Issue 2, Winter 2006
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Holiday Shopping

Bloomingdale’s Department Store
You cannot get the complete New York City shopping experience without that famous brown bag from Bloomingdale’s.
Location: Lexington Avenue between 59th and 60th Streets
Phone: 212-705-2000
Hours: Monday though Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Santa’s Little Helper Knows:
Shoppers receive a free gift from the Visitor’s Center with a $50 or more purchase.

FAO Schwartz
This is the wonderland of children’s Christmas dreams and worth the tour even if you do not have kids. An excellent place to purchase toys and collectibles.
Location: 767 Fifth Avenue (58th Street)
Phone: 212-644-9400
Hours: Monday through Saturday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Santa’s Little Helper Knows:
Gift-wrapping is complimentary at FAO Schwartz.

Macy’s Department Store
Macy’s encompasses the quintessential Christmas shopping experience in the Big Apple. How can you go wrong at the world’s largest department store?
Location: Herald Square, between 34th and 35th Streets on Broadway.
Phone: 212-695-4400
Hours: Sunday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Monday: 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Santa’s Little Helper Knows:
International shoppers get a discount card good for 11 percent off most purchases at the Visitor’s Center.

Tiffany & Co.
If someone has been extra good this year, why not surprise them with the signature blue boxes and bags from Tiffany?
Location: 727 Fifth Avenue (57th Street)
Phone: 212-755-8000
Hours: Monday through Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday through Saturday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Santa’s Little Helper Knows:
Tiffany & Co. holds a workshop called “How to Choose the Perfect Engagement Ring.”

Dyker Lights in Brooklyn

No matter how far that “Christmas Guy” goes in lighting up his house in your neighborhood, they have nothing on the extravagant Christmas light displays in Dyker Heights in Brooklyn. The rivalry between neighbors has gotten to the point that many of the displays are outright spectacles. Come see the latest in inflatable Christmas decorations and even huge motorized winter wonderlands.

Getting to the Dyker Lights:
Dyker Heights Brooklyn: 11th Avenue to 13th Avenue and from 83rd to 86th Street
Dyker Lights Subways: R train to 86th Street

Visit between 7 and 9 p.m. for the most intense lighting, before folks turn off the lights for the evening.


Rockefeller Center
Christmas Tree
Location: 5th Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is lit from 5:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. daily, except on Christmas where it stays on for 24 hours. The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is usually a Norway Spruce. The manager of Rockefeller Center gardens prefers the tree to be between 75 and 90 feet tall and proportionally wide. Believe it or not, most of these trees come someone’s front or back yard, not the forest. While people do not get paid for their trees, they do have the joy of knowing the most famous Christmas Tree in the world is theirs for a year.

Tree Facts:
Over five miles of lights are used to decorate the tree every year.

When the tree is recycled, it produces 3 tons of mulch.

Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes
Location: 1260 6th Avenue
(between 50th & 51st Streets )
Tickets:
By Phone: 212-307-7171
Christmas Hotline: 212-307-1000
Monday–Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Web: www.radiocity.com

For more than seventy-five years, the world famous Radio City Rockettes have been entertaining crowds with their high kicks and dance routines. They have become a beloved national icon and a true slice of the Holidays in New York City. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is the perfect chance to see the Rockettes at home in their historic theater.

A great way to kick off the Holiday Season!

Schedule: November 9 through December 30

Rockefeller Center Ice Rink
Location: 5th Avenue between
49th and 50th Streets
Phone: 212-332-7654
Web: www.therinkatrockcenter.com

The rink at Rockefeller Center opens Columbus Day weekend and stays open through early April. The rink accommodates up to 150 skaters at a time. Skate Rentals $8.50 per session per person. This is additional to the prices listed per session, unless you bring your own pair.

Rink Facts:
The rink is 122 feet long and 59 feet wide.

It was first opened on Christmas Day in 1936.

