In NYC, I often go to bed feeling butterflies in my stomach. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me.

Photo by Pampano

Address: 209 East 49th St. (3rd & 2nd Ave.)

Link: http://www.richardsandoval.com/pampano

Review: Pampano is a high end Mexican seafood spot located in Midtown East.  It’s not a far walk from Grand Central and it has really nice outdoor seating among the tall buildings in the area.  You have 2 options here – you can eat off the tapas menu downstairs at the bar if your looking for some small bites, or eat off the full dinner menu upstairs (either indoors or out).  Everything we tried was truly fantastic.  The scallops were prepared perfectly, the braised pork shoulder was savory and delicious and the lobster tacos and red snapper quesadillas were super tasty appetizers.  They also have good specialty cocktails, nice decor and quick, friendly service.  So if you’re in the mood for some great Mexican food but want to keep it on the healthy side, this is a great spot to bring your date for a nice night out.

1) BXL East: http://bxlcafe.com/ (210 East 51^st St., Street New York, NY 10022)

This has to be one of my all time favorite Belgian beers bars and it is a great start for a big night of beer tasting and food if you would like.  Every time I have been there I have tasted a new beer.  They have a solid Trappist menu with some fun beers on tap including KWAK.  Word to the wise, this place gets very busy on Friday nights so I added this spot to my pub crawl on a Saturday night when it slows down a bit.  You can always find a seat at the bar and most of the time they have live music.  As for food, I love the burgers and always get a BXL cheeseburger.  Aside from the extensive beer menu I sometimes glance at the fridge to see if there are one or two beers they don’t have displayed on the menu.  Feel free to ask the bartenders who have always been friendly about a new beer to try.  I would recommend the POPPERINGS HOMMEL ALE and you will not be disappointed.  This is a Belgian IPA but very different to the IPAs you get in the states.

2) Hillstone: http://www.hillstone.com/hillstone/   (153 East 53^rd St., New York, NY 10022)

So this is not a traditional bar and doesn’t really belong on a beer trail but it fits into my lineup and does have a few features that make it worth a stop.  They have a very cool bar which is laid out really nicely.  They also have a Jazz band playing live music every night.  The food is ok and you can get burgers and fries severed at the bar.  In general, it is a pleasant bar that does not get too loud.  I will mention this is a chain restaurant and the beer menu is not great.  There are only two beers worth mentioning; one is a summer beer from the Dominican Republic called Presidente and the other which is the MAIN reason why Hillstone is part of the crawl –  Brooklyn Local One.  BK Local is a sweet Saison and is probably one of the tastiest beers around.  Also, it is brewed here in New York.  BK Local is not to be missed!

3) Bierhaus http://bierhausnyc.com/  (712 3rd Avenue New York, NY 10017) between 44th and 45th

This is a unique bar in Manhattan.  It is designed as a German beer hall and you have to climb one level of stairs to get to the bar.  Upon entering, you will find a huge room with a glass roof and beer hall benches.  This is a nice find in Midtown East with a welcoming, friendly atmosphere and a good stop on the beer crawl.  Also, not a bad a place for a quick snack such as the sausages which defiantly go well with the beer.  Only 5 beers are available, all on tab and all very German.  My favorite is probably Hofbräu Bock which at 8.5% is a little strong and you can’t really drink it very quickly.  I find it to be a full sort of heavy tasting beer, nonetheless it is delicious and a worthy addition to the beer crawl.

4) The Ginger Man: http://www.gingerman-ny.com/  (11 east 36th street, New York, NY 10016)

The best thing about this bar is nothing comes close to it for many streets and avenues.  It can easily be mistaken for a frat bar in Murray hill but certainly is not one.  This is a serious beer bar with a very impressive selection on tap and bottle.  It also has a basic food menu that does the job (especially on the last stop for the night.)  There is a wide selection of bottled beers and an impressive list of Belgian beer.  Just a note, this is not solely a Belgian bar so they have a nice list of beers from all around the world.  They also have a long list of beers on draught.  This bar rounds out a great night of beer especially for those who love to try different styles.  On another night (when you aren’t following my pub crawl) you could easily just come here and spend a lot of time going through their big selection .

My new abode is in Midtown West, just south of Columbus Circle & Central Park and blocks away from Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood with a streetscape of popular restaurants and bars. Now I just need a new job to afford eating out more.

Anyway, onto the food – today’s post is pizza-themed! I recently visited two popular gourmet pizza spots in Manhattan with a few friends, so why not pile the photos into one delicious post?

