It was another animated and emotional event for Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH), which held its Reaching for the Stars Gala on April 17. Hosted by Vladimir Duthiers of CBS News, the honorees, guests and alumni were joined by U.S. Olympic skaters, including four from the 2022 team event, who earlier this year were officially recognized as gold medalists after a two-year delay.

The evening’s honorees were Tina Davis, Daria Forde, Alicia Hall Moran, and Cynthia Romano. Davis is the head of enterprise marketing and brand engagement at Citi and a member of FSH’s board. Romano, a former figure skater, is the senior managing director at FTI Consulting.

An accomplished singer and actress, Hall Moran is a long-time skater and FSH supporter. This year she was a twice-weekly volunteer skating instructor. “The ability to pop onto the ice as a Black woman fully engaged in her Blackness and stand in her Harlem neighborhood on ice with girls of color studying a sport and an artform feels very natural to me,” she said.

Forde, a 2020 computer science graduate from Barnard College, said FSH instilled confidence in her. “It means so much to me to be honored by a program that was pivotal with my trajectory and allowed me to see what it looked like to be a part of a true community,” said Forde. “Being in that environment at such a young age allowed me to know that I can enter whatever environment I want to and succeed.”

It’s been an eventful year for FSH. The performance team skated in the exhibition at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Columbus, Ohio. During career week, a group of students went to Estee Lauder headquarters where they learned how to make and market products. The most remarkable experience was a trip last summer to South Africa for 11 girls, which FSH founder/CEO Sharon Cohen said was “magical.”

High school junior Zayda Rojas, a member of FSH for 10 years, described the trip as life changing and an opportunity to travel to the place of their ancestors.  

“I could see different cultures, how they interacted, the foods that they ate,” she said. “I felt loved and I felt nourished by the people. They were very welcoming and inclusive. I learned a lot about them and a lot about myself.”

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* This article was originally published here

As New Yorkers, we all keep an eye on Michelin’s restaurant picks to see which spots we should put on our MEL (must-eat list), whether it’s on the budget-friendly Bib Gourmand recommendation or a dining room deemed worthy of a prestigious Michelin star. But now, the organization wants to become the authority on great hotels.

On Wednesday, Michelin announced its 124 U.S. hotels that it awarded “Michelin Keys” to, including 27 New York City hotels. 

RECOMMENDED: The 24 best hotels in NYC, from Midtown to NoMad and the Upper East Side

“Steadfast in our field-based approach, the Michelin Guide inspectors drew up this unprecedented list to share their best hotel experiences in the US. Every establishment awarded One, Two or Three Michelin Keys is a gem sculpted by talented professionals,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the Michelin Guide. “Using the Michelin Guide digital platforms, travelers can filter their search and book awarded hotels for stays that we hope will be unforgettable.”

According to Michelin, hotels with Michelin Keys are “the chicest coastal retreats, the most relaxing, quiet hideaways, and the most spectacular urban oases.”

Here’s the breakdown of Keys, what they mean, and which NYC hotels received them: 

One Key

What it means: A Very Special Stay

“This is a true gem with its own character and personality. It may break the mould, offer something different or simply be one of the best of its type. Service always goes the extra mile and provides significantly more than similarly priced establishments,” Michelin states.

The One Key hotels in NYC are as follows:

1. Hotel Central Park
2. Baccarat Hotel & Residences
3. Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
4. Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad
5. The Beekman – A Thompson Hotel
6. The Bowery Hotel
7. The Greenwich Hotel
8. The Hotel Chelsea
9. The Lowell
10. The Ludlow Hotel
11. The Mercer
12. The Peninsula New York
13. The Wall Street Hotel
14. Warren Street Hotel
15. 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
16. Ace Hotel Brooklyn
17. Wythe Hotel

In its guide, Michelin says that the Wythe Hotel is a larger hotel given the number of rooms but it still remains “affordable” with suites priced at under $400 a night. “It exemplifies the character of the neighborhood with an admirable attention to detail.” Its critics also like that it serves delicacies inspired by Parisian and NYC favorites. We gave it four stars when we reviewed it in 2018. It’s also on our list of the best hotels in Williamsburg.

It also says that The Ritz-Carlton NoMad has the perfect balance of classic luxury, noting its Eastern Mediterranean restaurant with Chef José Andrès. We gave it five stars last year and placed it on our best hotels in NYC list, too.

Finally, Michelin lets us in on another One Key pick—Hotel Chelsea New York. We awarded it five stars this week! Michelin says it’s “another veritable artists’ haven” and “brings NY’s historic charm into the modern era with an impressive, nostalgic authenticity.”

Two Keys

What it means: An Exceptional Stay

“Somewhere truly unique and exceptional in every way, where a memorable experience is always guaranteed. A hotel of character, personality and charm that’s operated with obvious pride and considerable care. Eyecatching design or architecture, and a real sense of the locale make this an exceptional place to stay,” says Michelin.

Two Key Hotels in NYC are as follows:

1. The Fifth Avenue Hotel
2. The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel
3. The Mark Hotel
4. Hotel Barrière Fouquet’s New York
5. Nine Orchard
6. Pendry Manhattan West

Michelin cites that Nine Orchard, within the former Jarmulowsky Bank building, still retains its “century-old grandeur” even though its rooms are “a little more subdued.” It also likes that its minimalist style is still warm and the rooms have custom-designed and custom-programmed sound systems.

