Ride High above the East River!

Roosevelt Island is a wonderful respite from the busy life of Manhattan Island and its only 5 minutes away!! The best way to get there is the Roosevelt Island Tramway! For over 35 years the Tram has given 26 million riders spectacular views of Midtown Manhattan and a close up look at the Queensboro Bridge. Less than $5 will get you to and from this not so hidden treasure, a bargain!! Head to the northern tip to check out the lighthouse and bring a picnic, it's a beautiful spot.

Brooklyn Heights!

My wife and I had a wonderful day today looking at the fabulous skyline of Lower Manhattan from the beautiful Brooklyn Heights. We took our dog Isabel (pictured) on the 2 train to Clark Street. From there it's an easy walk to the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. Along the way you see some great architecture, including pre civil war Federal Style townhouses and Belgian Block cobblestone streets. The river front on a nice day is to die for! Jet skis, ferry's, water taxis, helicopters, people lounging on the many landscaped grassy areas. Food, live music and a 1922 carousel all situated between the magnificent views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, it makes for a very lively afternoon. Talk about FREE and GREAT! I've lived in NYC most of my life and I never realized what a treasure the Brooklyn waterfront is. Please check it out before the winter arrives, and bring your dog!

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Museum of The American Indian

Most of NYC museums charge a donation to see the treasures inside. Well worth the $20 they ask when you consider the priceless artifacts you get to see, but The Museum of the American Indian, however, is FREE! Its part of the Smithsonian and it's built inside the Alexander Hamilton Customs House, which is an amazing Beaux-Arts building constructed in 1907. The museum is great but the venue will blow you away! As a customs house, you can see all the fantastic murals dedicated to shipping and industry all around you. The giant glass atrium above you is inspiring and may be remembered from the movie Ghostbusters II. In the movie, the Statue of Liberty comes to life and walks through the harbor, then smashes her torch through the atrium to allow the Ghostbusters to get inside. Outside you will see sculptures of the four seafaring nation of Aisa, Africa, Europe and America. The figures were created by Daniel Chester French who also carved the likeness of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. If you're in the area of Battery Park and have an hour to kill I highly recommend it. Did I mention its FREE?!

Click HERE for more info

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Geocaching: a GPS treasure hunt!

Geocaching is a wonderful way to see all the nooks and crannies of NYC with out spending a dime on entertainment! It's basically a treasure hunt using a gps to find "Caches" hidden all over the city. And they are EVERYWHERE! The caches are different sizes and there are different levels of difficulty based on terrain and location of the treasure. Inside the caches you will find trinkets you can keep and replace with your own treasures for the next explorer. I've done this for years with my daughter and it's a great, FREE, informative trip around the five boroughs. You look up the caches online, which has the coordinates and hints to it whereabouts and they take you to fantastic places. See the restaurant where the cast of Seinfeld hung out, go to the pier on the Hudson river where the Carpathia docked with the survivors of the Titanic. Many locations in history and pop culture you would walk by with out knowing. Don't have a GPS? No problem, as you might imagine, there's an App for that!

Hunt HERE

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Central Park's 'Secret' Butterfly Gardens!

Butterfly! Butterfly! You hear that exclamation at the end of Puccini's Madame Butterfly when Ciocio-san takes her own life...but on a lighter note, you also here that exclamation from scores of children in Central Park during July and August as families stroll through the Shakespeare Gardens and the Conservatory Gardens. These gardens, as well as some spots in the North Meadow are teaming with these beautiful creatures. Some of the butterflies sighted in the Park include: question mark, zabulon skipper, red admiral, silver-spotted skipper, summer azure, banded hairstreak, American lady, mourning cloak, eastern comma, pearl crescent, spicebush swallowtail and peck’s skipper! You had no idea there were so many butterflies did you! Well, that's what I'm here for. Of course it goes with out saying that butterflies are FREE and a wonder to behold. Please take some time to smell the flowers in the park, just watch out for the bees!

Find peace HERE

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Summer Block Party!

This weekend and the next is the the Fifth Annual Summer Streets! From the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park you can walk, bike or run up Lafayette St and Park Avenue in all it's splendor. From 7am to 1pm, 7 miles of city streets will be opened to pedestrians with lots of activities to chose from. New Yorkers and tourists alike can ride a zip line through Union Square! There will also be rest stops along the way with water stations and FREE bike and roller blade rentals! This is the biggest block party in the world and you're invited!!

