martes, 21 de abril de 2015
miércoles, 25 de marzo de 2015
domingo, 22 de marzo de 2015
Inicia feria de autos en Nueva York
Nueva York - La edición 114 del Salón Internacional del Automóvil de Nueva York se inauguró hoy con la previsión de alcanzar el millón de visitantes durante los diez días de duración de la cita.
El gobernador del Estado, Andrew Cuomo, dio el tiro de salida oficial a la feria, en la que se pueden ver alrededor de 1,000 modelos de autos, camiones, motocicletas y prototipos procedentes de todo el mundo.
El salón, el más antiguo y grande de este tipo que se celebra en Estados Unidos, estará abierto hasta el próximo día 27 en el Javits Center de Manhattan.
La organización espera que más de un millón de personas visiten la exposición, según indicó hoy en un comunicado el presidente de la asociación de concesionarios de Nueva York, Mark Schienberg.
Cuomo, por su parte, se mostró "orgulloso" de inaugurar "el mejor salón de automóviles del mundo" y dio muestra de su pasión por los coches acudiendo a la cita con dos modelos de su propiedad, un Corvette Stingray de 1975 y un Pontiac GTO descapotable de 1968.
Ambos estarán expuestos durante la feria junto a otros vehículos clásicos que fueron propiedad de gobernadores del Estado de Nueva York como Franklin D. Roosevelt y Nelson Rockefeller.
Hasta 2,000 personas han trabajado o trabajarán este año únicamente para acondicionar el centro de conferencias para el salón, que el año pasado generó una actividad económica por valor de $263 millones, según la organización.
En los últimos días, varios grandes fabricantes como Ford, Honda, Mazda y Land Rover ya han adelantado algunos de los nuevos modelos que presentarán en Nueva York durante los próximos días.
miércoles, 11 de marzo de 2015
lunes, 23 de febrero de 2015
viernes, 20 de febrero de 2015
Lower East Side: Donde Nueva York se reinventa
El Lower East Side (o LES) es un riñón perfectamente acotado de Manhattan. Limita al norte con la calle Houston, al oeste con Bowery, al sur con Canal y al este con el río -el East-.
Hoy, cruzar sus fronteras ni se nota, pero a principios del siglo pasado suponía entrar en territorio comanche: un mundo vicioso y bohemio, además de insalubre y superpoblado donde se hacinaban inmigrantes procedentes de media Europa. The Knick, la serie deSteven Soderbergh protagonizada por Clive Owen está ambientada en ese LES, uno de los barrios más antiguos y, sin duda, con más casta de Nueva York.
Un nuevo 'skyline'
Hoy, aquel crisol de gentes, promesas y ambiciones es un rincón menos caótico, pero también más interesante. Y en su penúltima transformación -hace dos décadas triunfaron sus bares y discotecas, tiendas al por mayor y pésimos restaurantes- vuelve a erigirse como motor de tendencias y escaparate de todo lo que engancha en Nueva York.
Ian Schrager, el inventor del hotel boutique lo vio claro. Su último gran proyecto, un edificio diseñado por Herzog & de Meuron que va a albergar un hotel y apartamentos de súper lujo, debía estar en el lugar adecuado. «Vi el New Museum y las galerías que están abriendo a su alrededor. Creo que será el nuevo destino del arte». A Schrager le conquistaron también las calles abarrotadas los fines de semana y nuevos restaurantes como el último de Keith McNally, toda una figura en la escena culinaria de Manhattan. El 215 Chrystie, que se inaugura el año que viene, promete ser espectacular.
La escena culinaria
En la lista de los diez mejores restaurantes del año (2014) realizada por The New York Times hay cinco de este barrio, entre ellos Cherche Medi, de McNally. Los otros son Ivan Ramen, Contra, Dirty French y Russ & Daughters Cafe, el nuevo restaurante de la cuarta generación de dueños de la legendaria tienda gourmet, toda una institución en la ciudad.
Y es que el Lower East Side está salpicado de tiendecitas indie y garitos hispters, pero aún sobreviven los clásicos, los que cuentan su historia. Russ & Daughters, especializada en pescado ahumado, es uno de los más destacados supervivientes de la antigua comunidad judía del barrio.
