Happy Chinese New Year everybody! It might be a little rainy, sure, but that is no reason not to go out and get stuffed today. What? You aren't feeling it? Maybe this little ditty by the U.S.'s very own billionaire-cum-teddy bear Warren Buffet will get you in the mood? more ›

For a third year in a row, NY State Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Queens) held a rally to make the Lunar New Year a school holiday in NYC and other parts of NY State. According to the Daily News, "Meng has introduced bills calling for schools to observe the holiday in all cities in the state with more than 1 million residents, at least 7.5% of them Asian. She has also written to the mayor's office and the city Education Department." more ›

Think Korean food. Now think Korean food that's not BBQ or Kimchi. That blank you're drawing is what Kelly Choi has been working hard to change in the US since she began talking about (and tasting food) on TV. The former hostess of Top Chef Masters began her career hosting and producing the ever-popular Secrets of New York in 2005 and won a New York Emmy for Eat Out NY in 2009. more ›

Today is the big Lunar New Year Parade celebrating the Year of the Tiger in Chinatown. Festivities are happening between 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.—more details here. more ›

Chinatown celebrated the beginning of 4708, the Year of the Tiger, with a firecracker ceremony in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. (The firecrackers scare away various bad spirits lurking around.) And while the big Lunar New Year Parade will be next Sunday, there were lion dancers and celebrations yesterday as well. more ›

If you head to Chinatown tomorrow, be prepared for crowds celebrating the Lunar New Year (4708), the Year of the Tiger. There will be a firecracker ceremony in Sara D. Roosevelt Park (Grand & Chrystie) between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The big parade, with lion, tiger, and unicorn dancers is next Sunday, 2/21, starting at 11:30 a.m. more ›

The Lunar New festivities are in full swing. Today, there was the fire cracker ceremony at Sara Roosevelt Park and yesterday the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has its Luna New Year celebration. The big event is Sunday's Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown; it starts at 3 p.m. and its path includes Mott Street, Chatham Square, East Broadway, Allen Street, Grand Street and Chrystie Street. more ›

As well reported by now, New York's botanical gardens are facing massive budget cutbacks as part of Gov. Paterson's proposal, and the NY Times reports today that both the Queens and Bronx gardens have already been canceling programs. But now you've got a chance to help bail out the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. more ›

This afternoon was the parade celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year; it's the Year of the Rat. Chinatown in Manhattan is one of the earliest concentrations of Chinese people in the United States. After the jump are more early pictures of the parade. more ›

more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an officer struck on 42nd St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan, a bomb threat on 76th St. and Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan, and a shooting on Mayfair Dr. in Brooklyn.
• Don't speed (108 m.p.h.), at night (2:30 a.m.), while drunk (.113 BAC), while tailgating and driving erratically, on an urban highway (Staten Island Expressway.) One young Brighton Beach resident didn't get the memo it seems.
• Councilman Leroy Comrie's efforts to halt the branding of soft and alcohol-based drinks "OG Nation," was recently successful, with the renaming of Larry Johnson and Jim Brown's snack and beverage company "Hall of Fame Beverages." No word on what the fate of the"Thug Chips" snacks brand is.
• After Hillary Clinton put her own money on the line by loaning $5 million of her own cash to her campaign, backers have ponied up $7.1 million in additional funding. The beauty of democracy: it brings a tear to our eye.
• Unfortunately, as police arrived at the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial today, a man shot himself in the head and died.
• The FDA is now questioning the safety of a widely used Botox [botulinum toxin] in injection as a beauty treatment. Thousands of New York women would love to express outrage at the revelation, but simply can't.
• Grub Street points out that one can do more than just eat at IHOP, one can now wear IHOP. And that means much more than just throwing up a half-stack of flapjacks on yourself at 5 a.m. after too much "syrup." We're talking IHOP apparel.
• Good question: New York City has its Bravest, Finest, Strongest, and Boldest, but what about the lawyers employed by the City. Do Jack McCoy and the legions of actual city attorneys who've served as his inspiration deserve an appellation? Suggestions welcome.

