Marion Bernstein

In partnership with Verizon, NYC Media Lab today announced the launch of the $1M Museum Initiative—a nationwide open call for museums and cultural institutions to develop and offer new educational content on the Verizon Innovative Learning HQ portal.

After a string of impersonal, unfulfilling jobs, and losing his mother to breast cancer in 2017, Sam was craving community. In December 2018, he joined his mother’s family on the Oregon coast, bought a major fixer upper, and invested in a boat. Sam caught scores of salmon, smoked them, and gave the fillets away to friends and family. Soon enough, the demand greatly exceeded the supply, and Sam knew he was working with something special.

Most great rivers that rival the Columbia’s expanse have a delta where collected sediment (desert sand, volcanic ash, rich topsoil, etc.) creates a small, flat landmass where the river water slows before ambling into the ocean; not the Columbia. Without the presence of a mitigating delta, the Columbia rushes full-speed into the Pacific with fire hydrant-force.

High demand for seafood and advances in technology have led to unsustainable fishing practices—like purse seining and longlining—that continue to deplete fish populations around the world. Purse seine fishing utilizes a large net to herd fish together and envelop them by pulling the net’s drawstring. Longlining is an unsustainable fishing practice in which a 62-mile line with thousands of baited hooks is dragged behind a boat.

In 1989, my mother moved three kids, two cats, two birds, one dog, and her newly-minted husband from a somewhat normal suburban life in northern New Jersey to a deteriorating 22-room Victorian mansion in southern Delaware. Locally famous for its age and size, the Harrington townies affectionately knew it as "The Fleming Mansion."

Mix one part Luxardo maraschino liqueur with one part ephemera and you’ve got Behind The Wood, New York’s newest craft cocktail pop-up bar operating on Friday and Saturday nights inside Venturo Osteria & Wine Bar in Sunnyside, Queens. Aiming to fill Sunnyside’s glaring void of late night cocktail haunts, BTW co-founders Mashia Baldwin and Scott Scaffidi officially opened the pop-up on July 24, and thankfully, the two veteran bartenders have big plans to stay open through December, changing up their seasonally themed craft cocktail menu every two months.

Better known as the Bloody Mary, this iconic brunch cocktail can be traced back to the upscale St. Regis Hotel’s King Cole Bar, where in 1934, French bartender Fernand Petiot delivered on Serge Obolensky’s request for his famous vodka-tomato cocktail, only this time adding salt, pepper, lemon and Worcestershire. At the time, “Bloody Mary” was deemed too vulgar a name for the St. Regis’ upper crust clientele, and thus, the maritime moniker remained. King Cole Bar still pours the simple vodka- and tomato-based highball, now accented by a smoky kick of cayenne pepper.

A rolling-track ladder is a solid indicator of a good wine shop. Slope Cellars uses one to reach a wall-to-wall collection of global bottles, marked by an impressive assortment of French wines as well as a broad selection of $12-and-under offerings. Look for organic and local wines marked with a star.

This cramped, subterranean transit nave wasn’t always the catacomb of controlled chaos New Yorkers love to hate. Inspired by the Roman Baths of Caracalla and shaped from the same stone as the Colosseum, the original 1910 Penn was regarded as one of the most noble buildings in Manhattan. Sadly, the grand facade was destroyed in 1963, and in 1969, the city erected the fluorescent-lit battleship gray concourse you tolerate today.

It’s no surprise that the cocktail virtuosos at this knock-and-buzz Milk and Honey spinoff yield a traditional Sazerac so well-balanced it could bring Peychaud himself back from the dead. It’s this absinthe-rinse-served-on-the-side type of authenticity at the brushed-steel bar that’ll leave cocktail mavens glad they waited in line.

A derivative of the 18th century Blue Stocking Society—an English collective established to promote literature written for women, by women—this volunteer-powered bookstore, activist center and fair trade cafe stays true to its eponym housing over 6,000 titles on feminism, sexuality, anarchism, social justice and queer and gender studies. There’s even a case devoted to alternative menstrual products, affectionately labeled “BSTOX.” Check the events calendar for nightly readings, workshops, performances, discussions and films.

Conveniently located just a few steps from the Bedford Avenue L train, Dziupla is a rare combination of elevated quality and quantity in an area all too sadly known for its overpriced, mediocre-at-best eats. For the ultimate value, swing by during happy hour Monday through Friday from 4pm to 7pm, where you can indulge in $3 beers, $4 wines and half off all pierogies. At just $5 a plate, the chanterelle-topped spinach and goat cheese pierogies are one of the cheapest eats in all of NYC.

If you’re looking to get as close to nature as possible while basking in the glory of indoor plumbing, then this high-end glass cabin is for you. Nestled on a private six-acre lot blanketed by a lush fern forest, architect Adam Rolston’s modern-rustic design touts floor-to-ceiling windows along the entire length of the cabin. Guests can enjoy morning coffee on the private deck or evening cocoa in front of the Danish wood-burning stove.

Kalustyan’s is a chili head’s utopia. This two-story, packed-to-the-rafters ethnic grocery store is teeming with Middle Eastern and South Asian spices offered in coarse, powdered and liquid forms. When you’re done stocking up on harissa and Calabrian spread, head upstairs to the deli where you can sit and enjoy a house-made falafel sandwich dressed to the nines with lettuce, tomato, pickles, tahini and (of course) hot sauce.

Small but mighty, this independent shop has been serving Pratt scholars since 2001. Sam Lee is at the helm, eager to help his customers find the right sketchpad, chipboard or foamcore. Rumor has it he’s been known to make special deliveries and even keep the shop open after hours for students with last-minute art supply needs.