December Flatiron Newsletter

in this issue:

	New Neighbors Holiday Message From the BID Flatiron Community Survey: Please Take Part Discover Flatiron: Miracle on 24th Street The New D.A. Meets the BID Shop Flatiron! It's All Right Here! District Toy and Clothing Drives Baruch to Honor BID and Mendez Farewell to Tabla Holiday Tree to Glow on Dec. 7 At the Galleries and Museums Recent News About the BID Newsletter Archives About Us

Holiday Message From the BID

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THE holiday season is upon us again! On behalf of the board and staff of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership, we thank our partners, supporters and members for another successful year in the Flatiron district. 2010 proved to be another thriving year in terms of the BID's initiatives, and we welcomed many exciting new businesses to the area. We hope that our recently updated Shop Flatiron guide serves as a roadmap for those taking advantage of all the district has to offer this holiday season, and in the days beyond. The BID will celebrate its five-year anniversary in 2011, and many exciting initiatives are on the horizon. We wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season, and look forward to continuing our efforts in the New Year.

Sincerely,

Gregg Schenker, Chairman
Jennifer Brown, Executive Director

Flatiron Community Survey: Please Take Part

IF YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS about the Flatiron neighborhood and tell us how you rate the job being done by the Flatiron Partnership, here's your chance. The 2010 BID Community Survey is now available online. As a thank you for participating, the BID will randomly select four respondents who complete the survey to receive a $50 gift certificate to a Flatiron district restaurant.

To take the survey, CLICK HERE.

Discover Flatiron: Miracle on 24th Street

ONCE UPON A TIME, A CENTURY AGO AND MORE, VISITORS TO Madison Square could stroll along 24th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and dine sumptuously, sometimes at relatively little cost. They might choose the splendid dining room at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, where they could mingle with moguls and millionaires, power brokers and playgoers (part of the hotel was the site of the Madison Square Theater, where a long-running musical called "A Trip to Chinatown" introduced "The Bowery," a ditty that became a classic) . . . if they favored mingling with British travelers and American actors, they might be admitted to the Albemarle Hotel on the north side of 24th and Fifth and sample that hostelry's cuisine . . . or they could request a table at places like Carlos at 25 West 24th (lunch, 55 cents; table d'hôte dinner, 75 cents), or Colaizzi's at 37 West 24th ("most celebrated Italian restaurant") or the Lion d'Or at 59 West 24th (French table d'hôte dinner, 65 cents).

But that was long ago, and for most of the 20th century, the street retreated into the shadows of loft buildings and remained deserted after dark. Slowly, however, things changed. Dramatically. The hotels are gone and so is the Madison Square Theater, but there is a block association and a residential presence. What's more, the visitors are back and 24th Street is once again a destination. The attraction? A lineup of eating places that have transformed the block into a budding Restaurant Row, an international one at that.

Anchoring the eastern end of the block, Eataly, a 50,000-square-foot market and a quintet of restaurants, is what has been described as a circus maximus of Italian food. On 24th Street, one can also dine on South American fare such as Nuela's smoked Peruvian chicken or cochinillo, roasted suckling pig . . . or try a taste of Thailand at Boyd Thai II by ordering soft-shell crabs with Thai morning glory in Panang curry sauce, served with coconut rice . . . or satisfy an urge for Japanese food with sushi and sashimi, also at Boyd Thai II . . . or visit San Rocco, where the furniture, fixtures and cutlery are imported from Italy and where the menu offers such mouthfuls as Scialatielli al frutti di mare con bisque di gamberi (hand-made pasta from Amalfi with mussels, clams and shrimps in a gravy bisque) or Agnello con patate saltate al forno al profumo di olio al tartufo (oven-roasted lamb with sautéed potatoes with truffle olive oil) . . . or check out the newest addition to the block, Junoon, opening this month and featuring refined and modern Indian cooking from Executive Chef Vikas Khanna in a lush new setting.

At least one more restaurant is currently under construction. It will be the fifth in a chain of Manhattan pizzerias specializing in thin-crust pies and bearing names reminiscent of the Marx Brothers. Instead of Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Gummo and Zeppo, the pizza parlors are called Gruppo, Posto, Vezzo, Spunto, and now, Tappo, which is expected to open on 24th Street early next year. Operated by Antonio Gomez and Jon Tweedy, Tappo -- like the others in the chain -- will feature pizzas with a choice of more than three dozen toppings.

