Some Nearby Attractions:

 

The Brooklyn Museum, http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/home.php,  located near City Tech's campus, is a great recreational destination  that conference presenters and attendees may like to take advantage of while in town, and is just a 22 minute commute from City Tech's campus via subway (Hopstop.com). 

 

This celebrated arts and culture venue is a true piece of NYC & Brooklyn history, having stood in its current location since 1841, with the current structure built in the 1890's (http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/about/building.php). As the museum's website proudly announces, Brooklyn Museum is one of the older and larger museums in the U.S. 

 

Its long-term installations are many (read more at http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/), and include, to name just a few, African Innovations, The Mummy Chamber, European Paintings, Arts of Asia, Arts of the Islamic World, and Williamsburg Murals: A Rediscovery. 

 

As for its current installations that will be running during the CS conference, they include one on the work of famous Brooklyn artist Swoon, who is "best known for her large, intricately cut prints wheat-pasted to industrial buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan" (http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/swoon/). Another current exhibition is on the work of feminist artist Judy Chicago (http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/judy_chicago_los_angeles/), and an exhibition of works by famous Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei (http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/ai_weiwei/), though prospective visitors should note that this last exhibition does involve an additional admission fee--see the website for additional info.

 

For a more interactive, hands-on art experience at the Brooklyn Museum, on the evening of Thursday the 21st, the final day of the CS conference, you might like to attend Drop-in Drawing from 7:30 to 9:00pm, in the Rubin Lobby on the museum's first floor. These workshops meet the third Thursday of every month and are led by a teaching artist who guides you in drawing/painting a particular item from the museum's collection. This workshop costs just $8 for materials. See more at (http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/calendar/event/7615).

 

With all this to offer and more, do consider checking out Brooklyn Museum while you're in town!

 

Directions from NYC Tech to the Brooklyn Museum. Courtesy of Hopstop.com, a terrific website that many New Yorkers rely on for train/bus, driving and walking directions, here is how you can get from City Tech to the Brooklyn Museum in about 20 minutes:

 

-Start out walking South on Jay Street, towards the MetroTech Center.

-Turn left onto Adams Street

-The entrance to the 3 train at Borough Hall Station is near the intersection of Willoughby Street and Adams Street

-Take a 3 train heading to New Lots Avenue six stops, getting off at Eastern Parkway—Brooklyn Museum

-Exit the train station at the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Washington Avenue (Mary Pinkett Avenue)

-Walk south on Washington Avenue towards Eastern Parkway, arriving at 200 Eastern Parkway

 

Distance: About 2.5 miles; travel time: About 22 minutes

 

Map of walking directions from NYC Tech to the 3 train

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cadman Plaza Park, located just a couple of blocks west of campus, is a pretty, spacious and mellow place for a walk. It features the William Jay Gaynor Memorial.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/cadmanplazapark

 

 

Fort Greene Park, a famous park in an up-and-coming neighborhood, is one choice for a pleasant walk (depending on weather!). It’s just a little over a mile away from NYC Tech’s campus (about a 21-minute walk, 84 calories burned, according to Hopstop!). Below is the NYC Parks Department’s website for the park, apparently a historically important site! So anyone who would enjoy a brief walk through vibrant, busy downtown Brooklyn and into pretty, residential Fort Greene, ending at a park with some New York history, might take on this extracurricular activity!

http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/FortGreenePark

 

The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument is in Fort Greene Park too, for another taste of Brooklyn/Revolutionary War history.

 

Want a cold beer after your walk? Der Schwarze Kölner, a popular Fort Greene bar with a Beer-Garden feel in the summer when the windows are opened up, is just a few blocks from Fort Greene park; visitors who want to unwind with a beer will enjoy the large selection, especially of German beers (as the name would suggest!). Speaking from experience, I can say that this is a nice spot. 

