Tag Archives: newyork

The City Harvest lunch at Le Bernardin is still a good deal

Posted on April 10, 2024 | Comments Off on The City Harvest lunch at Le Bernardin is still a good deal


One of the best meals I’ve had around 7 years ago this month was also one of the greatest value meals I’ve ever had. It was the lunch in the lounge at Le Bernardin and back then it was $55, with $5 of that going to the charity City Harvest. Even four years later, Eater NY said it was only $60. Still a steal.

So I was somewhat shocked when I heard it was now $127! That’s quite a jump from $55. Alas, I got that wrong. $127 is for the lunch. The City Harvest lunch in the lounge is $94, of which $5 still goes to the charity.

I still think it is worthwhile at that price. I know between 2019 and now the restaurant was dealing with the pandemic like everyone else and spent a lot on upgrades to keep the place going. And going it still is. You should go, too.

For more information to help you to decide, here’s the Lounge Menu (and more). The wines by the glass are also good value. To get a lunch at one of the best restaurants in New York with 3 Michelin stars for under $100 is still worth stopping for, I believe.

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On walking around New York, thinking of Basquiat

Posted on March 25, 2024 | Comments Off on On walking around New York, thinking of Basquiat

I was walking around Great Jones Street in lower Manhattan recently and came across the place that Basquiat lived for a time in the 80s. (Now it’s owned by Angelina Jolie. More on that, here.)

That got me thinking about the artist, so I went searching for more on him and came across came across this, from 1988. It’s something like an obit for Basquiat that focused on the “hazards of sudden success and fame” (from the New York Times.) He deserved better.

Speaking of better, here’s a better piece on Basquiat in California. I tend to think of him solely as being in NY, but he travelled around in his short life.

Finally, it turns out that art forgery is a bad idea: After Fake Basquiats, Orlando Museum Faces ‘Severe Financial Crisis’ (from the New York Times). Quelle surprise!

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Back to New York – a tale of eating and walking

Posted on March 22, 2024 | Comments Off on Back to New York – a tale of eating and walking

After being away for awhile, I recently spent a long weekend in New York. Not surprising, it was great! I stayed in the Lower East Side and as usual, I went and ate at a number of good places. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, this is a good intro to eating well in the Lower East Side (LES). P.S. I would add Wildair to this list.

I had gone to many of the places on that list, so this time I branched out. I went to Freeman’s Alley, Lafayette, and Claud. All good. But the best place I went to was Libertine. More on it here. (Photo of it, above.)

But hey, that’s just me. If you would prefer to know where others dine in NY…for example…Taylor Swift…then you want to read this.

It wasn’t all just eating. I got to walk around a fair bit because Manhattan in particular is good for that. While I walked all over, on one walk downtown, I crossed over Great Jones Street to where Basquiat lived in the 80s. Since then, Angelina Jolie has taken it over. You can read about all that, here.

I’ve loved so many parts of this great city over the years, but the Lower East Side has always been one of my favorite parts. This is a fascinating story on how the city and that area has changed over the years. It has everything, as they used to say on SNL.

Speaking of good NY stories, this is a good one of how working for a dog shelter did a world of good for one New Yorker. Another good story, this time on old New York, is this: The Luncheonette Serving New York’s Best Egg Creams. Finally, this is a fascinating story on the Crown Heights Tunnels at the Tzfat Chabad Lubavitch synagogue. I’ve seen a number of stories on it, but this one in the Guardian was the best.

In NYC news, Flaco the owl has died after the year of freedom in Central Park and elsewhere. Sad. More on Flaco here. Also, this was no surprise: after a brief tour of duty, the NYPD subway robot has retired. It’s spring now, but this winter the city tried to have a remote school snow day at short notice. It did not go well, according to this.

Finally, how is the mayor of NYC doing? Not great, according to this. People in the city are not doing well either, according to this. That’s too bad. New York has made great strides to recover since it was hammered by COVID at the start of the decade. I hope it can pick its chin up, soon.

 

 

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New York City is full of stories. Here’s 15 of them.

Posted on October 17, 2023 | Comments Off on New York City is full of stories. Here’s 15 of them.

