Activities for a Winter Weekend in NYC
Below freezing temperatures in the city don’t provide much motivation for exploring. This past weekend was far too frigid for a cruise to visit Lady Liberty or to take a walk through Central Park, though New Yorkers love both. Yet, as a city that is as adaptable as it is massive, we find other ways to entertain ourselves that don’t involve standing in the cold for hours on end and risking frost bite. For those of you who’ve run out of ideas or are simply looking for inspiration, here are a few of my favorite things to do on the weekends.
- Grab A Bite
Everyone has to eat, but nobody wants to wait outside for a table at a restaurant or to be crammed into a small Manhattan cafe, and rushed from your seat as soon as you’ve finished eating. Smorgasburg, and other markets like it, are the perfect solution. Though traditionally an outdoor event which takes place along the east river–in both Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn–during the winter this New York City staple transforms into an incredible food oasis that is completely indoors (lucky for us). This year, foodies can find more than 100 vendors from all around town, housed at Industry City in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.Smorgasburg is the ideal choice if family or friends (or yourself) can’t decide on one particular thing to eat. There’s literally something for everyone, including kosher, vegan, and vegetarian options. Additionally, there’s a chance to do a bit of shopping for one-of-kind finds at the market’s partnering Brooklyn Flea. Pro Tip: Take cash (they have ATMs on site if you forget), have fun, and visit shorter lines to at least fill your stomach while waiting in queue at the more popular vendors. - Get Cultured
Another way to beat the cold without skimping on entertainment, is to spend your afternoon at the museum. I think it’s better to reserve such for the winter and rainy weather anyhow. Modern museum’s like the Guggenheim on the Upper East Side offer a number of great programs during the weekend, from personal tours to film screenings, in addition installed exhibits and personal collections.For a family friendly experience, kids love the American Museum of Natural History, also in Manhattan, on the west side. It’s impressively interactive and affordable, with tons of exhibits that are sure to engage and adults and children alike. It opens and closes at the same time during the weekend and weekday (10am-5:45pm), so need for extra planning. Just be sure to have a lot of patience and good shoes for walking. - Play A Game
For the more active children or for adults who just like to have a good time, how about a competitive but fun game of bowling? There are couple places in the city for the activity, but a personal favorite is Bowlmor in Midtown. This highly stylized, family friendly place is opens around 11:00am on weekends, and is rather calm until 5:00pm. The traditional chinese decor and very clean space offer a very memorable and pleasant experience.They also have an arcade room, if bowling gets too boring, and a full menu of food, with options ranging from nachos to “artisan flatbreads,” and salads. This is a one stop shop for a day of fun and excitement that includes everyone. It certainly beats tossing a ball in the house. Check it out.
5 Great Books To Check Out This Winter
Winter in New York City is expected to be cold and snowy, as usual. For many, that means outdoor activities like sleigh rides, ice skating, or building snowmen. While those are not at all bad ideas, sometimes it’s nice to stay inside, in the warmth of your own home, instead. In those moments, one of the best ways to keep yourself occupied is a good book and a warm drink.
Books are an escape, a way to beat winter blues, and to get caught up on reading that you may have ditched during the summer, when activities were more plentiful and the weather too nice to remain inside. For my own interest, I looked up some recommended titles on goodreads.com, to tackle this season. Below I’ve included five which piqued my interest.
Go Set A Watchman (Synopsis from Goodreads) Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch–“Scout”–returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.
City On Fire (Synopsis from Goodreads) From post-Vietnam youth culture to the fiscal crisis, from a lushly appointed townhouse on Sutton Place to a derelict squat on East 3rd Street, this city on fire is at once recognizable and completely unexpected. And when the infamous blackout of July 13th, 1977 plunges it into darkness, each of these entangled lives will be changed, irrevocably.
Beatlebone (Synopsis from Goodreads): It is 1978, and John Lennon has escaped New York City to try to find the island off the west coast of Ireland he bought nine years prior. Leaving behind domesticity, his approaching forties, his inability to create, and his memories of his parents, he sets off to find calm in the comfortable silence of isolation. But when he puts himself in the hands of a shape-shifting driver full of Irish charm and dark whimsy, what ensues can only be termed a magical mystery tour.
Slade House (Synopsis from Goodreads): Spanning five decades, from the last days of the 1970s to the present, leaping genres, and barreling toward an astonishing conclusion, this intricately woven novel will pull you into a reality-warping new vision of the haunted house story—as only David Mitchell could imagine it.
The Dying Grass (Synopsis from Goodreads): William T. Vollmann tells the story of the Nez Perce War, with flashbacks to the Civil War. Defrauded and intimidated at every turn, the Nez Perces finally went on the warpath in 1877, subjecting the U.S. Army to its greatest defeat since Little Big Horn as they fled from northeast Oregon across Montana to the Canadian border. Vollmann’s main character is not the legendary Chief Joseph, but his pursuer, General Oliver Otis Howard, the brave, shy, tormented, devoutly Christian Civil War veteran. In this novel, we see him as commander, father, son, husband, friend, and killer.
This time of year can be disheartening for a lot of people. The snow is pretty at first, but it gets old quickly. Additionally, it’s not unusual for many to waste snow days in bed or flipping through channels to find something on TV. Change up the routine, find and purchase some interesting books. It can’t hurt to learn a little while you’re hibernating, awaiting for the return of spring.
New York Sues Charity
“Nothing is more shameful than pocketing millions of dollars donated by good-hearted people who just wanted to help children afflicted with a terminal illness.”
These are the words of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office filed a petition in Kings County Supreme Court to shut down an organization dubbed the National Children’s Leukemia Foundation (NCLF) earlier this week.
Seeking to recover the full amount of all funds raised through fraudulent representations, evidence suggests the charity lied about how donations would be spent and instead used nearly every penny to enrich only a handful of employees. NCLF donors were hooked on the organization’s umbilical cord blood banking program, its cancer research center, and a patent application for a new lifesaving treatment for leukemia.
The petition claims none of these even exist.
The NCLF claim to run a service devoted to fulfilling the final wishes of children with terminal conditions, with very little money they raised going towards any such charitable programs, and the organization not sponsoring any Disney World trips in years. And while most donors understand that 100 percent of donations won’t go directly to the cause, such alleged abuse of strangers compassionate generosity is disturbing.
The organization has collected approximately $9.7 million from donors between April 2009 and March 2013. Of that money, 90 percent was brought in through professional fundraisers, who then kept $7.5 million as payment.
Of the $2 million that remained, $655,000 went towards alleged research at a shell organization in Israel run by NCLF founder Zvi Shor’s sister.
Shor paid himself around $600,000 in salary over the four years, plus another $600,000 in deferred compensation.
That leaves only $57,541–less than 1 percent of that $2 million–going towards direct cash assistance to leukemia patients.
New York law requires that the board of directions of a charitable organization be true overseers of the organization. The petition alleges that the “charity” was simply Shor operating the fraudulent organization from his Brooklyn basement, listing his son Shlomo Shor as a director and vice president, although the state said he just signed checks and filled in forms of his father’s direction. And the NCLF accountant allegedly filed audit reports with the Attorney General’s office, but did not conduct any audits, since the filings apparently misrepresented NCLF as having a board of more than a dozen directors as well as a separate medical advisory board.
The attorney general urges New Yorkers to continue in their generosity towards the neediest among us, but to be weary of who they are supporting.
About Avraham Glattman
Avraham Glattman is the owner of First American Properties Group, a real estate business based in New York City, New York.
Avraham brings over 26 years of experience working as a real estate agent in the city, where he continues to work today. He graduated from Newport University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management and remained at the university to attain his Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.). After graduation, he jumped straight into the real estate field in 1992 in the greater New York City area. Throughout his career, Avraham has explored listings across the New York area, keeping a detailed account of the locations, pricing and comparable properties in the housing market.
After gaining a wealth of knowledge about the real estate marketing in New York, Avraham Glattman decided to take it a step further by creating First American Properties Group with his longtime business partner, Pete Jacov in 2008. First American Properties is a real estate and development company that services the five boroughs of New York. The company currently owns residential and commercial properties in Queens, Downtown Brooklyn, Harlem, and Manhattan. The company focuses on monitoring the growth and development in different areas of the city, so they can work to establish more patterns of growth and help revitalize the area.
While monitoring the different areas of New York City, Avraham Glattman consistently keeps an eye out on up-and-coming neighborhoods that he could potentially invest in. For example, after seeing Harlem, Avraham was immediately impressed by the neighborhood’s charm, leading him to invest in properties in the area. With a convenient location next to the subway and charming business like music venues in the area, it was not hard to see what attracted Avraham to the area.
Today, Avraham Glattman continues to find new investments with First American Properties Group, alongside his business partner, Pete Jacov. Together, they are working towards the goals that they set for First American Properties Group. The goals include acquiring property in the Harlem area to renovate and sell, as well as acquiring properties in all five boroughs.
Avraham Glattman is also the proud owner of 1927 Café Bar Popularr. Located in Harlem, the café serves a variety of open-faced Mediterranean sandwiches, called ‘Toastics’, and many types of coffee. Café Bar Popularr is proud of the rich artistic traditions of Harlem, and invites local musicians, authors, and comedians to visit and share their talents with friends.
Avraham was born and raised in Israel, where he went graduated high school. Not long after, he served in the Israeli army for three years, before he was sent to the United States to work with an Israeli newspaper in Brooklyn, NY. Not long after making the move to New York, Avraham met the woman that would become his wife in 1991. Together, they have three children.
In his spare time, Avraham Glattman enjoys spending his time with his wife and three children and loves to explore new parts of New York City. Avraham’s incredible dedication to both his work and family brings him immense happiness and purpose each day.
To learn more about who Avraham Glattman is, visit AvrahamGlattmanNewYork.com.
