Summer FridaysA guide to enjoying the best of the city every weekend.
In the science fiction disaster film "Moonfall," a disgraced astronaut, played by Patrick Wilson, tries to save Earth from the threat of a collision with the moon. Now imagine watching that quest on the flight deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier floating in the Hudson River, at sunset, near a NASA prototype orbiter that paved the way for the space shuttle program, surrounded by 27 planes and helicopters that flew in conflicts including World War II and the Vietnam War. "It's definitely an experience," said Elysia Segal, the producer of public programs at the Intrepid Museum, which since 1982 has been inviting people to get up close and personal with vehicles like the world's first space shuttle, a supersonic spy plane and a nuclear submarine. For more than 15 years, the museum, on the West Side of Manhattan, has welcomed about 1,000 people on Friday nights for its free sunset summer movie series. The finale of this year's lineup will be a screening of "Moonfall," which is set to begin at sunset tonight — around 8 p.m., Segal said. But moviegoers might want to arrive earlier. The museum's "Apollo: When We Went to the Moon" exhibition, which chronicles the human spaceflight program conducted by NASA in the 1960s and '70s, is in its final weeks. The museum will offer free admission from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the Apollo show closing at 8 p.m. "It's our largest temporary exhibit that we've ever had," Segal said. "It covers the whole history of the space race, all the way from Sputnik through now the Artemis program of today." In honor of the exhibition, all the movie selections this summer — "Apollo 13," "First Man" and "Moonfall" — have focused on humanity's exploration of and fascination with the moon. But the most popular film, Segal said, is always a "Top Gun" film, which they show every year — alongside the F-14 Tomcat that had a starring role in the 1986 film. One of the favorites of the around two dozen aircraft chained to the flight deck, Segal said, is typically the Lockheed A-12, the fastest, highest-flying jet in the museum's collection. "Our aircraft restoration team has them on a regular rotation because they are out in the elements: New York City pollution, birds, sun damage," she said of the fleet. It includes an F-8K Crusader, a fighter jet with a shark mouth painted on the front; a single-seat MiG-21, the Soviet Union's first Mach 2 fighter; and a UH-1A Huey, which served as a lifesaving medevac helicopter in Vietnam. "We also have volunteer groups who come and wash the planes for us, which is really fun," she added.
After snapping a selfie with their fighter jet of choice, visitors can head inside the Space Shuttle Pavilion to take in the Apollo exhibition, which includes more than 100 artifacts from more than six decades of space exploration. Among the highlights: a towering Saturn V; a nose cone from a Jupiter rocket; the gloves, bubble helmet and moon boots from an Apollo spacesuit; and a hunk of lunar meteorite that you can touch. Segal's favorite item, she said, is a cast of the Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins's hand, which was used to make his spacesuit gloves. (Hand casts for his crewmates Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are also on display.) Look closely, she said, and you'll notice an imprint from Collins's wedding ring, which he wore during the casting process — which meant he also had to wear the ring while in space. "The joke is, Oh, his wife made sure that that was the case," Segal said. Though the Apollo exhibition ends Sept. 2, more space programming is on the way: The museum was recently awarded a $40,000 grant from NASA to bolster STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers-related programming. The museum will hold five free-admission NASA Explore days. At the first, on Friday, Sept. 27, people can hear from former astronauts — including Sidney Gutierrez, the first U.S.-born Hispanic astronaut — about the ins and outs of spaceflight. Visitors can also stargaze with high-powered telescopes on the flight deck and build miniature Mars landers from Popsicle sticks, rubber bands, foam cups and little wheels. But before that, one more big-screen sunset lunar adventure remains. Segal offered a few tips: Bring a blanket or a stadium cushion. Pack a picnic, and leave the alcohol at home. Avoid going the lawn chair route; you'll block people's view on the flat deck. And finally, get there early if you want a good seat. Though the screenings don't typically reach capacity — the flight deck can fit around 1,500 people — seating is first come first served, she said. "People queue up well in advance, and you see them stretching all the way out along the West Side Highway and then wrapped around the pier next to us," she said. "We love to see it." WEEKEND WEATHER Enjoy a mostly sunny weekend in the mid- to low 80s during the day. At night, temperatures will drop from the high 60s to the low 70s. ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING In effect until Sept. 2 (Labor Day). What Else to Do This Weekend
Festivals
For more events in New York, here's a list of what to do this month. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. METROPOLITAN DIARY Split the bill
Dear Diary: About twice a month, my friend and I go to the Mansion Diner on York Avenue at East 86th Street for a late breakfast. I always order tuna on toasted pita; he usually gets two eggs sunny side up with bacon. I give him my pickle, and he shares a piece of not-too-well-done bacon. We both get coffee. After about 90 minutes of kibitzing and complaining about our relatively happy lives, we always split the bill down the middle. One recent day, I had my usual tuna on pita, but he ordered a blueberry muffin. When the bill came, he gave me $10. "That should cover it," he said. "What?" I said. "What happened to splitting the bill?" He said the disparity in the cost of the items we had ordered rendered our tradition null on this occasion. "What disparity qualifies to eliminate bill-splitting?" I asked. If we were to go out to dinner and he ordered salmon and I ordered an appetizer salad, would we split the bill? What if he ordered three glasses of wine to my seltzer with lime? I accepted his uneven payment this time, but I told him that from then on, we had to take turns ordering first. That way I would have the opportunity to return the favor. — Larry Goldfarb Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Melissa Guerrero and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
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N.Y. Today: A movie at the Intrepid
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