Adults (per session):
November 27 through December 15
Monday through Friday: $14.50
Saturday & Sunday: $17.50
December 16 through January 2: $17.50
January 3 through January 7: $15.50

Children Under 11 and Seniors (per session)
November 27 through December 15
Monday through Friday: $10.50
Saturday & Sunday: $12.50
December 16 through January 2: $12.50
January 3 through January 7: $10.50

Session Hours:
8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.
10:30 a.m. – 12 noon
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.
2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.
4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
8:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
10:30 p.m. – 12 midnight

Rates and Sessions for January 7 through April
Skate Rentals - Per Session: $7.50
Adult Session:
Monday through Thursday: $10
Friday through Sunday & Holidays: $14

Children Under 11 and Seniors
Monday through Thursday: $7.50
Friday through Sunday & Holidays: $8.50

Light Shows!
Saks Fifth Light Show
Location: 611 Fifth Avenue (at 49th Street)
Phone: 212-753-4000

Every 15 minutes from 4:30 p.m. to Midnight, a 40,000 led light show lights up the front of Saks. The Snowflake Spectular is set to music — it’s a perfect way to start a night out on the town.

Kaleidoscope Light Show
December 1 to January 1, 11 a.m. through 9 p.m.
(Every half hour)
Location: Grand Central Terminal
89 E 42nd Street (Between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue)
Phone: 212-340-2583
Web: www.grandcentralterminal.com

Since 1999, a Holiday Light Show has lit up the historic ceiling of Grand Central Terminal. Different light displays are projected against the walls and the beautiful Sky Ceiling (a must see all by itself), all set to classic Christmas season music.

There is also a Holiday Gift Fair at Grand Central, in the Vanderbilt Hall. It has over 70 handpicked vendors in New York City’s most unique gift fair from November 20 to December 29, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

2006 Christmas in
Little Italy / Sorrento Cheese Christmas in Little Italy
Location: Events are held around Most Precious Blood Church, 109 Mulberry Street,
between Canal and Broome Streets
December 1, 2 and 3; December 8, 9 and 10
December 15, 16 and 17
Web: www.littleitalynyconline.org

One of the best-preserved parts of New York is Little Italy, and it is beautiful during the winter. This event is now six years old, and transforms this famous neighborhood into a holiday wonderland for three weekends in a row when LIMA and Sorrento Cheese present Sorrento Cheese Christmas in Little Italy.

Each weekend begins with a Friday evening tree lighting ceremony on the patio of Most Precious Blood Church. This is followed by songfests. Every Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., there is a Christmas parade with colorful floats, Santa Claus and celebrity grand marshals. The restaurants, cafes and shops are decked in festive decorations, and the streets are bathed in the sparkle with overhead holiday lighting.

The holiday music of the Red Mike Festival Band and the Sorrento Cheese Christmas Carolers, dressed in 19th-century vintage costumes, fills the streets all weekend long. If you are visiting from out of town, try the Bolla Wines or Peroni Beer over dinner in a candle light cafe in the winter wonderland of Little Italy, a true New York experience.

Horse Carriage Rides
in Central Park
Location: 59th Street - Central Park South
(between 5th & 6th Avenues, across from The Plaza Hotel)
Phone: 212-736-0680
Web: www.centralparkcarriages.com

One of the most romantic ways to see New York is by a horse and buggy ride through world famous Central Park. The carriages are usually lined up on 59th Street (between 5th & 6th Avenues), across from the Plaza at the southern end of Central Park.

The rides through Central Park are normally 20 minutes (around $34) or 45 to 50 minutes (around $75). If you want a longer tour, or wish to take the carriage outside of the park, prices are negotiable.

Carriages usually allow up to 4 people per ride, and less your pets at home. During chilly winter months, the carriages offer blankets, but usually do not run when the temperature drops below 20 degrees.

