A perfect way to usher in the New Year – lunch and an afternoon walk in the New York Botanical Garden with good friends.
I’ll let the pics speak for themselves. A Happy and Healthy New Year to all!
Category Archives: NYC for the Locals
Back in the High Life Again
Okay, I’m over myself. Enough wallowing and worrying. It’s time to revel again in the joys of daily life in this marvelous city I call home.
Like having an hour and a half to kill with Mr TBTAM after dropping my daughter off at Pier 40 to see “Confidence Man“, a play stage-managed by her fave Middle School Social Studies teacher. Not enough time for a movie, so what were we to do? Go see the sunset from the High Line, thats what!
What’s the High Line, you ask?
Only the hippest and most wonderful new park in New York City, built along the old abandoned elevated freight rail line that runs near the Hudson River from the meatpacking district all the way up to 34th st and 11th Avenue. The High Line is testimony to what concerned citizens can accomplish when they come together with a purpose – in this case, to save the rail line from destruction by resurrecting it as an urban oasis.
The High Line’s design was inspired by the natural landscape that evolved over the years on the abandoned rail bed, and the design works. The place feels less a park and more like found nature in the middle of an urban cityscape.
Sunset is when the High Line is at it’s best. The setting sun and city lights add a magical glow, and the crowds have thinned enough that you can get a prime Hudson viewing spot on one of the broad lounges that line the lower half of the park.
But don’t just sit – stroll the entire park from bottom to top, going through and under buildings, past galleries, apartment buildings and warehouses. My fave part was walking the narrow Chelsea Grasslands, which brought back memories of summer days spent on the freight train tracks as a kid.
Don’t worry – the High Line is safe after sunset. A Parks Ranger told me there have been no incidents other than the occasional drunk. We saw lots of young professionals and couples, a few small parties, and even ran into my buddy Kathleen and her family in from Minnesota. Unfortunately, the Renegade Cabaret – one woman’s response to the instant audience created when the High Line opened within view of her fire escape – was quiet the night we visited.
The High Line isn’t finished yet - Phase Two will open in 2010 and will extend to 30th street, while the fate of the railyards section to 34th street is still unclear.
But don’t wait till the High Line is finished – go visit it now.
_________________________________________
History of the High Line – Narrated by Ethan Hawke
High Line Design Video – Cool!
Friends of the High Line – Your donation helps maintain the gardens on the High Line
History of the High Line – Narrated by Ethan Hawke
High Line Design Video – Cool!
Friends of the High Line – Your donation helps maintain the gardens on the High Line
The NY Times has a wonderful collection of High Line articles and images
Go See the Brooklyn Cyclones and Fall in Love with New York
Just when you think you couldn’t love New York City any more than you already do, you go to a Brooklyn Cyclones game on Coney Island. And fall in love all over again.
How could you not?
You’re watching great baseball sitting next to the Coney Island Boardwalk overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. That’s right – you can see the ocean from your seat in the stands. And because the stadium seats only about 7500 fans, every seat feels like it’s right on the field.
There are couples on dates and families with kids and buddies drinking beers, and in the ladies’ room line an old lady with teased yellow hair who is sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a Cyclones T shirt tells you the score.
You get to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the top of your lungs and are transported back to your childhood.
While standing in line for a Nathan’s foot long, you strike up a conversation with a big guy from Africa who’s at his first Cyclones game, and when you say it’s your first game too, the two of you look at one another and just smile.
There’s so much going on – not a second is wasted between plays. Every minute of down time on the field is a chance to shoot more t-shirts out to the crowd, to sing more songs, to watch the cheerleaders dance, to have the kids come down to the field for a pitching contest. This is baseball with A.D.D., and it’s fun!
And then there’s that great triple in the bottom of the ninth that won it for the home team.
Not to mention the Ocean sunset.
And the post game fireworks.
And the walk along the beach and the boardwalk on the way back to the subway.
And the Wonder Wheel.
The most fun I’ve ever had at a ball game.
Go.
____________________________________________
This is another post in a special TBTAM series “Shh! Don’t Tell the Tourists!”
Shakespeare on the Run
So last week, I’m riding the loop in Central Park with Mr TBTAM, and a woman dressed in period costume crosses our path. I follow her and find a production of King Lear taking place under a nearby tree!
Its the New York Classical Theater doing their annual free Shakespeare production in the park. The show is an interactive experience, as the audience follows the actors as they move about the park from scene to scene. (Don’t worry – they never go very far afield..).
