ew York is a city filled with contrasts - diversity is everywhere, and there are New Years' Events for virtually every taste, from salsa clubs (The Copacabana, for instance) to jazz clubs to dance halls to virtually anything you might have in mind.

For the music lovers, there are several picks to say farewell to 2005.

The Jazz Standard (http://www.jazzstandard.com) brings The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the very traditional jazz band from The Big Easy that plays as if we were in the early days of that music genre. Some of its members are into their 80s and 90s, but they sound in great shape, and if their sound doesn't get you into a festive mood, well, nothing else will.

As one of the most influential saxophone players of his generation, Gato Barbieri brings his Latin Jazz Fusion to Midtown's Iridium on New Year's Day. For tickets and information, visit http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com

For those more interested in a more traditional event, go over to Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, where the Terrace On The Park promotes a full event which includes dinner, buffet, live music and a five-hour open bar. Tickets go for $ 120 per person, but I can assure you it is a bargain - and you get to welcome the New Year with one hell of a view of the City. To reach them, call 718 592 5000 or visit http://www.terraceonthepark.com

And for those in more of a dance mood, may I recommend a visit to http://www.nightclubsnyc.com , where you will find a list of clubs around town which are offering year-end packages that cater to virtually every taste.

Happy New Year to all

Other Picks:

Dr. S. Wayne Stokeling and St. John Baptist Church celebrate Emancipation Day, Sunday, January 1, from 10:30 a.m. to" 12:30 p.m. Dr. Ron Daniels, President of the Institute of the Black World, will deliver a special message of freedom with a look at the past and encouragement for the future, followed by the preached Word from Pastor Stokeling. The worship service also will include ministry through music led by Evangelist Pat Gibbs as well as an African Dance Ensemble.

St. John is located at 480 Bainbridge Street, between Howard and Saratoga Avenues in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, and is easily accessible via the C Train to Ralph Avenue, J Train to Halsey and #7 and B26 buses. For directions and more information, call (718) 573-8633 or e-mail SJBCBkyn@aol.com.

Brooklyn Fire Proof Gallery in Williamsburg presents More Object, Mai Braun’s debut solo exhibition in New York, comprising of a large-scale installation and several free-standing sculptures. Braun’s work draws on everyday materials-house paint, cardboard, lumber and papier-mâché-to make objects that are diverse in form and color but always characterized by a sense of the hand-built and homemade. Largely improvised, Braun makes her sculptures with a playful irreverence; geometric constructions are built of found cardboard, papier-mâché rocks teeter on stilts of scrap wood. Her work attempts to locate a balance between humor and gravity, precision and irregularity, order and entropy. The exhibit is open from Friday, January 6 to February 5, 2005. The opening reception happens on Friday, January 6 at 7 PM.

Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday, 12 - 6 pm or during the week by appointment. For inquiries, please contact Jessica Lin Cox at 718 302 4702 or at jessica@brooklynfireproof.com.