Central Park, New York's urban oasis, becomes a hot bed of activity in the spring and summer. From lazy Sunday afternoon strolls to enjoying Summerstage, there are plenty of activities for residents and visitors to enjoy. Whatever your pleasure, visitors to the park and the public spaces of Lincoln Square can now order and pick up a boxed brunch, lunch or dinner from Landmarc, located on the third floor of Time Warner Center.

Landmarc in the Park's menu offers a variety of ready-to-go picnic meals, including smoked tuna, curried chicken salad or hummus, tzatziki, baba ghanoush & muhammara and pita bread. There's a large selection of sandwich or salad boxes, platters for groups, and in true Landmarc fashion, some fantastic options for kids!

Call Landmarc at 212.219.2126 or order online and they'll have your picnic ready for pick up on the 3rd floor of Time Warner Center - right across the street from Columbus Circle and Merchants' Gate.

Photo Credit: Landmarc

Every Wednesday this month, from noon until 1:30pm, enjoy free live music performed by jazz guitarist Bill Wurtzel and guest musicians at the American Folk Art Museum Lincoln Square Branch on Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets. Bill Wurtzel is a renowned guitarist who has performed worldwide with many great jazz artists. Bill's groups have played for countless private affairs featuring mainstream jazz and the Great American Songbook, and these free concerts are a real treat.

Bill can also be seen at some of Lincoln Square's other favorite locales, including the Red Bar at O'Neals' at 50 West 65th Street on Friday, May 28 and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center at Amsterdam Avenue and 65th Street on Tuesdays, May 11, 18 & 25.

Photo Credit: Elena Olivo

Tosca's opening night last September at the Metropolitan Opera was one of the most talked about and debated in recent memory. Swiss director Luc Bondy's spin on Puccini's Tosca presented the well-known story of singer Floria Tosca, her lover, painter Mario Cavaradossi, and Baron Scarpia, chief of the secret police, with a fresh new take by paring down the stage set and altering some of the character's traditional actions.

Love or hate the changes, the new Tosca ignited a passionate public dialogue about the role of opera and the artistic and production decisions behind it. Don't miss your chance to see the production - which the New York Post called "one of the strongest stagings of this opera in decades." A limited number of tickets are still available for the final performance on Thursday, May 13.

Photo Credit: Metropolitan Opera

On behalf of the City of New York, the Department of Small Business Services, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Department of City Planning requests your assistance in completing a citywide retail survey. The goal of the survey is to gain a deeper understanding of existing small business and retail corridor needs, particularly with respect to the impact of current economic conditions.

Please click here or on the link below to complete this survey. Your responses will enable the City to directly learn about the challenges small businesses face while helping them to understand the impact of the City's current programs and policies and inform the development of new programs and policies. All responses will remain confidential and the survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey and ensuring that your voice is heard.

In the Best Possible Light: Herman Leonard, a free exhibit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on the 5th floor of Time Warner Center features masterworks in black and white photography by Herman Leonard, whose pictures of jazz icons Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, and Thelonious Monk- among many others make him the dean of jazz photographers. This exhibition of Herman Leonard's jazz pictures honors a great photographer and features some of the most beautiful jazz photographs ever taken. "I want to show jazz artists in the best possible light," says Leonard, "to tell their truth but to tell it in terms of beauty."

The exhibit is FREE and open to the public, Tuesdays through Sundays from 10:00am to 4:00pm and 6:00pm to 11:00pm and Mondays from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm now until Saturday, June 19.

Image: Palm Court Cafe, New Orleans, 1996 by Herman Leonard

On Saturday, May 15 from 11:00am to 2:00pm, visit the Museum of Arts & Design for MAD Saturday- Family Day. Family Day offers countless opportunities for children to create, learn, and explore with interpretive activities crafted especially for youngsters and their adult companions. The Museum's Galleries, Open Studios, workshops, and theater become the perfect place to spend a day discovering art, meeting artists and being creative.

Artist Educators will assist families in exploring their own creativity while enjoying the artwork at MAD and the views of Central Park. Be inspired by feature films and animated shorts, including Michel Ocelot's Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest, Eva Saks' ColorForms, Bill Plympton's The Fan and the Flower and Jonathan Ng's Asthma Tech.

Reservations are not required, but space is limited. For more information and tickets, call 212.299.7780 or visit www.madmuseum.org.

Photo credit: Christina Latimer

Each year the NYC Department of Transportation and Transportation Alternatives team up for Bike Month NYC - the annual celebration of bicycling in New York City. This city-wide campaign held throughout May features dozens of activities that promote the joys of cycling across the five boroughs.

One of this year's highlights is National Bike to Work Day, which will be held on Friday, May 21. Cyclists across the country will commute for their health, their cities and the environment. Join fellow bike enthusiasts at pit stops across the five boroughs for coffee, snacks and special giveaways for cyclists and ride in solidarity to work or school. Visit www.bikemonthnyc.org for more information.

A big season needs a big ending and what better ending for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's 40th Anniversary Celebration than a program that features compositions among the most enjoyable ever penned. Great String Quintets featuring three leviathans -- Mozart and his profound and rich composition, Brahms with a vital and nostalgic work, and from Mendelssohn a youthful yet amiable piece -- augment the traditional quartet, and provide a fitting conclusion for a sensational season. The last two performaces are Sunday, May 23 and Tuesday May 25 at Alice Tully Hall.

The Chamber Music Society maintains a permanent roster of nine noted virtuosi, who work together in various combinations and collaborate with distinguised guest artists. It has given more than 1,000 performances since it was founded in 1969 by Charles Wadsworth. Alice Tully Hall is the home of the Chamber Music Society.

Image: Brandenburg Concertos by Tristan Cook