New York City is full of stories. Here’s 15 I’ve collected over the last few months that I thought were really good. I hope you like them too:

  1. Here’s a good story on the Louis Armstrong house museum in Queens. I love that museum. I love the fact that Armstrong lived in Queens, too.
  2. This is a sad story of an 82 year old man and a Stewart hotel long term resident who is facing eviction after living there for decades.
  3. Here’s a fascinating story of the brooklyn seltzer boys who still make seltzer the old fashion way.
  4. Here’s a story for book lovers:  five enchanting art bookstores in NYC they should visit.
  5. Here’s 10 Movies that tell the story of New York and capture its essence.
  6. Here’s a cool story on how Brooklyn Public Library is offering free eCards to teens nationwide who are dealing with book bans in local communities.
  7. This is a story to follow up on: How New York’s MTA is using AI scanning software to stop fare evasion.
  8. Another story to follow up on: how the Mayor plans to convert midtown Manhattan buildings into housing.
  9. No one can tell a story like Anthony Bourdain. Here he is in 2000 writing in the New Yorker and describing a day in the life of working in his kitchen at Les Halles in NYC. Bourdain is a romantic and it comes across in that piece.
  10. A practical story: how to  find a public restroom in New York.
  11. This is a fascinating story on how Korean fine dining has taken over the New York restaurant scene.
  12. Times Square is full of stories. This web cam proves it.
  13. Here’s how three vastly different subway signs can tell a story of three eras in NYC.
  14. This is a scary story of how New York is not ready for climate change flooding storms
  15. Finally, I love this story on the the improbable resurrection of an all night kebab place in the Lower East Side.

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The wonderful historicalness of “You’ve Got Mail”, 25 years on

Posted on August 2, 2023 | Comments Off on The wonderful historicalness of “You’ve Got Mail”, 25 years on

“You’ve Got Mail” is many things. A romantic comedy, of course. A tragedy, as this piece argues… possibly. Of the many things I could list about it, what I loved most about it when I watched it was it’s historicalness.

For starters, the gentrification of New York is one of the historical things that pops out in the film. If New York now is a place of wealth and insane living costs, and New York of the 70s and 80s was a place of poverty and decrepitude, then the New York of the 90s was undergoing a time of economic transition between those two times. You see that in the arrival of bougie things like Starbucks and big bad book store chains like Fox / Barnes and Noble. The city just seems on the rise in the film. It is poor no more. New money is leading the development of real estate that is forcing a transition in the city.

The film also shows the start of the next big thing coming to force a transition: online communication. You’ve Got Mail illustrates how people back then are already dealing with how computers are starting to affect how we live and communicate. It will take some time past the 90s for books and magazines and newspapers to be impacted as we all take to the Internet in the 21st century, but the seeds are already sprouting up as we watch Kathleen and Joe get to know each other via their Apple Macbooks and IBM Thinkpads and the end of the 20th century. (And naturally she owns the former and he the latter). And the beloved typewriters in the film are dodo-birds of a mechanical sort.

It’s funny to think the film was once criticized by the Washington Post for product placement. After all, this month an entire film, Barbie, is launched and co-produced by Mattel.  It may have been jarring then, but it barely registered to me watching the products placed in this movie from 25 years ago. If anything, it seems quaint compared to todays films.

Culturally the film drips with historicalness, from the clothes they wear (Ryan’s layered sweaters, Hanks’s dark shirts and ties), to the technology they use (AOL!, that MacBook), to the actors themselves (Hanks being a love interest, Chappelle trying to be mainstream). It all seems so long ago. It was 25 years ago, so I guess it was.

There’s lots to enjoy in You’ve Got Mail. One thing for sure: it’s a time capsule, and it’s quite good just to enjoy it for that.

P.S. You can read more on the film: You’ve Got Mail in Wikipedia. If you’re curious, here’s a piece on the You’ve Got Mail film locations. Many, like Zabars and Barney Greengrass, still exist.

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The 100 best restaurants in NYC in 2023 (plus the best places to eat and drink outside)

Posted on July 13, 2023 | Comments Off on The 100 best restaurants in NYC in 2023 (plus the best places to eat and drink outside)


Yesterday I wrote about restaurants in Paris, today I want to point out the list of the 100 Best Restaurants in NYC, according to The New York Times food critic, Pete Wells

It’s a great list. There are restaurants for all the different boroughs and at all different price points. There are fancy French restaurants and there are casual night markets and more. You can find old school places like Barney Greengrass and Le Bernardin. You can find hot new places like Atomix and King. Whatever you need, the list can help you with.

If you live in NYC or plan to visit, you owe it to yourself to check out the list and start making reservations. Or just drop by.

P.S. If you are going to be in New York in the warmer parts of the year, you also owe it to yourself to check out the Vogue editors guide to outdoor dining in NYC. Some days you just want to get a cocktail and sit outside and enjoy all the city has to offer. The folks from Vogue can help.

