Holiday Gifts – New York City
If you are short on time and flush with cash, we have a few suggestions for a time efficient and pleasant shopping experience in New York.As crowded as 5th Avenue is, you will still find some space, quiet and extravagant baubles at the jewelry counters of Bergdorf Goodman. Men’s gifts are easily selected with the help of expert sales staff at Bergdorf’s men’s shop of the East side of 5th Avenue.745 5th Avenue @ 57th Street , (212) 753-7300Attentive help and one stop shopping await you at Barney’s. Here one can find every category of department store gifts with excellent taste and craftsmanship. Top off the visit with a delicious meal at Fred’s on the 9th floor.660 Madison Avenue @ 60th & 61st Streets , (212) 826-8900As sure as that blue box is to increase one’s heartbeat – the congestion at Tiffany is an issue. Financiers will enjoy the convenience of Tiffany’s new Wall Street location.midtown – 727 5th Avenue @ 57th Street , (212) 755-8000downtown – 37 Wall Street @ Nassau Street , (212) 514-8015Extravagant gifts for children and elegant women are easily found at Takashimaya. Here you will also found the most exquisite florist in town.693 5th Avenue @ 54th & 55th Streets , (212) 350-0100Time saving luxuries can be found for the work-a-holic at Sony on Madison and the Apple stores – midtown and in Soho.midtown – Sony is 550 Madison Avenue @ 55th Street, (212) 833-8800 midtown – Apple, 767 5th Avenue @ 58th & 59th Street , (212) 336-1440downtown – Apple Soho, 103 Prince Street @ Greene Street , (212) 226-3126And if you are waiting to be wowed by the perfect gift – start at 14th Street and 9th Avenue and walk west. You’ll encounter Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, La Perla, Jeffrey (for cosmetics) and Diane von Furstenberg.
Filed under Enjoying New York City, Navigating New York, New York City, Shopping | Comment (1)Shopping online
Consumption Monday – today – is supposed to be the biggest day for online sales ever is underway – so I wont take your time. But I will suggest – that what you are purchasing can be done so it delivers a gift to charities as well.Maatiam is a portal through which your online shopping gives to the charity of your choice.
Filed under Shopping | Comment (0)Golfing in the New York City area
If you’re coming to New York for a golf vacation, you probably got on the wrong plane. Unless you’ve got an in at the private clubs (the New York area probably has more great private courses than any place in the country), it’s not a great area for golf. But if you must play while you’re here and don’t know any members of Winged Foot or Shinnecock, here’s some suggestions:
Best Upscale Public
Centennial is a 27-hole semi private facility in Carmel, NY – about an hour drive from Manhattan in light traffic. It may sound far but it’s hard to find a decent public course without driving at least 30-45 minutes; at that point, the extra 20 minutes is worth it for a good course. Centennial is a great layout with good conditions and good management. With 3 nines and a location far enough from the city, it’s usually possible to get a tee time, even on short notice. The peak rate is up to $135 but they also have pretty reasonable twilight (which generously starts fairly early in the afternoon) and off-season rates.
Billed as the only public Jack Nicklaus-designed course in the area, Mansion Ridge is a very nice facility. It’s a semi-private course which actually tries to make its “members†feel like they’re getting something for their money and that feeling carries over to make you feel a bit like you’re at a private club; it’s a well-conditioned, well-run facility. The mountain-style layout is fairly challenging and the scenery is great. Like everything else it is about an hour’s drive from Manhattan, but close to the Woodbury Commons outlet Mall. Peak greens fees run about $140.
Good Mid-Priced Options
In 1939, Lido Golf Club was chosen by a panel of golf experts as the 41st greatest golf course in the world, ahead of such venerable sites as Carnoustie, Bethpage, Oakland Hills, Olympia Fields, MidOcean, Brookline and Maidstone. (By the way, Timber Point on Eastern Long Island was voted #12, wedged right between Augusta and Oakmont; it’s now a Suffolk County public which costs less than $50 to play). Today, Lido costs about $50 to play and it’s well worth it. Though it is very much a public golf course and certainly has “local flavor,†the layout is great. You get a Robert Trent Jones links style course with holes on the water on Long Island (without paying $650,000 to join Sebonac). The course could use a little TLC, but every time I play, I think, “God ain’t making any more of this.†Weekend afternoons can be slow. Only 45 minutes from Manhattan.
