super bowl

Business heats up as Super Bowl temperatures drop

NYPD is in place at Times Square for Super Bowl week. By Zoe Lake

NYPD is in place at Times Square for Super Bowl week. By Zoe Lake

As frigid temperatures and Super Bowl fever sweep the city, New York businesses are gearing up for what is sure to be a busy weekend. Dining deals, party packages, and drink promotions mean big business, especially for those establishments close to Times Square, where ‘Super Bowl Boulevard’ will draw large crowds throughout the week with events including a toboggan run, and NFL autograph tent, among others.

Meg Sylvester, 26, manager of Social Bar .com on 48th and 8th, is anticipating a major increase in patronage over the weekend, and said they are prepared to handle the Super Bowl crowds.

“With our close proximity to Times Square we are anticipating a larger crowd,but its really just about being prepared. All staff will be on hand, it’s going to be a great weekend,” she said.

Establishments near Times Square have been warned that road closures surrounding the area in preparation for the opening, operation, and closing of Super Bowl Boulevard this week might affect their deliveries but Sylvester isn’t worried,

“The mayor’s office has been really good at letting us know about road closures, sanitation crews, and waste pick-up so we can prepare. There’s nothing to contrast this event to, so all we can do is be prepared,” she said.

Paul Downey, 33, of Manhattan, manager of McHale’s Bar and Grill on 51st and Broadway, agrees;

“We’re kind of winging it a little bit, we don’t know what’s coming, and we don’t know what to expect we’re just planning on being busy,” he said.

Paul Downey, 33, the manager of McHale's Bar and Grill is prepared for large crowds this weekend. By Zoe Lake

Paul Downey, 33, the manager of McHale’s Bar and Grill is prepared for large crowds this weekend. By Zoe Lake

Downey plans on having extra security on detail but feels good knowing the NYPD will likely ‘have a cop on every corner.’

Downey, and Eric Shon, 34, of New Jersey, who owns Shon 45 Wine and Spirits, also near Times Square, said business has been unusually steady after Christmas and New Years; a time where it traditionally levels off. Shon believes this has left him better prepared for the high demand that is sure to come with Super Bowl weekend.

Shon, 34, of Shon 45 Wine and Spirits stands in his shop ready for Super Bowl Business. By Zoe Lake

Shon, 34, of Shon 45 Wine and Spirits stands in his shop ready for Super Bowl Business. By Zoe Lake

“We’re pretty well stocked, Christmas and New Years hit us pretty hard so we’ve been trying to compensate for that,” he said.

Shon expects that liquor and wine deliveries, which average at about 5-10 a day for his shop, will increase leading up to the weekend, especially with the influx of fans staying in nearby hotels.

Times Square Westin office manager Chainika Sachdev, 26, of Edgewater, says they are expecting a full house.

“We’re pretty booked up this whole week,” she said. “Bookings went up as soon as the two teams were announced, but were not oversold.”

Sachdev expects that between last minute bookings, and walk-ins they will likely fill all their rooms this weekend. Many other area hotels are anticipating the same given their proximity to the game itself, which is being held in New Jersey.

As the countdown to the first cold weather Super Bowl in nearly 20 years winds down, New Yorkers don’t have to worry about local businesses getting cold feet,

”We’ll be ready for them,” chuckled Downey. “And hopefully the weather will hold up too.”

Giants Parade: Young, Old, Quirky and loud celebrate the victory

The roar of Giants fans infiltrated the air as ticker-tape and toilet paper filled the sky on Tuesday, when players invaded the Financial District’s Canyon of Heroes to commend the team’s 2012 Super Bowl victory.

“New York is the way to be,” said Staten Island native Philip Austria, 25, a Giants aficionado for the past 11 years. “This is New York’s biggest fan base for the Giants. I came in 2008 and now I’m here again, nothing’s better.”

While most parade-goers sported classic jerseys and tees to honor the two-time champions, the New York Giants fairies decided to veer away from the sea of blue.

Marni Halasa and fellow football fairy Stephanie Chernick, both of Manhattan, donned princess crowns, fluffy tutus, and extravagant wings complete with Giants tees. The ladies have also dressed the part in past parades for performance artists and agreed that the outfits are “normal for us.”

“Other NFL teams have cheerleaders, so we are going to be their official cheerleaders,” said Chernick.

