NYC’s Floating Bars

Maria Haymandou’s latest blog post

As May has started, New Yorkers can rejoice that it’s now officially and permanently warm weather-season for the next few months.  People are emerging from their hibernations and realizing that the weather is finally nice enough to justify going out to the water.  And even if most of New York’s waterways don’t really lend themselves to swimming, you can still find other ways to enjoy the water.  One of the best is a floating bar, which are now reopening for the season.  I recently read a page on TimeOut sharing the opening dates for all of these (most of which have already happened), so I thought I would share some of these spots:

Grand Banks: Docked at Tribeca’s Pier 25, this classy boat epitomizes the swankiness that characterizes the modern Tribeca: classy cocktails, oysters, plenty of heels and of course high prices.  But then again you get what you pay for.

North River Lobster Company: Few things say summer like a lobster roll.  Red Hook Lobster Pound and Luke’s Lobster are great, but you can’t really eat them on a boat.  Luckily, the North River Lobster Company lets you sail around the city for just $10, serving both beer and lobster rolls on deck.

The Brooklyn Barge: Located right next to Transmitter Park, the Brooklyn Barge is still pretty new.  Their 80×30-foot barge boasts a full barge, but the experience bleeds over onto land as well, with picnic-style seating.  The barge offers plenty of other experiences on the water, including scuba and sailing classes, vessel tours and paddle boarding.  

Frying Pan: The Frying Pan got its start as a Coast Guard lightship that sunk off the coast of Maryland.  However, it was salvaged and found new life as one of New York’s most famous boat bars.  That’s admittedly a pretty specific niche, but with its vibrant bar and great atmosphere, even in this field it stands out.  

Willy Wall: Willy Wall is kind of a pain to get to; you need a ferry to get there and requires a ticket to climb on board.  But it’s well worth the extra effort to visit, and is considered by many to be one of New York’s best summer secrets.  

The Crow’s Nest: If you find yourself stuck in the eastern side of Murray Hill, then the Crow’s Nest, set atop a boat-restaurant, should be worth a visit.  Looking over the skyline of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, it offers cocktails, burgers and a raw bar.

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Let Trolls Eat Cake!

Maria Haymandou’s latest blog post is here!

To say that the Internet has revolutionized global communication is a redundant understatement.  It allows us to work from home, keep in touch with their college friends across the globe and of course ushered in the art of “trolling”, where people post incendiary comments to garner a response.  It’s become a huge part of the Internet world; the comment threads on any news site or YouTube video are filled to the brim with trolls, and in the most recent season of “South Park” trolling was the center of a season-long story arc.  

Trolling can be harmless, but it can also be a problem.  It’s easy to take a lot of the things that trolls say personally, and it plays a large part in the dark world of cyberbullying.  Twitter has been trying to combat the phenomenon, but trying to stop trolls is a difficult, some would say impossible task.  But I recently read about one service in Brooklyn has come up with a new, innovative method.  

“Troll Cakes” allows you to send trolls a custom cake with their hateful comments written on them.  So far, the venture is pretty new; owner Kat Thek started it not even a month ago with no formal pastry training.  Each “cake” is actually a chocolate chip brownie (as far as I can tell not poisoned) decorated with icing and various toppings.  So far the owner has only sent a handful of cakes, but the business is getting bigger.  The cakes come in a box with a printout of the original comments.  For an extra fee, Thek promises to track down the troll’s address and mail it directly to them, but her methods remain clouded in mystery.  

The company is based in Brooklyn, but they’ll ship anywhere in the US.  Thek even offers a deal where you can deliver your “preferred Trump Tweet” to the White House.  So far, a lot of the cakes have been sent to friends as a joke.  You can send them to trolls, or you can also troll your friends with a cake.  If that sounds like a good idea, you can visit the site!

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