Year: 2011

The wrecking ball has done its work to Manhattan Diner, the beloved Greek spot that held down the corner of 77th Street and Broadway for 11 years.

Hey stamp collectors of the Upper West Side! Your dreams have come true: the neighborhood now has its very own postage stamp.

August 23, 2011 Weather: Mostly Sunny, High of 79 Degrees. Notices: If you'd like your photo to be featured on West Side Rag like @isardasorensen above, please email us or contact us via twitter. News: The striking workers at the Central Park Boathouse are telling people who pass by that ...

Momofuku Milk Bar will open at 561 Columbus Avenue around 87th Street in September, New York magazine reported (hat-tip to Eater). David Chang, the inventive chef behind East Village noodle emporium Momofuku and its various spin-offs, added Milk Bar about three years ago, with pastry chef Christina Tosi at the ...

This week, get ready for a film festival on the lawn just north of Sheep Meadow in Central Park starting Tuesday and a birthday bash for Whole Foods on 100th Street on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, you can basically eat all three meals for free at Whole Foods while ...

August 22, 2011 Weather: Sunny, High of 81 Degrees. Notices: This week, get ready for an outdoor film series in Central Park dedicated to films about music, a free screening of the Motorcycle Diaries, and the two year anniversary of Whole Foods in Columbus Square, along with tons of other ...

By Harriet Flehinger I’ve been writing an occasional column for two years about what I call “Aging in Action” which is  “Aging In Place” for those of us who really hate to stay still for long periods of time.  There’s a great Yiddish word for this “spilkes” which literally translate ...

We reported last month that the boutique clothing store Theory was moving from 71st Street and Columbus Avenue to 69th and Columbus, the old spot of makeup store Lancome. It was supposed to take a couple of months for the move to go down, but it turns out Theory has ...

It’s another dirty and gritty August in the city, the right time for obscure facts about NYC H2O and our city’s iconic water towers. The towers hold a special place in the hearts of many New Yorkers. Maybe it's a fetish for industrial architecture, or a longing for a time ...

Resist the urge to indulge in two full drunk brunches this weekend. Yes, the summer is almost over and your therapist just left for two weeks, but there's no reason to despair. Anyway, that's what I keep telling myself. Isn't the picture above, from a recent rainy day on Amsterdam ...

The Department of Transportation recently converted some old parking meters to bike racks on Columbus Avenue, attaching shiny silver circles onto the poles. They look somewhat like ancient alien symbols brought to earth for an M. Night Shyamalan movie, meaning the aliens will soon be here and will turn the ...

August 19, 2011 Weather: Scattered thunderstorms, High of 85 Degrees. Notices: At the barber yesterday on Columbus Avenue, I saw another customer casually reading a Playboy while he got his haircut. Beyond the initial shock, it made me feel strangely nostalgic. News: The trustee for bankrupt Tavern on the Green ...

City Councilwoman Gale Brewer is pushing the mayor to pay more attention to the explosion in the number of food trucks and carts in the city, and start to standardize enforcement. Among her ideas: track food trucks using GPS to find out where they are and where they're going; make ...

August 18, 2011 Weather: Scattered Thunderstorms, High of 86 Degrees. Notices: The voting is complete, and New Yorkers chose "A Star is Born" with Barbara Streisand as the final movie in next week's Central Park outdoor movie series. Was there really ever any doubt? News: Charles Mysak, who sells books ...

The Black Eyed Peas will hold a blowout concert in Central Park on September 30 to make up for the June concert that was rained out, the band announced today. People who had tickets to the original Concert 4 New York will get into the new concert, according to the ...

You know how cars instantly lose value as soon as you drive them off the lot? Smartphones and tablet computers seem to gain value once they become used. As soon as you've got your photos and documents on that handy device, losing it becomes almost unthinkable. So if you do ...

August 17, 2011 Weather: Mostly Sunny, High of 88 Degrees. Notices: There are two free outdoor movies tonight on our calendar! News: The city has created a special lane spanning nearly two whole blocks where only limos can park in front of the buildings on Riverside Boulevard overlooking the Hudson ...

Two retailers are placing bets that the Upper West Side is getting younger, or at least younger at heart. Athleta, a women's athletic apparel company owned by Gap, just opened a store at 70th Street and Columbus Avenue last week, selling athletic clothes and some more casual gear (though nothing ...

August 16, 2011 Weather: Thundershowers, High of 70 Degrees. Notices: It's Korea Day today at Central Park's Naumberg Bandshell. Try traditional Korean foods and listen to music from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the bandshell in the middle of the park just south of 72nd Street. Plus, free Kimchi! ...

Upper West Siders have been waiting for months -- numerous seasons in fact -- to find out when the new Century 21 will actually open in the space vacated by Barnes and Noble on 66th Street and Broadway many eons ago. Well, wait no more. On September 22, the 50th ...