Three Keys

What it means: An Extraordinary Stay

“It’s all about astonishment and indulgence here—this is the ultimate in comfort and service, style and elegance. It is one of the world’s most remarkable and extraordinary hotels and a destination in itself for that trip of a lifetime. All the elements of truly great hospitality are here to ensure any stay will live long in the memory and hearts,” Michelin says.

Three Key Hotels in NYC are as follows:

1. Crosby Street Hotel, Firmdale Hotels
2. The Whitby Hotel, Firmdale Hotels
3. Aman New York
4. Casa Cipriani New York

Michelin says Cipriani New York’s 47 rooms and suites are “remarkably restrained in their opulence” (think quiet luxury) unlike its ornate facade. The river views offered makes it “unlike any hotel in town” and the hotel’s Jazz Café is the “perfect place to enjoy live music.”

The new Aman New York, which made headlines last year for being the most expensive hotel in the city (it was around $4,200 per night then), is a “self-contained world of luxury right in the heart of Manhattan.” Michelin says that service is “ever-present and ever professional to accompany guests during their stay.” It better be given that price tag.

* This article was originally published here

NEW YORK (AP) — Facing widespread unhappiness over its response to the Israel-Hamas war, the writers’ group PEN America has called off its annual awards ceremony. Dozens of nominees had dropped out of the event, which was to have taken place next week.

PEN, a literary and free expression organization, hands out hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes each year, including $75,000 for the PEN/Jean Stein Award for best book. But with nine of the 10 Jean Stein finalists withdrawing, along with nominees in categories ranging from translation to poetry, continuing with the ceremony at The Town Hall in Manhattan proved unworkable.

Among those dropping out was debut novel finalist Rachel Eliza Griffiths, wife of former PEN president Salman Rushdie.

“This is a beloved event and an enormous amount of work goes into it, so we all regret this outcome but ultimately concluded it was not possible to carry out a celebration in the way we had hoped and planned,” PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement Monday.

The cancellation comes as tensions over the war have spread throughout the country, from college campuses to political events to roadways, which at times have been blocked by protesters everywhere from Illinois to California.

Since the war began last October, authors affiliated with PEN have repeatedly denounced the organization for allegedly favoring Israel and downplaying atrocities against Palestinian writers and journalists. In an open letter published last month, and endorsed by Naomi Klein and Lorrie Moore among others, the signers criticized PEN for not mobilizing “any substantial coordinated support” for Palestinians and for not upholding its mission to “dispel all hatreds and to champion the ideal of one humanity living in peace and equality in one world.”

PEN has responded by citing that it has condemned the loss of life in Gaza, called for a ceasefire and helped set up a $100,000 emergency fund for Palestinian writers. Last week, PEN America President Jennifer Finney Boylan announced that a committee was being formed to review the organization’s work, “not just over the last six months, but indeed, going back a decade, to ensure we are aligned with our mission and make recommendations about how we respond to future conflicts.”

Critics have said that the relief fund is too small and noted that PEN waited until March to endorse a ceasefire, five months after the war began.

Stein finalists had included Justin Torres’ “Blackouts,” winner last fall of the National Book Award for fiction, and Catherine Lacey’s “Biography of X.” At the request of the estate for Jean Stein, an author and oral historian who died in 2017, the prize money will be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

“Jean Stein was a passionate advocate for Palestinian rights who published, supported, and celebrated Palestinian writers and visual artists,” reads a statement from Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Wendy Vanden Heuvel and Bill Clegg, on behalf of the Stein estate. “While she established the PEN America award in her name to bring attention to and provide meaningful support to writers of the highest literary achievement, we know she would have respected the stance and sacrifice of the writers who have withdrawn from contention this year.”

Camille T. Dungy’s “Soil” had been the only remaining Stein award contender.

PEN announced Monday that judges had selected a handful of winners, among them Javier Fuentes’ “Countries of Origin” for debut novel, the PEN/Hemingway award. Playwright/screenwriter Tony Kushner will still receive the PEN/Mike Nichols Writing for Performance Award. Other honorary awards include the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, given to the late Maryse Condé.

Some authors have called for the resignation of Nossel and other top officials. Lacey, in an Instagram post last week, wrote that PEN needed to “make big changes in the leadership and move into a new era.” More than a dozen awards finalists endorsed a recent letter that demanded Nossel, Boylan and others step down and alleged that PEN had “shown blatant disregard of our collective values.”

A PEN spokesperson said it had no plans to respond to calls for Nossel and others to resign.

PEN’s other high-profile spring events — the “World Voices” festivals in New York and Los Angeles, and the gala at the American Museum of Natural History — will go ahead as scheduled. Klein and Moore are among the writers who have said they will not attend the World Voices festival, which Rushdie helped establish 20 years ago. Rushdie and other former PEN presidents, including Jennifer Egan and Andrew Solomon, had recently published a letter urging the literary community to participate in the festival.

“The festival was conceived amid conflict to draw together diverse authors and thinkers at a time of deepening and deadly geopolitical tension after 9/11,” the letter reads in part.

“We believe in PEN America and the festival and urge that, even at a time of discord, readers and writers will once again find a way to come together to jointly quest for insight and inspiration.”

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* This article was originally published here