This year’s Pesach recognizes that more than 130 captive Jews remain unaccounted, in our prayers, along with thousands of men and women in uniform, defending and volunteering in the Jewish homeland. Many of us will have the Seder at home or close to home, and this Chol HaMoed Guide offers perennial favorites with updated exhibit information, along with lesser-known places in the city and nearby.
They’re in Queens
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street, Corona
This year’s Pesach coincides with Earth Day, the annual event promoting environmentalism and sustainability. The New York Hall of Science has its Earth Week between April 21 and April 28 with exhibits and events. “Powering the City” invites visitors to discover how energy is generated and distributed to power our lives, and “Human Plus” shows how people of all abilities use innovative technologies to improve their lives.
Queens County Farm Museum
73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park
Sure our borough has plenty of green rooftops, community gardens, backyard plots, and windowsill spices, but the largest and last true farm in the borough is in Floral Park, taking up 47 acres. In operation since 1697, this farm has livestock, heavy farm machinery, planting fields, and a vineyard. Events on its calendar include a children’s carnival, antique motor show, and a Native American pow-wow. Fall activities here include the corn maze and pumpkin picking.
King Manor Museum
150-03 Jamaica Avenue
In the heart of downtown Jamaica is one of the oldest mansions in Queens, home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The park surrounding the King Manor is a 12-acre remnant of a 160-acre farm that belonged to Rufus King, the United States Senator, diplomat, and anti-slavery activist, who died in the 50th year of this country’s independence. The interior takes us back to the late 18th century, when Rufus King lived here.
Across from Rufus King Park, at 90-40 150th Street, is P.S. 182; but if you find the cornerstone, it offers a detail of local Jewish history. This was the original Yeshiva of Central Queens before it relocated to Kew Gardens Hills in the 1970s.
Bowne House
37-01 Bowne Street
The oldest standing dwelling in Queens, it dates to 1661 when Quaker colonist John Bowne settled in Flushing. He famously stood up for religious freedom when fellow members of his faith authored the Flushing Remonstrance, addressing the Dutch authorities. Nine generations of Bownes lived in this home until it became a museum in 1945. Visitors can experience how they lived with period furniture and guides explaining what Flushing was like as an outpost. On the other side of the playground behind the Bowne House is the Kingsland Homestead, a house built during the American Revolution that hosts the Queens Historical Society.
Socrates Sculpture Park
32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Astoria
In my childhood, when my parents shopped at the Costco in Astoria, I ventured to its neighbor, Socrates Sculpture Park, which has outdoor sculptures on the East River waterfront with views of Manhattan. Many of the sculptures are designed for interaction, to be touched, walked around, under, and through.
Dr. M. T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery
Sun Yat Sen Hall
8000 Utopia Parkway
www.stjohns.edu/offices-departments/dr-m-t-geoffrey-yeh-art-gallery
On the beautiful campus of St. John’s University is a Chinese-style building that hosts its art gallery. Current exhibits include the BFA Exhibition, highlighting student artwork from the B.F.A. programs in Photography, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Fine Art. On display through April 25. The exhibit “Five Animations” has the works of artist Ezra Wube, offering a recollection of his daily commute in the city and an interpretation of Ethiopian folktales. On display through May 10.
Laser Bounce Family Fun Center
80-28 Cooper Avenue, Glendale
Located in The Shops at Atlas Park, under the Regal Cinemas, this indoor amusement center offers many options for young visitors: bouncy surfaces, ball pit, bowling, arcades, laser tag, and virtual reality. For our Long Island readers, Laser Bounce has a location in Levittown at 2710 Hempstead Turnpike. When the weather is as rainy as this past Yom Kippur, it is good to have a Laser Bounce close to home.
Manhattan Sights
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
One of the world’s greatest art museums has something for everyone. In recent years, the museum brought the works and collections of seemingly unknown Americans to its halls, giving them the fame that they never enjoyed in life. On view at this time is Hidden Faces: Covered Portraits of the Renaissance, which shows multi-sided portraits of the subject’s likeness, concealed by a hinged or sliding cover, within a box, or by a dual-faced portrait, with nearly 60 works on view. On display through July 7.
