Park(ing) NYC-style

What’s hap, hap, happening on this lovely Fall Friday in NYC? Lovely that you asked. Time’s Up and Green Map, two of the city's many active environmental organizations, are sponsoring Park(ing) Day in the West Village. This one-day global event is hosted in various cities, and features a collaboration between artists, activitists and citizens to temporarily transform metered parking spots into Park(ing) spaces – temporary public parks. This year’s park is hitting the streets today in front of Birdbath Green Bakery on 7th Ave at Charles Street until 6 pm. We hear that some comfy chairs, a bit of shade and a spot of lemonade is being provided. Here's a pic of last year's park in midtown. As kids who love our city for moving toward a greener way of being, we’re all for parking it on the street for the afternoon.

Woo Hoo - It's Wednesday!

Café Carlyle

Last night Woody Allen & The Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band kicked off the 52nd Season of performances at Café Carlyle. A New York institution, Café Carlyle offers refined service, exceptional cuisine and amazing performances. Featuring some of yesterday and today’s most favorite jazz and cabaret performers, this Fall Café Carlyle will be hosting Mr. Allen’s regular Monday night gig, along with Eartha Kitt, Elaine Stritch and Judy Collins, in the intimate venue. Nothing says New York like a night a the Carlyle.

With Our Rabbit Ears, We Declare

So, after a particularly busy weekend, we were thrilled to find ourselves sacked out in front of the TV (or our best friend Ramon, as we like to call him) last night watching the Emmy Awards. While it wasn’t a particularly exciting show to watch (Ramon and I blame Ryan Seacrest), it did make us think of our deep, committed and unwavering love of television. And it also made us realize just how many of shows in our glassy-eyed past are based on New York. So, here is a listing of some of Team Shackman’s favorite NYC TV Shows, in no particular order:

Law & Order – Spawning spin-off after spin-off, and employing just about every actor at some point in their career, L&O is practically a cottage industry.

Sex and the City – It’s no secret that the strongest relationship on the show was the characters marriage to The Big Apple. NYC is quite a looker - who can blame them?

Seinfeld – Duh.

30 Rock – we heart Tina Fey. Bigtime.

Everybody Hates Chris – Ok…we don’t really watch this show. But, it represents Brooklyn, which we do heart. And Ramon likes it.

Saturday Night Live – Duh squared.

What's Hot

Keepin' It Real – Let’s be honest, K.I.R never experiences the chilly winds that come with being out of style. But, K.I.R. version 9.14 is All Brooklyn, All Bowling. The Gutter - the first bowling alley opened in BK in half a century - is a hoot. That's right - a hoot! With a Schlitz globe in the house and old school pin-setters, this new “Old as New” bowling alley is going to be paradise to Brooklyn’s many hipsters. We’ll probably even make a swing by to check it out.

Fall – Ok, go with us on this one. We realize that Fall is temperately cooler than summer, which makes it decidedly “not hot” on principle. But, we heart the way that in the Fall, people start strolling down the streets again in NYC wearing funky hats, chucky scarves and clunky shoes. It’s like people remember what it’s like to dress for fun and that is just…hot.

Zeppoles – People...The Feast of San Genero has officially started, and that means that the hot, hot, hot little balls of deep-fried, sweet goodness known as Zeppoles are back in town. Run, do not walk down to Little Itlay. There is just nothing like a stroll down Mulberry, taking in the sights and sounds of the Annual Street Festival while munching on these bad boys.

Derek Jeter – HOT. Then, Now, Forever.

Coming Attractions

Our love of all things Jennifer Garner extends well beyond her butt-kicking role in Alias (which, truthfully, may have had more to do with her co-star and love interest, Michael Vartan.) No…we have loved Jennifer from back in the day when she was our favorite hostest with the mostest at one of our much-visited Upper West Side brunch joints. Success, in this case it seems, has gone to the deserving. So, how tickled pink are we that she will be coming to Broadway in this Fall’s Cyrano de Bergerac? Very. And to add a cherry on top of our cupcake, Kevin Kline will play Cyrano to Ms. Garner’s Roxane, and the very talented Daniel Sunjata (Take Me Out) will star as Christian. Now, we will not let our Jen G. adoration cloud our remembrances of some of Broadway’s more recent star turns without sizzle (you know who you are, Julia Roberts), but, we’re hopeful. The show opens November 1st.