Tourism

If you aren't sure where to go for your next vacation, maybe a DNA ancestry test will inspire you.

The Dyker Lights in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn are nothing short of extraordinary. They are so amazing that more than 100,000 people come to check them out every year. But the number of visitors is growing so fast that many residents say the influx of people can get overwhelming.

Now that the U.S. Open is underway, a section of Queens is taking advantage of the influx of visitors by offering free tours as a way to give people a reason to stick around town. After two years of planning the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce is offering the tours to highlight the culture, history and food of Flushing.

When you think "castle" you probably think medieval times or maybe you think Belvedere Castle in Central Park. But a lot of majestic castles are scattered throughout New York State. North of New York City is Bannerman Castle. Lyndhurst was built in 1838. It was designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis, the same man who designed Federal Hall on Wall Street.

The NTSB has released a preliminary report on the deadly helicopter crash in the east river. It doesn't say what caused the crash but it does outline the pilot's account of the events leading up to the tragedy in which all five passengers died. The passengers had booked a doors-off photography flight with liberty helicopters on March 11. The pilot took off on a clear night from an airport in Kearny, New Jersey.

A pilot who survived a helicopter crash that killed his five passengers told authorities he believed a passenger's bag might have hit an emergency fuel shutoff switch in the moments before the chopper went down, a federal official told The Associated Press on Monday. The pilot, identified by Fox 5 News as Richard Vance, 33, was able to free himself and get out of the sinking craft but the four men and one woman did not survive. They were strapped into their seats and city divers had to cut them from their restraints after the helicopter went underwater. Two victims died at the scene. Three others were taken to the hospital where they later died.

Federal officials are not showing the love for signs put up along New York's busiest highways and it could cost the state millions of dollars in fines. The feds ordered them taken down years ago, saying they were distracting for drivers. For the last five years, Kaehny has watched Gov. Andrew Cuomo defy the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices by erecting more than 500 "I Love New York" highway signs across the state after the federal government told him not to.

Nearly two months after Hurricanes Irma And Maria devastated parts of the Caribbean, the cruise industry wants you to know that most of region's ports are now open for business.

In 2012, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg first announced plans to erect a 630-foot Ferris wheel on Staten Island. At that initial news conference, the New York Wheel CEO estimated the development's cost at $230 million. That total has since ballooned to nearly $600 million.

The U.S. Supreme Court has canceled arguments set for October in the dispute over the president's travel ban. The move comes after the White House rolled out an updated version on Sunday. The New York Immigration Coalition is firing back at Trump's third travel ban. The second ban, announced in March, expired on September 24. The latest version replaced it. This ban is indefinite.

The forgotten borough of Staten Island is taking steps to become unforgettable. A new tourism and cultural affairs office opened this week aimed to get more tourists to explore the area. This is exciting news for local attractions.

The United States Supreme Court on Monday handed the Trump administration a partial victory by allowing parts of its travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries to be enforced until it hears arguments in the fall on the appeal of a lower court's ruling that blocked the president's executive order. The court's 9-0 decision means the justices will wade into the biggest legal controversy of the Trump administration: President Donald Trump's order temporarily restricting travel from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The justices said that the government can temporarily bar entry to travelers that lack a "credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States" in the interested of national security.

Technology has radically changed how we book travel. Disruptors are making travel more accessible. By making it easier, more people are getting out to see the world, especially the younger generation, and that's a good thing. The only caveat: making sure technology doesn't dominate your experience.