THE FLATIRON DISTRICT'S
rich architectural heritage will be celebrated with an exhibition and panel discussion presented by the Van Alen Institute in cooperation with the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership.

The exhibition, entitled "Flatiron High and Low," will be on view at the Van Alen headquarters, 30 West 22nd Street, from Wednesday, Oct. 28, through Friday, Dec. 11. It is free and open to all, Mondays through Fridays, from noon to 5 p.m. This exhibition is made possible by sponsorship and support from Newmark Knight Frank, managing and leasing agent for the Flatiron Building and 230 Fifth Avenue; the Ace Hotel, 20 West 29th Street; 'wichcraft, 11 East 20th Street; and FotoCare, photography and printing specialists at 41 West 22nd Street.

The Van Alen Institute promotes innovative thinking about the role of architecture and design in civic life. Its activities include design competitions, lectures and symposia, exhibitions, publications, research and advocacy. Its program engages a broad constituency of people around the world who help shape the desired environment, from architecture students to emerging and established professionals to the public.

"Flatiron High and Low" will put a spotlight on the district's colorful and changing architectural and urban history, drawing on photographs, architects' renderings, vintage views, and film to interpret "high and low" from a variety of perspectives: height, cost, technology and culture. The exhibition will include towers and park designs, hotels and houses of refuge, technologically sophisticated structures and ephemeral installations, popular entertainment venues and recent buildings by "starchitects." Among the featured projects is Roger Ferri's fanciful skyscraper of 1976 for the northeast corner of Madison Square Park, a visionary anticipation of today's green architecture imperative.

Urban archivist Miriam Berman, author of "Madison Square: The Park and Its Celebrated Landmarks," served as a consultant to the exhibition.

The panel discussion will be on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 6:30 p.m., at Van Alen. RSVPs are required, as space is limited. The panelists are Robert A.M. Stern, founder and senior partner of Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Dean of the Yale School of Architecture; Carol Willis, architectural historian, founder of the Skyscraper Museum and professor of urban studies and planning at Columbia University; James Wines, artist, architect and the founder of SITE, the multi-disciplinary architecture and environmental arts organization; and architect Shohei Shigematsu, a partner at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture and director of OMA*AMO New York.

The moderator is Deborah Berke, head of the architectural firm bearing her name and professor of architectural design at Yale.

An opening night reception, free and open to the public, will be held at Van Alen on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m. Special walking tours, based on the exhibition, will also be offered. Check discoverflatiron.org/tour for more details as they become available.

TO THOSE WHO WONDER WHY SAN DOMENICO, A BASTION OF haute Italian cuisine on Central Park South for two decades, relocated to the Flatiron district, co-owner Marisa May has a simple answer.

"I always loved downtown," said May, the ebullient daughter of restaurateur Tony May, the founder of San Domenico. "I was born in St. Vincent's Hospital, in the Village, and from 1989 to 1993 I was a student at NYU. I used to go with my friends to Live Bait on 23rd Street. I feel at home here and I really love this area around Madison Square. So many changes for the better."

Last year, when San Domenico's rent on Central Park South quadrupled, said May, a search for a new location got under way. It didn't last long.

"This was the first space my father and I looked at," she said, sitting at a table in the main dining room of SD26, the new restaurant and wine bar that she and her father had opened less than two weeks earlier. "It was exactly right. When we were uptown, we were on a park for 20 years, and now we're on a park again."

SD26 opened on Sept. 15 at 19 West 26th Street on the north side of Madison Square Park. It is a three-level temple to Italian food and its look is the work of the renowned Milanese-born designer Massimo Vignelli. Colorful fiber art installations are by Sheila Hicks. The restaurant's 15,000 square feet are almost double the capacity of the original and its 300 seats, spread among several dining areas within SD26, are twice what San Domenico provided.

An enoteca just inside the entrance gives wine lovers a tasting opportunity from among 24 reds and whites. Just beyond is a sleekly illuminated bar and lounge area, where small plates are served. Further inside is the main dining room, with red booths, black and white tile, floors of Italian black oak and a ceiling of gold leaf sprinkled with twinkling lights. The room is flanked by an open kitchen (including a chef's table that seats eight) along one side and a salumeria with artisanal cheeses and meats on the other.

A mezzanine for private parties overlooks the dining room and can be divided in two. In the basement, a room called the Wine Cellar, also for private parties, can accommodate 14 around an antique Tuscan table that was in the original San Domenico. The room is lined with thousands of bottles of wine, plus Tony May's private grappa collection.

