The Chinese New Year ends today with the Lantern Celebration. Our roving photographer captured some of the month-long festivities. If you love Chinese food, NYC has some of the very best. Check out Time Out New York’s top 29 picks. We’re blessed to have so many beautiful gardens, like the NY Botanical, the Brooklyn Botanical, and Central Park, but did you know there are beautiful hidden gardens all over the city, like the three we’re highlighting today. The groundbreaking exhibition, The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, opens Sunday at the Met.  And there’s a fun exhibition at the Moshava Gallery, called Dogs of New York.

Roving in Chinatown

Our roving photographer, Nicole Freezer Rubens writes:

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, and celebrated by 20% of the world, is an elaborate 16 day celebration ending on February 25th. This year’s zodiac sign is the dragon, representing power, wisdom nobility, honor and good fortune.

The festivities end this weekend with the grand finale Lantern Festival. Lanterns are lit in hopes of adding children to the family. On Sunday February 25th in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood at 1pm on Mott, Bayard and Mulberry Streets, you can celebrate the culmination of this joyous holiday. Dance with dragons under firecrackers and confetti. Honor the beautiful and colorful culture and welcome the spring. I await this joyous celebration with great anticipation every year. The sounds, dances, and spectacle are always incredibly beautiful and uplifting.

~Nicole Freezer Rubens is the author of poetry/photo book, “The Long Pause and the Short Breath.” Follow her on https://www.instagram.com/nfrconsult/

The 29 best Chinese restaurants in NYC

Time Out New York says: New York City has a long lineage of excellent Chinese restaurants showcasing the culinary traditions of nearly every province in China, as well as the fusion fare created by immigrants in the United States. Whether you’re looking to visit one of NYC’s several Chinatowns, grab a classic dim sum brunch at an area icon, or check out sensational newcomers, these are the best Chinese restaurants in NYC. Check out their picks.

February 25–July 28. The Harlem Renaissance

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present the groundbreaking exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism. Through some 160 works of painting, sculpture, photography, film, and ephemera, it will explore the comprehensive and far-reaching ways in which Black artists portrayed everyday modern life in the new Black cities that took shape in the 1920s–40s in New York City’s Harlem and nationwide in the early decades of the Great Migration when millions of African Americans began to move away from the segregated rural South. The first art museum survey of the subject in New York City since 1987, the exhibition will establish the Harlem Renaissance and its radically new development of the modern Black subject as central to the development of international modern art. GET THE DETAILS.

The Dogs of New York

Moshava, a unique coffee shop and art gallery located on historic West 8th Street in Greenwich Village, is exhibited a fun photo exhibition by Israeli tattoo artist and painter, Shani Nizan. She writes: When I walk the streets feeling lost, some moments are able to draw me out of this feeling, for example: when I see a dog walking towards me, looking for attention, making eye contact, as if we are talking. In that moment I forget everything but how beautiful animals are. You might notice that the owners appear vaguely behind and the dogs are looking right at you, so you may have this moment to forget everything but how beautiful animals are.  GET THE DETAILS.

Three Secret Gardens

I love how there is always something new to discover in NYC, like secret gardens. Here are three hidden gems that offer a glimpse into New York City’s rich history and architectural beauty.

Grove Court is nestled in the heart of West Village. This private courtyard is closed to the public but certainly draws attention. Imagine a row of six beautiful red brick townhouses set back from the main street by way of a private cobblestone path. These townhouses exude timeless elegance and are a true architectural masterpiece.

Originally built in 1854 by Samuel Cocks, the owner of a grocery store at the corner of Grove and Bedford, Grove Court was intended for tradesmen and laborers. These small, stoop-less townhouses were meant for the poor. Today, they remain exclusive and hidden from normal passersby.

Grove Court is located at 13 Grove Street, just off the corner of Bedford and Grove. It’s conveniently situated across from the iconic Friends apartment building!

Amster Yard is charming enclave located in Turtle Bay. It consists of a courtyard and a group of five surrounding structures. The “L”-shaped yard was created by the artist James Amster between 1944 and 1946. It is in the middle of the block, surrounded by 19th-century low-rise buildings. The structures were remodeled by Ted Sandler and Harold Sterner. Since 1999, the yard and its surrounding structures have been owned by the Instituto Cervantes New York, a non-profit organization created by the Spanish government. The entrance to the yard is underneath two buildings on 49th Street1 at 213 East 49^th street between Second and Third Avenues.

Alice’s Garden, tucked away on 34th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, is a secret and beautiful oasis. This charming garden is named after Alice Parsekian, a dedicated resident who lived in the area for fifty years. During her time here, Alice worked tirelessly to keep her neighborhood clean and maintained this small plot of land across the street from her home. She lovingly planted flowers and tended to them regularly. Today, visitors can follow a brick path into this hidden gem, paying homage to Alice’s legacy. Although she passed away in 2010 at the age of eighty-six, her spirit lives on in this tranquil urban retreat123.