How ironic. Just two days ago (March 1st), I took a photo of a very unique pink stucco building at 114 Waverly Street which was still sporting a Christmas wreath - see photo here. My intention was to illustrate how people can be so our of step with the time. It seemed particularly strange when temperatures had risen to 61 degrees on Friday and many were strolling the streets in shirt sleeves and shorts. Yet one day later, feeling as we did that the worst was over, NYC was hit with a snowstorm of several inches (and a low today of 12 degrees F). The neighborhood was blanketed in white and yesterday I found icicles over 12″ long hanging outside my window. So much for early spring fever.
But this is old news for people in northern USA - prone to irregularity in climate. I wrote of an old friend’s view of contrasts between west coast and east coast - see my article Weather Means Whether.
But New Yorkers adapt very quickly - as easily as summer sandals and shorts are brought out in February, coats and scarves are ready for March’s last blast. So this year it looks like the old adage will apply - “If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.”

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Everyone likes a discount and theater tickets, which have always been pricey in comparison to other forms of entertainment, are one place where a deal is particularly welcome. Seeing a Broadway show is a virtual right of passage for a visitor to New York City, so it should come as no surprise that TKTS, which offers up to 50% discounts on theater tickets, has been a huge success since its inception in 1973. The tickets at the Times Square location are sold on the day-of-performance only. This is a first come, first served operation. No sales online or offsite, so expect lines. The discounts are real, however, this service is for the flexible and patient: those willing to go to a show “last minute”, choose from the shows available and wait in lines.
In 2006, the original and rather primitive ticket booth closed to make way for a completely new, expanded booth and redesign of the plaza around it, Duffy Square. An illuminated bleacher style glass stairway (fabricated by Eckelt Glass of Austria) has been installed above the white fiberglass booth, manufactured by boat hull manufacturer Merrifield-Roberts of Bristol, R.I. From a New York Times article on October 16, 2008:
“the TKTS booth proper is topped by a sweeping cascade of 27 ruby-red structural glass steps, rising to a height of 16 feet 1 inch above the 47th Street sidewalk, where hundreds of people (as many as 1,500 if they squeeze in tight) will be welcome to congregate every day until 1 a.m.”
The staircase is open to all for stoop sitting, eating and best of all for great elevated views of the entire Times Square area.
This was my first time atop these steps - I caught them as dusk. The glowing red glass steps is a magnet for everyone with plenty of frolicking and photography. I noticed a number of couples taking cell phone self portraits. I got into the spirit myself - taking a self portrait by hand holding a full size DSLR camera is a little challenging but I managed to get a couple of acceptable shots.
The whole atmosphere was like the proverbial school day off for snow - the unexpected was a nice surprise for everyone and a pleasant diversion for the ticket buyer. All work and no play makes New York a dull city

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If you want the full spectrum of contrasts, head for Long Island City. Here you have a borough with an industrial history and the buildings to prove it. This is the westernmost neighborhood in Queens, flanking the East River, so the area affords some of the best views of the Manhattan skyline along with the 59th Street Bridge, which connects it with Manhattan. There are historic districts with beautiful row houses/brownstones. The Citicorp Building stands at 658 feet - the tallest building in Queens and outside Manhattan. On the waterfront a former dock facility was converted to Gantry Crane State Park. Large scale residential conversions and developments have been undergone, such as building which formerly housed the Eagle Electric Manufacturing Company and in areas of LIC such as Hunter’s Point.
Long Island City was formerly its own city, created in 1870, and became part of the City of Greater New York in 1898. The area has gentrified - many of the factories have been converted to other uses - the former Silvercup Bakery, whose iconic sign can be seen from many vantage points, is now Silvercup Studios. This studio has been used to film many well known music videos, commercials, films and television series such as the Sopranos, Sex and the City, Gangs of New York, 30 Rock.
Artists have been resettling to LIC for many years. Art organizations as well as independent artists are located in the neighborhood. P.S. 1 Contemporary Art and Sculpture Center are located here. Isamu Noguchi converted a photo-engraving factory into a workshop, now a museum dedicated to his work. 5 Pointz: The Institute of Higher Burnin‘, is an artists residence in a converted warehouse. Graffiti is allowed there - the structure is a living collage of graffiti.
The largest fortune cookie factory in the United States, Wonton Foods, is in LIC. Donald Lau writes the fortunes. For a fascinating anecdote about this company and good fortune, see Fun with Numbers below.

