Christmas in Manhattan 2010 Revisited

In honor of the Rockefeller Center tree being lit last night, and since I'm not there, I'm pulling out an old post from 2010 called Christmas in Manhattan which has a couple of pretty cool shots...enjoy! Can't believe it's been four years already...

P.S. I think the girl looks way better in dark hair than as a blonde!!!

*****Christmas in Manhattan****

There's no city that does Christmas better than New York City so this year we decided to head up before Christmas instead of after. If you're not in the Christmas spirit when you arrive, after spending even just one day in Manhattan, you probably will be. On this trip my daughter got to see neighborhoods of Manhattan she hasn't before (more on that in another post another day). I actually found a parking space in Soho after only fifteen minutes...quite a feat I assure you! We started walking through Little Italy on our way to Chinatown (more on that later too).





After lunch we headed up to Macy's. It was a zoo.



Too many people in midtown caused us to head uptown where we encountered beautiful lit trees and even more people.



Like every other "tourist" in the world we simply had to go to Rockefeller Center. This time my daughter was able to see the tree in the dark. It was quite spectacular.











As I wrote in yesterday's post, as we were standing there music filled the air. We all turned to see where it was coming from...



and were treated to a 3D light show on Saks Fifth Avenue's wall, entitled "The Snowflake and the Bubble"...if you haven't watched it you should.



Afterwards we went into St. Patrick's Cathedral which was as beautiful as always. Unfortunately there were so many people I couldn't get near the gift shop.



After St. Pat's we headed to Sephora where the girl stocked up on more cosmetics. As we were shopping I heard someone call my name. When I turned to see who it was I was surprised to see it was someone I knew from Roanoke! How wild is that??? In a city of millions I run into someone from little ole Roanoke. I was surprised she recognized me as I was sporting a new haircut which my cousin said was a "little Chinese boy's haircut." Funny thing is that a cool Chinese boy cut it for me! From there we headed back home to Brooklyn, where the next day we experienced Christmas in Dyker Heights. If Manhattan couldn't put one in a Christmas mood, Brooklyn certainly could! Pics to come tomorrow....

A NY Apartment Story - Part 1

This is a true story...it starts here..

It was his grandmother's apartment, but he lived there most of his life. When Granny left, he laid her out in the living room. She might have been gone, but the plastic wrapped furniture and knick-knicks lived on. He was an artist who had the good fortune of having an apartment in the Lower East side handed down to him, and considering what the price of rentals in Stuyvesant Town had become in the 40 years they've lived in their apartment, a pretty decent rent. Still, even a "decent" rent in Manhattan can easily become unaffordable when one loses their full-time employment, a harsh reality to face after a decade of walking the court halls.

In his 50's, locating employment was not an easy task. With no job to be found, he took the suit off, put on his bowler hat, and got back to his easel. It was no longer the 80's or 90's when local artists had galleries in their grasp and at their disposal. Along with many neighborhood haunts demolished to make way for expensive condos and co-ops, the familiar galleries are long gone, gone, gone. Based on rents, sales, and the over all cost of living, New York has become a city for the rich. He was far from rich.

Sales proved to be slow, but he felt blessed his wife's career was secure. Having the choice of living with his wife in her small in size, but huge in character co-op and garden, or, alone with paint and memories, was not a hard choice to make. Even though his apartment was used primarily as his studio, giving it up could never be an option.

He didn't keep it pristine like she did, but remnants of Granny remained throughout. Sometimes when he did sleep there he swore he could almost hear her rustling in the kitchen. Besides, how could he give it up when there's no way all of his art stuff could ever fit in his wife's compact apartment. If he had anything to do with it, divorce would also never be an option, so he had to think up a way to make his rent. He thought a roommate would be the answer. So he wrote an ad on Craigslist, and shortly thereafter he got a response...

...to be continued

Swans in Sheepshead Bay

Although some stores are still closed, it seems to me Sheepshead Bay isn't in as bad shape from Hurricane Sandy as Gerritsen Beach still is. The area has really changed since the last time I was there, which was a couple of years ago.

