50 Innovations from NYC - Happy July 4th! (SUPER GALLERY)

To celebrate the Declaration of Independence this July 4th, we’ve chosen to highlight New York City and the coolest innovations we’ve seen rise from the Big Apple of America. It’s been 232 years since the United States declared independence from Great Britain.

There are plenty of incredible innovations from other states as well, but we solute them all; we’ll pick another state next year. To all US Trend Hunters, Happy Fourth of July.

New Yorkers Live Longer - Walking Raises Life Expectancy (GALLERY)

What images come to mind when you think of New York City? Bustling streets, very cosmopolitan, well dressed individuals? The most notable element often is, that everywhere you look, people are walking.… [More]

Urban Art Installations

Brilliant Outdoor Ads - Marketing Beyond Images (GALLERY)

This is a collection of clever ad integration in daily life. Companies have to get visually innovative as advertising clutter clogs up our minds. A great sample of this is the Folgers Coffee ads in New… [More]

Waterfalls as Urban Art (UPDATE) - The New York City Waterfalls Now Open (GALLERY)

New York City now offers a spectacular public waterfall installation for those who yearn to see cascading falls but are far from what one would consider to be an outdoorsy type. There’s no hiking involved… [More]

Giant Scale Public Texting - NYC Artist Asks Londoners About Street Crime

London advertising agency Profero teamed up with New York urban artist Paul Notzold to create two events for Channel 4’s “Disarming Britain” season.  The events will show Paul’s work projected onto the… [More]

Protest 2.0 - Online Dot Matrix Graffiti Bike (VIDEO)

Do you remember the GraffitiWriter Remote Controlled Truck?  Now the same concept has been applied to a bike with a purpose. Meet the latest techy, wise and environmentally conscious protest ever. Design… [More]

You on a Times Square Billboard - I in the Sky Public Art Project (GALLERY)

Imagine seeing yourself on a billboard in Times Square, lit up on one of the most famous streets of the world. You don’t have to be a model or a celebrity for it to be possible anymore! Thanks to “I in… [More]

Tunnel Telescope From NYC to London - Telectroscope (GALLERY)

Completion of a 100 year old engineering project finally happened a few days ago. The tunnel between New York and London, called the Telectroscope, allows residents of both cities to peer down the giant… [More]

Guerrilla Stunts & Art

Staged Urban Brawls - NYC’s Fight Clubs (VIDEO)

Apparently, pseudo fight clubs have sprung up in New York City and one of their meeting places is in Union Square Park. It is not unusual to see big crowds of people of all ages hanging out in the park.… [More]

Pop-Up Roomvertising - Ikea Sets Up Fake Rooms Throughout NYC (VIDEO)

IKEA is opening its first store in Brooklyn, New York on June the 18th and the home product and furniture giant wants to make as much noise as possible about the event. With that goal in mind, the company… [More]

Memorial Bikes - NYC Ghost Bike Project Pays Tribute to Deceased Cyclists

Ghost bikes are a phenomenon from New York - a memorial to those cyclists killed on the roads of the city. At traffic blackspots all over New York, white bicycles decorated with photographs of the victims,… [More]

Fake Bodies as Street Art - Mark Jenkins Embed Series (GALLERY)

Mark Jenkins has been featured on Trend Hunter before, but his new Embed series was worth a mention. Jenkins is an American artist who specializes in street installations, some of which can be described… [More]

Inflatable Garbage Animals - Air Zoo by Joshua Alan Harris (VIDEO)

Garbage as design is a modern art form that seems to be on the rise, as the push to become environmentally innovative grows stronger. A different approach to this green art form is this recent guerrilla… [More]

Street Poop Art - NYC Sprinkle Brigade (VIDEO)

Why go to the trouble of scooping up dog poo, especially if it doesn’t belong to your dog? Well, if you live in NYC, you won’t have to anymore; just call the Sprinkle Brigade! They’ll zip down in… [More]

Viral Urban Graffiti - GTA IV NYC Wall Murals (VIDEO)

Grand Theft Auto IV has come up with a really creative campaign to market their latest game. GTA hired counterculture artists to create elaborate graffiti wall murals all around New York City. The images… [More]

Time Standing Still - Frozen Grand Central by Improv Everywhere (VIDEO)

Improv Everywhere’s latest publicity stunt brought time to a standstill.  At the New York’s Grand Central, the group brought 200 agents to a frozen pose for five minutes.  The scene is captivating, especially… [More]

No Pants Subway Ride - 900 Underground Underwear Enthusiasts in NYC (VIDEO)

