Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square is now less than three weeks away - Monday, November 28 at 5:30 p.m. - and the Lincoln Square BID staff has been busy planning an event that will be bigger and better than ever this year. Here are a few brief updates.

To kick off the event, the Lincoln Square BID is hosting a Tree Lighting Ceremony at Dante Park at 5:30 p.m. Generously donated by Frank Bulfamante & Sons, this 25-foot tree will be decorated with handmade decorations by Folk Arts Rajasthan thanks to a great partnership with the American Folk Art Museum. Arlo Guthrie, the Newark Boys Chorus and WABC-TV's Sade Baderwina will help light the tree. Come early for a good spot.

Lincoln Square's top restaurants are participating in the ever-popular Winter's Eve Food Tastings. From 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., many of Lincoln Square's best restaurants will be offering a variety of delectable samples from their signature dishes, at a nominal cost of $1-$5 each. For a complete list of restaurants, please visit our website here.

Joining the festivities at Kids' Central at the American Bible Society (Broadway at 61st Street), former NYC Mayor and local celebrity Ed Koch will read from his newest children's book, "Eddie Shapes Up" in between Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights' musical sets. This autobiographical picture book is the story of a boy, who with the support of his friends and family, decides to change his lifestyle in order to make his life healthier and happier. The reading will be followed by a book signing meet-and-greet at the same location.

In partnership with the Department of Parks & Recreation, the Broadway Mall Association presents the work of sculptor Peter Woytuk as the latest installment of their Public Arts program. The exhibit, in which the Lincoln Square BID participated, begins within the BID's boundaries at Columbus Circle and runs to 168th Street, and seeks to liven up the malls while also showcasing eighteen of Mr. Woytuk's internationally recognized animal sculptures. The artist plays with scale and form to create these whimsical sculptures, which are sure to delight all passersby. Keep an eye out for "Elephant Pair" at Columbus Circle, "The Falling Apples" at Dante Park, and "The Bear Cat" at 67th Street, three pieces located right here in Lincoln Square.

The Lincoln Square BID is responsible for maintaining and planting the ten Broadway Malls, planters and parks from 60th - 70th Streets, and thanks to Con Edison and Gracious Home the BID also provides holiday lighting in the ten Broadway Malls.

The holiday season is just around the corner, and whether you're gift-hunting or treating yourself, Lincoln Square's shops have tons to offer for men. From clothing to shoes to accessories, Lincoln Square will satisfy any fashion-forward man's needs.

Suits and other upscale apparel can be found at Century 21 Department Store, BOSS Hugo Boss, A|X Armani Exchange, Thomas Pink and Brooks Brothers (pictured). For more relaxed styles and trendy favorites, swing by True Religion and American Apparel. Banana Republic, Zara, Esprit and Burberry Brit also have a bit of everything. Finally, if you really want some personalized attention, stop by Kiehl's, or the brand-new J.Crew Men's Shop after perusing the selection (or treating yourself to a luxury shave) at The Art of Shaving.

Stores that offer men's shoes and accessories include Century 21 Department Store, Cole Haan, Tani, TUMI, Solstice Sunglass Boutique, among others. For the athletically-inclined man, stop by lululemon athletica, the New York Running Company and the Shop at Equinox, or pick up a membership at New York Sports Club, YogaWorks, or Reebok Sports Club/NY. If gadgets are more your thing, there's the Apple Store, Best Buy, Bose, and Samsung Experience. And stop by Gracious Home for all your D-I-Y project needs and more!

For a comprehensive list of Lincoln Square shopping and retail, please click here.

The Lincoln Square BID is pleased to announce that for the first time ever, our Winter's Eve charitable partner will be New York Cares. We look forward to working with such an active and dynamic organization, and are particularly excited to partner with them on their renowned New York Cares Coat Drive.

This annual coat drive helps to supply coats to over 58,000 women, men, and children in New York City - and to meet the growing demand for winter coats, they will be starting early this year. From November 15 until December 31, New York Cares will be collecting gently used or new coats to help the 18.7 percent of New York City families that live below the poverty line. Their goal this year is 100,000 coats. If you're interested in donating a coat, there are several designated drop-off locations scattered throughout Lincoln Square and citywide, both before and during Winter's Eve. Area locations include the American Bible Society (Broadway and 61st Street), the West Side YMCA (63rd Street between Broadway and Central Park West) and YogaWorks (37 West 64th Street, 4th Floor). On Winter's Eve, event-goers can also drop off coats at Dante Park (Broadway and 63rd Street), Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center (Broadway and 66th Street), and the Riverside Branch of the New York Public Library (127 Amsterdam Ave at 65th Street). Additionally, some of our Winter's Eve Restaurant Tastings participants will be donating a portion of their proceeds to the Coat Drive.