 Emmons Avenue is pretty much all Russian now with the exception of one Italian restaurant that has been there as long as I could remember -- Randazzo's. On this trip I had decided I would eat all the foodstuffs I cannot get in Roanoke so although I had longed for raw clams at Joe's Clam Bar, which is no longer there, I had to settle for some at Randazzo's. My friend chose the fried calamari in hot sauce which was served with a hard tack. I sampled hers and it was okay, but I was disappointed in mine. $16.00 for a dozen raw clams, which were not cleaned well enough for my palate, seemed to be a little high. After we ate and realized we were still hungry, we both looked at each other and remembered that this place always felt like it was geared more to tourists than locals. It was worth the money just to eavesdrop on some of the conversations taking place around us. What a bunch of characters! I would have taken their photos, but I probably would have had my camera broken.

We walked across the bay and I was shocked to see swans in the ocean water. When the heck did that happen???

As we were walking along the avenue I saw two police vans pull up and a slew of ticket nazis emerged. The parking situation in Brooklyn deserves a post of its own so that will be coming at a later date.

After we went back to the car my friend decided I needed to see other parts of Brooklyn, so she kidnapped me and off we went...

Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn -- Eight Months After Hurricane Sandy Hit

 

 

I finally witnessed first-hand the damage eight months after Hurricane Sandy hit the Gerritsen Beach area of Brooklyn. I thought I'd share some of the pics...

This is Kiddie Beach where the local children used to play. Now it's a staging area for residents to get supplies they still need...

Progress is being made, slowly, very slowly.


"Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say we have done it ourselves." — Lao Tzu

Freedom Tower Progress July 2012

Until today, if you used the search words "Freedom Tower Progress" and you wound up on this blog...this is what you saw...a photo from April, 2011.

Today this is what you'll see...now that's progress, baby! Thanks to my cousin for taking these great shots...

Man, I miss New York City!

Merry NYC Christmas

Just a couple of shots to wish you all a Merry NYC Christmas...

I Am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
I may no longer live in the five boroughs or on the Island or Upstate
I may now live hundreds or thousands of miles away
Or I may live just over the GW Bridge
But I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
Whatever took me out of New York:
Business, family or hating the cold did not take New York out of me.
My accent may have faded and my pace may have slowed
But I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
I was raised on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Rockefeller Plaza,
The Yankees or the Mets
Jones Beach or Rye Beach or one of the beaches on the sound
I know that THE END; means Montauk.
Because I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
When I go on vacation, I never look up
Skyscrapers are something I take for granted
The Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty are part of me
Taxis and noise and subways and get outa heah; don't rattle me
Because I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
I was raised on cultural diversity before it was politically correct
I eat Greek food and Italian food, Jewish and Middle Eastern food and
Chinese food
Because they are all American food to me.

I don't get mad when people speak other languages in my presence
Because my relatives got to this country via Ellis Island and chose to stay.
They were New Yorkers

I am a New Yorker
People who have never been to New York have misunderstood me
My friends and family work in the industries, professions and businesses
that benefit all Americans
My firefighters died trying to save New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers
They died trying to save Americans and non-Americans
Because they were New Yorkers.

I am a New Yorker
I feel the pain of my fellow New Yorkers
I mourn the loss of my beautiful city
I feel and dread that New York will never be the same
But then I remember:
I am a New Yorker

And New Yorkers have:
Tenacity, strength and courage way above the norm
Compassion and caring for our fellow citizens
Love and pride in our city, in our state, in our country
Intelligence, experience and education par excellence
Ability, dedication and energy above and beyond
Faith--no matter what religion we practice

Terrorists hit America in its heart
But America's heart still beats strong
Demolish the steel in our buildings, but it doesn't touch the steel in our souls
Hit us in the pocketbook; but we'll parlay what we have left into a fortune
End innocent lives leaving widows and orphans, but we'll take care of them
Because they are New Yorkers

Wherever we live, whatever we do, whoever we are
There are New Yorkers in every state and every city of this nation
We will not abandon our city
We will not abandon our brothers and sisters
We will not abandon the beauty, creativity and diversity that New York represents
Because we are New Yorkers
And we are proud to be New Yorkers

- Author Unknown

I'll always be a New Yorker and I will never forget 9/11.







God Bless America!

The Cloisters' Courtyard