6 Perfect Picnic Spots to Visit in NYC

6 Perfect Picnic Spots to Visit in NYC

You don’t have to leave town in order to escape from the hustle and bustle of NYC life. There are plenty of fabulous picnic spots right in the 5 boroughs to bring a few sammiches and a bottle of wine to unwind for the day. Bring your checkered blanket to Prospect Park or hit the trails for an adventurous hike up Moses Mountain. Wherever you decide to park your picnic basket, click through our gallery to discover our favorite city park escapes.

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Today is Bike to Work Day in New York!

Today is Bike to Work Day in New York!

Photo from Shutterstock

Throw your suit in a messenger bag and strap on your helmet because today is Bike to Work Day! Thousands of New Yorkers will be trading in their car, bus or subway commutes for a zero-energy alternative that is also a blast – and

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Olafur Eliasson Brings Pieces of Actual Iceland Glacier to His EXPO 1 Exhibit at MoMA PS1 (PHOTOS)

Olafur Eliasson Brings Pieces of Actual Iceland Glacier to His EXPO 1 Exhibit at MoMA PS1 (PHOTOS)

When we heard that MoMA PS1 would be featuring a climate change-focused installation by Olafur Eliasson in its EXPO 1 exhibit, we knew we had to check it out. But little did we know that the work, titled “Your waste of time”, would feature actual shards of Iceland’s largest glacier, Vatnajökul. While it was figuratively (and literally) cool to be in the presence of such an endangered substance, we have to wonder if removing and transporting the blocks of ice and keeping them in an energy-gobbling refrigerated room really sends the right message...or perhaps that was Eliasson's point?

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First NYC Public School to Serve Only Vegetarian Meals is in Flushing, Queens

First NYC Public School to Serve Only Vegetarian Meals is in Flushing, Queens

PHOTO: KENDALL RODRIGUEZ FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

If you attended public school in NYC, you probably remember the burgers having “warts” and boat-shaped pepperoni pizzas with enough grease on top to cause a small oil spill. While those memories will always

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New “e-cycleNYC” Program Brings Electronics Recycling Right to Your Doorstep

New “e-cycleNYC” Program Brings Electronics Recycling Right to Your Doorstep

Recycling your old electronics is about to become a lot easier in NYC. This week, New York City Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty announced the launch of a new residential electronics recycling program called “e-cycleNYC” in partnership with Electronic

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Frankenfish Threatening Local Aquatic Life Has NY Environmental Officials on Edge

Frankenfish Threatening Local Aquatic Life Has NY Environmental Officials on Edge

There’s something fishy going on in a Central Park lake, and environmental officials aren’t too happy about it. Officials are on the hunt for an invasive and toothy predator known as the northern snakehead fish that is wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem.

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Abandoned Rockaway Courthouse to Be Resurrected into State-of-the-Art Hospital

Abandoned Rockaway Courthouse to Be Resurrected into State-of-the-Art Hospital

Rockaway Courthouse has sat empty for decades, but plans are now in the works to give it new life as a much-needed hospital in a community that faced the 2012 closure of a major health center, not to mention the blows of Hurricane Sandy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg

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“For a Resilient Rockaway” Competition Seeks Sustainable Plans to Rebuild Sandy-Ravaged Queens

“For a Resilient Rockaway” Competition Seeks Sustainable Plans to Rebuild Sandy-Ravaged Queens

The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) recently announced an exciting new design competition asking architects for ideas on how to rebuild the Hurricane Sandy-stricken Rockaways. Called “For a Resilient Rockaway” (FAR ROC),

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10 Eco-Tastic Earth Day Activities to Do in New York City!

10 Eco-Tastic Earth Day Activities to Do in New York City!

Earth Day is just around the corner, and there will be no shortage of fun, nature-celebrating events to choose from in New York City! Roll up your sleeves and get knee-deep in mulch while planting trees with JetBlue and the New York Restoration Project, or learn a thing or two about sustainability at the Green Festivals conference. We’ve pulled together a tantalizing selection of eco-tastic events that kick-off Earth Day for an entire weekend of fun. Click through our gallery to discover them all!

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Could Electric Eels Be a Threat to NYC’s 7 Line Subway Extension?

Could Electric Eels Be a Threat to NYC’s 7 Line Subway Extension?

Photo: Christine Schmidt

Though it might sound like something you’d read in the Onion, one MTA board member has expressed concern about the threat of electric eels to the forthcoming 7 train line extension. According to DNAInfo, Charles Moerdler is putting

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Don’t Miss Brooklyn’s Freshest Green Furnishings at This Year’s BKLYN Designs in May!

Don’t Miss Brooklyn’s Freshest Green Furnishings at This Year’s BKLYN Designs in May!

It’s baaaack! Our favorite showcase of the hottest made-in-Brooklyn home designs took a hiatus for a few years but now BKLYN Designs is back and ready to make a splash from May 10-12. This carefully curated tradeshow will bring together a bevy of leading

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7 Train Extension to New Jersey Being Considered

7 Train Extension to New Jersey Being Considered

Great news for anyone who commutes from NJ to NYC: the city is thinking about extending the number 7 train right to Secaucus, New Jersey, meaning a ride from Midtown would be just about 16 minutes. The current mode of transportation that many NJers employ

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CICADAPOCOLYPSE: Billions of Red-Eyed Cicadas to Swarm Tri-State Area

CICADAPOCOLYPSE: Billions of Red-Eyed Cicadas to Swarm Tri-State Area

Photo from Shutterstock

If you’re looking for yet another sign that the end is near, the media has been buzzing (pun-intended) with reports that billions of cicadas will be burrowing out of their underground holes soon and swarming the East Coast of the

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Toshihiro Oki Architects Win Folly Garden Competition with Fanciful Design for Socrates Sculpture Park

