11101

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.

Fun with numbers: I found the zipcode for Long Island City, 11101, very interesting for a number of reasons. The number is a string of ones and zeros only, making it binary. In decimal, this is 29, which when totaling the digits becomes 11. Stripping out the zero in the zipcode, we have 1111. Numerologists believe that events linked to the time 11:11 appear more often than chance or coincidence. In May 2005, Wonton Foods printed a series of lucky numbers. Five our of six of these coincided with the winning numbers in a Powerball drawing. Because of the large numbers of cookies printed, 110 people (binary again) won approximately 100,000 each. And my own zipcode? - 10011. :)

According to an article in the the New Yorker: "Lottery officials suspected a scam until they traced the sequence to a fortune printed with the digits “22-28-32-33-39-40” and Donald Lau’s prediction: 'All the preparation you’ve done will finally be paying off.' "

Duffy

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 :)

Toronto

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, are covered with stickers and ads, and are 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, but the issue here for me is aesthetic. In my story, 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."

Related Postings: Garbage a la Mode, Very Practical, Jungle Gym, Unguent, Gummed Up, White Christmas

Who's Getting Technical?

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?

Note about the photo: Today's photo was shot from the Jamaica Wildlife Refuge and not in the town of Broad Channel itself.

Venice, New York

I do try to limit my use of superlatives, lest I diminish their effectiveness through overuse or run out of words to properly characterize the next greater thing. However, I am quite happy to take a few words from my superlatives bank account and to spend them on Broad Channel, Queens. Because this is the most extraordinary neighborhood I have visited to date.

A tour through this tiny enclave is truly a vacation to another time and place. As can be easily seen from today's photo, Broad Channel is a maritime community. It is located on the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay.
The island was initially settled by the Lenape Indians. In the 1600s, a community was established by the Dutch. It was part of the Town of Jamaica and, in 1898, became part of New York City, In 1915, the city leased the island the the Broad Channel Corporation, which in turn leased properties to residents. It filed bankruptcy in 1939. Between that time and 1982, the city of New York took over. In 1982, properties were made available for sale to residents by the city for the first time.

I made a visit to the local grocery store and immediately made the acquaintance of two residents, one being Art McCarthy of over 50 years. I learned that the town is only 20 blocks long and 4 wide, cut in half by Cross Bay Boulevard, which is connected to land by two bridges - the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge to mainland Queens to the north, and the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge to the Rockaway Peninsula and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The population numbers approximately 3,000 with 1000 homes. I was told that the island was about 60% Irish - a quick glance at the newsstand confirmed this - three Irish newspapers were prominently displayed.

Often referred to as the Venice of New York, dead end streets are separated by canals and many residents have boats moored at their houses. Fishing, clamming, and other aquatic activities are the draw here. The weather was rather cold and windy, so my explorations were made by car, with an occasional foray out for photos. The vistas were beautiful and reminiscent of my times in Cape Cod. The view west from town provides distant vistas of Manhattan, framed by the wildlife refuge and other islands of the Gateway Recreational Area and Jamaica Bay.

A surprising feature of this community is its accessibility; located an hour from Manhattan, it can be reached by subway - the A train, which travels across the bay to Rockaway, makes a stop right in Broad Channel - see photos here.
Broad Channel is certainly no secret among seekers of the the lesser known places of New York City. You will find it listed online and in books featuring hidden New York, forgotten New York, other islands of New York, nooks and crannies of New York, etc. The New York Times has run a number of articles on the enclave. Broad Channel is a natural target - the type of place people and media love to discover and talk or write about.

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing is that the community is located within National Park land - the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, which can be accessed by foot from the town. But that's another story...

