What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's New York City

Here are some of the changes you might find if you visit New York City in the coming year.

By July, we'll know if New York was selected as a finalist for the 2012 Olympics. The city has made a big pitch for the games. If you want my two-cents, I do not think we need an extra-incentive to attract tourists, especially one that will cost millions of dollars and disrupt the city life for at least a month. No, New York has it all -- why does it need more?

Bad news on the subway front when in 2005, rates increased on the 7-day Metro: card from $20 to $24 and the 30-day card from $70 to $76.

Accommodations

The biggest news in the hotel industry in New York was the closing of the legendary Plaza Hotel. At press time, there is still hope, albeit very slight, that the hotel might be saved. But a new owner has plans to convert the grand dame into condos with a smaller hotel on the 59th Street side of the building.

The other major hotel closing includes the Mayflower on Central Park West. At press time, the fate of The Stanhope, on Fifth Avenue across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art is very much up in the air with a new owner also leaning heavily toward converting the hotel to condominiums.

The Gramercy Park Hotel shut its doors in 2005, but only temporarily while new owner, Ian Schrager of the Hudson Hotel, Morgan's, and The Royalton, renovates the place where the Beatles stayed when they came to New York in 1964. Let's just hope he leaves the groovy lobby lounge intact.

To go along with the closings, there were numerous hotel openings in late 2004 and 2005. The biggest was the debut of the Meat-Packing District's much anticipated Hotel Gansevoort at18 Ninth Avenue, at 13th Street, tel. 212/206-6700; www.hotelgansevoort.com.

Another new hotel built from the ground up is Hotel on Rivington, located in the heart of the Lower East Side at 107 Rivington Street, between Ludlow and Essex sts. (tel. 212/475-2600; www.hotelonrivington.com). The glass tower -- offering unparalleled downtown views of the city -- rises high above historic tenement houses that were once the homes to millions of immigrants.

The Former Doral Park Avenue, at 70 Park Avenue, between 38th and 39th streets, was taken over by the Kimpton Hotel group and thoroughly remodeled and redesigned. It's appropriately called 70 Park Avenue (tel. 877/707-2752; www.70thparkave.com), while the hotel that used to be known as The Gorham, underwent a total renovation and is now called The Blakely (136 W. 55th Street, between 6th and 7th aves.; tel. 212/245-1800; www.blakelynewyork.com). Just down the block from the Blakely, the hotel that used to be called The Majestic was gutted and transformed into The Dream hotel (210 West 55th Street, at Broadway; tel. 212/247-2000; www.dreamny.com), where there is a Deepak Chopra healing center, Ayuverdic spa, and a fish tank in the lobby that you have to see to believe.

Meanwhile, across town the Doubletree brand of Hilton hotels purchased the Metropolitan (569 Lexington Avenue, at 51st St.; tel. 212/752-7000; www.metropolitanhotelnyc.com), and poured $35 million to restore it to its early 1960's glory when it was designed by architect, Morris Lapidus, the same man who designed Miami Beach's Fontainbleau and Eden Roc Hotels.

Restaurants

Following a trend that began in 2003, New York's white-gloved dining institutions continue to become history. In 2004, the traditional French restaurant, La Caravelle, shut its doors after 43 years of service.

Also closed, though only temporarily until it finds a new home, is the flamboyant second home for the rich and famous, Le Cirque 2000.

Rocco's, the restaurant of the short-lived reality television series "The Restaurant," also had a short life when it closed in 2004.

One of the great settings to dine was at Aquavit in the townhouse on West 54th Street where there was a waterfall in the main dining room. Sadly, the townhouse was sold and the restaurant forced to leave to a colder, much more sterile place. The good news is that the food and service is as good as it was in the townhouse. 65 E. 55th Street, between Park and Madison aves. (tel. 212/307-7311).

The opening of exciting new restaurants has far outnumbered the closings. The Meat-Packing District has become a dining Mecca. Helping to establish the area as food-central was the opening in 2004 of the talented Jean-Georges Vongrichten's spin on Asian street food called Spice Market (403 W. 13th Street, at Ninth Ave.; tel.212/675-2322).

Spice Market was one of many new, innovative Asian restaurants. The food at Kittichai, in the 60 Thompson Hotel (60 Thompson Street, between Broome and Spring sts.; tel. 212/219-2000), is as inventive as the breathtaking space where it is located. The immensely talented chef Patricia Yeo, returned to New York after a brief hiatus to open Sapa, in another stunning, open space at 43 W. 24th Street, at Broadway (tel.212/929-1800). The best new Indian restaurant to open in the past year was Devi (8 E. 18th Street, between Fifth Avenue & Broadway; tel. 212/691-1300).

The Time Warner Center has become a food destination with a number of highly-rated, and outrageously expensive restaurants including The New York Times' four-star winner Per Se (tel. 212/823-9335), V Steakhouse, Jean-Georges Vongrichten's take on meat and potatoes (tel. 212/823-9500), and the Japanese Masa, where prix-fixe meals begin at $300 (tel.212/823-9800).

Attractions

After over two years temporarily located in Queens, and a $425 million renovation where over 40,000 square feet were added, the Museum of Modern Art (11 W. 53rd Street, between Sixth and Seventh aves.; tel.212/708-9400; www.moma.org), finally reopened in its original location not only bigger, better, (and with a $20 admission) more expensive than ever.

Featuring three spectacular venues in the Time Warner Center -- Rose Hall, The Allen Room, and the intimate club, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola -- Jazz at Lincoln Center (tel. 212/258-9800; www.jalc.org) is now the grandest showcase for jazz in the country.

At press time, plans were in the works to further enhance the visitor's experience (if that's possible) by remodeling the 80th and 86th floors of the Empire State Building.

But there just might be competition for the Empire State Building for the best views in New York when, in late 2005, the art deco decks on the 69th and 70th floors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Rockefeller Center are going to re-open to the public after being closed for 17 years. For more information go to www.topoftherocknyc.com or call 877/NYC-ROCK or 212/698-200

Shopping

After being closed for a year because of bankruptcy, the most famous toy store in the world, F.A.O. Schwarz (767 Fifth Avenue, at 58th St.; tel. 212/644-9400), reopened in late 2004 just in time for Christmas.

Other major openings the past year include a smaller, more "Downtown" SoHo branch of Bloomingdales (504 Broadway, at Broome St.; tel.212/729-5900), and a Barney's Co-op on the Upper West Side (2151 Broadway, between 75th and 76th Sts.; tel.646/335-0978).