Top 10 List: Reopening Trends You Need To Know About

Tracking the reopening has turned into a full-time gig for me

It’s 9/11 today and just as I never quit the city in the months after the World Trade Center attack, I simply can’t imagine leaving the city at this time.

  • This week was also supposed to be the start of my cross-country road trip but I am staying put because it’s far more exciting to be here to witness my city getting back on its feet.
  • The people of New York are getting their mojo back and in the process, transforming the city into a better, more creative, more welcoming metropolis. And it’s happening DESPITE all the impediments our bozo mayor puts in our way.
  • All my nomadic plans have been put on hiatus until next August when (fingers crossed) I will be departing on my next NatGeo trip.
  • In the meantime, I’m staying in the city to support New York in general and local businesses in particular, especially restaurants.
  • But I also know that just by being here I’m broadening my horizons. The last six months have been stressful AF but also empowering in a strange way, filled with new and unfamiliar experiences. I’ve met amazing people and become much closer to my longtime friends.
  • I also got out and about as soon as it was viable to do so. Being locked up at home is definitely not my thing.

As one of my favorite astrologers wrote this week:

Strive to make even the most trivial encounter a positive learning experience. The same function can be served by doing things that are different from your normal routine. This is not the time to retreat to your home.  Recognize that you are still eager for new understanding and satisfy this need by breaking out of your everyday mold and getting out into the broader world.

AstroDienst
Which brings me to This week’s Top 10 List

A big emphasis this week on art and entertainment. The artworld reopening warms the cockles of my heart. I am also thrilled to report that Brad (for those of you who know him) is in a major show of Contemporary Native Artists at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. It opened on September 4th and runs through January 3, 2021. If you’re heading to Phoenix or Scottsdale, check it out.

Scroll down for more on what made it onto this week’s Top 10 List.
1. The Art World Is Back, Baby!!

“We can’t just push everything off indefinitely. Art doesn’t wait, trembling in a corner, for things to change. Art finds a way.” 

Marc Glimcher, President/CEO Pace Gallery
Art Highlights of the week:

The Whitney reopened

Standouts include Agnes Pelton (Desert Transcendentalist), Making Knowing: Craft in Art featuring Simone Leigh and Liza Lou among others, and the Vida Americana show of Mexican muralists. Sheri Radel Rosenberg and I were in seventh heaven to be visiting a museum again for the first time in 6 months!

The Met Reopened:

Must-sees include the Roof Garden Commission by Hector Zamora, Photography’s Last Century, and I absolutely loved Thomas Hart Benton’s America Today mural.

I also have a restaurant reco near the MET:

  • Sistina at 81st Street between Fifth and Madison. Great food and great service. And contrary to the pic below (taken on my way to the MET), it was fully booked at lunch so make a reservation! Besides a great salad and sumptuous chocolate souffle, they also make a fabulous Campari and fennel aperitif!

Two Bridges Gallery district (hottest new arts hub in NYC):

This is going to be major. Way more exciting than Chelsea. 3 galleries not to be missed: M23 Project, ATM Gallery, and Lyles & King. All worth checking out.

2. Brad at The Heard Museum, Phoenix AZ

This show is a game-changer both for contemporary native artists and for the Heard.

“Brad Kahlhamer has serious art-world cred beyond the Native art world, as he has been exhibiting his edgy Native-punk-meets-pop work since the ’90s in numerous museums, galleries and art fairs internationally. His watercolor and painting work here is from a show he did at the experimental Loom Theater Gallery in Gallup, New Mexico, last year.”

Indian Country Today
  • Brad also has an upcoming one-man show (“Swap Meet”) scheduled to open at the Scottsdale Museum of Art in September 2021.
3. NEXT LEVEL street art murals (Source: Design Boom)

If anyone is in or near Utrecht, check this out! It’s by Dutch street artist Jan Is De Man, in collaboration with tattoo and graffiti artist Deef Feed. The trompe l’oeil mural features a three-level bookcase — one for each floor of the building. The selection of books includes both the artist’s and the building’s inhabitants’ favorites.

4. Queen Elizabeth Hosts a Drive-In Movie Theater (Source: House Beautiful)

Queen Elizabeth’s Norfolk residence Sandringham House is opening up for a series of drive-in movies.

  • From September 25 to 27, visitors can drive in to watch movies including Bohemian Rhapsody and Moana at the royal residence.
  • Tickets cost £32.50 (about $38) per car. Guests also have the option to purchase an upgrade that includes a deck chair, table, popcorn, and a separate area to the side of your vehicle.
  • There will also be street food vendors at each screening.

