Tag: Westfield WTC

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Culture Entertainment Events Featured Living Movies

Westfield WTC and the Tribeca Film Festival Announce Movies in the Oculus

For the third consecutive year, Westfield World Trade Center will roll out the red carpet for the Tribeca Drive-In: Dinner and a Movie film screening series, organized in partnership with the team behind the Tribeca Film Festival. The series takes place from Thursday, February 21st to Sunday, February 24th – just in time for this year’s major awards season!

During the four-day series, visitors to Westfield World Trade Center’s magnificent Oculus in Lower Manhattan will be able to enjoy free movie screenings of past Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning fan favorite films:

•        Thursday (2/21, 7pm) – As Good as It Gets (1997) – Directed by James L. Brooks, starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Skeet Ulrich.  When a gay artist is assaulted and hospitalized, his cranky neighbor must care for his dog, triggering a change in formerly selfish attitude.  Two Oscar wins and five Oscar nominations.

•        Friday (2/22, 7pm) – Field of Dreams (1989) – Directed by Phil Alden Robinson. This three time Oscar nominee for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score, is a fantasy about a farmer who builds a ballpark in his cornfield, where long-dead Major Leaguers gather to play.

•        Saturday (2/23, 12pm) – Hugo (2011) – Directed by Martin Scorsese. A young orphan lives in a train station in 1930s Paris and tries to repair a mechanical man built by his father. Five Oscar Wins and six Oscar nominations.

•        Saturday (2/23, 7pm) – E.T. (1982) – Directed by Steven Spielberg. A lonely boy befriends a homesick alien stranded on Earth and attempts to help him find a way home. Four Oscar wins and 5 Oscar nominations.

•        Sunday (2/24, 12pm) – Finding Neverland (2004) – Directed by Marc Forster. A biography of playwright J.M. Barrie focusing on his relationship with a young widow and her sons, and the role it played in inspiring the children’s classic Peter Pan.  One Oscar win and six Oscar nominations.

Before the films, visitors attending the screenings will be able to enjoy live music performances presented by Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI); relax in custom-designed seating lounges; explore special fashion and accessories vitrines curated by local influencer and personal shopper Samantha Brown;  take advantage of one-of-a-kind, Hollywood-inspired photo ops; and partake in exclusive food and beverage service provided by some of Westfield World Trade Center’s tastiest restaurants and eateries, including: Epicerie Boulud, Eataly NYC Downtown, Nunu Chocolates, and Sugarfina. 

“As film fans, awards season is the most wonderful time of year in Tribeca, so we are thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Westfield World Trade Center for a very special Oscar edition of our fan favorite Drive-In series,” said Cara Cusumano, Tribeca’s Director of Programming. “We hope everyone will join us, inside this time, for a look back at some of our favorite nominees of all time as we finalize our ballots for the 2019 winners.”

“Award-winning films in an award-winning setting – what better way for our visitors to enjoy all we have to offer inside Westfield World Trade Center!” said Shari Hyman, Vice President and General Manager of Westfield World Trade Center.  “We are excited that our continued partnership with Tribeca Films makes this unique experience possible.”

Screenings are free and open to the public. Tickets may be reserved in advance on Eventbrite. Admittance and seating is first-come, first-served. 

For more information on the series, including daily menus and artist information, please visit: www.westfield.com/wtc/dinner-and-a-movie.

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Dining Events Featured

Where to Celebrate the Lunar New Year this February

Chinese New Year Henry Lu

We’re already a month into 2019, but the Year of the Pig is about to begin! Check out these Lunar New Year specials to help you celebrate on February 5th and beyond.

Westfield World Trade Center

oculus

Westfield World Trade Center is ringing in the Year of the Pig with its first annual Lunar New Year celebrations. On Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:30PM, Westfield will kick off celebrations with  a one-hour unique and dynamic orchestral performance presented by the Port Authority of NY & NJ in partnership with the Asian Cultural Center, whose Asian Cultural Symphony of the USA has participated in hundreds of performances across the United States, such as the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the United Nations Headquarters. The music performance is complemented by an all-afternoon and evening art exhibit that features local artists throughout the Transportation Hub. There will be other events throughout the beginning of the month as well:

    • Friday, Feb 1, 5:30–7:30 PM: Calligraphy at Toytoise
    • Saturday, Feb 2, 1–3 PM: Brush Painting at Sugarfina; 3–6 PM: Calligraphy at Pandora
    • Saturday, Feb 2, 2–4 PM: Contemporary Chinese Music at Longines
    • Friday, Feb 8, 5–7 PM: Calligraphy at & Other Stories, Wood Block Art at London Jewelers, 4–7 PM: Music & Moutai Tasting at Pure Liquid Wine & Spirits; 5–7 PM: Calligraphy at& Other Stories; 7:30–9 PM Asian Cultural Center Orchestra Performance in the Oculus
    • Saturday, Feb 9, 2–4 PM: Chinese Go at Toytoise
  • Tuesday, Feb 12, 4–7 PM: Chinese Business Etiquette + Live Music at BOSS Hugo Boss

Loosie’s Kitchen

suckling pig

henry lu

South Williamsburg’s Loosie’s Kitchen is celebrating Chinese New Year with a menu inspired by Executive Chef Henry Lu’s childhood! Chef Henry grew up in the Bronx where his family owned & operated Chinese restaurants. He’s taken that nostalgia and used it as inspiration to recreate his family traditions for a Chinese New Year feast at Loosie’s. On Tuesday, February 5th from 7:30–10:30 PM, Loosie’s Kitchen and Chef Henry are throwing a “We Are All Pigs” Chinese New Year Party with a buffet-style menu, $5 Tsingtao and house party vibes! Menu highlights include build-your-own steamed buns, pork belly stuffed suckling pig and sweet sticky rice. Tickets are $30 per person and reservations can be made by emailing sayhi@loosieskitchen.com or via Eventbrite.

Little Tong

little tong lunar new year
Photo by Emmeline Zhao

For the year of the pig, Little Tong Noodle Shop’s East Village location will be serving its take on ShengJian Bao (SJB) – crispy pan-seared pork soup dumplings served with a black sesame plum chili vinaigrette. In addition, they will offer a special mixian with wild mushrooms and sausage for the duration of the two week plus new year festival as well as festive BBQ baby back ribs.

886 x Van Leeuwen

886 lunar new year

886 (the buzzy Taiwanese-American restaurant in the East Village) has teamed up with Van Leeuwen, (Greenpoint-based purveyors of artisanal ice cream made from scratch) on a collaborative, limited edition Lunar New Year ice cream flavor. The offering is inspired by Pineapple Cake, a sweet traditional Taiwanese pastry that’s associated with celebrations and gift giving. Van Leeuwen’s caramelized pineapple jam is sandwiched between layers of housemade buttery miso shortbread, and folded into a classic sweet cream base that’s been amped up with double fold vanilla extract and vanilla bean caviar. The restaurant will serve the Lunar New Year flavor on a fried bun with spicy honey and candied bacon. Dubbed the “Year of the Pig Sandwich” ($11), the offering is available through March 3rd; it will be served on the weekend brunch menu and as a secret off-the-menu item at dinner. Scoops and pints of the Lunar New Year flavor ($5.50 single scoop / $7.50 double scoop) will be available at the East Village, LES, and SoHo outposts of Van Leeuwen through February 21st. The flavor can also be incorporated into affogatos, sundaes and other preparations.

Categories
Events Fitness Health

DAYBREAKER’s Morning Dance Party at Eataly

Morning dance party movement, DAYBREAKER teamed up with the Italian icon, Eataly for a special morning of food and fun this past Wednesday, March 22nd. Downtown was up before the sun for the early morning, juice-fueled dance party. Our tastebuds were wide awake with delicious dishes served up by Eataly including fresh frittatas, Roman style pizzas, and sweet and savory focaccia.

DAYBREAKER co-Founders Matthew Brimer and Radha Agrawal enthuse: “DAYBREAKER is about dancing before daybreak with people we love; about curating a community of camaraderie, self-expression, wellness, and mischief”.

The event was one of a kind, kicking off with sunrise yoga at 6 AM overlooking the Reflecting Pools at the National 9/11 Memorial. After yoga, breakfast was served and the dancing began. The energy in the room made it almost impossible to remember how early it was.

The revolutionary morning movement has successfully moonwalked its way through New York, London, Los Angeles and San Francisco attracting people of all ages, occupations and backgrounds with it’s new approach to fitness and fun. Amsterdam, Atlanta and Seattle are next on the list with plans to expand the network of DAYBREAKER parties globally. The next NYC event will be coming soon with the date to be announced.    

Photography by Andrew Rauner / AJRphotos

 

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Business Real Estate

Lower Manhattan Real Estate Year in Review 2016

DSC_5095_7_8_9_tonemapped

The Alliance For Downtown New York has released the Lower Manhattan 2016 Real Estate Year in Review, providing an annual review of commercial office, retail, residential, hospitality and development projects.