Click HERE

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Sony Wonder Technology Lab

Sony Wonder Technology Lab is a wonderful place in Manhattan to kill a few hours with inquisitive kids who love to explore the latest technology! Did I mention it's FREE! There are robots, signal stations, dancing motion captures, virtual surgeries, and many other exhibits to spark the creativity in younger minds. You even get to go on camera and see whats it's like to be a real newscaster! Check the calendar for a wide array of family events and workshops to suit every interest. Escape the summer heat and explore your inner child.

Check it out HERE

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New York Botanical Gardens

NYC is replete with wonderful wooded areas where quiet streams wind their way to waterfalls and beautiful vistas. The Ravine in Central Park, and the magnificent view of the Palisades from Inwood Park are some of my favorites. One of the most beautiful parts of the Bronx is the New York Botanical Gardens. It was founded in 1891 and contains 50 different gardens and plant collections. You can see waterfalls, wetlands and a 50 acre part of original old growth NY forest! Never logged! Some trees are more than 200 years old. That's pretty cool. My favorite thing to see is the 1890s wrought iron Crystal Palace greenhouse. The Gardens are also home to The Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory which is the leader in botanical research, collecting plants from around the world, and is currently creating The Barcode of Life, which is the DNA sampling of all the different species of trees around the world...you don't care about that, but the FLOWERS are Pretty! :^)

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See the Largest Repository of Gold at The Federal Reserve Bank!

The Crown Jewels and Fort Knox are nothing compared to the Gold in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York! And you can see it FREE of CHARGE! Every day, Monday thru Friday a representative of the Fed takes visitors 86ft below street level to see 10% of all the world's gold. No place on earth has more gold in one spot than the Federal Reserve Bank. If you turned it into cash, it would be worth $250 Billion dollars! That's Billion with a B folks! Did I mention it's Free? This is probably one of the most amazing things to see in NYC and many people don't even know its there. There's also a self guided tour that does not include a tour of the vault, but you get to see the $20 Gold Double Eagle coin that is the most expensive coin ever auctioned at $7.5 million.  Now you might imagine, the gold tours are booked a few months in advance but book now and before you know it you'll be looking at The Greatest Bling on Earth.

Be Amazed HERE!

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Sondheim in the Park!

From July 23 thru August 25 the Delacorte Theater in Central Park will present Stephen Sondheim's classic "Into the Woods"! This is one of my favorite shows and it is FREE of CHARGE! Typically, you go to the park the day of the performance and get in the free ticket line. The booth opens at 1pm but people get there around 9am to ensure good seats and availability. It sounds like a drag but it's actually kinda fun! You bring a blanket or chairs and have a morning picnic in the park. Very fun atmosphere. Free tickets are also offered via the Virtual Ticketing System. It's a wonderful experience to see a show under the stars and I often see famous people there, not only on stage but in the audience. A few years ago I saw Phillip Seymore Hoffman, Nicole Kidman and Cynthia Nixon sitting two rows ahead of me.

Click HERE for more info

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City of Water Day!

NYC harbor is one of the greatest natural harbors in the world! It's one of the things that has made New York the greatest city and the Financial capital of the world. Over the years the Hudson River and the harbor became polluted, I remember when I was a kid you could almost set fire the the river, is was so dirty. But that was then...this is NOW! Now the river front is a vibrant place of fun activities and water sports. Battery Park City has a sailing school, there are swimming competitions and you can even rent Jet Ski's! This Saturday, July 14 is the City of Water Day, and there will be hundreds of events related to NYC's great waterfront. Free boat tours, kayaking, fishing, sailing, you name it. Saturday will be a beautiful summer day and I expect everyone to take advantage of our beautiful waterways. Don't forget the free ferry to Governor's Island. Truly spectacular!

Get wet HERE

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Restaurant Week in NYC!

Only in NYC would Restaurant Week last 20 days! From July 16 to August 10 about 100 different restaurants are offering Prix Fixe menus to the public. Now you can try some of NYCs finest restaurants for a very reasonable price. 3 course meals for $35.00. Check out the link below and book a reservation for some of the finest grub in the city. Mangia e Bevi!!

Eat HERE

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Potty like its your Birthday!

