While I was walking down East 11th street I walked upon the Cinema Village Theater when I saw a man on a ladder changing the lettering on the showing sign in front of the theater. I had never seen them actually change the signs before so I stopped and watched the man. As I was about to continue on with my walk the man yelped out “OH NO!” I looked up and saw the man on the ladder reaching through the air for something. When I turned to see what the man had so dreadfully lost I saw a plastic sheet with the letter “R” written on it blowing down the street going to no particular destination. I thought I’d be nice to the man and help him out so I yelled to him “I’ll grab that for you!” I placed my bag next to his ladder and jogged towards that letter which by now had blown into the intersection where traffic was passing through, driving right on top of it. I waited for the crossing light to turn and then ran out and stomped on the letter just before the wind had a chance to catch it again. I picked it the letter and slowly walking back to the theater I cleaned off the dirt with my jacket. When I got back to the man I handed the letter to him and he popped it in place. We exchanged comments and right before I picked up my bag to leave, the man handed me an “ADMIT ONE” ticket and said “Thank You.”
Posts Tagged ‘new york’
Running For The “R”
Born Again Tourist
What a day! I am a life-long resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, and a trip to New York City is not an uncommon experience. After all, museums, Broadway plays, Central Park, and Rockefeller Center are only a 20 minute bus ride away. But not all New Jersey residents consider New York an extension of the metropolitan lifestyle. Take my boyfriend for example. Joe is the product of a New Jersey suburb and under most circumstances does not venture into the wilds of NYC. But he has had a life-long admiration for the Art Deco design of the Empire State Building. Today would be the day for his first time experience at the legendary building and I would be a born-again tourist!
Joe and I boarded a bus on Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City and took the Lincoln Tunnel into the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd Street. From there, we walked to 35th Street and 5th Avenue. The Empire State Building loomed wonderfully and elegantly above us. We entered its lovely lobby with its Art Deco architecture and style but Joe was eager to see the sights from above. But wait! I wanted him to have the whole Empire State Building experience. So first we visited the Sky Ride which I think is amazingly fun and informative. That is if one likes his seat to move in conjunction with the swooping and dipping of a faux helicopter ride over NYC. Unfortunately, Joe did not appreciate the finer points of this venture and kept his eyes closed for most of the trip. Hopefully, the next leg of our adventure would yield a better result.
Success! We traveled up to the Observation Deck and circumnavigated the floor at least twice before calming down enough to stop and truly appreciate the breathtaking view. The panorama was absolutely unbelievable the bridges, the waterways, the Chrysler Building, the Flat Iron Building. Then the fun really began. Everyone was trying to take pictures of themselves with haphazard results. We offered to take pictures of individuals, couples, and families. In return, they offered to take pictures of us. Ah, picture-taking–the great leveler! We met people from Kentucky, Texas, and Wisconsin as well as Portugal, Brazil, and Italy. We may not all have spoken the same language but we all wanted to have this shared experience.
Well, our journey is almost done. One more stop necessary the gift shop! Now, really, could a visit to the Empire State Building be complete without buying a coffee mug that has King Kong dangling from its handle? Would my Born-Again Tourist metamorphosis be complete without it? Ah, can t wait to put on the coffee maker in the morning!
A Very Bad Date
I love living in New York City, I would never choose to live anywhere else unless I had to. (I’m originally from the south but moved up here with family years ago) I have great friends, great family and a great atmosphere that helps me keep going; those things make me enjoy my life. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed sad or mad when I saw the city, because it’s just that amazing. Well, I am lacking one thing still and that’s a boyfriend. Not too long ago my friends decided they wanted to set me up on a date because they feel that I do need a boyfriend in my life and I figured, why not?
The date started off pretty good, he was relatively attractive, seemed like he had manners, and an awesome accent which is the best part of all! After we got into the date a little more, I started to notice he wasn’t much of a gentleman at all, and I was kind of ready for the date to end. He started saying stuff about if you weren’t from New York then you were complete trash. (I had my accent thank GOD!) He was rude, he didn’t care that others around us could hear. Most of them talked like they were tourists, and if they heard the things that he was saying I doubt that they’d want to come back–I know I wouldn’t. I was texting my friend during this and telling her what was going on and her response was, oh he must have had some alcohol, he doesn’t mean it, but he hadn’t! We were both drinking water! I was so embarassed, I couldn’t believe it. I told myself THIS is why I do not have a boyfriend… I can’t deal with stuff like this, I’m not one to make a scene or deal with people who make a scene. Lets just say I used the excuse I had to get home for a family emergency, he asked if there was going to be a second date and even though this is bad, I said yes and gave him a fake number. Oops! I just wanted out of there as soon as I could.