It’s a bit peculiar for the Royal Family to do this but they have lost £18million this summer from shutting tourist sites so apparently, like many of us, they’re pivoting and re-envisioning the family business!

5. Another sign of normalcy: Phish Rolls Back ‘Dinner And A Movie’ From Weekly To Monthly (Source: LiveForLiveMusic)

Since launching back in late March, the band’s Dinner and a Movie webcasts have brought the Phish community together with weekly virtual concert and dinner pairings.

But as bands get back to playing live via outdoor and drive-in performances, the frequency of their webcasts is dropping.

6. HUDSON YARDS & THE EDGE ARE BACK – WITH A BIG BOOST FROM THE VMAS!

Hudson Yards has been hit hard with many restaurants and their flagship store (Neiman Marcus) shuttering for good.

  • But then they partnered with the VMAS and suddenly Hudson Yards is looking HOT!!
  • Make sure you watch the video below. There’s not a young person coming to NYC who is not going to want to visit Hudson Yards after seeing the Weeknd perform atop the Edge!
  • I’m going to check it out next week and report back on how the reopening is going.
7. ’90s fashion returns to the 2020 US Open

It’s been a really strange US Open this year

  • None of the top men players are present after Novak Djokovic was ejected for accidentally knocking out a lineswoman with an angrily hit ball.
  • But one thing I have noticed is a mid-90’s Andre Agassi vibe complete with neon outfits and quasi-mullets. Several of the Gen Z male players sported this look but perhaps none more stylishly than Denis Shapovalov.
  • I also spotted a few of the players with hand towels tucked in their back pockets, another 90’s style trend.
8. LOVED Miley Cyrus on Joe Rogan!

This was the second to last podcast Rogan did out of his LA studio. He’s now moved to Austin, Texas, and his flashy new sci-fi-esque digs (which take some getting used to…).

That aside, I loved the Miley Cyrus podcast – and here’s why.
  • She has fantastic insights on pop culture and the entertainment biz including how essential Tik Tok has become for artists’ music and concert sales.
  • Her comments about drinking really resonated with me. Miley is currently completely sober and when asked why she said: “because I like to wake up at 110 percent not like a volcano’s erupted in my brain. I can relate!
  • And while I am not giving up drinking, I am restricting myself to 2 drinks because I am sick and tired of waking up sick and tired after a night out.
  • Miley also shared lots of humorous stories about her dad and his aversion to technology. He still uses a Blackberry and doesn’t have wifi at his house. He has to go to a neighbor’s house to FaceTime the family.
  • Her love (and deep knowledge) of RuPaul’s Drag Race is also impressive. When Rogan tried to dismiss the show by saying all the drag queens have the same moves, she clapped right back (see the 10-sec clip below).
9. WORKING FROM HOME? PURE NEGATIVE (Source: The Verge)

Lately, the commentary on work-from-home has turned downright ugly.

None more so than in this interview in the WSJ with Reed Hastings of Netflix.

WSJ: Have you seen benefits from people working at home?

Mr. Hastings: No. I don’t see any positives. Not being able to get together in person, particularly internationally, is a pure negative. I’ve been super impressed at people’s sacrifices.

WSJ: It’s been anticipated that many companies will shift to a work-from-home approach for many employees even after the Covid-19 crisis. What do you think?

Mr. Hastings: If I had to guess, the five-day workweek will become four days in the office while one day is virtual from home. I’d bet that’s where a lot of companies end up.

10. For all my Zoom-addled friends, this commercial is for you!!

I ADORE this commercial even though I don’t ascribe to this product. Please watch, it might end up being the best, most fun minute of your day!!

Kudos to DDB Chicago and Coors Light for creating this gem.

And that’s a wrap.

This weekend is jampacked starting with a bike excursion to Governor’s Island early Saturday morning with my friend, Joe. The weather is expected to be great. It will be fun to bike around the island, take in the great views of NY Harbor, and treat ourselves to oysters and champagne before heading back into the city via ferry.

And next week is shaping up to be epic. The new Krispy Kreme flagship store in Times Square is opening with a two-foot-tall glaze waterfall. I’ll also be checking out the newly reopened Hudson Yards, and stopping by one of my favorite restaurants from before the shutdown: The Tavern by WS.

But the biggest news of all came across the Citizen app as I was writing this post on Wednesday: INDOOR DINING IS BACK! Yay! Hurrah! Can’t wait!

And with that good news, Happy September everyone!

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