As I mentioned in my last post, my friend Kristen was in town for a couple days recently, and with limited time and budget, we decided to head to Lombardi’s Pizza in Little Italy for lunch. A popular tourist hotspot, Lombardi’s opened in 1905 and claims to have been America’s first pizzeria.

Kristen and I decided to split a small original pizza (fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce, romano & fresh basil… mmm) with homemade meatballs:

Original Pizza with Homemade Meatballs ($19.50)

More recently, I was visiting a friend in Murray Hill and headed to Vezzo Thin Crust Pizza per recommendation. The word vezzo supposedly means ‘charm, endearment’ in Italian, and this restaurant exudes a fitting allure with its relaxed atmosphere and demure interior design (similar to Lombardi’s - I guess the look of exposed brick with diffused lighting goes hand in hand with gourmet pizzerias).

Kathy, Jon & I decided to each get personal house pies to so we could mix & match three different pizzas in total. Apologies for the photo quality – I blame that dark lighting!

For me, a Classica house pie with with marinara sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella & basil:

Classica House Pie ($10)

Jon got a Shroomtown house pie, which has marinara sauce, cheese, portobello, shitake, button mushrooms and white truffle oil:

Shroomtown ($12.50)

Kathy got the Salsiccia Dolce house pie, marinara sauce and cheese, sweet Italian sausage, caramelized onions & basil:

Salsiccia Dolce House Pie ($11.50)

Thanks for reading! I have a lot of posts to catch up on, but for now, I’m off to campus to run some errands. Can’t believe school is starting next week, AAHH!!

After a little Yelp-ing, I discovered this beautiful urban oasis:

A waterfall? In New York City? Yes, really. No, not naturally.

This gorgeous little green retreat, called Greenacre Park, was just a 10 minute walk from my office on Park Ave. This well-landscaped courtyard was discretely nestled between two buildings in the east 50s near 3rd Ave, right in the heart of otherwise boring corporate New York. If you are not familiar with Midtown NYC, basically it’s just a bunch of high-rise office buildings and delis and cafes to feed the many people who work in those office buildings. There are many-laned, busy streets, wide and crowded sidewalks, many suits, and no trees. It’s probably the version of New York non-city people would cite as to why they are NOT city people.

But then, just when you least expect it, you can turn the corner and find something lovely like this. It was quite crowded with other working people during the lunch hour, and it was refreshing to see a lot of other people brown-bagging it. Some people had come with a co-worker or two, but most were enjoying a little peace of mind. Some were simply reading. It was love at first sight for me and this little park. I’ll definitely be returning often, for as long as the weather here stays this lovely!

This is the slightly elevated area of the park where you enter from the street. There were a bunch of these little cafe-style tables nestled under a shady canopy of trees.

New York is always full of surprises. As I was walking back to my office, I came across this interesting site, among all the run-of-the-mill skyscrapers (Not that I take skyscrapers for granted…skyscrapers are an awesome feat of engineering/architecture and use of limited space. Go humans!):

Obviously this is an older picture. But look at those arches! What’s a pretty, not-so-little thing like this doing in Midtown East?

After a lot of Google mapping and struggling to remember the route I took back to work, I learned this is The Raquet and Tennis Club. Yeah, I didn’t get it either, but Wikipedia told me that this is a private, ultra-exclusive, formerly men’s-only social and athletic club. Construction was completed in 1918 on this Italian Renaissance-style building. See? You learn something new everyday.

Also, when I was walking, I saw a large group of Asians wearing business professional attire all using their phones/digital cameras to snap the same photo (of the MetLife building) at the same time while stopped before a crosswalk. It was the sort of moment when I wished I had a camera and photography skills to capture it, but instead I just had to resort to writing the last sentence.

Speaking of other surprises, this morning when I got off the elevator at work, there were TV cameramen filming the realty people from Keller Williams NYC, who share our floor (and restrooms and break room). Crazy, huh? I’m not sure what it was for. Facebook inquiries suggested it might have been HGTV’s Selling New York, but I don’t really know. I recall seeing at least on KW guy on the show in the past, but I don’t remember what he looked like at all.

Anyway, I like my job so far, and I would even if the Greenacre Park wasn’t so close by. I got to write two short web stories today, and even though they were simple summaries of press releases, it was nice to crank out a couple of articles again. I am trying to teach myself a bunch of the InDesign keyboard shortcuts during any downtime, but I don’t know what a lot of the Mac OS shortcut symbols even mean, so then I have to study this chart, too. It’s been a while since I spent any significant time on a Mac. It makes me feel so very out-of-touch with technology because I struggle even to “right-click.” For you Windows loyalists who are confused, Mac mice don’t come with right-click buttons, so you have to click “control” while clicking the only mouse button.