Before SD26 opened, Executive Chef Odette Fada and her Chef de Cuisine, Mateo Bergmini, went to Italy and tested recipes with leading chefs there. The resulting menu, said May, represents all regions of Italy. Asked to cite some of the house specialties, she listed ravioli filled with soft egg, with truffled butter; butternut squash gnocci with chicken livers and dried sage; pappardelle with wild boar ragu; beef cheeks braised in spiced red wine; and John Dory confit with clam ragu, a dish served in the lounge.

"This neighborhood has completely embraced us," said May. "I must talk to 300 people a day and it's great that there are so many young people here, so many foodies and wine lovers. We're open only 10 days and some people have already been here three times."

(SD26, 19 West 26th Street. Phone: 212-265-5959. Hours: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays; Dinner, 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Web site: www.sd26ny.com.)

TABLE TENNIS HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE LATE 19TH
century, when it originated in England as an after-dinner divertissement for fancy Victorians, who used champagne corks as balls and the lids of cigar boxes as paddles. The evolution of the game made it popular all over the world, and in 1968 it became an Olympic sport.

Now it has found a spiffy new home in the Flatiron district.

SPiN New York, which calls itself the largest table tennis facility in town, has opened in a sleekly designed 13,000-square-foot basement with an entrance at 48 East 23rd Street. There, in addition to swinging a paddle, people can eat, drink, spectate or mingle. After weeks in soft-opening mode while awaiting its liquor license, SPiN is now in full swing, so to speak.

"We want this to be a place where people can come and hang out with their friends," said Andrew Gordon, SPiN's Chief Executive Officer. "We want it to be a real club, a classic urban social club."

To that end, private memberships are available. They offer table-reservation privileges, special events and discounted rates for table time.

Backed by investors who include the actress Susan Sarandon, SPiN boasts 15 tables in its 9,000-square-foot main room. The Fred Perry Room, a space for private parties, features a custom-made steel ping pong table with a mirrored surface and the décor includes an old revolving door that was part of a Woolworth's branch that once occupied the site.

A large window that already existed as part of that Woolworth's has been incorporated into the basement design. It looks straight into the adjacent downtown IRT subway station and also, of course, provides subterranean passengers with a window into the world of SPiN.

On-site food service for private parties as well as individuals is provided by a facility called Ducks at SPiN. Sliders, snacks, soups, sandwiches and sweets are offered at any time. Party menus include a wide selection of hors d'oeuvres, soups, snacks and desserts.

SPiN also offers private instruction by professional coaches; lounge and bar areas; Olympic-quality playing floors; and locker rooms with showers and paddle storage. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sundays through Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

For more information, click here.

SECURITY WAS THE KEY
word last month as the Flatiron Partnership launched its fall Speaker Series with a program that put the spotlight on two key members of the New York Police Department.

Chief Raymond Diaz, the new Borough Chief for Manhattan South, and Deputy Inspector Timothy Beaudette, Commanding Officer of the 13th Precinct (which includes the Flatiron district), talked about safety and security issues ranging from counter-terrorism initiatives to such quality-of-life matters as aggressive panhandling, carrying open containers of alcohol, and unlicensed street peddlers.

Diaz and Beaudette spoke at Bid on the City, a real estate firm at 226 Fifth Avenue, which co-sponsored the Sept. 24 program. A complimentary breakfast was served.

Beaudette -- who was the guest speaker at the Partnership's first Speaker Series event in May 2008 -- cited the impact on the precinct of the five methadone clinics within its boundaries, pointing out that some 1,600 to 2,000 patients were treated each day.

"Many of them come from other parts of the city and return to those neighborhoods after being treated," he said, "but they all pass through the precinct every day."

Beaudette also talked about criminals who pose as messengers to gain entry to office buildings, where they commit crimes ranging from petty thievery to assault, and requested the community's assistance in thwarting them.

"Help us out with these 'office creepers,'" he said. "If you see someone suspicious, don't be embarrassed about calling it in. Call 911 and we'll check it out."

