UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — Officials in Lincoln Square unveiled their interactive holiday lights installation on Thursday evening.

Lincoln Square’s Dante Park Lighting Installation Ceremony & Celebration featured live performances and the turning on of the holiday lights for the season.

The Saints of Swing, Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School Chorus, holiday-inspired circus acts including stilt walkers and others performed.

The ceremony kicks off a series of free, festive events.

Magical Lights will illuminate nightly in Dante Park and Richard Tucker Park through the new year.

It will feature audio-reactive lighting that will move in sync to new recordings from the Metropolitan Opera, including newly added tracks from the Met’s annual holiday presentation of The Magic Flute.

Additionally, 34 trees wrapped entirely with lights will shine along the 10 Broadway Malls from West 60th to 70th streets.

Local businesses offered light refreshments, including Rosa Mexicana, which warmed up guests with hot chocolate, and Le Botaniste, which provided fresh cookies.

Throughout December, the Fabulous Fezziwigs will wear their festive Victorian costumes and bring joy to Lincoln Square with their spirited caroling of timeless classics and contemporary holiday favorites.

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By Mike Mishkin, I Love the Upper West Side

Lincoln Square is getting ready for a full slate of holiday programming, with the Lincoln Square BID rolling out a series of events throughout December. The season officially begins with the Magical Lights Ceremony on Thursday, December 4, at 4:30 p.m. in Dante Park (Broadway and West 64th Street).

This year’s kickoff features circus performances — including Princess Schneeflocken, stilt walkers, and jugglers — along with music by students from Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School Chorus. The Saints of Swing, known for their classic and eclectic repertoire, will follow.

The ceremony also marks the return of the BID’s audio-reactive light and sound displays, which will illuminate Dante and Richard Tucker Parks. The installations respond to clapping, singing, and ambient city sound, and in Dante Park, the lights will sync with recordings from the Metropolitan Opera and Jazz at Lincoln Center. The nightly light-and-sound shows begin at 4:30 p.m. and will run throughout the season.

Additional lighting has also been added along the Broadway Malls from 60th to 70th Street, where trees will be wrapped from trunk to branch.

Beyond opening night, the BID’s Holidays in Lincoln Square lineup includes the return of the WinteRamble, an illuminated procession featuring Frost Giant puppets created by Processional Arts Workshop. That takes place on Wednesday, December 17, and advance sign-ups are available online.

Caroling will also pop up across the neighborhood, with the Fabulous Fezziwigs scheduled to perform at rotating locations from 5:30–7:00 p.m. on seven dates: December 5, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 18. Locations will be announced on the BID’s social channels.

More details about this year’s programs — along with event listings and promotions from Lincoln Square businesses — can be found at HolidaysinLincolnSquare.nyc. Information is also available at the BID’s three information carts at Dante Park, Richard Tucker Park, and Columbus Circle.

By Kiran Mediratta, Our Town

On a blistering summer day, listeners gather in a small park by Lincoln Center for some summer jazz. A whole series of free lunchtime concerts are on tap for the remainder of the summer at Dante Park.

For the rest of the summer, you can enjoy free outdoor jazz concerts every Wednesday afternoon.

The Lincoln Square BID, a local not-for-profit aimed at improving the quality of life in the neighborhood, is running its fourth season of the Summer Jazz Sensation. Every Wednesday from 12 to 1:30pm, esteemed local and international jazz artists perform in Dante Park, on the corner of West 64th Street at the crossroads of Broadway and Columbus Avenue.

“We want to make the neighborhood clean, safe, and beautiful,” said Ralph Memoli, executive VP of the Lincoln Square BID in an interview with Straus News following the performance by singer Kathryn Farmer on July 9. “Then there’s the fun stuff, like music and food. Our main goal is to create neighborhood connections and foster a sense of community.”

Listeners of all kinds—locals, tourists, elderly, teens, and babies and dogs (though they probably didn’t have a say in the matter)—enjoyed the hour and a half of swing, samba, and blues. “The proof is in the pudding,” Memoli said, as he laughed about whether the concerts have been successful or not. Lush trees and some red umbrellas provided much-needed shade, and Lincoln Center, the iconic destination for performing arts, stood stoically a block away, quietly absorbing the sweet melodies.

“Along with jazz, we try to bring commerce and culture, and promote local businesses.” This week, it was a plant-based local restaurant called Le Botaniste. “I told you they were good,” Memoli said as I tried a falafel sample from Le Botaniste. Then, halfway through the setlist, the West Side Y hosted a gentle stretch that got everyone working off their lunch.