The breakout painting that attracted national attention in Gallery 756 is Bйlizaire and the Frey Children, a rare American portrait from 1837 showing an enslaved Black youth with the family of his owner. After the Civil War, the slave was covered up and then the painting was stored away and all-but-forgotten. Upon its discovery, and finding Belizaire beneath a layer of paint, his image was restored in the painting and brought to the Metropolitan Museum. Little is known of Belizaire but that he survived to see the end of slavery. He now enjoys posthumous fame at The Met.
United Nations
First Avenue at East 45th Street
We can complain about the inability of the United Nations to bring about world peace, which can happen only with the coming of Mashiach, and its systemic bias against Israel. Americans pay a sizable portion of this organization’s budget and New Yorkers put up with the security and parking spots given to diplomats representing nearly 200 countries. If we pay for it, we may as well see what’s inside its walls, behind that line of flags on First Avenue.
On its guided tours, visitors can learn about the modernist architecture, art installations, and its history. Look for the Peace Windows stained-glass installation by Marc Chagall. Visitors can see the Security Council, General Assembly Hall, Economic and Social Council, and the Trusteeship Council Chambers. Stand in the halls where some of history’s proudest and most shameful speeches and resolutions took place.
Roosevelt Island
A thin sliver of land between Queens and Manhattan, Roosevelt Island is a former asylum and hospital campus transformed into a neighborhood of residential towers, parks, technology campus, and a scenic state park at its southern tip. Take the F train to the Roosevelt Island station, then the Tramway cable car to Manhattan’s Upper East Side. This two-mile island that is only 800 feet in width is ideal for biking and jogging, with Manhattan Island on one side and Queens on the other. The newest artistic feature on this island is The Girl Puzzle, a sculpture on Lighthouse Point honoring muckraking journalist Nellie Bly, who famously snuck into the asylum on Roosevelt Island in 1885, documenting its horrible conditions.
One Vanderbilt
1 Vanderbilt Avenue
The glassy skyscraper towering next to Grand Central Terminal has the newest observation deck in Manhattan, titled The Summit. To reach it, visitors take a glass elevator with views of the city as they rise to nearly 1,400 feet above 42nd Street. One can stand on a glass floor that juts out of the top floor and see the nearby Empire State Building from a unique angle that nearly rivals its height. Ideal for sunsets.
Next door, inside Grand Central Terminal, there is the Transit Museum Store that offers exhibits on the history of the subway and plenty of model trains, toys, and children’s books about it. Our Long Island readers can take the train to Grand Central Terminal, see its new mosaic installations, and then take the elevator to the top without having to go outdoors.
New York City Fire Museum
278 Spring Street
Stories of the City’s Bravest are on display at this former firehouse in the Soho neighborhood. The building contains two exhibit floors tracing the development of firefighting in this city from the early bucket brigades to the present day. Every wall and inch of space is covered with objects, work equipment, and art relating to this lifesaving profession. A couple of blocks to the south, the formerly concrete-clad plaza at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel now has trees, benches, and sculptures as a park in this dense section of Manhattan.
In Brooklyn
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn
The beaux arts landmark has its permanent collection of ancient historical art from around the world, a colonial Dutch farmhouse transported inside the museum, and its ancient Egyptian collection. To consider a society transformed, imagine Japan 160 years ago. Utagawa Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo – one of the Brooklyn Museum’s greatest treasures – returns to public display, showing woodblock prints of the city as it appeared before Japan opened up to the world and industrialized.
Building 92 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn
From 1801 through 1966, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was the arsenal of democracy that produced fearsome battleships and weapons that preserved our independence, saved the union, projected American power, and defended our allies. After the Navy left Brooklyn, this complex became a hub of light industry and tech innovation. This free admission museum offers displays on the history and present use of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. And it is within a short drive from Williamsburg, where one can shop for kosher items.
New York Transit Museum
99 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn
Located inside a subway station that was abandoned in 1946 and reopened 30 years later as a museum, its tracks hold more than a century of historic rolling stock. Step inside these old subway cars to see advertisements from decades past. On the mezzanine level are displays and artifacts relating to the construction of the country’s largest and only 24-hour transit system.
