United Nations Day, October 24th, was first declared in 1948, and honors the anniversary of the effective date of the Charter of the United Nations. This day is devoted to promoting and celebrating the aims and achievements of the U.N.

The United Nations Headquarters is located along the East River, at 760 United Nations Plaza, on First Avenue between 42nd & 48th (map it). The complex consists of the Secretariat Building, the domed General Assembly Building, the Conference Building and the Hammarskjold Library, and is considered international territory. Bank Ki-moon of South Korea is the current Secretary General of the U.N., and then are currently 191 Member Nations.

Guided public tours of the complex are offered. Visitors enter the headquarters building at First Avenue & 46th, and start the tour with a brief familiarization of the Organization and its structure. A guide will then take you through a visit to the chambers of the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council, and the Economic and Social Council, providing information about what occurs in each of the rooms. Visitors also get a look at a fabulous art collection, all donated by members of the U.N., that includes paintings, murals, tapestries, mosaics, and sculptures.

The tours ends with a stop in the General Assembly Hall (in photo above), the largest room, and the one we must frequently see in televised events. The impressiveness of what happens here is not lost on me.

Post-tour time can be allocated for shopping at the Postal Counter (commemorative stamps), the Bookshop, and the Gift Shop. While I generally avoid most gift shops, there was plenty of interesting stuff here.

The guided tours are conducted seven days a week, except ion January and February when there are no weekend tours. Tours are offered 9:30 am – 4:45 pm, Monday – Friday, and 10 am – 4:30 pm on Saturday and Sundays. The tours last about an hour. You can check the tour information line at (212)963-TOUR (8687) for up-to-date information, as hours can change.

Tour prices are $13 or adults, $9 for seniors, $8.50 for students (under age 30) with ID, $7 for children ages 5 – 14. For safety reasons, children under age 5 are not admitted on tour.

The UN Headquarters can be reached by subway: 4, 5, 6, or 7 to Grand Central Station, then walk to 42nd & First.

If you can’t make it to New York City, you can take an online tour here.

Does the Headquarters Buildings look familiar? You may have seen it featured in movies: North by Northwest, Live and Let Die, The Peacemaker and The Interpreter, the last of which was filmed in the complex.

Photo credit: United Nations

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Governors Island

As a former military post, Governors Island had roles in the Revolutionary War, and virtually every other major U.S. military engagement including the War of 1812, Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Gulf War.  Sixty-four of the island’s 225 buildings have been designated as historic. 

Since the sale back to the people of New York, visiting the 172-acre Governors Island has never been easier. Free ferries cross the harbor between Manhattan and Governors Island at least hourly.  Once on the island visitors may partake in the scheduled events, biking, or tours.  In a bid to become a summertime destination for New Yorkers, Governors Island is hosting weekend events ranging from art exhibits to music.  For a full list of scheduled activities, click here. 

Though just a few years ago the future of Governors Island seemed uncertain, this year will mark the groundbreaking of a newly redesigned 40-acre park which will feature a 2.2 mile waterfront promenade, and restoration of 33 acres of historic landscape, ultimately creating over 100-acres of public green space.

Getting There:  Ferries depart from Manhattan at the Battery Maritime Building located on the corner of South Street and Whitehall Street (map).  Click here for a ferry schedule. 

Days and Hours: Friday 10am-5pm; Saturday and Sunday 10am-7pm.  Open seasonally May 31st until October 5th.

Cost:  Ferry and park are both Free

Photo credit (top to bottom): flickr, flickr;

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

There are several tour companies vying for your dollar, ready to load you onto a double-decker bus and cruise the streets of Manhattan, rolling past some of Sex and the City’s hotspots.  But if you’re not interested in making reservations, paying big bucks, and getting lost in the crowd, I gathered a list of some of the most memorable filming locations and attached a map for The New York City Traveler’s first self-guided tour.

Following the Sex and the City Self-Guided Tour, you can visit more than 20 locations made world-famous by Sex and the City.  Locations include:

• Carrie’s stoop
• Magnolia Bakery
• The church where Samantha attempted to seduce a “Man of God”
• The church where Charlotte and Trey got married
• Where Miranda asked Steve to marry her  

Download and Print the Sex and the City Self-Guided Map (PDF format, Adobe Reader required) 

Photo credit: Carrie’s House flickr; map from personal collection

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

The first Thursday of each month, serious art collectors and casual browsers convene on the streets of DUMBO for the First Thursday Gallery Walk.  Area galleries and artists’ studios are open for visitors and area restaurants and bars often have live music.  There are a number of artist exhibitions and events happening this week at participating galleries.  Among them are:

• Sylvia Plachy: Out of The Corner of My Eye, Umbarage Gallery 
• Fallen Paradise (New Orleans 1995 – 2005), Klompching Gallery 
• Return to Tibet, The Tibet Center Collection 
• Art Auction Preview, Smack Mellon

Location:  Various galleries in DUMBO (map).  Click here for a fill list of participating galleries.

