When my bandmate asked me if I wanted to attend his "friend's performance art wedding celebration at an art collective in Queens," I said yes without hesitation. Wonderland Collective is a community art space in Astoria that hosts a wide range of activities from capoeira to rowdy dance parties, concerts, drawing, hula hooping, open mics, art shows and more.
Before the world knew about the abandoned City Hall subway station, I photographed it on a tour with the Transit Museum. This is a station unlike any other in New York, filled with stained glass, Roman brick, tiled vaults, arches and brass chandeliers.
475 Kent Avenue is an artist compound, filled with photographers, artists and filmmakers. This past weekend, David Alan Harvey opened up his home again to showcase the work of his students and special guest, photographer Bruce Davidson. These loft apartments have epic views of Manhattan and Brooklyn, but the charm really comes from the gritty graffitied interior and the creativity buzzing within.
People love photographing the High Line during the day. The first page of results on a Google image search for "High Line" yields only 8 night images out of 448. But the High Line is open at night (until 10pm) and runs amidst one of New York City's most popular party districts. And it goes literally underneath the Standard Hotel and hovers above the road. This is a good thing because it helps you avoid the denizens of the Meatpacking District.
The hype may swarm around the tents at Fashion Week, but an equal number of designers actually showcased outside the official venue this year. We shadowed designer Janet Kim of Graey during the preparations for her Spring/Summer 2011 show and got to ask a few questions.
Lincoln Restaurant does not open officially until September 24th, but things are happening. On September 10th, Heart Magazine had an event there. Tonight, while most were crowded around the star-studded red carpet for Tommy Hilfiger's 25th Anniversary Show, I eschewed the masses and checked out the restaurant.
The New York Times once described the Pussycat Lounge as "set on a block where one might feel comfortable urinating against a building." People love this place precisely because it's grungy and hasn't changed since the 1970s. It's also one of the last neighborhood bars in the area.
The Parc de la Villette is the largest landscaped park in Paris. Designed by Bernard Tschumi, the park is home to numerous concert halls. This summer I checked out the National, Pavement, Fanfarlo, Temper Trap and Plastikman.
When my mother came to visit Paris, I booked a hotel for her near the row of Japanese restaurants on Rue Saint-Anne and within a week, she and I had sampled nearly every restaurant. This is our "Best of Rue-Saint Anne" list.
The surfing Meetup group that our friend Stefan runs was getting Skudin Surf to give a free surf lesson to newbie surfers at Long Beach, Long Island. I was a little nervous about going by myself but I finally RSVP'ed.