future is Disabled, “Everyone is holding so much grief right now, and it’s so hard, but it’s kind of created this bigger, slower, majestic space to be real with what’s going on and organize from that space.”
To create the memorial, Naming the Lost Memorials collaborated with City Lore, Great Small Works, Mano a Mano, and The Green-Wood Cemetery. The team worked with 22 community groups from across the city whose constituents have suffered significant losses from COVID-19. Some of those groups include: Bronx Documentary Center, Casa Yurumein, Vishnu Mandir Hindu Temple, Guyana Cultural Association, The Bklyn Combine, West Indian American Day Carnival Association, Yaffa Cultural Arts, Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts, Jews of Jackson Heights, and La Colmena.
Photograph: By Erik McGregor
This is the second COVID memorial Naming the Lost has presented at Green-Wood. Last year’s memorial was called The Many Losses from COVID-19.
“Naming the Lost Memorials aims to create an annual, tangible wall of memory that does not allow the lives and souls of the many thousands of victims of the COVID-19 pandemic to escape our thoughts—thoughts which are needed to remember, grasp our losses, and find ways to create healthier and more compassionate communities,” Steve Zeitlin, co-director of City Lore said in a press release.
As the months go on, Naming the Lost and City Lore will continue to help communities create COVID-19 memorials through 2025. As part of The Monuments Project, its nationwide initiative to rethink the meaning and creation of monuments, the Mellon Foundation provided a major grant to support this work. Some artifacts from the memorials will be archived at the New-York Historical Society for future exhibitions and research into the impact of the pandemic.
When you picture a gay bar, there’s probably a very specific set of details that come to mind: cheap, strong drinks served in plastic cups, a sticky dance floor and, more likely than not, a bathroom that looks straight out of an apocalypse film.
And, while gay dive bars are fun for a wild night out or when you’re a college student, it would also be kind of nice to get a place where we could enjoy a nice, high-quality cocktail in a classy setting around other queer people.
Thanks to ANIMAL, a new queer bar at 307 Meeker Avenue in Greenpoint, we finally have that.
Opened by Jim Morrison, who co-owns The Exley in Williamsburg, and Ashton Correa, who formerly worked as the director of People and Culture at the Ace Hotel, ANIMAL has been a dream project nearly twenty years in the making.
“We all grew up going to gay bars, many of which aren’t LGBTQ owned, which served the lowest quality drinks and lacked a queer aesthetic,” Correa tells Time Out. “As we’ve gotten older, our standards are higher, and we want to offer our community something we didn’t have before.”
Along with their close friend and collaborator Nick Eskelinen, Morrison and Correa hope that ANIMAL will become a go-to place for queer people who want to enjoy specialty and classic cocktails.
On menu, find classics like the Negroni, Cosmo and Old Fashioned, as well as specialty concoctions like the Animal Spritz (St. Agrestis Paradiso, sparkling wine, soda) and the Animal Mezcal Marg (Mal Bien espadín, house orange liqueur, lime). A wide selection of beers, wines and non-alcoholic cocktails and ales is also on offer.
But it’s not just about the drinks: the ANIMAL team has an expansive vision of how the space should ideally be used—an elegant cocktail den, sure, but also a destination for day drinking brunches, fetish nights and dance parties.
Photograph: By Jackson Kahn
The destination is made up of separate areas that include an outdoor bar, a dance floor and an open-air patio. The main indoor bar boasts a skylight that brightens up the space during the day and, at night, red mood lighting and a selection of top-shelf liquor will make you feel like you’re in a classy Manhattan bar, without all the uptightness.
Although the queer community obviously needs the sorts of dive bars that it holds dear, it also deserve a wider range of options when it comes to going out: ANIMAL is just that.
If you find yourself walking around the Seaport in need of some respite, we’ve got just the solution for you: a newly expanded set of three outdoor lawns that are part of the 26,000-square-foot Lawn Club Terrace at 1 Fulton Street.
Photograph: Courtesy of Lawn Club
The Terrace, which officially debuts today, features a trio of outside spaces that are open rain or shine and join the six others that make up the Lawn Club as a whole.
When reserving a spot on the Terrace, guests will be able to make use of their own patio, TV screens to watch any program at all plus a “lawncierge” that we suspect will take your food and drink orders while making the whole experience that much more enjoyable.
Photograph: Courtesy of Lawn Club
Throughout the entire Lawn Club, folks can play games like bocce, cornhole, croquet, shuffleboard and a mini golf-pool hybrid called “putting pool” that’s a Lawn Club exclusive.
There are two bars on premise as well, each one serving both traditional drinks and creative twists on lawn party cocktails—think Pimm’s cups, gin and tonics, martinis and margaritas.
Food wise, its’ all about the shareables: fried mac and cheese balls, lobster rolls, giant salads, burgers, wings, pings in a blanket, grilled cheese and more.
Photograph: Courtesy of Lawn Club
Each lawn can fit between one and 11 people at once, with rentals starting at about $75 per hour during weekdays and a bit more on weekends.
If you’re looking to throw a bigger party, consider reserving one of five private indoor porches that fit up to 300 people at once. You can read more about all offerings right here.
