Tulip Mania

Impressed by the NY flowers last week, London decided to up the ante - plus the sun came!  We captured even more flowers in bloom on a glorious afternoon in St. John’s Wood. 

Tulip Spotting in New York City

Last week we shared the beautiful tulip gardens in London, so we thought it apt to showcase New York in bloom this week as we thawed out from winter, and took a Midtown stroll. Park Avenue is lovely with spot beds of red, orange, and pink tulips adorning it. The New York Public Library lions, Patience and Fortitude, are surrounded by a garden of yellow tulips; and around the corner, Bryant Park is abloom with bulbs as well. This week will be the peak bloom for Tulips in New York according to our sources, so we hope you get the opportunity to head outside and enjoy these beauties!

Embankment Gardens are in Bloom

It’s Tulip season here in London and the Embankment Gardens are in full bloom! For a few more weeks, until tulip season ends in Mid-May, a stunning rainbow of tulips will be in bloom at the Victoria Embankment Gardens.

The Gardens, which were opened in 1875, have given Londoners and visitors alike a beautiful spot to relax along the Thames, and provide the perfect setting the tulips in their full splendor in glorious shades of orange, pink, and purple. Spring has sprung and what better way to welcome her than a stroll amongst the tulips!

“Curtain Call” by Karon Davis

Hovering thirty feet above Manhattan’s west side on our beloved High Line is Karon Davis’  graceful sculpture of a ballerina taking her final bow at the end of a performance aptly named “Curtain Call”.  Known for her sculptures and installations that incorporated dance, theater, and moving images, for this piece Ms. Davis drew inspiration from her family, crafting the sculpture as an homage to her parents and sister who were all professional dancers.

The artist’s sculpture of a ballerina at the end of a grueling performance captures the mental and physical toll a dancer goes through to put on a show. To bring the dancer’s experience to life, Davis leveraged a mix of 3D scanning technology with traditional sculpting techniques, creating a bronze figure based on a plaster cast of ballerina Jasmine Perry. The work is part of Davis’ series Beauty Must Suffer, which examines the “life and labor” of Black ballerinas. This installation will be available at the High Line at 23rd Street until its last bow in November 2024.

“N.Y.C. Legend” by Alexander Klingspor

Have you heard Alligators living in the New York City sewers? These creatures have survived urban legend, passed on by kids and adults alike in a tall tale that developed in the early 1920s and never quite died. Fear not, there are no real alligators roaming the New York City sewers (that we know of), but this bit of folklore has stood the test of time and the story continues to be shared.

Swedish Artist Alexander Klingspor pays tribute to this old urban legend in his latest bronze statue “N.Y.C. Legend,” currently on display at Union Square in Manhattan through June 2024. Klingspor’s statue follows the age-old tradition of myth becoming art, bringing to life the classic tale of the New York City Alligators.

Look closely enough at this installation, and you will find some modern touches alongside Klingspor’s alligator. A quarter represents the relic of a society becoming increasingly cashless, a plastic straw represents the growing awareness of plastic wastefulness, and a COVID test container represents what we have recently overcome. The trash left in this Alligator’s sewer is a testament to where New Yorkers have been, and where we are heading.

New Guidance on Immigration Medical Examination Validity Period

On April 4, 2024, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that effective immediately, any Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, which was properly completed and signed by a civil surgeon on or after November 1, 2023, does not have an expiration date. The service noted that the Form can be used indefinitely to evidence that the applicant is “not inadmissible on health-related grounds.” This determination was made by USCIS in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and “based on advances in public health electronic notification.”