In This Issue
Lincoln Square Links
About Us 
Neighborhood Directory
Events Calendar 
News 
Get Involved 
Another Wonderful Winter's Eve
The 16th Annual Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square took place on Monday, November 30, and from all the reports we received, this year's celebration was one of the best! Though the lighting of our 27ft Concolor Fir was slightly delayed due to a technical glitch, the loyal crowds cheered when we finally illuminated our Holiday Tree. Thanks to The Chapin Family including Tom Chapin, The Steve Chapin Band, The Chapin Sisters, and Jen Chapin, Tony AwardŽ-winner Laura Benanti, and of course WABC-TV and Sade Baderinwa for handling everything perfectly! The weather brought out a record number of people and our parks and sidewalks were nearly overflowing with excited patrons enjoying the night's festivities. 

This year, over 200 musicians, dancers, and buskers entertained Winter's Eve attendees at more than 20 performance venues throughout the festival. Plus a record 36 restaurants offered culinary masterpieces at our popular outdoor food tastings.

Visit our flickr page to see some wonderful highlights from this year's festival. And, be sure to check out the fantastic media coverage and press clips about Winter's Eve at winterseve.nyc/press.

A huge thanks to all of our Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square Sponsors:
Lincoln Square's Holiday Shopping Guide
Holiday Shopping can be a little hectic no matter how prepared you are or how early you start. Luckily, Lincoln Square is a one-stop shopping destination with a myriad of stores where you can find gifts for everyone on your list. Highlighted below are some businesses in the neighborhood with great holiday gift offerings.

Shopping for Her

Eileen Fisher has some beautiful cashmere items available for gift giving this year, such as warm beige turtlenecks or cozy cream colored ponchos. Check out their online gift guide so you know just what to look for before heading into the store on the Second Floor of The Shops at Columbus Circle.

Also on the Second Floor of The Shops, L.K. Bennett has a fashionable holiday collection that includes bold accessories, like color-block leather clutches, chunk suede ankle strap heels, or cashmere knit beanie hats, and stylish apparel, like embellished sweaters or metallic dresses. These trendy items are great for gifting this season.

At Wolford, on the Ground Floor of The Shops at Columbus Circle, you can pick up glamorous tights and hosiery, shapewear, and some ready-to-wear pieces. Wolford's stylish and classic pieces are perfect for gifts that will last.

New to the neighborhood, J.Jill, at 160 Columbus Avenue, is a wonderful spot to pick up some winter wear gifts. The store offers a wide variety of tunic, cable knit and mock-neck sweaters in various colors and patterns as well as wool coats, knit socks, slippers and puffer vests among other items.

Shopping for Him

Brooks Brothers has a guide to "Shopping for Him" online to help make your holiday shopping... READ MORE.
New Shops at The Shops at Columbus Circle
A few new shops have joined the ranks at The Shops at Columbus Circle!

Diesel, now open on the Second Floor, offers a wide-ranging collection of modern denim and other great pieces for your wardrobe, like graphic sweaters, leather jackets, winter accessories, and urban scents. Look no further than Diesel for all of your casual wear needs. 

Jo Malone, recently opened on the Ground Floor, will fill your life with British-inspired, personalized fragrances for your loved ones and for your home. The store offers elegant candles, colognes, and washroom essentials that will charm you with sophisticated scents.

Links of London, now open on the Ground Floor, sells exquisite jewelry and statement watches that celebrate the love, wit and spirit of British style. The simple style of these accessories makes for a timeless gift to yourself or others. 

Also, open in time for the holiday season, pop-up shop, goop MRKT, on the Ground Floor, brings the unique lifestyle brand, founded by goop Chief Creative Officer Gwyneth Paltrow, to New York City. goop MRKT features the world premiere of the exclusive Valentino x goop capsule collection, Wonder Woman Valentino, along with other stylish home and personal items. 

Check out these and other stores in the neighborhood, all of which can be easily found on our website's Shopping Directory.
Red Tape Commission Hearing - December 10
New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer's Red Tape Commission wants to hear directly from Manhattan business owners and entrepreneurs about the concerns they face so they can help businesses cut through the red tape. The commission is comprised of small business leaders, regulatory experts and advocates from around the City. By sharing stories, experience, and ideas, those in the business world can help make government a partner in entrepreneurship, rather than an obstacle to growth.

