New Year's Eve-Themed Subway Art: "The Revelers" Glass Mosaic by Jane Dickson

Jane Dickson created wall glass mosaics installed along the passageway that connects the Times Square 42nd Street subway station to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Fabricated by Miotto Mosaic Art Studios, the glass mosaic is called "The Revelers" (2008) depicting the age-old impulse to gather and party to welcome the New Year. About 70 colorful mosaics of life-size figures blowing party horns and wearing party hats like the revelers in Times Square's New Year's Eve celebration comprise the subway permanent art installation. According to the artist, she wanted to "create something that lightens up your day." The artwork was commissioned by the MTA Arts for Transit and MTA New York City Transit.

World's New Year's Eve Wishing Wall and the Times Square New Year's Eve Confetti Test

Every year, visitors from around the globe write their wishes for the New Year on colorful pieces of official Times Square New Year’s Eve confetti. These wishes are posted on the New Year’s Eve Wishing Wall called "Hopes and Dreams" located in the Times Square Museum and Visitor Center at 7th Avenue between 46th & 47th Streets. The visitor center is open daily from 8 AM - 8 PM. At the end of the weekend, the wishes will be collected and added to the one ton of confetti that flutters down at midnight onto the crowd gathered in Times Square to welcome 2013.
The Times Quare Alliance has already conducted a "confetti test" as shown in this youtube video:

Test Run of the 2013 New Year's Eve Ball Drop Atop One Times Square

Earlier today, the big New Year's Eve ball drop went on a test run. As captured in the photo, the 2013 sign was lit up briefly after the glittering ball descended from the flagpole atop One Times Square. Preparations are now underway for the New Year's Eve ball drop on Monday night when an estimated one million people in Times Square and millions nationwide and over a billion watching throughout the world will welcome 2013.

Ralph Lauren Women's Flagship Store Holiday Window Display

This holiday season, one of the most beautiful window displays is that of Ralph Lauren Women's flagship store located at 888 Madison Avenue.

Gun Control Debate

Non-Violence is a sculpture presented by the Government of Luxembourg to the United Nations in 1988. This piece consists of a large bronze replica of a .45-calibre revolver, the barrel of which is tied into a knot. It was created in 1980 as a peace symbol by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. The sculpture is permanently on display at the Visitors' Plaza of the United Nations Headquarters. The symbolism of this artwork is very timely in the wake of the recent shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. The event sparked a nationwide debate on whether stricter laws limiting gun ownership infringe on the right to bear arms. Controversy ensued very recently after a local newspaper, The Journal News published an interactive Google map showing the names and addresses of gun owners in suburban New York.  The Journal News notes on its website that the information contained in the map is a matter of public record. Recent polls show that support for tighter gun control laws continues to rise.

Zuccotti Park Holiday Lights

Zuccotti Park, once used as a staging area for the recovery efforts after the September 11 attacks, and the campground for Occupy Wall Street protesters, is decorated with beautiful white lights during the holidays. The park is also illuminated with  lights built into the ground. It is located between Broadway, Trinity Place, Liberty Street and Cedar Street, just across from 4 World Trade Center.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa, the seven-day festival which celebrates African-American and Pan-African heritage and culture, starts today and ends Tuesday, January 1. Owing to the rich cultural diversity of New York City, there are several Kwanzaa celebrations in different parts of the city. During the week, a candelabrum called a Kinara is lit, and ears of corn representing each child in the family are placed on a traditional mat. Pictured above is a kinara on display in front of the New York Stock Exchange in downtown Manhattan. Kwanzaa's focus is the "Nguzo Saba," or the Seven Principles—unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. In New York City, celebrations include Kwanzaa festival (storytelling, art, music, dance, food, and crafts) at the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Another activity is Harvest Celebration which takes place at the Dana Center in Harlem. The festival features presentation of fruits of the harvest, candlelighting, dancing and singing. The Museum of Natural History also holds a Kwanzaa celebration featuring live performances. Happy Kwanzaa!

Annual Christmas Day "Mama Doe" Candlelight Vigil: A Legacy of Hope and Opportunity for the Homeless Population in New York City

David Williams, Ready, Willing & Able graduate

George McDonald, Founder and President, the Doe Fund

This Christmas morning, the annual candlelight vigil to remember "Mama Doe" was held at Grand Central's main concourse. 

"In the 1980s, George McDonald, Founder and President of The Doe Fund, befriended an elderly woman known only as Mama. One of the hundreds of men and women who called Grand Central Terminal home, Mama spoke little English but was loved by all who knew her. It was during this time that George trekked to Grand Central each night, handing out sandwiches, fruit, and milk to those who needed it most. For more than 700 nights, he brought not only nourishment, but concern, comfort, and care. On Christmas Eve 1985, George visited Mama to give her an early Christmas present — a purple scarf to keep her warm in the harsh winter weather. When he returned on Christmas morning, he found the scarf next to Mama, who lay dead on a bench. Driven from Grand Central by transit police the night before, Mama had slept on a subway grate in an attempt to stay warm. When the Terminal opened in the morning, she crawled back in and eventually succumbed to the elements and the circumstances of her life. Soon after, George founded The Doe Fund in her memory. Mama Doe did not die in vain — she was the spark that lit the first candle of hope for the homeless population in New York City. The Doe Fund launched "Ready, Willing and Able" in 1990 to use paid transitional work and a holistic, individualized service package to catapult individuals into the workforce and out of cycles of homelessness, crime, and addiction. Every year on Christmas Day, The Doe Fund celebrates the legacy of hope and opportunity inspired by Mama Doe with a special candlelight vigil in Grand Central Terminal's Main Hall."

You can help by clicking on the The Doe Fund website from which the information above was taken.

It's Christmastime in the City

Rockefeller Center

Saks Fifth Avenue light show

Macy's

Rockefeller Center Skating Rink

Washhington Square 

Upper Eastside home

New York Public Library lobby

Macy's window display

Fendi, Fifth Avenue

The Peninsula

Inside subway car

Time Warner Center

Wollman Rink, Central Park

View from Union Square

Merry Christmas!