offManhattan

Looking for something to do this winter that doesn’t involve freezing your tuchus off? The offManhattan staff has partnered with NBC Travel Editor Peter Greenberg to produce a list of the ten best indoor activities in the other New York City boroughs.

The list includes top places—some quirkier than others—for swimming, rock climbing, spa-ing, eating chowder, cooking lessons, and many more.

Check out our picks at PeterGreenberg.com.

What: Alert Education’s useless lecture series presents “Year in Review”

Where: Union Hall, Park Slope

When: Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 8 pm (doors at 7:30)

Why: It’s the beginning of January, so New Year’s resolutions are still in full swing. Brooklyn-based monthly multimedia lecture producer Adult Education looks back at 2008 and hits two of the most common resolutions: You’ll “have more fun” while “learning something new.” Bet you didn’t know “Reboot” will be the buzzword of ‘09 or that pizza made technological advances in ‘08. (Not that we did.)

Granted, at the uber-cool Union Hall, with its killer all-American-with-a-twist menu and great beers and wine, you’re likely to break that whole, “drink/eat less” mantra. But hey, who really intends to keep those? Plus, with two bocce courts (exercise more, check), a cozy library lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and an antique globe, you’re bound to leave a little more enlightened, even if Joe Garden’s look at the year in vampires isn’t what you’d call highbrow. And, holy smokes, entrance is only $5 so you’re ahead of the game on that “spend less” promise. 2009 is looking good.

As sizes go, huge is usually the preferred measure, after all, America runs on doughnuts. But even in New York, with its bevy of enormity, there is room for small, or, if you prefer, niche. New York, in all its outsized glory, exists as a sum of its parts, a collection of disparate neighbors and neighborhoods, co-mingling their interests. Fixating on pursuits, small to all others but themselves.

This is never more evident than at the Micro Museum on Smith Street in Boerum Hill, a devoted art space in Brooklyn whose purpose is as much to incubate talented, professional artists in the medium of visual arts as it is to promote their work to the outside world. The museum, founded in 1986 by William and Kathleen Laziza “as an arts incubator for mixed media creativity and community leadership,” exhibits the work of contemporary American artists. There is a special focus on digital art, including an archive of videotapes by cutting edge New York artists. The Micro Museum also has a distinguished audio exhibit of a 78 RPM philharmonic music record collection, which was received from the the Metropolitan Museum in 1990.

The white blanketed streets and trees tell us that Christmas is less than a week away. Where better to celebrate the holiday than New York City, home to the Rockefeller tree (despite their annual tree killing, even they are trying to go green), the Rockettes, and the outrageous Christmas windows in every department store? Every year folks come in droves simply to experience New York at Christmastime.

But, tourist or local, no matter how lovely a New York Christmas can be, the throngs are likely to get you down sooner or later, and yet it would be a shame to miss out on all the holiday cheer simply due to a little claustrophobia. The solution? Step (or ride) away from Fifth Avenue to the sundry other holiday haunts (and events) in the New York area. Here are some of our favorites:

Before it was the Brooklyn Historical Society, the institution on the corner of Pierrepont and Clinton existed as the Red Cross Headquarters during World War I. If you can, imagine a time before the Brooklyn Bridge, telephones, and Britney Spears. Steeped in history, the building is now exhibiting a glimpse of pre-gentrified Brooklyn.

On display through March 29, “Counter/Culture—The Disappearing Face of Brooklyn Storefronts,” is part of a third year Public Perspectives Exhibition Series. A photo and video retrospective shows the impact of rising rents and the lack of family successors on mom-and-pop shops in Brooklyn. James and Karla Murray—married photographers and curators—observed the trend and spent the last ten years photo journaling the changing storefronts. The pictures reveal the once standard neon and stainless steel signage that graced these fading facades.

Williamsburg has long been a focal point for established and emerging graffiti artists competing for niche spaces in which to exhibit their artwork. At present, local residents appreciate a wide selection of street art that peers out from walls, billboards and abandoned commercial and industrial lots.

Once deemed as a subversive act by many detractors, graffiti has evolved into a popular art form that’s gained wide recognition in international galleries and influenced marketing campaigns, graphic designers, and the fashion industry. And while London has replaced New York at the forefront of street art, Williamsburg has remained a fertile ground for experimental graffiti.

Dumbo is classy. But unlike many classy areas whether it be in New York or beyond, it is not devoid of cutting edge culture. St. Ann’s Warehouse has been an innovator in live performing arts since its 1980 beginnings in Brooklyn Heights. With the greater purpose of raising money to restore National Historic Landmark Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity on Montague Street (the organization’s first home until 2001), the initial programming was primarily classical organ recitals. It soon started to introduce groundbreaking puppet theater including Amy Trompetter’s production of Rossini’s The Barber Of Seville with the Brooklyn Opera Society in 1983. Countless other critically acclaimed performances have graced St. Ann’s including such luminaries as The Bread And Puppet Theatre, John Cale and Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Jeff Buckley, Chamber Music Society Of Lincoln Center, Jackson Browne, David Byrne, Al Pacino, Steve Buscemi, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and the list goes on.

St. Ann’s continues to showcase a who’s who of talent, and often, before we even know who the who is. Currently playing at St. Ann’s Warehouse is a return engagement of the production The Black Watch performed by the National Theatre of Scotland, which has been hailed as the “#1 theatrical event of the year” by numerous esteemed critics. In this highly political time, when the Iraq war has been center stage for national disbelief, The Black Watch takes a soldier’s-eye-view of the battlefield with more honest power than any of our media sources can convey.

George Eliot wrote of a “Delicious autumn!” that meant nothing to me until I moved from Los Angeles to New York. To many East Coasters, this season of leaves dying beautifully is the most anticipated, yet in New York City, foliage at its best is missed. I took the advice of an offManhattan article about Alpine Endeavors, and decided to try out one of their new fall hiking treks in the Shawangunks up north, even as the weather started turning from warm to wintry. I called one of my transplant New Yorker friends to join me. We left the city on a 7am Adirondack Trailways bus from Penn Station to New Paltz.

We pulled out of the station as the blue sky brushed off the last of dawn’s yolky pink glow. In just over an hour-and-a-half we arrived in New Paltz, a small community situated against mountains and forests. Within a few minutes, we were in a new vehicle with Ian, our guide, driving up a swirly two lane road until we reached the entrance of the reserve.

As wallets tighten heading into the holiday season, many of us are looking to take advantage of travel deals. Here’s the latest one to help you justify buying that $4 latté: Beginning today, Megabus.com is offering free tickets for service between January 14th and March 18th, 2009. Simply enter the promo code “greenbus” when planning your trip online.

What: Grand Opening of Bedford Avenue Flea Market

Where: The border of Clinton Hill and Bedford Stuyvesant

When: Saturday, November 22nd, 10am-6pm (and every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through February 2009)

Why: It’s time to flea Manhattan for the greater goods. Hop on the subway to Bedford and behold how far flea markets have come since the days of Marché aux puces in 17th century Paris, where vagabonds once peddled their findings instead of self-made merchandise. Today, Brooklyn is brimming with unearthed talent that’s ripe for the rummaging. Vintage furniture, designer jewelry, original clothing and artwork adds up to an indie movement of dazzling new heights.