To conclude, I’ll post this charming artistic rendition of Adobe Photoshop, an imagining of what the computer program would be like if it were a “real” work station instead of a computer program. (I’ve been playing with  working on Photoshop at work too, doing cutouts and stuff. Really, it is not fair that some of us get to play with photographs and get paid for it.)

If Photoshop were real…

After rolling our luggage nine blocks up Lexington Avenue, my wife and I were happy to finally arrive at the entrance of the Double Tree by Hilton Metropolitan Hotel or Doubletree Met for short. We could actually see the hotel from a few blocks away as it displayed a vertical Double Tree sign spanning several stories fashioned in a mid-century style. The marquee above the entrance showed a more contemporary look. Crossing the entrance threshold, a modern looking registration area presented itself front and center with a simple, yet elegant lobby and lounge located directly to the right. Since we checked in around 6:30 p.m. there wasn’t much of a line. A front desk attendant assisted us almost instantly. She verified our reservation for three nights in the Presidential Suite. “What, the Presidential Suite?” I said in disbelief, thinking there must be some kind of mistake. We had booked our reservation as a hot travel deal through Travelzoo, assuring an excellent rate of $169 a night for Friday and Saturday and $119 for Sunday night. Obviously nothing in the fine print guaranteed the potential consumer a night in the second best room of the house! After having the attendant re-verify the rates, my wife and I bubbled up with excitement, still shocked that we secured such rocking accommodations. Although a bit perplexing at first as to how this good fortune had found us, an epiphany about what may have happened surfaced in my mind.
I followed Double Tree on twitter and about a week before our trip to New York there was a tweet saying that the president of Double Tree wanted to here from you (the public that is). Taking the bait, I tweeted back that I had been a long time fan of the Hilton brand and that I was about to embark on my first stay at a Double Tree at their Manhattan Midtown East location. Not expecting a response, you can imagine my surprise when he tweeted back to me a few days before the trip wishing me a great stay at the Double Tree Met and to enjoy New York. He had also sent the reply to Double Tree in general and the Double Tree Met specifically. Not thinking anything else would come of it, I happily replied, giving him my thanks and assuring that we would have a great time. Not knowing exactly what went down, there must have been some additional communication regarding my accommodations between the president and the Double Tree Met, or rather the Double Tree Met took matters into their own hands having received the communiqué from the president. My guess is that having not sold the Presidential Suite during our stay, they upgraded us due to our twitter interactions. They had even pre-registered our stay. Regardless of how it all went down, what an awesome treat that I can only ascribe to the power of social media and twitter specifically.

The Presidential Suite comprised the best of a New York stay. I had heard that New York hotel rooms were are on the small side, but this suite defied such odds. Upon entering the room a small vestibule separated the living area and breakfast nook to the right and the bedroom to the left. Also immediately on each side of the vestibule bathrooms conveniently were placed with the one on the bedroom side containing a contemporary shower minus the bathtub. The living area maintained simple yet functional furniture, the same going for the  breakfast nook. On top of the breakfast table we noticed a tray with all types of goodies such as cheeses, crackers, cupcakes, Voss water, and a welcome note in envelope addressed to me. The note and welcoming tray  was such a nice touch to make us feel at home! The best aspect of the room involved windows that stretched across the whole expanse, which when the curtains were drawn revealed  a beautiful view of Lexington Ave. facing uptown.

The bedroom featured a king-sized bed that my wife and I absolutely loved. We are a bit picky regarding our hotel beds, but the comfort we felt from this one coupled by the awesome nights of sleep could not be beat. A simple headboard with photo artwork depicting the city  hung above the bed. That motif of photo artwork portraying the city popped up through out the suite, in the living areas and bathrooms to boot. Overall impressions of the room left me feeling a great sense of comfort from the size, layout, and a style both contemporary and functional. No doubt the bar has been set high for subsequent visits to New York.

The best amenities of the hotel included the fitness center and lounge. The fitness center, located on the second floor, maintained a nice array of strength conditioning and cardiovascular equipment. I looked forward to my morning run on the treadmill everyday overlooking the action on the corner of 51^st and Lexington. The lounge as previously mentioned positioned itself next to Registration and the lobby. Small and open, yet chic and dim enough to conjure a romantic ambiance, it provided a great opportunity for a night cap or late night snack. It also so happened to be a great place to people watch due to its open floor plan and proximity to the lobby and registration.

