In the warmer weather months when the sun is beating down on the New York City pavement and your body is being cooked from all angles, it is often difficult to remember that Manhattan is an island with easily accessible bodies of water.  Most people escape the city to avoid the heat and try to take advantage of natural surroundings elsewhere.  That is why the community-based organization Floating the Apple is working to alter New Yorkers’ impression of their island by promoting easy access to some of New York City’s greatest prized possessions.  Floating the Apple is a non-profit group located in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood and it has been in existence for over a decade.  Their Pier 84 location houses several 25-foot long row boats, which the students from the local High School of Graphic Arts work to maintain.  All you need to do is make an appointment with Floating the Apple, and you and a couple of friends can take out a row boat on the Hudson River for FREE!  The members of the Hell’s Kitchen community work together to maintain this one of a kind opportunity because it’s not often that New Yorkers get to experience Manhattan from its waterways.  Follow show host Shirley as she speaks with Floating the Apple naval instructor Robert Skibar!   

What are some other fun outdoor activities that you enjoy doing in New York City?

Post a Comment and Let Us Know!

The sidewalks of New York are much like the runways when it comes to trends. From what’s new to what’s truly original, New Yorkers know how to find it and flaunt it. Whether it’s a great discovery from a sample sale or a simple shirt that’s totally chic, the locals of 10019 and 10036 are all about strutting their stuff. CiNYC’s Style Decoder Hitha canvassed Hell’s Kitchen to learn why the fashion scene in these stylish zips is so incredibly hot!

Check out more New York style here.

What Style Are You Rocking Right Now?

Post A Comment And Let Us Know!

In a city where a trunk can double as your dining table, and where your kitchen (if you have one) is also your storage space, the Antiques Garage takes making the most of your space to a whole new level. This feast of a flea market is housed on two floors of a Chelsea garage, one that begins a thrilling transformation into one of the city’s greatest bargain havens at the stroke of midnight. Here you can find obscure items such as 19th century photos, vintage handbags, and fine silver you never imagined you needed. This hard-core market is also associated with the outdoor West 25th Street Market and the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market, located on 39th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues. You can even take advantage of the $1 shuttle rides that this Hell’s Kitchen establishment provides to both Chelsea locales. CiNYC host Sasha got a chance to unlock the secret wonders that this shopping staple has to offer.

Antiques Garage
112 W. 25th Street, 10001

www.annexmarkets.com

Check out more of Sasha’s Dress Code adventures here!

Where Do You Like To Shop?

Post A Comment and Tell Us Where You Like To Find Your Fashion Treasures.

Want to look like a million bucks without spending anywhere near that? Who doesn’t? The Guerilla Shopper has mastered the fine art of finding a great deal. Her Code Word column will decode where to shop, eat, and spend your hard earned dough – while keeping you out of debt. This Guerilla Shopper is in the trenches of New York City, now you can join her!

The Devil Should Wear Kifka and Heller

Reminiscent of any high-end Soho boutique, but right in the midst of Hell’s Kitchen, dwells Kifka + Heller, where the Devil really is in the details.

Reopened this past April, K+H provide wearable, chic fashions for the men and women in and around 10019. The current collection is designed using rich but versatile materials such as silk jersey, leather, linen and denim with the idea that fashion-forward couples can build wardrobes that are complementary and also linked via meticulously designed and styled travel bags.

So what more can be said about New York City clothing boutiques that we all haven’t already heard? Well, in this case, K+H caters to an individual’s tastes and desires. Want that dress in a different color? Ask. Need help figuring out how to wear those jeans and top? They’ll style you from head to toe (and will lend you shoes to ensure that you can visualize the full package that is you). Feel like you need some jewelry to go with those new separates? They have a relationship with the jewelry designer next door. In the “industry” and need wardrobe? They do industry rentals. Hell, need a one-of-a-kind chair for your living or bedroom? Well they make those too.

So what does the (near) future hold? For the forthcoming Summer 2009 collection, K+H are planning new designs using green fabrics comprised of bamboo/hemp and blends. Just don’t roll them up and smoke ‘em.

Going to K+H is more like visiting your personal stylist and having your whims catered to from the minute you walk in the door, but without price points that will send you running back to TJ Maxx (their prices generally run from $185-$950). And I can almost guarantee that if you go there now, you will one day be able to say, “Oh I used to go to Kifka+Heller back in the 2000s when they only had that small space on west 49th St!”

See you in Hell!(’s Kitchen).

445 W. 49th Street
btn 9th & 10th Ave
New York, NY 10019
kifkaandheller.com

For more of Guerilla Shopper’s fashion faves click here.

Like this entry? Check out more from our Code Words contributors here.

Where do you go for the best bargains in New York? Post a comment below and tell us!

Sushi restaurants in Manhattan are about as ubiquitous as hot dog vendors, though one such eatery in 10019 has managed to distinguish itself from the raw and the uncooked. Head chef and owner of Bamboo 52, John Greco, built his restaurant by thinking outside the seaweed roll. For Greco, his livelihood is more of a lifestyle than a job. This is evident in the lengths he’s willing to travel to select the fish he uses. “I was in Alaska and Panama; now I’m heading to research more in Aruba.” Greco explains, “I care about the quality of fish that I serve to anyone who enters Bamboo 52.” If sashimi or nigiri were ever typical, Greco has put a twist on the ordinary and brought to life plates such as a Spicy Sushi Sandwich, Sushi Pancakes, and Salmon Lasagna. As on a tropical vacation, drinks come topped with umbrellas and kitschy palm trees. And with a sake menu the size of the continent on which it originated, Bamboo 52 can feel like one.

www.bamboo52nyc.com

The 92nd Street Y has been a bastion of culture for over 130 years. Supporting a wide array of performers, lecturers and exhibits, The 92nd Street Y brings people together. “It’s about people who entertain and challenge, inform and educate. It’s about people who learn and discover, observe and participate.”

In the beginning the Y was the Young Hebrew Association, serving young Jewish men within the surrounding community. Retaining the original principals of good fellowship and harmony, it has evolved into a world renowned center of cultural diversity, teachings and opportunities. One of their largest cultural events is the annual International Street Festival. Every September, New Yorkers swarm to the Upper Eastside for a taste of world traditions. It’s a cultural bazaar like none other. Whether you’re looking to whet your appetite, enlighten you mind, or listen to a master musician, chances are you’ll find something that fits the bill at The 92nd Street Y.

Find something that tickles your fancy at www.92y.org

1395 Lexington Ave., 10128

CiNYC’s resident fashionista Sasha splurges in some of Hell’s Kitchen’s finest boutiques.

Sasha’s Hell’s Kitchen Picks

Lyd
405 West 44th Street, 10036
www.lydnyc.com

Ray Beauty Supplies
721 8th Avenue, 10036
www.raybeauty.com

Arnold Hatters
535 8th Avenue, 10018
www.arnoldhatters.com

Before there was Leno, Letterman or Johnny, there was Joe. Bronx-born Joe Franklin invented the TV talk show. He has authored 23 books, appeared in 25 films as himself, and has interviewed over 10,000 guests during his 43-year TV run. He’s often referred to as the “King of Nostalgia” and the “Wizard of Was.” Joe sat down with CiNYC host Hank for a chat and a rare look at his infamously cluttered Hell’s Kitchen office.