Bryant Park has just announced their annual Winter Film Festival (that's right, outdoor movies aren't just for balmy summer nights), and they've got a pretty sweet lineup. On January 23rd they'll be screening When Harry Met Sally, followed by Groundhog Day on January 30th, on February 6th it's Edward Scissorhands, and there will be one more TBA on the 13th. All movies start at 7 p.m., but we recommend getting there early to fill your hot chocolate up with some contraband cinnamon Schnapps. more ›

If you managed to survive the great Lulav Shortage of 2011 and are ready to shake those etrogs for the Jewish holiday Sukkot, which began this week, here's where to do it: more ›

Well, looks like that excruciating heat wave may have finally broken, but if you're not feeling the relief yet, take a look at these photos of the city being transformed into a winter wonderland. Breathe deep the scent of artificial winter! more ›

The DVR is probably already set, but just a quick reminder: Tonight is the last episode of Glenn Beck on Fox News. Of course Beck's radio show will continue to broadcast his thoughts, so everyone can still get their fill of insanity once his TV show ends later today. more ›

Glenn Beck along with his wife and one of his daughters showed up in Bryant Park last night to catch the Hitchcock movie 39 Steps. "All I wanted to do is go out on a blanket with my family and have dinner in the afternoon sun and sit around." While in theory this is a completely reasonable request, it seems a tad disconnected from reality, which shouldn't surprise anyone. Beck said on his morning radio show that from the moment he arrived, the vibe was "hostile," and that someone apparently kicked a glass of wine (which they shouldn't have had!) over on his wife's back. When she got up to use the restroom, someone pointed at her and supposedly shouted, "We hate conservatives here!" more ›

The merry band of Improv Everywhere pranksters are back again, this time turning Bryant Park's Le Carrousel into a lightning-paced, high-stakes horse race, complete with a neon-clad jockey, fast-talking announcers, and a roaring crowd. Be sure to watch the whole video to catch a revealing interview with the adorable winner at the end! more ›

We sure hope nobody in that teeming mass of humanity who went to Bryant Park to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was drinking booze last night. Though for a hot second it looked like drinking was going to be allowed for movies in the park turns out it was never actually made legit. And it won't be. more ›

Last night Bryant Park kicked off its summer movie series, transmitting this aerial shot of a massive crowd (you can't even see any blades of grass—check the close-up). These events usually get crowded, but this is like Black Eyed Peas canceled Central Park concert crowded! Which is sort of nice, actually... that just as many people want to see One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. There is hope yet! more ›

One of the great pleasures of New York in the summer, once you get past the smell of hot trash, are the outdoor movie screenings in Bryant Park. And while booze is not technically legal in the park, we (and countless others) have a few tried-and-true tricks to getting sloshed al fresco (waterbottles, anyone?). And anyway, it's never really seemed like that big a deal, at least according to Bloomberg. But this summer you might be allowed to let your drunk flag fly legally! more ›

It is 80° outside (no, really, we just looked at the weather widget next to the Gothamist logo to confirm). And if we didn't have, y'know, a job we'd absolutely be running outside to to find a sunny patch of grass to sit on. But you know where we wouldn't be sitting even if we wanted to? The lawn at Bryant Park. more ›

You know those green folding chairs in Bryant Park that, if you were so inclined, you could probably walk right out of there with? They're for sale! According to the park's online shop, you can "bring home the most cherished and iconic element of Bryant Park, the signature bistro chair. Your Vintage Bryant Park Chair will be selected from the park’s collection of distinctive furniture, greatly coveted and used daily by Midtown professionals and Manhattan dwellers alike." more ›

The new midtown east location of D'Espresso looks like the perfect place to grab a coffee and browse for books, provided you bring your gravity boots. Inspired by the nearby New York Public Library at Bryant Park, design firm nemaworkshop envisioned a book-lined oasis, then turned the whole thing on its side, so that the bookshelves become the floor and ceilings. The herringbone-patterned oak "flooring" becomes a wall, and the lights on the "ceiling" protrude horizontally out from the wall behind the counter. We're through the rabbit hole, people. more ›

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is ending its inaugural showing at Lincoln Center, its new home after leaving Bryant Park. Mercedes-Benz Director of Communications Geoff Day told us earlier this week that the move was almost a relief: As iconic as Bryant Park was, the show had become so larger and it was essentially a meat market, with pushing and shoving. Now, with 25% more space for designers, bloggers, attendees, and, yes, sponsors to spread around, Day said watching the shows was more of a "pleasure." more ›