(Photo is from the website for King.)

 

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New York stories and snippets (April 2023)

Posted on April 16, 2023 | Comments Off on New York stories and snippets (April 2023)

Here’s some bits and snippets on the New York I’ve been collecting over time. I hope you like them.

A great source of such snippets of life in New York can be found here, in the New York Times section called Metropolitan diary. Just little bits of life in the Big Apple, with wonderful grease pencil drawings to go with them. (See one such drawing below).

Speaking of the Times, noted conservative David French is joining them as an Opinion Columnist. I have to say, these conservatives often start out there with great praise but then become awful. Let’s see how French does.  I’m not optimistic.

Yesterday I wrote of a landmark of the city closing down: the Pennsylvania Hotel. Here’s a story on a smaller landmark also leaving: Alleva Dairy in NYC Will Close. I am sure that place contains many stories itself.


Manhattan is a region of extremes when it comes to rich and poor. On the rich side, here’s a Look Inside the NYC Apartment of MALIN GOETZ Founders. Pretty posh. Also, what’s it like surviving as a staff member of the high end store, Bergdorf Goodman? Well not as tough as being Flaco the owl, but tough nonetheless. To see what I mean, see this: Surviving 10 Hours and 32 Minutes at Bergdorf Goodman. If nothing else, you can see what providing exemplary service is all about.

If you want more stories on the rich and famous of New York: here’s something on the gatekeepers of New York’s most coveted tables.

For stories on the flip side, here’s a story on how Hell’s Kitchen got its rough and ready name. Also downtown based is this piece on someone coming of age in LES before it was gentrified: Watching a Girl’s Life Change on the Lower East Side. And here’s a tough piece on NYC’s jails.

People often hate the mayor of New York, and the current one is no exception. Here’s what he is working on: Mayor Adams Focuses Agenda on the ‘Working People’ of New York. You be the judge. Speaking of people more and more people hate, here’s something on Robert Moses: Robert Moses Is A Racist Whatever.

Finally, here’s a worthy piece on the Central Central Park Conservancy. Here’s a piece on another Robert of NYC who is praiseworthy: Robert Caro Wonders What New York Is Going To Become. Don’t we all wonder?

(Top image: Christopher O’Keeffe, the director of loss prevention, locks the door at the end of the shopping day of Bergdorf. Credit…Landon Nordeman for The New York Times)

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A love letter for the Pennsylvania hotel in NYC and the two-letter phone exchange (PE 6-5000)

Posted on April 15, 2023 | Comments Off on A love letter for the Pennsylvania hotel in NYC and the two-letter phone exchange (PE 6-5000)

I had been thinking about the Pennsylvania hotel recently. I first started thinking about it when I read this: Discovering another vintage two-letter phone exchange on a West Side sign. See the bottom? Things like MU 2-2655 were how phone numbers looked in the Big Apple (and other places too). Forget about area codes like 212.

One of the most famous of these old two letter phone exchanges was PEnnsylvania_6-5000 (PE 6-5000) for two reasons. One, it was the number assigned to one place and one place only: the Pennsylvania hotel. Two, Glenn Miller wrote a famous song about it, called…PEnnsylvania_6-5000. (My Dad loved this song, and whenever I hear the title, I can hear him shouting out with the band: PEnnsylvania 6-5000!).

Sadly, having a storied presence as well as being famous is not enough to survive. The Times has a piece on how its going to be demolished soon. That’s a shame. I hope the don’t regret it like they do the demolition of Penn Station.

As you can see from the photo being held, it was a massive hotel, and one deserving of its own exchange.

I highly recommend you read that piece on it in the Times. It had quite the run.

Now let’s join in with the the Muppets as they do their version of the famous song:

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Flaco the Owl! A free bird in New York….

Posted on March 4, 2023 | Comments Off on Flaco the Owl! A free bird in New York….

Flaco, in case you haven’t heard, is an Eurasian eagle-owl that escaped the Central Park Zoo when vandals opened his enclosure. The zookeepers tried to lure him back to capitivity, but he wasn’t having it. They weren’t being mean: there was a good chance he could die in the wild, even if the wild currently consists of Central Park. Instead, he seems to be thriving, flying around the park and dining on the many rats available to him.

I think one of the reason we love him is that Flaco and his new freedom is a great metaphor that gives us hope. I also think we love him because he is a handsome bird! Regardless, we all want him to be independent and well. It makes me happy every day to read about him.

