If the thermometer-shattering temperatures and sweltering sun weren’t proof enough, nice spring days are long gone.
But summer in town doesn’t need to be all sweaty subway expeditions and serpentine ice cream lines down the block, nonetheless — that is the season when the Big Apple and environs truly come alive.
From budget-friendly park offerings to a one-of-a-kind urban “glampground,” listed here are The Post’s must-attend activities so as to add to your summer calendar.
Borscht Belt Fest
Borscht Belt Fest — a nostalgic celebration of the enduring Catskills community that thrived as a resort destination catered towards Jewish vacationers — will honor a comedy legend of the era this 12 months: Robert Klein, whose status as an icon of American stand-up shall be feted with the fest’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
It seems that even before he stepped onto the stage, Klein spent his childhood summers going to small resorts and hotels within the region, which incorporates the Ulster County town of Ellenville, where the festival shall be held July 26 and 27.
“I used to be a lifeguard in a hotel, and after I was 16 or 17, I used to be a busboy with a bunch of other college boys. And naturally, there was romance within the air,” he recently revealed to The Post. “You realize, my sister met her husband there within the Concord,” referencing the previous grand resort, now the positioning of Resorts World Catskills.
That was when the region first inspired his love of the craft.
“[One summer] I actually borrowed a tuxedo from the band and wore it over my bathing suit, and I introduced the acts. I got up and did it. That was vital. I used to be terrified, but I used to be entertained,” said Klein, who will make an appearance at a screening of and a panel discussion for the documentary “Robert Klein Still Can’t Stop His Leg.”
Not the entire Borscht Belt’s golden-age comedians became nationwide sensations like Klein, Joan Rivers or Sid Caesar, to call a couple of, but many cultivated the dry, edgy brand of stand-up that audiences across the U.S. have develop into so acquainted with.
“I believed, you already know, that’s an incredible solution to make a living. And I’ve never stopped pondering that. Making people laugh is a high calling,” Klein told The Post. “To be remembered for doing it, and doing it well at that, is great.”
The 83-year-old comedian, who retired this 12 months after six many years within the business, also shared that he has fond memories of the culinary culture that existed within the hotels.
“It was that type of Jewish cooking that is totally lost — and partially in a superb way, because cardiologists have made an incredible amount of cash as a consequence of that food,” Klein joked.
The planned screening of the documentary also stirred up loads of nostalgia for him.
“It was wonderful to see all these great, big star comedians who say that I had some influence on them,” Klein said, recalling when Jay Leno pointed to him a comedian people would say was “smart” and “normal,” somewhat than “commiserating together with your mother,” and the way Jerry Seinfeld called him “the Beatles of comedy.”
Similar to the Latest Yorkers of the region’s golden age, vacationers could make a 90-minute drive to Ellenville for the festival weekend of stand-up comedy, a street fair, history talks and Borscht Belt Museum tours.
Tickets range from $25 to $40 and can be found at www.borschtbeltfest.org.
Bat Night Walk
Contrary to popular belief, pigeons aren’t Latest York’s only airborne animals — actually, they share the skies with nine native bat species.
On July 31, Gotham Bat Conservancy is hosting a Bat Walk in Brooklyn’s Marine Park, where attendees can learn from NYC’s leading bat experts.
Apart from spotting bats as they flit through the trees and snack on insects, GBC president and principal biologist Ryan Maroney said that the conservancy’s team offers a pre-walk 411 on the animals that involves dismissing visions of Dracula and protracted bat-related wives’ tales.
And, no, bats aren’t attempting to swoop at you and get stuck in your hair, he told The Post.
“There are only three different species of bats in the entire world out of around 1,400 different species of bats which can be sanguivorous [blood feeders],” Maroney explained, “so Latest Yorkers are all good. The entire bats that we now have listed here are insectivores.”
Attendees will likely glimpse eastern red and massive brown bats, but summertime can also be prime insect season, so rarer species just like the beloved northern long-eared bats and tricolor bats may make appearances as well.
Bat Walk is free, but interested parties should register online.
Central Park’s Butterfly Garden
Central Park’s sprawling grounds are home to a number of the city’s most iconic summer destinations, with Latest Yorkers flocking to picnics in Sheep Meadow, impromptu volleyball games within the sand pits and bike rides around its many paths.
But here’s your likelihood to envision out one in all its best-kept secrets: the North Meadow Butterfly Garden.
This summer, visitors can join nature experts on a guided tour of the garden and the native wildflower meadow, where Monarch butterflies and other pollinators are almost a sure sight, especially now that the gardens are in full bloom.