Bronx Children’s Museum
2 Exterior Street, Bronx
Brooklyn has a children’s museum, and Manhattan too; and now there’s one for the Bronx, located near Yankee Stadium. The 13,650-square-foot Bronx Children’s Museum opened last December inside a former powerhouse, with interactive displays on urban waterways, nature, and neighborhoods. The castle-like building is situated in Mill Pond Park, a waterfront space on the Harlem River, reclaimed from industry next to the Bronx Terminal Market shopping center. The excitement of visiting a new museum makes this one a worthy choice for Chol HaMoed.
Jewish Content
Flip Circus – The Kosher L’Pesach Circus
Staten Island Mall
2655 Richmond Avenue
Staten Island
Chazaq is sponsoring an all-male set of performances including “Twins from France” and musical guest Nachas for two shows on Thursday, April 25, 12:00 noon and 3:00 p.m.; and on Friday, April 26, at 12:00 noon. The location is centrally located for families from the City and New Jersey to meet and share the show.
Museum at Eldridge Street
12 Eldridge Street
The historic synagogue of the Lower East Side opened in 1886 as the crown of the immigrant neighborhood and was restored in the 1990s as a museum of Jewish life.
On exhibit at this time is artist Adrienne Ottenberg’s On the Lower East Side: 28 Remarkable Women…and One Scoundrel, depicting women who made an impact on the neighborhood. Among these are: Gittel Natelson (1844-1903) who ran the shul’s mikvah and a sheitel business that supported her family and New York’s frum wives. She’s the exception, as most of the other names are the expected labor and political heroines that led progressive movements in the early 20th century.
The exhibit notes a forgotten moment of solidarity between Chinatown and Lower East Side when a Chinese theater on Doyers Street held a benefit for victims of the Kishinev pogrom in 1903. How fortunate that this museum remembers such things! On display through May 5.
Beyond the City
American Dream Mall
One American Dream Way
East Rutherford, NJ
After hearing about it from her classmates in school and bunkmates in camp, my family took the trip to the American Dream mall in the Meadowlands. Even when it’s not Chol HaMoed, this destination mall is filled with frum families eager to taste popular American foods with a hechsher, and satisfaction that this mall was built by the Ghermezian family, whose philanthropy sustains many educational projects in the Jewish community.
Did we feel like paying for an indoor amusement park when it is sunny outside, or a water park that is only a fraction of Mountain Creek and Splish Splash? Nor did we feel that the novelty of an indoor ski slope was worth the price when we could wait a few months until the slopes of the Catskills and Poconos reopen.
For a family on a budget seeking unique thrills, the indoor skating rink, mini-golf, and candy store would be worth experiencing. If you have friends in Lakewood, Monsey, or west of the City, this mall could be a good place to meet up and have fun.
American Merchant Marine Museum
300 Steamboat Road, Great Neck
Near the tip of the Great Neck peninsula is the scenic campus of the American Merchant Marine Academy and next to it is a historic mansion that serves as its museum. Inside are artifacts and artworks relating to the seafaring profession. The museum grounds overlook the Long Island Sound, with views of the Stepping Stones and Execution Rocks lighthouses that stand in the middle of this waterway. Public hours here are limited (from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Friday). In this upscale community, Ashkenazi and Persian synagogues such as the Young Israel of Great Neck, the Great Neck Synagogue, Shaarei Shalom, Shaarei Zion, and Ahavat Shalom, are truly an architectural experience. Daven at any of these shuls after visiting this museum.
Cradle of Aviation Museum
Charles Lindbergh Boulevard, Garden City
This is a former hangar transformed into a museum of air and space technology. Currently, it has exhibits on drones and the early “flying boats” of the late Pan American Airlines. The latter is produced by the Pan Am Museum Foundation, a nonprofit created by former employees and airplane enthusiasts to preserve the history of this pioneering airline company.