También lo es Katz's Delicatessen, inmortalizada enCuando Harry encontró a Sally y con los mejores sandwiches de pastrami. Por cierto, que ya ha cumplido 125 años, aunque nadie tiene más autoridad para impartir una clase de historia que elTenement Museum, que atesora los testimonios de generaciones de inmigrantes que se instalaron en el Lower East Side.
La escena hotelera
El impulso del 215 Chrystie de Schrager ha avivado la llegada también de otros hoteles. The Ludlow abrió hace solo unos meses (es el hogar del aclamado Dirty French) y es, como no podía ser de otra forma, un cinco estrellas 'boutique' cuyo lobbie pretende ser punto de encuentro de los cultural influencers.
A solo una manzana, el Hotel Indigo LES es el otro protagonista hotelero: 24 pisos, 300 habitaciones... no se ha inaugurado aún, aunque ya está abierto a reservas. Su terraza promete rivalizar con la del New Museum, el museo de arte contemporáneo y principal foco de vanguardia de LES. No es muy alta, pero podría ser uno de los rincones más cool de Nueva York.
Otra forma de mezclarse con los actuales colonizadores de LES es pasearse por su parque, el East River Park, que cuenta con un paseo junto al río de unos tres kilómetros con buenas vistas alpuente de Brooklyn. ¿Y qué es lo que se ve al otro lado del río?Williamsburg, la meca de los modernos, que va un pasito por delante en el imparable proceso de gentrificación.
Precisamente aquí, bajo el puente de Williamsburg, en una antigua terminal de tranvía, está tomando forma el Lowline, el proyecto para hacer el primer parque subterráneo del mundo, que cuenta con el apoyo de muchas caras conocidas, como la actriz y guionista Lena Dunham. Otro hito que volverá a poner al camaleónico Lower East Side en la agenda viajera de medio mundo.
martes, 17 de febrero de 2015
The Top 10 Secrets of Times Square NYC
Times Square may be the most touristic spot in New York City, and one that New Yorkers avoid at all costs. But we thought it might be time to shed some new light on the much maligned landmark. Here are our 10 favorite secrets about Times Square:
1. There’s an Unmarked and Unnamed Sound Art Installation Emanating from a Subway Grate
Some would accurately describe Max Neuhaus as a “sound sculptor.” His installation, “Times Square” below the subway ventilation grates on a slab of land between Broadway and 7th Avenues (45th & 46th Street) has been a little-known attraction since 1977, emanating huge sound to the select few who purposely or accidentally experience it.
The late percussionist had this to say about his installation in 2002, “The piece isn’t meant to startle, it’s meant for people who are ready to discover. In fact, I never do a work where everybody stops and notices it in a public place. I want at least 50% of the people to walk through it without noticing it, without hearing it.” This unpretenious find goes down as one of our top 10 subway art installations in NYC.
2. The New Year’s Ball is stored inside One Times Square All Year Round
As you ascend to the roof of the Walgreens Tower at 1 Times Square, you’ll see an access door. Opening it, you’re outside, a glow emanating from atop a flight of stairs. Walk up those steps, and you’re face-to-face with a New York icon: The New Years Eve Ball. Made of Waterford Crystal and LEDs, this 12-foot in diameter ball weighs nearly 12,000 pounds and is completely computer controlled. See our behind-the-scenes look at the Times Square Ball with Atlas Obscura.
3. One Times Square, Home of the New Year’s Eve Ball, Is The Emptiest Building in Midtown But Wildly Profitable
When Lehman Brothers purchased One Times Square in 1995, they envisioned a new kind of tenant: advertisers. Instead of renting the offices inside the 25 floor building, they began retrofitting the facade with billboards. By 1997, the profits were up 400%, and the inside was empty.
So it remains 16 years later, hosting little more than a ground floor Walgreens and the office of Countdown Entertainment. The company, known for the New Years Eve Ball, organizes all Times Square entertainment on the last day of each year.
In 2012, an appraisal note in One Time Square’s loan documents revealed its value at $495 Million, a staggering figure compared to the $27.5 million it fetched when it sold to Lehman Brothers in 1995.
Here’s what One Times Square looked like back in the day:
4. The confetti on New Year’s Eve contains wishes written on them
On New Year’s Eve, most people probably aren’t taking a close look at the brightly colored pieces of paper falling on them—but if they did, they’d probably find a small wish written on them. That’s right—the confetti that rains down on people every New Year’s Eve contains wishes written by visitors to the Times Square Visitor Center, located between 46th and 47th Street on Seventh Avenue
One can see a sampling of these wishes on a section of the wall at the Visitor Center—entitled “Hopes and Dreams,” this small space is covered with brightly colored pieces of paper, each of which contains someone’s personal wish for themselves, for the ones they love or even for the whole of humanity.
