Results tagged “tourist”

This story—and we do hope it's a story—makes the guy who complained about a snake head on his plate at TGI Friday's seem like a big fat baby: A German tourist claims that while eating steak and spinach at the Waldorf Astoria on Friday night, he bit into something you'd only expect to find on the menu at a Red Roof Inn. There's really no delicate way to put this: Axel Sanz-Claus tells ABC News that during his meal at the legendary hotel's Bull and Bear Steak House, he bit into a blood-soaked tampon. UGH: "I had it in my mouth, chewed it and nearly swallowed it," Sanz-Claus says, adding, "This is so disgusting, I've felt sick ever since."

British Airway's High Life publication is pointing their passengers towards... Bushwick. Their big sell includes mentions of "local heroes the Vivian Girls" (who are clearly writing for this in-flight publication on the side), the Todd P venue Market Hotel, Goodbye Blue Monday, Ad Hoc and, you know, bars and stuff. (They missed the new mini golf course!) They note that all the previously dubbed "cool spots" in the city have already lost their "hip currency" after being found out, so this time they hope to be ahead of the curve. Will the Brits be sold? Once that plane lands and they're so over the Manhattan scene, the article notes that "Bushwick is just nine stops on the L train from Union Square, but it’s a 20-minute time warp to a golden age of New York cool... capture some of the adventurous spirit of the Manhattan galleries of the 1980s." [via BushwickBK]

Ever since cabs introduced credit card machines it's been nothing but trouble. The latest horror story has an absurd spin, however. Allegedly a 20-year-old girl was visiting the Big Apple when a cabbie stole her iPod. The story goes like this, as told by the girl's mother:

After the driver took her to JFK airport to catch her flight home, she tried to pay using her credit card. She had been using her credit card to pay for all her taxi cab rides. This time the card was not approved. She knew that she had enough money on the card to pay for the ride, so she called up the bank to find out what was wrong. They agreed that she had enough to pay for it but the driver’s machine used for the credit cards was not working. All the numbers were not going over either due to an equipment malfunction or a bad signal near the airport.

Continue reading "Cabbie Takes iPod for Fare"

Some things never change. Ephemeral NY takes a look at a guide of helpful hints for tourists visiting the city in 1920. The list of what not to do came courtesy of Valentine’s City of New York: A Guide Book, and included some of the following gems: "Don't ask a pedestrian where a certain street is. He is usually too busy to stop, and if polite enough to stop, won't know. No New Yorker knows anything about New York." And another kind reminder: "Don't gape at women smoking cigarettes in restaurants. They are harmless and respectable, notwithstanding and nevertheless. They are also smart." For more lexical gold, read the full text here.

The city may be in a fictional hue of black & white in this animated video, but the sights and sounds are all accounted for. Join a tourist as he fights the crowds and experiences many failed attempts at taking the perfect shot of many city attractions.

Hackers and tourists unite this summer as hackers from around the world track themselves, and others, in NYC. Confused? Terrified? Read on...

As part of a social experiment, attendees at a hacker conference in July will be issued badges with electronic tracking devices. Large displays will show in real-time where people go, with whom they associate, for how long and how often.

Continue reading "Hackers Keep an Eye on NYC this Summer"

Chashama and Chris Rubino team up to present, "The Center of Something," an exhibit centered around the artist's "take on New York as a destination for both visiting and living." Since Chashama is in Times Square, the exhibit itself will become a temporary tourist attraction itself. But will the locals or the tourists be the ones flocking to it?

The exhibit is modeled after the dozens of stores in the neighborhood selling the same inane souvenirs, which play off of tourist's preconceived images of New York. In an attempt to create new icons for the city, Rubino's installation will consist of his 'souvenirs' as well as hand drawn screenprints that recreate pieces of New York's everyday scenery, i.e. maps, advertisements, and signage.

Remember how a few years ago a 19-year-old girl climbed down onto the subway tracks to get her phone and got killed by an oncoming V train? It seems the lesson still hasn’t been learned and commuters are still risking their lives to retrieve dropped objects: Tourist Bijan Rezvani recently explained his reasons for venturing down there to collect his precious iPhone.

It's the first time I've had a cool phone that does anything and also the first time I've gone around taking photos of things in my life, so the stuff I had captured was kind of important for me to keep.

Mark this in your calendars: NYC traffic will be bananas between April 15 and April 20, when Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to New York City. Like many tourists to the Big Apple, the pope will visit Ground Zero - the Vatican says that he wants to show "solidarity with those who have died, with their families and with all those who wish an end of violence and in the search of peace."...

REMINDER: Don't forget about the Atlantic Antic Festival, which we wrote all about yesterday.

A couple of years ago, Bryan Devendorf (drummer for The National) documented the band's trip to SXSW for us. We enjoyed it so much, we asked him to do it again! This time he documented their recent shows with Arcade Fire right here in New York, and even addresses those security guards at Radio City.

