Here’s an important spring PSA: Pink petals are at their peak at Brooklyn Botanic Garden right now. The garden’s cherry esplanade and cherry walk are now in peak bloom.

The blooms will likely last another week or so before they begin floating down to the ground, creating a pastel carpet of petals, according to BBG’s director of horticulture, Shauna Moore. So make sure to get there this week or weekend.

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Brooklyn Botanic Garden is home to one of the best cherry blossom displays in the city. It maintains a vast collection of flowering cherry trees—26 species and cultivars, to be exact!—that bloom at different times during the spring season. Typically, cherry blossom season runs until mid-May. 

Though some of BBG’s trees are past their peak bloom, the garden’s Prunus × dawyckensis species still are in pre-peak, meaning there’s plenty of time to enjoy those whitish blooms. The garden offers a Cherry Watch tracker on its website, so you can see a map of all the trees and exactly when they’ll be in their finest form.

Tickets to BBG cost $22/person and you can book them online in advance here.

If you can’t make it to BBG this year, here are a few photos that’ll make you feel like you’re there among the flowers. 

* This article was originally published here

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., of New Jersey, died Wednesday after a heart attack this month that left him hospitalized, officials said. He was 65.

In a statement, Gov. Phil Murphy called his fellow Democrat a “steadfast champion for the people of New Jersey.”

“With his signature bowtie, big heart, and tenacious spirit, Donald embodied the very best of public service,” Murphy said in a statement. “As a former union worker and toll collector, he deeply understood the struggles our working families face, and he fought valiantly to serve their needs, every single day.”

Payne had previously served as president of Newark City Council in New Jersey’s largest city, and on the Essex County Board of Commissioners.

Payne’s office had said his heart attack was connected to complications from diabetes. Payne’s father, Donald Milford Payne, held the congressional seat before him. When the elder Payne died in 2012, the younger ran successfully in a special election to succeed him.

He had won reelection six times since. The district covers parts of Newark and its heavily populated suburbs.

A New Jersey colleague, Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, called Payne a “truly great public servant” who liked to call him “Uncle Frank” and had fought to raise awareness for diabetes and colorectal cancer prevention and to replace lead pipes in Newark.

Payne’s survivors include his wife, Beatrice, and their three children, Murphy said.

The post US Rep. Donald Payne Jr., a Democrat from New Jersey, has died at 65 after a heart attack appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

We know that New York City has the best bars in the world, but when the world recognizes our faves, it feels pretty good.

The 50 Best Brand, which also names the 50 Best Restaurants in the world, has unveiled its list of the 50 Best Bars in North America for 2024.

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While the title of No. 1 went to a spot in Mexico City, Handshake Speakeasy, New York City was the most prominent city with a whopping 12 bars making the list: Superbueno (No. 2), Overstory (No. 3), Martiny’s (No. 4), Double Chicken Please (No. 7), Katana Kitten (No. 12), Employees Only (No. 15), Dante (No. 20), Attaboy (No. 31), The Dead Rabbit (No. 33), Maison Premiere (No. 41), Angel’s Share (No. 43) and Milady’s (No. 44).

Most of them have been spotlighted by ’50 Best’ before, but two took home specific honors this time. Martiny’s is the “Nikka Highest Climber Award” because it jumped 25 spots between 2023 and 2024, and Superbueno earned the “Disaronno Highest New Entry Award.”

“Each year, New York continues to excel in delivering the world’s most amazing craft cocktails. In 2024, New York holds 12 of the 26 U.S. listees, including the continent’s highest achievers,” the organization said in its press release.

Apparently, Mexico City is where it’s at right now for the best cocktails! The ’50 Best’ awards ceremony was held there again this year. The city “continues to platform the country’s place as a leader of the global cocktail scene.”

Below are the top 50 Best Bars in North America:

1. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
2. Superbueno, New York
3. Overstory, New York
4. Martiny’s, New York
5. Rayo, Mexico City
6. Jewel of the South, New Orleans
7. Double Chicken Please, New York
8. Thunderbolt, Los Angeles
9. Licorería Limantour, Mexico City
10. Tlecān, Mexico City
11. Zapote Bar, Playa del Carmen
12. Katana Kitten, New York
13. Café La Trova, Miami
14. El Gallo Altanero, Guadalajara
15. Employees Only, New York
16. Aruba Day Drink, Tijuana
17. Café de Nadie, Mexico City
18. La Factoría, San Juan
19. Kumiko, Chicago
20. Dante, New York
21. Civil Liberties, Toronto
22. Service Bar, Washington DC
23. Allegory, Washington DC
24. Botanist Bar, Vancouver
25. Herbs & Rye, Las Vegas
26. Baltra Bar, Mexico City
27. Bekeb, San Miguel de Allende
28. Kaito del Valle, Mexico City
29. Bar Pompette, Toronto
30. True Laurel, San Francisco
31. Attaboy, New York
32. Meadowlark, Chicago
33. The Dead Rabbit, New York
34. Selva, Oaxaca
35. Library by the Sea, Grand Cayman
36. Century Grand, Phoenix
37. Arca, Tulum
38. Pacific Cocktail Heaven, San Francisco
39. Cloakroom, Montreal
40. Bar Mordecai, Toronto
41. Maison Premiere, New York
42. Hanky Panky, Mexico City
43. Angel’s Share, New York
44. Milady’s, New York
45. Brujas, Mexico City
46. Mírate, Los Angeles
47. Cure, New Orleans
48. Best Intentions, Chicago
49. The Keefer Bar, Vancouver
50. Atwater Cocktail Club, Montreal

If you want more top-notch bars to drink at, don’t miss our very own list of the 50 Best Bars in NYC, which include other spots like the Long Island Bar, Bemelmans Bar, Sunken Harbor Club, and Dutch Kills.

* This article was originally published here