News from the MidCity: Welcome CUNY

This is an excerpt from Bryant Park's weekly newsletter, MidCity News, written by Terry Benoit. 

CUNY's new site is directly across from the park.

Some students have all the luck. In September, Governor Cuomo approved the creation of The New Community College, the first new college on the CUNY system in 40 years, at 50 W. 40th Street, the former site of the Katharine Gibbs School, right across from Bryant Park. Classes are slated to begin in September of 2012, with 500 students expected to enroll. This will be the seventh community college in the CUNY system and will offer “fast-track” associated degree. Bryant Park Corporation welcomes Dr. Scott Evenbeck, the new college’s President, along with the faculty, staff, and student body, and urges all to visit the park often.     



MidCity News keeps park enthusiasts informed about our events, milestones, operations, and all of the detailed maintenance work that goes into caring for the park. Weekly updates are sent with our sister organizations 34th Street Partnership and Chelsea Improvement Company. 

You can view this week's edition of MidCity News online, or sign up to receive it in your inbox. 

Citi Pond Grand Opening and Halloween Weekend

With the opening of Citi Pond and Halloween falling on the same weekend, we've got a busy few days ahead in the park! We've broken it all down for you here, so you can set your weekend agenda.

Friday, October 28
Citi Pond Grand Opening Celebration 6pm-7pm
Skating performances from Olympian Kimmie Meissner, Ice Dance Theatre, and The Haydenettes with music performances by Sister Act the Musical, Rock of Ages, and The Hillside Elementary School Drum Line. Skating will open to the public after all of the fanfare. The first 100 skaters will receive free skate rentals, so start lining up at 5:30pm if you want to try your luck!

Saturday, October 29
The Columbia Freezer Tour
Celebrate the first snow fall of the year with a warm song like Nelly's "Hot in Here" or Foreigner's "Hot Blooded." Columbia Sportswear has set up a karaoke freezer on the skate deck, where you can sing, while wearing their signature Omni-Heat Jackets. Open daily through November 29.

Sunday, October 30
The Halloween Party at Le Carrousel in Bryant Park 1pm-2:30pm
Come in your best costume for a spooky party with Justin the Magician, goody bags, pumpkin decorating, and spins on Le Carrousel.

Citi Pond Halloween Fall Funday 11am-4pm
Fall fun throughout the day with ice carving demos, face painting, a costume contest, apple cider and a pumpkin patch. You'll definitely want to come dressed up for this one.

Scavenger Hunt at The Holiday Shops 2pm-4pm
Get to know the Shops with a scavenger hunt for specific vendor items. Meet by the Fountain at 2pm to pick up your clue sheet. The winner will receive a swag bag with $250 worth of Holiday Shops merchandise, and all participants who finish by 4pm get a $25 gift certificate to the Shops.

Shop the Season: Bryant Park Vendor Map & Guide 2011

The Holiday Shops have returned to the park for the 2011 Season. The Shops truly have something for everyone from gifts and games, to snacks and jewelry. A lot of familiar faces have returned to the park again this year like Max Brenner, Bearhands & Buddies, and Metal Park. But we have some exciting new additions as well. Don't miss Troll Beads, Pickle Me Pete, Potterylady, and Handsome Howard.

Take a moment to peruse the brochure (click image above to view PDF) for the full list of 2011 Holiday Shop Vendors or take your time wandering through the park, getting lost in the treasure trove of gifts. Brochures will also be available in the park in the coming week, or you can use the interactive guide on the official Holiday Shops website.


The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park 
Official Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11am - 8pm
Saturday: 10am - 9pm
Sunday: 10am - 6pm

The Vendors Prepare for The Holiday Shops

It may not look pretty right now, but tomorrow is opening day for The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park. The vendors have spent the last week preparing their shops for the season. They start with a blank canvas, and go through a rather rigorous acceptance process to make sure their store design and product variety are up to park standards. By the time they get to the park, they're prepared with paint, power tools and furniture to outfit their seasonal boutiques. Click through to get an idea of the work that goes into their designs, and see if you can guess what these shops will become!

Fall at the Southwest Porch

Sunday afternoon marked the official start to the Southwest Porch winter season with the inaugural lighting of the fire pit. Southwest Airlines was kind enough to provide complimentary 'wichcraft hot chocolate to guests at the Southwest Porch last Sunday. But the warmth and hospitality doesn't stop there. You will find the fire pit roaring away at the Southwest Porch every evening, a perfect invitation for a toastie outdoor happy hour, even as the weather turns colder.

Other seasonal changes are afoot at The Porch with pumpkins, mums, and seasonal 'wichcraft menu favorites like braised beef brisket sandwich and roasted squash salad with parsnip and beets.