With such popularity, the greatest challenge Lincoln Square BID faces has been the weather. From the heat or rain, both of which have been prominent this summer, the not-for-profit reserves Friday as its backup day. When an earlier event was moved due to weather, the loyal crowd of jazz-goers came out in full bloom, and the only challenge was “finding a seat for everyone,” the opposite of what you might expect on a rainy day.

Susan Hinkson, a new neighbor to the Upper West Side, is a longtime lover of jazz. “I’ve seen them set up, but this is my first time experiencing the concert.” Enjoying the songs, she told me how she sings jazz herself, has music on Spotify, and will even perform this autumn. “After a long time of sitting behind desks, this will be a new endeavor.”

At the July 9 concert, listeners watched vocalist Kathryn Farmer perform, along with a band consisting of a drummer, bassist, pianist, and saxophonist. Farmer, who grew up in Greenburgh, NY, spent her childhood enveloped in jazz. “My father had lots of jazz records, but I didn’t realize until later how good they were,” she told Straus News between sets. With an exceptional 4.5-octave range, Farmer graduated from the New England Conservatory and performed with greats such as Santi Debriano, Jimmy Smith, and Lester Bowie. (She also learned to play the organ, though there was no organ in the park today.)

As Farmer’s crystal-clear vocals sparkled in classics like “Come Rain or Come Shine,” and “Hit the Road, Jack,” folks danced on the small stage, couples held hands and swayed gently with the cozy old tunes, and others, just stopping for a bite to eat, were graced with a show at lunchtime. A statue of Italian poet Dante Alighieri, for whom the park is named, watched over the scene from behind the band.

”I like to dance, if you haven’t realized. The minute the music starts, I’m dancing,” Farmer wove into the intro of a groovy song.

Farmer has spent the last few months performing across Bangkok and Tokyo, but still understands the value in a local concert on the city streets. “I love this venue: It brings music to people, especially elderly people, it’s wonderful.” Like most of the watchers, Farmer is a NYC local, too. “I’ll be coming back just to watch.”

Jack, a neighborhood resident, has been coming to the event for years and is particularly drawn to the lyrics. “I like coming for the vocalists,” he said. As a trumpeter, he has performed all across the city—the American Legion in Brooklyn, Columbia University, later at Lehman College, and now he enjoys summer jazz with his community.
The lineup of performers is Svetlana & The New York Collective on July 23; Trumpet Summit One: James Zollar with John Bailey and Kalí Rodríguez-Peña on July 30; Carla Cook and Friends on Aug. 6; Jeremy Carlstedt on Aug. 13; Tenor Madness featuring Jason Marshall and Keith Loftis on Aug. 20; Emily Braden Quartet on Aug. 27; Person2Person featuring Eric and Houston Person on Sept. 3; Lucy Yeghiazaryan Trio on Sept. 10; and Bobby Harden on Sept. 17.
In its mission to bring culture and connections to Lincoln Square, Lincoln Square BID has clearly been successful. Once a week at noon, you can enjoy tasty food, listen to spirited music, and meet thoughtful people. Throughout its history, jazz has always had a way of uniting people, and it continues to do so for an hour and a half every Wednesday this summer.

Jazz performances run until Sept. 17, from noon to 1:30pm in Dante Park, West 64th Street between Broadway and Columbus Avenue.

“Along with jazz, we try to bring commerce and culture, and promote local businesses.” — Ralph Memoli, executive VP of the Lincoln Square BID

MANHATTAN (WABC) — The Lincoln Square Business Improvement District kicked off its Summer Jazz Sensations series on Friday.

The free concerts run every Wednesday through September 17th from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Dante Park, at Broadway between 63rd and 64th Streets.

Attendees can enjoy outdoor performances by local, iconic and well-known jazz artists in the heart of the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

In the event of rain, the concerts are scheduled to be help on Friday.

“We love seeing the seats filled with jazzed up locals and visitors enjoying an afternoon of music and exploring a new shop or restaurant on their outing in such a welcoming neighborhood. This year’s lineup is bringing incredible jazz musicians who have played around the world right to our own backyard for a series you won’t want to miss. This year is set to be our best concert series yet,” said Monica Blum, President of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District.

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By Scott Etkin

While we wait to see whether the city’s composting and containerization programs can successfully reduce New York’s rat population (by isolating food scraps and other trash in rat-proof containers), it’s worth a look at how another city experiment is faring at keeping rats at bay.