I wish we had had time to stay, but we were in a hurry that day. Good thing we can still catch Lear in Battery Park between now and July 7. Look for us there…
_______________________________________________
This is part 2 of a special TBTAM post series (Shhh! Don’t tell the tourists!)
New York for the Locals – Movie Night in Bryant Park
Summer Monday nights in New York City are best spent having a picnic in Bryant Park while watching the movies.
Especially if you have teenage daughters and they have friends.
And especially if they all come over to your apartment after school and make chocolate chip cookies, and your husband is finished school for the year so he is home to make great baguette sandwiches and the pouring rain stops and the sun comes out just as you leave the office at 6:30 pm having seen 24 patients and still every chart is closed and every phone call returned and you stroll in the door, change into warm clothes because who would have thought it could be so cold in June, grab blankets, umbrellas (just in case) and bags of food and head to the F train, emerging a few minutes later at Bryant Park where even though the lawn is closed because it is still wet you find great seats and even tables not far from the screen and even though it spritzes a bit just before show time, the sky clears again and they are showing the Sting, it doesn’t get any better than this does it and hey, we’re drinking Newman’s Own Lemonade it must be a sign and my God they are both so handsome which one would you choose if you had the choice, I’d choose Robert, not me, it’d be Paul every time, remember that time we saw him on the street, what a loss he is gone, but what a wonderful movie this is and what delicious sandwiches and cookies these are and can we do this again next week, they are showing Breaking Away?
Mozarella and Tomato Sandwiches (Makes 8 sandwiches)
2 long sourdough baguettes ( We get ours from Gourmet Garage)
16 oz fresh mozarella, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Cut the baguettes lengthwise. Drizzle olive oil on both halves. Lay the mozarella and tomato slices along two of the halves. Top with basil leaves, salt and pepper. Top with the other two halves. Cut each baguette sandwich crosswise into 4 individual sandwiches. Wrap tight for travel.
Serve with fresh olives, leftover pesto pasta and chocolate chip cookies.
_______________________________________________
This is the first post in a special TBTAM Post series. (Shhh! Don’t tell the tourists…)
The Prospect Park Bike Loop – Bet You Can’t Do Just One…
My newest fave place to bike ride is Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
Prospect Park is to Central Park as Brooklyn is to Manhattan. (Well, was – before some parts of Brooklyn got almost too hip for themselves.) Same great Olmstead bones, just as beautiful but a little less polished and manicured, even a bit tousled in places, filled with real folks doing real things, all of it less like a movie set and more like real life.
The Park is flanked by Grand Army Plaza and Park Slope in the north, the Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Museum of Art to the east, and the south? well, between 3 and 8pm on Sundays, that’s the best part of all, as musicians gather in Drummers Grove to strike the beat of a Caribbean/African drum to drive you on your way as you bike the 3.35 mile loop just one more time…
As far as a work out, the Prospect Park Loop is a good one. Heading South from Grand Army Plaza (that’s counter clockwise on the loop) are some lovely downhills on the Western slope mixed with a few straight stretches and strategically placed water fountains.
The south loop is flat and skirts the lake and then heads north again at Drummers Grove. (Careful – there’s a short stretch at the bottom where cars are still allowed on weekends.) Then the road heads on a wonderful uphill – Wait- Did I just say wonderful uphill? – I did, and it is! A moderately long, nicely curving hill with a low mid section for relief before heading up the bit steeper upper section that plateaus out just as you are starting to think that your legs might be hurting but is never too steep to stop the conversation. Ending with a rolling north section that energizes you for just one more loop around….
Go ahead – Try it. You’ll want to do at least two, and maybe even three loops as we did – it’s that much fun. Maybe combine it with a trip to the Brooklyn Museum or Botanical Gardens, or with lunch in Park Slope, or if it’s Saturday, a visit to the Farmer’s Market at Grand Army Plaza. Better yet, if it’s Sunday, grab an early dinner from the Caribbean food carts at Drummer’s Grove and enjoy the music before heading home.
I can’t think of a better way to end a weekend.
______________________________________________
Suggested Links
- Interactive Prospect Park Map
- Current Car-Free Hours in Prospect Park
- More videos and pictures from Drummers Grove.
- Bike Ride the Prospect Park Loop by Moonlight
- A Year in the Park - Daily Photos of Prospect Park
- Transporation Alternatives Car-free Prospect Park Campaign
Biking South on the NYC Westside Greenway
Mr TBTAM and I left the girls home studying this past Sunday afternoon and rode our biking season swan song south along the West Side Greenway. A perfect day for a perfect ride along the Hudson to Battery Park and back.
