I Love NY

33 Reasons Why I ♥ NY  (and you will, too)       

1. Central Park, the green oasis that has kept New Yorkers sane for more than 150 years.

2. Grand Central Terminal’s main concourse at rush hour, a majestic Beaux Arts framework for the hustle and bustle of a great metropolis.

3. Pizza, almost anywhere, but the classic NY slice at Bleecker Street Pizza or the whole pies at Juliana’s may be the best. When you’re broke, try the $1 slice at Percy’s Pizza.

4. Chelsea, with the finest collection of FREE art galleries in the world, and more than a few good places to eat and drink too.

5. The Brooklyn Heights promenade overlooking the NYCity skyline, after a stroll through the Heights, my fave brownstone neighborhood – only one stop from Wall St.

6. Being a member of MoMA and exploring the fine art and special exhibitions one gallery at a time, or viewing classic films available nowhere else.

7. Annual Open House NY weekend that celebrates NYCity’s extraordinary architecture and design by offering rare access and insight.

8. Times Square, but only at night, when the neon lights make a spectacular background for the crossroads of the world.

9. The main branch of the NYPL, with the majestic Rose main reading room – 300 ft long with magnificent chandeliers and stunning ceiling murals (now recently restored).

10. The Staten Island Ferry, still free after all these years. But that’s not all – sail at dusk across NY harbor for memorable views of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Verrazano Bridge and the awesome lower Manhattan Skyline.

11. The raw bar special at “Fish” on Bleecker St. – $9 for 1/2 doz of the freshest clams or oysters and a glass of wine or beer. Alas, now closed, another victim of Covid. Will be missed.

12. The dinosaurs and the great blue whale in the American Museum of Natural History.

13. The fountain in the center of Lincoln Center’s plaza, spouting white-lit jets of water at night, with the golden lobby of the Metropolitan Opera just behind.

14. Because in the Glory Days of the 1950’s, the 3 best baseball teams in the whole world were our home teams – the NY Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers, and NY Yankees.

15. The Chrysler Building, the greatest skyscraper of them all, and the Woolworth Building’s spectacular lobby, with vaulted mosaic ceiling & stained-glass skylight.

16. Aperitivo at Ovest Pizzoteca on far west 27th street – happy hour on steroids.

17. Join the Five Boro Bike Tour on the first Sunday in May and pedal your way through all five boroughs on a traffic-free, 40-mile course – one of the best ways to see NYCity.

18. The iconic spiral of the Guggenheim, start at the top for a relaxing way to view the Chagall’s, Picasso’s, and the most Kandinsky’s in the U.S.

19. The eclectic music found every night at Caffe Vivaldi, an old time classic club in the Village, or Jim Caruso’s “Cast Party” at Birdland on Monday nights, where Broadway performers relax on their night off and belt out their fave tunes.
Alas, Caffe V entertains no longer, another victim of a rapacious landlord.

20.  Picnic on the grounds of the Cloisters in northern Manhattan, after viewing the medieval wonders inside. You will be overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades, and the George Washington Bridge (our Golden Gate),

21. Celebrate the end of summer with the world’s best tennis players up close in the outer stadiums & courts at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadow.

22. Pete Hamill (R.I.P.), Paul Simon, Martin Scorsese, Richard Price, Vin Scelsa, Woody Allen, and now all the brilliant young people who arrive from far and wide, looking for fame and fortune, and who give this town a jolt of energy.

23. A stroll, a jog, a bike ride along the Hudson River Greenway – start at the Battery, then head north thru Hudson River Park and Riverside Park, headed to the Little Red Lighthouse.

24. Performances at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the cultural heart of the cultural capital of the world. BAM is pretty good, too.

25. View from the Top of the Rock on a clear twilight, or have a drink with your view at 230 Fifth, NYCity’s largest rooftop garden.

26. Retire in this town and you can learn something new every day at one of the major universities, museums, libraries, or cultural & historical organizations – who needs golf.

27. The NY Mets – into every life a little rain must fall, but once in a generation when they win it all, it’s so very special.

28. Burger and a beer at the Burger Joint, hidden in a former storeroom in the uber fancy Parker Meridien hotel, or at the Corner Bistro in the West Village (not so fancy).

29. The Rockettes Christmas show at the Radio City Music Hall, an Art Deco masterpiece.

30. West Side Story, an unforgetable musical by some very talented, home grown New Yorkers, that captures the energy and intensity of this city like no other.

31. New Directors/New Films Festival, at MoMA and Film Society of Lincoln Center every spring, where you may discover the next Pedro Almodovar – we did.

32. There’s still room for Jimmy’s Corner bar in Times Square, the best damn dive bar in this town.

33. the Bronx – home of the oldest bridge in NYCity (the High Bridge), the Sacred Heart Crusaders, Tolentine Wildcats and Manhattan College Jaspers. Who else went to grammar school, high school and college in the Bronx?

Plus, the Bronx is also home to the largest metropolitan zoo in America, the ghost of the original Yankee Stadium, and the holy cannoli and cappuccino at DeLillo Pastry in NYCity’s real Little Italy, “Arthur Avenue”.

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