Y'all ready for this? Tomorrow morning at 0830 hours the Crossroads of the World will welcome Pop-Tarts World, 3,000 square feet of one-of-a-kind "interactive Pop-Tarts-inspired features." What does that mean? Well, acording to a press release, these include, but are not at all limited to: more ›

This is sort of weird. Every Friday from July 23rd to August 13th, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., a celebrity will be sitting inside of a box in Bryant Park. The people behind the box, an experimental troupe called the Art Party Theater Company, invite one and all to step inside the box to find out which famous face is hiding away in there—but you'll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement first. more ›

Man's right to an accessible, respectable bathroom in this city is sacred, as seemingly undeniable as asking for tap water at a restaurant. Back in the winter, the tension over bathroom rights even brought the entire street vendors industry to a halt briefly. So in comparison, the search for the best toilets seems practically quixotic, the luxury of those who already have. Nevertheless, one website has been searching for and awarding the "most unique, impressive" bathrooms in the US for the last eight years. more ›

The Bryant Park lawn is now officially open (with their Summer Film Festival starting on June 21st). At the grand opening yesterday the Bryant Park Corporation warned humans that the green space was "open for wolves only," at which point a giant furry ran out and started doing yoga. Eventually, however, the humans were invited to join in as well. Wonder if this sort of animal opening ritual will summon coyotes to the area. more ›

As we await the Bryant Park shoe shine booth to be rebuilt, the mystery around it and its predecessor's demise linger. On March 23rd we reported on the first booth being torched in the middle of the night, and just yesterday at 1:30 a.m. the replacement booth met a similar fate. Now the NY Times has given the incidents some attention, wondering along with park administrators who exactly is targeting the booth. more ›

With Fashion Week tents preparing to come down in Bryant Park, another form of art is getting ready to take over the outdoor space. A public photography exhibition will be unveiled on April 2nd, prior to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and will include 120 massive aerial photographs by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. more ›

In an 1844 edition of the Columbia Spy, Edgar Allen Poe wrote, “When you visit Gotham, you should ride out Fifth Avenue, as far as the distributing reservoir, near Forty-third Street, I believe. The prospect from the walk around the reservoir is particularly beautiful. You can see, from this elevation, the north reservoir at Yorkville; the whole city to the Battery; and a large portion of the harbor, and long reaches of the Hudson and East Rivers." He's talking about the Croton Reservoir, of course, where the New York Public Library now stands. (In fact, you can still see some remains of it there.) more ›

While those space age automated public toilets—or A.P.T.s, as they're known in the business—have been getting all the attention lately, one atavistic bathroom experience is still quietly savored by the public at Herald and Greeley Squares. It involves actual human attendants, who clean and inspect the restrooms 15 to 25 times a day. Their continued employment is sort of a John Henry victory over the rise of the machines that will soon be operating every train, controlling every taxi, and flushing every toilet. more ›

Stop by Bryant Park this week and you'll notice a nice, classy Sukkah, or ceremonial hut, where Jews celebrate the eight-day harvest holiday of Sukkot. The Chabad Lubavitch of Midtown Manhattan pays $10,000 to set up the structure, but it's open to people of all faiths to eat, sit, pray, or just hang out. That's tempting, but isn't the structure taking away precious park space for religious purposes, and violating the constitutional separation of Church and State? Where are the tea-baggers, y'all? more ›

Charlie Palmer—chef, restaurateur, frequent Today Show guest and owner of a dozen restaurants nationwide—isn't afraid of a challenge, but his ambitious new endeavor must take nerves of steel in this economy: After two decades in a townhouse on the Upper East Side, he's relocated his popular restaurant Aureole to a flashy new home in the Bank of America tower at One Bryant Park. Unabashedly elegant, the new Aureole hearkens back to a more ebullient era, when opening a fine dining restaurant with a proven track record wasn't quite so fraught with terror. There's been a ton of money sunk into this baby, evident in the oak-clad columns, brushed zinc bar, walnut table tops, leather chairs, the wine mezzanine, and the five custom-made chandeliers. And the downstairs kitchen is massive. more ›

Click through the images above for details on this week's newcomers, which also include Calexico and The Pod Cafe. more ›