The hearing will be held on Thursday, December 10 at 8:00am at the Civic Hall, located at 156 5th Avenue, 2nd floor. For more information visit comptroller.nyc.gov/redtape or click here to download a flyer. 
Help Dante Park

A quaint gem in the middle of a busy intersection, where Broadway meets Columbus Avenue and across from Lincoln Center's iconic campus, Dante Park sits as a respite for busy New Yorkers who need a moment to sit or a place to enjoy a calmer lunch hour outside. The park was named in honor of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri and a statue of him sits in the center of the park's green interior, surrounded by benches, planters, and three seating areas along with one of our Information Carousels. 

In 2011, after more than 15 years of determined advocacy, The Lincoln Square BID was able to secure sufficient capital funds from the New York City Council so that the Parks Department could improve Dante Park and replace crumbling and uneven paving stones, reset the granite, install new benches, and plant the interior in an elegant design. This work was completed in 2013, after which our organization was able to add new tables, seating, and umbrellas to the corners of the park and to secure some funding this past year from Council Member Rosenthal and Greenacre Foundation to add new and replace dying shrubs in Dante's interior. 

The park is slowly transforming into a pristine and attractive greenspace, matching the quality of this wonderful neighborhood, but the dilapidated and broken chicken wire fence that surrounds the interior, barely protecting it, still stands as a roadblock to Dante's total redesign. Also, the interior of the park is still lacking in flowers and vegetation. We would love to both replace this fence so that Dante Park's quality and contribution to the neighborhood is no longer dampened by an unattractive, forgotten fence and to add more color and texture to the interior. Dante Park is important to the neighborhood; please consider donating to help us raise enough funds to finish this great redesign. Click here to donate.
Cultural Events at John Jay College
There is still some time left in John Jay College's Fall 2015 Season to catch some wonderful performances and exhibits. A few highlights taking place in December are below:

The President's Gallery presents...Cautionary Tales: Old Visions Through New Eyes will be on view through Friday, January 22. Drawn from common culture and rooted in our deepest memories, stories from childhood hold special power over personal and collective consciousness. This exhibition uses imagery from these stories to explore contemporary social and political issues, to comment on personal experiences, and to challenge innate cultural associations.

The Missing: Rebuilding the Past will be on display at The Anya and Andrew Shiva Gallery through Friday, February 5. The exhibit features works in a variety of media and explores the destruction of art at many historical moments, from ancient Greece, to battles between Japanese and Chinese forces during World War II, to ongoing destruction in the Middle East.

Dance Ministry Institute presents Nativity: The Birth of a King at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at 524 W. 59th Street on Saturday, December 19 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm and on Sunday, December 20 at 5:00pm. Nativity is a full scale holiday dance drama that unveils the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ through the artistic expressions of dance and song. Tickets are available for purchase through thedmiexperience.com

There are many more events taking place at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Visit jjay.cuny.edu for more information including ticket information and exact event locations. 
Holiday Safety Tips from FDNY
The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is reminding New Yorkers to celebrate traditional holiday festivals, including Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa in FDNYSmart ways. Many holiday gatherings involve candles and flames, which bring an increased risk of fire and injury. 

To provide some extra holiday-help FDNY has assembled a list of safety tips to keep in mind during the season. A few tips are listed below:
  • Before you begin preparing for your celebration test your home's smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms to ensure they are working, and review the household fire safety plan with anyone who will be celebrating with you.
  • Make sure your live Christmas tree is fresh by running a branch through your hand to make sure that the needles do not come off easily, and bending the outer branches, which should be pliable. When you get home, place the tree at least three feet from heat sources and keep it fresh by setting it in a gallon of water and checking the level daily (additives like sugar or aspirin will not keep your tree fresh).
  • When you light your Chanukah or Kwanzaa candles, be sure that decorations like draperies and kente, and other combustible items, curtains, blinds and bedding are at least four feet from menorahs and Kinara candles.
Click here to see a full list of safety tips from FDNY.
Lincoln Square Business Improvement District | info@lincolnsquarebid.org | lincolnsquarebid.org | 212.581.3774
1841 Broadway, Suite 1112
New York, NY 10023
Note: Some of the text above has been provided by or gathered from other sources.