Just received a press release heralding the one-day transformation of Central Park Mall into a Tel Aviv beach.
Will the Zohan be there?
Here’s the release:
TEL AVIV’S BEACH SET TO COME TO CENTRAL PARK
New York – May 26, 2009: On Sunday June 21, Manhattan’s Central Park Mall and the Naumberg Bandshell will be transformed into the Mediterranean beaches of the city of Tel Aviv, says Arie Sommer, Israel Tourism Commissioner, North & South America. The New York event marks the Big Apple’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of Tel Aviv, the garden city founded in 1909 on sand dunes north of biblical Jaffa.
An artificial Tel Aviv beachfront is being created, complete with sand, lounge chairs, concession stands, and games of Matkot (Israel’s ubiquitous beach paddle-ball). The transformation will include performances by Israeli bands and DJ’s, and plentiful food. The event will be a large-scale version of the "permanent" Tel Aviv Beach installation inaugurated last year in Vienna, the Austrian capital.
"Our goal is to enable New Yorkers to experience the fun and lightheartedness of Tel Aviv," says Sommer, "for while Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, is our equivalent of Washington D.C., Tel Aviv is our equivalent of New York." Tel Aviv is Israel’s center for business, finance, entertainment and the arts, "and, like Rio de Janeiro and Nice," Sommer continued, "Tel Aviv is one of the world’s very few major cities that is also a 24/7 beach resort."
The Tel Aviv Beach in Central Park will be open from 11AM until 6PM, Sunday June 21, and entrance is free. Access is best from 69th and 72nd Streets on the East Side, and at 72nd Street on the West Side. The event is sponsored by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Centennial Administration, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israel Ministry of Tourism and EL AL Israel Airlines.