Some of the report’s highlights — which can be read here — were:

• Retail – Over 200 stores and restaurants opened across Lower Manhattan, including the 100 new stores and restaurants at Westfield World Trade Center.

• Hotel – Hotel offerings expanded and diversified. Among the seven hotels to open, two premier luxury hotels debuted, The Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown and The Beekman Hotel, pushing Lower Manhattan’s hotel room count above 6,500.

• Residential – More than 1,200 residential units were completed in the past year, including at 70 Pine Street and 100 Barclay. An additional 1,500 units are scheduled for completion in 2017.

• World Trade Center – The World Trade Center Transportation Hub was unveiled in March, giving pedestrians underground access to Fulton Center, PATH, WTC office complex and Brookfield Place. Additionally, designs were revealed for the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Performing Arts.

Categories
Dining Living

A look at Kusmi Tea’s flagship store in Westfield World Trade Center

Kusmi Tea

Kusmi Tea
Kusmi Tea in Westfield World Trade Center

Ever since I took my first sip of Kusmi tea, I was hooked. I usually resorted to ordering on Amazon, but can now walk right on over to their 800-square-foot space at Westfield, which they recently opened on the cusp of their 150-year anniversary. With 53 boutiques in France and 23 additional international boutiques, this latest opening marks a significant moment for the brand’s presence in the United States.

Located within the Oculus, the store’s design was conceived by Christopher Jenner, whose firm has also collaborated on designs for luxury brands including Liberty London, diptyque Paris, L’Artisan Parfumeur Paris. The aesthetic references the brand’s Franco-Russian heritage through a baroque and modern lens, including a central tasting station that brings a sense of ritual to the Kusmi experience.

Raphael Camp, the company’s COO, spoke with Downtown about the decision to open up shop downtown and what sets Kusmi apart from the David’s Teas and Teavanas of the city.

What made you decide to open your flagship store at Westfield?

Raphael Camp: The revival of Lower Manhattan represents both a memorial site and a business district. Westfield World Trade Center is the perfect expression of this dynamism, and Kusmi Tea naturally found its place in this visionary upscale new mall that attracts visitors from all around the world.

Does the location hold any significant meaning for you, personally?

RC: To me, the Twin Towers symbolized the grandeur of New York. On September 11, 2001, my mom was on a business trip to New York and personally witnessed their destruction. This memory is very emotional. Today, I don’t live far from the new World Trade Center myself and am proud to participate in the revival of the area.

What sets Kusmi’s tea apart from other teas?

RC: Kusmi Tea is one of a kind. It is a brand with a heritage of 150 years. The teahouse was founded in St. Petersburg in 1867, and since then, Kusmi Tea has carried the same exclusive tea recipes — like Prince Vladimir and Anastasia — that were created at the end of the 19th century. Classic teas like Karavan recall times when tea pharmacy online was originally imported from China to Russia via camel caravan. However, Kusmi Tea is also a modern teahouse that has adapted to contemporary tastes by creating wellness blends like the Detox line.

Some foreign tea shops have had to shut down their New York City flagship stores, stating that the “tea-culture” in New York City is different than in Europe…

RC: The Anglo-Saxons have always been great drinkers of tea. It is true that Americans belatedly appreciated high-end loose-leaf tea, but things are changing, especially in New York City.

Categories
Business Fashion Living

LACOSTE’s “L Comme Légende, L Comme LACOSTE” Exhibition On Display At Westfield WTC Through Sept. 5

Photo: Sean Patrick McAuliffe

Photo: Sean Patrick McAuliffe
Photo: Sean Patrick McAuliffe

Earlier this week, LACOSTE hosted a private cocktail reception to celebrate its new store and brand heritage exhibition at Westfield World Trade Center. The “L Comme Légende, L Comme LACOSTE” exhibition was staged in the Oculus event space of Westfield World Trade Center and celebrates the brand founded by tennis legend René Lacoste in 1933.

Said Grace Capobianco, CEO & Publisher of Downtown: “The space is truly beautiful, it was like walking through time at this perfectly executed opening. We welcome Lacoste to our community, and know that you too will find that something special, which only Downtown New York City offers.”

The exhibit features clothing, objects, photographs and documents to bring the brand’s story to life. Objects on display include René Lacoste’s tennis trophies — he won 10 grand slams from 1925 to 1929 — plus vintage tennis apparel, a one-of-a-kind polo created in collaboration with Brazilian design duo the Campana brothers and artistic interpretations of the famous LACOSTE crocodile.

LACOSTE is the first retailer to host an event in the Oculus event space. The exhibit is on display through September 5, from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily.