Big Apple

Visitors don't have to drop a bundle to see the sights of the Big Apple. According to the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau, many indoor landmarks charge no admission and even theatergoers can see plays for nothing. Rockefeller Center offers a free self-guided walking tour of the entire complex. Tourists can attend free one-act plays at the Actor's Playhouse, Sheridan Square, Greenwich Village, every Monday at 8 p.m., and at the Quaigh Theater, 108 West 43rd St., daily at 12:15 p.m.

Few sculptures by Sol LeWitt actually resemble skyscrapers. But by installing 27 works by the artist in City Hall Park, in view of the lower Manhattan skyline, the Public Art Fund has put LeWitt's art into a playful and powerful dialogue with the city's architecture. Here, a pared sculpture of a white cube looks like some sort of building block or else the grid of a window. A pyramid form that might in a museum seem a celebration of art for art's sake seems more like an elegant real-estate solution.

A nude torso of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, went on public display in New York on Thursday -- the first time the alluring marble sculpture from the 1st century BC has been seen outside her mythical birthplace. With her classic figure and glowing patina, "Aphrodite Anadyomene," or Aphrodite emerging from the sea, literally came out of the Mediterranean. The 3-foot-tall torso was recovered by divers at Na Paphos in 1956 on the southwest coast of Cyprus.

After spending $18 million on a makeover, the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor Hotel near New York City seized on the number 18 for a limited-time offer :  Pay for a room at the regular rate and get the second night -- or a fourth night too, depending on how long you stay-- for $18. The deal: The hotel sits on the New Jersey waterfront at Weehawken, across from Manhattan.  In fact, user reviewers rave about the skyline view.  The hotel is a short ferry ride from the Big Apple.

I lived for 12 years in and around New York, including a couple of years driving a taxi at night, and have lived in Southern California (mostly L.A.) for 25 years. Since Shawn Hubler has raised this "world's oldest riff ... too stale ... too low class ... " ["New Yorkers: How to Get a Life out Here," May 1], I have to say that one of the most annoying elements of this silly question is that when ex-New Yorkers talk about "New York" they aren't talking about New York, they're talking about parts of Manhattan.

Back in the mid-to-late '70s, downtown Manhattan was the country's most celebrated hotbed of fresh, iconoclastic musical talent. At clubs such as Max's Kansas City and CBGB's, local acts like Patti Smith, the Ramones, Talking Heads and Blondie spread the gospel of punk and new wave, helping to launch a revolution in pop music and pop culture that still reverberates two decades later.

If you think you're seeing apples everywhere these days, you're right. This year's record U.S. crop is almost 10% larger than 1991's. Most of that growth is in the Granny Smith variety, which increased 87% over last year and has nearly doubled since 1990. Also on the increase are the ever-popular Red Delicious (up 16%) and Golden Delicious (up 29%). As a result, apple prices are lower than they have been for several years, as cheap as 49 cents in some stores.

Autumn in New York City--why does it seem so inviting? Well, for one thing, of course, the temperatures tend to be comfier and the hordes of summer are thinned (though you'll probably still have to stand in line for the Statue of Liberty). It's true that sleeping, eating and having fun in the Big Apple are still generally more expensive than just about anywhere else in America.

The New York Met infielders get all the credit. Name a sports magazine and they've been featured in it. It's to the point that Met outfielder Darryl Hamilton walked into the clubhouse the other day, saw the infield on the cover of yet another magazine, slammed it down in mock disgust and said, "Can't we get a little love in the outfield?" No doubt, you've got to show some love for the Mets' deep, talented outfield. And around these parts, you can't help but feel a little remorse.

The subject was the Angels' 6-3 loss to the Yankees in New York Wednesday, and Manager Terry Collins was taking the blame. "We were not ready to play," Collins said. "That's my fault." If Collins wants to plead mea culpa for a trip to New York that featured collapsing stadiums, 7 a.m. wake-up calls and cross-town bus trips, go right ahead. But he'd be better off saving it for yanking a pitcher too soon or calling a rally-killing hit-and-run. If anyone's at fault here, it's umpire Al Clark.