[Update August 2014: This visitors center is now permanently closed]
5. This Former Souvenir Shop Contains the Forgotten Remnants of a Loew’s Theater
Times Square is home to over 30 theaters. Sadly, many of Times Square’s opulent theaters have either been nearly gutted or completely demolished. One former theater, which is overlooked by most who visit the area, lies in the middle of that spectrum. Until recently, theformer Loew’s Mayfair Theater was a souvenir store that incorporated some of the theater’s detailing. The store went out of business and so far nothing new has opened in its place. The Mayfair has a fun history too, a burlesque theater before it was a Loew’s.
6. There’s a Lot of Historic Architecture Hiding Behind Billboards
The building at the northeast corner of Broadway and 46th Street is one of those hidden gems that even most New Yorkers were unaware of until recently. It had been covered by grime, billboards, and TGI Fridays signs. But all of that has changed. The façade has been cleaned, the billboards and signs are gone and the building, once the I. Miller shoe store, shines once more.
You can also see four statues representing women in the arts, modeled after clients of I. Miller. Drama is represented by Ethel Barrymore as Ophelia; Musical Comedy is represented by Marilyn Miller as Sunny; Opera is represented by Rosa Ponselle as Leonora; and Motion Pictures are represented by Mary Pickford as Little Lord Fauntleroy.
7. Times Square is Named After the New York Times
Times Square, the tourist-glutted hotspot we all know and love, was named after The New York Times in 1904 when the publication moved into its new headquarters building there. It decided to advertise with the new “spectaculars,” so called because of their large, complex light displays and intricate designs (some flashed, and some even had animated sections that moved). The show was so impressive that New Yorkers stopped celebrating New Year’s Eve at Trinity Church. The first New Year’s Eve Ball went up in 1908.
Fun fact: The section of Broadway from 42nd to 53rd Street was nicknamed the Great White Way in the late 1890s, back when the street was one of the first to be fully illuminated by electric light.
8. For those too young to remember, Times Square was once filled with sex shops
The Victory Theater was the first porn theater on 42nd Street Source: flickriver
It is ironic then that the world’s arguably most commercial space used to be a haven for the city’s misfits. In the 1970s and ’80s, Times Square was haunted by prostitutes, drug dealers, and other undesirables. The stretch of 42nd Street between 7th and 8th avenues, now home to an AMC multiplex and Disney’s New Amsterdam Theater, was once lined with theaters of the pornographic variety.
Artist Nayland Blake, who curated an exhibit at the International Center of Photography on the subject last year remembers going into the Victory Theater, one of Times Square’s pleasure palaces, only to step down into the front rows of the cinema and discover that he was literally knee deep in water. The place was partially flooded and no one even bothered to pause the movie!
9. The Pedestrian Plaza Isn’t Permanent – And May Disappear
The pedestrian plazas, designed by Gehl Architects, were installed as part of a six-month pilot in 2009. While new Mayor Bill de Blasio has painted himself an advocate of increasing multimodal mobility, his stance when it comes to transportation and public space is not uniformly progressive. When asked “Would you take out the tables and chairs from Times Square and Herald Square and re-open Broadway?,” de Blasio answered, “I have profoundly mixed feeling on this issue. I’m a motorist myself and I was often frustrated — and then I’ve also seen on the other hand it does seem to have a positive impact on the tourist industry.”
10. Times Square Isn’t Square!
Times Square 1836 and today
This one is pretty obvious once you think about it. Once called Longacre Plaza, it has its triangular form thanks to the angle of Broadway. Even way back in 1836, the shape of Times Square today was already well-formed even if a lot of the land around it wasn’t developed (or flattened out) yet. Check out this cool interactive Smithsonian map which shows Manhattan in 1836 and today.
Love lists? Check out our Top 10 Lists, all in one place!
This article was written collectively by Benjamin Waldman, Ben Helmer, Alexander McQuilkin,Aby Sam Thomas, Michelle Young, Laura Itzkowitz, Kelli Trapnell, andrea marpillero-colomin and Lindsey Devers.
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