Crew Log for May 13th – 16th, 2023
We had planned to spend a few days in New York City last fall on our way through. However, we had a good weather window to get down the East River and through New York Harbor, which shortened our time at Port Washington. And in all honesty, after the excitement of travelling past Manhattan, Brooklyn and within meters of the Statue of Liberty on our own boat, both Judy and I agreed that we’d appreciate a visit into the city more on the way back. Plus, it would give us something to look forward to, during those long hours creeping up the east coast.
Neither of us had ever been to New York City. We’d driven close to it a few times on our windsurfing trips to Hatteras. To say we were excited and apprehensive, would be a bit of an understatement. Not only are we generally more comfortable on a quiet beach or wooded trail, we had been on a sailboat for the past 9 months, where solitude was the norm.
Judy had a big birthday coming up in a couple of weeks and we figured the best way to celebrate it was with a visit to one of the world’s most iconic cities. While most of our fellow boaters would do day trips in and out of the city, Judy and I decided to book a hotel room close to the theater district, and spoil ourselves.
I struggled to figure out how to sum up the whole experience and not overwhelm the conversation with endless details that read like a teenager’s diary of their summer vacation. After all, other than Judy and I, most people have been to New York. Many multiple times. Indulge me by letting me tell you about our trip. I’ll start at the end.
Overall impressions…
It is an incredibly busy city. Sidewalks are filled with a steady flow of people moving in both directions. The streets are filled with bikes, cabs, buses, delivery vehicles and cars. But yet, it all seems to work.
Given we have been traveling on a sailboat, any time we come ashore, our usual mode of transportation is on foot. Given societies obsession with the car, a number of the places we’ve visited would not be described as walkable cities. However, we were amazed at how easy it was to walk in New York. Despite its scale, it was likely “the most” walkable place we visited. In full disclosure, we were generally off the streets by 2100 – 2200 hours, but felt safe, on the street.
Walking around the city, you will literally at some point during your travels see just about anything you can imagine. Women walking around Times Square in nothing but body paint; men strolling through Central Park in their underwear; people walking around dressed as cartoon characters; a dude with a cup full of joints selling them on the street corner; people dressed as super models and others taking the urban hobo chic look to the extreme. It all seems to be "normal".
Entire buildings double as billboards; neon signs promoting the Broadway productions to the latest Nike sneaker; famous theaters hosting late night talk show celebrities; buildings so high the sun only reaches the street for the briefest of moments everyday; and nicest public washroom I have ever been in.
There are obviously a lot of people that live in New York. But there also appeared to be a lot of tourists, or people in the city on business. In our hotel for example, english was rarely heard at breakfast in the morning.
New York is a noisy city. I know that sounds silly, but as I sit in a quiet anchorage on our boat writing this, I can still hear the echo of the traffic, construction, helicopters, planes, sirens, horns, voices and music that fills the entire air space in New York. And it goes on day and night.
During our 3.5 days of shore leave, we only scratched the surface of this amazing city, however, we quickly started to appreciate the how the vibe of the neighborhood changes as you walk from one part of the city to another. You even appreciate the different faces you see on the subway depending on what route you’re on.
New York City was an amazing experience. Here’s how it started.
The morning we were leaving, I was up early as usual, and wandering around the grounds of the Great Kills Yacht Club. This guy rolls up in a big SUV, looking like a character right out of the Godfather, short cropped hair, sunglasses, tough looking dude. He says in his thick New York accent, “What are you doing?”. “I’m on a boat”, I replied. “We don’t like people wandering around up here”. To which I quickly responded before things got worse, “oh no, we are saying here. We are on Elizabeth M…sailboat on A dock”. “OH, you’re a Looper! Well welcome. I’m the Director of Security. You have a nice visit and let me know if there is anything I can do for you”.
When we were leaving for the bus, the guys in the boatyard asked where we headed. “To the City”, I said. “Why would you want to do that?”, they’d reply. “Well, we’ve never been there”. “Oh, well, I guess you gotta go once, but that’d be enough”.
Our trip from Staten Island to midtown Manhattan, couldn’t have been easier. We walked a few steps up the hill and caught the Express Coach that dropped us a block away from our hotel on 44th. It was comfortable and entertaining to not only watch the scenery on the outside go by, but to watch the different people getting on and off the bus as we travelled from Staten Island, and into the various “districts” in New York.
Our first “task” after checking in was to walk down to the “same day” ticket center to get tickets for a couple of shows. Judy did an amazing amount of research into what shows she thought we’d both enjoy and came equipped with her list. It has never been very clear on how much we saved by standing in line for the tickets, but it was substantial, which is why we decided on 2 shows.
“Shucked”, was a hilariously funny story about a small town trying to come to grips with poor corn crops. Two residents of the rural Midwestern community of Cobb County, are forced to postpone their wedding when the corn crop is blighted. Maizy, on the advice of her cousin Lulu, the local whiskey distiller, leaves town to try and find a way to save their corn. It was filled with amazing one liners and entertaining music and earned 9 Tony Awards nominations. The actor that played Lulu, was also the first non binary actor to receive the Tony Award for best actor. Their performance was amazing and the award well deserved.
My favorite one liners, or least the ones I can remember....
“Like the cashier in the fast food restaurant says, change is hard”. “Head over heals, just means you’re standing up”. “Like the proctologist with small hands said, I know there’s a problem, I just can’t put my finger on it”
We also attended the “Book of Mormon”, written by the creators of South Park. The story follows two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they attempt to preach the faith to the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village. If you have even the slightest sensitivities to anything, swearing, sex, religion, homophobia, do not go to the Book of Mormon. It is a dark, edgy comedy where nothing is off limits. It was incredibly well done. But, we’re not sensitive people.