Buddies

I'm reminded of a classic episode of the TV comedy hit Seinfeld, where the two main characters, Jerry and George, are mistakenly taken as a gay couple. In order to express their rejection of the characterization but not appear homophobic, the writers came up with the brilliant response "not that there's anything wrong with that." The implication, of course, is that there is something wrong with that, even though the show is set in New York City, a place known for its extremely liberal population and large gay community.
And so it is that even in 2009, many men feel they must justify and defend, even without accusation, any activities or relationships that could be perceived as gay. A male friend(s) is a potentially dangerous association.
Group male activities on the streets on New York are not a common sight and when I saw the men in today's photo jogging together, the first word that came to mind was "buddies", a word often used when I grew up. For many men, using the word "buddy" carried with it enough machismo to deflect any homosexual inferences in advance, "friend" perhaps being a little too personal.
Male friendship activities are pretty well delineated as to what can and can't be done. Touching, for example, is very taboo - removing lint from another's hair has to be done very carefully with just the right posturing. Perhaps safer just to say - "Hey, you have some junk in your hair."
The safest male activities are, of course, group involvement in sports - a sport immediately legitimizes the manliness of its participants and a group best assures there will be no private/suspicious activity. An announcement to the wife that one is going out with some buddies to play ball, carries with it the clearest affirmation.
To this day, men fear being gay or being seen as such and gay slurs are still used by some men as the ultimate insults. I find homophobia rather silly. Women don't labor under these constraints. Displays of affection, walking arm in arm and reciprocal preening are all well accepted without stigma attached. Women realize that mere association with gays or displaying sensibilities which may appear gay has no effect on one's sexual orientation. I have associated with many gays socially, hired them and worked with them professionally.
Personally I think most gay associations and stereotypes are complementary and positive in nature - like appreciation of finer things, fashion, the arts, etc. Things like the Seinfeld comment and TV shows like Queer Eye for a Straight Guy have helped build a more positive image for gays.
Now if I were accused of being gay because my mannerisms were highly affected like that of a flaming queen, perhaps I would be a little more self conscious. Then I may feel the need to contact a few buddies for some male bonding - not that there's anything wrong with that :)

Mystery Meat

My brother-in-law is pretty fussy, particularly about food. In the 1980s, he and my sister made frequent visits to the city. Although our budgets were much more limited at the time, there was no way he was going to eat anything that was called Shawarma or looked like the hunk of meat on a spit in the photo - no "mystery meat" for him. On a hot summer's eve, strolling down trash-littered MacDougal Street, eating a food like this being sold streetside was a line he would not cross. In his defense, I must agree that spit of meat on MacDougal Street has never been very appealing.
To this day, shawarma is a great little source of humor between us and the mere use of the word will elicit chuckles if not guffaws. But shawarma is a serious food served in countries around the world.
Shawarma is a middle Eastern Arabic sandwich. The meat may be lamb, mutton, beef, goat, or chicken (and occasionally mixtures). I is skewered and roasted on a long spit and served in a pita, typically with tomatoes, onions and yogurt sauce. There are a myriad of spellings* and the sandwich is similar to others in the region, such as the Gyros of Greece or döner from Turkey. Yatagan, at 104 MacDougal Street, serves the Turkish variant known as döner kebab.
I keep an open mind and in reading various food reviews from many different sources, I find that numerous diners love a good shawarma or döner and Yatagan appears to please. Comparison reviews of their döner kebab with others in the immediate area appear favorable. The falafels here are also touted by many to be superior to that of Mamoun's, a village standby.
However, there is more mystery here than in the meat. According to the New York Times, on October 22, 1987, the owner of the Yatagan Kebob House, Gultekin Ismihanli went beserk:
"A 42-year-old restaurant owner barricaded himself inside his Greenwich Village apartment last night, fired six shots from a .45 pistol into the air and held the police at bay for eight hours before surrendering early today, officials said. No one was wounded in the incident, which began around 4:25 P.M. when the man, Gultekin Ismihanli, fired the shots out of the second-floor window of his apartment at 106 Macdougal Street at Bleecker Street, the police said."
No reason was given for the incident. Perhaps my brother-in-law was right and there is something to fear in that amalgam of twirling mystery meat :)

*Note about Shawarma: The word, which means turning in Turkish, is an Arabic transliteration and like most middle eastern foods, the spellings are many: Shawerma, Shwarma, Shoarma or Shaorma etc.