 

Fourth Avenue Pub is another beer option in the area; judging from the pictures on its Facebook page and some other images from Time Out New York, it looks like a nice, pleasant backyard/beer-garden spot—apparently very popular. This drinking venue is also only a little over a mile from City Tech (23 minutes walking, about 93 calories burned, according to Hopstop.com!)

76 Fourth Ave., Park Slope Brooklyn (between Bergen Street and St. Mark’s Place)

https://www.facebook.com/FourthAvenuePub

 

From Time Out New York:

“Beer lovers belly up to the bar to munch on piping-hot popcorn and sample coast-to-coast suds at this former nail salon. Twenty-four draft beers—including Maine’s lemon-slice–topped Allagash White and California’s Arrogant Bastard Ale—are poured alongside nearly three-dozen bottled beers and vintage Scotches and bourbons. Chitchatty locals sit at low tables to tipple during the daily 4 to 8pm happy hour, when the drinks are two-for-one.”

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/bars/fourth-avenue-pub

 

 

The World Famous Brooklyn Bridge and New Brooklyn Bridge Park

Just minutes from NYC Tech is the world famous Brooklyn Bridge. A walk across it is a must for NYC visitors who have never experienced it! Check out Brooklyn.about.com’s page on tips for walking the bridge.

http://brooklyn.about.com/od/brooklynbridge/a/How-To-Walk-The-Brooklyn-Bridge-Manhattan-To-Brooklyn-Brooklyn-To-Manhattan.htm

 

To get to the Bridge from NYC Tech, simply walk North on Jay Street towards Tillary Street, and turn left on Tillary Street (it’s a 3-minute walk, ten calories burned!)

 

…And, right next to the bridge is the new Brooklyn Bridge Park. http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org. In addition to being a beautiful place for a stroll, visitors can take advantage of its pool, roller-skating rink, and even tours of The Baylander, a Navy Ship that served in Vietnam and was used for Helicopter landings for years after. For some sports and recreation fun, Pier 2 has “five acres of basketball, handball, bocce and shuffleboard courts, over half an acre of play turf, fitness equipment, swing sets and picnic tables,” as the website describes. http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/park/pier-2

 

Or, simply take a leisurely stroll and get some unrivaled views of Lower Manhattan. The website’s section of Pier Five describes it as a great place to “plan a picnic on our 30-foot wide promenade for a meal with magnificent views of lower Manhattan, Governors Island, and New York Harbor.” See http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/park/pier-5#picnic for more!

 

Walking Tour of Cobble Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We invite you, on these gorgeous late-August days, to explore the neighborhood of Cobble Hill (directly south of City Tech). The neighborhood is rich in beauty and history: below are only nine of the many historic buildings and sites that make up one of Brooklyn's most beautiful neighborhoods.

 

(information taken from:  http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/01/31/take_a_walking_tour_of_nine_mustsee_buildings_in_cobble_hill.php#more)

 

1. 491 Henry Street

 

This Federal Era freestanding home was built from 1844 to 1850 for George A. Jarvis, a merchant-grocer and self-made man. This Greek Revival home has undergone many incarnations—from single-family dwelling to multi-family dwelling to community center for neighboring Strong Place Church to single-family home again, more than likely with much in between. The building was lovingly restored before it was scooped up in early 2013 for $6.75 million by its current owner, founder of Rag & Bone, Marcus Wainwright.

 

2. Tower and Home Buildings (431 Hicks St.)

 

Designed by Alfred Tredway White and built in 1879, the architecture of the 218-unit Tower and Home Buildings, now known as the Cobble Hill Towers, sought to remedy the squalid air quality and wretched living conditions born of late 1800's tenement life. The towers, built as worker housing, employed cross-ventilation, private courtyards, and exterior staircases. In 1879, the two-to-five-room apartments rented for $7.20 to $14.00 a month. Now-a-days, that roughly equates to $125 to $235. 