You never know what might happen at the Porch. Earlier this month we held a surprise O.A.R. acoustic set in partnership with Southwest Airlines, Aloft Hotels, and Live in the Vineyard.

CityBench

We're pleased to announce that the new urban bench standard for New York City was designed by our very own Director of Design, Ignacio Ciocchini.

CityBench on Greenwich Street between Warren Street and Murray Street

If you've ever looked for a place to take a break on a New York City sidewalk, you're probably well aware that there is a shortage of adequate seating options in the city. Though New Yorkers tend to find creative alternatives like stoops and curbs, the NYC DOT has plans to make everyone more comfortable with the new CityBench initiative.

Over the next year, the city will install over 1,000 benches throughout the five boroughs. Much like the City Racks and Million Trees initiatives, the CityBench program will provide these streetscape amenities free of charge. You can bring the bench to your neighborhood, by filling out the simple request form online now.

Chelsea Improvement Company bench on 9th Avenue in front of Chelsea Market

A version of this bench was first designed for our sister organization Chelsea Improvement Company. Mr. Ciocchini explained that the benches are made of carbon-steel parts that are e-coated and powder-coated resulting in a very strong and long-lasting finish for outdoor urban use. The laser-cut pattern on the seats will not only dissipate heat in the summer, but also allow snow to fall off in the winter.

Try out the benches now in TriBeCa or in our Chelsea District, and view more photos of the CityBench installed on Greenwich Street on SWChelseaNYC's Flickr.

Mums the Word

Before the leaves fall from the trees, the Fall season is heralded by the rich tones of chrysanthemums in the park. These hardy blooms are perfect as the weather cools, as they tend to withstand lower temperatures than other flowers. You'll find them popping up all over the park this time of year, and most are in full bloom now.

See them spilling down the stairs at the 6th Avenue entrance to the park, or mixed in with plantings held over from the warmer months in front of the Bryant Park Grill.   

Le Carrousel is decked out with mums and pumpkins, in preparation for the Halloween Party next weekend.

Did you know we often store flowers waiting to be planted in plain sight? We like to display them until we're ready to use them.

Get in the fall spirit with a stroll through the park, and go mum spotting while you're here. See how many different colors you can find.

Bryant Park Shopper: alice + olivia for Spring 2012

Really, what's more spring than this?

There is nothing more spring than a shoe tree. That pretty much says it all about the alice + olivia presentation for Spring 2012, as the clothes, too, were spring perfection with fabulous and feminine touches. At designer Stacey Bendet's presentation during New York Fashion Week, the Veuve was flowing, the towers of mini Sprinkles cupcakes beckoned, and a cavernous room full of alice + olivia charmed everyone. Naturally, we all lingered as long as possible and took in all of this:

A favorite model tableau from the alice + olivia spring collection. Shoe tree in background.

Look for these black and white concoctions in the Bryant Park boutique next spring, and click to view more gorgeous styles after the jump.


Shop alice + olivia at their Bryant Park boutique, 80 W. 40th Street just east of Sixth Avenue

Tricia Lewis of Fashion Herald is our Bryant Park Shopper  

News from the MidCity: Keeping Le Carrousel Running Smoothly

This is an excerpt from Bryant Park's weekly newsletter, MidCity News, written by Terry Benoit. 

Considering the popularity of Le Carrousel at Bryant Park, keeping it in tip-top shape is a priority for the Bryant Park Corporation. Our little jewel will be open every day through the holidays, and we expect another busy season, but that won’t stop us from performing regular maintenance on the carousel and the ticket booth.

This month, we’ll clean the carousel’s top, replace the counter inside the ticket booth, and refresh the gravel surrounding the amenity. Later this fall, we’ll also re-stain the deck, rewire the rounding boards, polish the brass poles, replace the carousel’s fiberglass finial, paint the ticket booth both inside and out, and repaint the entrance and exit signs. We’ll do all of this with minimum disruption of service.

Le Carrousel is open every day through October 26 from 11:00am-8:00pm. Rides are still only $2, and a Frequent User card gets you 10 rides for $15. Beginning on October 27 (the day Citi Pond, The Holiday Shops, and Celsius open for the season) and continuing through January, the operating hours are 11:00am-9:00pm, Sunday-Thursday; and 11:00am-10:00pm Friday-Sunday. Look also for special hours at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. And remember that the Halloween Party at Le Carrousel is on Saturday, October 29, 1:00-2:00pm.  



MidCity News keeps park enthusiasts informed about our events, milestones, operations, and all of the detailed maintenance work that goes into caring for the park. Weekly updates are sent with our sister organizations 34th Street Partnership and Chelsea Improvement Company. 

You can view this week's edition of MidCity News online, or sign up to receive it in your inbox. 

