Last fall, NYIT opened the Auditorium on Broadway, a multipurpose cinema and conference center at NYC’s Columbus Circle.  NYIT meticulously renovated the former Clearview Cinema space to reflect a modern chic aesthetic with high vaulted ceilings, chrome fixtures, and a sleek glass exterior.  NYIT’s Auditorium on Broadway is divided into 3 main event spaces including The Atrium, The Concourse , and The Auditorium (each pictured below).

The Atrium

For larger events, this 1,600 sq ft entry hall can be used for guest check-in and reception purposes.

The Concourse

Located at the auditorium entrance, this 808 sq. ft space serves as an ideal pre-function lobby space. The Concourse space includes a kitchenette with a fridge, icemaker, and sink. Perfect for a cocktail hour.

The Auditorium

The 3,172 sq ft. Auditorium space can seat up to 262 guests. The space features a 10X26 ft stage and a 10.5 X 18.5 ft HDTV.

NYIT Auditorium on Broadway, which isn’t exclusive to students, is appropriate for lectures, workshops, corporate events, seminars, debates, press conferences, award programs, and product launches.

Event Contact Info:

1871 Broadway, (between 61 St and 62nd St)
New York, NY 10023
Phone: 646.273.6100

A useful iPhone and iPad app for event planners has finally hit the marketplace!  Howard Givner, former CEO of North American Global Events Group and founder of Paint The Town Red, Inc, has introduced a revolutionary iPhone resource for event professionals.  According to Givner, the inspiration for the Master Planner app culminated from his 20 years of experience in the event business, “Basically this contains a number of useful calculators as well as other diagrams, facts and tips.  A compilation of things that I found very useful to me and my staff…”

The app is quite easy to use and is categorized into 3 sections (pictured above) FOOD & BEVERAGE, AUDIO VISUAL, and VENUE CAPACITY. Each section is then broken down into corresponding subcategories which are highlighted below. Enjoy!

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Super Planner App Place Setting Tab

The Food & Beverage section provides information on catering, staffing, pricing, tables, and place sets (as illustrated above).  The Catering and Staffing tabs both calculate food and staffing needs depending on event size.  The Pricing tab calculates the cost of events with or without tax and gratuity (a useful feature for when comparing costs of different venues).  Perhaps the most interesting feature in the Food & Beverage section is the “Place Set Diagram”.  This tool ilustrates the proper place setting arrangement for a formal dinner (pictured above).

AUDIO VISUAL

The Audio Visual section is broken up into 3 tabs: Projection, Staging, and Presentation.  The Projection tab calculates basic measurement based upon screen dimensions and audience size.  For example, the Projection tab can calculate, based upon screen size, the ideal distance (from screen) for the 1st row in a seating arrangement.  The Staging tab complies a basic stage diagram for those who flunked theater arts.  The app takes the guess work out of what “stage right” and “stage left” really means!  The Presentation Tab, located on the bottom right, is strictly informational and gives some basic pointers about PowerPoint and projection presentations.

VENUE CAPACITY

The Venue Capacity section contains some of the most useful tools.  The Room Capacity Calculator determines the ideal number of occupants in a given space based upon either square footage or layout.  The Dance Floor calculator estimates the ideal dance floor size depending on the party size.

On 8/31, Eataly NY, a fresh concept in the gourmet marketplace arrives in NYC’s Flatiron District. This new mecca of fine food goes well beyond the ordinary confines of the neighborhood grocery store and is something that even the most adventuresome event planners have never seen before.

Eataly NY’s 50,000 square foot space will house a “premier retail center for Italian delicacies,” a culinary educational center, as well as a group of restaurants. Each eatery will be dedicated to a specific retail space. The Culinary Educational Center will host food and wine classes, as well as lectures and demonstrations from culinary professionals. On the roof deck is a 4,500 sq foot beer garden that will serve 4 house beers brewed on site.  Looking forward to the end of summer? We are!  More to come….

