What's New

The year 2007 might be remembered as the year of breaking ground. Ground was broken for numerous new hotels and soaring condos throughout the city. But more importantly, ground was broken at the former World Trade Center Site for the proposed Freedom Tower and what was just an empty hole for 5 years; now signs of progress can be seen. Still, it won't be until late 2009 at the earliest before completion of the Tower and the 9/11 Memorial.

Ground was also broken in the Bronx, where a new Yankee Stadium is being built adjacent to the historic "House that Ruth Built." Will this be the "House that Jeter Built?" The new stadium is scheduled to open for the 2009 season.

Not to be outdone by the Yankees, the Mets also broke ground on their own new stadium in Flushing, Queens next to the crumbling Shea Stadium it will replace. The new stadium should also to be ready for the 2009 season.

Though they haven't actually broken ground, an arena-naming ceremony was held in late 2006 in Brooklyn on the site over the Atlantic Yards at Atlantic Avenue where the New Jersey Nets, who will become the Brooklyn Nets, will build their new arena called Barclays Center (named after the British bank) . . . that is if owner/developer Bruce Ratner can hold off the protests of community activists who feel a basketball arena will destroy their neighborhood.

Here are some other recent changes in the Big Apple:

Accomodations -- With a record 44 million visitors to New York City in 2006 and a forecast of 45.5 million for 2007, hotel rooms are in demand, and a slew are scheduled to open in 2007 and 2008.

Many will be in areas not known for hotels including Noho, which will feature The Bowery Hotel (tel. 212/505-9100; www.theboweryhotel.com), owned by the proprietors of The Maritime Hotel, at 335 Bowery. The Bowery will feature loft-style rooms and offer modern conveniences such as flat screen HDTVs combined with old world ambience.

Despite numerous delays, TriBeCa will finally get its signature hotel when actor Robert DeNiro's $43-million, 83-room Downtown Hotel in his beloved TriBeCa opens late in 2007.

Jason Pomeranc, the owner of 60 Thompson, has two new hotel ventures: the 90-room 6 Columbus Circle, which, despite numerous delays, just might be open by the time you read this, and the 112-room Allen Street, an ambitious Lower East Side project scheduled to open by the end of 2007.

After more than 2 years of renovations, The Plaza (tel. 212/546-5380) is scheduled to reopen in late 2007, albeit a bit smaller, with 350 rooms and 150 new residential units (starting price: $1.5 million!).

There hadn't been a new hotel opening in Brooklyn since 1998, but by 2008 there will be two major new Brooklyn hotels: the 93-room Smith Hotel, 75 Smith Street, at Atlantic Avenue, in Carroll Gardens and the 200-room Starwood Aloft in downtown Brooklyn. Both claim that they will open by the end of 2007, but 2008 seems more realistic.

Restaurants -- New Yorkers crave red meat, or one would assume with the opening of countless new steakhouses including Kobe Club, Quality Meats, Benjamin Steakhouse, Harry's Steaks, and Porter House New York.

But it wasn't just steak. New York welcomed the arrival of two renowned European chefs. The notorious super chef Gordon "Hell's Kitchen" Ramsey from London opened his restaurant Gordon Ramsay at The London in The London NYC hotel, 151 W. 54th St (tel. 212/468-8888; www.gordonramsay.com) and quickly earned two stars from the New York Times and Joël Robuchon from Paris opened L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the Four Seasons Hotel 57 E. 57th St. (tel. 212/350-6658) and earned three stars from the Times.

At the Ritz-Carlton New York-Central Park, chef Laurent Tourondel of BLT fame (BLT Fish, BLT Steak, BLT Prime) will open BLT Market which will feature a rotating seasonal menu.

New York has thousands of pizzerias so a new one would not attract much attention. To counter that, Nino's Bellisima, 890 Second Avenue (at 47th St.; tel. 212/355-5540) made a splash by offering a $1,000 pizza., the most expensive ever in New York topped with lobster and six kinds of caviar. I wonder if they will sell it by the slice?

