Into the Woods
Many a native New Yorker grows up thinking “woodlands” is synonymous with the 250-acre New York Botanical Garden (2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, 718.817.8700), whose terrain includes the 50-acre Thain Family Forest, the largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered this concrete jungle. NYBG’s Wild Medicine: Healing Plants Around the World exhibit (thru Sept. 8) is in full bloom this month. Learn how the cinchona tree helps cure malaria and the bark of the white willow figures in the production of aspirin, to name just two of the 500 medicinal flora discussed or displayed. The Italian Renaissance Garden, based on a 1545 botanical effort at the University of Padua, has been created for the show. Thus inspired, you
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In summer, New York City’s waterways and waterfronts become its real avenues, bustling with activity.
may want to head to nearby Arthur Ave. afterward, for some of the tastiest Italian food north of Little Italy, served at several alfresco-oriented restaurants. However, there’s no need to leave Manhattan for rolling fields. Riverside Park, a long and luxurious tract of greenery running for four miles along the Hudson River, from W. 72nd to W. 158th sts., is one of only eight designated city scenic landmarks. And scenic it is, with 330 acres of English-style parkland, gardens, recreational areas and winding paths, arranged in a series of landscaped levels down to the river’s edge. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1870s, the park was augmented by urban planner Robert Moses in the 1930s, who added features such as the limestone Rotunda—which now houses the Boat Basin Café (W. 79th St. & the Hudson River, 212.496.5542), an ideal spot for a burger and brew.
Out for a Stroll
Head Downtown for the High Line (212.500.6035), a pedestrian parkway built on a historic elevated freight rail line that runs btw 10th and 11th aves., from Gansevoort to W. 30th sts. It’s a reclaimed oasis of creatively planted blooms and greenery sprinkled with art exhibits and artisa-
Photo: Wild Medicine: Healing Plants around the World, Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen/Courtesy The New York Botanical Garden
boathouse.org), a volunteer, nonprofit group that offers free walk-up kayaking excursions from three sites along the Hudson River on weekends and weekday nights: Pier 40 at W. Houston St., Pier 96 at W. 56th St., and W. 72nd St. This is your chance to see some of the most spectacular views of the city, and get some exercise to boot. Looking for a little culture while you enjoy the waterfront sights? The River to River arts festival (rivertori vernyc.com, thru Jul. 14) features a daily variety of music, dance, theater and art projects throughout lower Manhattan. You can catch Cuban-born percussionist/singer Pedrito Martinez on Jul. 2 in Rockefeller Park, at the north end of Battery Park City, listening to his “African-infused new world funk” amid views of the harbor, the Statue of Liberty and Staten Island. Or, on Jul. 11, check out the Hungry March Band, a Brooklyn-born brass-and-dance ensemble at One New York Plaza, btw South and Whitehall sts., in the shadow of Manhattan’s southernmost skyscraper.
IN New YORK | july 2013 | innewyork.com
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