One of the best new restaurants of 2021 joined the ranks of the city’s most expensive fine dining destinations when it opened on a high floor of a beautiful Art Deco building downtown that year. Saga’s premiere menu was $245 per person (before drinks, tax and gratuity) for around nine elegantly executed courses in luxuriously elegant environs surrounded by some of the best views in and of New York City.

Two years later, the price has risen to $295 (same caveats) for that hours-long, rarefied experience. But Saga introduced a new, four-course option for $100 less this spring. 

Like the longer option, items are expected to change seasonally. The 63rd-floor perch does not post or print its menus (electronic versions are sent in the days after dinner), but original plates included fluke, black bass and dry-aged duck. Guests can expect at least one course that does not appear on the extended, higher-priced menu, reps say. 

Saga is joined by two other related operations at 70 Pine Street: Crown Shy, one of 2019’s best new restaurants, and Overstory, a special occasion bar that also has incredible vistas a flight above Saga on the 64th floor.

Saga’s “short story” menu is available to book Sunday-Thursday.

* This article was originally published here

January is now Muslim Heritage Month in New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy signed a joint resolution (SJR105/ AJR194), sponsored by Senators Joe Pennacchio and Brian Stack, and Assemblymembers Angela McKnight, Shanique Speight, and Annette Chaparro, to designate the month during an Eid celebration on April 29.  

“I am proud to designate January of each year as Muslim Heritage Month, as it will shine a light on the rich histories, cultures, and shared principles of Muslim Americans,” said Murphy.

In a statement, Madina P. Ouedraogo, government affairs manager at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, New Jersey (CAIR-NJ), said: “New Jersey’s Muslim community has long awaited this moment, when the Muslim heritage month resolution is passed and signed into law. Today, the Garden State is proudly celebrating its rich religious and cultural diversity. 

“American Muslims have and continue to be a pivotal foundation of this state, but they have long been stigmatized, marginalized, and underappreciated. This new law signals a new tide.”

According to CAIR, 3.5% of New Jerseyans are Muslim—the highest percentage of Muslim residents in the U.S. 

The organization also noted that “Muslim Heritage Month started with a vision from the Honorable Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. The first Muslims to observe Ramadan in America were enslaved Africans who carried their faith with them and used it as a way to stay connected to their identities that were being brutally stripped from them while in bondage. It was their descendants, Black and African American Muslims, who would go on to later lay the foundation for the modern-day American Muslim experience. The Honorable Imam Mohammed sought to make sure that this history is acknowledged and celebrated.”

The post Muslim Heritage Month designated in the Garden State appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

Harry Belafonte, who died this past week, was celebrated outdoors at Lincoln Center on April 28, 2023. To the delight of fans of the beloved singer/actor/activist, Jamal Josephs’s Impact Theatre Group performed two of Belafonte’s best-known songs: “Day—O” and “We Are The World.” 

Bill Moore photos

The post Harry Belafonte celebrated at Lincoln Center appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

Every month, seniors at the A. Philip Randolph Center in Harlem celebrate birthdays. Here they are honoring folks blessed in April. There was a jazz band, music, food, dancing, and raffles.

The post April birthdays for “Golden Girls” at A. Philip Randolph Center  appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

New York state’s gun buyback program saw more than 3,000 guns surrendered in exchange for gift cards last week. Nine buyback locations were set up in various regions of the state, with two in New York City.

Organized by State Attorney General Letitia James, this was the first-ever statewide gun buyback in New York history.

RELATED: New Yorkers turn in 78 guns at Harlem buyback program

The gun buyback events were conducted in partnership with local law enforcement agencies and public officials. The attorney general’s office said it collected 185 assault weapons, 1,656 handguns, and 823 long guns. In New York City, 90 guns were collected in Brooklyn and 70 in the Bronx.

The NYPD has also established a Cash for Guns program that offers $200 to anyone who surrenders a gun. Individuals who choose to surrender their guns do not have to identify themselves nor will they be asked any questions by officials.

The post Gun buyback rounds up 3,000 firearms appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here