Fodors - Fodors New York City 2015

The phrase in a New York minute is clichd for a reason: in this frenetic city, things really do change in a flash. These days, foodies are still salivating about farm to table, artisanal, and Brooklyn, but the buzzword on every New Yorkers lips for 2014and surely well into 2015is new. New Mayor, new waterfront developments, new hotels, new locations for the Brooklyns Smorgasburg, and a new definition of library (if plans for New York Public Library dont get old before they finally get underway). Some newly completed projects that will bring closure to old woundsand new life to a part of the city under cover since 9/11are the 1,776 foot tall One World Trade Center and the long-delayed National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

After three terms and 12 years of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the big story in New York City politics will, no doubt, be the citys new mayor, Bill de Blasio. With top priorities that include reigning in the police forces controversial stop and frisk practices (random street searches of minority New Yorkers) and the replacement of the citys iconicand controversialhorse-drawn carriages with electric antique cars, the new mayors first years in office will be of great interest to locals and visitors alike.

A few quick positive economic indicators: New York is experiencing its biggest hotel expansion in a generation, attracting a host of new brandsfrom high-end boutiques to budget chainsall across the city. The city has 143 hotels in the pipeline to open by 2016, with 43 of these properties slated for the outer boroughsa key indicator of recent visitor trends to visit, and stay, in boroughs beyond Manhattan. And tourists keep on coming: 2013 had a record number of visitorsaround 54 million, up from the previous years 52 million, and the city is projecting 55 million visitors by the end of 2014.

If theres something the quintessential New Yorker cant get enough of, its sports, so if youre looking to make small talk with a local, just pick a team. Basketball fans can support the trendy Brooklyn Nets (Jay Z is a part owner) in their new digs at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn or the New York Knicks (Spike Lee is practically the team mascot) at Madison Square Garden. In late 2015, the New York Islanders hockey team will move from their suburban Long Island stadium to their new home at Barclays Center. The Islanders havent won a Stanley Cup since the early 1980s and the hope is that Brooklyn will help them get their mojo back. The Islanders compete with the New York Rangers for the hearts, and tickets, of New York hockey fans. Baseball lovers can choose between the New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium in the Bronx) or the New York Mets (Citi Field in Queens). New York football fans declare their loyalties to either the New York Giants or the New York Jetsboth teams play at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Soccer fans can choose between the New York Red Bulls, the newly revived New York Cosmos and the newly formed New York City Football Club (who plan to sway NY fans with a new stadium just south of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx). If you cant pick a team, pick a less-contentious sport, like tennis; the U.S. Open brings the best in tennis to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens at the end of every summer.

Some of the biggest movers and shakers in the New York art scene will be moving and/or shaking off dust after renovations in 2015, perhaps suggesting that the art world will be more focused on exhibition spaces than the exhibitions themselves. One big move is the Whitneys relocation to its state-of-the-art new space in the Meatpacking District in late 2015. Before it air kisses the Upper East Side good-bye, the museum will depart its Marcel-Breuer designed old home with a museum-wide retrospective of Jeff Koonss workthe first time a single artist has ever taken over almost the entire museum. But why move when you can just eat up real estate around you? In 2014, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will begin work on a controversial plan to raze its neighbor, the critically acclaimed former home of the American Folk Art Museum, to create more gallery space.

When to Go

New York City weather, like its people, is a study in extremes. Much of winter brings bone-chilling winds and an occasional traffic-snarling snowfall, but youre just as likely to experience mild afternoons sandwiched by cool temperatures.

In late spring and early summer, streets fill with parades and street fairs, and Central Park has free performances. Late August temperatures sometimes claw skyward, bringing subway station temperatures over 100F (no wonder the Hamptons are so crowded). This is why September brings palpable excitement, with stunning yellow-and-bronze foliage complementing the dawn of a new cultural season. Between October and May, museums mount major exhibitions, most Broadway shows open, and formal opera, ballet, and concert seasons begin.

Getting Around

On Foot. The best way to explore New York is on foot. No matter what neighborhood youre headed to, youll get a better sense of it by wandering around; you can check out the architecture, pop into cool-looking shops and cafs, and observe the walk-and-talk of the locals. And if you get lost, New Yorkers are surprisingly helpful with directions.