It may be hard to top the experience I had staying at the Doubletree Met for my first visit to New York. The hotel has a fantastic location, with a subway station right there and short walks to Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, 5^th Avenue shopping, and Central Park. The unexpected upgrade to the Presidential Suite set the tone for our visit and guaranteed comfort and rest for the duration of our stay. Finally, the value thanks to the Travelzoo deal meant more money to spend in the city. I want to pose a question to those who read this blog post. What has been your favorite hotel experience while visiting New York? Stay tuned for the final installment of New York, Baby where I talk about my favorite touristic highlights of the Big Apple!

What I like most about Kati Roll is that their menu is diverse and has great ingredients. They specialize in Kati Rolls (a traditional type of Indian street food), and bring street food into a restaurant setting in a casual yet special way. A lot of the rolls include a layer of beaten egg inside, which is extremely good in every roll that I’ve tried with eggs. They use hand-made traditional flatbreads for all of their rolls and you can choose between the Paratha (original griddled bread) or the Roti (whole wheat roasted bread). Unlike Roti Roll, Kati Roll only offers the rolls, no other dishes, but their menu has something for everyone, with vegetarian options as well as a variety of meats and seafood. Their menu spans from the basic Unda Roll (flatbread layered with a griddled, freshly beaten egg), to the Achari Paneer Roll (grilled Indian cottage cheese cubes, marinated in a spicy pickle), to the Shrimp Masala Roll (grilled tiger shrimp, marinated in coconut milk and spices), and many more!

Chicken Tikka Roll ($5.00)

My favorite roll is the Unda Aloo Roll (spicy mashed potatoes with a layer of beaten eggs). Their prices are reasonable and pretty comparable to Roti Roll’s. You can choose to get an order of one roll or two, and if you get two it’s a mini deal! The rolls range from $3.50-$6.75 each (or $6.00-$12.50 for two), depending on which roll you get and they are pretty filling, no matter which one you get so whether you get one or two, it’s definitely a good deal! I usually only get one because I can’t finish two… The rolls are wrapped tightly and well, which is nice because it makes them really easy to eat on the go and sitting down.

This time, I got the Chicken Tikka Roll (grilled chicken cubes, marinated in yoghurt and spices), which is $5.00 for one or $9.00 for two. I took it to go, and it actually stayed hot in their insulated bag all the way from the Village home to the Upper West Side! It was really good, but really spicy so I had to pace myself. I don’t have a high spice tolerance, but if you’re someone who loves spicy food, Kati Roll offers a lot of spicy options. The chicken was tender and not cooked to the point of being dry, but it was flavorful and had absorbed all of the good spices and yoghurt. There were also onions mixed in, which added a good variety of spice to the roll. The flatbread itself was incredibly good (as it always is), and full of its own flavor. I went with the regular Paratha. The flatbread is really great for the spicier rolls because it balances out some of the heat! The Chicken Tikka Roll was definitely good but I might have to go back to a milder roll next time!

The Kati Roll Company: http://www.thekatirollcompany.com/

• Greenwich Village: 99 MacDougal Street (between Bleecker St. and West 3rd St.)
• Midtown West: 49 West 39th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)
• Midtown East: 229 East 53rd Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)

A good idea? (DCP)

In its final grand zoning gesture, the Bloomberg administration is racing to rezone Midtown East, paving the way for what could be a wave of huge, skyline defining towers. But in an essay in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, Richard Florida seems to warn that that could be the wrong approach for New York, as it has been the case in other hyper-dense cities.

In the hyper-crowded skyscraper districts of Shanghai, densities can approach 125,000 people per square mile. Giant buildings often function as vertical suburbs, muting the spontaneous encounters that provide cities with so much of their social, intellectual and commercial energy. People live their lives indoors in such places, wearing paths between their offices and the food courts, always seeing the same people.

In terms of innovation and creative impetus, Shanghai pales in comparison to New York, London, Paris and Milan, not to mention high-tech hubs like Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, Seattle, Boston, Austin and North Carolina’s research triangle, all of which have much lower densities.

He goes on to explain that it is the “Jacobs Density,” named for—yep—Jane Jacobs, that makes these places successful. Not just a lot of people, but a lot of people interacting (notice Dallas and Phoenix, two of our biggest cities, don’t make the cut).