Adventureland
2245 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale
I have not visited Adventureland since I was in summer camp. Long Island’s longest operating amusement park struck me as a street fair permanently moored in place with rides that are standard across the country, such as a swinging pirate ship, carousel, and log flume. I had no idea that in 2015, it welcomed Turbulence, a new roller coaster that has become its star attraction. This new ride serves as an extra reason to revisit this blast from the past.
Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve
249 Buckley Road, Holtsville
www.brookhavenny.gov/197/Holtsville-Ecology-Site
City schoolchildren are fortunate to have trips to zoos in each of the five boroughs, and if you’ve wondered where their suburban peers get to see animals, it’s at the Holtsville Ecology Site in Suffolk County. A former landfill transformed into a park, its zoo residents include a bobcat, buffalo, bald eagle, American black bear, and farm animals. Next to the zoo is a greenhouse with tropical plants and hiking trails atop the hill, covering up decades of trash. The park is a precursor to other landfills-turned parks such as Shirley Chisholm State Park in Brooklyn, Freshkills Park on Staten Island, and Norman Levy Preserve in Nassau County.
Edward Hopper House Museum
82 North Broadway, Nyack
On the drive to Monsey is the picturesque town of Nyack, which has the look of an artist’s village overlooking the Hudson River. The most famous painter that lived in Nyack is Edward Hopper, the realist master of subdued drama. On display are his early works, scenes of Nyack from his lifetime, and furniture from his time. The museum is a short bike ride from the new Tappan Zee Bridge, which offers overlooks and informative signage along its 3.1-mile stretch.
Hudson River Museum
511 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers
On the drive to Monsey, the city to the north of the Bronx has a museum honoring how people connect to this state’s main river through art, photographs, and stories. The Hudson River Museum consists of a modernist exhibition hall attached to the historic Glenview mansion, with views of the Palisades cliffs from the windows and grounds for strolling around the museum.
Urban Air Adventure Park
396 Ryders Lane, Milltown
1600 St. Georges Avenue, Avenel
69 Wesley Street, South Hackensack
When rain and wind interfere with fall foliage and the temperature is too chilly for a walk, Urban Air Adventure Park offers three indoor locations in New Jersey. The family-friendly facility offers ample space for bouncing, climbing, virtual reality, and sports.
New Jersey State Museum
205 West State Street, Trenton
If you’re traveling to Philadelphia or Cherry Hill, the capital city of New Jersey is a few minutes off the turnpike. Like the capital of our State of New York, Trenton is a small city defined by its political role. Another similarity is having a state museum inside a modernist building. The exhibit Discovering Grant Castner honors a local photographer who documented New Jersey’s people, railroads, canals, roads, and landscapes from the 1890s through the 1910s The exhibit “Written in the Rocks: Fossil Tales of New Jersey” tells the state’s prehistoric stories with specimens of ancient reptiles, fish, and birds.
Six Flags Great Adventure
1 Six Flags Blvd, Jackson Township, NJ
www.sixflags.com/greatadventure
This year, the largest amusement park in the Northeast marks its 50th year in operation. To remain profitable, customer loyalty is key, as parents experience rides from their childhood and introduce their offspring to new rides relating to popular movies and comics.
This spring, Vertical Velocity opens as the park’s 15th roller coaster, which will be followed this summer with The Flash, a roller coaster reaching 60 miles per hour. Among the original rides, Sawmill Log Flume and Giant Wheel, formerly known as the Big Wheel, were refurbished for the anniversary. Not everything at Six Flags closes at sunset, as it now offers glamping as its overnight attraction, starting in June.
Hersheypark
100 Hershey Drive, Hershey, PA
Since 1906, this 121-acre theme park has been a leading attraction in Pennsylvania, where the beloved chocolatier offers a factory tour, water park, zoo, and roller coasters. Most Jolly Ranchers candies are not kosher, unless they have a hechsher, but the 105-foot-high Jolly Rancher Remix coaster offers colorful theme rides based on flavors, with lights, tunnels, and music, as it flips six times on its ride. On the way to Hershey, one can drive through Philadelphia, with its Revolutionary War history and the National Museum of American Jewish history, or Easton with the Crayola factory. A short distance to the west of Hershey is Harrisburg, the capital city of Pennsylvania.
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