He also invited everyone to attend the precinct's Community Council nights, held on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the station house, 230 East 21st Street.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Originally from Portland, Ore., where it was launched 10 years ago, Stumptown Coffee Roasters has come to Flatiron, where it opened its first freestanding coffee bar in New York at 20 West 29th Street, on the ground floor of the Ace Hotel. It's open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and its menu includes coffee "americano," espresso, mocha, hot chocolate, macchiato, cappuccino and iced coffee. Pastries are available, as are 12-ounce bags of whole beans imported from growers in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Ethiopia, Kenya and Indonesia and roasted in Stumptown's own roastery in Brooklyn. A small selection of brewers and grinders are also for sale.

Although there are no stools at the counter, caffeinistas may carry their drinks into the adjacent Ace lobby, which is available for immediate seating and sipping.

For more information, click here.

Bombay Garden

A second Bombay Garden has opened in Manhattan. The 70-seat Indian restaurant is at 62 West 22nd Street, just east of Sixth Avenue. The other Bombay Garden is at 234 Seventh Avenue, near 23rd Street . Rubel Ali, one of the owners, said the menu features more than 130 dishes, including such favorites as chicken tikka marsala (marinated chicken cooked in a tomato cream sauce) and shag ponir (spinach cooked with homemade cheese).

An all-you-can-eat buffet for $11.95 is offered daily from noon to 3 p.m. The restaurant is open every day from noon to 11 p.m. To contact Bombay Garden, call (212) 627-2208.

Sagaponack

Sagaponack is a town in the Hamptons where James and Amy Kang have spent much time relaxing and fly fishing. It holds many pleasant associations for them, which explains why they named their new restaurant after it. Sagaponack is at 4 West 22nd Street, just west of Fifth Avenue.

It boasts what Amy Kang calls a "creative" salad bar that includes such items as Japanese eggplant, tofu, sautéed shrimp, filet mignon and baby bok choy. There is a variety of sandwiches, one of the more popular being sautéed eggplant, tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto on sourdough bread. Sagaponack also features lobster, shrimp, spicy crab and fried oyster rolls and there is also a taco bar.

The two-level restaurant is open for lunch Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Starting Oct. 24, a weekend brunch will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. To contact the restaurant, call (212) 229-2226.

22 Happy Cups

A frozen yogurt shop called 22 Happy Cups has opened at 688 Sixth Avenue. The name, said manager Theresa Yoo, is in recognition of the shop's location, which is near 22nd Street.

22 Happy Cups offers frozen yogurt with a variety of toppings. It rotates two or three yogurt flavors daily from a selection that includes plain, blueberry, chocolate, wildberry, peanut butter and cappuccino. Smoothies, sweet crepes and coffee made with Ethiopian beans are also available.

The shop is open Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. To contact the store, call (212) 929-2313.

ENTER THE DOORWAY AT 19 WEST 21ST STREET AND THE FIRST thing you hear is the unmistakable sound of someone retching. Seek the source of that sound and there, just inside the entrance, practically breathing on you, is a ghoulish-looking mannequin with matted hair, a stained shirt and an open mouth disgorging a noxious-looking liquid into a barrel marked "Inedible."

Welcome to Abracadabra, an 11,000-square-foot playpen that is one of the oddest stores in New York. It is crammed with thousands of costumes, wigs, masks, magic tricks, stuffed animals, stage makeup, theatrical props, a "Haunted Graveyard" and novelty items that range from your basic whoopee cushion and fake eyeballs to a "bail-out" bolero tie that looks like a noose and comes in a package reading: "If the government can't bail you out . . . do it yourself." In smaller letters, it says, "Please use responsibly."

"It's our latest item," says Robert Pinzon, who together with his younger brother, Joseph, bought the business from long-time owner Paul Blum in 2007. "It's kind of cute, right?"

Abracadabra was launched in Greenwich Village in 1981 and relocated to the Flatiron district in 1997. It is now poised for its busiest month of the year. Halloween is to Abracadabra as Mother's Day is to your local tulip shop. In October, the store stays open longer, more salespeople are on hand and the basement, which is where the costumes are kept, looks like backstage at the circus.

The celebrity most trick-or-treaters will dress as this year is expected to be Michael Jackson. That's no surprise, says Pinzon: "Every year he's popular, but this year, because he's dead, he'll pick up steam. Same thing happened with the Joker. Always popular, but when that actor [Heath Ledger] died, we ran out of Jokers."

As for political figures, he said, Obama masks are doing nicely, but Sarah Palin wigs have been swept under the rug.

"She was popular back then," said Pinzon, alluding to Halloween 2008. "Now, no one talks about her."