And even within our well-balanced cities, where does the real magic happen?

Look at New York City. Its hubs of innovation aren’t the great skyscraper districts that house established corporate and financial headquarters, media empires and wealthy people (an increasing number of whom are part-time residents who hail from the ranks of the global super-rich). The city’s recent high-tech boom—500 start-ups in the last half decade, among them Kickstarter and Tumblr—is anchored in mid-rise, mixed-use neighborhoods like the Flatiron District, Midtown South, Chelsea and TriBeCa.

Not to mention Brooklyn.

This may not be entirely fair to the office rats clamoring around Midtown and Downtown because many of them do wind up in the Village, Chelsea and Park Slope after hours, relaxing, rejuvenated, sharing ideas. The Garment District, Times Square, the museums and non-profits uptown, all are home to smart people living ontop of one another.

And if anything, the administration wants to use the bigger buildings to help fund improvements to the streetscape in Midtown, from wider subway platforms to the new plans for Vanderbilt Avenue becoming a grand pedestrian mall. Just so long as we do not wind up with a string of Zuccotti Parks, everything just might work out.

Tourists and some ” others”, by “others” I mean people who do not know anything about NYC, might be scared of trying a food truck, or anything that doesn’t have a door , but this just makes all Uncle Gussy’s customers glad, more for us and less for you fools.

You can describe Uncle Gussy’s as you wish, but my tag line or SMS to people I like and want to share this awesomeness with goes : ” 51st and Park, Best 5 dollars spent in your life” .

And please, don’t you dare ask or call it ” ohh it’s just a gyro”  cause  it is not, it’s Greek, it’s amazing and let me tell you, that a block long line goes by in quick 5 minutes, and before you know it, you are standing in front of the most polite person you ever met, taking your order, and as if that’s not enough, he will remember your order the next day too. ( although you are 1 among the 100 people he serves in an hour ).

Some people look forward to Friday’s because it’s almost the weekend, at my job, we look forward to Friday, because it’s Uncle Gussy’s lunch date.

Stand by for live pictures by following me on @fnoghani, or just find your Greek yourself in you and you will find a Blue and White Truck on Southeast corner of 51 st and Park Avenue.

My niece selected the Tao Lo Mein with Roast Pork. What can I say about the lo mein…? felt kinda like when I tasted fresh handmade pasta for the first time-AWAKE! The noodles were so fresh. Its like we both never had good lo mein prior to this experience. What a drastic difference from chinese take-out lo mein, SMH.

Overall, I had a lovely evening. Our waiter was nice, no exceptional service. And although I could have easily spent over $200 tasting half the menu the bill was less than $100 (probably because I skipped cocktails-lol). Please note TAO also offers a prix fix lunch menu. I point this out again because the bill can quickly add up. Fresh lo mein and ambience is reason enough to return to TAO and I’m pretty sure the sushi is excellent there too. It’s a nice way to spend your Friday night!

42 East 58th Street  New York, NY 10022
(212) 888-2288

www.taorestaurant.com

Neilly Spillane’s is your classic Irish pub. Their website and signs listed pretty decent drink and lunch specials on a regular basis. It looked like everyone was there for the Groupon brunch coupon and taking full advantage of the cocktails. Our waitress would promptly refill our mimosas every time we took a sip.

The paper placemats was covered in cocktails, and we had a fun time going through the list to see which ones we’ve tried. Turns out I am a more adventurous cocktail drinker than John. Unfortunately, there was a light fixture right behind me, causing my iPhone to cast a shadow in every single photo of the table/food.This place only has 3 brunch entrees: steak and eggs, eggs and bacon, western omelet. When you take the pricing of each entree into consideration, the steak and eggs ($12.95) is the obvious choice. I have never had steak before. EVER. My family doesn’t eat beef. When I got to college, I never got around to trying it. Plus, I generally don’t eat all that much meat. Someone on Yelp mentioned that Nelly Spillane’s serves a very modest serving, so I figured, why not? If I don’t like it, I’m sure John could finish it. The idea of possibly eating 2 steaks made John really happy. He also ordered the same entree. Poached eggs are my favorite, but I had a feeling they wouldn’t know how to prepare that properly, so I ordered over easy instead. I asked for the steak to be well done. Eggs were good, home fries needed salt, steak was quite tasty. Ordering it well done brought out the flavors. It wasn’t overly chewy – chewing it revealed more flavor. I understand why people make such a big deal about steak. I’m sure what I had here isn’t even that impressive. This was a small prime sirloin cut, but it was plenty of steak for me and quite a treat. Gosh, one of these days, I need to visit a solid steakhouse to get some of the good stuff. According to the Groupon, this would normally be $70+ for two people. Seriously? That is ridiculous. The food were decent, but the portions were in the small to average-sized range. Service was great, and they let us enjoy mimosas for the full 2 hours. We left with a nice buzz, which made watching Ted an extra hilarious movie. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be back unless we have another coupon as there are many more brunch places in NYC with better food and ambiance.