In addition, there are reports of a steakhouse that might move into the space last occupied by Ottimo, an Italian restaurant at 6 West 24th Street that closed earlier this year. Stay tuned.

Following are thumbnail descriptions of each of the 24th Street eateries cited above, as well as links for more complete information.

Eataly, 200 Fifth Avenue, from 23rd to 24th Streets: Opened August 31 and developed by restaurateurs Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich, Eataly has five restaurants. Manzo, a steakhouse, is the only one that takes reservations. The others are Il Pesce (seafood); La Pasta and La Pizza (self-explanatory); and Le Verdure (vegetarian). And, of course, there is that sprawling food mart as well as counter service for espresso and gelato.

San Rocco, 37 West 24th Street: Opened in August 2009, adjacent to the Wyndham Garden Hotel-Manhattan Chelsea West, and named after its owner, Milanese businessman Rocco Arena. Its look is sleek and smart and it's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as brunch on the weekends. Outdoor dining in season.

Nuela, 43 West 24th Street: On the site of the old Sapa restaurant, Nuela made its debut this past summer, bringing the flavors of South America to Flatiron. Executive Chef and partner Adam Schop commands the kitchen. The name Nuela is a combination of the words nueva (new) and Latina and that's the concept of the restaurant and ceviche bar. It's a 3,000-square-foot venue in colors that reflect the South American palette and food that reflects that continent's palate.

Boyd Thai II, 30 West 24th Street: Now the oldest restaurant on the block, Boyd Thai II until recently was known as Planet Thailand 212. In addition to changing its name (but, at this writing, not its awning), Boyd Thai II, which offers both Thai and Japanese favorites, also revamped its lighting and added more chef's specials, served daily. The restaurant does not have its own website, but can be reached at (212) 727-7026 or by fax at (212) 727-7028.

Junoon, 27 West 24th Street: See New Neighbors feature, this newsletter.

Tappo, 49 West 24th Street: No website of its own yet, but the menu is available on the sites of any of its sibling restaurants, such as www.gruppothincrust.com.

The New D.A. Meets the BID

CYRUS R. VANCE JR., MANHATTAN'S FIRST NEW DISTRICT
Attorney in more than three decades, drew a standing-room-only crowd to the Flatiron Partnership's latest Speaker Series program.

Vance, who was sworn in on January 1, 2010, spoke to an audience of business and property owners, managers and residents at the TD Bank branch at Park Avenue South and 21st Street for more than an hour, outlining his vision for the office that had been occupied by Robert Morganthau since January 1, 1975. TD Bank co-sponsored the event.

Following an introduction by Jennifer Brown, Executive Director of the BID, and using slides to illustrate his points, Vance said the Manhattan D.A.'s office and its 535 lawyers handle 110,000 criminal cases a year, "from pickpockets to homicide."

He said one of his objectives is the establishment of a "quality-of-life" court that would deal with "low-level crimes, many of them by first offenders, where there is no victim." That, Vance said, would relieve his office of some 8,000 cases annually.

Initiatives he would like to see developed include those dealing with mental health and veterans, vehicular crimes and hate crimes. In October, he said, his office opened a Special Victims Bureau that handles child abuse, elder abuse, sex crimes and domestic violence ("a national crisis -- violence in the home can spread to violence in the streets"). He said he would like to see a Family Justice Center open in Manhattan, similar to those in Brooklyn and Queens, to handle domestic violence cases and make the justice system more accessible by providing integrated services for victims instead of "shuffling them from place to place."

In addition, while technology has provided new crime-fighting tools ("we now use DNA to prove all kinds of cases, including burglaries and larcenies"), it has also sparked what Vance described as "21st-century problems," such as cybercrimes and identity theft.

"The Internet," he said, "is the crime scene of our century."

The BID's Speaker Series is part of its Intersections program, a series focused on information, ideas and the Flatiron community.

Shop Flatiron! It's All Right Here!

THE SOLUTION TO THE GIFT-GIVING
jitters that often pop up this time of year is now available. It's the 2011 Shop Flatiron guide and it proves that you don't have to wander far from Flatiron to solve all your shopping needs, not just for the holidays, but for all year-round!

The new guide lists, by category, more than 250 Flatiron retailers. You can find apparel, accessories and art supplies . . . flowers, fragrances and footwear . . . computers, cosmetics and comic books . . . and just about anything else you can think of. In addition, the guide lists dozens of restaurants where you can take a well-earned break while shopping. All in all, there are more than 300 reasons to Shop Flatiron!