Absolutely

I was recently at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore at 8th Street and 6th Avenue on the second floor, some minutes before closing. A woman, somewhat harried, was looking for a book - something along the lines of "How to Talk to a Republican." She was apparently involved with one and distressed about the prospects. Standing next to her was Whoopi Goldberg, to whom she asked rather frantically: "Can I date a Republican?"
One of the greatest pleasures of being in this city are the talents and surprises lurking around corners. I try to make no assumptions about people based on appearance. Talent comes in many flavors here - there are the occasional obviously well known figures, some that just look the part and others travel who incognito. See my story Only in New York.

I recently stopped into the Guitar Center on 14th Street with a friend who was unfamiliar with the place. My tour included a room I had never entered which was filled with DJ gear. Three latino men were playing with a CD player with a pressure sensitive scratch disc interfaced with an iMac. The equipment allows the manipulation of digital media much as vinyl lps. Fascinated I watched them test the gear. I took some overhead "hail marys"* and got a few acceptable photos.
They appeared to be friendly, so I introduced myself with a New York Daily Photo business card. I learned that two were professional DJs, Juan and Albert. Juan Pablo was from Cuenca, Ecuador. I told him I would feature them on this website. As I wandered the store, Albert caught up with me to give me his card.
And Whoopi's response to "Can I date a Republican?" She answered without hesitation or equivocation: "Absolutely!"

* Hail Marys are photos taken blind, without using the viewfinder, typically overhead. The term "hail mary" is used owing to the idea a prayer is needed to get a good photo.

Related Postings: Only in New York, Crime Scene, Delivery, Ziggy Plays, Singing Bowls. 

Light and Lights

One of the best locations to enjoy vistas of Manhattan and the surrounding waterways is from the promenade in Brooklyn Heights. Here you will find postcard views of lower Manhattan, South Street Seaport, the Brooklyn Bridge, the East River and many of New York City's iconic landmarks - the American International Building, Empire State building, Chrysler Building, New York Life Insurance Building and Met Life Tower.
An added bonus is that the promenade faces west and that means sunsets. This is the time I would recommend visiting - during the evening you have the best light and the gradual darkness coming over the city with a menagerie of lights. If you are fortunate you will be rewarded with a sunset like this one - brilliant orange-red with streaks of yellow, all back lighting our Lady of Liberty. But I sell you no longer, I think the image speaks for itself ...

Note: If you look closely at this panorama you will notice the silhouettes of container cranes, eerie and surreal. I have written before of the attractiveness that can be found in industrial landscapes - see Hell's Gate here.

Perfect Attendance

Hong, the owner of Hong Wah Laundromat at 176 MacDougal, and I share very significant near misses. Let me explain.
As I have grown older, I find myself doing more creative work. Product design and graphics in my business and recently, writing and photography for this website. But when I was younger,  I always considered myself a numbers man. I loved math in high school, majored in math in college. I tried to quantify most things. Otherwise, how could one make any objective evaluations without measuring and numbers? One way to satisfy this thirst for all things numeric is setting records and noting the numbers. Like days attended in school.
Very few students are awarded perfect attendance for 4 years of high school. I did, nearly. Yes, I did get sick with flus and colds - but I attended under all conditions - every school day for four years. One day I left early in the afternoon for a dentist appointment. I assumed, however, that I would get a perfect attendance award and was shocked on graduation day to find I had been slighted. Apparently leaving 2 hours early is not perfect attendance. Too late to protest at graduation ceremonies and to this day, I still feel cheated.
I don't want to get into a pissing contest about who works hardest or competitive tales of hardship - everyone has one or more. But New York City is not a prison camp or the third world and even though many New Yorkers are workaholics, there is always some accommodation made for holidays and time off. With some exceptions.
Hong is the first and only person that I personally have met that takes no time off from work. By work, I mean going to a place of work and putting in a full day.
Hong Wah Laundromat is open seven days per week from 8AM to 9PM (Sunday until 8PM) -that's 13 hours per day. He and his wife are there every day, all day. Sometime ago I asked Hong if he took vacations - he appeared mortified and just bristled at that concept. His immediate response was that he had to work every day.
And by no time off, I don't mean very little time off, I mean none. Or should I say nearly none because recently I learned a dirty little secret - Hong does close one day per year - New Year's Day. So, like me, he misses that award by one day. But, unlike me, he has an easy solution to his near miss. I'd just work that extra day and give myself perfect attendance :)

