Mark your calendar! Open House New York (OHNY) Weekend is fast approaching — and its roster of events has some neighborhood favorites… including an in-depth look at the 9th Avenue Super Sidewalk!
It’s the biggest OHNY Weekend lineup ever — and all events are free! The majority of experiences are Open Access with no tickets required, but ticketed experiences are accessed via lottery that closes tomorrow (October 12) at 9am.
Launched in 2003, Open House New York Weekend is an annual festival that opens hundreds of noteworthy or significant places across the five boroughs to foster discovery and delight for New Yorkers and visitors alike. On October 20-22, the 21st annual OHNY Weekend festival will offer a mix of in-person experiences, self-guided explorations and digital content — inviting you to get an insider’s look at everything from single rooms, studios, factories and public spaces to entire buildings, blocks, bike corridors and waterways.
So what’s in store in Hell’s Kitchen and beyond? On Saturday, October 21 from noon to 1pm there’s a walking tour of Super Sidewalk 9th Avenue — the first of six self-guided cycling routes created to encourage the continued growth of cycling in the city and promote the mode as a fun, fast, and healthy way to get around. It’s a chance for an exploratory look at the different ways NYC Department of Transportation enhances and engages the public realm with NYC DOT staff and local advocates. Ticket only, so get in the lottery now!
If guided tours are your thing, then a night-time visit to Penn Station and its luminous ceiling with spectacular lighting to highlight the changing seasons and celebrations in New York City throughout the year could be just the ticket! Grab a ticket for Saturday, October 21 — tours begin at 6:30 and 8pm.
Step aboard Intrepid for a deep dive into the work carried out by the restoration team with a behind-the-scenes look what goes on in the Museum’s Aircraft Restoration Hangar (Oct 21-22, ticketed, various time slots). Keeping with a nautical theme, head down the Hudson River to take a self-guided tour of the historic 1931 Retired FDNY Fireboat John J Harvey, with open access to the vessel moored at Pier 66. Open Oct 21-22 from 10am to 5pm.
On Sunday, October 22 from 1-4pm there are guided tours and self-guided tours on offer at The Actors’ Temple, at 339 W47 Street between 8th & 9th Avenues. Completed in 1922, this a fully functioning house of worship and also an Off-Broadway theater.
The Town Hall at 123 W43rd Street was conceived and built by a group of suffragists as they fought to win the right to vote and educate the public on civic matters. Amazing musical milestones have taken place onstage – from Rachmaninoff to Bob Dylan and many more. The sight lines and acoustics of the beautiful hall are second to none, thanks to the design firm of McKim, Mead & White. See for yourself on a self-guided tour (Oct 21-22, ticketed, various time slots).
Or visit the Wiki.NYC Pavilion exhibition by Wikimedia NYC at Prime Produce Guild Hall (424 W54th Street) to experience a vision of Wikipedia as urban participatory art through the interactive Open Boro Map, highlighting OHNY sites across the city, and learn how to make your own local contributions to free knowledge. There’s also the chance to tour the Prime Produce Apprentice Cooperative Guildhall, showcasing its Guild for Good model, and to learn about a creative community hosting service-oriented projects, such as the Earthlings.nyc Turtle Team, the Cybernetics Library and the Skylight Farm Lab. Open October 21 and 22, 10am-6.30pm.
Explore the OHNY site for many more free experiences and plan your weekend!
An IN-DEPTH look at the 9th Avenue Super Sidewalk! By who? Bottcher? D.O.T.? Is this a joke? Could you elaborate? If you contact the councilman’s office you will be assured of all the concern around this space… for months now. This is a blank slate… and being just that, we have a good indication of what “progress” (does not) look like. Suggestions have been made. Voices (in the community) have been raised. People in the community have been involved. It just seems that anything that neighbors have suggested/done (i.e: pedestrian signage on the walk itself pride week) has been entirely disregarded/ignored… we’re used to it!!!