If by chance you don’t know about him, the Times has a story on him,  here. You can find lots of people talking about him on twitter. He even has an account dedicated to him: .

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The best time to visit New York is in December. And other things NYC

Posted on December 4, 2022 | 1 comment

The best time to visit New York is in December. I did once many years ago and I just remember how magical it was: the city was lightly covered in snow, the shops were all lit up and decorated for Christmas, and everyone was bustling about. I had a moment where I stood in front of a store, the snow lightly falling on me, and thinking excitedly: it’s perfect. I hope you can go and experience something similar.

Whenever you go, you’ll need a place to stay.  Vogue has some suggestions on places. The New York Times has a recent guide to what you can do in 36 hours. The food writer Michael Ruhlman has some suggestions, too. If you want to go where few do, perhaps you can head to the Bronx and enjoy what that borough has to offer. One day the Bronx will have it’s moment. Get there first.

If you haven’t been in awhile, this piece tells you what has changed in terms of dining. Don’t be deterred though: New York is always changing and is always good.

I’ll close off with three New York Stories. Here’s a sad story of how Trump destroyed one of the gems of Mahhattan to put up his Tower: Vanished New York City Art Deco – Bonwit Teller. Here’s a cool story on the Hart Island cemetery. And here’s a good story on planting a million trees in NYC .

One last thing: here is the trailer for one of my favorite films, Metropolitan. It’s set in New York in December, and that’s just one of many things I love about it.

(Image from Cup of Jo. I recommend their Guide to NYC in Winter.)

 

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On restaurants loved and lost: Brasserie in midtown Manhattan

Posted on November 27, 2022 | Comments Off on On restaurants loved and lost: Brasserie in midtown Manhattan

It was fairly nondescript from the outside: a simple awning, some signs stating its name, and a revolving door. You might not think much of it walking along East 53rd.

Once you walked in, though, your impression immediately changed. Especially if you were there early in the morning, the way I often was in the 80s and 90s. You would be at the top of the stairs looking over the whole place, and it was packed with people there for power breakfasts. The sound of people talking just washed over you, and if you managed to find a seat, you would hear what was on the mind of Manhattan men and women of that era.

It could be intimidating, especially walking down those stairs into the middle of it all. Everyone seemed so confident, so polished, so put together. The fact Mike Bloomberg would often dine here to start his day gives you an idea of what it was like. While I felt shy on my first visit,  I quickly found the place thrilling and energizing. No doubt the other diners did too.

Among other things, it was a convenient place to go. I would be in the city for business and the offices we worked in and the hotels we stayed in were nearby. I could wander over to the Brasserie and have delicious croissants or a proper egg and sausage breakfast before I went to work. The coffee and orange juice? Also great. As was the service.  Convenient yes, but excellent too.

I don’t ever recall it changing that much over the years, which is one of the things about it that appealed to me. It gave me that constant connection to midtown Manhattan over the decades. It was my spot. After a long period of not visiting, I went back to NYC around 2018 and I wanted to hit it up, only to discover it had closed. Sad.

I’m glad I got to go all those years. If you visit a city often, I hope you can find such a place that allows you to fit in and belong and be part of something. It won’t be Brasserie, but I hope you find the next best thing.

For more on it, see this piece in Eater on it’s closing. Looks like they went out with a bang. Nice. More on it, here. (Images from those two places.) Finally this piece is in Japanese but you can get Google to translate it and there are some good images of Brasserie in it too. One thing I like about the Japanese post is you can see some of the food but you can also get a sense for what the stairs were like.

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The great Steve Keene is having a moment

Posted on October 27, 2022 | Comments Off on The great Steve Keene is having a moment

As Fineartsglobe.com says, Steve Keene is having a moment. Perhaps it’s because there is a new book on him: The Steve Keene art book. Whatever the reason, I am glad that he is getting more attention and recognition. Not that he is unknown. There’s been profiles done on him in Garden and Gun , Gothamist.com, BKMAG.com, Artsy.net…even the the New York Times.

if you don’t know him and wonder why you should care, read any of those pieces. In a nutshell, he’s an incredible artist who is the direct opposite of people like Damien Hirst or Jeff Koons. Keene makes a lot of art and sells it for next to nothing. Despite that, he is a good painter with a strong technique and a fine use of colour. I admire him. I hope he and the book continue to have success.

For more on the book, see Pitchfork. Image above is a link to a page from the book.

