Murphy Park

Thor: The Hotel On Rivington

John Rambow — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:58:00 GMT

Lots of visitors to New York would love to stay close to the clubs and restaurants of the Lower East Side and other nearby neighborhoods, but until fairly recently there were just not many rooms available here, outside of a few scattered guesthouses and very small hotels.

It wasn’t until 2004, when The Hotel on Rivington went up, that a more luxurious option became available. At the time, THOR got a huge amount of press for its looks—this light-blue glass tower made no attempt to blend in with the five-story tenements and other 19th-century buildings that were its neighbors. (Since then, it doesn’t stick out quite as much as it once did. A handful of other glassy buildings have arisen nearby, and more are on their way.)

Don’t come here if your idea of luxury requires a lobby the size of the one in Grand Hotel—THOR makes its priorities clear by using its ground floor for a lounge and restaurant. To get to the actual lobby, you have to go up a story, to what Europeans call the 1st floor but what we Americans insist on calling the 2nd floor.

Whatever floor you claim it’s on, the tiny lobby is little more than a way station toward yet another lounge, this time one with an impressive pool table and floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto Rivington and one of my favorite places for empty calories, Economy Candy. (A visit here is never wasted.).

Those floor-to-ceiling windows turn up again—they’re in every room, even in the bathrooms. It’s almost as if the city itself serves as the rooms’ “art.” Again, THOR is not a place for people whose idea of luxury is a lot of frills. The flatscreen TVs and closets, for instance, are built into the walls, and what little furniture there is (a coffee table, armchairs covered in dark velour) has only a smidge of color and pattern.

None of this high design and understated luxury comes cheap. It never does. THOR’s rooms start at around $500 for double occupancy in high season, but you may be able to swing a slight deal during the heat of summer.

Hotel on Rivington; 107 Rivington Street; New York

Find more hotels in New York

East Village Bed & Coffee

John Rambow — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Photo by Dominik Huber

Open since 1991, the East Village Bed & Coffee is now one of the area’s old-timers, but it’s still easy to walk past this guesthouse without even knowing what it is. There’s no sign—just two doors on the street, one painted bright red with the street number,the other one covered with stickers and graffiti but no handle.

The Mexican Room

Its 12 rooms, all of varying sizes but none of them enormous, are divided equally among three floors, with the top two reached by staircases narrow enough to be worthy of Amsterdam. The rooms, which have either queen or double beds, each have their own theme—for instance, the Mexico Room has Latin American knick-knacks on the wall, and that includes a sombrero that a guest mysteriously left there one day. Rooms all have their own air-conditioning—a must for late spring and summer in New York. All the bathrooms are shared—there’s one on every floor.

Obviously, it’s not the sort of place where you’ll get a mint on your pillow. What you will get are lots and lots of thoughtful touches to help you see as much of the city as possible. Every floor’s largish common area has a computer available for guest use, as well as free Wi-Fi and a dedicated phone line for receiving phone calls. Large subway maps are mounted on the walls to help with planning, and a long photocopied list of personally recommended restaurants is available for the taking.

Free-trade coffee and tea are available in the kitchens on every floor, as are filtered water and a refrigerator with food staples, for those who want to do a little cooking. There’s also a small backyard with a koi pond—this acts as the de facto smoking lounge when the weather’s good.

Rooms (double occupancy, with all taxes included) start at just $115 for the smallish 'Dutch room' on up to $140 for larger front rooms that look out onto Avenue C. With prices like that, it’s not unusual for many rooms to fill up as long as eight months in advance. (There’s a waiting list available on the website for cancellations.) All in all, this low-key guesthouse is a great place for feeling a little more like a temporary neighbor and less like someone just passing through town.

EAST VILLAGE BED & COFFEE; 110 Avenue C, New York

Find more hotels in New York.

Warming Up At Ps 1

John Rambow — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:46:00 GMT

If you’re good at multitasking even when you’re out to have fun, then you’ll want to pay a visit to the Warm Up series of dance parties. These popular events let you surround yourself with music, dance, art, beer, and lots and lots of other good looking people, and do it all at once.

Celebrating their tenth anniversary this year, the Warm Ups are held at PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, a museum housed inside what was once a massive public school on 22-25 Jackson Ave in the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City.

Every Saturday afternoon, through 6 September, the museum’s courtyard gets taken over by various bands and DJs, ranging from the obscure to the just about to be discovered to the fanatically followed. The look of the party changes every year—this time the theme is PF 1 (Public Farm 1), a salute to urban gardening that’s powered by solar energy, uses ascending tubes of recycled cardboard to hold edible fruits and vegetables, and even finds space for a small flock of chickens. (The hamburgers, hot dogs, and free-flowing beer, however, are not part of the sustainable agriculture on display, and perhaps for the chickens’ sake that’s just as well.)

The Warm Ups usually turn out to be as hot as their name, and waiting in line for refreshment can take forever. Take care to slap on lots of sunscreen, stay as hydrated as possible, and don’t forget to get inside and see some of the art! Of the current exhibits, a definite highlight are the three works by Olafur Eliasson—they’re a great complement to the five waterfalls of his now flowing in the East River.