Of Bikes and Things

This collage will give you an idea of the range of exhibits that is typically found in the Queens Museum of Art. The focus here is much more community involvement with many displays of installation art and multimedia creations. When I was there most recently, Derick Melander was busy working with children to create a piece like that on display (left photo), Flesh of my Flesh. Articles of second hand clothing were being neatly folded and stacked according to color value - darkest at the bottom and top with a white center. The overall effect of the tower of colored clothing was quite striking and the involvement of adults and children was a great success.
In a small side gallery, an assemblage of car doors with a neon tube, Door Pile, by Corey D'Augustine, was being shown. In the main exhibit room, a number of BMX style bikes affixed to the walls and skateboard ramps was featured.
I was fascinated with the display of the stereobikes, Basszilla and Trebblezilla, made by Future Shock (center photo), made by a group of Trinidadians from Richmond Hill, Queens. The construction of these monster radio bikes is a popular hobby in Trinidad. Some of these can cost as much as $4000 and emit 5000 watts. Gangs of riders roam the streets of Richmond Hill. One report says the the police have been lenient with boom bikes, owing to their appreciation of the workmanship involved in making these things. These are obviously contentious creations, heralded by some as art and condemned by others as more unneeded contributions to a city already laden with noise pollution.
In an ironic twist, on the exit ramp from the main exhibit room, we found a plaster cast of Pietà - a plaster cast of Michelangelo's original work, which in 1964 was transported from the Vatican and displayed at the World's Fair ...

Rocket Thrower

The thing about public sculpture is that once it is created it, it isn't going away and when it is a large work, it really can't be ignored. Regardless of criticism, a work can take on a life and persona of its own, due to its pure existence, irrespective of aesthetic. Even a work that may generally be regarded as an abomination will often take on a certain charm and in time become loved like an ugly duckling. The Eiffel Tower is an excellent example. Considered an eyesore by many at the time of its construction, it weathered quite well. Here is a comment made at the time by William Watson's US Government Printing Office publication of 1892 Paris Universal Exposition: Civil Engineering, Public Works, and Architecture.
"And during twenty years we shall see, stretching over the entire city, still thrilling with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see stretching out like a black blot the odious shadow of the odious column built up of riveted iron plates." The Eiffel Tower was originally built in 1889 as the entrance for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Plans were to have it torn down, but it remained. It is now generally seen in a positive light and its presence is a major icon on the Parisian skyline.
The Rocket Thrower in the photo was created for the 1964 World's Fair and is located in Flushing Meadow-Corona Park, just a stroll away from the Unisphere.
It was designed by Donald De Lue. From the NYC parks website: "He designed the Rocket Thrower as a heroic, 43-foot high bronze figure hurling a rocket heavenward with his right hand, and reaching for a constellation of gilded stars with his left; this version was based on designs for the theme of man conquering space ..."
This sculpture was met with mixed reviews. The New York Times art reviewer, John CanadayDaVinci, found the piece “the most lamentable monster, making Walt Disney look like Leonardo.” Robert Moses (organizer of the Fair), attempting to bolster the artist’s fragile ego, consoled De Lue by remarking, “this is the greatest compliment you could have…[Canaday] hates everything that is good . . .” Read more about it here.
When I happened upon this sculpture, I found it quite striking and not at all a lamentable monster. But perhaps I have become inured too bad sculpture or I am not art critic enough ...