Getting There:  F train to York Street Station; or walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Date and Time:  May 1, 2008 and the First Thursday of every month.  Galleries are generally open from 5:30-8:30pm but hours may vary. 

Cost:  Free

Photo credit: flickr 

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Here is a complete list of art galleries and artists’ studios participating in the May 2008 First Thursday DUMBO Gallery walk:

5+5 111 Front St.
Aswoon Gallery 14 Jay St.
Brooklyn Arts Council 111 Front St.
Byrd Hoffman Watermill 111 Front St.
DUMBO Arts Center 30 Washington St.
Gallery QB 163 Plymouth St.
Gloria Kennedy Gallery 111 Front St.
Henry Gregg Gallery 111 Front St.
Klompching Gallery 111 Front St.
Melville House 145 Plymouth St.
Nelson Hancock Gallery 111 Front St.
Oil Drum Art 111 Front St.
Pochron Studios 20 Jay St.
Powerhouse Arena 37 Main St.
Pratt Institute 111 Front St.      
Rabbithole Studio 33 Washington St.
Robert Wilson/RW Work Ltd. 111 Front St.
Safe-T-Gallery 111 Front St.
Smack Mellon 92 Plymouth St.
Spring 126a Front St.
Umbrage Gallery 111 Front St.
VII DUMBO 28 Jay St.
Wessel + O’Connor Fine Art 111 Front St.

Post from: The New York City Traveler

Big Apple Greeter offers free private walking tours of New York neighborhoods. You choose the neighborhood and Big Apple Greeters matches you with a volunteer Greeter (tour guide) for a 2-to-4 hour walking tour of your chosen neighborhood.

The Greeter aims to show visitors the real New York by taking visitors to neighborhoods they might not see on their own. The Greeter will recommend their personal favorite restaurants and lesser-known sights, explain the public transit system , and answer any other questions.

All tours are conducted rain or shine. The New Yorkers who serve as Greeters are all volunteers, come from varied backgrounds and can accommodate visitors in 22 languages. The tour is free and there is a “No Tipping” policy.

For a full list of information and to fill out an application, visit Big Apple Greeter’s website or fill out the Request Form online.

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Outfitted in his signature safari hat, Brill has been leading foraging tours in Central Park since the early eighties, introducing New Yorkers and visitors to the 200+ species of edibles that can be found in the green spaces of Manhattan.  On any given foraging tour you may encounter persimmons, wild berries, field garlic, and, of course those always-tasty-never-psychedelic mushrooms.  Brill also introduces edible roots and leaves to the tour, many of which have beneficial antioxidant properties.  All foraged items are meant to be sampled, of course under the watchful and well-trained eye Brill himself.  

The long arm of the law caught up with Wildman Steve in the spring of 1986.  Two undercover rangers infiltrated a tour, gathered evidence, and, after a foraging in Central Park, radioed for backup and arrested Brill on criminal mischief charges.  Apparently picking dandelions city parks is illegal without a permit.  Parks Commissioner Henry Stern was later quoted as saying, “Parks are to look at.  Our motto is ‘Please don’t eat the daisies.’”  The arrest was met with so much attention and earned Brill national notoriety as a guest on The Letterman Show and CBS Evening News.  All charges were later dropped and the Parks Department hired Brill to lead tours from 1986 until 1990. 

These days, Brill has authored two books, gives lectures, works with children and educators on outdoor education programs, and still has time for a full schedule of foraging tours.  Tours started the beginning of March and run through the year into December.  This spring, “go green” and get back to nature with Wildman Steve Brill.   

Location:  Guided tours take place in Central Park and several other parks in the tri-state area.  Click here for a schedule.

Cost:  Suggested donation of $12.

More Information:  Visit Steve Brill’s website.

Photo credit:  flickr  

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The LES Tenement Museum offers three tours to choose from:

• “Getting By: Immigrants Weathering Hard Times”  Tour of the German Jewish Gimpertz apartment (1870s) as well as the Sicilian Catholic Baldizzi (1930s) family.
• “Piecing it Together: Immigrants in the Garnment Industry” Tour the Levine family apartment/garment shop (1897).  Then visit the Polish Rogarshevsky family apartment (1918) where they are mourning the loss of their father, Abraham, who died from tuberculosis. 
• “Confino Family Apartment” is a hands-on tour perfect for children that take you through the apartment of a Sephardic Jewish family (1916).  A costumed interpreter dressed as teenage Victoria Confino welcomes visitors as though they were newly arrived immigrants, teaching them how to adapt to America.

