The Corcoran Group

Welcome to Meatpacking Uncorked, a party that will take over the neighborhood from 6 to 9 tonight. “It’s a little bit like Fashion’s Night Out — but more curated,” explains Annie Washburn, associate director of the Food Network NYC Wine and Food Festival, the annual foodie extravaganza hosting scores of mouthwatering events across the city this weekend.

Tonight’s free-spirited crawl will showcase food and drink at restaurants and boutiques throughout the neighborhood, with the main action centered around Gansevoort Plaza. “You can choose your own adventure,” says Washburn — whether that’s a wine crawl, an eating tour or a hunt for Cooking Channel talent. (read more at NY Post)

The Occupy Wall Street protesters camped out in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park are buzzing over a big secret musical guest scheduled to play this afternoon at around 4pm. We hear that it’s Radiohead, who are in New York for a couple concerts.

While we’ll be spending most of our weekend at events for the New York City Wine and Food Festival, there’s an equally entertaining, although slightly more risque, festival going on this weekend as well.  The Ninth Annual New York Burlesque Festival will once againbe serving up four nights of glitter and glamour in Gotham, with over 120 eye-popping performances from the world’s leading burlesque and variety entertainers.  The festival started last night…but there’s plenty going on during the evening hours the rest of the weekend!

Photo: The World Famous *BOB*

The New York City Wine & Food Festival kicks off this weekend and, if you read any food blogs, you are going to be hearing a lot about it. You might even have gotten yourself tickets to one of the many fun events on offer—like the Meatpacking Uncorked. But, as part of the press, we’ve got to warn you: you almost certainly won’t have nearly as good a time as members of the media will. Unless, that is, you the advice of our friends at Gothamist.

Bring to Light is a free nighttime public festival of art in New York City that takes place simultaneously with “nuit blanche” events in cities around the world. Inviting emerging and established artists to make site-specific installations of light, sound, performance and projection art, the event creates an immersive spectacle for thousands of visitors to re-imagine public space and civic life. Bring to Light will transform streets, parks and the industrial waterfront of Greenpoint, Brooklyn set against dramatic views of the Manhattan skyline.

Bring To Light
India Street Pier/Waterfront, Greenpoint
Saturday, October 1st, 6pm

If you bike to work, you’ve probably got pretty nice thighs. Your lungs, though, may not be in such great shape. New research has found that bicycle commuters inhale more than twice the amount of black carbon particles as pedestrians making a comparable trip. That healthy bike ride to and from work might be getting you out of a car, but it’s not getting you out of the way of the automobile emissions. (via The Atlantic Cities)

Image via: bicyclesonly (and we don’t condone biking while talking on a cell phone or without a helmet - that’s just nuts!)

Are you excited for #NYCWFF yet? In preparation for our sponsorship of this weekend’s upcoming Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, this week we’ll be posting some of our favorite food-related finds from around town. Up next, here’s 3 ultra-cool New York bakers, who make some of the most delicious treats on our to-try list.

This festive, all-day shopping bazaar takes place on the quaint cobblestone Crosby Street outside of the Bookstore Cafe. Thousands of donated books, records, and CDs will be sold for $1 apiece, plus clothing, shoes and accessories from Housing Works Thrift Shops, great snacks from our cafe and music from local bands.

Housing Works
126 Crosby Street, Soho/Nolita
Sunday, September 25th, 10am-6pm.

The commute times in our office range from 10 minutes all the way to two hours!  According to the American Community Survey conducted by the Census Bureau, “The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area had the longest average
commute, at 34.6 minutes.” And that has only increased a few minutes since 1980! How long is your daily commute? (via AutoBlog)

After a 27-year restoration, Jane’s Carousel is now open to the public. The carousel is a completely restored historic Carousel made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC #61) in 1922. It is a classic 3-row machine with 48 exquisitely carved horses, and 2 superb chariots. The wood carvings, often attributed to John Zalar and Frank Carretta, are among the finest of their kind. In addition, the scenery panels, rounding boards, crests, center pole and platform are all original to the Carousel. It was the first Carousel to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Carousel is housed in a spectacular Pavilion designed by Pritzker Prize winning French architect Jean Nouvel. Jane’s Carousel will delight children, as well as visitors from around the world, for many generations to come.

Jane’s Carousel
Brooklyn Bridge Park, DUMBO

As the owner of legendary hotspots like Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium and Club USA, Peter Gatien was the king of the New York club scene until years of legal battles led to his eventual deportation to Canada. This exuberant documentary charts Gatien’s rise and fall against the transformation of New York City, offering a wild ride through a now-closed chapter in the history of NYC nightlife. From Billy Corben, the director of Cocaine Cowboys, who will be in attendance during tonight’s 7:30pm screening.

Landmark Sunshine Theater
143 East Houston, Lower East Side