In 2022, the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District – which roughly covers West 58th to 70th Street – began participating in a pilot program known as “Clean Curbs,” aimed at reducing litter from sidewalk trash receptacles on many Upper West Side street corners. The waste in these containers is what’s thrown out by the public when they’re on the street – making it separate from the residential and commercial trash targeted by the composting and containerization programs. The city, not residents or businesses, is responsible for these street containers, which can overflow, spilling onto sidewalks and attracting vermin.

Under the Clean Curbs program, receptacles in the UWS pilot area are emptied several times a day by the Lincoln Square BID, and the contents are then stored in locked, rat-proof containers, to be collected by the city’s Department of Sanitation. A West Side Rag article on the initiative from shortly after it started generated a vigorous 65 comments – expressing everything from deep skepticism that it would be effective, to enthusiastic optimism that the containers (rectangular metal boxes placed in street parking spaces) would make a real difference.

So, how has the program turned out? And does the BID’s experiment offer any hope for a rat-free neighborhood?

More than two years into the experiment, it has been scaled up. An additional four containers have been added to the West 60s, bringing the total number of bins to six. That may not sound like a lot, but some 300 bags of trash are deposited in those six bins every day. The bags put there are collected by BID’s “Clean Team,” 15 contracted maintenance workers who empty receptacles and sweep up the public’s trash throughout the neighborhood every day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (9 p.m. on the weekends). 

“Getting garbage bags off the sidewalks is really terrific,” said Monica Blum, president of the Lincoln Square BID, on a call with the Rag. But Blum acknowledges the system isn’t perfect yet. On holidays, for example, when there are no pick-ups, the bags from street corner receptacles end up on the sidewalk, and not in the metal boxes, she said.

And because transferring the full bags of trash to the metal bins is no small task, figuring out the tools the Clean Team needed for the job took some learning, Blum said. Some Clean Team members are now equipped with tandem rolling trash barrels so they can more easily move collected trash bags before bringing them to the stationary containers.

Another lesson the BID learned is how to keep the bins clean of the liquid that inevitably seeps out of garbage bags. The Clean Team power-washes the bins, inside and out, once a week. “The maintenance of them is key, but it’s also time-consuming,” said Ralph Memoli, executive vice president of the BID. 

The bins appear clean enough that Blum has spotted people sitting on them to eat lunch.

Underneath the bins is another story, which the BID discovered when an unlucky tourist from Canada dropped an earbud below a bin. The BID helped him fish it out, but the experience led to a new policy: electric leaf blowers are used once a week to clear gunk and leaves from under the bins. 

While a concern when the program began was that the bins took up spaces used for parking cars, the BID said it has not received any complaints about this from the community. The bins are about the size of one parking space. In some cases, they are located on a corner, which prevents a car from taking a sharp turn through the intersection, a safety practice known as “daylighting.” 

Unlike the trash containers on wheels used by businesses and small residential buildings, the bins used by the BID are stationary and locked when not in use. Blum is hoping that they do not have to be replaced once the sanitation department starts using sideloading bins – which can be emptied using a lever attached to the truck – in the coming years; the BID doesn’t have the funding to replace the existing ones, she said. Plus, she believes the current bins have been effective. 

“We don’t see rats, but there are some rats in our Broadway Malls in the flower beds,” said Blum. “We’ll see how many tulip bulbs get eaten this year.” 

The fight continues.

Text and Photos By Daniel Krieger, West Side Rag

“Welcome to the annual WinteRamble!” a voice from a large crowd announced to loud cheers on Wednesday night at the kickoff of the third edition of this mobile festival that has become a neighborhood holiday tradition.

Organized by the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID), the procession commenced on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd streets, next to the ghost of Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, before slowly meandering its way around the area, twisting and turning and lumbering along for one hour before returning to its year-long slumber.

The procession was led by seven 14-foot-tall illuminated frost giant puppets provided by the Processional Arts Workshop. Its members also led a workshop prior to the event across the street at TD Bank, where 100 participants made their own mini lanterns to accompany the frost giants on the walk, which is one of the highlights of Lincoln Square BID’s Magical Lights holiday programming.

The procession set off amid the threat of imminent rain as well as the good fortune of mild temperatures. Heightening the strangeness and novelty of this spectacle was the sound of kalimbascopes [a western interpretation of African thumb pianos], which provided the soundtrack. As usual, passersby asked some variation of, “What is this?” And along the route, many stopped to take out their phones to document this dreamlike spectacle that was inexplicably in front of them.