Both young and old alike gathered downtown to get a glimpse of their favorite team player. For Brandon Mapp, 11, skipping school to join in the celebration was a worthy holiday.

“I’ve been a Giants fan since I was born basically, I’m very excited they won,” Mapp said as he then gushed about his sports idol scoring the winning touchdown. “When Ahmad Bradshaw sat down, that was like the best play ever.”

Anthony Bataglia, 8, also didn’t mind playing hooky to take part in his first Giants parade.

“I’m really happy because they played football their whole life to win,” Bataglia said. “It feels good. I got to see them on the floats.”

Some fervent fans, like Kevin Quinn of Oakland, Long Island, used vacation time to join in the festivities.

“I’m here legally, not playing hooky,” said Quinn, a fan since he was 2-years-old. “I sat behind the I-beam in (the old) Yankee Stadium, that was my first game.”

Quinn further added that being surrounded by others who share the same love and passion for the Giants is “crazy,” but overall, an experience that cannot be replaced.

“Manhattan is ours today,” he said.

Giants Parade: A giant drop in school attendance

David Gomez and his daughter, 9-year-old Melinda, look on during Tuesday's Giants Super Bowl parade. Photo by Louie Lazar.

With a blue “NY” painted on her face and grinning as if she was awaiting entry into Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory, Melinda Gomez, 9, had a single word to describe how she felt about missing school in favor of the Giants’ Super Bowl parade.

“Happy,” the fourth-grader said.

“Happy is an understatement,” added her father, David Gomez, who’d brought the family in from Long Island for the occasion.

Melinda was one of countless pint-sized Giants fans who’d been excused from school to help pack the championship procession route along Broadway in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday.

In Thomas Paine Park, father-child piggyback rides were a common sight and kids, seeking better views, perched themselves in trees like oversized pigeons. In one of those trees, about 15 feet above ground, were 10-year-old twins Eric and Chris Schneider, who wore matching Giants Super Bowl shirts. They’d taken the Long Island Railroad here with their father, David Schneider, who sat underneath the tree like a spotter at an Olympic gymnastics event.

“These guys never miss school,” the elder Schneider said. “But this is worth it.”

Schneider said he had no misgivings about removing his kids from school, since they’re both straight A students.

Plus, “their mom said it was okay,” he said.

Twin brothers Chris and Eric Schneider, 10, climbed a tree to get a better look at the parade route. The straight A students missed their first day of school all year. Photo by Louie Lazar.

Across Worth Street, where tour buses lined the curb and passing fans barked out expletive-filled chants, a group of eager elementary school children stood on steps outside the City Clerk Office. Some were giggling, others had missing teeth, but nearly all held up signs that read “Go Giants!,” “PS1 Loves U,” or “PS1 Mrs. Curry’s Class.”

An adult identifying herself as their teacher, Mrs. Curry, denied that the kids were skipping class.

“They’re not missing school,” she insisted, noting that their building was just down the street and that the event was a cultural experience.

“It’s their lunch,” she also made clear.

Back in the park, with anticipation and raucousness building as floats neared the vicinity,
Mario Gomez of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., stood on a bench alongside his children, Mario, 10 and Odaliana, 7. Immediately after the Giants had clinched the title Sunday night, Gomez said he’d obtained permission from each of his kids’ teachers with regard to their absence on Tuesday.

He stressed that he’d attached a condition to his kids attending the parade.

“I made sure they did their homework,” Gomez said, with much seriousness. “I don’t want them to get penalized.”

Jubilant third grade students from PS1 attend the Giants parade during their lunch break on Tuesday. Photo by Louie Lazar.

Giants Parade: Stock brokers celebrate

Dave Cutolo used a plastic red horn to inspire fans at the Giants Super Bowl parade to cheer. Photo by Chris Palmer.

Thousands of Giants’ fans traveled from all over the New York metro region to attend today’s Super Bowl victory parade in Lower Manhattan, but one boisterous group of supporters on Cortlandt Street only had to walk a few blocks to catch the action.

“We do whatever we want, we’re stock brokers!” said Dave Cutolo, 44, oozing with bravado.

Cutolo, of Murray Hill, was standing with a group of work associates who all worked “down the street,” he said, without identifying the company they worked for. Wearing a black coat over his brown suit and patterned yellow tie, he held a plastic red horn that he bought from a street vendor in one hand, a coffee cup half-filled with beer in the other.

Cutolo and pals all wore suits and overcoats, standing out in a sea of people clad in Giants’ blue. But their attire didn’t prevent them from mixing in with the crowd: they hooted, hollered, laughed and screamed at passerby, passing the horn around and joining in the various “Let’s Go Giants!” chants that arose out of the massive crowd bordering Broadway.

Elvin Lopez, left, and Ron McClintock are stock brokers who were enjoying themselves at the Giants' Super Bowl parade. Photo by Chris Palmer

Ron McClintock, 32, a member of this stock-broking entourage, brushed off the idea that they were sacrificing time at work for a day of partying, saying that they could easily enjoy themselves while being productive.

“We’ll go back and forth,” he said, confidence dripping out of his pores. “We’ll go back (to the office), make some calls, make some money, and then come back.”

And the celebration would last all night, he said.

“See all these women?” he said, motioning to the enormous crowd. “I’m going to be like a fish net, scooping up everything.”

McClintock and Elvin Lopez, 31, were eager to express their love of this season’s Giants’ team, and Lopez said the way the team fought through the playoffs was representative of the city’s attitude.

“It’s such a New York story,” he said. “Everyone’s walking a little taller today, a little prouder.”

“It’s the greatest thing,” McClintock said. “No one stops (the Patriots) but New York.”

But Cutolo, despite being a Giants fan, wasn’t totally thrilled with the game’s outcome.

“I had money on the game,” he said, explaining that he needed the final score to end with the numbers five and three in order to take home the cash.

He wasn’t letting his lost wager depress him too much, though: while he and his friends attempted to whip the surrounding crowd into a frenzy, he cast an optimistic lens on the rest of his afternoon.

“I’ve got to go inside and make $2,000,” he said with a smile. “Then we can go back (here) and have fun.”

Super Bowl XLVI: City eateries benefiting from big game

From mouthwatering sausage and pepperoni pies to blazing garlic parmesan chicken wings, New York City bars and restaurants are prepping to satisfy the thirst and appetites of hungry football fans this Sunday when the New York Giants take on the New England Patriots for the Super Bowl XLVI.

“I like the Super Bowl, it’s crazy,” said pizza maker Danny Asitimbay of Fat Sal’s Pizza on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “I have no time to watch the play because it’s busy here, but I’m working hard.”

This year, specials at Fat Sal’s include a large pie and 10 wings for $21 or, for wings only fans, a bucket of 40 wings for under $26. Asitimbay, who has been working in the pizza business for the past seven years, said Fat Sal’s usually sells up to 2,000 wings on Super Bowl weekend alone. He added that the wings served at the pizzeria are “always fresh, never frozen,” and that extra ingredients had to be bought in order to prepare for the second biggest eating day of the year, following Thanksgiving.

Chicken wings take the spotlight as the most popular game-day food. According to a report from the National Chicken Council (NCC), Americans are expected to eat 1.25 billion chicken wings – 100 million pounds – this weekend.

By noon on Saturday, Atomic Wings already had 50 pre-orders for Sunday’s game.

“We regularly sell six to eight cases of wings a day,” said owner Christopher Lyn. “But for the Super Bowl, we’ll sell around 100 cases of wings – a substantial amount.”

With around 250 wings in each case, Lyn projects around 25,000 wings will be sold and devoured by consumers during the biggest wing-eating day of the year, despite a price increase on poultry. The NCC said wing prices always surge during the year’s fourth quarter, when eateries start to prepare for the Super Bowl.

Lyn added that the Giants, being from the Empire State, would impact Sunday’s sales because “we’re in a New York market.”

But while pizza and wings may be on the minds of most Americans this year, bars are also expecting a business boost. On Friday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg temporarily renamed Brady’s Bar in uptown Manhattan to Manning’s for the weekend, declaring it “the luckiest bar in New York City,” just as he did when the two teams battled on the gridiron in 2008.

“If I wasn’t going to be in Indianapolis, I would be spending my Sunday afternoon where I think a lot of you should spend it, and that is here at Manning’s,” Bloomberg said.

Owner Dan Brady, an avid Giants fan, said yesterday that altering the name of the bar is a fun change.

“We did it four years ago, and everybody loved it,” he said. “Everybody finds it to be a great thing. Hopefully it’ll bring the Giants good luck.”