We were just introduced to The Forms music recently, and once we were we immediately booked them for our show in Austin last week. Singer Alex Tween kept a log of his trip for us, which you can read below.

Pela was one of the many New York bands at SXSW last week. They kept a journal of their time there for us (which included bbq, hotel antics and a car crash)...yeehaw! Also check out My Brightest Diamonds's second journal entry for us, here.

One of the Brooklyn-based bands down in Austin for SXSW this week is My Brightest Diamond. Nate from the band has been keeping a tour diary for us, check out his first installment below.

Two years ago, almost to the day, we started asking New York bands to keep tour diaries for us - a column we now call Tourist. With SXSW coming up next week, we wanted to invite New York bands heading down to Austin to keep a journal of the experience for us. If you're in a band from these parts, and would be interested, contact jencarlson (a) gothamist dot com

In the crossroads of the "Can't Beat 'Em, So Join 'Em" chronicles and the "____ Diner, R.I.P." annals, there's is the Moondance Diner. The NY Sun reports the SoHo fixture will be razed for - you guessed it - luxury condos. But that's not all: Moondance owner Sunil "Sunny" Sharma was originally going to sell the property, but decided to develop it himself with Extell's Gary Barnett and others.

Tourist: New York bands go on tour. They keep a diary. We publish it.

Yowza! The NY Post reports that a Grand Central "hospitality supervisor" is accused of seducing and harassing male employees. Tourist greeters Filipp Asmolov and Mynor Federico Nunez separately say that they had affairs with boss Mercedes Mercado and when they tried to end them, she threatened them. Here's the Post on Asmolov's suit:

At first, the suit said, the strapping Asmolov was receptive when the petite Mercado pressed herself against him in the midday hours - while he was supposed to be handing out discount coupons or directing baffled tourists. They began having sex consensually, the suit said.

Continue reading "Grand Central Groping Claims"

MUSIC: Love is All takes over the Knitting Factory tonight with not one, but two shows. The early show is with Cause Co-Motion! and Devastations, the later one with Cause Co-Motion! and Tyvek. Choose wisely. Or you could always watch Jared Leo bring his emo wrath upon bloggers, his band plays Roseland tonight.

Next up in our Tourist series, is The Parker String Quartet, a young classical string quartet that performs in venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and Wynn Walent. Walent is a New York singer songwriter who recently released his debut album. These two acts recently joined together for a weeklong tour (co-presented by Concert Artists Guild and Kitchen Sink Music). The tour brought classical music into bars and clubs, pairing it up with music you would usually hear in such places. Below the two acts documented their experience:

Even though we are way way past school age, we still get a little melancholy at the close of summer. Fortunately, our friends across the -ist network know that the shenanigans don't need to end just because the big yellow buses are back on the roads. So, grab your sunscreen and your favorite hangover cure, as we take a tour of end of summer fun from -ist cities all over the damn place.

A few weeks ago we metioned our latest feature, Tourist. Fittingly, the first New York band to write about their tour for us...never even left New York.

We're starting a new feature here called Tour-ist. Get it? Okay, let us explain.

In all the excitement of a three-day weekend we plum forgot that this past Friday was the last Friday of the month. And you know what that means don't you? Time for the police to go out and give tickets willy-nilly to every other person they see on a bicycle. Mike over at Bike Blog wasn't able to attend this months Critical Mass either, but he still managed to pull together a report on this months ride, and it looks like it was one of the worst ones yet. A few choice bits:

Okay, the name leaves something to be desired, but you can still sample a variety of German foods and beverages and view cooking demonstrations by chefs at Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall every day from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Red cabbage and spätzle? But, of course. Gummi bears? Got 'em. The event is sponsored by the German Agricultural Marketing Board, the German National Tourist Office, the German Information Center and the Goethe-Institut New York. For more information, visit www.germanfoods.org.

Here it is, our last piece of SXSW coverage. The warm sun has snuck out of our skin and we can barely taste the frozen avocado margaritas anymore, so for anything Austin related in the future you'll have to go here.

Passed out.

And in resposnse to criticism about freaking out Americans with terror alerts, Police Commmissioner Kelly said the government is obligated to tell us, but that NYers aren't necessarily in more danger, versus right after September 11, 2001: "I think the threat is fairly constant. I don't think it necessarily goes up and down or diminishes very much."

The Times gave a little insight into the history of the Egg Cream, plus some of the seedier, corrupt power plays to be egg cream (and assorted accessories) king of New York. The article says the egg cream was born on the Lower East Side, which surprised Gothamist because for some reason, we'd always assumed it was born in Brooklyn. Perhaps it was perfected in Brooklyn.

- New York loses literal electricity only.