The giant no-man’s-land underneath the Brooklyn Bridge in the Dumbo area of Brooklyn will soon be born again… as a pickleball destination. Officials announced their intention to revitalize the area, filling it with the courts and a slew of other recreational pursuits some time in the spring of 2025.

CityPickle, the company behind many of the courts now peppering New York, came up with the winning proposal for the recreational set up following a request for proposals (RFP) released by the City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation back in January. As part of the plan, the organization wants to turn Anchorage Plaza into 12 pickleball courts that border Washington Street while also setting up areas for a dog run, food trucks, a tree nursery, art installations, beach chairs, rest rooms and more open year-round.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that CityPickle will invest a minimum of $2 million “in the space for drainage, leveling and other preparations.” 

The NYC Parks Department approved of the project and construction is scheduled to kick off in just a few months.

Although scenic and functional, the area has, until now, been underused, making it prime real estate for the sorts of recreational destinations that locals crave and officials in office hope to be able to deliver during their tenures.

Currently used as a parking lot and, according to the Brooklyn Eagle, a “staging area for bridge work” that has been closed to the public since 2009, Anchorage Plaza also used to host an annual art show from 1983 through 2001, reports StreetsBlog. We hope that, soon enough, the neighborhood will once again be home to the sort of cultural pursuits that defined in the past.

* This article was originally published here

New Yorkers are used to seeing fairly odd things all around the city on a daily basis, but a giant dragon attached to the Empire State Building? That’s stuff we usually deal with at the movies. 

This weekend, the inflatable creature was attached to the iconic midtown landmark for the better part of Sunday as part of a massive city-wide promotion behind HBO’s Game of Thones prequel, House of the Dragon, which premiered on the network last night.  

According to the New York Post, the “real life” version of Aemond Targaryen’s dragon Vhagar, whom we originally met on Game of Thrones, was secured on the building by 154 rigging points, 1,700 pattern pieces and over 600,000 sewn stitches. The dragon will be there through June 19.

Check out this video of the massive undertaking, from the perspective of those who actually did all the work.

But there’s more: in addition to the inflatable, the Empire State Building is hosting a temporary pop-up exhibit all about Game of Thrones now through June 19 (which is just two days away, so you better head there ASAP if you want to catch it). 

Adult tickets to the experience cost $46 and they include the chance to sit on the legendary Iron Throne for a nice photo op on the Observatory’s Grand Staircase, plus a number of interactive activities.

And if you’re feeling a bit hungry while on-premise, indulge in a House of the Dragon-inspired dragon fruit sorbet infused with tequila and orange liquor, and garnished with a mini dragon toy figure—courtesy of Tipsy Scoop. The local ice cream shop will be serving the delight through tomorrow on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. 

The Empire State Building is known for lighting up in different colors every few days in honor of grand events, premieres, holidays and more—but this is the first time in recent memory that the landmark has put on such a spectacle, complete with an enormous inflatable figure. Although it looks odd… we’re kind of into it?

* This article was originally published here

When booking a vacation we’re typically used to pulling up hotel websites or Airbnb when looking for a place to stay, but this home swapping platform gives you a unique opportunity to explore a new city like a local rather than a tourist!

Inspired by the flexibility remote work offers, co-founders Justine Palefsky and Tasneem Amina created home swapping network Kindred.

During the pandemic both Palefsky and Amina looked for ways to take advantage of their remote work flexibility and spend more time in different cities, but they quickly realized all existing solutions were either wildly expensive or required giving up their homes completely, they told Forbes.

Tackling this issue is essentially what skyrocketed them into creating Kindred, a members-only home swapping network which isn’t like any vacation rental platform you’ve seen before.

For starters, there’s no financial exchange between guests and hosts on Kindred, unlike typical home rental platforms. Rather, the focus is on sharing rather than monetizing, and members “give” nights in their home in order to “earn” nights at others.

That’s to say there are no membership fees on the platform–the only fees you have to worry about are a cleaning and a service fee. To put things into comparison, a 7-night hotel rental can cost upwards of $2,000 while a 7-night home swap could cost less than $500.

Secondly, Kindred’s main focus is trust and they connect members who have something in common, such as mutual friends, and organize a video chat introduction before confirming stays. To ensure they maintain this environment of trust, they primarily grow their network through referrals. Each accepted member is given a unique code to share with others they think would be a great fit. Those who apply using that code will then be added to the top of the review queue.

Those interested in applying that don’t have an invite code can still join the waitlist as the platform accept homes on a rolling basis.

And while the network has mostly been used by remote workers so far, their goal is to make it possible for anyone to use the network and share their home.

Using the Kindred home swap network is as easy as following these steps:

1. Apply to unlock access – they’re looking for safe, well-cared-for homes occupied by people who love to travel

2. Book available homes – new members can book up to 5 nights before they host

3. Host and earn travel credits – earn credits each time you host

30,000+ homes are available to choose from in over 100 cities.

Co-founder and president Tasneem Amina told Forbes, “We started Kindred with the goal of making travel a way of life, not just an occasional escape.” They added, “Many of our members are drawn to Kindred because they want a travel experience with warmth, character, and the comforts of home. They want to feel like they are really living somewhere, not just traveling there as a tourist.”

So if you’re looking to explore new cities without blowing your entire savings, Kindred is definitely something worth looking into!

For more information on the Kindred home swap network and to find out if your home is a fit to swap, you can visit their website.

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* This article was originally published here