Perfect for families, the nature-inclined, or those on the lookout for a low-stress, laid-back jaunt through the park, the walk shall be offered on July 21, 24 and 26. Tickets range from free to $33, depending on age, and could be reserved online.
East River Tennis Courts
Calling all racket players — the East River tennis courts at John V. Lindsay Park (from Montgomery Street to East twelfth Street, hugging FDR Drive) are once more open to the general public. After 4 long years of construction and renovations, the beloved spot is back with six brand-new hard courts, open every day from dawn to dusk.
The courts, christened over Memorial Day weekend, boast higher drainage systems, recent benches and drinking fountains, and nice views of the East River and the skyline beyond.
Met Museum Rooftop
The favored Met Rooftop Garden is currently showing its last exhibition until 2030, as a consequence of forthcoming renovations.
Jennie C. Jones’ “Ensemble,” a striking display that mixes minimalism and musical instruments to salute “black improvisation and avant-garde music,” sits atop the museum’s sprawling — and scenic — Cantor rooftop.
Deep red, brown and black hues reflect off the installation’s sculptural elements, with shifts in color and sound because the weather changes, offering a novel encounter every time.
The exhibition is free with museum admission until October.
The View
Kiss overrated rooftop bars and pricey harbor booze cruises goodbye.
As a substitute, head for Times Square, where the glass-encased, rotating dining room high atop the Marriott Marquis has once more develop into one in all the Big Apple’s premier ways to soak up town’s views while having fun with a meal.
The NYC classic, positioned on the forty seventh floor of the hotel at 1535 Broadway, has a complete recent look and attitude — and menu — after a revamp by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.
The aptly named restaurant might be your best likelihood to catch a glimpse of a summer sunset against the skyline or try your luck at admiring the East River’s Fourth of July fireworks from afar.
Crab cakes, beef tartare, spaghetti chitarra and a classic prime rib are popular menu picks, but no visit is complete with out a $10 dessert — or two — to sweeten the night.
While reservations are advisable, walk-in guests can try their luck for a table, or enjoy small plates and cocktails within the lounge and bar area, one floor up.
Snug Harbor Sprinklerfest
Central Park’s brand-new pool is convenient, sure. But for Latest York families trying to cool off and skip lengthy lines, Staten Island is the place to be.
On July 18, the sprawling Snug Harbor Cultural Center complex will host Sprinklerfest, an annual event geared toward healthful — and wet — outdoor fun where kids and their nostalgic parents can playfully dash through sprinklers, enjoy an expansion of summery food and jam out to local music.
Bonus: Snug Harbor can also be home to a top-notch botanical garden — Brooklyn and Queens aren’t the one boroughs with awe-inspiring greenery.
Catch the free Staten Island Ferry for this 12 months’s event, which runs from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at South Meadow. Register without spending a dime ahead of the event on the organization’s website.
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival
Newcomers and jazz legends like Nicholas Payton, the Bertha Hope Quintet, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap, and bassist Ron Carter will have a good time the genre at SummerStage’s Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, an annual three-day bash dedicated to its namesake saxophonist.
The series will mix jazz classics, funk and soul from Aug. 22 to 24.
The most effective part? The festival is free and open to all ages, so jazz fiends don’t need to brave long lines that town’s leading bars and clubs now command.
The primary two nights, attendees can catch musicians at Marcus Garvey Park before the ultimate afternoon at Tompkins Square Park.
Collective Retreats
No, “glamping” isn’t only for upscale upstaters or the faux-granola crowd.
Latest Yorkers can benefit from the trend, because of Collective Retreats, which boasts town’s first wellness-oriented “glampground.”
Enjoy an evening under the open sky in the guts of town in one in all 29 luxury tents, unplug from cosmopolitan concerns with a motorcycle ride down tranquil tree-lined paths, unwind with access to spa-style bathhouses, and dig into nightly gourmet s’mores sessions.
After a quick eight-minute ferry ride from Manhattan and Brooklyn, decelerate with sunrise yoga, sophisticated seasonal dinners at Three Peaks Lodge, and more.
iFly Queens
Adrenaline-addicted Latest Yorkers, this one’s for you.
iFly, an indoor skydiving facility in Long Island City (10-20 Borden Ave.), soft-launched its one-and-only NYC location last 12 months, but an enormous grand opening is about for July 19.
Thrill-seekers aged 3 and up can gear up in flight suits and hop within the vertical wind tunnels for a really unique experience from 11 a.m. to five p.m.