Sutton Place (on E54th & Lexington) has the “everyman appeal.”

mad46 on the 19th floor of the Roosevelt Hotel (E42nd & Lexington) tries a little harder.

Last year’s newbie, Gansevoort Park has plenty of wrap-around terraces on its sundeck and that better-than-you downtown vibe, without the taxi ride.

Honorable mentions for the rooftop at the Bentley Hotel (E62nd Street), Upstairs at the Kimberly Hotel (E50th St.) and the trying-to-be-trendy Renaissance New York Hotel 57′s newly renovated rooftop with incredible close-up views of the Chrysler building as you down your mojito.

It is big. No, really big. Bigger than almost anything the city has ever seen. Empire State Building big. While that will not be the case for every tower that is eventually built through the program, it could be for at least a few.

The parameters, unveiled at Community Board 5 last night, are close to what had been previously hinted at, an area stretching from 39th Street up to 57th Street, emanating out from Grand Central. Fifth Avenue has been eliminated from the original study area, as has the northern reaches of Third and Lexington avenues, which were considered too residential. Still, the plan affects all or part of 74 blocks in the heart of the city.

Far fewer of them will be developed because a provision in the plan limits development sites to only those that stretch the length of an entire avenue blockfront, and they must sit on a site that covers at least 25,000 square feet, or a little more than half an acre. Still, that is already the case for many Midtown towers, including landmarks like the Seagram and Lipstick buildings, for example. The bigger challenge would be emptying old towers of tenants so new buildings can be built.

Just how big? As suggested at another public meeting last month, the focus of the rezoning is on the blocks surrounding Grand Central Terminal as well as the length of Park Avenue to 57th Street. Surrounding avenues will see their density bumped up slightly, from a floor area ratio of 15 to 18 (excuse the technical numbers for a moment). Park Avenue and the Grand Central subdistrict, which will expand one block north to 49th Street and two blocks south to 39th Street, between Madison and Lexington Avenues, will have an FAR of 21.6. A new Grand Central core district will be created for the blocks immediately around Grand Central with an FAR of 24. (See: map.)

To put that all in perspective, the massive Pan Am/MetLife tower that currently looms over Grand Central has an FAR of 18. City Planning pointed to the old Bear Stearns headquarters around the corner, at 383 Madison Avenue, as having an FAR of 21.6. One Bryant Park, just down 42nd Street, hits 24 FAR, and is one of the biggest buildings in the city. Frank Ruchala, the project manager for the rezoning from the Department of City Planning, mapped out scenarios with towers rising between 575 feet and 700 feet  on Park Avenue and between 700 and 800 feet around Grand Central, approaching the height of 30 Rockefeller Center.

“We think that’s what’s appropriate to build the kinds of building we need,” Mr. Ruchala said. After all, this plan is predicated on preparing the Central Business District for a major modernization over the coming decades.

But the fun does not end there. All these big new buildings can be built as of right, meaning no cumbersome public reviews. But should a developer wish to aim high, really high, they can go for an additional FAR bonus, a jump to 24 along Park and around Grand Central, while the Grand Central core subdistrict, the eleven small blocks around the train station, jumps up to a whopping 30 FAR, on par with the skyline defining Empire State Building (FAR of 33, the only thing in town that comes close). As if to drive this point home, City Planning’s presentation showed a spindly tower, which looked not unlike the MoMA tower it once rejected, piercing the skyline above Grand Central.

To achieve this, a developer must submit to a special permit, requiring the standard (and often torturous) public reviews. There would be a considerable emphasis on quality design, both at the top of the building, which would almost certainly take a prominent place on the skyline, as well as at the base, where “a significant public space” would be required, as Edith Hsu-Chen, director of the Department of City Planning’s Manhattan office, put it.

Mr. Ruchala framed it in terms of global competitiveness. “If you look around the world, you see iconic building being built in every major city,” he said. “We invented that.” He then showed a slide of the Chrysler Building, Seagram Building and Lever House.