Next time I would like to meet the guy first and then choose if I want to go on a date with him, no more set ups from my friends.
Minskoff Theatre
I have only been to 4 official theatres in my life, two of them were community theatre’s which were obligations to friends and quite frankly I expected the level of comfort and ambiance I received. The third was the old Majestic Theatre (aka the LaSalle Theatre, aka the Bank of America Theatre), a big step up from community or high school theatres, and until 7 years ago, without a doubt the best theatre I had ever set foot in. The final Theatre I went to was Minskoff Theatre. Until I went there I had never known how great a theatre experience could be.
I had gone the first time with my wife of then only 3 year to see the Fiddler on the Roof. Not being much of a theatre person myself I didn’t have a whole lot of expectations built in and was going more for my wife. The whole pageantry and experience blew me away. The sound within the theatre, not just the quality of the performance, was incredible.
A few years later when the Lion King came out in Minskoff, I did something that floored my two sisters– I volunteered to take my two nephews to the Lion King production at Minskoff, by myself, with my own money. To give some perspective, in my family I am notoriously tight-fisted and notoriously anti-social and the fact that I volunteered surprised everybody except my wife, who said “he’s only going because he loves that theatre, if it was anywhere else, he wouldn’t take them.” And she was right.
To date, I have been to Minskoff Theatre 7 times, once to see Fiddler on the Roof and 6 times to see the Lion King. Once each year and never with the same people.
As much as I hate to admit it, I am a theatre guy now, but I am not going unless it’s to Minskoff.
Luxury at XVI
For a rather luxurious dining experience, imagine the courtyard of Louis XVI, the perfect place for a night on the town or an after work treat. Paris may have its sidewalk cafes with views of the Eiffel tower, but NYC is the place for dining in the clouds. Rooftops are the hideaway of choice for some of New York s most exclusive restaurants, and we at JSD were invited to attend one of the trendiest spots, XVI. Located on the 16th floor of west 251st the venue on a Friday night is positively swarming with professionals and socialites.
On this particular evening we enjoyed the sounds of DJ Pace, who spun an eclectic string of pop and dance hits. He is but one in a rotating assortment of DJs who will grace the locale in the next few weeks. Our scantily, yet tastefully, uniformed waitress milled about the couch littered inner sanctum laden with some of the venues gourmet delectables. We started our evening with a round of cocktails. I opted for the Knickerbocker Special, a refreshing mix of rum, raspberry syrup and lime. My companion took a walk on the wilder side with an El Diablo, a heady mix of Resposado Tequila, Lime and a splash of ginger. Both items served chilled over ice, were a perfect complement to the light summer breeze.
We sipped and admired the opulent décor, which was modeled after the estate and lavish lifestyle of King Louis the 16th. Louis legendary decadence and overspending eventually cost the despot his head, at the guillotine. If you’re a fashion and decor geek like me you will appreciated the custom furnishings and columns. 
The golden accents, rugs and seating are all reminiscent of France’s most luxurious and infamous period. In addition to the beautiful surroundings the equally lovely and cheerful waitstaff roam the venue eager to grant you every request. It’s very much like being an invited guest in the King’s court.
It wasn’t long after the last sips of our beverages that we felt the urge to sample the edible offerings. XVI is not the place for a multi course sit down dinner. It is instead the right space for small plates sized to share with a lucky companion or 2. We started with the Smoked Duck on flatbread. The thinly sliced duck rests on a bed of molten goat cheese and herbs. This was our favorite dish, savory and divine!