Before the walk, Monica Blum, president of the Lincoln Square BID, estimated that if it didn’t rain, there could be at least 200 participants. But even if it did rain, she said, they would forge ahead, and since the frost giants are waterproof, they would be unaffected.

“The idea here is building a sense of community,” she said. “This is a large residential neighborhood, and I’d like to have people look out their window and see us walking by and come down and join us.”

Before the kickoff, you could see what a community event it was as a growing crowd of locals boisterously socialized while the frost giants practiced their moves as they geared up for the walk. Meanwhile, Ralph Memoli, one of the organizers, was handing out large crystalline lanterns mounted on a bamboo stick that were made by the Processional Arts Workshop.

Many parents with kids were present, such as Alicia, who had brought her three-year-old son and a friend. They had just come from the workshop and her child was sitting in his stroller, mini lantern in hand, ready to go.

“It’s a great way for kids to make arts and crafts and see how wonderful New York is,” she said of the workshop and the event itself. “My son is having fun, and it gets him out of the house.”

By Robert Beck, West Side Rag

It was cold last year, just above freezing and breezy. We came fifteen minutes early to Dante Park in case there were a lot of people. A lot MORE people, I should say, as Dante is in front of Lincoln Center, where there is already plenty of traffic without a procession of Frost Giants.

It turned out there was no huge crowd, and it looked so normal that those who came for the Solstice WinteRamble were asking each other if this was the right time and place. The notice said it was starting at an undisclosed location and would go around the Lincoln Square Neighborhood, which is pretty vague. If it was your first time (and it was), you didn’t know what to look for.

Like I said, it was cold. At twenty after the stated time, my wife went home. About ten minutes later, I heard the sound, and the first tall, buoyant puppet figure emerged from a side street south on Broadway. It headed north at a slow walk, accompanied by six others like it and a flock of ice lanterns surrounded by a fair-sized crowd of celebrants.

The audio accompaniment was an artistic recording of thumb pianos—the small plunky instruments with metal tabs you flick with your finger. It was played loudly to compete with the ambient New York cacophony, greater than the portable system could handle, and came across more as a distorted rhythmic roar than music. That seemed appropriate, however. These were Frost Giants, and the sound was very winter weather-ish.

Solstice is an astronomical event, but celebrations through history reflect ancient rituals and beliefs. Our ancestors were smart enough to notice what was happening but lacked the means to determine why, so they made up good stories. We know why now, but we don’t always know better. We still enjoy the mysticism and the party.

There is just enough human-like articulation to the Frost Giant figures to play with your head. The idea behind puppets is to have you forget that their life and spirit come from without, and the point of the Ramble was fun and diversion, and there was plenty of that. The participants had a good time snarling traffic on a clear December evening, and the Frost Giants were pretty nifty, if unspecific in their duties. The solstice may be a phenomenon of exacting times, measurements, and consequences spanning thousands of millennia, but it’s a niche celebration on Broadway. The change to longer days and our moment of maximum tilt away from the sun only means so much to Upper West Siders. The majority of Thursday evening New Yorkers pouring out of the Lincoln Center subway station merely glanced at the block-long-plus procession without breaking stride or interrupting their phone conversations. The cab drivers stuck on the cross streets just shook their heads at one more thing.

By Rossilynne Skena Culgan, Time Out New York

The holiday magic is in full effect at Lincoln Square’s Magical Lights. Stroll along Broadway around 60th and 70th Street to explore this cool immersive audio and light installation. 

Strands of icicle lights decorate the trees inside Dante Park (at Broadway & 64th Street) and Richard Tucker Park (at Broadway & 65th Street). That’s beautiful enough to see but then the magic comes in. The trees change color and respond to singing, clapping, music, and even the NYC soundscape. They’ll glow in green, pink, purple, and golden hues for a dazzling interactive spectacle.  

Plus, given the parks’ location in a major cultural hub, The Magical Lights at Dante Park will also dance along to festive recordings from two of Lincoln Square’s iconic performing arts institutions: Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Metropolitan Opera.

In addition to the nightly light show, also expect free entertainment all season long, including: Giant puppets, icicle lanterns and carolers. Here’s the full schedule.

