United Palace gets ready for its moment in the spotlight as the Tony Awards move to Washington Heights
NEW YORK -- Washington Heights is getting ready to bask in a global spotlight when the Tony Awards move uptown Sunday.
This year's transfer from Radio City Music Hall to the United Palace theater brings opportunities and a well-timed sprucing up.
The United Palace, the home of this year's Tony Awards, is a centerpiece in freshly refurbished surroundings. Poles, mailboxes and more have freshly applied paint.
"This box here used to be filled with graffiti," said Isidro Medina, executive director of the Washington Heights Business Improvement District.
Empty storefronts on Broadway are getting deep cleanings, keeping Mynor Llanes very busy.
"It's very hard to take it off, but now, they look better now," he said.
"A lot of elbow grease, a lot of cleaning," said Barbara Anderson, co-founder of Art on the Ave NYC.
Anderson is overseeing the brightening of boulevards and bringing in art.
"It's called 'The Rise: Art in the Heights,'" she said. "We've got about 12 locations in total ... As people drive up to go to United Palace and they glance over to the left, the art will be lit up."
A "Welcome to the Heights" sign was installed June 1 over Broadway between West 174th and West 175th streets just in time for the Tonys.
"The Tonys are going to bring a wave of visitors that perhaps will not know what Washington Heights is all about," Medina said. "How vibrant we are and how diversified we are as a community. I guess this is kuje a win-win situation for everyone."
Some restaurants will stay open later on Tony night, and nearby hotels already report a boost in bookings.
United Palace CEO Mike Fitelson knows that this is the absolute best kind of PR.
"This space demands to be seen and felt and visited," he said.
- Read more: 2023 Tony Awards: Here are the nominees
It is predicted on Sunday some Tony types will fall in love with this neighborhood for the first time, then return again and again.
You can watch the Tony Awards live on CBS2 and streaming on Paramount+ this Sunday at 8 p.m.