Eataly NY
200 5th Ave
New York, NY 10003

Hill Country Chicken's unique new logo

Hill Country purveyor Marc Glosserman is slated to foray into the world of barbecue chicken this summer with the opening of Hill Country Chicken in Flatiron.  This new 2,700 sq ft bi-level restaurant will serve two varieties of fried chicken as well as other southern delicacies.  Hill Country Chicken was originally scheduled to open in the spring, no word yet on the final opening date.  The new restaurant will likely have similar event options to it’s sister space Hill Country, which is also a bi-level space.   We eagerly await the grand opening!

Many novice event planners who desire to advance their careers can easily confuse an event planning certification program with an event planning certificate program.  Event certificate programs are offered by educational institutions (typically colleges and universities).  These certificate programs are primarily intended for educational purposes and do not hold the same level of distinction (or universal recognition) as an official certification.

On the other hand, event certification programs are offered by major accredited industry trade organizations including Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and International Special Events Society (ISES).  MPI’s  Certification in Meeting Management (CMM) designation and ISES’ Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) title can enhance your legitimacy in the event business.  Therefore, it is wise for newcomers in the event business to pursue these titles before considering any nuanced or specialized certificate programs in event planning.

The article below was originally published by Andrea Wyn Schall  on her ‘A Wynning Event’ blog. Andrea, owner of A Wynning Event has been a special event planner for over 15 years, and she is the event planner for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She has taken her knowledge and special event experience and written an easy-to-read book called Budget Bash. Budget Bash gives helpful tips, menus, recipes, design, theme, floral ideas and more for wedding and special event planning.

Summer is such a great time to entertain.  You have the warm daytime sunshine as well as refreshing nights.  Here are some summer party ideas including a couple of cocktail catering presentations to help you with any special event planning for summer cocktail parties.

Create conversation and interaction with your special event planning.  One refreshing cocktail catering presentation for cocktail parties is to present a new twist on an old idea.  Skewer a piece of cooked shrimp and instead of serving it with a bowl of cocktail sauce serve the shrimp in a shot glass already filled with the sauce.

Other summer party ideas that include shot glasses for cocktail catering are soups, whether they are hot such as lobster Saki shooters (I recently enjoyed at a cocktail party) or cold soups such as shots of gazpacho or cucumber.

For cocktail parties where you may want to serve a refreshing natural and nutritious dessert, why not accompany a platter full of fresh fruit with a shot of a fruit smoothie?

More summer party ideas for cocktail parties include serving refreshing melon balls wrapped with prosciutto or cucumber cups filled with humus, seaweed salad or salmon dip.  (For quick and easy cocktail recipes check out pages 80 to 86 in Budget Bash.)

Lollipop-styled desserts are another cocktail catering suggestion to add to your special event planning summer ideas.  Brownie bites, chocolate chip cookies or bread pudding are all delicious bite-sized desserts you can serve on a stick and tray pass or present on a platter at a dessert buffet.  Clean up is easy too since no silverware or dessert plates are needed just a simple cocktail napkin!

Other desserts that can be served in small individual portions with a creative flair are crème brulee, chocolate pudding or tiramisu presented in demitasse cups with demitasse spoons.

Summer party ideas for your special event planning décor can be fast, easy and inexpensive.  Instead of using a tea-light with your glass votive, drop a Cymbidium orchid in the glass instead.  Or place an orchid weighted down with water and colored glass beads in a small glass vase.

Floating candles in water are always fun for your table décor and you can use colored glass beads on the bottom or add a flower in the container as well.  A great decor idea for cocktail parties I recently read about in Real Simple magazine is to use parchment paper as a luminary wrap with a votive candle holder.  For information and instructions, just pick up the August 2010 issue.  (More quick and easy décor ideas can be found in Budget Bash.)

