Today the Museum of Chinese in America welcomed Mayor Bloomberg to speak and participate in traditional Chinese eye-dotting ceremony as they unveiled their new facility, designed by Maya Lin. A little more on that eye-dotting: "According to Chinese custom, dabbing red ink onto the eye of a large, dancing dragon or lion brings the creature to life. It is a tradition for dignitaries to perform this ceremony at the launch of a new institution to signify that it has sprung into being." In other words, this is way cooler than a ribbon cutting. more ›

It's a big, big day for the Dutch here in New York, as the NY400 Week festivities kick off with the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion at the Battery, a "permanent gift from the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the people of New York." The fresh-off-the-plane Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of The Netherlands are joining Mayor Bloomberg and other officials this morning to dedicate the fiberglass Pavilion, which will serve as a visitors' center. more ›

Responding to years of griping (and vigilante sign-making) about the poorly lit, hard-to-locate pedestrian entrances to the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO, the city has finally gotten around to putting up some new signs guiding walkers to the bridge. Spearheaded by the DUMBO Improvement District, the makeover was unveiled today by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and other officials, and coincides with the bridge’s 125th birthday celebration, which kicks off tomorrow at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn with live music by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Grucci fireworks, and “an unprecedented light installation spanning the length of the Brooklyn Bridge.” more ›