The guide, sponsored this year by Tekserve, Chock Full o'Nuts and Limelight Marketplace, is available at stores, bars and eateries throughout the district as well as from the BID's Visitor Information Cart on the Public Plazas. It can also be accessed on the BID's website, www.flatironbid.org. To request free copies of the guide or the companion poster now appearing in local stores, send an e-mail to info@flatironbid.org.

Complementing the appearance of the guide and the posters, 67 new BID banners are now flying from area streetlights. Like the guide and the posters, the banners deliver the same vital message: Shop Flatiron! There is really no need to look elsewhere.

District Toy and Clothing Drives

Once again, a number of organizations in the Flatiron district are reaching out to help others during the holiday season. Here are several ways you can participate, either by volunteering your time or by making donations. No matter how you do it, it can make someone else's holidays happier -- and it can also add a special feeling of joy to your own life.

New York Cares Annual Coat Drive:
Through: December 31.
Items: New or gently used coats for men, women and children.
Drop-off location: 13th Precinct at 230 East 21st Street; Anytime.
Contact: For additional information, click here.

Housing Works: Clothing and Furniture:
Through: Ongoing.
Items: Gently used clothing and furniture.
Recipients: Donations help provide services and housing for homeless people with HIV/AIDS.
Drop-off location: Housing Works' Thrift Shop, 157 East 23rd Street; Mondays to Fridays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.
Contact: Call (212) 529-5955. For free furniture pick-up and guidelines, call (212) 366-0820. To volunteer this holiday season, and year-round, click here.

Town & Village Toy Drive:
Through: December 16.
Items: New, unwrapped toys (even gently used toys cannot be accepted for health reasons).
Recipients: Young patients undergoing treatment at Beth Israel Medical Center as well as the children of patients of various in-and-outpatient clinic programs.
Drop-off location: Town & Village office at 20 West 22nd Street, 14th floor; business hours, Monday through Friday.
Contact: Call (212) 777-6611.

Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies Toy Drive:
Through: December 20.
Items: New toys, books, educational games, toiletries, clothing.
Recipients: Children.
Drop-off location: Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, 281 Park Avenue South at 21st Street; Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Contact: Karen Giacalone, Coordinator, Volunteer Services (212) 801-1332.

Citi Habitats Toy Drive:
Through: December 20.
Items: Unwrapped toys for children.
Recipients: Children.
Drop-off location: Citi Habitat locations at 27 East 22nd Street and 32 East 22nd Street; Weekdays during business hours.
Contact: For more information, click here.

Baruch to Honor BID and Mendez

THE FLATIRON/23RD STREET PARTNERSHIP AND Rosie Mendez of the New York City Council will both be honored by Baruch College at the school's annual Community Reception on Tuesday, December 7.

Baruch has chosen the BID as "Community Partner of the Year" and selected Councilwoman Mendez as "Legislator of the Year." Jennifer Brown, Executive Director of the Flatiron Partnership, and Gregg Schenker, Chairman of its Board of Directors, will be on hand to accept the award. For the past several years, the BID has partnered with Baruch on a number of business-oriented forums at the college, touching on topics from how to deal with disasters to how small businesses can take advantage of available resources and programs. The most recent was the "Accessing Opportunity" Business Assistance Forum in October.

"Council Member Mendez has been a great friend to Baruch College since taking office in 2006," said Eric Lugo, the school's Director of Government and Community Relations. "She has supported several campus capital and programmatic initiatives and helped us alter traffic patterns around campus to improve pedestrian safety for the college and the community. She has also been generous with her time to the student body, providing important guidance to our future leaders at various events."

Mendez has also been a featured speaker in the Flatiron Partnership's Speaker Series.

The reception -- which will also serve to introduce Mitchel B. Wallerstein, Baruch's new president, to the community -- will be at Baruch's Newman Conference Center, 151 East 25th Street, 7th floor, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. To RSVP, call Brenda Vercesi at (646) 660-6094 or click here.

Farewell to Tabla

THIS MONTH IS THE LAST CHANCE to say goodbye to an old friend. After being a vital part of the neighborhood for 12 years, and a destination for diners from near and far, Tabla is closing its doors on December 30.

The restaurant -- part of Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group -- opened in 1998, at the 25th Street corner of 11 Madison Avenue, facing Madison Square Park. Another Meyer enterprise, Eleven Madison Park, anchors the 24th Street end of the building.