Behind the Fence: Making Connections

Work has not stopped behind the construction fence. As promised in the previous post, transformers were placed into position inside the vaults last week. This required a crane to lift the transformer over the park's perimeter wall, and down into the site.

Above you can see notches in the side of the concrete vault that were used to support the transformer, which is suspended off the ground, so it stays dry. 

This installation marks the completion of the main structures for the power facility, and it is now time to finish connecting all the pieces. While work advanced within the park, Con Edison crews began work in 40th Street to connect existing ConEd manholes to the new transformer at the park's edge. The street was closed over the weekend, so trenches could be dug to lay conduit.

Wire pulling will commence in the next few days through these ducts to bring power resources to the park's grid. From the transformers, power will travel to the bus compartment, which will feed the park's switchboards in the switchgear room, and from here wires travel throughout the park to manholes and various new power and light sources. Here you see crews inside the switchgear room pulling wires.

It is amazing to think that most of the work is complete. We're just waiting on wire connections. If you're wondering what might be taking so long... take a look at the amount of wires and connections we're talking about.

For more information on the park's Power Facility Project, see our past blog posts: 

• May 19: Bryant Park Power Project
• July 6: A New Power Grid
• August 4: Camouflage and Excavation
• September 12: Rebar, Shore and Pour
• September 29: The Room and the Vaults

Bryant Park Chess in the News

To celebrate the premiere of Bobby Fischer Against the World, HBO Documentary teamed up with Bryant Park's chess concessionaire Marshall Chess Club to hold a blitz tournament and a simultaneous challenge in the park. The event attracted one of the largest gatherings of highly skilled chess players... ever. The occasion was featured in the August issue of Chess Life Magazine. Read what they had to say about the event, or take a look back at our video of the blitz portion.

Summer 2011 Highlights

Relive the entire summer in just under five minutes with the best of Bryant Park. Dance, music, games, lectures, classes and the famous running of the lawn. You'll find all of your favorite summer activities, and probably a few that you didn't know we offered. Activities in the park are free each year.

Thanks for a great summer!

The Halloween Party

"Jump into our Halloween stew, 

to tease the ghosts and goblins too

It's going to be one hullabaloo on Halloween."

-Anonymous

Photo by Marco Castro

Mark your calendars! Le Carrousel's annual Halloween party is the Saturday before Halloween. Come in your scariest costume to see Flaubert Frog and Cali Co Cat tell spooky stories and sing silly songs. There will also be a visit by Justin the Magician, and rides on Le Carrousel for just $2. 

From the Archives: Fall Colors in Black and White

In this post, BPC's archivist, Anne Kumer, shares some park history. This post also appears on NYC Circa, a history blog about New York City and its public spaces.

Just in time for fall, our horticulturists plant Chrysanthemums in the park. Here is a flashback to another time when the flowers made a regular appearance in the gardens and on the lawn.

Leftover from the Robert Moses / 1934 renovation, the tall hedges became a corral for an assortment of Chrysanthemums in October 1943.

A closer view



























And a super close-up. As my high school photography teacher Mac (short for McInyre, and he looked like a gold rush prospector w/ a penchant for flannel shirts and beards) would have complimented the nice film exposure -- not too dark or light, with a wide range of greys.
























Our Director of Horticulture, Maureen Hackett pointed out that this is a mix of chrysanthemums. The more star shaped flower is a Korean mum, which adds texture and interest to the cluster.


**All photos: New York City Parks Photo Archive

Sparrows and Thrushes Aplenty

We're in the midst of our fifth season of Birding Tours in the park, and as far as number of species sighted, it's been a banner year. Last Wednesday morning, our group of fifteen people, spotted 15 different types of birds and heard an additional species's call. We saw five different species of thrushes, and six types of sparrows.

One of last week's participants from London had a camera with a very impressive lens, and he was kind enough to pass along some photos that he took.

Eastern Towhee
Photo by Mike Kosniowski

Gray Catbird
Photo by Mike Kosniowski

It Won't Be Long Now

Sharpen your skates and make your shopping lists! Citi Pond and The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park open in just twenty days on October 27.

Citi Pond at Bryant Park
October 27, 2011 - February 26, 2012
Sunday - Thursday 8am - 10pm
Friday & Saturday 8am - Midnight

The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park
October 27, 2011 - January 8, 2012
Monday - Friday 11am - 8pm
Saturday 10am - 9pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Be sure to stay tuned as more plans develop for Citi Pond's Grand Opening Celebration, which will take place on Friday, October 28 with live music and free ice skating performances. And as the season progresses look out for special holiday hours, seasonal deals and events.

