EAST VILLAGE — New Yorkers looking to slim down and buff up are in luck this month, because healthy food and rock climbing are the newest highlights of New York's annual Summer Streets festival.
Now in its fourth year, the festival has added a 25-foot rock climbing wall to the corner of Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue, unveiled to the public for the first time Thursday morning. The wall will be open to the public as part of the three-week health-focused festival, which closes off seven miles of Park Avenue from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park each Saturday from Aug. 6 - 20 so that New Yorkers can mingle in car-free streets.
"I always wanted to do this, but I never had time to make it to any mountain," said Eliot Rivera, 45, of Brooklyn, who paused to climb the wall during his trip to Manhattan for a job-hunt.
"Now they're bringing the mountain here to New York!"
The climbing wall will be open on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Other sports featured at the festival range from basketball to baseball to hockey, as well as free bike and skate rentals, with lessons included.
The bicycle lessons, held by Bike New York, are part of the city's initiative to encourage New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation, said NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
“Summer Streets and Weekend Walks are back, with even more opportunities for New Yorkers to stroll, cycle, skate and, in some places, dance their way through the five boroughs,” said Sadik-Khan. “By opening up streets to lively programming, we’re building on a summertime tradition of reconnecting people to these spaces as vibrant public places.”
Other new highlights include a Whole Foods "Healthy Living Cook-Off" Saturday, in which three finalists will face off for the title of best grilled vegetarian salad.
The three finalists are Brooklyn resident Mariko Makino, who won a place in the finals with her warm grilled potato salad with arugula, fresh corn and scallion vinaigrette; Connecticut resident Adam Rosen's grilled flatbread provencal with grilled zucchini, peppers and onions; and New Jersey resident Lisa Davies' grilled peach and feta salad over a bed of arugula.
The competition will take place at the corner of East 25th Street and Park Avenue and will be co-hosted by David Venable of QVC's "In the Kitchen With David." The winner will get a Whole Foods gift card of $500.
The festival will also include an exhibit by Animus Arts Collective, a New York-based artist group, that consists of 32,000 brightly colored zip ties attached to various poles and light posts throughout the East Village area.
Called "Flaming Cactus," the exhibit is meant to inspire New Yorkers on how to brighten up their neighborhoods with little money and basic materials, artist Preston Dane said.
"I think it's fun, it's whimsical, and it helps add color to the streets," Upper West Side resident Dane, 31, said about his creation.
While Dane is thrilled that the exhibit is put up for the festival, he's even more excited that it will stay in the area for a full year.
"It's great now, but I'm really looking forward to the winter time, when everything's gray and dreary, and the colors will just pop out at you," he added.
For a full schedule of Summer Streets festivities, please click here.