By the way, the art doesn’t end once you leave PS 1. Head across the street to 5Pointz, a large warehouse that’s a pilgrimage site for fans of graffiti. “Aerosol artists” who get permission from those in charge there are allowed to put up works on this factory’s exterior, and you’re likely to see at least a few of them touching up a piece when you stop by—current painting hours are noon to 7 on weekends. It all makes a great NYC photo op.

On The Hunt In Chinatown

John Rambow — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:09:00 GMT

Mott Street. Photo: Rocsdt

There are several Chinatowns throughout New York City, but for most tourists, the one in Manhattan is the best to head to. This is the one with all the knockoff handbags and other glittery objects for sale -- an attraction that leaves me cold. Instead, I'd say to head here for the food shops and markets, the restaurants, and the sheer excitement of walking along some very frantic, very old streets.

Chinatown is big, but not so big that you can't wander through most of it in an afternoon. But if you're into streamlining, center your walk on Mott Street, which is sort of the neighborhood's "Main Street" -- if you're heading south, the Chinatown portion starts near Mott's intersection with Kenmare Street. Below are a few of the many stops worth making.

Snacking On Grand Street

John Rambow — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:03:00 GMT

Photo: Hadsie

Recently I was so happy to be able to revisit a two-block stretch of Grand Street. It's one of my favorite places for good snacks - let's call this Lower East Side strip the Walk of Nosh.

Hunting Down Good Food On Harlem's 116 Street

John Rambow — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:28:00 GMT

Photo: TheSundayBest

A few days ago I took the subway up to Harlem as part of research for a New York City travel guide I'm working on. Although 125th Street is the first Harlem stop for most tourists, much of it is too crowded, with lots of shopping but not always enough excitement. The same couldn't be said of my ultimate destination: 116th Street near St. Nicholas Avenue. The area's sometimes called Le Petit Senegal because of the large number of immigrants it attracts from that West African country.

A Lazy Day In Red Hook

John Rambow — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 08:52:00 GMT

Photo: Adam Kuban

Surrounded by water on two sides, separated by a highway on the others, and no subway stop -- there's a reason that Red Hook doesn’t make it onto most tourists' itineraries. Sure, Red Hook’s isolated, but it's also got some pleasant bars, restaurants, and shops, and an appealing old-Brooklyn atmosphere that make it worth a visit, especially on a lazy weekend.

An Island Escape, Just Minutes From Manhattan

John Rambow — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:48:00 GMT

A couple weeks ago I exchanged the heat and crowds of Manhattan for another island -- one that's much more manageable, green, and, in some ways, surprising, at least on a muggy summer day. Governor's Island, strategically located in New York Bay between Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey, was from 1800 to 1995 used as a base first by the U.S. Army and then the Coast Guard. Now it's been reborn as a National Monument as well as an arty, laid-back escape for New Yorkers and others looking for some great views and a little more space to relax in.

Go further:

New Yorkers Sunning Gotham-Style

Prost! - Beer and Bratwurst in the Boroughs

Braving The Other Boroughs I: Staten Island

Intro to Bushwick: Getting Started in Morgantown

John Rambow — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:20:00 GMT

Bushwick, which be fairly easily reached by the L line, reminds lots of people of Williamsburg in the early days, but that comparison can be misleading. For one thing, Bushwick makes Williamsburg look tiny by comparison, sprawling as it does across multiple subways stops and lines. To simplify things a bit, I'll stick here to some of the great places to be found around the Morgan subway stop. The area, technically called East Williamsburg but also known as Morgantown by some folks, has huge warehouses and windswept streets, but the many artists and art galleries give it a chummy, community feel you don't find many other places in NYC. (It's also, unfortunately, rough in some parts, so like anywhere else interesting in New York, be aware of your surroundings. Muggings and other crimes do occur here.)

To find out about more about what's going on in the area, including gallery openings and concerts, check out the highly useful BushwickBK and its culture calendar.

New York's 5 hottest tea(s)pots: Where to go when teatimes strikes

John Rambow — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:41:00 GMT

Photo: Anders Adermark

New Yorkers (as well as the rest of the U.S.) will probably always be coffee drinkers first and foremost, but tea, especially when it's delivered with a bit of Asian flair and with a minimum of fuss, is getting more and more popular every year. Teany, Moby's vegan teashop, was one of the first to ride this trend when it opened in 2002. There, it was just as quick and easy to get a good Assam as it was to get a cup of joe at a coffee shop. (Although Teany recently had to close due to a fire in its building, it's expected to reopen soon.) For my teashop picks below, I aimed for places that are fun and easygoing but that also take their tea seriously -- no plunking stale Lipton's teabags into lukewarm water at these spots. Have a cuppa tea at one of the efficient but non-schlocky joints below, and you'll be ready to face the rest of the day with a peaceful grin on your face.

Xmas in New York: Avoid the Dull!

John Rambow — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:53:00 GMT

Let me get this front and center: I love Christmas in New York -- the lights, the crowds, the church services, all of it -- even dealing with the horror of the airports in December. But even though the tritest parts are lovable, it never hurts to also search for things that are a bit more unusual.

Here's a shortlist of places and events that are either a little under the radar or underrated. Either way, you'll have a better chance of fending off megacrowds and also soaking up a little more of true New York flavor.