Things to Do

The world famous tower lights atop the Empire State Building, which routinely display combinations of colors to mark various occasions and holidays, has been relatively quiet of late, lit mostly in white while the city has gone into lockdown. This staid interlude, though, is about to end in a big way tonight at 9pm when the ESB begins a nightly program of light and sound shows in collaboration with iHeartMedia's Z100 radio. The station will simulcast Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind” as the ESB illuminates the skyline in a range of hues synched to the song. Designed by lighting artist Marc Brickman, the show is meant to lift the spirits of New Yorkers as they shelter in place, and will kick off each night at 8:55pm with spotlight interviews of first responders—doctors, nurses, EMT crews and other clinical personnel—who are on the front line in the war against COVID-19. The program will replay on Saturday, March 28, and then again from Monday, March 30 through Thursday, April 2. On Sunday March 29th, the ESB will dynamically pulse like a heartbeat from 9pm to 10 pm in support of The iHeart Living Room Concert for America being broadcast in that time slot by Fox. New shows will premiere every Friday night starting April 3. The organizers are reminding viewers to maintain social-distancing protocol if they're viewing the event outdoors. Or if you prefer to remain indoors, you can stream the show live on the ESB's Facebook page.

The golden age of adult coloring books is here, and right now especially, folks need to put colored pencils or crayons to paper and focus on something playful. Even if you’re a pretty subpar artist, the act of scribbling inside the lines here is a triumph in and of itself. Coloring allows you to mindfully engage enough with one task to occupy your mind, without feeling anxious that you have to be productive while cooped up inside your apartment. Incredible NYC illustrators have taken their doodling and artistic abilities to create digital coloring books ready to download and print at home, so you can decompress while adding some color to your life. Emmy-award winning animator and artist Mike Perry  Fans of Comedy Central's Broad City should be familiar with Mike Perry’s psychedelic work. For the uninitiated, his vital animated illustrations for the show are found at the beginning of each episode, setting the scene for what you’re about to watch. Perry created a 150-page coloring book in 2017 filled with his hand-drawn animations inspired by the show. It allows you to feel like you're a part of Abbi and llana’s crazy world and color it into 2-D. Beyond Broad City, Perry's years of art can be found inside studios from NYC to LA, and even as murals in the community. Now, while self-isolating, the Brooklyn-based artist has given the gift of more drawings for us to color, this time inspired by his personal life, free for download here. There are 70 whole pages in the PDF. Mike Pe

You don't need to put off making your own mini-garden anymore—with more time at home, you can grow your own veggies within arm's reach. Being able to produce your own food without having to go to the grocery store is an attractive idea right now and harkens back to the old "victory gardens" of World War I and II, when people at home grew their own food to supplement their rations and boost morale. While fire escape gardens are technically illegal to have—firefighters need a clear egress there–you can use an outdoor patio, balcony or window boxes to curate your little patch. But how do you even start, especially given we're not supposed to go out for tools? We spoke with gardening experts from the New York Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and NYC Parks' GreenThumb program for tips to help you produce your first potted farm. 1. Sew seeds that do well Firstly, you'll want to plant the right veggies to increase your chance of running a successful garden. Usually, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, herbs, pole beans, eggplants, chard, radishes, lemons do well, but you'll want to read up on where to plant them, because some pairings can actually be harmful to their growth. 2. Use seeds and stalks from leftover veggies Getting out to the store to pick up seeds isn't really an option right now, but luckily experts say that planting the seeds and stalks from leftovers can work! This includes seeds from tomatoes, legumes, pulses (beans) grains (quinoa and amaranth), squash, pep

If you're like us and quarantine memes are giving you life right now, check out Fort Greene resident and cartoonist Arielle Royston's drawings.The 29-year-old product designer is using her at-home downtime to churn out a new cartoon every day, depicting this new world we live in, from the tragicomic ways we spend our time at home and weirdly dating on Zoom to clever perspectives on what's going on in the news. Photograph: Courtesy Arielle Royston   Photograph: Courtesy Arielle Royston "I love to run and often come back with a ton of ideas," she tells us. "The constant flood of scary news headlines, mixed with memories of my former fast paced, busy life, inspires me to make content people can relate to. Plus, I live in NYC, and it's hard not to be inspired by the energy of the city and crazy things we see here." Photograph: Courtesy Arielle Royston She tackles some heavier subjects with humor, hoping to give people a reprieve from the news. "Laughter–even for a few seconds–can help us feel good during a terrifying and uncertain time," she says. "Plus, right now, we're all bored and glued to our phones, so content production needs to be at an all-time high!" But how is she being so productive, creating a cartoon a day, when fear can shut down motivation? "Like many people are experiencing, Coronavirus has me reaching record levels of anxiety, and I always get extra creative when I'm anxious," she says. "Typically bad break-ups fuel my anxiety-induced creativity, but I've