Marco Lombardini » nyc

18 Free Summer Movies in NYC

Marco Lombardini — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:56:37 +0000

With Summer’s arrival comes a horde of free events and one of my favorites is watching free movies on giant screens. On a nice summer night you can just kick off your shoes, spread that blanket on the grass and sip soda, eat free popcorn and take in the city night. Okay enough of that here is the 411

2009 HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival

June
Monday – June 15 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: The Sting
Monday – June 22 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: Breaking Away
Monday – June 29 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: Gold Diggers of 1933

July
Monday – July 6 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie:Dog Day Afternoon
Monday – July 13 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: How Green Was My Valley
Monday – July 20 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: Harold and Maude
Monday – July 27 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: The Defiant Ones

August
Monday – Aug 3 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: Kramer vs. Kramer
Monday – Aug 10 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: The Magnificent Seven
Monday – Aug 17 – 5:00pm – Lawn – Movie: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Riverside Park South Summer on the Hudson

Every Wednesday from June – August – dusk (8:30 p.m.) Pier I at 70th St.

Jun 26 The Big Blue

July 08 The Age of Innocence
July 15 Wall Street
July 22 Dinner at Eight
July 29 The Out-of-Towners

Aug 05 Drums Along the Mohawk
Aug 12 Sweet Smell of Success
Aug 20 All the President’s Men

Note: Plan on getting there early if you want a good spot.

See you there!

NYC Restaurant Week 2010

Marco Lombardini — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:02:37 +0000

NYC Restaurant Week is upon us! Now here is some background and information to get you on your way. New York City’s original celebration of dining, dates back to 1992, when it was developed as a one-time culinary program to welcome the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to the City. Though created with an eye toward delegates and other DNC attendees, the program also found a strong following with residents eager for the chance to eat at some of the City’s top restaurants for a fraction of the usual cost—$19.92 for three courses—and who didn’t want NYC Restaurant Week to be a one-time-only event.

Since 1992, the success of NYC Restaurant Week has only grown. It has expanded to include both lunch and dinner offerings—three-course, prix-fixe meals for $24.07 and $35 respectively—and extended to two weeks each in the summer and winter.

Today, NYC Restaurant Week stands apart as one of the City’s most exciting and anticipated events. More than 235 restaurants participate—a cross-section of the NYC culinary scene that encompasses a diverse range of cuisines and includes some of its most time-honored restaurants and buzz-worthy newcomers. Through its evolution, however, the driving force behind the program remains the same: to give visitors and residents the opportunity to experience the quality, variety and hospitality that embody the NYC dining experience. (From NYCVisit.com)

Here is a partial list of participating Restaurants:

21 Club
5′s at The Peninsula New York
AJ Maxwell’s – Steakhouse
Amalia
Asia de Cuba – New York
Bar Boulud
Beacon
Blue Smoke
Butter
Café Society
Calle Ocho
Central Park BoatHouse
China Grill – New York
Craftbar
Eleven Madison Park
Gramercy Tavern
Le Cirque
Mesa Grill
Morimoto New York
Nice Matin
Oceana
Petrossian
Rosa Mexicano
Spice Market
Tabla
The Water Club
Tribeca Grill
Water’s Edge

Get the full list here or search for a place here!

Battle of the Buses

Marco Lombardini — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:58:48 +0000

Fung Wah bus a popular mode of transportation for many in NYC seeking a cheap ticket and thrill (See here and here and… well you get the picture) now may have a safer alternate to riding the bus. Bolt Bus and Mega Bus have now entered the fray with even cheaper fares to cities like Boston and Washington D.C. giving Fong Wah a run for there money.

The two new bus lines are joint ventures from big bus companies like Greyhound and others to compete for the new market of consumers looking to save money on gas or looking for less expensive alternatives traveling.

So who will win the Bus Wars? Well that remains to be seen, both Bolt and Mega have a lot of financial backing and will probably win over safety conscious consumers looking for name brand terminals to leave from but at the end of the day I’m going to go with who brought me there (Albeit sweating and cramped hands holding on to the seat) Fung Wah has stubbornly kept rolling despite a slight increase to some destinations. Sometimes a smaller company can handle market forces better than others and I should probably mention that there payroll might be smaller than the other bus companies but we won’t get into that.

Notes:
This is a great way to get around on the cheap but you know it won’t last long, there is no way these companies can sustain high gas prices and low fares so if I was you I would get on while the getting is good because they won’t be long till they raise the fares or go out of business outright.