Tabla opened to great acclaim, including three stars from The New York Times, and was hailed as a pioneer in New Indian cuisine as Chef Floyd Cardoz, who was brought up in Bombay, applied western cooking techniques to the flavors of his native land.

Until it closes, Tabla will continue serving lunch and dinner, but has also planned a number of special events this month in which the public may participate. The lineup, to date:

Saturday, December 4, 10 a.m.: Chef Cardoz's final cooking class, including instruction about his crab cake and oxtail dishes. Price: $150 per person, plus tax. Space available on a first-come, first-reserved basis. For reservations, call (212) 889-0667.

Tuesday, December 7, 6:30 p.m., Alumni Chef Dinner: Some of Cardoz's former colleagues at Tabla will cook one final meal together. They are Ben Pollinger of Oceana, Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen, Eric (Bubba) Gabrynowicz of Restaurant North, Jenn Giblin of Blue Smoke and Mohan Ismail of RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen. Price: $175, with wine pairings, plus tax and tip. For reservations, call (212) 889-0667.

For additional information, click here.

Holiday Tree to Glow on Dec. 7

NINETY-EIGHT YEARS AGO MARKED the first holiday tree lighting in Madison Square Park, a custom that will be continued on Tuesday, December 7, at 4:30 p.m., with the Madison Square Park Conservancy's annual holiday celebration. The New York Life Singers and AudraRox, a rock band for children, will provide festive sounds, and treats from Benvenuto restaurant will be on hand. Once again, the Flatiron Partnership is a co-sponsor of the event.

Madison Square Park was home to New York's first public holiday tree, sparking the "Tree of Light" movement throughout the nation. By 1915, more than 1,000 communities displayed public trees. The "Star of Hope" memorial at the southern end of the park commemorates Madison Square's role in the tradition.

At the Galleries and Museums

A monthly roundup of exhibits and events at the art galleries and museums within the Flatiron district. To be considered for inclusion, please send relevant information to: Eric Zaretsky, Director of Marketing & Economic Development, at ezaretsky@flatironbid.org.

Calumet Gallery
"Chinese International Photography Competition Finalists": A showcase of some 150 images from finalists in the Chinese International Photography Competition, one in a series of international cultural arts projects sponsored by New Tang Dynasty Television. Its purpose is to increase the sharing of cultural arts globally among Chinese who love photography, to uphold traditional Chinese arts philosophy and "to promote artistic works portraying intrinsic reality with implications of compassion, gracefulness, brightness and righteousness." The pictures that made the finals were selected from 5,758 photos submitted by photographers around the world.
Dates: Through December 24.
Address: Calumet Photographic, 22 West 22nd Street, 2nd floor.
Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

AIGA National Design Center
"50 Books/50 Covers,": An exhibition of the best-designed books and book covers published in 2009, selected in an annual competition that has been going on since 1923. As in past years, selections are published in AIGA's online archives at designarchives.aiga.org, featured in an annual publication, exhibited at the Design Center and preserved in the AIGA archives at the Denver Art Museum in Colorado. To complement the exhibit, AIGA is publishing a catalog that will be available for purchase after December 8 at blurb.com, the on-demand publishing platform and the presenting sponsor of this exhibit.
Dates: December 9, 2010-February 25, 2011.
Address: 164 Fifth Avenue.
Hours: Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Sidney Mishkin Gallery at Baruch
"Search for the Real: Drawings by Hans Hofmann and His Students": An exhibition that includes drawings by Hans Hofmann, one of the most influential of the émigré artists to arrive in the United States in the 1930s and early 1940s, and approximately 26 drawings by his students, including such well-known artists as George McNeil, Robert De Niro Sr., Mercedes Matter, Giorgio Cavallon, Blanche Lazzell and Vaclav Vytlacil. It was organized by the Provincetown Art Association and Museum by curators Donald Beal and Christine McCarthy.
Dates: Through December 10.
Address: 135 East 22nd Street.
Hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, noon to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, noon to 7 p.m.