I hope you found these special event planning ideas for cocktail catering helpful for your next summer event.  Summer party ideas do not need to be complicated or take much of your time.  Cocktail parties are a great way to gather a group of friends for an intimate and casual event, and when you throw your next cocktail party remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun & economical to all!

Trump SoHo (opened this spring) one of the 44 hotels to open in 2010.

This truly a record year for new hotel openings.  Back in March, Catherine Curan of The Real Deal pointed out that a near-record 28 new hotels were slated to open in 2010.  Turns out that even the most ambitious spring estimates were a little too conservative.  According to the Wall St. Journal, developers are now on pace to introduce a whopping 44 new hotels to the already crowded NY hospitality market.

The Journal attributes this 8.5% expansion in total hotel room supply to the remnants of the housing boom.  Many of these new hotels hotels projects began 2-3 years ago when financing was still relatively easy to attain (something we pointed out in our March 25th article Anatomy of a Recession).  The fresh supply of new hotels (over 7,000 new rooms in total) may bode well for event planners.   An excess of hotel operators in NYC may create competition on rates for both events and rooms.

BLT Bar & Grill, the in-house restaurant of the soon to open W New York Downtown Hotel, opened last month in the Financial District.  Chef Laurent Tourondel’s latest addition to the BLT empire will serve an assortment of New American classics including rotisserie chicken and NY strip steak.  Given its downtown location in the heart of the financial district, this new bi-level restaurant was specifically designed for private events, meetings, and receptions.  Accommodations at BLT Bar & Grill include a 24-seat private dining room, a 50 seat dining room, a 28-seat bar, and a 90 seat outdoor patio.  For more information about private events contact Marisa Colangelo at 646-826-8868.

The W New York Downtown Hotel and Residence, designed by architects Gwathmey Siegla & Associates, is a 57-story glass tower located at the edge of the WTC monument.  Similar to Trump SoHo, this new tower is part hotel and part residential.  The W NY houses 222 condominiums and 217 hotel rooms most with impressive waterfront views.

During difficult economic times the movie business and the liquor business both tend to prosper…. so why not combine them??  ReBar owner Jason Stephens took the initiative to mix liquor and film.  This week, Stephens unveiled ‘ReRun‘ a 60-seat theater attached to his overwhelmingly successful American pub ReBar in DUMBO.  This new theater space will showcase indie films while serving movie-inspired specialty cocktails (as well as traditional draft beers, and a full menu).

ReBar’s environs are spacious but warm, fitting for an old 19th century tea factory.  This unique factory loft space, which can accommodate up to 200 guests, features charming pre-war details including 12 1/2 ft  arched terracotta ceilings, art-deco antique lamps, and large stain glass windows.   Executive Chef Jeremy Leech will be cooking up new American classics including burgers, filet mignon, and a mouthwatering 7-hour roasted pulled pork sandwich. While the cuisine is mostly American, the drink menu is quite international featuring 15 tap beers (focus on Belgium beers) and 120 bottled selections.   ReBar offers two private rooms for more intimate gatherings.

Today, Patina Restaurant Group announced plans to open an eatery at Lincoln Square.  The new venue aptly titled ‘Lincoln’ will serve contemporary Italian cuisine.  The restaurant is a marvel in modern architecture.  The space, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, is scant on sheetrock.  Instead, the designers opted for a sleek all glass structure that overlooks Lincoln Square’s reflecting pool.  

Lincoln’s architecture is as intriguing as its layout.  Architect Liz Diller worked closely with CEO Nick Valenti to sculpt a layout that maximized usable dining and entertainment space.  The restaurant features a lower level private dining room, a chef’s table, an outdoor terrace, a bar, and a 10,000 square foot “hypar shaped” roof space (open to the public).  The focal point of the restaurant is the open Chef’s kitchen.  Such open kitchen layouts seem to be a growing trend for eateries in the neighborhood (Bar Masa comes to mind). The restaurant is slated for opening this September, the official menu is yet to be announced.  Let’s hope the dishes will be as impressive as the space itself.