We followed the Duck with the Salumi tray. The Salumi and Artisanal cheeses are served in a personalized assortment of your choosing and accompanied by Ficelle, Cornichons and Grainy Mustard—Delicious and decadent finger food at its best. Lastly we tempted our palates with the Lobster and Basil Crostini. Succulent lobster meat is placed gingerly on toasted bread with a generous sprinkling of fresh tomatoes. This is a perfect dish for a seafood lover, especially if cerviche is a favorite. Great tasting food relaxed atmosphere and comfortable surroundings add to the charm of this beautiful venue. With the official opening still weeks away the space has already been featured in photo shoots, a video and will be the locale for a corporate gathering and movie screening. Created as a taste of the luxurious lavish France of Louis the XVI the venue is everything one would want for a glamorous event, or just an evening as it were. However, be forewarned–this is not a space for penny pinchers, opulence does not come cheap. But trust us when we say, XVI is worth every penny.
Les Sans Culottes
Anyone who loves France, French cooking and the atmosphere of a French Bistro should head to the corner of Second Avenue and Fifty-Seventh Street. I discovered Les Sans Culottes by accident one evening when I was a friends house guest in New York City for a week of Broadway Theater. Being an expatriate New Yorker after moving to Florida, I had an open invitation to visit, and so I did. We were taking a stroll up Fifty Seventh Street to have dinner and there it was, a bistro-type eatery that looked as if it would be more at home in Greenwich Village rather than the Upper East Side. We were both in the mood for something new, and we decided to try it.
Billed as a revolutionary French restaurant , the name, Les Sans Culottes, references the citizen soldiers of the French Revolution who were fanatical anti-royalists. Meaning without knee breeches, the sans culottes were usually lower class laborers who hated the aristocracy and the culottes they wore. As a born-again liberal, the name may also have attracted me inside to the casual and cozy interior. I was surprised by the low prices of the three-course prix-fixe dinner which came first with a basket of appetizers including sausages, pate, vegetables and dressing that was enough for a normal dinner. I, on the other hand, am not a normal person when it comes to dinner. I eat slowly and a lot, between sips of wine. The entrée choices had several price ranges and included seafood, fowl, beef and lamb, pork and liver. Chocolate mousse or caramel flan were the dessert choices. I was in dinner heaven and have never been back to New York City without having at least one dinner or lunch at Les Sans Culottes.
Shopping in the Dark
My most unforgettable and craziest shopping memory in New York City took place on a cool November evening in 1965. I had just left work in the garment district of the city and was feeling very proud of myself because my plan was to start my Christmas shopping early for once in my life. I walked a few blocks to the Gimbels Department Store that was located on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Thirty Third Street. Gimbels was Macy s biggest competitor in those days and their sales were legendary, especially their famous basement bargains.
As soon as I headed into the main floor, which was already crowded with evening shoppers, I took the escalator up to the ladies lingerie department where I intended to purchase some sleepwear for my best friend. The saleslady, as they were called back then, was not very helpful and after showing me one or two lacy nightgowns that had been displayed in a glass showcase, I realized that these were not quite the sleepwear I had in mind. Turning around to leave, I decided to take the elevator back down to the main floor instead of riding the escalator. This turned out to be a momentous decision.
When we reached the street level, the elevator operator opened the doors and announced the main floor (yes, they had human operators, no push buttons, in those days). As I stepped out, the lights went out and the entire building was enveloped in total blackness. I heard people calling for help because some riders on the escalator had fallen when it jerked to a stop as the power failed. I didn’t know it at the time but the entire Northeast area of the United States and a great deal of Canada had been blacked out. It became known as the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965.
It took a little while before the store personnel gathered their resources and flashlights to help us customers get our bearings. Finally, they began to escort us to the outside doors. For an instant I hoped that the store would let us spend the night in their bedding department, since there was no transport available. I thought that my walk home to Seventy Second Street and First Avenue might be fraught with danger, what with looting, rioting, etc. Amazingly, there was very little crime that night.
The worst part of my shopping experience, besides not having bought any Christmas presents, was the walk up seventeen flights of stairs after walking home.
Memories from the Mermaid Parade
Having been a Brooklynite for most of my life, including my childhood, I’m surprised that I never stepped out to experience Coney Island’s annual Mermaid Parade until this year. I’ve been a part of the Coney Island community when I attended middle school in the area and worked as a docent at the New York Aquarium for a few years while I was in high school. The Coney Island beach was always the first place I’d visit when summer finally arrives. However, out of all of those memories, I believe that being a part of the Mermaid Parade tradition is the most meaningful of all. It’s still a major reason why people from all over the U.S. visit Coney Island at this time of year and joyful reminder of why Coney Island should be preserved. Everyone from the community either joins in on the parade or camps out along the boardwalk to see the spectacle.
