Staying for the Holidays?

Sometimes, you have to make where ever you are home for the holidays. New York City is not a bad place to be this time of year, not in the least. If you're one of our many residents staying over the break, here are some things you MUST check out before the Spring semester starts up:

1. Check out the Holiday Markets!

2. Walk Fifth Avenue for the Window Displays!

3. Go Ice Skating!

4. See some Holiday Comedy Shows!

5. The break is yours. Make sure to unwind and relax. You deserve it.

Spring Break: DO SOMETHING!

As this week starts to come to a close, the building will become a little quieter. Spring Break is within our sights and many residents will be spending it outside of Ludlow.

The city is yours for the week! Make the most of it.

But if you're like me and plan on staying, don't waste your days away on Netflix or hibernating (although who can resist the urge after plague of all-nighters). Get out and do something! This is your chance! Be a tourist, take your time and enjoy the parts of New York City you fell in love with before you even moved in. Here's a short list to get your adventure juices flowing:









1. Go see a Broadway show with discount tickets.

2. Indulge in a dessert nearby at Big Gay Ice Cream or uptown at Holey Cream for an insane ice cream donut sandwich. Mmm...

3. Make a reservation for Restaurant Week!

4. Bike around Central Park.

5. Go to the museum!!! Don't be that art student that has never been to the MoMA, PS1, Metropolitan or Museum of Natural History. Good excuses for selfies, in the least.

6. Cross over to Brooklyn.

7. Spend some time on the High Line.

8. Or get lost in Strand!

9. Learn a new recipe without the watchful eye of a full kitchen and pick up your ingredients from the Union Square Farmers Market.

10. Take your mind off things and do some yoga.

15 Ways To Spend Your Valentines Day

1) Call your family and friends. It is a day dedicated to love so tell the people you love how much the mean to you.

2) Hand make cheesy Valentines day cards for your friends like you did in grade school.

3) Instead of spending money on cliche items like chocolates, flowers, oversized stuffed animals and a card, plan an experience that you will both enjoy.

4) Be a kid again and do some Valentines Day crafts with your friends.

5) Learn about Saint Valentine. The internet is endless information why not research where the holiday came from?

6) If you completely detest Valentines Day protest by throwing a horror movie marathon night.

7) For those of us low on cash maybe get in some extra hours at work. And let the delusionally in love miss out on those hours.

8) Start a new hobby with your significant other or start one of your own. Either way you learn something new.

9) Stay in, order take out, and have a mellow night.

10) Go out on the town with your single friends and celebrate your youth.

11) Show some love for yourself and have a "treat yourself night".

12) Go see this

13) or this

14) or this

15) or peruse the village voice website until you find something good.

Enjoy your Valentines' Day weekend!

Get your skate on!

New York City comes alive at Christmas time. The streets and shops go all out with decorations and lights, our parks put up huge, beautiful trees and there are tons of stalls and mini-stores at the many holiday markets round the island. The best part though? The ice-skating rinks!

It is the focal point in so many movies when the main characters go ice-skating in New York City and it tops so many '100 things' to do lists for NYC. But where are these rinks? And which are the best?

The main two would have to be Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller Center usually has an hour or so wait but it is probably the most iconic. It is one of the most expensive options and also one of the smallest rinks so you're mainly going there to say 'I've skated at Rockefeller'. Bryant Park is free to skate if you bring your own, otherwise it's $14 to rent. It is a much larger rink as you can see above and also has a holiday market around it so you can get your shopping done too!

Other rinks around Manhattan include Central Park, South Street Seaport, Brookfield Place and Chelsea Piers. There are actually two in Central Park, one at around 59th St and one at 90th. The one at 59th is the largest in the country and more confined in the park and is featured in many movies. It ranges in price between $11 and $17 depending on what time of day you go but it's fun to just walk through the park and watch too. South Street Seaport is smaller and I think less public accessed (it's more for lessons and learning to skate). The Brookfield Place rink is located near Battery Park/Financial District and is one of the larger ones too. It gives a more 'wintery' feel being near the river and has blustery breezes that will almost knock you over. Chelsea Piers isn't an ice rink built specifically for Christmas, it is where they have hockey games and all year round ice skating lessons. But it is one of the only ones to be indoors incase you get too chilly!

There are more rinks in the other suburbs of New York and to find out about them just get your Google on. Christmas is a great time to live here so take full advantage of the city this winter season.