The TriBeCa favorite, Landmarc helmed by Marc Murphy has moved up in many ways when in the Spring of 2007 a 300-seat branch on the third floor of the Time Warner Center (third floor, tel. 212/823-6123) on Columbus Circle opened as part of the Center's prestigious "Restaurant Collection" which includes Masa, Per Se, Café Gray, and Porter House New York.

Attractions -- Lower Manhattan will be the home for the new Sports Museum of America at 26 Broadway (opening in May 2008 212.747.0900 www.sportsmuseum.com). The museum will be the home for the Heisman Trophy. It will also be the home of the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center, a hall of fame for women in sports.

Museum Mile will extend a bit further north on Fifth Avenue when the 90,000 square-foot $80 million Museum of African Art is built between 109th and 110th streets. The Museum will be housed below 115 luxury condominiums and offer 16,000 square feet of exhibition space. Construction of the Museum is scheduled for the end of 2009.

As part of improvements to Battery Park, an ambitious project called Sea Glass: The Carousel is underway. The Carousel will be an aquatic-themed ride featuring sea creatures and a ride-the-waves turntable. Kids will love it; adults bring the Dramamine. The Carousel is scheduled to debut in 2008.

The beloved U.S.S. Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum was towed away for much-needed renovations in late 2006. The World War II vessel will be refurbished over the next 2 years including opening now-hidden areas of the ship to the public. While in dry dock, the ship will be repainted in classic battleship gray, and many of the military aircraft on its flight deck will be restored. Pier 86 will be rebuilt as well. The ship should return and reopen by fall of 2008.

In 2007 the new home of the New York Times on the corner of Eighth Avenue and 41st Street is scheduled to open. Within that building will be two new performance and banquet venues, The Stage and The Hall called The TimesCenter. Designed by Italian architect, Renzo Piano, The Stage will be used for lectures, concerts, and live broadcasts while The Hall will be used for banquets and receptions.

Over in Coney Island, 2007 is set to be the last season for beloved amusement park Astroland. New owners have purchased the site, and say they will keep the famed Cyclone rollercoaster (a National Historic Landmark), but plan on constructing a new amusement, retail and residential project on the site.

After Dark -- After many lives, legendary rock and roll club, CBGB finally expired in 2006, rising rents and gentrification also claimed the music club Tonic anddance club Crobar.

But when one legend fades, another rises from the ashes. Minton's Playhouse, in Harlem was the gathering spot for some of jazz's greatest artists. During the dark days of New York in the 1970's, Minton's closed and over the years efforts were made by many to resurrect it. Finally, in 2006, the club re-opened now called the Uptown Jazz Lounge at Minton's Playouse, 208 W, 118th St (tel. 212/864-8346; www.uptownatmintons.com) and though the physical improvements were slap dash, the jazz is still straight ahead and first rate. And that's all that matters.

Can New York get any funnier? With the addition of a big new comedy club, Comix, 353 W. 14th St (at 9th Avenue) tel. 212/524-2500; www.comixny.com,

apparently it can. And the club is in the fashionista-magnet Meatpacking District, an area that, in this writer's opinion, could certainly use a few laughs.

A little bit north of the Meatpacking District, near the proposed "Highline" park in west Chelsea which will be constructed on an unused elevated railway line, the area lost a grand old music/disco venue in the Roxy, but there's a glittering new music venue in the neighborhood: the Highline Ballroom, at 431 W. 16th St, between 9th and 10th Aves., tel. 212/414-5994; www.highlineballroom.com. It opened with a bang in spring 2007, as the hub of the "Highline Festival," curated by David Bowie, featuring such acts as Lou Reed and Tommy Ramone.

Lady Liberty Changes Ferries -- Hornblower Yachts (the same company that runs the Alcatraz ferry in San Francisco), will take over the ferries and tours to the Statue of Liberty in late 2007, replacing the Circle Line (which held the franchise for many years). If you're going to be visiting Lady Liberty toward the end of the year, go to www.statuecruises.com for more information. Before then, you can still get information and book tickets at www.circelinedowntown.com.