24: De Blasio Declares and Manhattanhenge Dawns

A Great Big City — New York City News, History, and Events

• 62 years ago on May 25, 1957 — South tube of the Lincoln Tunnel opens

• 21 years ago on May 26, 1998 — The Supreme Court rules that the majority of Ellis Island belongs to New Jersey

• Quinnipiac poll results give de Blasio the lowest marks of any potential candidate

• The Amateur Astronomers Association of New York will be holding viewing sessions where you can look through a large telescope and learn about objects visible in the skies above the city. Stop by the Lincoln Center plaza on Friday, May 24th and Saturday, May 25th and also find them on the High Line in the Meatpacking District on Tuesday, May 28th.

• Manhattanhenge - Photography Tips and Viewing Locations — May 29 & 30

• 89 years ago on May 27, 1930 — The Chrysler Building opens with a formal ceremony, but construction would not be complete until August 1930

• NYC Fleet Week 2019 from May 21st to 28th

• 6 years ago on May 27, 2013 — Opening day of the Citi Bike system, with 332 stations and 6,000 bikes

• 17 years ago on May 28, 2002 — Workers cut down the final piece of steel at Ground Zero, ending the clean-up effort after the September 11th attacks

• 136 years ago on May 30, 1883 — Memorial Day visitors overcrowd a Brooklyn Bridge stairway and cause a stampede that kills 12 people and injures dozens more

• The city's public beaches will be opening on May 25th. Swimming is permitted 10am to 6pm as long as there is a lifeguard present and the area is not closed due to water quality or dangerous conditions. Visit the Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach (next to Coney Island), Rockaway Beach, Cedar Grove Beach (in Great Kills Park in Staten Island), Midland Beach and South Beach (in Staten Island), Orchard Beach (in Pelham Bay Park), and Wolfe's Pond Beach (in Staten Island)

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AGBC is more than just a news website — Our fireworks page monitors the city's announcements of upcoming fireworks, lists them on site, and automatically sends out a notification just before the fireworks begin, so that you can watch the show or prepare your pet for the upcoming explosion sounds. Visit agreatbigcity.com/fireworks to see the full calendar and follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts

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Park of the day

• Astoria Boulevard Concrete Triangle — A sad bit of property, this park is little more than a traffic island situated next to busy Astoria Boulevard. Sometime around 2011, the park lost its small trees, leaving only one surviving tree and four other square patches of grass amidst the concrete where other trees used to stand. Even more depressing, there are now 4x4 wooden posts in the patches of grass with a small Parks Department logo attached, marking where trees used to be planted as far back as the 1950s.

Parks Events

• Washington Square Park May Tour — May 25, 2019

Concert Calendar

• Mono and Emma Ruth Rundle are playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on Wednesday, May 22nd.
• American Football and Pure Bathing Culture are playing Warsaw on Friday, May 24th.
• American Football and Pure Bathing Culture are playing Warsaw on Saturday, May 25th.
• Greta Van Fleet is playing Forest Hills Stadium on Saturday, May 25th.
• Dr. Lonnie Smith and The Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, Lonnie Smith, and The Jazz Orchestra of the concertgebouw are playing Birdland on Saturday, May 25th.
• Cornucopia and Björk are playing The Shed on Tuesday, May 28th.
• The Distillers and Starcrawler are playing Brooklyn Steel on Wednesday, May 29th.
• Apocalyptica is playing Bergen Performing Arts Center on Thursday, May 30th.
• Gov Ball After Dark and Jack Harlow are playing Baby's All Right on Thursday, May 30th.
• L7 and Le Butcherettes are playing Elsewhere on Friday, May 31st.
• Governors Ball Music Festival, 070Shake, Aaron Aye, Amber Mark, Bazzi, Best Coast, Blood Orange, Bob Moses, BROCKHAMPTON, and Calpurnia are playing Randall's Island Park on Friday, May 31st.
• Bikini Kill is playing Brooklyn Steel on Friday, May 31st.
• Trade Wind, Only Sibling, and semaphore are playing Knitting Factory Brooklyn on Friday, May 31st.
• Kevin Morby and Sam Cohen are playing The Town Hall on Friday, May 31st.
• Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Flasher, and RVG are playing Warsaw on Friday, May 31st.
• Bikini Kill is playing Terminal 5 on Saturday, June 1st.
• Björk is playing The Shed in Hudson Yards on Saturday, June 1st.
• Soccer Mommy and Pom Pom Squad are playing Brooklyn Bazaar on Saturday, June 1st.
• Sunflower Bean is playing the Mercury Lounge on Saturday, June 1st.
• Devastation On The Nation Tour 2019, Dark Funeral, Belphegor, Hate, Incantation, Nightmarer, and Vale Of Pnath are playing Brooklyn Bazaar on Sunday, June 2nd.
• Twenty One Pilots is playing Barclays Center on Tuesday, June 4th.
• Gloryhammer and Æther Realm are playing the Knitting Factory Brooklyn on Tuesday, June 4th.
• Local Natives and Middle Kids are playing Brooklyn Steel on Thursday, June 6th.
• The Rural Alberta Advantage is playing the Mercury Lounge on Thursday, June 6th.
• Alexisonfire is playing Terminal 5 on Saturday, June 8th.
• Remo Drive, Slow Bullet, and Slow Pulp are playing The Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, June 8th.
• Frankie Cosmos and ian sweet are playing Industry City Courtyard on Saturday, June 8th.
• Beach House is playing Brooklyn Steel on Sunday, June 9th.

Thanks for listening! Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

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Today's fact about New York

• Mobile food vendors and food trucks in the city are being outfitted with battery-powered location-sharing devices so the Department of Health can find them and conduct random inspections

Weather

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:
Record High: 96°F on May 22, 1941
Record Low: 39°F on May 24, 1963

Weather for the week ahead: Light rain on Thursday, with highs in the 80s for Sunday and Monday.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com — Manhattanhenge music: "I Hate Him So Much" by Anonymous420