These greater heights do not come for free, however. For a boost ranging from 25 to 100 percent of the current zoning, developers would have to buy their air rights either from local landmarks or a city-sponsored Development Investment Bonus. The numbers are still far from final on this, but the project would hope to generate many millions of dollars to fund improvements to the streets and subways.

The city has only identified two projects so far, the most critical of which seems to be better routes through the Grand Central subway stations for the Lexington Ave and No. 7 trains, though attention is also being paid to stops along 53rd Street. “The 4/5/6 is at 116 percent capacity,” Raju Mann, chair of the board’s transportation committee, pointed out warily. “We need to think seriously about solving this problem, and make sure there are sufficient resources to do so.”

The other big public works project—of which there could be more, the city is still soliciting ideas—is the already controversial closure of Vanderbilt Avenue. A drawing of the plan reveals that the crosstown traffic lanes will remain open, essentially creating plazas out in front of the new and old buildings, similar to Times Square but without the traffic of 7th Avenue rushing by. Access to Grand Central would still be provided by the block between 43rd and 44th streets (just missing the slightly incensed Yale Club, two of whose members spoke at the hearing).

As for those old buildings not quite big enough to cash in on all the new air rights being thrown around, if they were built before the 1961 zoning code, and thus have more FAR than current zoning might allow, developers will be allowed to tear down their buildings and build to the old densities, a move seen as helping replace many outdated buildings—nearly 80 percent in the area are older than 50 years, according to the city.

While supportive of the idea, the community board was taken aback by many of the proposals. “The amount of density here is incredible, and I applaud the city for being ambitious” Mr. Mann said. “But I don’t think many of the issues have been thought through that will keep Midtown from being overwhelmed.”

One of the biggest issues was the decision to allow bigger buildings if their designs were deemed to be of sufficient quality. There was widespread concern about who would determine that—the City Planning Commission and the City Council—and why every building in the district should not be held to the same standard if Midtown was so important to begin with, as the city officials kept insisting. “Thirty FAR scares the hell out of me,” board member Miele Rockefeller said. Member Matthew Scheid countered that “I’m fine with 30 FAR, but I don’t understand why it’s not 40 FAR or 25 FAR. You haven’t explained the rationale for the numbers.”

As with a previous meeting, historic preservation was a hot topic, with many board members concerned that there would not be enough time for the Landmarks Preservation Commission to survey and protect buildings of historical or cultural significance. Especially now, given the economic incentive developers would have to tear down their buildings, since the rezoning has been outlined, the task would be even harder. “I think there’s wide recognition that this is a special area, and there are special buildings in this area,” Edward Klimerman said.

There were also widespread concerns about whether the sale of development rights would be sufficient to cover the costs of the needed improvements. “The city paid for the improvements to Times Square,” land-use vice-chair Giuseppe Scalia pointed out. “Why are developers being given millions of square feet to do it here?”

But the biggest issue was not so much policy as politics. The city is putting what it calls a sunrise provision into the plan, which means that no buildings can be built under the new zoning until five years from now, in the summer of 2017. This is meant as a protection for the city’s considerable investment in Hudson Yards—Mr. Ruchala called that “our top priority”—but that left many on the board wondering why this rezoning could not simply wait five years. Their explanation, at times implicit, occasionally explicit, was that the administration, and its partners in Big Real Estate did not feel it could wait. Ms. Hsu-Chen said simply that developers needed time to plan for their projects.

“There was this idea that came out in the media that we were looking to destroy half of Midtown,” Mr. Ruchala said. “We’re not looking to do that, and we don’t think that’s possible. We’re looking to create some development for the future.”

This past weekend I went to New York to visit my friend Roscoe (yes, I’ve mentioned him before on this blog), who I’ve known since middle school.  He moved out to New York in March or so, and I was really looking forward to the trip.  Here is my weekend…in photos.

On Thursday night after my long flight in, I met up with Roscoe and we settled on a place for dinner in East Village.  We went to Caracas Arepa Bar, a Venezuelan arepas restaurant  which was amazing.  Arepas are somewhat like papusas, and after trying a few my favorite was “La del Gato”, with guayanés cheese, fried sweet plantains, and avocado slices.   Plus, the bar had micheladas (beer with chile, lime, and a bit of honey) so we knew they were legit.

Micheladas at Caracas Arepa Bar…mmmm

After dinner, we walked down to “Alphabet Park” (Tompkins Square Park), and saw that someone had set up a giant projector screen and was playing “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, the street art documentary by Banksy.  We sat and watched a bit of it, and I was very excited because I had seen it weeks before when I returned from France, but my extreme jet lag had caused me to sleep through the end of it.  This way, I was able to finish the movie!

People at the park

After that, we walked from 7th street to Roscoe’s house on 49th, weaving across the city and seeing places on the way.  We stopped at several parks, and made our way to Rockefeller Center.  We then headed home to rest for our busy weekend.

Rockefeller Center. I am a big 30 Rock fan, so I was pretty stoked.

Friday morning we went to breakfast with Roscoe’s roommate, Marty, and then headed over to Chelsea to walk the High Line.  The High Line is an approximately 1.5 mile long public park built on a previous elevated rail structure.  There used to be some sort of train that went along this line, and once it closed down the city kept the old rail tracks and turned the whole area into a park.  It was so cool!

Plants coming up through the old tracks at the High Line

Walking along the High Line

A shaded section of the High Line that goes under a tunnel. Lots of food and shops here, and this weekend particularly there were lots of popsicles

Mid-way through the High Line, we walked off the main drag and down to Chelsea Market.  There were all kinds of cute shops inside, and I stopped to get a white nectarine and mint popsicle.  Refreshing.

Chelsea Market

Once we finished our pit-stop at Chelsea Market and walked the rest of the High Line, we then walked down to the pier to meet back up with Roscoe’s roommate.  We went to the Frying Pan, an old boat and adjoining dock that have all been converted into a bar.  There we drank white sangria and a pitcher of beer to cool down, and enjoyed some fries as we adjusted to the swaying bar.  Perhaps constant swaying is not the best idea for a bar full of drunk people, but it becomes much more tolerable once you’ve had a few glasses of sangria.

“See that over there?? THAT’S New Jerrrrsey….” **wrinkled nose**. Spoken like a true New Yorker

White Sangria with Mango

After a long day full of snacking, we headed back to Roscoe’s house before finally setting on a place for late dinner.  We went to a delicious little place called Caffe Linda, right by his house, and then ended up walking around the city trying to find my favorite ice cream truck from LA (to no avail).  Eventually after a bit of shopping, we went back and called it a night.

Drummers performing in the middle of UNIQLO, a Japanese store that was all over NYC

We stopped at the Lego store on the way back to get a gift for my nephew

Had to stop by Time Square, just to say I had

Saturday morning we tried to beat the heat (although we didn’t get up as early as planned) and headed over to Central Park.  We enjoyed the waffle cart for breakfast, and then walked along the park to people watch.  We saw a group of people playing drums, and a guy creating giant bubbles.  After walking through the park until I was thoroughly overheated and complaining, we went to the Met for a majority of the day.

View from a rock at Central Park

Pan Flute Band…ha.

The Bubbler

By the lake in Central Park

The Met, because everyone should have their own temple.  

After thoroughly enjoying the Met, we had a quick lunch, and then walked through Central Park on a mission to finally find CoolHaus–my favorite ice cream truck from LA.  We tracked them down, and got to try all the flavors.  I settled on a Guinness chip ice cream with s’more cookies, and Roscoe ended up getting chicken and waffle flavored ice cream.  He not only had to (because it is his namesake), but it was really surprisingly delicious.

Delicious CoolHaus Ice Cream Sammies…talk about heaven

When we finally finished licking our sticky fingers clean, we stopped by Roscoe’s office on Columbus Circle, and I was thrilled to get a big glass of water and cool down.  Roscoe showed me the Good Housekeeping floor (in the same building as him), and I was so excited to see where they have the test kitchen and everything.  You could see all the various washing machines they had tried through the window.

In front of the various items with their “Seal of Approval”. So excited

Saturday night, we went from Roscoe’s office to SoHo and did some late night shopping (still full from the Sammies).  We then stopped quickly in Midtown East to drop off our bags, and went out with some of Roscoe’s friends on the Lower East Side.  Fun night!

Sunday morning we met up in Williamsburg to see my friend Bailey (who I have known since high school), and meet her boyfriend Kieffer for brunch.  We went to Le Comptoir, which was a delicious french place that had bottomless mimosas/bloody marys.  Yum yum yum.

My delicious Croque Madame!

Roscoe and I post-brunch outside of Le Comptoir

Post-brunch with Bailey

Post-brunch we walked around Williamsburg for a bit before heading back so I could pack up.  After a long flight, I made it home safe and sound to San Francisco.  Phew!  Now time to relax (and get back to work).

Street Sales

Enjoying the town