Bryant Park Passport to Savings

As the sponsor of our annual free admission ice skating rink Citi Pond and our year round free Wi-Fi connection in the park, you may have noticed that Citibank is a great friend to Bryant Park and its visitors. Now they've taken it one step farther. They've put together a collection of Deals About Town available to eligible Citi cardmembers that's specific to our Bryant Park neighborhood. The neighborhood around the park may be small, but the deals they're offering are nothing to scoff at.

Pick up a brochure in the park or Citibank branch to get deals at participating restaurants, stores, and even Broadway shows. Some of the offers include: 35% off at Chicago the Musical, 10% off 'wichcraft purchases, and 20% off at Lord & Taylor. You can find the full list of Participating Partners here, but you'll have to pick up a brochure for the full list of deals.

*Please note all deals are subject to restrictions explained in the Bryant Park Area Passport to Savings, and a valid Citi credit card or Citibank Debit Mastercard is required to participate in these offers. 
Bryant Park is not responsible for products or services offered by other companies. 

Marks of the 2011 Lawn Season

If you've ever arrived at the park to find the lawn closed, or been asked to remove the plastic sheet beneath your picnic blanket at the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, you might have been a bit annoyed with our staff. But we're not the fun-killers you imagine.

We are careful managers of the maintenance to the lawn, testing water levels daily, preventing harmful uses of the lawn, and when necessary, replacing patches of sod to keep the lawn green, healthy and open to the public all season long.

Despite all of our efforts, the lawn takes some wear and tear each year. As the final day of the lawn draws near on October 10, we can take a look back at the season's activities by examining the scars left on the lawn.

The west side of the lawn is one of the major access points from the busy Fountain Terrace and 6th Avenue entrance. Due to heavier use, the edges of the lawn are worn, and the light patches of grass show areas that were re-sod unsuccessfully.

In July, the lawn served as the venue for the Madden NFL Pigskin Pro-Am, and was painted like a football field with yard lines, end zones and logos. Most of the paint grew with the grass, and we were able to mow it right off, but some of the paint wouldn't budge. Though we try to re-sod sparingly, it can be an effective way to keep the lawn uniformly green. In this case, it revived the worst sections of the lawn. Below you see uneven patches, where the new sod mixed with existing sections.

Over-use from walking and standing can also cause significant problems for the lawn. When our free juggling classes began to draw more people this season, we asked them to use different sections of the lawn each week, to avoid trampling in one area.

You can still see the effects of repeated use left behind by Bryant Park Fall Festival presented by Bank of America. The lines on the eastern side of the lawn show where aisles were created between the audience seating. The festival's eight days of performances invited thousands of visitors up and down these lines to access seating, as well as performers, photographers, and ushers pacing among the crowd to pass out programs.

Though you see the scars on the lawn today, October 5th is also the 110th lawn open day for the 2011 season. Not too bad... marks and all.

From the Archives: Alexander Calder Brightens up the Lawn

In this post, BPC's archivist, Anne Kumer, shares some park history. This post also appears on NYC Circa, a history blog about New York City and its public spaces.

It won't be long now until we have something fun and colorful dominating the lawn, but back in 1993, Alexander Calder's Big Crinkly did the trick. Following in the footsteps of earlier public art exhibits in the park, including Mel Chin in 1981, and George Rickey in 1986, Bryant Park Corporation (then, Bryant Park Restoration Corporation) installed a very colorful Alexander Calder mobile on the lawn in 1993.

Photo: BPC

It was only one year after the iconic bistro chairs and were added to the park, and the lawn is looking lush.This photo taken before photoshop and scanned from a slide, shows a very green lawn.

Photo: BPC

According to the Times, the sculpture was then owned by art collector Andre Emmerich, who was exhibiting it at a 150 acre sculpture park in Duchess County NY called Top Gallant.

To see more of Calder's work, visit the Calder Foundation website, or go to the open air museum Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, NY. I highly recommend going there.

If outdoor sculpture gardens are your passion, check out this detailed listing by region and state.

Bryant Park Bathroom in the News

Bryant Park's public restrooms were recently voted number one in the world by travel website Virtual Tourist. We are honored to be recognized, as we take a great amount of pride in our efforts to maintain the facilities. We aim to keep them clean, smelling fresh, and in good working order with flowers and an attendant on-duty at all times. Here's what the site had to say about our public toilets:


1. Bryant Park; New York City, NY

Who would have thought that a loo in the middle of such a dirty, noisy, frenetic city would have classical music, fresh flowers, and even an attendant! Visitors report that it's also spotlessly clean.

Other top votes went to a hidden bathroom at Thornbury Castle that once serviced the likes of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, an opera themed toilet in Austria, and a waterfall urinal in California. (Source: Reuters)http://www.virtualtourist.com/press-center/ugliest-buildings-list