While the ride north on the Greenway is an idyllic park ride, the route south along the Hudson is a fascinating ride along a busy and increasingly beautiful waterfront, encompassing urban gardens, cruise ship and Ferry docks, tourist attractions, museums and skyline views that will satisfy visitors and natives alike.
Here is a list of the sites we passed along our route – The Intrepid, The Circle Line Boat tour, the cruise ship docks, the Heliport, Frank Gehry’s Office Building, Chelsea Pier, Battery Park City, the World Trade Center Site, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island boat rides and The American Indian Museum.
If sports are what you love, you can rent a kayak, take a sailing lesson, practice your skateboard moves, hit a bucket of balls, bike, walk or bowl. The only thing missing from the Greenway as far as I am concerned are great waterfront restaurants.
Much of the Greenway has separate biking and walking paths. This makes for easy riding, although the walking paths tend to go closer to the water and through some lovely gardens along the way. You’ll need to watch out for cars crossing the path near the docks and along Chelsea Pier, but on a weekend this is not a big problem.
My favorite part of the ride is Battery Park City. I remember when this gorgeous garden-living spot was a big old empty landfill, the site of the No Nukes Rally I attended in 1979.
Now it’s filled with beautiful apartment buildings and parks and is a neighborhood that has come back even stronger since it was almost devastated in 9/11.
If you’re visiting NYC and want to ride the Greenway, I’d recommend renting a bike at Pier 84 at 44th Street on the West Side and heading either north or south from there. Bike and Roll has rental locations at several spots along the NYC Greenway, and runs both guided and self-guided bike tours of NYC. You can also rent bikes at one of over a dozen other spots in the city and head into the Greenway anywhere along the route.
Happy Biking!
NYC Biking Links
NYC West Side Greenway Bike Path
Here’s a great way to spend a beautiful September afternoon in NYC.
Get on your bike and head to the West Side. Head down to the Hudson River at around 68th street (the ramp down is just in front of Trump’s big apartment houses along the West side). When you get down to the river, head north.
Think about stopping for a free kayak ride.
But the road and Mr TBTAM (Hmmm…he reminds me of someone…) beckon. So off you go.
As you head north, you’ll pass the 79th street Boat Basin (where Tom Hanks had his boat docked in “You’ve Got Mail”).
Remind yourself to come back for burgers and beer at the Boat Basin Cafe before it closes for the season.
Don’t stop to join all the folks hanging out on the grass, though that seems like a great plan for another day.
Around 86th street the path takes a little detour up into Riverside Park, giving you a chance to stop for a minute or two to admire the 91st Street Garden (site of the final scene from You’ve Got Mail…)
At 91st St, take the path back down to the river. Here, the crowds have thinned and you can do some more serious biking.
At St Clair St, near the Fairway Market, you must leave the path for a few blocks.
This gives you a chance to ride under the West Side Highway
and, if you are hungry, you can stop for Barbecue at Dinosaur Barbecue (nice review here).
But there’s no time to stop. Follow the signs back to the River Path – you’re heading for the George Washington Bridge!
Enjoy the culture shift north of 125th street. Boom boxes are playing salsa music, fishing poles and Spanish food carts line the riverside,
and there is some very serious volleyball going one.
Not far past the volleyball courts, the path along the river narrows abruptly. A sign will tell you that this is the path for walkers.
So you’ll head to the right and take the bike path (over on the far right in the photo).
This will take you through the woods and along the railroad bed.
You will emerge to gorgeous views!
Now it’s just a short ride to the George Washington Bridge.
If you have the energy, stop for a quick game of tennis at the free courts in the shadow of the Bridge. (Directions to the courts are here)
More likely, though, you’ll want to ride up and see the Little Red Lighthouse.
Now it’s time to take a break. Relax along the river, sit on the rocks, enjoy the boats and barges as they sail on the river. (We saw one barge loaded with antique railroad cars.) Marvel at the fact that you are in New York City on a beautiful day in September, feeling the breeze off the river.
When you’re rested, head on back. Don’t worry – other than the foray up to Riverside Park, the path has been completely flat, and you feel great.
And the ride back will be just as spectacular!
Opera and Sushi?
Why not? After all, it’s New York. And who knows, maybe Madame Butterfly will show up.
(Thanks to LimeWire)
Manhattanhenge 2008
Okay, fellow new Yorkers. It’s that time again. Time to stand in the aisles of the skyscraper canyons of our fair city and worship the sun gods as they shine crosstown at sunset.