On January 12th, 900 enthusiasts in NYC dropped their pants for the 7th Annual No Pants Subway Ride, with NYPD escorts and crowds so large that the under-pantied participants were spread out over three… [More]

Improv Everywhere - 111 Topless Male Shoppers at Abercrombie and Fitch (VIDEO)

Ladies, would you shop at a store with 111 shirtless, sculpted men walking around? That was the basis of the latest creative mission by Improv Everywhere. New York City’s Abercrombie and Fitch on 5th Avenue,… [More]

700 Simultaneous Camera Flashes - Improv Everywhere Celebrates Brooklyn Bridge (VIDEO)

Improv Everywhere, the New York-based improvisation troupe which has been staging pre-planned ‘missions’ and pranks in public places since 2001, celebrated the 125th anniversary of New York City’s beautiful… [More]

Tourism & Hot Spots

Celebrity Tour Guides - “Just Ask The Locals” of NYC (VIDEO)

Visiting New York? How will you know where the best late night pizza place is or what museums are actually worth checking out? Ask someone that lives there! “Just Ask The Locals” is a novel New York City… [More]

Abandoned Real Estate Bus Tours - Long Island Foreclosure Tours (VIDEO)

A unique bus tours company is capitalizing on the hard hit American real estate market. The Long Island Foreclosure Tours take patrons on excursions to homes which have been abandoned, and often vandalized… [More]

Mingling with Journalists - Get Out in New York With “Time Out New York”

Really interesting what Time Out New York has been doing lately. In each issue there are real-world ways to meet and hang out with the editors, writers and staff of the magazine. The magazine was starting… [More]

World’s Largest Gucci Store - Gucci New York (GALLERY)

New York can add another feature and tourist attraction to its already long list - the new Gucci flagship store about to be opened on 725 Fifth Avenue. The new store will be the world’s largest Gucci store… [More]

Nerdy New York Hangouts - Blogger Bars

Right off the bat, it needs to be clarified that this is not a place where bloggers bring their computers and start posting; these are the places where they like to socialize when they’re off the computers.… [More]

Pay Toilets In NYC - 15 Minute Toilets Self Clean (VIDEO)

This news will certainly relieve the citizens of New York. In an effort to ease public movement, and in loo of past efforts, New York City officially opened its first automated self-cleaning public pay… [More]

Drive 6 Luxury Cars in an Afternoon – Gotham Dream Cars (VIDEO)

Do you dream of driving a luxury sports car? Something fast, something oh-so-furious, but your wallet isn’t exactly fat enough to buy? If so, you’ll love what Gotham Dream Cars has to offer in New… [More]

Liquid Gold Body Wrap - Trump Tower Spa

How would you like to coat your body in liquid gold? If this sounds appealing to you, you’ll love getting pampered at the luxury spa in the Trump International Hotel & Tower. Donald Trump’s iconic tower… [More]

Engagement on Ice - Private Skate at Rockefeller Center (VIDEO)

New York City’s Rockefeller Skating Rink is one of the most romantic locations, which is what makes it a favourite place for wedding proposals. For five days this year, couples looking to get engaged have… [More]

Hollywood Inspired Tourism - Sex & The City Pilgrimages & More (GALLERY)

The Big Apple has been featured in so many shows and movies, attracting people to areas that may otherwise have been considered uninteresting and therefore undiscovered.  Many people head to NYC in hopes… [More]

The Library Hotel in New York City (GALLERY)

This boutique hotel is located in the center of New York City on Madison Avenue and 41st Street. The hotel is designed just like a library. This is a home for more than 6,000 books, which is the largest… [More]

Tribeca Grand Hotel Launches the Apple iStudio Hotel Room

The Tribec Grand Hotel now offers an iStudio room for geeks-on-the-go. The hotel, located in New York city hopes to give techno-geeks a place to live, work, relax, and play with a full suite of Apple technology… [More]

Gramercy Park Hotel - Lifestyle Revolution in Manhattan. (GALLERY)

The Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan is a trendy Hotel with unique fashion touches reminiscent of days past.  The design features modern and vibrant colours with decoration that give us a revolutionary… [More]

Green NYC

Terrace Farming - Urban Gardens Boom in NYC

In the past when I’ve stayed with friends in New York, they - and it seems everyone else they know - eat out for every meal. That’s all changing though. With the soaring cost of food prices, urban vegetable… [More]

Guerrilla Gardeners - Seed Bombs for Green Rebels (VIDEO)

Frustrated that so much potential green space was being wasted in their cities, groups of “guerrilla gardeners” have organized late night sneak outs which involve planting miniature gardens around town.… [More]