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I appeared hungry for knowledge and some good conversation, which is why, many years ago, a business associate recommended I contact a man named Duffy. I was told this man, who owned a large manufacturing business in New Jersey, was a wealth of knowledge, had valuable insights and was always willing to share his ideas.
So with great enthusiasm I contacted him. He was everything I had been told and in fact, I made a short journey to visit him and his factory in New Jersey. I had a great tour of his facility and some inspiring conversation which went way beyond business mentoring. At the time, I was working 6 days a week taking no time off. In one phone conversation, I complained of this to Duffy. I mentioned how I was frequently squandering my time and that even though I was at my office in the evenings and weekends, I found myself becoming less productive and often using that time for personal phone calls and other non-business related activities.
Duffy compared me to an uncle of his who was a workaholic but was very inefficient. He made a comment I will never forget - that if you don’t take a vacation, your mind will. He told me of how he made it a priority to take regular time off to recharge his batteries. I recounted to him on how there was a summer where for a month I took 3 day weekends and by Monday morning I could barely remember my agenda but was fresh and ready to go. Duffy pointed out this was a clear sign of recharging. It all rang quite true and although I have not taken his advice to heart, when I really immerse myself in a different environment or physical activity, I do notice the mental health benefits. It is very easy to get caught in the work mechanism in New York City. Costs are high so it is easy to justify work. And physical activities or communing with nature require more effort and travel. There are a plethora of services in walking distance of most New Yorkers’ residences. All good reasons why is not uncommon to find people who rarely travel out of their neighborhoods.
These things passed through my mind on my recent (and first) trip to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. This 9155 acre tract of land is part of Gateway National Recreation Area and is the only wildlife refuge in the national park system. This is one of the most important bird sanctuaries in the USA and over 330 bird species that have been sighted here - nearly half the species in the Northeast. It is one of the best places in New York City to observe migrating birds. There is also an array of native reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, over 60 species of butterflies and one of the largest populations of horseshoe crabs in the northeast.
There are beautiful walking trails and vistas of the bay, Manhattan and Broad Channel. On my visit I saw a number of aquatic birds including what I believe to be an egret. The entire environment was pristine and quiet, yet remarkably, this refuge is accessible by subway.
So, if you want to recharge your batteries in New York City, this is the perfect place to do so. And I am sure Duffy would heartily approve

On October 16, 2007 I wrote of a solution to one of my personal dislikes - the array of newsboxes that clutter the city streets. However at the time, I did not have a photo which well represented the ugly side.
Broadway can at times can become a virtual wind tunnel - recently, on a particularly windy day at Broadway and Houston Streets, huge gusts of wind created trash tornadoes, perfectly complementing the hideous newsboxes. Why hideous? Because the garish melange of these boxes looks like everything possible has been done to offend the eye - they are different shapes, heights, colors, designs and are covered with stickers and ads, poorly maintained and dirty. I have seen empty ones even used as trash receptacles. Many are chained to lampposts and various other structures.
Regular readers know that I am all for street life, however the issue here for me is aesthetic. In my article Very Practical, I wrote of how the practical tends to triumph in this city. I would reword that to say that practical and business interests tends to trump the aesthetic. I highly doubt you would see a motley crew of newsboxes in this condition in most European cities.
In researching this story, I saw articles going back 15 years in the New York Times concerning the problems and solutions with the boxes which were even referred to as eyesores. But in any bureaucracy, inefficiency is the rule of thumb and a snail’s pace is the rate of progress, so the boxes remain while improvements slowly inch their way towards adoption.
But many defend the edginess and grit of New York City as important, defining characteristics. I remember reading an article years ago speaking to this. The article was defending the edginess and made a suggestion for those who did not see the grit’s charm: “There’s a place for you. It’s called Toronto.” Read the rest of this entry »

The first time I went to the West Coast was by car and it occurred to me at the time that one of the special new experiences to come was to see the sun set over the Pacific Ocean - the first time I would see a sunset over water. However, the assumptions regarding East Coast sunrises and West Coast sunsets over water are mistaken.
Although it is not the rule, there are many places where it is possible to see sunsets over water on the East Coast (and sunrises over water in the West Coast) - it does occur in special situations like bays and peninsulas. In these places, sunrises over water are also typically visible by making a short trip across the peninsula or island.
In most cases, however, land is visible between the water and horizon, but there are locations where no land is visible at all and the sun sets entirely over water. The bay side of Cape Cod is one good example. Technically these sunsets are not over the open ocean, but when there is no land in sight, the experience is virtually the same.
I thought I was the only one who gave serious consideration to the phenomenon of East Coast sunsets over water. But, surprisingly, there are others who share my interest and I even found a blog on the subject it with locations, criteria, and discussions about horizons.
I haven’t met a person that doesn’t enjoy a beautiful sunset and on my recent excursion to Broad Channel, I was told that sunsets were some of the most spectacular. So, it became an immediate agenda item for the afternoon. Being in the center of Jamaica Bay, surrounded by water, sunrises and sunsets over water can be enjoyed with a short stroll across town.
When the sunsets at Broad Channel or at the Jamaica Wildlife Refuge, one can see land at the horizon, so for the sunset-over-water purists, Broad Channel does not strictly make the grade. But I doubt anyone really cares, because when it comes to sunsets like this, who’s getting technical?

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