As one the legion who ride the Long Island Railroad into New York City everyday, I hardly count my daily trips to the Isle of Manhattan a visit. I emerge from the depths of Pennsylvania Station on the 7th Avenue side, and take as direct a path as the street lights allow to my office on Madison Avenue & 27th Street.
But then there are those trips into Manhattan that are simply special. Anyone whose lived in Manhattan as I have (and not "on" it) knows that there's more to this tiny island than the Disney wonderland that is Times Square. No. Outside the realm of gridded streets and avenues; outside the steel and glass boxed office buildings, are real neighborhoods, each with a unique character.
I am a son of the East Village. I grew up in a six story New York City Housing Authority building on 6th Street and Avenue D. But it's been so many years since I've lived in that "barrio", and so much has changed that I've developed this new found appreciation for the island I used to call home.
Despite the mega-construction that seems to be happening everywhere now, there are still many beautiful places in "The City" to visit and enjoy. This weekend, the Spartacus clan got to spend some time with my oldest brother and his family. Armed with a digital camera and a desire to "document" this event, I give you a glimpse of our Saturday afternoon in Morningside Heights.
Here's a couple of views from the promenade in Riverside Park near 116th Street.
The kids also had time to monkey around on rings inside and the park, and on the traffic lights outside of it.......
But there's more to this part of The City than just a places to monkey around. There is also some beautiful pre-war apartment architecture along Claremont Avenue,
and s
ome fine sidewalk art that is hard not to photograph.
We even spotted some "wild life" that is native to this concrete jungle -- a rare sighting of a Manhattan tree mouse!
I know I skipped over the Riverside Church, Grant's Tomb, Columbia University's quad, and some other well-known places. I did that on purpose because there's a bus that leaves from Times Square that''' show you all that and more.
What I wanted to tell you all here is that I am a native New Yorker who is lost in the 'burbs of LI. But, more importantly, for one beautiful afternoon in September, I got to go home..... Peace!
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Over the years teaching at La Scuola d’Italia NY, I have learned that
children are not just students; they are careful observers of the world,
full of q...
6 months ago
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ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post. Morningside Heights... a place that many of the commuting hoards never ever see. And amazingly don't want to!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do remember driving into NYC on Saturday nights in '86 & '87 to skulk around sketchy night spots like the World and the Ritz. I would drive by Morningside Heights on the West Side Highway and pray my car didn't break down. Would I get torched?
Then I would go to someplace actually really dangerous and park my car and pray that it would be there when I left the club at 3am.
And you wonder why I believe in God??? Hahahahahaa.
While I never lived in Manhattan- I am as D-cap would tell you a total B&T(bridge and tunnel) type, I love it.
And the things to love have always been off the beaten path as noted above and also...
Sadly, the "Loaisaida" of your youth gives way to high priced condos and Whole Foods markets. But the gems still exist over there.
As you know -that is right next to my "work" neighborhood.
Great Mexican at La Palapa on E. 9th (or is itnear 1st and good coffee from Porto Rico on the same block. Let's not forget Holy Land Groceries, near Tompkins Square Park. All the best Israeli goods in NYC.
And for Tuscan that will make you come in your pants go to I Coppi, 9th near 1st. A-fucking-mazing.
As for uptown- keep heading north and go to Fort Tyron Park. I must go there and document in the fall before I move away. Between the park, the great view of NJ greenery and the Cloisters museum, it is one of the best spots in NYC.
Thanks for the inspiration of this great post.
DCup - I agree there is something mythological about this place. The conventional wisdom about the Isle of Manhattan is that the Dutch are the ones mostly responsible setting the tone of what it's all about -- an eclectic meeting place where all are welcome to wheel and deal. A live and let live struggle that still permeates. I don't know how much of that lore is true because of the Dutch were not the first settle the place, but there is no doubt that they recognized the beauty of the place and gladly forked over the $24 to buy it.
ReplyDeleteFran - The funny thing about Manhattan is that it's all about change and the preceding generations of people who lived here would be hard pressed to find the landmarks that litter their memories. Not sure how much of NYC history you know, but tenements once occupied the land where the housing projects I grew up in now stand -- the product of Robert Moses's civic juggernaut of the 1950s.
Some would say Moses was a bully in the same manner developers are considered now -- you get more money out of new development. The difference being that while Moses was scoring political points with developers, it could also be argued that he wanted families like mine to have a decent place to live. So, in that sense, I am grateful. After all, my six story building was well maintained, had a working elevator, with rents that are still relatively cheap.
Nice reminder of why I love this city the way I do. I would imagine your neighborhood is no longer even remotely recognizable though.
ReplyDeleteAlecto - I love it, too. In fact, I am seriously thinking about moving back in. It's a long complicated story if you're ever interested. E-mail me if you want to know. My address is in my profile.
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