Summer fun is all about the outdoors, but when temperatures are climbing above 100 and humidity isn’t far behind, it’s time to make other plans. On these hottest days of summer, head to an art gallery or museum for a cultural awakening, or visit the places where your favorite NYC wines and brews are made. We’ve got plenty of ways to keep having fun without the heatstroke. The double feature is a time-honored way to take advantage of the 20th century’s greatest invention (air conditioning). Bushwick’s Syndicated takes it a step further with an entire week devoted to Mel Brooks’ greatest hits from Aug. 22-28, starting with “History of the World Part 1” and moving on to “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and “Young Frankenstein.” The best part? Tickets are only $3!40 Bogart St., Brooklyn When it’s too hot for Smorgasburg, head to the South Street Seaport’s own mini version, with six of the outdoor food festival’s greatest hits (plus a full indoor bar and something outdoor Smorg lacks: plenty of seating) open seven days a week inside Fulton Center. While you’re there, check out the Seaport Museum’s “Street of Ships: The Port and Its People” about its time as the world’s busiest trading spot, and fill your pantry with locally made goods at Fulton Stall Market.19 Fulton St. There’s finally a reason to visit the World Trade Center even if you don’t have to take the PATH train. Westfield’s massive new futuristic photo op of a mall finally opened on Aug. 16, with more than 60 stores and the massive new Eataly Downtown. Alas, there’s no Orange Julius, but we have faith you’ll find a suitably 21st-century way to loiter away an afternoon with friends. 185 Greenwich St. For all you Pokémon Go trainers (so, pretty much all of you), the alternative tour guides at Museum Hack have turned the Metropolitan Museum of Art into a scavenger hunt for Pokémon both historic and virtual. What else would you call a nearly 4,000-year-old tiny blue hippo buried in an Egyptian tomb?1000 Fifth Ave. Tuesday Night Trivia is Brooklyn bar and screening room Videology‘s signature event. It’s never just about one movie, so you won’t automatically lose to the guy who’s worn through his VHS, Laserdisc, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray copies of “The Godfather,” plus there are chances to win drinks every round.308 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn Swap the swampy rooftop bars for a tour of the facilities where the drinks you’re loving are made.Brooklyn Winery makes 16 wines right off the Bedford stop in Williamsburg, and will gladly show you around its fermentation tanks and barrels with a guided tasting of six of them for just $25. Just a 10-minute walk away at Brooklyn Brewery, special two-hour tours from Monday to Thursday at 5 p.m. ($15) cover the brewery’s history, how the borough’s signature lager gets made, and a tasting of four brews plus a souvenir glass.213 N. Eighth St., 79 N. 11th St. In the age of selfies and airbrushing, it’s difficult to find a genuine moment captured in an image. Photographer Nan Goldin did just that, showing the lives of her “family of friends” (who included Andy Warhol and the director Jim Jarmusch) while telling her own story in “Ballad of Sexual Dependency” at MoMA. The almost 700 images, spanning the years 1979-2004 and New York to Berlin, show the reality of being young, which was always more than the sunny still frames we choose to save.11 W. 53rd St.
Your guide to NYC’s great indoors for the dog days of summer
Eva Kis