SPACED: Gallery of Architecture
"Manhattan Remembered": An exhibition of drawings, prints and photographs that reflect the many changes in Manhattan -- "a chameleon city," in the words of gallery director Judith York Newman -- over more than a century. The exhibit includes photographs of the Flatiron district in the early 1900s; Anton Schütz etchings of lower Manhattan from the Hudson River in the 1920s; Edward Chrystie watercolors and drawings of lower Manhattan from the 1930s; Berenice Abbott's photographs of Penn Station and a street near the South Street Seaport in the 1930s; Armin Landeck's 1940s lithographs of Greenwich Village; Judith Clancy's 1960s lithographs of the Metropolitan Opera House; Michael Kirk's 1970s aquatints of doorways in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood; and a group of prints from the 19th century.
Dates: Through December 11.
Address: 31 West 26th Street, 6th floor.
Hours: Wednesday through Saturday afternoons. For hours, please call (212) 213-1720. Or by appointment.

Raandesk Gallery of Art at In Good Company
"ART2Gift": This year-round program and annual exhibition features a broad selection of small-scale limited-edition original art. The ART2Gift brand was launched in 2008 to serve individuals and corporations seeking affordable art. The exhibit includes more than 70 paintings, drawings, sculpture and limited-edition photographs by 30 artists. Prices range from $35 to $500. All works are no bigger than 24 inches by 24 inches and are sold with a seven-day "live with art" trial.
Dates: Through January 7, 2011.
Address: 16 West 23rd Street, 4th floor (In Good Company).
Hours: Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. and by appointment.

Museum of Sex
"Rubbers: The Life, History & Struggle of the Condom": A multi-media look at the condom's influence on everything from science to religion.
Dates: Ongoing.
Address: 233 Fifth Avenue.
Hours: Sundays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Junoon

JUNOON, OPENING THIS month at 27 West 24th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, is an Indian word meaning "passion." It is owned by restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj and showcases a menu created by Executive Chef Vikas Khanna.

The 39-year-old Khanna, a cookbook author and restaurant consultant, was born in Amritsar, in northern India, where he learned about cooking and spices from his grandmother and opened a banquet business to cater weddings and family events when still a teenager. He moved to New York in 2000 and worked for several Indian restaurants, including Salaam Bombay, where he was Executive Chef.

Khanna's menu spotlights what Junoon calls the five essential cooking elements from India's culinary regions: Tandoor (clay oven); Sigri (open fire pit); Pathar (stone cooking); Tawa (cast-iron cooking); and Handi (pot cooking).

Junoon's façade resembles a basketweave sculpture carved from blocks of black limestone quarried in India. Inside is a 50-seat lounge and bar area, and a 50-foot-long walkway highlighted by a steel reflecting pool and a series of eight-foot-tall "Tree of Life" sculptures. A 200-year-old wooden arch from western India frames a 45-seat private dining room that overlooks the 100-seat main room. Junoon also has a downstairs Spice Room, visible to diners, in which spices are roasted, ground and blended daily.

Junoon will be serving dinner on Sundays through Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. The lounge and bar area opens at 5, serving Indian snacks until "late." For additional information, call (212) 490-2100 or click here.

The John Dory Oyster Bar

FISH FANCIERS WHO MOURNED the closing last year of the John Dory seafood restaurant on Tenth Avenue should be heartened by the opening of the John Dory Oyster Bar at the Ace Hotel, Broadway and 29th Street. Chef April Bloomfield and restaurateur Ken Friedman, whose Breslin restaurant at the Ace is less than a cherrystone's throw away, are back at the helm, together with Executive Chef Josh Even.

Black tile columns, tile floors and a pair of globular fish tanks suspended high over the bar contribute to the ambiance. One tank -- the one on the western side of the restaurant, of course -- holds fish from the Pacific; the eastern tank is home to denizens of the Atlantic. John Dory offers raw-bar specialties, crudi, a caviar service, seafood chowders, and an assortment of hot and cold plates. Seating is at copper-topped high tables or stools at copper counters lining the two walls of windows that admit lots of light.

The John Dory Oyster Bar is open daily. Lunch is served from noon to 4 p.m., with a limited menu between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.; dinner is served from 5 p.m. to midnight, with a late-night menu from midnight until 2 a.m. The restaurant does not accept reservations, except for seating at a chef's table in the basement. For more information, call (212) 792-9000, or click here.

Millesime

THE CARLTON HOTEL HAS added to its multi-tiered dining options with the opening of Millesime in the space once occupied by Country at 92 Madison Avenue, at 29th Street. Millesime, an upscale full-service restaurant that specializes in seafood inspired by some of the classic dishes of France, is on the Carlton's mezzanine level just above its below-street-level lobby and the adjacent Salon Millesime, which opened in August offering small plates and nightly entertainment.