Finding a room for $250 a night ? the average rate for a hotel room in New York City ? isn't easy. Once upon a time, you could get a discount by walking in or calling the hotel directly. Now getting a deal is a whole new ballgame, thanks to the Internet. Room rates in New York peak in November and December, then dip in January and February, the best time to bag a bargain. For instance, a superior king at the stylish new Strand Hotel on West 37th Street is priced at $385 in early December and $215 in mid-January.

There is something so richly subversive, so vicariously appealing about turning accountants into action heroes who aim their big guns at Wall Street Ponzi schemers that the idea alone makes the new buddy-cop comedy, "The Other Guys," clever and funny from the first frame. Fortunately, many other clever and funny frames follow. Which is nice to be able to say about a Will Ferrell comedy again after a recent string of duds capped (hopefully tighter than a BP oil well) by the dismal "Land of the Lost" in 2009.

There is something so richly subversive, so vicariously appealing about turning accountants into action heroes who aim their big guns at Wall Street Ponzi schemers that the idea alone makes the new buddy-cop comedy, "The Other Guys," clever and funny from the first frame. Fortunately, many other clever and funny frames follow. Which is nice to be able to say about a Will Ferrell comedy again after a recent string of duds capped (hopefully tighter than a BP oil well) by the dismal "Land of the Lost" in 2009.

It was a scene that would surely have made New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg cringe. On Monday afternoon, dozens of mock New York yellow cabs and buses, along with NYPD police cars and Lincoln Town Cars with New York license plates, cruised down the boulevard. A giant crane hoisting two 20-foot lighting screens diffused the bright sunlight on the faces of actors Rob Morrow and Maura Tierney. In all, 179 extras and 37 vehicles were enlisted for an unusually elaborate scene for the upcoming ABC drama "The Whole Truth."

Steve Abrams envisions long lines of customers for his vanilla cupcakes and banana pudding when his Magnolia Bakery opens this summer at Orlando Avenue and 3rd Street in Los Angeles, his first location outside New York. Many Angelenos are drooling in anticipation, even those irked by the knowledge that the addition of the popular bakery will make already scarce parking even harder to find in the densely packed neighborhood. "I like the fact that Magnolia is coming in, but the reality is the public is being duped," said Danielle Elliott, a Realtor who has complained vociferously to the city about the dearth of parking.

Many charter school supporters believe their hour has come. Locally, charters play an increasingly integral part in the school reform agenda of the Los Angeles Unified School District. At the state level, California charters recently received a boost from legislation that permits them access to new bond funding for school construction. And nationally, the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top program includes high-quality charter schools among its priorities. But an improved outlook for charter schools is not a guaranteed cure-all for bad schools.

For most major leaguers, the annual All-Star break is a time to rest and recuperate, to revive flagging batteries. That also goes for the giant apple that rises above the outfield fence at Citi Field whenever a New York Met hits a home run. The Home Run Apple was actually booed Sunday when it failed to rise from its shell after Fernando Tatis homered. First the fans chanted "We want apple!" and then they jeered when the apple failed to respond to their cries.

Mitch Albom in the Detroit Free Press: "No. No. A thousand red lights no! New York City hosting the Olympic Games? Who came up with this idea? Someone stuck in a taxi, trying to get across town? Yeah, here's what we need. More ... people! " ... The city it beat out -- and I hope you're sitting down -- San Francisco. Right. Because when it comes to late August, where would you rather be -- alongside a breezy Pacific Ocean or inhaling bus fumes in 90-degree heat?

Although I am a New Yorker now, I am proud of my Los Angeles roots. I was born in Monterey Park, and my first job was as an usher at the Music Center in downtown L.A. I have hiked in Griffith Park, camped out overnight for a seat at the Rose Parade and wolfed down many roast beef sandwiches at Philippe's. That said, I confess that I read Karen Stabiner's Jan. 25 Times Op-Ed article, "Just one Big Fruit," with a mixture of concern, amusement and pity. Stabiner describes her experiences as an L.A.-to- New York transplant, saying she prefers to see common bonds between the Big Apple and the Big Orange.