New York 5/03

On Memorial Day weekend 2003 I finally got around to visiting New York, thanks to a reasonably cheap flight from Delta airlines.

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I stayed at a small place in the East Village area in South Manhattan - Hotel 17. Ridiculously cheap for NY, it worked out at $60 a night or less. Apparently the place used to be a complete dive before (and was a famous dive, featuring in Madonna's Bedtime Stories and Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery), but it has been recently renovated. Great location too - just a short walk away from the Union Square area or Chelsea. Not a fabulous view, but not bad either. Nice to have a green space outside - woke up to the sounds of lots of birds chirping - which I wasn't expecting in NY. It's overrated. The traffic ruins it - they should pedestrianize the whole thing. London's West End - Picadilly Square and Leicester Square - are much nicer. Next time I go to NY, I'll do the tour... Radio City Hall reflecting in the metal entrance to the subway stop opposite it. Was walking Rockefeller towards Grand Central when this caught my eye... They're famous for their expensive jewelery and lamps (and breakfast) - but who knew they also did garbage collection?? My favorite NY scraper... I didn't go up to the deck on this visit, since it was cloudy the whole time (except on the Monday); but the low clouds do make for some really cool photos. Near Union Square - lit up in USA colors since for Memorial Day Outside of core Manhattan, some of the subway lines are actually elevated. For this stretch, the ground level of Manhattan drops quite a bit, but the lines stay level. This is in the upper west-side, on the way to Morningside Heights. One of the pillars on the main door of the Cathedral of St. John The Divine, in the upper West-side; the cathedral is still very much under construction. While only traditional building techniques are being used, some of the themes and images in the stained glass windows and stonework is contemporary - this one shows NY being destroyed by a tidal wave. And it's rather high inside. Back down to Wall street ...and then time for a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I discovered later on in the week that this was actually the official 120th birthday of the bridge. Probably my favorite photo from the NY trip; great colors, from the hazy blue sky to the black and white city to the orange glow of the bridge lighting and traffic. Another bridge pic After crossing the bridge, ended up in Brooklyn, so took a subway back to Manhattan, and got off in Grand Central. Two great landmarks in one photo Saw this store while walking down 6th Ave - such a pretty window display, had to take a photo. In New York, even the plumbing has attitude. This pair looks like punks all dressed up for a night out on the town. Monday morning, exploring the south of East Village - came across a street that has a lot of stores selling catering equipment - this one has some fine vintage stuff. The cityscape is much flatter here, unlike the urban canyons of uptown or downtown. West Village - yet another different type of cityscape Tuesday morning - and the weather finally picks up! Time to take the ferry! Head down south to the tip of Manhattan, and say Hi to the famous bull... ...then board the free Staten Island Ferry for views of Ms. Lib... ... and enjout the view, like everyone else. The Liberty cafe - the ferry is one of the few forms of public transit on which you can purchase beer. Head back to Manhattan... ...grab a sandwich near Times Square, and head to Central Park to eat it, before heading back down to the East Village to collect my things and head back to JFK to catch the flight home.