NYC's favorite culinary celebration adds a breath of fresh air to summer!  Restaurant Week is happening once again, from July 12 through September 1 (that's a pretty long week)!  You can dine at many of the City's top restaurants for a fraction of the price - $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner.  Many Midtown establishments are partaking once again, like Brasserie 8 1/2, Esca and The Oak Room at The Plaza.  Oh, la gioia culinaria!   For more information on participating restaurants, and to view special Restaurant Week menus, click here.  Now go eat.

Recycling collection days for parts of CB5 are changing effective the week of July 19, 2010.

From Central Park South to West 42nd Street, between 6th and 8th Avenue, your new recycling collection day will be Wednesday.  Click here for map.

From 29th Street to 14th Street, between 6th and Lexington Avenues, your new recycling collection day will be Tuesday.  Click here for map. 

 Please note that regular garbage collection days will remain the same.  

 

There are all manner of al fresco happenings in NYC at any given moment, from street fairs to parades and other events.  You can keep abrest of what's going on in Midtown with the NYC Events Calendar.  On this page of www.nyc.gov you can search everything that's happening in the city by event, date, and borough for the upcoming week or even month.

 Below are upcoming street closures.

• July 24 - July 25, and/or July 31 - August 1, 3a-9p:  West 32nd between 6th and 7th

• July 24 - July 25, 8-4p:  West 55th between 5th and 6th

• July 24 & July 25, 9a - 6p: West 24th between Broadway and 6th

• August 28-29 & September 4-5, 7a - 8p:  West 28th between 6th and 7th

The TKTS booth in Times Square has been providing discount tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows for years.  It's a right of passage every New Yorker (and tourist) must do at least once.  But oh, the lines!  Never fear intrepid culture-seeker, here are some insider tips that can make the process a lot easier.

• Go later in the day - While there may be fewer tickets available, the lines are definitely shorter, especially between 5:30p and 6:30p.  And some producers don't send tickets over until they're sure they won't sell at the box office, so you very well might get better seats!

• Branch Out - There are three TKTS boothes in the city - Times Square, South Street Seaport and Downtown Brooklyn, though most people are familiar only with the one in Midtown and go there.  The booth in Brooklyn always has the shorter lines.

• Brave the Elements - People don't like standing on lines in the rain and snow.  But, for half-price tickets to some of the hottest shows in town, it may well be worth it.  Be brave and go on an inclement day.

You're armed and ready.  Now go see a show.

Times Square and Herald Square have been turned over to the masses.  Since Memorial Day weekend, these two tourist and commercial meccas have been closed to vehicular traffic and converted to pedestrian plazas.  While the expansion of walking room might be a wonderful thing, allowing pedestrians a safe and exciting way to navigate Midtown, the transition may be a bit bumpy: several bus lines have fallen victim to the evolution of the area. Bus lines that are affected by this conversion are below. To view a map with route changes, click here.

• M6

  The new southbound route will operate on 7th Ave to 14th Street, at which time the bus will turn east on to 14th Street to Broadway, where it will make a right turn and continue southbound along its regular route. Northbound M6 service remains unchanged.

• M7

  The new southbound route will take the M7 from Central Park South, south on 7th Avenue, east on West 14th Street, north on 6th Avenue, to a layover along 6th Avenue north of 14th Street.  The northbound route will begin at 6th Avenue and West 14th Street.

• M10

  The new southbound M10 route will travel south around Columbus Circle, east on Central Park South, and south via 7th Avenue to West 31st Street.  The northbound route remains the same.

• M20

  The new southbound route will travel east on Central Park South from Columbus Circle,  then south on 7th Avenue and continue on the regular route.  There are no changes on the northbound route.

• M27

  The westbound M27 will now turn south on 7th Avenue from 49th Street and continue on the regular route.  The eastbound route remains the same.

• M30

  The eastbound M30 will travel east on West 58th Street, south on 7th Avenue and continue on the normal route.  No change to westbound service.

• M104

  The southbound M104 will turn east on Central Park South from Columbus Circle, then south on 7th Avenue and continue regular route east on 42nd Street.  The northbound route remains the same.

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) is accepting applications for the free New York Prescription Saver Card. The program will provide lower-income New Yorkers with savings that provide between 30 to 40 percent off the price of generic, and at least 25 percent off the full retail price of brand name prescriptions. To be eligible for the free New York Prescription Saver Card, you must be between the ages 50 to 64, or determined disabled by the Social Security Administration. Annual income must be at or below $35,000 for single persons and at or below $50,000 for married individuals. You can find more information on this important program at www.nyprescriptionsaver.com or by phone on at 1-800-788-6917.

With record breaking temperatures settling in over NYC, Con Edison is advising all customers to take care in their energy usage.  Following a few simple steps can greatly reduce the risk of brown-outs and help prevent black-outs as the demand for electricity rises with the temperatures.  And they can save you a little cash along the way!

• Make sure air conditioner filters are clean for peak efficiency.
• Set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees.  Each degree lower increases cooling costs by 6 percent.
• If you have a room air-conditioning unit, close off the rooms not being used; if you have central air, block the vents in un-used or vacant rooms.
• Also turn off lights and other appliances, use a timer to turn them on as necessary, and turn your computer off when not at home to conserve.
• To reduce heat and moisture, run appliances such as ovens, washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers in the early morning or late at night when it's generally cooler.