Bronx Zoo’s 10th Holiday Lights Season
Location: The Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx
Phone: 718-220-5100
Web: www.bronxzoo.com

This year’s Bronx Zoo’s Holiday Lights Season is presented by Hess and features The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Every night, different light shows delight crowds with animals and more all illuminated along the zoo’s paths. There is fun for the whole family with events for children every night.

Besides the exciting festival, other parts are the zoo are still open for the winter season including: 
World of Reptiles, Mouse House, Children’s Zoo Domestic Area, Zoo Center - featuring Camels and Babirusas and Astor Court, and Reindeer, which the children can feed!

Ongoing nightly activities for Holiday Lights festival include:
Tiger Mountain enrichment demonstrations, 6 and 8 p.m.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Butterfly Garden, 5 to 9 p.m.
Ice carving demonstrations at Dancing Crane Plaza, 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Storytelling at the Children’s Zoo, 6, 7, and 8 p.m.
Carolers at Dancing Crane Café, 6, 7, and 8 p.m.
Stilt walkers and animal costume characters
at Dancing Crane Plaza between 5 and 9 p.m.

Rates
Adults: $14
Children (2–12): $10
Seniors (65+): $12
Parking: $8
Bug Carousel: $2 per person/per ride

New Year’s Eve in Times Square
Since 1906, the famous ball drop in Times Square has ushered in a New Year across America. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people gather for one of the biggest free parties of the year. Dazzling lights and bustling energy fill the air, as everyone waits to scream “Happy New Year!!!” when the New Year Eve’s Ball descends down the flag pole of One Times Square.

If you plan on attending the festivities, it is highly suggested you get there early, since you will be joined by almost one million people! And it being winter in New York, you better bring a Thermos of coffee or hot chocolate to stay warm during the wait! Once you have entered the barricades around Time Squares, it will be impossible to leave, and if you do, do not expect your place back, so prepare accordingly.

Below are some helpful hints to make this a memorable event!

Where to go:
Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball can best seen on Broadway, between 43rd Street and 50th Street, and along Seventh Avenue clear to 59th Street.

How to get there:
In the afternoon, the New York Police Department begins closing down Times Square starting at 43rd Street. As the crowds fill in the area, they progressively block off new intersections heading north. There is no vehicle traffic on Broadway or Seventh Avenue after 4 p.m., so do not expect a cab to take you directly there. Local advice is to approach Times Square from Sixth or Eighth Avenue, even if you are arriving by subway.

The best way to come to Times Square is via public transportation. To get to Times Square, the # 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F, N, Q, R, W, V and S shuttle trains all service 42nd Street. It is expected that the MTA will keep all subway stations open on New Year’s Eve. Some entrances and exits may be closed as crowd conditions require.  For up to the minute information, call the MTA at 718-330-1234.

Will there be portable public restrooms?
No, and it will be way to crowded to expect to find alternatives. This is something to remember when drinking coffee or other beverages, considering you might be standing there for hours before the Ball drops.

Is alcohol or champagne allowed?
No. Public drinking is illegal in New York City. Police will confiscate any alcohol and your flask.

Can I bring a bag or backpack?
The New York Police Department is way too clever to let bottles of champagne slip by in backpacks or bags, so they are banned from the Times Square area.

What I bring or wear?
Remember, this is winter in New York City! Dress warmly, with the key being dressing in layers that you can take off as the crowds heat things up. Water repellent jackets are also a good idea, because it has been known to rain or snow during New Year’s Eve. You should also bring some bottled water to keep you hydrated during the wait.

Which Times Square restaurants and hotels have a view of the Ball?
Renaissance New York
DoubleTree Guest Suites
Marriott Marquis
TGI Fridays
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
Sbarro Pizza
Olive Garden
Foley’s Fish House

Fun Facts:
In the 1980s, an apple replaced the famous ball, but people were not happy with the new tradition. So in 2000, the ball returned, and this time made of sparkling Waterford crystal.

At the stroke of Midnight, more than 2,000 pounds (1 ton) of confetti fills the air of Times Square.