Toshihiro Oki Architects Win Folly Garden Competition with Fanciful Design for Socrates Sculpture Park

Now in its second year, the Folly Competition – a two-month residency project sponsored by the Architectural League of New York and Socrates Sculpture Park that explores the tradition of 18th and 19th century folly gardens – has announced a winner. Toshihiro

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The Fancy Fox Thrift Shop Opens Near 5 Pointz and PS1 in Long Island City

The Fancy Fox Thrift Shop Opens Near 5 Pointz and PS1 in Long Island City

Many in-the-know New Yorkers are familiar with Queens graffiti mecca 5 Pointz, but very few are privy to the new thrift shop that recently opened up right next to it. Dubbed The Fancy Fox (after a dapperly dressed fox figurine that owner Carolina Penafiel has had for years), the small jewel of a store boasts pre-loved treasures that are just as colorful and unique as the tagged art that covers the walls of the famous building it resides in. Despite its somewhat hidden location, word has been getting out about the shop's closely curated selection of clothing, accessories, books and art. We recently had to chance to visit The Fancy Fox, and check out its cleverly recycled shipping pallet interior. Click through our gallery to take your own tour, and don't forget to visit in person before everyone else finds out about it!

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MOMA PS1 Erects Temporary Geodesic Dome in Rockaways to Discuss Rebuilding After Hurricane Sandy

MOMA PS1 Erects Temporary Geodesic Dome in Rockaways to Discuss Rebuilding After Hurricane Sandy

MoMA PS1’s VW Dome 2 – the temporary cultural center created after Hurricane Sandy left Rockaway Beach severely damaged – opened last Friday with a performance by singer and Rockaways resident Patti Smith. The geodesic dome structure will be up for the

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Help Plant 2,400 New Trees in NYC with JetBlue and the New York Restoration Project

Help Plant 2,400 New Trees in NYC with JetBlue and the New York Restoration Project

Get your hands dirty with JetBlue Airlines and the New York Restoration Project as they host the sixth annual One Thing That’s Green day on Saturday, April 20th in Highland Park on the border of Queens and Brooklyn. The weekend tree-planting project will

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WASTED: Artist Alex White Mazzarella’s New Exhibit Explores Social Inequality Using Recycled Materials

WASTED: Artist Alex White Mazzarella’s New Exhibit Explores Social Inequality Using Recycled Materials

111 bottles and one shoe: the components that comprise artist Alex White Mazzarella's latest piece may seem mundane, but are impactful when they work together, just like the immigrant workers they represent. Called "A Working Class", the assemblage is currently on view at Japanese gallery Resobox in Long Island City along with a selection of Mazzarella's older works in an exhibition entitled WASTED. We recently caught up with Mazzarella to find out more about WASTED, his use of recycled materials, and his related projects, which endeavor to bring attention to marginalized communities throughout the world. Read on for some of his thoughts.

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Brooklyn Grange’s Queens Rooftop Farm Gets Solar-Powered Compost Bins

Brooklyn Grange’s Queens Rooftop Farm Gets Solar-Powered Compost Bins

The Brooklyn Grange is opening up their one-acre rooftop farm in Long Island City, Queens as a local hub for solar composting. The new system will repurpose food waste and scraps gathered from local restaurants and residents and turn them into valuable fertilizer

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NYC Straphangers Rejoice: MTA Rolls Out New High-Tech Touch Screen Subway Maps

NYC Straphangers Rejoice: MTA Rolls Out New High-Tech Touch Screen Subway Maps

Good news subway riders! The MTA is rolling out a series of high-tech, touch screen subway maps to make navigating the train system a bit less intimidating. No more awkwardly hovering over a stranger on the train to check out the subway map behind them or

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NYC Mayor’s Fund to Provide $1.7 Million to Food Pantries Affected By Hurricane Sandy

NYC Mayor’s Fund to Provide $1.7 Million to Food Pantries Affected By Hurricane Sandy

Deputy Mayor Linda I. Gibbs and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City announced a new grant program yesterday that will provide more than $1.7 million in funding for city-wide emergency food networks that served communities in need during Hurricane Sandy.

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6 Beautiful Places to See Spring Bloom in NYC

6 Beautiful Places to See Spring Bloom in NYC

After a long winter, spring is finally in the air! In NYC, it's very easy for this fleeting season to pass before we even notice it, so this year be sure to make the most of it by heading to some of the best spots in the city to see blooms and buds springing to life. From the lush scenery of the Clinton Community Garden to weekend yoga adventures under the blossoming Callery Pear trees in Fort Greene, click through to see some of our favorite places to experience rebirth and new life in each of the city’s boroughs.

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QueensWay High Line-Style Park Getting Closer to Reality Despite Resident Opposition

QueensWay High Line-Style Park Getting Closer to Reality Despite Resident Opposition

The controversial QueensWay plan to turn an abandoned Queens rail line into an elevated park resembling Manhattan’s High Line is getting even closer to fruition. The Trust for Public Land, the organization working to transform the 3.5 miles of land into

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NYC Sewage to Be Treated with Common Soap Ingredient Glycerol

NYC Sewage to Be Treated with Common Soap Ingredient Glycerol

The 26th Ward Wastewater Treatment Plant in Queens has begun using a revolutionary biofuel process that employs glycerol (an ingredient that can be found in many soaps and perfumes) to remove nitrogen from our waterways. The first green water treatment facility

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Study Finds That NYC Green Roofs Are Full of Fungi

Study Finds That NYC Green Roofs Are Full of Fungi

If you thought the collection of fungi housed in your own fridge was impressive, wait ’til you hear what was found on NYC’s green roofs. Researchers from Barnard College, Columbia University, Fordham and the University of Colorado recently conducted tests

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