Spanish-American Institute

Student Club Newsletter

215 West 43 Street Times Square Manhattan, New York 10036-3913

voice: 212.840.7111 fax: 212.719.5922  www.sai.nyc  info@sai.nyc  VoIP internet phone: 166.84.191.135 student news groups:  news://166.84.191.133  library catalog:  http://166.84.191.133/m3

 

August, 2008

Vol. 4, No.8

Free NYC Events

in August

 

 

  Thursdays, 7:30 pm. 8/7, An Evening With Lisa Minelli; 8/14, Salsa By the Sea (bring your dancing shoes.  Asser Levy/Seaside Park, W. 5th and Surf Ave., Coney Island/Brighton Beach.  D to Stillwell Ave./Coney Island; Q,F to W. 8th St./NY Aquarium Station. 

 

  Thursdays, 7-9 pm. to August 14.  Latin Music Concerts. Salsa, rock, Latin Funk, reggae, etc.  El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave. @ 104th St.  6 train to 103 St. and Lexington Ave., walk west to Fifth Ave.

 

  Fridays, 6:30 pm. until August 22.  Battery Park City Sunset Jam on the Hudson.  Sunset drumming let by a master drummer.  Borrow drums, bells, shakers, and sticks or bring your own.  Afterwards, walk the esplanade along the Hudson River at Battery Park City.  Or take the free Staten Island ferry for a cool trip across the water with magnificent views of the Manhattan skyline and New York Harbor.  Wagner Park, just northwest of Battery Park on Lower Manhattan map, to the right.  

 

Sundays, 6:30-9pm, Aug. 3&10, Moondance. Dance the night away under the stars at Hudson River Park’s Pier 54@14th St...  Free dance lessons at 6:30pm.  Live bands go on at 7pm.  1,2,3,A,C,E,L to 14th St. and walk west to River, 14D crosstown bus (make sure to get off before bus turns on 10th Ave.).

 

  Saturday, 11am on, August 9.   International Yo-Yo Contest and Activities.  Daylong music, activities, and (of course) yo-yo demonstrations.  South Street Seaport.  Fulton St. and East River.  (See map in right column.).

  Sunday, 2-9pm, August 24, Blues BBQ.  9th annual Blues&BBQ festival.  Enjoy blues bands at one of NYC’s premiere waterfront spots.  Hudson River Park’s Pier 54@14th St...  (See directions for  Sundays, 8/3&8/10 above)

 

New--Free Sundays at the Studio Museum of Harlem, 144 W. 125th St.  Free admission every Sunday from 12-6pm.  Featured  current exhibition by Kehinde Wiley, The World Stage:  Africa Lagos~Dakar to October 26.  2,3,1,B,C,D,4,5,6 trains to 125th St. 

 

Onassis Cultural Center  Take a short walk from the Institute to the Onassis Cultural Center in the Olympic Towers, 654 5th Ave, Suite 304.  See From the Land of the Labyrinth:  Minoan Crete, 3000-1100 BC.  Mon.-Sat., 10-6pm.  Enter on 51st or 52nd Sts. between 5th & Madison Aves.

 

Free Classical Concerts  From September to June, NYC’s famous music schools like Julliard, Mannes, and Manhattan schools of music offer hundreds of free classical and jazz music concerts.  During the summer, classical music lovers can hear free concerts by young world class performers at Pace University’s Michael Schimmel Center as part of the River to River festival. Mondays at 7:30 pm--8/4, Wu Man, pianist; 8/11, Monica Yunos, soprano.  Pace University near Brooklyn Bridge.  2,3 to Park Place or 4,5,6,R,W to City Hall/Brooklyn Bridge and walk east to Park Row, then north on Park Row to Spruce St. 

 

River Flicks   “Flicks” is slang for movies.  Free with popcorn Wednesdays at 8 pm.  For seating, arrive early.  Pier 54, 14th St. and Hudson River—8/6 Saturday Night Fever, 8/13 Rock Star, 8/20 The Blues Brothers. (See Sun., 8/3&8/10 directions.)

Lower Manhattan Map 

 

Roosevelt Island—Featured Neighborhood

Manhattan is an island.  But did you know that there is an island in Manhattan named Roosevelt Island? Located in the East River between Manhattan and Queens, Roosevelt Island is home to a small community of about 9,000 people in the midst of this huge City.  It is sometimes called the Little Apple, an amusing reference to Manhattan which is sometimes called the Big Apple.  Its Main Street seems to have one of everything (but only one) you would find in Manhattan—a pizzeria, a Chinese restaurant, a library, a deli, a bank, etc. Its residential areas contain quiet, leafy,  low-traffic streets.  Its green spaces are a lovely contrast to the congestion of Manhattan Island.   

 

  You can take the F train to the Roosevelt Island stop or the Q102 from Astoria.  But it is more interesting to take the Tramway (see picture, above).  The New York Times calls the 4-minute ride on the Tramway to Roosevelt Island “the most exciting view in New York City”!

  The Tram is a funicular or gondola that rides over the East River.  The fare is $2 each way, Metrocard accepted.  It leaves from 59th St. and Second Avenue several times an hour.  Once you arrive, there is no reason not to walk since Roosevelt Island is only two miles long.  Or, for a quarter, you can ride the little red bus that runs in a loop around the Island. 

  Once on the Island, walk the promenades along the East River.  Sprawl on Meditation Steps and gaze across the water at the Manhattan skyscrapers.  Fish near the Lighthouse at the Island’s northern tip (probably not a good idea to eat the catch, however).  There are outdoor playing fields and tennis courts (permits required) and an indoor Sportspark at the southern end of the Island. 

 

The Big Apple

Why is NYC sometimes called the Big Apple?  At one time, NYC had four major horse racing tracks.  In the 1920s, a NYC reporter supposedly heard New Orleans stable hands refer to the City as the “Big Apple.”  Soon after, jazz musicians began to use the term to refer to NYC and Harlem as the jazz capital of the world.  The jazz musicians of the 1930s and ‘40s put the phrase “The Big Apple” into more or less general circulation.

 

College Honor Roll  Congratulations to all the Institute students recently accepted to college.  Give us a copy of your college acceptance letter and we will post it on the school’s College Honor Roll walls.

 

Find Out More--Student Club Newsletters and Bulletin Boards  Published monthly.  Back issues available online:

http://www.sai.nyc/ClubNews/.  Read about free activities and interesting neighborhoods in New York City.  Make sure to check school bulletin boards for more events than listed here.  Bulletin boards are updated frequently. 

 

Student Bike Club   Participating is easy.  Just talk to your teachers and classmates.  E-mail us when you’d like to first take a tour (usually on a Saturday at noon.  Bring a change of pants (if you plan to kayak), sturdy sneakers, a camera and a friend . . . e-mail bikeclub@sai.nyc

 

 

More Student Club on the WEB @ www.si2000.org :

*      Back Issues of this Newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ClubNews

*      Student Club Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/studentclubphotos

*      MySpace Student Club:  http://www.myspace.com/studentclubnews

*      Club Notes from the Bulletin boards: http://sai.nyc/ClubNotes/ClubNotesTOC.htm

*      Course Syllabi:  http://www.sai.nyc/syllabi/2008Syllabi/

*      School Catalog: http://sai.nyc/Catalog/Vol22Winter2007/CatVol22Winter2007.html