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The pandemic hit NYC in so many ways, including an unusual one

Posted on October 6, 2022 | Comments Off on The pandemic hit NYC in so many ways, including an unusual one

The pandemic hit NYC harder than many cities, I believe. While terrible things like COVID deaths and ad hoc evacuation have thankfully declined, it is still feeling the impact. Dining is one of these things that was affected. According to the Times, the city that never sleeps is now turning off the “Open 24 hours” sign, at least in some places:  In NYC Some Doors Now Close at 10 p.m. One of the reasons for this could be that for (some) New Yorkers, 6 p.m. Is the New 8 p.m. How long will will this last? I’m guessing like many things in New York, it is transitory and the city that used to never sleep will be sleepless soon enough and flocking to places like Katz’s Deli in the Lower East Side.

I love New York. It never gets old. It’s just acting like an oldster lately. 🙂

P.S. Somewhat relatedly, this was a fun story: Immigrant brothers crafted New York’s hand-drawn posters for decades 

(Image: from the Times piece – Katz Deli)

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In defence of the 80s against current day philistines

Posted on August 14, 2022 | Comments Off on In defence of the 80s against current day philistines

I try not to write too much here on my love of the 1980s, but sometimes the world forces me to do otherwise.

It started recently when in this piece on John Lurie and his Downtown Confessional book, the reviewer compared him to Pete Davidson. I mean, I’m sorry, but that is an egregious comparison, even in the slightest of ways. John Lurie is cool in a way Davidson could never be.  Comparison aside, that’s a good review and I recommend it and anything to do with Lurie, including his book and his work with Jim Jarmusch.

Meanwhile there are people who are in the fight to save New York’s Extravagantly ’80s Subway Entrance. (shown above) Thank god. Someone wants to replace it with some banal all glass neutral atrium or something like thousands of other places. No way. Let’s hope they save this.  It’s a small sliver of 80s goodness.

Finally, here’s a piece on Devo who were truly ahead of their time.

(Lnk to the image of Gabby Jones for The New York Times)

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On the Amazon Astro robot, or servants old and new

Posted on April 17, 2022 | Comments Off on On the Amazon Astro robot, or servants old and new

Amazon has a new robot coming out, and there’s been a number of reviews. Here’s a list of just a few of them:

If those reviews have convinced you to get one, you can apply to get into the queue for them over here (they aren’t generally available): Amazon.com: Introducing Amazon Astro, Household Robot for Home Monitoring, with Alexa, Includes 6-month Free Trial of Ring Protect Pro : Everything Else

My thoughts:

  • It’s smart Amazon is rolling them out this way. (No pun intended.) There are going to be many missteps* : a gradual rollout will minimize problems and bad press. (* Also not a pun. :))
  • A robot is the next iteration in home devices. People may have a number of Amazon home devices around. Robots are like Alexa on wheels. And if anyone can mass produce them, Amazon can.
  • I can see Google and others getting into the game. I have a number of Google Home devices around my house. Having a Google Robot (Gizmo?) would be a benefit to me. For one thing, I might consolidate my Home devices and just have one robot / floor.
  • I wonder if Apple will get into the game? I’d love to see an Apple Home robot. Maybe it will look like Eve from Wall-E? 🙂
  • Perhaps at some point this thing can do many things. Or maybe there will be just a series of robots: one to vacuum, one to move small things around and watch the house and provide information, maybe even one to tend to plants or keep the cat busy. Robot technology has a way to go before it is humanlike and can do everything.

Anyway, a home robot for under a grand is an exciting development.

P.S. While I was reading that I was reminded of this piece: Finding the servant call buttons in New York City’s Gilded Age mansions | Ephemeral New York. In some ways saying “Hey Siri/Alexa/Google” is the equivalent of pressing servant buttons.  One day we will have a household of robot servants working for us at the press of a button.

(Image linked to from the Ephemeral New York article. Those buttons are in the Frick museum in New York: check them out if you go there.)

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New New York: the plan to expand Manhattan

Posted on January 19, 2022 | Comments Off on New New York: the plan to expand Manhattan

One thing I like about Americans is their desire to dream big. This is easily demonstrated in this New York Times piece about expanding Manhattan.

It’s a smart idea. Is it doable? I don’t know. I do know that the cost of shoring up Manhattan to deal with global warming is going to be a big one. Why not use real estate and additional taxes to do that? Read the article and see what you think.

1980s me would have laughed at the idea of expanding Manhattan, since so much of the existing island was unlivable. Amazing how much has changed.

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The High Line, or why it is important to push for improvements in your city

Posted on September 4, 2021 | Comments Off on The High Line, or why it is important to push for improvements in your city


There are lots of reasons to push for improvements in your city but one of them is it can have a cascading effect elsewhere. Case in point is New York’s High Line.

As this article Manhattan makeover for London with floating green walkway plan | London | The Guardian), shows:

New York was revitalised by the High Line, a ribbon of parkland floating above Manhattan on a disused elevated railway that has become one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions. Now the High Line’s designer hopes to give London its own green thread, after being chosen to create the Camden Highline.

James Corner was picked last week as the lead landscape architect for the structure, a linear park on three-quarters of a mile of railway viaducts running from Camden to Kings Cross, which he believes will give London a similar boost after the trials of Covid and Brexit.

For more on the Camden highline, go here. More on the New York version here.

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On restaurants loved and lost: Florent (and Odeon)

Posted on August 29, 2021 | Comments Off on On restaurants loved and lost: Florent (and Odeon)

Here are a number of pieces on two great downtown Manhattan restaurants: Florent and Odeon. Florent has been closed for a number of years. But Odeon lives on, happily. What I love about both restaurants is how the embodied that era and how they both set a stage. You can see that in the pieces below about them. Florent in particular was a radical place that was like no other, right down to their menus and promotional material (like the one above).

When they both opened the lower part of Manhattan had nothing like them. There was no gentrification down there like there is now. They were an oasis of good food, good design, and good times.

To really get a sense of that, read Restaurant Florent Takes Its Final Bows – The New York Times.

For more on the design ideas around Florent, see: Restaurant Florent | Restaurant Design in New York, NY — Memo Productions

A short history of the space Florent occupied is written about here: What remains of a Gansevoort Street restaurant | Ephemeral New York

Lastly, here is it’s Wikipedia write-up: Florent (restaurant). It’s a good source of other links on the place.

Before I forget, this is a fun piece on The Odeon: A Retro Haven That Defined New York 1980s Nightlife | Vanity Fair.

Also worth reading. Now go and eat at The Odeon.

 

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More on New York in the 80s

Posted on July 4, 2021 | 2 comments


Here on my blog I like to write about one of my favourite places (NYC) and my favorite eras (the 80s). So I am happy to highlight this piece on an exhibit on the music of New York at time: New York, New Music: how the city became a hotbed for music in the 80s | Music | The Guardian.

New York then was a hotbed not only for music, but for art. After almost dying in the 60s and 70s, it started it’s Phoenix rebirth in the 80s. I was happy to be a part of it, and I often like to highlight it. That Guardian piece does a good job of capturing the place and the time.

(Photo by Bryan G. on Unsplash.  I don’t think it is of the 80s, but it is a photo of the Lower East Side and it is reminiscent of it.)

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Big city, very small (72 sq ft) apartment

Posted on June 15, 2021 | Comments Off on Big city, very small (72 sq ft) apartment

I am always fascinated by very small apartments. NYC is the king / queen of them. While I have seen some small ones before, this 72 square foot one may be the smallest of all. You have to see it to believe it. It even has a kitchen (sort of) and it’s own bathroom (mainly). What it does have going for it is two amazing things: location and price.

If I was young, I would love living there. For a few years, it would be a great adventure. And like I said, you can’t beat that location at that price.

(Image via the article).

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Iowa shows why the move from big cities may be only temporary

Posted on March 6, 2021 | 1 comment

Brooklyn
One thing that happened during the pandemic is that big cities like New York vacated to some degree. When they did, there was talk about how in the future more people would continue to work from home, and if they did, they might go to smaller and more affordable cities, like Des Moines, Iowa. Indeed, places like Des Moines has been recruiting people.

The problem these cities have, though, is that they are missing part of the puzzle. People in big cities like NYC and San Francisco live there for a lot of reasons. One of those is the freedom and rights that come with living there.  The respect those places have for progressive values are a big draw. Unfortunately, as this really good piece shows, Iowa (and likely other conservative cities and states) can’t and won’t provide that any time soon.

After reading that piece, I thought: yeah, even if the majority of people can still work from home, the mass exodus from Brooklyn to Des Moines is not going to be happening. Some will, for sure. But when the pandemic is over, people are going to head back to the major cities. They have more to offer than  affordability.

(Photo by Julian Myles on Unsplash)

 

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Posted in cities

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The problems with supertall towers

Posted on February 5, 2021 | Comments Off on The problems with supertall towers

I am not a fan of supertall towers. They are bland looking, and they add little to a skyline. Therefore I was glad to see this week that they are being exposed for being problematic. First up was this piece in the New York Times on how one of them has been having lots of problems:  The Downside to Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, Breaks.  Then there was a more general critique of them here:  Why Pencil Towers are Problematic.

It seems to me that there are some problems with the buildings that not even super-engineering can fix. Perhaps this means that this is the beginning of the end of supertall buildings. I can hope.

(Image link to NYtimes.com)

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Posted in architecture

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Virtual travelling: hotels in New York for people who love design

Posted on November 11, 2020 | Comments Off on Virtual travelling: hotels in New York for people who love design

Assuming these will still be around post pandemic, here’s 12 beautiful hotels to consider staying at in New York, starting with the TWA hotel which has been wonderfully remade. I have seen a number of New Yorkers staying there and posting pictures on social media because….why not. While the other hotels don’t have the benefit of being put in a  building designed by Eero Saarinen, they are still great. You can see them all here.

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Posted in newyork, travel

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Vestiges of New York: the taxi light

Posted on October 23, 2020 | Comments Off on Vestiges of New York: the taxi light

All cities have vestiges, things that once made sense but over time became obsolete, yet still remain. In my former house I had a small door and nook near the main door where milkmen would once leave milk. Across Toronto you can still see coal doors at basement level, where coal delivery people would shovel in the coal for the coal furnaces.

Elsewhere, here is a great story about taxi signs across New York City that were once used to hail a cab if you needed one. In the days of Uber and Lyft apps, these seem quaint. Just like those apps will seem years from now. Great story, though.

I love the blog that story comes from. It’s full of odd bits of New York, written with love. Well worth diving into.

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Is New York dead yet?

Predictions are hard. Predictions about New York City especially so. This one was written a few years ago, and talks about how gentrification is killing NY: The Death of a Once Great City | Harper’s Magazine.

Now in the midst of the pandemic, that economic costs of that will take a bite out of gentrification, which will be nothing compared to the closures that will occur as this disease hangs over the city and the rest of the world.

Whatever happens to New York, be it 9/11 or gentrification or the pandemic, I think the best and safest prediction is to never count it out. Perhaps some far off day New York will no longer be one of the world’s great cities. Perhaps some day it will die off, like many other great cities have. I think we can predict that day is far away still.

So whenever you read about New York dying of one thing or another, take it with a grain of salt.

(Photo via malteesimo)

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Posted on August 7, 2020 in newyork

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Invisible cities: the eruv of Manhattan

What’s the eruv of Manhattan? Well according to the article below:

The eruv encircles much of Manhattan, acting as a symbolic boundary that turns the very public streets of the city into a private space, much like one’s own home. This allows people to freely communicate and socialize on the Sabbath—and carry whatever they please—without having to worry about breaking Jewish law.

Here’s a map of it:

You might think that it is hard to believe such a thing could last for long, but as this piece shows, it is diligently maintained.

I found this fascinating. There’s many interesting aspects of New York, but this is one of the better ones. For more on this, read: There’s a Wire Above Manhattan That You’ve Probably Never Noticed

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Posted on July 2, 2020 in new!, newyork

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On Haring, Basquiat and the art that defined 80s New York


Some good links on the art of the 1980s, of which Basquiat and Haring played a big part, here and here.

Most of the time the links I post are mostly because I want other people to know about them. Links that talk about my youth are mainly for me. 🙂 But fans of either painter or art of that time should click through.

Painting above by Haring in tribute to Basquiat. May they both RIP.

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Posted on June 22, 2020 in art, new!

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New York in winter: a photoessay

I love and miss New York. So I enjoyed this photo essay: New York in the Snow Photography Series – Fubiz Media.

It’s not a series of photos of great architecture or famous people. It’s simply a sequence of photos of NYC at night covered in snow. It’s wonderful and wistful.

Enjoy.

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Posted on May 12, 2020 in newyork

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On Prune, and restaurants in general

Many many people were blown away by this piece written by Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune fame: My Restaurant Was My Life for 20 Years. Does the World Need It Anymore? in The New York Times. 

She’s a great writer, and a great restaurateur, writing about a time of peril for all restaurants.

During the pandemic I’ve thought about it often, as well as the future of restaurants. I don’t know a fraction about the business Hamilton excels in, other than to recognize that even for someone good at it, it’s a hard business. It was a hard business before when places were jammed with hungry eaters. It may well be impossible now.

My hope is that knowing that  restaurateurs are smart, hard working and passionate people.  They have managed in difficult situations before. They will find a way to make the foods that they love and feed them to us. And we will find a way to get out and support them.

I have had a number of meals at Prune, and they have been some of the finest of times for me. Here’s to it and many more places coming back soon and giving us meals and memories that make life worthwhile.

(Image is a link to the Village Voice.)

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Posted on May 7, 2020 in newyork

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A tale of two Condé Nasts

One, the new hip Condé Nast:  How Bon Appétit Accidentally Made YouTube’s Most Beloved Stars

Two, the Condé Nast of the pre-digital age: Chaos at Condé Nast

It’s fascinating to read them together. Clearly a lot has changed since the turn of the century. While Bon Appétit is clearly on to something, it’s like a fluke that doesn’t translate across the rest of the organization. And regardless of how well they do — and I hope they do well — the golden pre-digital age is gone and not coming back.

Good weekend reading. That you likely are reading on a phone or tablet.

 

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Posted on February 22, 2020 in culture, new!

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It’s winter in New York. You don’t want to be outside. So go see these places.

Yesterday I showed you how to cry in New York. Today I want to show you how to enjoy New York when the weather is less than ideal. The best way to do that is to be indoors. And the best way to enjoy the indoors in New York is to visit the most beautiful interiors in New York City

P.S. If you are a fan of New York like I am, then ny.curbed.com might be for you too.

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Posted on February 20, 2020 in new!, newyork

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What are the best places in New York City’s to cry in public?

Yes, it is an odd list. And yes, you might not find it useful. But read it. Make notes. You will find some wonderful places in NYC as a result. Even if you never plan to cry in public: New York City’s best places to cry in public, mapped

(And if you do plan to cry in public in New York, you are now all set!)

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Posted on February 19, 2020 in newyork

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What are the most beautiful streets in New York City?


The folks at the Thrillist have a great list, here, including images such as the one above.

It would be great to go to NYC again just to visit some or all of these.

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Posted on October 23, 2019 in new!, newyork

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A bold maximalism


Meanwhile a bold maximalism is achieved here, not so much by the amount of items as by the amount of bold colours and prints used throughout the place. It’s still not a big place, but it feels right. I guess that is all relative, but I love this.

For more, see This Manhattan Home Feels Like a Jewel Box | A Cup of Jo

(Image a link from the above article in A Cup of Jo)

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Posted on August 31, 2019 in homes, new!

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Photoessay: A Field Guide to New York Workers


This is great: A Field Guide to New York Workers – People in NYC | Topic.

All the people you typically see in NYC. Well worth a look.

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Posted on August 18, 2019 in new!, newyork

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On the super tall and skinny buildings popping up all over New York City

New York City has had skyscrapers for a long time. A new twist on the skyscraper is the super skinny ones popping up all over Manhattan. There’s plenty of reasons for that, and the Guardian well documents that, here: Super-tall, super-skinny, super-expensive: the ‘pencil towers’ of New York’s super-rich | Cities | The Guardian.

I don’t particularly like them, but like all buildings, I am sure they will grow on me over time. They seem too featureless. Their main feature seems to be the thinness. That hardly puts them in the same class as the Chrysler Building or the Empire State Building.

Regardless of your thoughts on them, the article in the Guardian is good.

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Posted on August 14, 2019 in new!, newyork

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Crunch time for Barneys


Bad news for Barneys, the premiere merchant in NYC. On one hand they are getting hit with a huge rent increase, and on the other, people’s shopping habits are changing. Could this be the end? It seems so.

See this for more: Bankruptcy for Barneys? Symbol of New York luxe faces uncertain future | US news | The Guardian

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Posted on July 26, 2019 in new!, newyork

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The Restaurant That Has Helped New Yorkers Feel Famous Since 1984 and other links to NYC


For fans of NY back when, or people just curious about a very different New York then the current one, here’s a bunch of links worth reading:

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Posted on July 19, 2019 in new!, newyork, nytimes.com

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New York’s tea water pumps

This is a fascinating story: The famous tea water pumps of 1700s New York | Ephemeral New York. 

Hard to imagine now, if you’ve seen NYC, to think of water being drawn this way. Good weekend morning reading!

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Posted on July 6, 2019 in new!, newyork

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The Widows of the Plaza Hotel

This is a great read: The Widows of the Plaza Hotel – The New York Times. 

If you love New York, hotels, stories of odd balls, and people sticking it to Donald Trump, you will want to read that story. I ate it up! 🙂

(Image hotels.com)

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Posted on June 8, 2019 in new!, newyork

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