Best Free & Cheap Things to Do April 15-30

It’s the first IKEA city center store in the U.S., and different from all the rest of huge, sprawling Ikea stores in the world or locations in Brooklyn, Long Island and New Jersey

The first ‘IKEA Planning Studio’ is will stock smaller items, like bedding, picture frames and kitchen utensils, which Ikea is calling “smart home design solutions for small living spaces”.  To me, that sounds like a combination of The Container Store and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

You can carry home your purchases on the subway, or have them delivered.

• 999 Third Ave.

Black History Connection with Greek History

As part of its practice of offering Black History Month-related events throughout the year—an effort to more broadly explore the essential role African Americans have played in the history of the United States—Queens College is presenting a special FREE lecture and musical performance will present lectures and a musical performance highlighting the story of James Williams, who escaped slavery and fought in Greece’s War of Independence.

James Williams was born into slavery in Baltimore and fought in Greece, with that country’s navy, in battles against the Ottoman Empire. He is buried near the city of Nafplio, Greece. 

Featured speakers are Lou Katsos, president, Eastern Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance; Lloyd H. Williams, CEO, Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce; and Professor Nicholas Alexiou, Queens College Sociology Department and director of its Hellenic American Project. The event will conclude with a performance by the Phil Young Blues Experience and Spiros Exaras.

• Free, Noon to 2pm at the Queens College Rosenthal Library, President’s Conference Room, 2nd Floor

Tues., April 16

How New York Helped Shape Postwar America

In How States Shaped Postwar America, historian Nicholas Bloom reveals the enduring impact of activist states in an era of unsteady federal power.

He anchors the story on the example set by New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, Bloom shows how Rockefeller led a number of aggressive initiatives, including urban redevelopment, mass transit, affordable housing, and the environment. Rockefeller’s bold efforts inspired other governors and legislators, ultimately leading to the establishment of long-lived city and state policies. For both better and worse, the daily lives of late twentieth-century urban dwellers across the nation changed as a direct result of sustained state action.

Nicholas Dagen Bloom is a Professor of Social Sciences at New York Institute of Technology. He is the Co-Editor of the Journal of Planning History and the author or editor of eight books about urban development, including Public Housing That Worked: New York in the Twentieth Century and, with Matthew Lasner, Affordable Housing in New York: The People, Places, and Policies That Transformed a City.

• FREE at 6:30pm at the Skyscraper Museum in Lower Manhattan.The gallery opens at 6:00pm.
• Reservations are required.   Guests must RSVP to programs@skyscraper.org to assure admittance to the event.
• 6:30pm at the Skyscraper Museum

Starting This Week

Twilight Tuesdays at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

On Tuesday evenings this spring, take an evening stroll through the Garden’s lush, fragrant grounds—including after-hours access to one of the most dazzling displays of flowering cherry blossoms in the world. Treat yourself to sunset views, spring blooms, and seasonal cocktails.

• Through Tuesday, May 21.   Open until 8pm.
• FREE with admission.  Enter any time and stay through closing.

Wednesday, April 17

Boss: the Black Experience of Business

Join WNET/THIRTEEN and the Schomburg Center for a FREE advance screening of Boss: The Black Experience in Business, directed by Peabody and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson.

This film traces the lives of African American entrepreneurs over 150 years, from those bound by bondage to moguls at the top of million-dollar empires.  From the country’s earliest days, African Americans have embodied the qualities of innovation, risk-taking and determination to forge a path toward a better life. Stories featured in the film include those of entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, publisher John H. Johnson, Motown CEO Berry Gordy, and business pioneer and philanthropist Reginald F. Lewis, among others.

The film features new interviews with Vernon Jordan, senior managing director of Lazard, Freres & Co. LLC.; Cathy Hughes, CEO and founder of Urban One; Richelieu Dennis, founder, CEO and executive chairman of Sundial Brands; and more.

Following the screening, a talk back will feature the film’s director Stanley Nelson; founder of The HistoryMakers, Julieanna Richardson; Marcia Chatelain, Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor of History and African American Studies, Georgetown University; and entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Richelieu Dennis.

Boss: The Black Experience in Business premieres nationwide Tuesday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET on PBS

• 6:30pm at the Schomburg Center.  FREE, but registration is required to manage space.

Starting Fri., April 19

New York International Auto Show

The New York International Auto Show returns to the Javits Center for ten days, April 19 through Easter Sunday, with more than 1,000 vehicles, including first looks at 2020 models. 

Kick the tires, find out about all the new technology, drool over million dollar supercars, and more.

See our NY Auto Show previews:

NY Auto Show: Supercars

NY Auto Show: Technology

NY Auto Show: Family Cars and SUVs

• Note: NYCOTC Publisher/Editor Evelyn Kanter is a credentialed automotive journalist focusing on safety, value and green technology.  I’m attending the media previews on Wednesday and Thursday, before the show opens to the pubic on Friday.

Sat., April 20

Native American Dance and Music Workshop

The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers are holding their annual FREE Spring Dance and Music Workshop, featuring lessons in several Native American dances and songs and practice on musical instruments, for all who want to participate. 

This is a unique educational opportunity for people of all ages (including children) and backgrounds (both Native and non-Native) to learn about Native American music and dance.

There will also be tables set up with American Indian jewelry and other handmade items, available for purchase at very reasonable prices.