Location:  Tours begin at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum Visitors Center and Gift Shop, 108 Orchard Street (map),   212-982-8420

Subway:  F, J, M, Z to Essex-Delancey Street; B, D to Grand Street

Hours:  The Tenement Museum may be visited via guided tour only.  Open Tue-Fri, tours every 40 minutes starting at about 1pm; Sat-Sun, tours every 30 minutes starting at 11am.  All tours are one hour in length.  The museum is closed on Mondays.

Cost:  Adults $17, Students $13, Seniors $13

Photo credit: flickr

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

• Day of Service   In 1994 Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, designating the holiday as a national day of volunteer service.   Think of it as a day on, not a day off and volunteer.  There are nearly 300 New York-area volunteer opportunities listed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service website. 
• Victims of the Zeitgeist  Ellwoodson Williams directs his new off-off Broadway drama about Martin Luther King Jr. and the tragedy surrounding his death.  Performances are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays thru January 27th at the Times Square Art Center.  Call 718-583-0927 for more information.
• The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.   The Museum of Jewish Heritage hosts an interfaith discussion.  Father Daniel Berrigan of the West Side Jesuit Community, Dr. Calvin O. Butts III of the Abyssinian Baptist Church and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, of the Islamic Chaplaincy, among others, will be speaking.  Jan 16th at 6:30pm.  $10   
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Historic Harlem Walking Tour   African-American history comes alive on this MLK Day walking tour hosted by Big Onion Walking Tours.  Stops include Abyssinian Baptist Church, Strivers’ Row, and sites associated with Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes.  Jan 21st at 1pm.  $15

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In 1990, after a major $162 million renovation, the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration reopened for visitors. Ellis Island’s Main Hall features self-guided exhibits that chronicle the island’s role in immigration history and include artifacts, photographs, prints, videos, interactive displays, and oral histories.

If you would like to find out if your family passed through Ellis Island you can use the online database to search the Ellis Island/Port of New York Database.

From Battery Park, Manhattan: Take the R, W to Whitehall Street; 1 to South Ferry; or 4,5 to Bowling Green. Purchase tickets from Castle Clinton (map) in Battery Park.

From Liberty State Park, New Jersey: Take the PATH from Manhattan to either Pavonia/Newport or Hoboken then take the Light Rail to Liberty State Park. From the Light Rail station at Liberty State Park there is a shuttle bus that runs to the ferry pier.

Hours: Ferry runs every 30 minutes from 8:30am-3:30pm daily. The first stop is the Statue of Liberty, the second stop is Ellis Island.

Cost: Admission to the Ellis Island is free but the the ferry cost is $10 for adults; $8 seniors; $4 4-12 years; free under 4.

Ellis Island is the second stop on the Statue of Liberty Island ferry.  Check out yesterday’s post for more information on Lady Liberty. 

Photo Courtesy of Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation

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The Statue of Liberty is comprised of Gustave Eiffel’s (designer of the Eiffel Tower) iron-framework design and is the creation of Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. It took Bartholdi ten years, from 1974-1884 to bolt the thin copper sheets together and create the 151-foot masterpiece.

Shipped from France to the United States in hundreds of pieces in 1884, the Statue of Liberty was accepted by the Americans in 1884 however it lacked a pedestal to be placed on. It wasn’t until 1886, with the help of financing from Joseph Pulitzer, that the Statue of Liberty was dedicated and placed on its pedestal in New York Harbor.

Security concerns made the Statue of Liberty off-limits for three years, but in 2004 is was reopened to the public. You still can’t climb to the top of the crown, but guided tours take you through the promenade and the 192-steps to the pedestal.

From Battery Park, Manhattan: Take the R, W to Whitehall Street; 1 to South Ferry; or 4,5 to Bowling Green. Purchase tickets from Castle Clinton (map) in Battery Park.

From Liberty State Park, New Jersey: Take the PATH from Manhattan to either Pavonia/Newport or Hoboken then take the Light Rail to Liberty State Park. From the Light Rail station at Liberty State Park there is a shuttle bus that runs to the ferry pier.

Hours: Ferry runs from 8:30am-3:30pm daily.

Cost: Admission to the Statue of Liberty is free but the the ferry to arrive at the monument is $10 for adults; $8 seniors; $4 4-12 years; free under 4.

The second stop on the Circle Line ferry is Ellis Island. Don’t miss tomorrow’s post on Ellis Island, the arrival point of millions of immigrants.

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