It's the most wonderful time of the year—the time when you can hide your glutton-esque ways under sweet sweet layers of clothing. What better way to fatten up than with a walk-around food market in the great outdoors? The Madison Square Market is back for the season, and they've got some solid eats. more ›

The line outside of Shake Shack, especially the original flavor at Madison Square Park, is famously long. Way back in 2006 we even offered a few solutions for the dealing with the line. One of them (a webcam) was almost immediately adopted by the burger mecca, and five years later someone went and implemented another of our suggestions. Sort of. While we thought that the line was a great opportunity for some ambitious unemployed people, we guess bloggers have to eat as well? more ›

This weekend, Madison Square Park will be filled with the sweet smell of smoked flesh, as the ninth annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party rolls into town. We spoke to pitmaster Ed Mitchell last week about his plans for the gut-busting party, and today we're checking in with a few of the other pitmasters (there's 16 total—that's a lot of meat). more ›

Artist and M.I.T. grad Jim Campbell has a new installation—Scattered Light—that was just unveiled at Madison Square Park, and which features many, many light bulbs. One part of the installation is comprised of 2,000 LEDs spanning 80-feet and displaying flickering human silhouettes when seen from a certain vantage point, according to NYCLovesNYC. more ›

The Big Apple BBQ block party is up and cookin' today in Madison Square Park, with pitmasters from around the country serving up every pork part imaginable with all the classic sides. To reiterate, plates are $8 each and there are cooking demos and live music all weekend long. Just make sure you're prepared to stand in line! more ›

Wondering where the smell of grilled meat is coming from? You should probably point your snout to Madison Square Park. This weekend is the 7th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party (so popular that their website is even down, but here's a pdf map). You can get your fill of food — whole hog, brisket, pork shoulder, ribs and sausages — for $8 a plate from 15 different pitmasters until 7pm tonight. Proceeds from the weekend benefit the Madison Square Park Conservancy. more ›

For better or worse, American Idol has done its part to change with the times over the last few seasons. The show, for the most part, has gotten away from plucking the most inoffensive generic pop stars from the masses, and settled in on some acts with actual personality. While there is still plenty of room for the Danny Gorkey cheeseballs of the world to give it a go, the final two this year boiled down to emo-glam vs. sensitive lite-rock. While these are by no means underrepresented genres in today’s pop landscape, it does take the show into a new direction. And yet, despite his rabid fanbase, Adam Lambert fell short of Kris Allen's more conventional look and approach. It still feels nearly a half decade behind the curve, and there are numerous peripheral issues with the show, but it does seem to live and evolve with the times, which is better than most shows that have come and gone before it. more ›

We've been intrigued with He-Man, the man who walks around in muscle shirts (or shirtless) in the Union Square/Flatiron /Madison Square Park neighborhoods, since 2007 and, thanks to an Observer story, now his secrets are revealed. Well, secrets like his name (Mike Nelson), his stats ("6-foot-4, with a 50-inch chest, a 34-inch waist and 19-and-a-half-inch biceps attached to shoulders the size of bowling balls"), and dreams (bodybuilding: "He’s aiming to be ready for competition by the end of summer, after he loses 25 pounds of fat, and then gains 40 in muscle"). Nelson also has a rubber left eye (from an incident in a NJ prison; he received a $270,000 settlement), has danced at bachelorette parties, battled drug addiction and the Asser Levy gym is sort of like his Castle Grayskull. And he does know about the FindHeman.com website—apparently some cops told him. But read the article for the amazing life of the Most Powerful Man in the Universe (or at least a 10-block area). more ›

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Pulse Park in Madison Square Park is still lighting up through November 17th. Smack dab in the delicious location that also houses Shake Shack, we highly recommend going to check it out. You'll encounter a small line of folks waiting to hold a heart monitor device that immediately sets off the circle of lights; each person's speed and pattern is determined by their heartbeat. Here are some photos incase you miss out. Now if only they'd get on the ice skating rink bandwagon... more ›

With the Tree Huts still in place, the Madison Square Park Conservancy will add another element to the outdoor space: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Pulse Park. The interactive light installation will be on view starting October 24th and run through November 17th, only visible from dusk to 10 p.m. more ›

Well, fall is now officially in full swing—Shacktoberfest is on.The two week Oktoberfest celebration at the Shake Shack brings a taste of the old country to Madison Square Park. Feast on Usinger’s Sheboygan-Style Beer-Soaked Bratwurst, Andouille, or Polish Sausage for ($6 each), topped with Cranberry Horseradish Relish, Shackmeister-braised Red Cabbage, or Celery Root Slaw. Then pad your belly further with Oktoberfest-influenced Concretes in rotating flavors like Cran-Apple Strudel and German Chocolate Cake, and wash that down with Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale, Bluepoint Oktoberfest, and Stoudts Oktoberfest. The Kraut-inspired festivities start today and last until October 17th, and you can justify all the Autumnal indulgence with the knowledge that a portion of the sales benefits the Madison Square Park Conservancy. more ›