Millesime's chef and owner is French-born Laurent Manrique, who is associated with several restaurants in northern California and who plans to commute between coasts. When he was at Aqua in San Francisco, the restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars. His executive chef is Alan Ashkinaze, who worked alongside Manrique at Aqua and other restaurants.

The restaurant's red banquettes, a marble raw bar and an open kitchen are reminiscent of Paris brasseries and while Millesime's menu does offer a small number of fowl or beef selections, seafood is the star, with such signature Manrique dishes as a Lobster Pot au Feu, or a wide selection of mussels and fish, grilled or a la plancha. Millesime is open for dinner daily from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, call (212) 889-7100, e-mail info@millesimerestaurant.com, or click here.

Lomography

LOMOGRAPHY, A SHOP THAT specializes in rudimentary, lightweight cameras that use film, has opened at 106 East 23rd Street, just east of Park Avenue South. This is the company's second Manhattan store -- its first is at 41 West Eighth Street -- and its 17th globally, including Europe, Asia and South America.

The word "lomography" has its genesis in the Russian-made Lomo LC-A camera, which was introduced in the 1980s. Lomography involves the use of cameras that are generally made of plastic and that use 120 or 35mm film. The cameras have simplified settings, fixed shutter and film speeds, can accommodate a small number of different lenses, and generally require no batteries except for those used in flash attachments. Lomography emphasizes casual "snapshot" photography and although the results might include over-saturated colors, not-quite-precise exposures and out-of-focus images, its adherents consider these to be desirable aspects of the technique.

The Lomography shop on 23rd Street, which displays a heraldic crest that says "the future is analogue" and has walls lined with hundreds of individual photographs, carries a full line of lomography cameras and accessories, including the LC-A and Diana brands, two of the most popular, according to store manager Martin Thiel. The shop also presents events and workshops at both Manhattan locations. It is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For additional information, call (212) 260-0240. To order from Lomography's online catalog, click here.

Mon Amour Paris

MON AMOUR PARIS, A
women's fashion boutique, has opened its third store in Manhattan. It is at 303 Park Avenue South, near 23rd Street.

Most of what is offered is imported from France and includes footwear, dresses, skirts, jackets, jewelry, scarves, sweaters and tops. There is also a selection of handbags, most of which are made locally. Mon Amour Paris is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. To contact the store, call (212) 674-0393, or send an e-mail to info@monamourparis.com. A website, http://monamourparis.com/ is in the process of being developed.

Cebado Barcelona

THERE ARE 100 CEBADO Barcelona Salon & Spa units operating in Spain, and now the Flatiron district boasts the first flagship store in the United States. It's at 303 Park Avenue South, at 23rd Street.

Antonio Tallarico runs the salon, having more than 18 years' experience in the hair business. He is a former president of the Jean Louis David Salons in New York, Brazil and Poland. Hair treatments such as Kerastase ritual treatments, Brazilian blowouts, and hair and eyelash extenstions are currently offered and the spa elements, which include facials and massages, will be coming soon. No appointments are necessary for hair treatments. A range of hair products are available for purchase. The store is open Mondays to Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. To contact the store, call (646) 370-4661, or click here.

Gunwel

GUNWEL ASSOCIATES, INC., A company that offers tax and bookkeeping services, has opened at 44 East 21st Street.

Managing Partner Bill Lentini and his staff provide tax services ranging from preparation of federal, state and out-of-state forms for individuals, small businesses, partnerships, corporations, LLC/LLPs, estates and trusts, to tax planning, tax audit representation and ongoing tax and budget advice and analysis. Bookkeeping services include cash flow analysis, implementation of a payroll system, compilation of financial statements, and bill-payment services.

Gunwel is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. During tax season, it is open from Mondays through Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and by appointment. For additional information, call (212) 979-6830 or click here.

Free Walking Tour
Sundays at 11 a.m.

THE BID SPONSORS FREE
walking tours every Sunday.

Join our experienced guides on a 90-minute journey through this vibrant neighborhood, viewing some of the City's most notable landmarks, including the New York Life Insurance building, the MetLife Tower, the Appellate Courthouse and the famous Flatiron Building.

Time:
Every Sunday at 11 a.m.

Meeting Place:
The southwest corner of Madison Square Park, at 23rd Street and Broadway, in front of the statue of William Seward.

To view a video of the tour, click here.