New York Cares is the city's largest volunteer organization, founded by a group of friends in the late 1980s. The organization runs volunteer programs for over 1,200 nonprofits, public schools, and city agencies; by working with organizations to identify their most pressing needs, New York Cares creates, recruits, trains and deploys over 53,000 volunteers a year - and many of these fantastic volunteers will be hitting the Lincoln Square streets this Winter's Eve to help us with our festival.

Celebrate the season at Time Warner Center as The Shops at Columbus Circle present Holiday Under the Stars - one of New York's most popular holiday attractions. This year's "spectacular star show" features twelve 14-foot stars that hang from the ceiling of the Great Room at Time Warner Center. Each star has over 8,500 LEDs, 11,000 fiber optics and 156 strobe lights, and for the first time, this year's shows will be choreographed to tunes from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Be sure to come by anytime between 5:00 p.m. and midnight from November 16 until January 3 and witness this breathtaking and unique holiday light display.

After taking in all of the dining and retail specials available to shoppers with the "MasterCard Priceless New York Experiences," shoppers can take a break and visit contemporary Pop artist M. Dreeland's exhibit on the fourth floor. The pieces on display incorporate modern technology, graphic design and traditional art forms. The show runs until December 31.

On Saturday, November 19 and Sunday, November 20, Upper West Side community organization and Lincoln Square BID partner, Goddard Riverside Community Center, will host the New York Book Fair at 593 Columbus Avenue at 88th Street. This annual event, Goddard's major fundraiser, is now in its 25th year. Brand new books, CDs, calendars, cards, DVDs and other gift items generously donated by members of the book industry are sold at up to fifty percent off of store prices. The Fair, which includes an opening night Book Bash, a Fall Gala, and a Meet-the-Author Dinner series, has raised more than $7 million since 1986. Eighty-five cents of every dollar raised goes directly to Goddard Riverside programs - not only does the Book Fair offer bargains for shoppers, but it offers a fun way for the local public to actively participate in supporting the community.

The Goddard Riverside Community Center, one of New York's leading human service organizations, provides services and support to nearly 18,000 individuals from the Upper West Side and Harlem annually. In addition to its 600 units of affordable housing, Goddard advocates for social and community justice through 27 different programs covering youth, families, elderly and homeless populations. Since 1997, the Lincoln Square BID has partnered with Goddard's Green Keepers program to ensure that Lincoln Square's ten Broadway Malls are litter free each morning five days a week.

For more information on the New York City Book Fair and Goddard Riverside Community Center, please visit www.goddard.org or call 212.873.6600. If you are interested in volunteering for the Fair or joining the mailing list, please contact Gigi Verkaik at gverkaik@goddard.org.

Lincoln Square may be known as one of New York's premier centers for culture, dining, and shopping, but the neighborhood is also home to fourteen of the city's schools. These educational institutions, which range from grade schools to performing arts to higher education, make up a unique piece of the fabric of our district - and exciting things are happening on these campuses. Recently, and most notably, John Jay College of Criminal Justice finished the construction of a new state-of-the-art building by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. An official ribbon cutting was held on November 2 to celebrate the new 620,000 square-foot building, 13-story vertical campus, which will house 56 state-of-the-art classrooms, new cyber lounges and science facilities.

Up next is the redevelopment of Fordham's Lincoln Center campus. Phase I, a construction of a new law school and undergraduate residence hall - a $250 million project - started in January 2011, with the official groundbreaking on May 2, 2011. Both are scheduled to open fall of 2014. An even larger $1.6 billion redevelopment is to follow, which will result in new buildings for the graduate schools of business, social service and education, additional residence hall space, an expanded library, a theater for the dramatic arts, as well as a gallery, bookstore and caf� accessible to the public. These expansions, among others, will only serve to boost Lincoln Square's reputation as a center for cultural and educational excellence.

Image: A classroom at John Jay's new building with power outlets built into the desk surfaces. David J. Dunlap/The New York Times

If you've been down to Whole Foods Market in Time Warner Center recently, you may have noticed something new in the back of the store. As of Thursday, November 3, Whole Foods Market has officially opened "On Tap, Beer At Whole Foods Market," where beer and wine are served on tap. In addition to a selection of ten brews and eight wines, On Tap also serves up simple snacks like olives, chips, and sandwiches. Finally, On Tap has a well-stocked retail section, expanding upon Whole Foods Market's selection of beers and wines.

On Saturday, November 26, all consumers are encouraged to "shop small" at their favorite local stores, helping to fuel the economy for small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. This effort is made possible by American Express OPEN, the company's small business unit, and hundreds of local organizations, and is now in it's second year. On this Saturday after Thanksgiving, join millions of others across the country in supporting small businesses and the Shop Small movement!

For more information, please visit: smallbusinesssaturday.com