One complaint I always hear from the guests on my tours is that NYC lacks public restrooms, but in fact they're Everywhere! And I'm not talking about phone booths or quiet places on the subway platform. Pretty much every hotel will let you use the toilet if you are reasonably dressed and don't cause a ruckus, as well as every Starbucks (186 on Manhattan island), but there are several coin operated public toilets that automatically sanitize the facilities after every use. However there are some AMAZING restaurant restrooms to choose from that you will talk about for years to come! Some have one way frosted stall doors where you can see out but no one can see in...or CAN they? You be the judge! My favorite is the Mandarin Hotel at the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle, very chic!

Pee HERE 

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Celebrate America's Independance!!

Happy 4th of July! Certainly every New Yorker MUST know about the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks display that takes place on the Hudson River, but for tourists and locals alike, I want to give you the skinny on this years event! This years theme is "Ignite the Night" and will be the biggest fireworks display they've ever done. The 25 minute show will have over 40,000 fireworks that are synchronized to an awesome patriotic soundtrack. The show will be visible from any unobstructed view of the river (Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building come to mind!) but the best vantage point will be from 24th street to 57th street! Be sure to download the App for up to date info and hear the synchro music on your phone! Check out the link below for all the info and be sure to wear your Red White and Blue.

Click HERE

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Summertime! And the Livin' is Easy.

Ah! The lazy, hazy, crazy, days of summer. It's a time in NYC when the fire hydrants are opened up and the pristine city water cascades across the sizzling blacktop. Delighting children of all sizes and vexing passing cars..a little dramatic, I know, but it's all we had as kids! Well, that, and the ice cream truck. Now that I'm grown, I realize there are many great beaches that are only a train ride away! Coney Island, Rockaway Beach, Jones Beach, Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn. There are even several nude beaches for those of you into that (you know who you are). The beaches here are very clean and the water is clear...as long as you don't go to the beach after a rain storm, as the storm drains empty in the the ocean, other than that, Awesome!

Check it OUT!

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15 Seconds of Fame in Times Square!

If you haven't been to Times Square in a while, you may be surprised that there are several billboards where you can see yourself up on the big screen! Everyday when I'm out there I see people waving at themselves and jumping up and down! Lol. I must admit to doing it myself!  There are several to chose from including Forever 21, The Dunk Tank billboard, which is an interactive billboard that lets you use twitter to vote for the Strong Man or the Pinup Girl to be dunked. There's also a virtual beach ball the crowd gets to smack into a target to dunk the victim. But the BEST is having you and your family prominently displayed on the giant billboard at American Eagle Outfitters. If you purchase anything in the store they'll take your picture and put it up on the screen, twice for 15 seconds! Smile! You're Famous!

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Got PRIDE?

If you ever wanted to show your true colors, this is the weekend to do it! Saturday is the annual Mermaid Parade on Coney Island. It's an ocean themed Mardi Gras with wild costumes (or lack of) and cleverly designed floats. Fun for most ages! And on Sunday is the Pride Parade! The day that the LGBT community remembers the 1969 riots at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, which launched the modern Gay Rights Movement. Hundreds of floats and dancers, Drag Queens galore! Millions of spectators gather every year to witness this NYC spectacle! Join in the fun, and bring some Skittles. 

More HERE

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Museum of Modern Art: Free Fridays!

MOMA is one of the greatest museums in NYC. I'd like to say THE greatest, but that would be a tough to back up since there are so many world class museums in greatest city in the world! Most museums ask for a suggested donation between $10 and $20 but every Friday Night MOMA is FREE! You can see the work of Vincent Van Gogh, Jackson Pollok and Pablo Picasso as well a many other contemporary art works in a space that will blow your mind! Don't take my word for it! Check it out this Friday from 4pm to 8pm.

Click HERE

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Discover Central Park

Since I'm a walking tour guide in NYC, I know the best way to see ANY site is through the eyes of a knowledgeable guide! Central Park has several tours that will cater to every taste. From Nature lovers to Art lovers and everything in between! Even Geological studies into Central Parks ancient past. Did you know that Manhattans first community of African American property owners had land that is now Central Park? Take the Road less Traveled and explore NYC's most famous landscape.

Click HERE!

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Music on the High Line!

There's a free concert tomorrow, Monday June 18 on The High Line! From Noon to 1pm, members of the Chelsea Music Festival will be performing in this wonderful open air space. The Chelsea Music Festival will be having more than 20 events from now till June 23. They're free to the public and worth checking out!

Click HERE

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