Eco-Friendly Fonts - New York Times Green Issue (GALLERY)

In a creative and artistic move, the New York Times has commissioned artist Gyongy Laky to sculpt custom-made fonts and graphics for its pre-Earth Day Green Issue. The fonts are made from variou earth-material… [More]

Giant Green Projections - Earth Images at Grand Central NYC (VIDEO)

April 22 is Earth Day, but New Yorkers are limiting their thanks for the earth to one single day. The green celebration has turned into one that’s being called Earth Weekend as it extends from April 14… [More]

Earth Hour 2008 – Times Square Shuts off Billboards (VIDEO)

On Saturday, March 29th, from 8:00 to 9:00 pm, millions of people world-wide will be celebrating Earth Hour. Participants will shut off lights and TVs, and go dark for the event, which is in support… [More]

Greening New York Fashion Week - Aveda’s Eco Efforts (GALLERY)

Beauty company Aveda challenged designers to join their eco initiative during fashion week. They asked participating fashion designers to give out recycled gift cards, offer New York City tap water instead… [More]

NYC Goes Green For Christmas - Rockefeller Tree Now Eco-Friendly (VIDEO)

New Yorkers dreaming of a green Christmas will finally get their fix this year. As of the official lighting ceremony on November 28, the iconic Rockefeller Christmas tree will be more environmentally friendly… [More]

Pieces of the City

NYC Garbage Art 2 - Trash for Baseball Fans

We’ve previously told you can now buy trash from the streets of New York as Art. Well, after tremendous success, NYC Garbage has created niche packages. This time around, they are hawking garbage from… [More]

NYC Garbage - Buy it and Call it Art

Garbage - a marketer’s dream?  For NYC artist Justin, 100% hand picked garbage is art.  Justin collects his art on the street after major events, such as New Year’s Eve at Time Square.  He then packages… [More]

City Signs as Art - NYC Walk - Dont Walk chair

New York City has such a charm, it’s hard to leave behind. The good news it that you don’t have to resist taking a piece of the city with you!  “A remote control is included to turn them on and off. The… [More]

Food

$1,000 Sushi - Foie Gras High Roller at Koi

I’m a passionate sushi connoisseur, but even I couldn’t fathom spending $1,000 on a roll. Apparently the chefs at Koi in New York didn’t have customers like me in mind when concocting the High Roller,… [More]

The Grand Opulence Sundae - World’s Most Expensive Ice Cream

We all do love ice creams for sure! But not every ice cream we love is affordable like this $1,000 ice cream sundae called the Grand Opulence Sundae from famed Serendipity of New York City. Apparently… [More]

$25,000 NYC Dessert Sets Guinness Record - Frrrozen Haute Chocolate (GALLERY)

A $25,000 chocolate sundae made the Guinness Book of Records today, officially earning it title for world’s most expensive dessert. If you thought the $14,500 Fortress Aquamarine dessert was outrageous,… [More]

$1000 Bagel - White Truffle Cream Cheese, Gold Leaves (VIDEO)

Thankfully, the $1,000 bagel was created as a charity fund raiser, and not for every day consumption. The chef of The Westin New York concocted this bagel with a schmear of white truffle cream cheese and… [More]

Food Stereotyping - New York Boroughs Stereotyped Ice Cream (GALLERY)

Straight out of New York comes culturally-diverse 5 Boroughs Ice Cream. They’ve got flavors from the different boroughs like: Rich White Vanilla from the Upper East Side, Mangodesh from Jackson Heights,… [More]

Random

New York Nap Capsules - MetroNaps EnergyPod (GALLERY)

If you’ve ever tried to sneak in a few z’s at work then you’ll agree that all work places need an EnergyPod. New York’s MetroNaps (http://www.metronaps.com) offers futuristic sleeping pods, designed for… [More]

Sex Bar in New York by Pete Wentz - Do it in the Bathroom

Rockstar Pete Wentz, of the Fall Out Boys, has opened a NYC bar where people are allowed to have sex in the bathrooms.  The sex club was launched in the East Villiage. Wentz is currently dating Ashlee… [More]

NYC Taxis Get High Tech - Touchscreens and Credit Card Payment

Say goodbye to having to pay cab fares by cash only.  The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission has launched a new initiative to install touch-screen monitors in all 13,000 cabs. The monitors being installed… [More]

Hot Food Vending Machines - Automatic Satisfaction Back in NYC

The streets of New York had to wait fifteen years for the hot food vending machines to come back. These machines work with coins and are a success in Japan and some cities of Europe.
The firm Bamn! has… [More]