Magic, of course, is another staple at Abracadabra, a word that goes back almost 2,000 years and is often used as an incantation by budding magicians whose voices haven't yet begun to change. Abracadabra has a professional conjurer on staff, a young fellow named Josh Edelman who not only mans the store's Magic Shop, a dedicated area with its own stage, but gives free performances every Sunday at 3 p.m.

The most expensive thing in the store, said Pinzon, is a stuffed four-year-old lion. It can be purchased for $4,000 but is also one of many Abracadabra items available for rent to filmmakers, theaters and photographers as props. An extensive online catalog lists everything from gag items like an exploding toilet and rubber worms to fog machines, bubble machines, strobe lights and disco balls.

Taking inventory must be a real headache, a visitor said to Pinzon, who in his 55 years has been an accountant, opened a deli and ran an ice-cream parlor.

"Are you kidding?" he replied. "I got a hundred thousand items here. This is some crazy store."

(Abracadabra, 19 West 21st Street. Phone: (212) 627-7523. October hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily; rest of year: Mondays through Saturdays,11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Web site: www.abracadabrasuperstore.com.)

HERB BROWN, AN ARTIST WHO LIVED AND WORKED IN A
fourth-floor apartment at 7 East 22nd Street, thought he smelled "something strange." When he checked it out and saw smoke coming from the roof of an adjoining building, he told his wife to call the Fire Department, rounded up his four children and led his family to safety. By that time, the electricity had already failed and the Browns had to grope their way to the street with the aid of a flashlight.

It was a little after 9:30 p.m. on the night of Monday, Oct. 17, 1966. What followed was one of the most horrific fires in New York City history. It took the lives of 12 firemen, the largest departmental death toll in one event in what was then the 101-year-old history of the NYFD, a toll not exceeded until Sept. 11, 2001, when 343 firefighters perished at the World Trade Center.

The blaze leveled the entire block of Broadway between 22nd and 23rd Streets. One of the buildings that rose on that site, the Madison Green high-rise, has a bronze plaque affixed to it recalling the event and on Saturday, Oct. 17, as it has in previous years on the anniversary of the fire, a commemoration ceremony will be held there.

The source of the fire was in 7 East 22nd Street, the four-story brownstone where the Brown family lived and where an art dealer stored highly flammable supplies in the cellar, according to Fire Department documents. A lamp and lampshade business was on the ground floor and many artists' lofts and studios occupied that building as well as adjoining ones. The rear wall of the 22nd Street brownstone abutted a five-story brick building to the north at 6 East 23rd Street, a building that housed a street-level store called Wonder Drug, a site that turned into a death trap.

When firemen arrived on the scene that Monday night, the smoke and flames were too intense at 7 East 22nd to allow entry. Crews went around the corner to 23rd Street and went in through Wonder Drug, where there was much less smoke and fire. They didn't know that the drug store shared a cellar with the 22nd Street building or that a wall in the cellar had been moved to give the art dealer more room. Those flammable lacquers and paint supplies in the basement were now directly beneath the drug store's five-inch-thick terrazzo flooring.

As firefighters headed for the rear of Wonder Drug, they were jolted by a tremendous roar. A 100-square-foot section of the floor had collapsed, plunging 10 men into the inferno below. Two more were killed by the blast of flame and heat that engulfed the ground floor. All told, they left 12 widows and 32 children.

It wasn't until 2 p.m. the following afternoon that the last body was recovered. By then, 300 firemen were at the scene and they all filed softly into Madison Square Park for a silent prayer.

• Flatiron BID holding talk on safety, security in community
• The business of the Flatiron
• Flatiron BID honors Baruch as 'Partner of the Year'
• Flatiron BID annual meeting
• Christine Quinn to speak at Flatiron BID event
• Information booth planned for pedestrian plaza
• New York Times - Historic Flatiron walking tour
• The transformation of NYC's Madison Square (video by Streetfilms)
• amNew York: Flatiron's fanciful flight
• Click Here for More News Articles

Newsletters

• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• Click Here for More Newsletters

The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District, formed in 2006, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the area's reputation as one of New York's most vital and exciting neighborhoods. This is undertaken by maintaining a clean and safe environment for those who live, work and visit the area; by spearheading area improvement projects; and by marketing the diverse business and retail options in this vibrant and historic neighborhood.

For more information go to our Web site at www.discoverflatiron.org or e-mail us at info@flatironbid.org.

Contact Information: