Hip Hop Hall of Fame Museum

Since the hip-hop culture was born in New York City, it makes sense that a museum should open up in the same area.  In about three years’ time, that is exactly what is going to happen. Midtown Manhattan and Harlem will open its doors in 2017 to the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame Museum.

Featuring artifacts donated from Run-DMC, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Outkast, Salt-N-Pepa, Common, Afrika Bambaataa, Eminem and Young Jeezy, according to JT Thompson (BET’s Hip Hop Hall of Fame Awards show presenter), “this will be the home of hip hop history.  People need to understand the importance of hip hop, the elements, the DJs, the B-boys and B-girls and the graffiti writers.”

The Harlem location will cover 12,000 square feet and also feature a juice and coffee bar, stores and a television studio.  In addition, it will have an educational element, enrolling 50 kids annually in a youth media program. The Midtown Manhattan address will be even larger, spanning 50,000 square feet.  It will offer fans an hour-and-a-half tour, an interactive exhibit and more.

Hopefully it will be a nice complimentary museum to Manhattan’s current National Museum of Hip Hop, located at Fifth Avenue.

Beyler Eyubov and Monday Melodies

by Gareth Simpson

Brooklyn Jazz lovers such as Beyler Eyubov might want to make a trip over to Midtown Manhattan in the near future for some dining entertainment with a difference.

It seems that some top quality Midtown eateries have been thinking outside the box.  One example has been the addition of melodious Monday nights.  For example, the Lounge at the Wayfarer recently began hosting live jazz nights in their upstairs area on Monday nights from 7 30 to 10 30 p.m.  This features – on alternate weeks – Andromeda Torre and the Wayfarers and Julia Hatigan and the Wayfarers.

In addition to the jazz customers can now enjoy on Monday nights, there is of course the quality restaurant’s delectable menu.  For those from midtown Manhattan (or Brooklyners like Eyubov making the trip for the music) who don’t know already, there is a both a lounge bar menu with cocktails and finger foods and then a full dining menu in the dining room for those who want to make a night out of it.

But the restaurant should not get too excited about potential success; there is competition.  Just round the corner, located at 8 West 58^th Street – Beautique – has also just started its Monday jazz nights.  And for those looking to spot some talent at the same time, that might be the place to go, given that the eatery has had some sightings of celebrities such as Joaquin Phoenix and Kevin Spacey.

Park Avenue Liquor on the Move

Park Avenue Liquor is on the move.  It’s not a very far transition, but, when it moves its wares to East 39^th Street and Madison Avenue, its store space will expand by a staggering 50 percent.

This is not your standard, run-of-the-mill liquor store.  Like many parts of New York City, it has a history.  It is run by a 50+ year-old mom from the midtown and is a family business.  It is known for its hard-to-find wines and single-malt scotches.  One can also enjoy book signings and local liquor tastings at the store.

The store – that will measure 7,900 square feet – is due to open early next year.

Photo credits: Pettersjan (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

New Manhattan Buildings

Amazon.com – the company that has always been known as an online shopping venue – is about to go ‘offline’ as it were.  The company is opening a real live store in Manhattan, right across from the Empire State Building.  It is due to be welcoming customers in the upcoming holiday season.

Amazon is going to use this location as a kind of guinea pig, to figure out how customers will respond to a small warehouse (since only a limited inventory for same-day deliveries will be available in New York).  It might also be home to Fire TVs, e-readers, etc.

It’s not just Amazon that wants to enjoy the bright lights of Manhattan.  It seems that JPMorgan Chase wants a piece of the pie too.  America’s largest bank is currently in negotiations with officials from the state of New York to strike a deal that would result in the development of a huge $6.5bn corporate campus, featuring two high-rise towers.  It would be in Manhattan’s far west side.

While the delicate negotiations have almost been scrapped altogether, the potential for this is huge.  But with that, comes potential problems too and both the City and Chase are currently in disagreement over quite major parts of the deal.  

Midtown Climate Change Protest

The way corporate institutions have been fueling the climate crisis has to stop.  So say Manhattan protesters who marched through the city’s financial district recently as part of #FloodWallStreet.  In their desire to disrupt businesses from going about their daily tasks, residents met up at Battery Park, marching toward Broadway and Wall Street.  They stayed there until asked to leave; around 100 individuals were arrested.  News reports indicated that around 1,500-2,000 people took place in the march.  Traffic on Broadway came to a standstill and three buses were trapped amidst protestors who refused to move.

Howie Hawkins of the Green Party explained that they were protesting due to the “fossil fuels [that are] burning up the planet.”  They came with huge balloons that they bounced, to represent carbon dioxide bubbles, chanting “we can't take this climate heat; we've got to shut down Wall Street.”

Hundreds of protesters marched through Manhattan's financial district Monday, determined to disrupt what they call "business as usual" in the corporate world. Many of the protesters had also taken part in Sunday's climate march that snarled traffic throughout the city. The demonstrators are protesting what they say is corporate and economic institutions' role in the climate crisis. They gathered at Battery Park and headed up Broadway towards Wall Street, where they said they planned to remain until being forcibly removed, and said they expected to be arrested. Police wouldn't give crowd figures but it looked about 1,500 to 2,000. "The turnout today has been great. I'm actually surprised we've gotten this big of a turnout. It's fantastic. We're keeping the street right now," said protester George Machado. Their targets were Wall Street and big polluters. "Fossil fuels is burning up the planet. So that's why we're here," said the Green Party's Howie Hawkins.  But after awhile it was obvious traffic on Broadway couldn't move an inch, with at least three buses stuck in the middle of protesters who wouldn't budge.

Slip-Slidin’ Away…

If you’re in midtown Manhattan, be prepared for a new fitness craze to start up pretty much every other week. At least, that’s how it seems sometimes. The latest one to hit midtown is Slip ‘N Slide.   

Manhattaners can find classes at the Revolution in Motion Studio.  It’s a bit like speed skating, but without the skates! 

What’s great about this new workout is that it’s fun, while providing a complete body highly intense, but low impact workout, focusing on the nervous system. This makes it very good for those recovering from a sports injury or even a stroke, etc.   And, it only takes an hour.  It was chiropractor Dr. Edythe M. Heus (who also happened to be the head trainer for ‘Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark’ musical) who started it all.

Participants wear special booties over their sneakers and two participants are on each board.  Each board has plastic bumpers fastened to the corners to help stop them sliding off. Initially it is an adjustment to just remain upright. But soon enough arm swings are added to increase the momentum of the workout. It’s great for balance too.

It’s challenging at first, but a lot of fun and truly great as a workout and an overall enhancement of body confidence.

Who knows what the midtown will get next?

Xand Meets Manhattan

Xand is opening a new sales office in the heart of midtown Manhattan.  The firm – a principal provider of cloud, managed services, colocation and disaster recovery – is hoping to meet a growing need for its services in the New York area.  According to Yatish Mishra, company CEO and President, the firm has encountered “unrelenting demand for our portfolio of managed IT infrastructure services from clients based in New York City. Our strategy of operating data center facilities safely away from coastal flood plains and urban threats zones has proven to be incredibly attractive to clients in Tier I markets like New York. The establishment of a dedicated sales office in the heart of New York City allows our company to better serve this burgeoning market by increasing access and convenience while also introducing more options to New York-based firms.”

This won’t be Xand’s first presence in New York.  The company already has six data center facilities throughout the Northeast. One of these is the newly-expanded center located in Hawnthorne.  It also has data centers in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.