Bolt Bus offers free WiFi

Bus Websites: Fong Wah : Bolt Bus : Mega Bus

Another Piece of NYC Street culture is being wiped out

Marco Lombardini — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:37:41 +0000

A photographer began documenting Manhattan’s newsstands and unbeknown was documenting the end of an era of New York City’s street life. Read it here at the NY Times

22 Free Summer Movies in NYC

Marco Lombardini — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:42:25 +0000

2009 HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival

Riverside Park South Summer on the Hudson

Every Wednesday from June – August – dusk (8:30 p.m.) Pier I at 70th St.

Jun 26 The Big Blue

July 08 The Age of Innocence
July 15 Wall Street
July 22 Dinner at Eight
July 29 The Out-of-Towners

Aug 05 Drums Along the Mohawk
Aug 12 Sweet Smell of Success
Aug 20 All the President’s Men

The Central Park Film Festival

All screenings are FREE and start at 8:00 pm. Gates open at 6:00 pm. To find Rumsey Playfield, enter the Park at Fifth Avenue and 69th Street. Rain or shine.

Tuesday, August 19 Working Girl(1988)
Wednesday, August 20:The French Connection (1971)
Thursday, August 21: Strangers on a Train (1951)
Friday, August 22: Moonstruck (1987)
Saturday, August 23:August Rush (2007)

The Roosevelt Island Summer Movie Series

July
Where:Fire Fighters Field (near the Tram)
When: July 19th – Pre-show start, 8:45 pm
Film start, 9:00pm
Movies: Bee Movie
Runtime: 90min

August
Where:Fire Fighters Field (near the Tram)
When: August 9th- Pre-show start, 8:20 pm
Film start, 8:30pm
Movies: Monster House
Runtime: 90min
Blankets, lawn chairs and picnics are welcome.

Note: Plan on getting there early if you want a good spot.

See you there!

Shakespeare in the Park On-Line

Marco Lombardini — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:29:32 +0000

If you live in the city you know how hard it is to get tickets to limited events especially free tickets to said events. Take for instance Shakespeare in the park. Tickets are usually only available on the same day at the Delacoute theater and that makes for a very long line that snakes between Central Park West’s corner of the Great Lawn and the road where cars and runners pass by with indifference to your cheap ways.

But you don’t have to wait in line any longer! The Public Theater has unveiled (What I think is new) a virtual line, where you can order tickets online vie there website and pick up your tickets at will call. Though only a limited tickets will be available this way it is indeed a better way to go for tickets if your busy and don’t want to sit in the hot sticky sun all day wondering if the guy in front of you with the absurfly amount of back hair is going to take his shirt off.

Currently Playing:

HAMLET
By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Directed by OSKAR EUSTIS

May 27 – June 29
*Added perf June 16 and June 23
No perf June 18 and June 24
Perf on June 19 starts at 8:30PM
Limited ticket distribution on: June 4, June 23,
No distribution/Stand-by line only on: June 17

~Mermaid Parade 2009~

Marco Lombardini — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:39:27 +0000

The Mermaid Parade celebrates the sand, the sea, the salt air and the beginning of summer, as well as the history and mythology of Coney Island, Coney Island pride, and artistic self-expression.

The Parade is characterized by participants dressed in hand-made costumes as Mermaids, Neptunes, various sea creatures, the occasional wandering lighthouse, Coney Island post card or amusement ride, as well as antique cars, marching bands, drill teams, and the odd yacht pulled on flatbed.

Each year, a different celebrity King Neptune and Queen Mermaid rule over the proceedings, riding in the Parade and assisting in the opening of the Ocean for the summer swimming season by marching down the Beach from the Boardwalk, cutting through Ribbons representing the seasons, and tossing fruit into the Atlantic to appease the Sea Gods.

In the past, David Byrne, Queen Latifah, Ron Kuby, Curtis Sliwa, Moby, and David Johansen have graced our shores, presiding over the assembled masses.

Get all the poop here

And don’t forget the Mermaid Ball

ING Marathon Lotto is bieng held today

Marco Lombardini — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:19:34 +0000

Good luck to those who have entered the ING NYC Marathon lotto, you can check out the results here. The lotto will be held through out the day with the final results be posted at 11:59pm June 4th. Good Luck Runners!

T.V. Dinner

Marco Lombardini — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:47:53 +0000

Looking on Craiglist you will find a lot of weird things but sometimes you can come across a life changing post. Check out this post from someone at Kingsworld a CBS distribution network that produces shows. Their looking for New Yorkers who cook and eat at home all the time! Not sure if I know anyone in NYC who eats at home everyday let along cook.

Crane Violations

Marco Lombardini — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:27:48 +0000

The New York Times has a great interactive map with cranes on construction sites that have violations.

You can see it by clicking here