Roof With a View
For a summer cocktail party, the recently renovated Empire Hotel has a pool deck with all wood flooring and cabanas, as well as a retractable roof. Your crowd can survey Lincoln Center and Central Park—and the hotel’s large neon sign. The space holds 175 for receptions.
Taste Matters
The focus is on food and wine at the new Astor Center, which has three distinct spaces for a variety of interactive events. A professional kitchen suits hands-on classes for as many as 16, and there’s also a study with 36 stadium-style seats for wine and spirits sessions. (Each guest gets his or her own sink and a lightbox for examining wine color.) A dinner or cocktail reception in the center’s exposed-brick gallery can cap the day’s activities.Dining In
For workplace gatherings, Lunetta’s rustic Italian food—platters of meats, artisanal cheeses, house-made bruschettas, panini, antipasti, and salads—can make for snacks or lunch. For heartier appetites, there are pasta dishes like penne with fontina cheese and truffle oil, as well as meats and fish. The Flatiron district restaurant will deliver throughout Manhattan.
Standing Room Only
Going to a show doesn’t always mean heading to Broadway. Open since last fall and extended through the summer, Fuerzabruta, the unconventional theater piece from the creators of De La Guarda, features performers who swim in a clear pool over the audience’s heads, charge through suspended walls of cardboard, and interact with the guests. The audience stands throughout the 70-minute show. The production is presented at the Daryl Roth Theatre, where you can rent a lounge before or after shows.
Fun to Spare
The Gutter is a laid-back, old-school new bowling alley in Williamsburg. The bar area is packed with vintage beer signs and lamps, and a wall of booths with windows looks onto the lanes. The alleys have old-fashioned scoring equipment and a rec-room vibe. Groups of 225 can fill the venue, which books private events for four hours from Sundays through Thursdays. Prices start at $3,344 (plus bar tabs), and you can bring in food.
A Ballpark Perk
If a ball game is in your summer plans, commemorate the outing with the latest baseballs from Bergino, which sport a glossy-coated map of the U.S. highlighting all the major stadiums and retail for $20. Bergino also makes individual city map balls for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C.
For a summer cocktail party, the recently renovated Empire Hotel has a pool deck with all wood flooring and cabanas, as well as a retractable roof. Your crowd can survey Lincoln Center and Central Park—and the hotel’s large neon sign. The space holds 175 for receptions.
Taste Matters
The focus is on food and wine at the new Astor Center, which has three distinct spaces for a variety of interactive events. A professional kitchen suits hands-on classes for as many as 16, and there’s also a study with 36 stadium-style seats for wine and spirits sessions. (Each guest gets his or her own sink and a lightbox for examining wine color.) A dinner or cocktail reception in the center’s exposed-brick gallery can cap the day’s activities.Dining In
For workplace gatherings, Lunetta’s rustic Italian food—platters of meats, artisanal cheeses, house-made bruschettas, panini, antipasti, and salads—can make for snacks or lunch. For heartier appetites, there are pasta dishes like penne with fontina cheese and truffle oil, as well as meats and fish. The Flatiron district restaurant will deliver throughout Manhattan.
Standing Room Only
Going to a show doesn’t always mean heading to Broadway. Open since last fall and extended through the summer, Fuerzabruta, the unconventional theater piece from the creators of De La Guarda, features performers who swim in a clear pool over the audience’s heads, charge through suspended walls of cardboard, and interact with the guests. The audience stands throughout the 70-minute show. The production is presented at the Daryl Roth Theatre, where you can rent a lounge before or after shows.
Fun to Spare
The Gutter is a laid-back, old-school new bowling alley in Williamsburg. The bar area is packed with vintage beer signs and lamps, and a wall of booths with windows looks onto the lanes. The alleys have old-fashioned scoring equipment and a rec-room vibe. Groups of 225 can fill the venue, which books private events for four hours from Sundays through Thursdays. Prices start at $3,344 (plus bar tabs), and you can bring in food.
A Ballpark Perk
If a ball game is in your summer plans, commemorate the outing with the latest baseballs from Bergino, which sport a glossy-coated map of the U.S. highlighting all the major stadiums and retail for $20. Bergino also makes individual city map balls for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C.
Photo: Courtesy of the Empire Hotel
Photo: Courtesy of the Empire Hotel
Phot: Courtesy of Astor Center
Photo: Courtesy of Lunetta
Photo: Courtesy of Fuerzabruta
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash