My View on Views

As you know very well by now, I absolutely love how the city looks at night with all its twinkling lights... so imagine how much more so I love seeing it from above.

I'm talking about all those incredible views that the numerous New York City skyscrapers provide.

The problem is that I'm afraid of heights. Yes, I admit it. But that doesn't stop me from checking out the magical views from staggering heights. But only if I know I'm protected by a strong window or fence, and only if I stay far enough away from the edge.

A few weeks ago, I was babysitting a family that lives on the 18th floor of an apartment building in Lincoln Center.

It's a little blurry, but their view is unbelievable!

The two streets that are branching off are Broadway on the left side and Columbus Avenue on the right side. It's amazing how you can see dozens of blocks uptown from their dining room window.

The building on the bottom left is Lincoln Center. And guess what you can see from their window.
Revson Fountain!

(I wish I had a better picture of it, but it's really hard to take a picture from so high up while being afraid of falling at the same time):

Where is the fountain exactly?
In the center of the photograph, on the ground in the courtyard between the buildings, there are concentric circles. In the center of the circles is the Revson fountain.

Imagine having a fountain as part of your view... so awesome.

A family friend who lives around the corner from me has an amazing view from her roof. I took this picture last year right after a huge snowstorm (remember snow? Yeah, I miss it too).

That's the Hudson River over there.

I also think that the rooftops of other buildings are interesting to look at, especially because you generally see the buildings bottom-up. My favorite rooftops are the ones that have secret rooftop gardens on them.

Of course, how can I talk about views in New York City without mentioning the views from famous skyscrapers.

I was lucky to visit the top of the World Trade Center when I was a young child. My only memory of it is getting gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe while walking around the observation deck.

I went to the top of the Empire State Building in June 2010 with a few friends.

And I visited the Top of the Rock last year. Of them all, I think the Top of the Rock has the best view. Yes, I did stand five feet away from the edge until I forced myself to move closer.

Credit: www.wikipedia.com (view from the Top of the Rock)

As any New York City tourist will tell you, the charm of viewing NYC from above is how everything below looks like part of a doll's house. Miniature cars, ant size people, and toy buildings.

So until I manage to win the lottery and sightsee around the world, I'm happy to continue touring New York City and finding incredible views from above instead.

Is this Really Manhattan?

It is so rare to see a house in the city that it always hits you as being completely out of place.

I wrote about Pomander Walk a few months ago. They were the only houses I've ever seen in Manhattan my whole entire life.

Until I went to Washington Heights a few weeks ago and discovered this:

Check out the house of the far left. Looks really interesting.

I did some research, and it has a really fascinating history.

Built in 1885, 670 West 187th was intended to be a one family house. It has three bedrooms, servants quarters in the attic, a kitchen, pantry, dining room, sitting room, and a large foyer. Novel at the time, this house also had indoor plumbing.

The oddest thing I found was evidence of many, many families who rented the house and then vacated the property within a few weeks.

I dug a little more, and found out that upon arrival, loads of strange things began to occur. Creaking sounds from an unoccupied attic, doors swinging open and shut on a windless night, and strange bangs and clangs from the basement. To make matters worse, there was a room in the house that had mysterious scratches along one wall.

Needless to say, many families opted towards finding other living arrangements than to occupy this house on 187th street.

Really, really weird.


...


But in fact, everything I just said above was completely fabricated. Totally made up (hehe).
I actually did no research (I don't know how to research properties). This house gives such a spooky look that my imagination completely took over.

Check it out in the summertime. How positively eerie!!

The house next door looks quite nice, but the one on the right also looks pretty disheveled.

Around the corner, on Wadsworth Avenue, I saw even more houses!

I seriously wonder about its history! Can anyone help me out?? Please?


A friend sent me this picture a few months ago of another cool "totally not-New York" scene:

In her message she wrote, "a front porch in New York City! 92nd between Lexington and Park!"
I also notice the red door, which I think is a really nice added touch.

Imagine sitting on the front porch of this house and drinking tea, doing some sewing, and watching all the traffic go by. What a difference from a typical country scene where such a porch would normally be found!

What a cool find!

Look at the Buds!

Finally.

I've been waiting all winter for this!

Back in November, I wrote about the beautiful Fall foliage. But that only lasted a few weeks. Once they all fell onto the ground, turned into brown mush, and got swept away by the rain and wind, I've been seriously missing the greenery.

These bare trees just don't do it for me.

They're just so depressing, standing up there all spindly and empty.

A few days ago I started to notice...

BUDS!!!!!

Yes, I'm that excited. (I don't think I ever grew up).

Has Spring sprung? I don't think it has quite yet, but it sure looks like it's coming soon.

We've made progress - check out what I noticed today on Broadway:

And in Queens:

I get a lot of strange looks when I go around snapping pictures of trees. 

One of my favorite parts about Spring are the beautiful yellow daffodils that emerge. I started seeing evidence of their imminent arrival in some planters around my neighborhood today:

The earth is waking up! And now that we have a whole extra hour of daylight, we can make the most of the beautiful weather and finally spend some more time outdoors. 

I'm looking forward to the flowers.

What an awesome world we live in.

Happy Spring!

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Update 3/15

Just saw this yesterday!

My Personal "Neverland"

I was in the neighborhood today and decided to drop in.
I subsequently found my new favorite urban retreat in New York City.

Credit: www.mommypoppins.com

I'm a kid at heart. That's about all I can say.

When first I entered the Children's Center at the New York Public Library on 42nd street, my whole demeanor changed. I was in wonderland.

First of all, the room is super colorful, and you know how much I love colors. Second, it is filled, from floor to ceiling, with PICTURE BOOKS!!

Credit: www.timeoutnewyorkkids.com

The Children's Center opened in November 2008, but I never made my way down there until today. Apparently, it is home to over 50,000 children's books, hundreds of CDs and DVDs, and even has an original Winnie the Poo bear.

I absolutely love the artwork on the walls - the murals depict landmarks of New York City.

Credit: www.timeoutnewyorkkids.com

I sat in the Children's Room for an hour (I could have stayed much longer, but real life was beckoning) reading picture books. Did you know that "the picture book" is a real form of literature? Well, it is. It takes quite a talent to write an amazing picture book.

credit: www.timeoutnewyorkkids.com

I focused on the picture books by Shel Silverstein (author of The Giving Tree) and Patricia Pollaco (wrote too many books to count, each one better than the next). I could have spent hours there perusing the shelves, reading and reading.

The Children's Center is located in the same building as the Rose Reading Room which I wrote about a few months ago. But I so much rather this world of children over the stuffy, rigid world of grown-ups ;-).

Maybe I shouldn't have called it wonderland. I think the Children's Room is my personal Neverland. Peter Pan, here I come!

Slippery Skates

Finally, after months on my to-do list, I went ice skating at Bryant Park.

My friend and I attempted twice before to skate on The Pond at Bryant Park, but it didn't work out for a variety of reasons (namely, crowds). We decided to go in the middle of the day this time, so we wouldn't have to deal with any lines or crowds. It also didn't hurt that the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

Ice skating is one of those classic winter activities. My family used to skate every winter at Wollman Rink in Central Park.

I hadn't skated for years, so my ice skating experience at Bryant Park didn't start off all that rosy. I clutched onto the wall for dear life for the first 45 minutes. After that, I trepidatiously moved about a  foot away from the wall, and slowly, slowly, with my hands swinging like a mad-man, made my way around the rink.

And then, miracle of miracles, I got used to it!!! And I became professional! (I'm not joking). I zoomed around the ice, no care in the world, zig zagging in between the other skaters, having the time of my life.
(okay, maybe this is a bit fabricated, but I still got really good. Even ask my friend).

Credit: blog.bryantpark.org

I'll be honest, I like Wollman Rink much better. But I think that Bryant Park is beautiful during the month of December, with all its twinkly lights and quaint little shops. At night, of course.

Maybe I'll still get to skate at Wollman Rink sometime this winter. And Rockefeller Center, as well. Anyone care to join?

Tap City!

I went to see the Tap City Youth Ensemble with my grandmother at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House this past Sunday.

It was really amazing!!!

The dancers were unbelievably talented, and their show was not only entertaining, it was also very educational.

Check out this video to see what I mean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkL7cc64jr8
Take notice of the "Gum Boot" dance scene (4:15) - this was really new to me, and I found it to be super interesting.

I absolutely LOVE tap dancing (I took tap for a few years), and I especially enjoyed seeing these young, energetic teenagers bring-down-the-house with their awesome beats and rhythms. Their style was very different than the Savion Glover show I saw back in June.

Here is one bit from the performance that I managed to get on camera:

Enjoy!

The Creative Little Garden

There's not much to say other than this is one of my absolute favorite hidden spots in New York City.

I found The Creative Little Garden by accident while I was exploring the East Village last Spring. Nestled between two large buildings, the garden is a true oasis in the middle of noisy city streets. I instantly fell in love. The garden is beautiful and enchanting... with a book in my hands, swinging on the wooden swing, listening to the birds chirp, I discover the real meaning of the word serenity.

Allow me to take you on a tour.

Just past the gates, you see a quiet garden shaded by beautiful trees, vines crawling up the walls and gates, and quaint seating areas on benches and wooden swings:

Stone lined walkway:

A lone wooden rocking chair:

A main attraction of this garden is its collection of colorful bird-feeders.

On any given day, you will see a variety of birds feeding out of these welcoming feeders. And if you don't see them, you certainly hear them chirping from the trees above.

The view towards the street.
As you can see, this garden is a quiet reading place for many neighborhood residents.

Treehouses, a clock and other cool figurines decorate the garden:

A panoramic view of the fire escapes in the buildings around. Notice the red one!

Thank you Nechama for these images! As magnificent as they are, they do not do the garden justice... if you're ever in the East Village, check it out!

The Creative Little Garden is located at 530 East 6th Street, between Avenues A & B and is open April-October from 11am-6pm weather permitting (but I recently went in December, and it was open, so you might be lucky at this time of year if you go).

Check out www.creativelittlegarden.org for more information.

A True Melting Pot

I noticed something intriguing on my way home from school the other day:

To my right there was a guy reading a newspaper in Chinese...

And to my left, there was a guy reading a newspaper in Arabic...

Once I started to take notice, I realized that people were reading all around me in many different languages!

Each person is doing his own thing. Reading in his own language something of interest to him.

I read this article in the New York Times four years ago, and I would love to share it with you. It is one of my favorites:

Reading Underground

New York City is truly a melting pot...

Out and About: Athens Edition

I know, I know I haven't been posting in a while. It's not my fault, really! I was out of the country for the past three weeks, and therefore had nothing to write about my adventures in New York City.

But... I am veering off the theme of this blog to share with you a small adventure I had in Athens, Greece. My stopover in Athens was 15 hours, so I had plenty of time to explore the city and do a bit of shopping. I was in Athens with a friend in the summer of '09, so I knew how to use the transportation system to get around. I must have looked like I knew what I was doing because a few tourists walked over and asked me for directions, which I gladly gave them!

I took the train from the airport to Syntagma Square in the City Center.

 The train stations have music playing in them! How cool. (Note to MTA: get music in our train stations!)

A classic European city, Athens has dozens of small little cobblestone streets leading off to who-knows-where. (This is Karaiskaki Street):

The most beautiful part about Athens is the Acropolis in the center of the city, clearly visible from wherever you are located.

At night:

There are also ruins practically everywhere:

I was on a mission to purchase a glass plate that I had seen the last time I visited Athens, so I made my way over to the flea market in Monastiraki Square.

One thing I noticed in Athens are the wild dogs. In NYC we have wild birds and squirrels, but in Greece they have dogs. No, they don't bite or hurt anyone... they just hang out and chill on benches and doorsteps. Go figure.

An old lady selling roasted chestnuts. They smelled really good! And check out the Greek graffiti in the background.

The Athens Flea Market is filled with many different colors and smells. You can find shoes, antiques, food, clothing, beads (Greece has beautiful beads), glass-work, and odds and ends there.

I bought a beautiful fused glass plate!

Stunning, right? I absolutely love fused glass.

If anyone ever has stop-over in Greece, even if it's just for a few hours, please let me know and I'll give you tips on where to go and what to do!

On my way to the train station, I passed the quieter Monastiraki Square. As much as I love NYC at night, Athens is a good runner-up.

Shout out to Rabbi and Mrs. Hendel: Thank you for taking such good care of me during the evening. It was great to see you again! The food was delicious, and it was especially thrilling to light a menorah on Chanukah in Athens, Greece!!


Regular NYC posts will resume shortly.