Zipcar is sold out. Your hedge fund boyfriend no longer has that Hampton compound (or the hedge fund for that matter). The gas prices at the pump read as high as the price tag on your Louboutin pumps. You are city-bound this Memorial Day weekend. Luckily, so is half the city, and they're going to be out and about, enjoying all the local happenings sans traffic, suitcases, soaring fuel prices, and annoying mini-clubs. Here's a short list of events approved for your day life and your nightlife.

● Memorial Day in Times Square - Yes, Time Square. Noontime Monday, enjoy a screening of the musical On the Town in the middle of Broadway at 47th Street. You need not fear the crazy cabbies and road-raging tourists; the city is clearing traffic from Broadway to create a pedestrian-friendly summer venue. After the film, dodge people -- not Pontiacs -- and take a long walk over to Hudson Terrace for light bites and a summery rooftop view.

Forget spiked egg nog, pumpkin-based drinks, and all those other seasonal libations. Don’t even think about a chilled beer or frozen concoction unless you plan on spending the night perched over your heater. Instead, head to one of the spots below where the mixologists are whipping up specialty cocktails for sun-deprived-drinkers.

10. Thai chili hot chocolate @ Thom Bar (Soho) - Made with Thailand’s national spirit -- Mekhong, which is sort of like a pisco -- there’s no hotter way to beat your chills.
9. Wake-Up Call @ Brandy Library (Tribeca) - You could spend all night sifting through the never-ending list of options, but make it easy for yourself and go straight for this warm, aptly named mix of espresso, vanilla vodka, and homemade chocolate and coffee liqueurs.
8. Gingerbread cocktail at Empire Hotel Rooftop (Upper West Side) - The sunny skies may be gone, but the rooftop continues to attract with sweeping views, dim lighting, and a crackling fireplace -- all of which are best enjoyed while sipping on their creation made with gingerbread syrup, Ten Cane Rum, apple juice, and lemon.

Empire Hotel is finally finished with their renovations. The rooftop bar and lounge debuted this summer; last week Center Cut, Jeffery Chodorow's eco-steakhouse opened to great fanfare. The iconic Upper West Side hotel, with its signature giant red neon sign, was a hot property from the 1920s through the 1960s; proprietors hope that the renovations will help the hotel reclaim its place as a New York institution.

It's easy enough to ignore the avalanche of press releases one receives on a daily basis, but there are often gemstones among the rough. For example -- a branded "hot list" collection of summer cocktails may be refined and expanded, since it happens to include some our favorite places (and beverages) in four cities nationwide. Check it out, and chillax.

Hennessy Fire-Five, Rooftop Lounge of the Empire Hotel
Manhattanites can sip the Hennessy Fire-Five martini while absorbing floor-to-ceiling views of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Central Park, and Lincoln Center. With alleged frequenters such as Kim Cattrall, Kelly Ripa, Jimmy Fallon, Teri Hatcher, A-Rod, Kim Raver, and Lindsay Price, the luxurious rooftop lounge and outdoor patio is the perfect setting to watch a summer evening sunset while sipping perfection.

A sign (and party) for all seasons.

New York City, like no other, shines through its constant state of flux, through the destruction of historical monuments and the erection of new edifices. This modernist tendency subsides only infrequently under the pitiless pressures of development. Thus the massive neon red-light signs gleaming proudly upon the roof-deck lounge of the Empire Hotel gift the urban dweller with history from the sidewalk and recreation from the bar. (See our gallery of the altitudinous scene.) An express lobby elevator sweeps revelers up to a cascade of interlocking support frames permitting a cultured view of Lincoln Center across the way.