MUSIC: Come enjoy the Whitney after dark tonight as the museum's live showcase series invites Dan Deacon (pictured) to the stage. If you haven't seen Deacon before, get ready for some Casio keyboard electro-rock compositions and an art dance party. more ›

more ›

It's time for the Lunar New Year, which starts February 7th and lasts for 14 days, and this year is the Year of the Rat, 4706. Sure, there are plenty of things to do to celebrate the holiday, but to us, it means one thing -- a new year banquet. We've found a few places that are offering banquets in honor of the Year of the Rat, including variations of traditional Chinese Lunar New Year foods that bring prosperity, happiness and good fortune to all who join together to feast, like dumplings, uncut noodles, whole fish and chicken. more ›

This weekend marks the start of many pre-Lunar New Year Festivities in the city. The New Year begins on February 7 (more information here), and there will be the firecracker ceremony and cultural festival in Chatham Square on that day, plus the Lunar New Year Parade and Festival in Chinatown on February 10. There is also a Lunar New Year Parade in Flushing on February 9. more ›

Yesterday, thousands were in Chinatown to ring in the Year 4705. The Year of the Pig is a very good year, according to the Chinese astrology, lots of prosperity and good luck. more ›

While Chinatown's annual Chinese New Year Parade won't be until next weekend, there are still plenty of activities to celebrate the year 4705. If you're heading to Chinatown tomorrow (New Year's Day), be sure to head over to Chatham Square (the intersection of Bowery, Mott and East Broadway) for the New Year’s Day Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival. For the first time since the city banned fireworks (and firecrackers), there will be firecrackers in Chinatown. A "controlled" display of 300,000 firecrackers will go off in Chatham Square between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. We can honestly say that you haven't experienced a Chinese New Year until your ears ring from firecrackers. Sunday's events don't stop with the firecrackers either. There will also be fireworks in Chinatown's Columbus Park (Mulberry and Baxter Street)at 7 p.m. The fireworks display will reportedly reach 10 stories high. more ›

It's the Lunar New Year this weekend, the first day of 4705 being this Sunday. The Year of the Pig is a very good year - pigs are fat and round, which means a prosperous and benevolent year. Some even think it's a good year to have babies, too! Chinatown will be celebrating the Year of the Pig this weekend and for the next few weeks. There's the Flower Market at Columbus Park today and tomorrow, and on Sunday, there's a New Year’s Day Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival. The big parade will be two Sunday away on February 25, so get ready. more ›

THEATER: The esteemed Classical Theatre of Harlem is reviving Peter Weiss’s masterpiece Marat/Sade. The dizzying action takes place in an asylum in France, where the infamous Marquis de Sade is sequestered in 1808. To pass the time, he directs a play about the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat during the revolution. His asylum casting pool yields up some magnificent performances, though the production is almost squelched by the hospital administrator, a tool of Napoleon’s post-revolutionary regime. In the right hands, which CTH certainly has, the whole production is a multi-layered feast of subversion. - John Del Signore more ›

- Culture Festival: 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. at intersection of Mott & Bayard Streets more ›

CELEBRATION: There's nothing like flowers to cheer you up in the dreary month of January. The Museum of Chinese in the Americas presents Arts in Full Bloom at 3rd Annual Lunar New Year Flower Market. The Flower Market reinvents tradition by incorporating performers and artists as the colors and fragrances of auspicious plants and blossoms linger in the air and atmosphere. The flowers are widely used decoratively as symbols of prosperity, fortune and abundance. more ›

William Dao, Museum of the Chinese in the Americas more ›

There's plenty going on to celebrate the Lunar New year, but of course we're focused on the food. Explore Chinatown's site has a list of restaurants offering special feasts for the occasion, including Gothamist favorite Fuleen Seafood, and explains the different foods that are traditionally eaten as part of the celebration. more ›

It's Chinese (and many other kinds of) New Year, and Asians all over the world are partying like it's 4703. Gothamist urges you to do the same this Year of the Rooster - just head to Chinatown, eat a lot of food and you're pretty much covered. There will be a firecracker ceremony (to scare away the evil spirits) today at 2PM, and a parade this Sunday. On both days, you'll see lion dancers (more scaring of the spirits) and storeowners giving the lion dancers lucky money for scaring the spirits away. Think mystical mafia-like payments to keeping the establishment safe. More Chinese New Year in Chinatown details here at Explore Chinatown, plus where to get Lunar New Year goodies. more ›

Tickets are on sale via Ticket Web for the three weekend performances at NYU's Skirball Center. Tickets run between $22 and $32 each, which should be covered by your lucky money. Also this weekend is the Chinatown parade on Sunday. more ›

The Daily News has suggestions on where to go and celebrate (which means eat) the New Year: Bao 111 on Avenue C, Dim Sum Go-Go , Kuma Inn, Ocean Palace Restaurant in Brooklyn, and Taste Good Malaysian Cuisine in Elmhurst. Just make sure you have noodles (longevity), fish (prosperity), spring or egg roll (looks like gold ingot), and cake (something that rises - it's good). more ›