Perhaps the most unique New York experience for us, was hanging out (in daylight hours), around Times Square and just watching the people. Of course, the place was filled with everyone from Rappers trying to sell you their latest CD, to a singing cowboy wearing a white thong bathing suit, to shirtless street performers doing, we’re not sure what. There is a permanent set of bleachers at Times Square that were filled with people, just sitting and watching the goings on, just like us. We also grabbed a slice of pizza and watched New York go by. It was all very entertaining.
The hotel we stayed at hosted a walking tour of the area of the city around the hotel. Our tour guide, Sonya, was a visual artist, who also loved history and architecture. We had been walking through the area for a couple of days, but never really appreciated the details until our walk with Sonya. It was analogous to me going for a walk through the woods alone, or walking with Judy, who sees infinitely more detail than I do on my own.
We stayed at the Iroquois, which Sonya explained, was originally built as a “live in” hotel. There were several postcards framed on the wall from some of the hotel’s more famous guests, including actor, James Dean, who lived there for 2 years. I'm doubtful you'll ever see an Elizabeth M postcard on the walls, but we enjoyed our stay.
We noticed that many of the older buildings in the area had very ornate fire escapes. Apparently after the “Shirt Waste” fire, the city passed a bylaw requiring all buildings to have fire escapes. Most of them had to be attached to the exterior of the buildings.. In order to maintain an attractive appearance, the fire escapes were meticulously constructed.
We also learned that New York City has some of the best drinking water in the country and the best water pressure. Many of the buildings, including newer buildings, have wooden water tanks on the roof, which ensures good pressure.
Our guide explained to us that Grand Central Terminal, the correct name, not Grand Central Station, was built as a celebration of electricity and train travel. There was a strong lobby in more recent history to have the aging structure torn down and replaced with a more modern structure that some believed would signal New York as a progressive city. Jacqueline Kennedy stepped in with a successful campaign to save the terminal and spare it from the developers.
It truly is, a beautiful building inside and out and, very well maintained. The central clock in the center of the main terminal was built by Tiffany and spans 2 floors. The statues on the exterior of the building stand at over 5 stories high and were designed by the same artist who carved the detail on the exterior of the New York Yacht Club. And, if you are not familiar with the “Whispering Hall”, it truly is an amazing architectural phenomena.
Our final stop was Bryant Park, adjacent to the New York Public Library. The library was closed on the day of our city walk, but the Park was a busy spot. Before it was a park, Bryant Park was a undeveloped sandlot, that became a popular hang out for homeless people and drug dealers. In 1990, as part of a broader initiative to clean up the downtown, the city created the park, which has a massive central green space, surrounded by a seating area and the nicest public washroom in the city, perhaps anywhere. You can even enjoy classical music, while you do your business. There was a craft fair going on around the Park the day we visited.
One thing we felt was important to do during our visit, was to visit the 911 Memorial. Neither Judy or I are rubber-neckers, who enjoy a good car crash. However, when you pause for a moment and think about how profoundly life changing the events of 911 were, and continue to be, it seemed inappropriate not to take a moment to pay our respects and reflect on the events.
The museum and the memorials are beautifully done, although it is impossible to take it all in at one go. Despite the thoroughness of the exhibit, it is still difficult to appreciate the full impact the events had on the people of New York, given the normalcy of present day life in the city.
We also wanted to visit Central Park. Aside from the fact that we love natural areas, Central Park is an iconic space that is immediately recognizable. Weaving our way through the endless paths and trails, we were amazed at the diversity of the space. From large open fields, historic promenades, maze like walking paths to beautiful common areas surrounding ponds, the air filled with sounds from a school aged trumpet player or a older gentleman playing an ancient Chinese stringed instrument. The massive buildings on the horizon served as a reminder that we weren’t far from the normal chaos of New York City.
Our final visit was to the New York Public Library around the corner from our hotel on 42nd Street and 5th Avenue. Referred to as the Main Branch, it is easily recognizable by lion statues named Patience and Fortitude that sit either side of the entrance. The branch was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and designated a New York City Landmark in 1967.
The building itself was architecturally amazing both outside and inside. The exterior features a relaxing courtyard, ornate fountains and those famous lions. Inside there are elegant stairways, detailed stonework carvings, painted ceilings and beautiful stained glass windows.
The library includes the Polonsky Treasures Exhibition, showcasing some of the most extraordinary items from the 56 million in the library’s collections, including historical speeches; the origins of modern-day navigation; original music from the most important contributors of classical music; and there we even original drawings of Winnie the Poo. The treasures in the exhibition tell the stories of people, places, and moments spanning 4,000 years—from the emergence of the written word through to the present day. There was also an entire section devoted to Darwin, which included original letters, drawings and notes written to the scientist from his colleagues.
Despite feeling exhausted and a tad overwhelmed, our first trip to New York City exceeded any expectations either of us had. We thoroughly enjoyed the city and by the end of it, felt comfortable with the busyness of New York, New York. Just as if we were lifetime New Yorkers, we causally strolled out onto 5th Avenue, stepped aboard the Express Coach and made our way back to Staten Island and back to our home away from home, Elizabeth M.
By the time the bus crossed the Narrows, we were already back into planning the next leg of our journey, a trip up the East River and through the notorious Hell Gate. Having done the same route, in reverse last fall, we were familiar with the challenges, which didn’t necessarily relieve the anxiety.
Little did we know, our biggest challenge would face us before we even left the safety of Great Kills Harbor.
But more about that, next time.
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