The 59th Street Bridge Bike Ride (Feelin’ Groovy)

One Sunday afternoon, I hopped on my bike and headed west. I wanted to see if I could bike from my new neighborhood in Sunnyside, Queens to Manhattan. Bridges and bike lanes were involved. The views were awesome. It was surprisingly easy!

Scenes from biking across the Queensborough Bridge

Simon and Garfunkel singing “Ba da da da da da da, feelin’ groovy” loops in my head the whole bike ride because that song is not technically titled Feelin’ Groovy but The 59th Street Bridge Song.

This bridge has so many names- 59th Street Bridge, Queensboro Bridge, Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge- but only one name makes me think of a song that I’ve loved since I was 9 years old. Read More

[Replay Cliché] Sketched Out In Lincoln Center

Originally posted October 2014. Still one of my more interesting
experiences with a total stranger!

I walked out of the Performing Arts Library just before closing. I’d gone to get a change of scene from my cluttered apartment and to do some writing. Both objectives accomplished, I left feeling good. Not only had I been rather productive, an unexpected bonus of walking around the Sesame Street exhibit currently on the library’s ground floor was absolutely delightful. I stepped out into the crisp night air of Lincoln Center. A man approached me.

lincoln center performing arts library exit — This is what it looks like when you walk out the door of the Library of Performing Arts. In the biz this is what we call making an exit.

“Excuse me,” he said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I was sitting at the table behind you inside. I started sketching you.”

Only in New York, right? He showed me his sketchbook, revealing his view of the back of my head. Now, the back of my head is not very familiar to my eyes. I only really ever see it when I get a haircut and the stylist wants me to admire her blow out skills. Still, I’d say it looked just like the back of my head.

October 23, 2018

Street Art Tuesday: The East Village House That Makes My Imagination Run Wild

Unlike my home town, New York City is not known for colorful buildings. When I found an exception to that rule in the East Village, it made me happy.

I can’t quite figure this building out. The above part is clearly residential. The out-of-this-world street art ground floor? Hard to say, but it sure looks cool.

Dirt Cobain East Village Street Art

October 22, 2018

Frights ‘n’ Delights at Chelsea Market Halloween 2018

My favorite time of year to hang out in Chelsea Market is Halloween.

This witch totes agrees with me.

It can be hard to find Halloween decorations in NYC, but Chelsea Market never disappoints.

This Manhattan shopping destination goes all out with creepy Halloween decorations. So many spooky ghouls hanging from the ceiling and peeping our from corners!

Chelsea Market Halloween

If you’ve never been to Chelsea Market, I’d describe it as a Foodie Mall. The building stretches an entire block of NYC, from 8th Avenue to 9th, 15th Street to 16th. It used to be a factory but now the ground floor has dozens of restaurants and artisanal groceries, dispersed with unique gift shops and often a sample sale or two. It’s always a good place to go if you need a bite to eat, a unique gift, or just need a public rest room under the High Line! Read More

October 19, 2018

New York Weekly Minutes #36

Every Friday I feature some fleeting moments from my week that made me stop and think, “I’m so lucky to live in NYC!” And maybe some that made me think, “Bahaha this city is ridiculous and I love it.” Here we go for the first week that really felt like fall this year!

Rockefeller Center is the best NYC Christmas photo-op. Well, this year 30 Rock is trying to earn that title for fall too! They filled-in the fountains with hundreds of pumpkins, planted every color of mums, and installed a scare crow. Which, I couldn’t help but wonder, if it scares off crows in the country, does it scare off pigeons in the city? When I walked through, the area was flooded with people trying to get the perfect shot – from middle-aged men angling for a flattering selfie to mommy bloggers trying to get the perfect ‘gram of their fab toddler.

October 18, 2018

[Replay Cliché] Ebola on the NYC Street Where I Live

Originally posted October 2014 when everyone was
freaking out about confirmed Ebola in NYC! Ah, the memories…

By now you’ve likely heard: a case of Ebola has been confirmed in NYC.

I could’ve been the first to tell you all about this Ebola case. Why? The infected individual lives on my street. On my block. I’m not kidding.

ebola-nyc-reporters — The current scene at the end of my block in Harlem: reporters and cameras everywhere.

Yesterday started off strange: myself and my 2 roommates all had the day off. This never happens. My roommate April came back from the laundromat around noon. She busted into the apartment, frantic.

“Why is no one picking up their phones!” she cried, “I’ve been calling you both for 15 minutes!”

My other roommate Rose and I had been eating lunch in the kitchen, our phones lying unattended in our bedrooms. “Sorry!” we both apologized, “What’s up? What happened?”

“The whole street in blocked off,” April said, “Police everywhere. I stood there for 15 minutes with my huge laundry bag. I didn’t have my ID and the police weren’t letting any one on the block who doesn’t live here.”

What the hell? What was going on?

October 17, 2018October 18, 2018

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like- FALL! Can We Please Give Fall A Chance to Shine?!

Last Friday in New York, the cold snapped. It was already mid-October, but that morning felt like the real first day of fall. The humidity was sucked out of the air and what it left behind was deliciously crisp. I fished out tights from the dark recesses of my underwear drawer, kissed my sandals good-bye ’til spring, and made my bed with a quilt.

Getting on the subway felt strange without an icy blast of AC. The people-watching seemed a cut above the usual, as if everyone that day had put on new sweater it was finally, finally cold enough to wear. I got to work in jovial spirits and saw work men outside the building.