Although this is my first time at the parade, I worked as a volunteer. My high school friend convinced me to go and volunteer together, so both of us were assigned to stand on the boardwalk in front of Nathan’s original hot dog stand at Stillwell Avenue. We brought our DSLR’s and each shot close to 1000 photos that day. The parade featured a family section and an artistic section; the latter is just an euphemism for the section of people who may be marching in the nude. That’s one of the greatest thing about this parade. It’s not only a celebration of the long-awaited summer, but also a chance for the community and non-residential Coney Island lovers to liberate themselves using the aquatic theme. The women are usually dressed as mermaids, whereas the men go as pirates or sailors; plenty of men and women switched gender roles. Many other marine creatures, both real and fictional, got represented as well. We didn’t get to see a major part of the parade, which were the floats and the old-fashioned cars. They weren’t allowed to drive onto the boardwalk. Otherwise, we had an amazing time interacting with the parade participants and cheering them on.
After the parade, we strolled down the streets of vendors and watched the setting sun. I asked my friend why he always speaks of Coney Island so passionately, and frequently came here whenever he visited his home in Staten Island. He said that Coney Island was his happy place; whenever he was sad or unhappy, he’ll just think of Coney Island to cheer himself up. That made sense to me and made me realize that Coney Island was more than just an amusement park on the cheap. It represented a community and decades of tradition that I hope will survive through the massive commercial changes taking place over the next few years.
Twenty-Five Cents of Happiness
My favorite time in New York City was every Sunday morning, when I would get up and head down to the Battery and the Staten Island Ferry. In the early seventies, I was living in an illegal loft in the SOHO district and money was in short supply…so any entertainment I could find had to be cheap. Walking down Broadway past all of the shops and restaurants, some of which were no more than three stools and a counter, gave me a sense of freedom from the 9 to 5 routine that I was stuck in during the week. When I got to Battery Park, depending on the season at the time, there were vendors selling roasted chestnuts in the fall or big soft pretzels and hot dogs the rest of the year. My greatest enjoyment came when I could board the Staten Island Ferry. There’s a line in a Bob Dylan song that goes “If you got a lot of money you can make yourself merry, if you only got a nickel it’s the Staten Island Ferry.” Well, prices have gone up since then, but to me that twenty-five cent ride was best deal any where. It’s cheaper than a New York water taxi, but just as good. It didn’t take long to get out into the harbor and to start taking in the scenery. There was the Statute of Liberty on the right and so was Ellis Island. As the ferry boat approached Staten Island, you could see the Verrazano bridge. It didn’t matter what time of year it was or what the weather was like the sight of the New York skyline from the ferry boat brought me twenty five cents of happiness, every time.
5 Seconds of Fame on Good Morning America
In August of 2007, I moved to Connecticut. I made it a habit to take the train to NYC at least two or three times a month. But my favorite memory is when I went to a Good Morning America taping to see Josh Groban.
My friend and I caught a train to NY around 4 a.m. and arrived at Grand Central sometime after five. We ran the blocks to where the show was taping. We were there early, but there was already a HUGE line. We didn’t get into the taping, but we waited outside, bundled up (it was November). Diane Sawyer came out to talk to us. She noticed my sign (ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A HUG FROM JOSH!) and came over to talk with us. I did end up on TV briefly, screaming and waving with the crowd.
A few friends got pulled into the building to dance during a segment and ended up staying, even meeting Groban. They came running out afterward to tell us all about it! Josh Groban came out after the taping to sign.
Afterwords, we went to this amazing pizza place. It was built in an old cathedral, and it was decked out for Christmas. The pizza in NYC is AMAZING! We got jacked on coffee and headed to TKTS. We ended up scoring seats to Rent! They weren’t the best seats, but the theatre is small enough that it didn’t matter. After Rent we were tired. We trudged to Grand Central and caught the train to Milford where my car was parked. We drove home like zombies and slept for 12 hours, then woke up to organize all our pictures from the day. I even sent my mom a youtube video of my 0.5 second appearance on GMA!