 

3. Workingman's Cottages (12 Warren Place)

 

At Warren Street between Hicks and Henry streets is another Alfred Tredway White development for working-class people—the 34 Workingman's Cottages, erected in 1878, that create Warren Mews. Twenty six of the two-story buildings measure 11-and-a-half feet wide and 32 feet deep, with the endcap units being slightly larger at 16 feet wide. In 1878, an 11-and-a-half-foot-wide row-house rented for about $18 a month, or $300 these days. More recently, the homes sell for about $1.3 million. 

 

4. 166 Amity Street

 

This townhouse was snatched up by native-Brooklynite crooner Norah Jones for a mean $4.9 million just over five years ago. Back in early 2010, Jones enraged a few preservation-saavvy neighbors when she added seven windows to the western wall of her home. Amongst some, the scandal became known as Window-gate. 

 

5. Christ Church (320 Clinton St.)

 

Architectural historian and New York walking tour guru Francis Morrone regards Christ Church as "probably the most significant single building in Cobble Hill." The church was erected under the vision of Richard Upjohn, also responsible for the Trinity Church on Broadway and Wall Street, from 1841-1842. In 1916, the church was renovated and decorated with new stained-glass windows made by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Unfortunately, most (but not all!) of Tiffany's work was destroyed in a 1939 fire. In 1969, Christ Church gained Landmarked status. The church was subjected to extreme damage in Hurricane Sandy, and sits largely in disrepair today. 

 

6. Cobble Hill Park (Clinton St.)

 

Perhaps surprising to some, Cobble Hill Park was dedicated only in 1965. Prior to the award-winning park, two large houses occupied the site as well as the Second Unitarian Church designed by Jacob Wrey Mould. The park's southern border of Verandah Place is lined with carriage houses and stables built in the 1840's and 50's for the neighborhood's wealthy. No. 40 Verandah Place once housed beloved novelist Thomas Wolfe.

 

7. The Dudley Memorial (110 Amity St.)

 

Constructed in 1902, this French Renaissance-style building designed by William C. Hough originally stood as nurses residence's for neighboring Long Island College Hospital. In the 1970's, The Lamm Institute for Developmental Disorders moved in, but has since relocated. LICH sold the building off in 2007. Not surprisingly, it has since brrn developed into three townhouse-style units. In January 2012, the first unit to hit the market was asking $3.85 million; that's $250,000 more than the developers paid for the building in the first place. 

 

8. 22 Strong Place

 

This early 1900's townhouse serves as home base on this side of the Atlantic for British novelist Martin Amis. Amis bought the property for $2.5 million in 2010. 

 

9. Kane Street Synagogue (236 Kane St.)

 

This house of worship, built in 1856, originally served as a Church, but in 1905 became the Kane Street Synagogue and home of Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes, the the oldest continually functioning Jewish congregation in Cobble Hill. It is built in the Romanesque style, which was popular amongst Jewish congregations in the late 1800's.

 

 

Food:

 

MetroTech Center, just minutes from NYC Tech’s campus, is a great convenience for visitors. Complete with numerous restaurants/eateries ranging from decadent Five Guys Burgers and Fries and famous Mexican food chain Chipotle to a couple of somewhat more upscale eateries, including La Defense and Luciano’s, (for French and Italian, respectively), this space is a park-like hub of food, coffee and benches to sit and enjoy the scenery. Its proximity to campus makes this space especially convenient for conference attendees to avail themselves of if they are craving fancier cuisine than City Tech’s cafeteria.

 

For some additional food options a little further out (roughly a ten minute walk), visitors can walk down Adams Street, passing Johnson Street and the New York Marriot Hotel, where they will find another cluster of stores and restaurants directly across from the Borough Hall (where the 4 and 5 trains stop). Stores in this area include a Potbelly Sandwich shop, a Panera Bread, and a Hill Country BBQ Market. For another decadent option that will not appeal to those counting calories, the famous Shake Shack also has a location here. A block or so further down you will find a Starbucks.

 

Mullanes (71 Lafayette Avenue, (718) 797-7606)...it's a great neighborhood tavern within walking distance, that has great bar-type food (highly recommend the Irish Nachos!) and is really just a very cool place all-around.