RPM Raceway Stamford reopens following renovations

Brooklyn residents weigh in on recent decriminalization of jaywalking 

Craft Westport 2024 spotlights local artisans

New outdoor dining rules in effect citywide

'Bed-Stuy Aquarium' returns to delight of residents 

Azteca Bakery celebrates Dia De Los Muertos

newyork

Brian Heyman

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It is the Hudson Valley harvest season staple to experience pumpkins by the thousands and news. 12 video journalist Scott Coe takes us on a road trip close to home. We are at the Great Jack O'lantern Blaze at Van Cortland Manor in Croton on Hudson. We've got more than 7000 hand carved illuminated Jack O lanterns lit up throughout this awesome historic estate. It's an incredible display. It's not just single pumpkins on the ground. These are really elaborate constructions. We add new stuff every year. We have this awesome uh Kraken, which is this creature that um maritime people back in the day thought was something that would attack ships. It's like a huge uh sort of theus sea monster type creature. So the experience takes about 45 minutes. Um You're going on a trail about a half mile, you're wandering through uh seeing all the installations. There's a really cool gift shop, a courtyard that's got food and drink available, great place to hang out. There's the opportunity to uh have a pumpkin beer, have a uh some cider, have pumpkin donuts, things like that. So it's kind of a fun festive atmosphere. It's almost like this theme park of Pumpkins. It's really wild. Another really exciting thing we've offered for visitors this year is the Gordon Goblet Tavern. This is a special speakeasy type experience. You get food and drink. Kids really have, appreciate it, adults with friends coming out on a date. They also appreciate it. It really does work on a variety of levels and that's pretty rare and that's, that's why it's this, this real seasonal attraction that people come back to year after year and, and, uh, make it, make a weekend out of it. You really have to experience it to really see how amazing it is up close and personal, the artistry that's on display, the creativity, come, bring your friends and family and, and make some memories.

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There are a ton of villages across the island that have so much to offer for you and the entire family. Babylon. Certainly no exception. Our Shannon Lanier takes us there in this week's road trip close to home. If you're looking for a scenic and historic place that you can take the L I double R to try Babylon. Sure. It's named after that ancient city, but this place is alive and well with people shopping, eating and exploring. Many people also come here to see Broadway style shows at the Argyle Theater here. They've seen performances like Mary Poppins, a Bronx Tale and Beauty and The Beast. Before or after the show, you can grab a bite to eat at a variety of great restaurants, but a fan favorite is Swell Taco. It's delicious, affordable and it doesn't have to be Tuesday. If you prefer to make your own food, come to Babylon Mercantile where you can learn to cook from the pros. Make sure you go down and after you're done cooking, visit the chef's marketplace where you can pick up your essentials when it's time to take a load off, come to Best Tea with your best tea where they have artisanal tea, Swedish candy and they even have crafting classes here. After all that food and fun, you may need to just chill out or take a walk. And Argyle Lake Park is the perfect place for that. For the cost of 399. You can walk or bike around the 25 acre pond and it's also the perfect place to take photos from Babylon Shannon Lanier on this road trip close to home.

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Get ready to do it yourself in this week's road trip. Close to home news twelve's Amanda Lee takes us to board and brush Creative Studio in South Brunswick. You could buy one of these beautiful wood pieces in the store or you could make it yourself. We're here at Bord and Brush Creative Studio in South Brunswick. We are instructor led Diy Studio. We work with wood and uh you get to pick a project and then when you come in, everything is set for you, you come in, spend two hours or three hours depending on the kind of project you chose. When you leave, you leave with a finished project. So today we're going to make this Halloween fine. And so what we do at B and brush is we like to distress the wood destress yourself. OK. So the next step you're gonna do is you're gonna sand your board. The next thing we're gonna do is we're going to stain OK. Right. So you're gonna change the color of the board. And now the next thing we're gonna do is we're going to lay the stencil, keep just a couple of fingers there and a flat hand here. Can you just peel. So the next thing we're gonna do is we're going to paint, yay. You're coming in with just a piece of wood. Everything that you're putting in is your energy, your creativity. So that is what is special. All right, this is the finished products. I'm really excited to hang this up and I'm so ready for Halloween. You can make one yourself B and brush has locations all across New Jersey.

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Well, let's pivot to a nice neighborhood story from protected to practical a Bronx landmark is now functioning as a supermarket News Twelve's Marissa Santarelli took a road trip to the fine fair market on the Grand concourse and she has more on its restoration and how the owners are celebrating its historic roots. This isn't your average grocery store beyond the vibrant aisles of produce lie decades of history and it was so significant that we had, it had to be saved like there was no other way what once existed as Fordham's First Dollar Savings Bank now serves the Bronx in a very different way. The building was completely restored in the last three years and now we are able to enjoy the architect of work, the beauty that was done about 80 years ago. EPH Castro manages the fine fair market on the Grand concourse. He takes us on a tour of the abandoned landmark transformed into a community staple. It was the only way in the 19th century for people to save their money. The building is now restored to mint conditions. These are the lamps that all the tellers used to be underneath. All the windows are made out of, you don't see that anymore, but it doesn't stop there. Covering the walls are hen painted murals in 1932 by a famous artist who painted them and shows the beginning of the Bronx, how Bronx developed from being a farmland and then how the development took place around this area. And in the back of the market, I want to show you something really special. Hang pieces of nostalgia. These are original pictures when the bank was live, that shows how the neighborhood, how it was back in the days who knew such a historic landmark could be transformed into something so practical. This is with minimum damage to the structure existing and the architecture like all the elements that you see supermarket is like a perfect idea for this such like project on the Grand Concourse, Marisa Santarelli News 12, the Bronx. It's beautiful, Marissa. Thank you and make sure you tune in tonight at 7 p.m. and again at 930 to catch the latest edition of road trip close to home.

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Well, from a rich history to a scenic landscape and a walkable main street. This charming town has a lot to offer in this week's road trip. Close to home news, 12 photojournalist, Laurie Goliath takes us to Winstead. I always think of us as like the hidden gem of the northwest corner. Winchester is the town and Winsted is the city within the town. It is a walkable village. If you came with your family, you could bring your Children to R and B Sporting World that has batting cages, go Karts, mini golf. We also have duck pin bull at Laurel Lanes date night on a Saturday night. You could do the Gilson Theater, which is one of the last remaining uh movie houses that serves dinner and drinks. A little Red Barn Brewery. Uh Main street's got lots of antique shops and many places of fine restaurants to get a good meal. We have award winning Vietnamese, several Italian places. We have the railway cafe, an independent bookstore. If you wanted to do a little bit of shopping. Welcome to the American Museum of Tort Law, the only one in the world. This is Ralph Nader's Jewel he was born and raised here in Winstead, Connecticut. Everybody kind of walks away with a similar reaction. They've learned something new and I think you feel a little bit empowered by that information. We are on the second floor of the soldiers monument. And it is dedicated as a civil war memorial to the men who signed up to fight in the civil war, which is unique because most memorials are dedicated to those who passed away during war. It is the second largest civil war memorial in Connecticut. When you come up that driveway outside, it's just magic. It's uh very moving, especially a bronze figure on the roof. I think it's a little bit like stepping back in time. There's a lot to see here. It's simply beautiful.

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Here's a look at all the great spots to hit from this week's episode of Road Trip Close to Home.

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Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for Nov. 7

Here's a look at all the great spots to hit from this week's episode of Road Trip Close to Home.

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RPM Raceway Stamford reopens following renovations

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RPM Raceway Stamford reopens following renovations

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