The Tree Hut installation in Madison Square Park has attracted a lot of attention, even getting an SNL mention on this past weekend's episode. Here's a glimpse at the construction of the huts, and they've even been documenting the project on a blog. You can meet the artist behind them, Tadashi Kawamata, in person and ask questions tomorrow, a day before the installation officially opens, at the Tree Hut HQ in Madison Square Park from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Given the financial crisis, it might not be a bad idea to ask about renting one out--be sure to bring a mini muffin basket so you have the edge on other prospective renters! more ›

A follow-up to our post about the Olympic-style street harassment last month, when men rated women walking in Madison Square Park. Reader Lauren writes in to confirm it did happen with a photo and says, "To be honest, 'crude' or 'offensive' as the guys may have been, I thought it was one of the funnier things I’ve ever seen in NYC." But maybe that's because she was getting 9's and 10's! more ›

Starting next week artist Tadashi Kawamata will make the above rendering a reality in Madison Square Park. His "tree huts" represent his "interest in the architecture of shelter and of the insertion of private objects into public spaces as a method of renegotiating the meaning of both." But how long do you think it will take until someone tries to climb into or inhabit one? Stay tuned for more images as the huts are built next week. [via NY Times] more ›

A reader took this photograph of these women in Madison Square Park yesterday and says it's possibly a Dove commercial, given some cameras she saw. Anyone else know? Could the Olympic-style street harassment have become more coordinated?
more ›

For those New Yorkers not fortunate enough to have snagged U.S. Open tickets (and to nibble on the fancy food options out in Flushing), American Express has set up an alternate viewing and eating spot -- no 7 train necessary. more ›

This is one of the more WTF e-mails we've ever received from a reader: "I was walking back to the Credit Suisse building from lunch through Madison Sq Park, and one walkway out was filled with construction workers on both sides. As women walked by, this group of 15+ men would hold up placards with numbers written on them (1-10)—and that's not the most ridiculous part. I asked a 'ranger' in a pimped out smart cart to intervene, and he replied, 'Well, what did you get? You know you're a 10 in my book.'" Can someone else confirm--or even take a photograph of this judging in action? (We've only witnessed this with crusty old men at Coney Island.) You can send us info/photos at tips(at)gothamist(dot)com. more ›

Seven months in and the Automated Public Toilet experiment in Madison Square Park has been little but a smashing success. The NY Times reports that the only problem has been just how badly people want to get into the toilet with traditional pounding on the door doing more to hurry people along than the APT's acoustic alarm and red flashing lights that go off for three minutes after you've been inside for twelve. more ›

New York can be an unforgiving town for those desperately in need of a bathroom – a problem these space age electronic pay toilets were supposed to rectify. But Subway Blogger recently witnessed a big fail at the Madison Square Park toilet, during which a poor woman who urgently needed to use the toilet was first stymied by an older man who “maybe couldn’t find the button to get out of there.” And when he finally emerged, she was further delayed by the toilet’s lengthy self-cleaning cycle. It was then that our blogger witnessed an adult “literally crapping her shorts… I had to pull out my camera, because I was going to have to tell this story, and no one was going to believe me.” Three cheers for blogs! more ›

New Yorkers love their barbecue, and they're certainly not going to let a little near-record-breaking heat get between them and their meat. Throngs of sweaty 'cue lovers waited in line at the sixth annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party to get a taste of dishes served up by award-winning pitmasters from across the country including brisket, sausage and coleslaw from The Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, Texas; pulled pork shoulder from Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama; and whole hog and coleslaw from Ed Mitchell's The Pit in Raleigh, North Carolina. more ›

The holy Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, adored for its succulent burgers, righteous shakes and hellish lines, will soon expand into multiple locations. Owner Danny Meyer has signed a lease for a branch at 366 Columbus Avenue (at 77th Street), the former home of New Orleans import Jacques-Imo's. The new location will be entirely indoors, enabling delicate Upper Wide Siders to do their time on line out of the elements. more ›

From a new NYC sports club bearing his name to the last season at Yankees Stadium, Derek Jeter has a busy year ahead of him. Gothamist asked the Yankees captain about his partnership with 24 Hour Fitness to bringing 24 Hour Fitness - Derek Jeter gyms to the city and his thoughts on the "house that Jeter built." more ›

For just 25 cents, you finally can experience the steel-and-glass splendor of the city's first new public toilet. City officials gathered in Madison Square Park for the ceremonial first flush of the Automatic Public Toilet (APT). Almost a year after the location was announced and almost 2 years after the toilets were first previewed, Department of Transportation Commissioner Jeannette Sadik-Khan said she was "flushed with excitement in this new era...New Yorkers had their fingers and legs crossed for this special day." And so it goes. more ›