Yes, it’s Manhattanhenge! Those magical days of the year when the setting sun aligns itself perfectly with Manhattan’s crosstown streets in the same way that the rising sun aligns with Stonehenge at the summer solstice.
This year, Manhattanhenge is May 29/30 and July 11/12. Happily, the weather report calls for sunny skies on the 29th with sunset at 8:18 pm.
Here’s this year’s email announcement I received today from Neil DeGrassi, the founder of Manhattanhenge:
Dear Museum Community,
It’s that time of year again…. MANHATTANHENGE 2008
What will future civilizations think of Manhattan Island when they dig it up and find a carefully laid out network of streets and avenues? Surely the grid would be presumed to have astronomical significance, just as we have found for the pre- historic circle of large vertical rocks known as Stonehenge, in the Salisbury Plain of England. For Stonehenge, the special day is the summer solstice, when the Sun rose in perfect alignment with several of the stones,signaling the change of season.
For Manhattan, a place where evening matters more than morning, that special day comes on Thursday, May 29h this year, one of only two occasions when the Sun sets in exact alignment with the Manhattan grid, fully illuminating every single cross-street for the last fifteen minutes of daylight. The other day is Saturday, July 12th.
These two days give you a photogenic view with half the Sun above and half the Sun below the horizon — on the grid. The day after May 29th (Friday, May 30th), and the day before July 12 (Friday, July 11) will also give you Manhattanhenge moments, but instead you will see the entire ball of the Sun on the horizon — on the grid. My personal preference is the half-Sun.
As you may know, had Manhattan’s grid been perfectly aligned with the geographic north-south line, then the days of Manhattanhenge would be the spring and autumn equinoxes, the only two days on the calendar when the Sun rises due-east and sets due-west. But Manhattan’s street grid is rotated 30 degrees east from geographic north, shifting the days of alignment elsewhere into the calendar.
Note that any city crossed by a rectangular grid can identify days where the setting Sun aligns with their streets. But a closer look at such cities around the world shows them to be less than ideal for this purpose. Beyond the grid you need a clear view to the horizon, as we have over New Jersey. And tall buildings that line the streets create a kind of brick and steel channel to frame the setting Sun, creating a
striking photographic opportunity.True, some municipalities have streets named after the Sun, like Sunrise Highway on Long Island and the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. But these roads are not perfectly straight. And the few times a year when the Sun aligns with one of their stretches of road, all you get is stalled traffic solar glare temporarily blinds drivers.
So Manhattanhenge may just be a unique urban phenomenon in the world, if not the universe.
Note that a couple of years ago, an article in the New York Times identified this annual event as the “Manhattan Solstice”. But of course, the word “solstice” translates from the Latin solstitium, meaning “stopped sun,” in reference to the winter and summer solstices where the Sun’s daily arc across the sky reaches its extreme southerly and northerly limits. Manhattanhenge comes about because the Sun’s arc has *not* yet reached these limits, and is on route to them, as we catch a brief glimpse of the setting Sun along the canyons of our narrow streets.
IMPORTANT: For best effect, position yourself as far east in Manhattan as possible. But ensure that when you look west across the avenues you can still see New Jersey. Clear cross streets include 14th, 23rd, 34th. 42nd, 57th, and several streets adjacent to them. The Empire State building and the Chrysler building render 34th street and 42nd streets especially striking vistas.
Arrive a half-hour earlier than the times given below.
MAY
Half Sun on grid: Thursday, May 29 — 8:17 p.m. EDT
Full Sun on grid: Friday, May 30 — 8:16 p.m. EDTJULY
Half Sun on grid: Saturday, July 12 — 8:25 p.m. EDT
Full Sun on grid: Friday, July 11 — 8:24 p.m. EDTDownloadable Image of the July 2001 “Manhattan Sunset” as it first appeared in 2002 among the photo-essays of “City of Stars,” Natural History magazine: http://research.amnh.org/users/tyson/ManhattanSunset.php
As always, keep looking up,
-Neil deGrasse Tyson
Department of Astrophysics & Director, Hayden Planetarium
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, NY 10024
http://research.amnh.org/users/tyson
Now get out there, you big Apple Druids, and give the sun gods their due!
__________________________________________________
- Top of the Lawn has a nice astronomical explanation of Manhattanhenge
- Neil Degrassi explains it all in this PBS video
Image from Wikipidia Commons
-
I practice medicine, cook and wax prolific in New York City. You can call me Peggy. Or Dr P. Just don't call me late for dinner.
