It's the city that never sleeps, so no surprise that there would be plenty of excited chatter about new developments in New York today. Here are just a few things people are talking about:
First off, The New York Times is reporting that the New York City Council has informed the iconic Madison Square Garden that it must vacate the space it has occupied for the last 45 years within the next 10. This actually isn't all that surprising: Madison Square Garden has been located in five different spots around the city (including its current residence above Penn Station, and including its original home in the actual Madison Square) since it opened in 1879.
The city has been talking for years about expanding Penn Station, so this news may well imply that plans are moving forward to improve one of the area's busiest transit hubs. (The Times says that more than 500,000 people pass through the station each day.)
And city website Gothamist is reporting that popular seafood chain restaurant Joe's Crab Shack will open at Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 125th Street next week. While we lament the arrival of corporate eateries in one of the few remaining genuine New York neighborhoods, we wonder if the massive restaurant (at 10,000 square feet, we hear) will bring some new visitors up to explore Harlem.
And finally, The New York Mets have announced the first-ever "Citi Field Sleepover" for Saturday, August 10 at Citi Field. The 15-hour event will include SNY's live broadcast of the Mets' road game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the Citi Vision board in center field, and guests can watch from the grass.
The doors will open at 5:00 p.m. Fans with sleeping bags can sleep on the grass; those with tents on the warning track. In addition to a dinner buffet in FanFest, late night snack in the Modell's Clubhouse, breakfast, and non-alcohol beverage offerings, attendees will have the opportunity to meet Mr. and Mrs. Met.
Bonus: All fans attending the "Citi Field Sleepover" will receive a ticket to the Mets' Saturday, September 28 game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Tickets are on sale at Mets.com/sleepover.