Berkshire Valley is one of the nicest municipal golf courses I’ve ever played (never played Torrey Pines, but I have played Bethpage Black), it’s simply one of the best courses (period) within an hour’s drive of New York. It’s a great layout with fantastic scenery and excellent conditions. Like one of the top courses at nearby Crystal Springs but ½ the price. The only problem is trying to get a tee time.
One of the best kept secrets in New Jersey, Skyview Golf has been voted the most scenic golf course in the state. On top of that, it’s an interesting mountain layout with excellent conditions for a public course and reasonable rates. The front 9 is very challenging (you’ll score better on the back) including the crazy par-5 4th, which you may hate but it’s only one hole.
The Closest
Rivervale Country Club (aka Bergen Hills Country Club)
Despite an identity crisis – I have no idea why it has two names), Rivervale Country Club is a good option if you have limited time. It is probably the closest, decent course to Manhattan. Rivervale is a bit pricey (peak rate is in excess of $100) but you’re paying for the proximity to the city; midweek afternoon rates are much more reasonable. It’s a tight, well-maintained layout which has the feel of some of the private clubs in the area.
Hey, it’s golf. Just over the border in Yonkers, this Westchester county public course is only a 20-minute drive from the Upper East Side. Though a bit on the short side, it is an interesting old-style layout on a great piece of property – bordered by water and in between the Northbound and Southbound lanes of the Sprain Brook Parkway. It’s quite inexpensive and is typically quite accommodating for last-minute tee times.
Pelham – Split Rock GC is New York City’s only 36 hole facility. Both courses are located in Pelham Bay Park (NYC’s largest park) in the Bronx, lying east of Co-Op City and just south of Westchester County. They’re ok. The Pelham Course was built in 1901 and is a links-style layout. Pelham’s sister course, Split Rock, is the “championship†layout and the better of the two. The courses are now managed by American Golf and there are plans underway to invest money in a new clubhouse and make other improvements. These courses are really close by, but it is still golf in the Bronx after all.
About our Golf Editor:
Jay Weiss is a lifelong New Yorker. He is an 8-handicap who lives in Manhattan. He is not a member of a private club, so he’s played most of the courses in the New York area.
Filed under Enjoying New York City, Golf in Manhattan, Navigating New York, New York City | Comment (0)The 2008 ING NYC Marathon.
Did yesterday inspire you to follow the path of the heroic, through 5 boroughs and 26.2 miles of the greatest city on earth? You can do it. And you’ve got plenty of time to get in shape.
Treat yourself. A little massage goes a long way.
Filed under Enjoying New York City, Navigating New York, New York City | Comment (0)The Print Fair
The Print Fair opened last tonight at the Armory with a private preview cocktail party, and to the public today, Thursday, November 1st. The annual IFPDA (International Fine Print Dealers Association) is a world-class event we highly recommend.
We asked one of our favorite artists, Ray Charles White, who works with our favorite fine art print maker, Durham Press, to give us a list of things to do in town that would round out the week-end, between the opening party tonight, and the fair’s close on Sunday, November 4th.
Morning: Start your day with breakfast at Balthazar. Arrive, and leave before before the “beautiful” people arrive at 10:00 am.
Hit the flower district – just to look. Bring cash, plenty of chutzpah & strong arms, because you won’t leave empty-handed. 28th Street and 6th Avenue.
Mid-day: What else but, look at some Photography:Berenice Abbott, “Changing New York” at the New York Public Library, 42nd Street and 5th Avenue
ICP or The International Center for Photography, 43rd Street and 6th Avenue.
Aperture, 23rd Street East of 5th Avenue.
Evening:Have an earlier light meal -great Italian, calm, serene, gracious service in an intimate room – directly across from MoMA, George Clooney’s secret fave spot: Il Gattopardo (53rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues)before stepping across the street to see a classic art film at MoMA Film.
Later Evening Head back downtown, stopping at Gramercy Tavern for drinks and another light bite in the more casual front room. Later at night there is hardly ever a wait. 20th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South.)
Rise, insert the Print Fair, and repeat.
Ray Charles White is a fine art photographer who has been collaborating with print maker Jean Paul Russel to make inspired works on metal for years. White’s work is in included in the The Allentown Art Museum, DIA, The Tate and the personal collections of Asher B. Edelman, David Hockney, Dennis Hopper and Sharon Stone. Born in Toronto, White attended from the School of Visual Arts in 1982 and has been enjoying New York ever since.
Filed under Art, Navigating New York, New York City | Comment (1)