Photos and text by Daniel Krieger

As the holiday season gets underway, Christmas decorations are festooning the city. And on Tuesday evening, in front of Lincoln Center at Dante Park (West 63rd Street), the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District kicked off its Magical Lights programming.

This year, there’s an expanded array of attractions. Along with last year’s interactive sound-sensitive lights adorning the park’s London Plane trees, music will now be played nightly from speakers hidden in the trees — recordings of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Met Opera – which the lights react to. These lights will also be on display at Richard Tucker Park on West 66th Street. And, from West 60th to 70th streets, 36 trees on the Broadway Mall will be illuminated.

As twilight approached, an eager crowd gathered. Locals came for the performers, to drink hot chocolate served by Rosa Mexicano, and to celebrate the turning on of the lights that officially marks the start of the holiday season. The jubilant spectators circled the stage area next to the Movado clock tower.

The festivities began with caroling by the Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School Chorus, which was accompanied by the antics of The Department of Spectacle, a playful circus group with jugglers, a unicyclist, and a mischievous stilt walker with large angelic wings.

Lots of local media showed up, including ABC Eyewitness News, and in the run-up to the lighting, Gale Brewer went up to a podium and wished everyone well along with other speakers, including Monica Blum, the president of the Lincoln Square BID, and Nina Pineda, a broadcast journalist with WABC-TV. 

Then came the moment everyone was waiting for – switching on the lights. As light snow momentarily began to fall, a group of two dozen children led the countdown from seven to one. Then the crowd erupted into boisterous midnight-on-New-Years-Eve style cheering as the lights went on, followed by a shower of confetti as the Saints of Swing launched into Christmas classics, like Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

For the rest of the month, and into January, every day at 4:30 p.m. the lights will go on and the music will play, explained Monica Blum, the BID’s president, who was orchestrating the holiday season kickoff.

“We want to bring people to Lincoln Square to create a sense of community here, which is really what we’re all about,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for 29 years and the whole idea is to bring the neighborhood together.” Surveying the large turnout and festive scene, she observed that they had once again achieved that goal. 

After the lighting, Kristy Ledley, a local mom who had come with her husband and toddler, expressed appreciation for the family-friendly event.

“I like that it’s not a typical Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which makes it stand out from the other tree lightings in the city,” she said as she looked up at the twinkling lights. “These lights add pizzazz to the trees and light up the square really well.”

On seven nights this month, the caroling group the Fabulous Fezziwigs will perform in various spots around the neighborhood donned in their signature Victorian costumes (December 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 17th, and 18th.) Check the Lincoln Square BID on Instagram for time and place updates. Also, the third annual WinteRamble Workshop and Procession will take place on December 18th. To register to take part in the WinteRamble Workshop and Procession, click here, and to learn more about Magical Lights events happening this month go here.

By Brandan Mohler, I Love the Upper West Side

Lincoln Square will be lit up for the holidays beginning next Tuesday, December 3, thanks to Lincoln Square BID’s Magical Lights program. The month-long celebration will kick off at 4:30 p.m. on December 3 in Dante Park, according to a press release.

The “festive celebration of light and sound” will feature a variety of installments including singing trees in Dante Park (the small, triangular park just across Columbus from Lincoln Center’s main steps) near West 64th Street. Dante Park’s London Plane trees will be decorated with audio-reactive lights designed by Limbic Media.

Just a few blocks north, Richard Tucker Park will also feature audio-reactive lighting that will “twinkle, move to the rhythms of the city, and brighten up [the park],” between West 65th and 66th streets along Broadway and Columbus.

The BID will also illuminate 36 trees throughout the Broadway Malls between West 60th and West 70th streets.

“Whether you’re on your way to a performance, dining and shopping in the neighborhood, or on your way home, we hope our light and sound installations will brighten up the holiday season for everyone,” Monica Blum, President of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District, said in the release.

The December 3rd kick-off in Dante Park will include holiday-themed circus acts along with a free performance by the Kaufman Music Center’s Special Musical School Chorus. A swing band called “The Saints of Swing” will liven the environment with a special performance, as well.

Can’t make it on December 3? The festivities will continue throughout the holiday season, including performances on seven nights (12/4, 12/5, 12/11, 12/12, 12/13, 12/17, and 12/8) by the caroling group the Fabulous Fezziwigs. The WinteRamble Workshop and Procession – where locals can participate and volunteer in the parade – is scheduled for December 18.

For more information on all Magical Lights events or to register for the WinteRamble Workshop and Procession, visit the Magical Lights website here.