Remembering

Imagine being 13 and not having seen much of the world at all.
Imagine also living at a time when technology was on the cusp of the truly fantastic - with mainframe computers, transistors and integrated circuits, the Moog synthesizer designed by Robert Moog and the A-11 aircraft, capable of sustained flight of 2000 mph being announced. And the biggest technological achievement of our time, as promised by JFK during his 1960 presidential campaign, was soon to come - we were going to the moon, literally.
1964 was also the year of the British Invasion with the arrival of the Beatles in the USA. In the world of civil rights Malcolm X announced his break with the Nation of Islam, the formation of a black nationalist organization and met Martin Luther King who won the Nobel Peace Prize. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, abolishing racial segregation in the United States. The Vietnam war was heating up and we saw the first demonstrations. Feminism and the sexual revolution were in full swing and the Vatican condemned the birth control pill.
So it is in this time, that my family took their first trip to New York city to visit the 1964 World's Fair. I remember only a little from that trip, but what I do remember was something that was truly fantastic, a spectacle larger and grander than I ever imagined possible. The exhibits were amazing and way ahead of their time. The audio-animatronics used by Disney are still in use today - Disney's It's a Small World was unveiled at the Pepsi pavilion. IBM displayed handwriting recognition. General Electric sponsored Progressland where the audience was seated and revolved around an auditorium with numerous audio-animatronic presentations of the progress of electricity in the home. The General Motors Futurama had visitors moving on seats through an exhibition of the world of the future. The entire fairground was as large as a small city. Fountains were everywhere - it was true pageantry.
The most memorable icon for this fair was the Unisphere which is still standing in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the site of the fair (and the previous 1939-40 fair). The theme was Peace Through Understanding and the Unisphere represented global interdependence. Built to celebrate the beginning of the space age, it was dedicated to "Man's Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe."
The Unisphere was built in type 305L stainless steel by the US Steel Corporation and erected on the same structural foundation that supported the 1939/1940 New York World's Fair's Perisphere. At 12 stories (140 feet), it remains the world's largest globe and has become one of the few permanent remaining structures from the fair and an unofficial symbol for Queens.
I am sorry that those of you unable to attend will have to imagine and that I have the privilege of remembering ...

Note about the fair: The 1964 World's Fair was actually mired in controversy. In order to be profitable, the fair organizers, headed by Robert Moses, decided that the fair would need to run for two 6 month seasons (1964 & 1965). However, the rules of the BIE (Bureau of International Expositions), headquartered in Paris, stated that an international world's fair run for one six-month period only and only one exposition per 10-year period in a host country. The USA did not meet these requirements and a visit by Moses to Paris was not successful. Moses made his disdain for the organization's decision public. The BIE retaliated by requesting member nation's not participate. Hence, the roster of participants was primarily smaller nations and a large number of industrial firms.

Maps and Models

I have always loved maps and architectural models. As a child, I built a bird feeder modeled after my family's home. My crude rendering was applauded by all who saw it, as would be expected when your primary reviewers are family members. As an adult, maps have always been my number one priority before traveling to any destination and I have collected them for years. I love the color coded Michelin maps in three different scales.
So the Panorama of the City of New York, housed at the Queens Museum of Art, is particularly special for me, with a map and model all rolled into one. This scale model (1" = 100 feet) of the five boroughs of New York is one of the most remarkable and little known exhibits in the entire city. See second photo here. A passion for maps and models, however, is not necessary to fall in love with this creation. Museum visitors soon become mesmerized, picking out their home, favorite spots, landmarks or perhaps just show off their orienteering skills to companions.
The Panorama was commissioned by Robert Moses for the 1964 World’s Fair. This 9,335 square foot architectural model is the world's largest model of a city. It includes every single building constructed before 1992 in all five boroughs - a total of 895,000 individual structures. During the Fair, the Panorama was one of the most popular attractions with an average of 1,400 visitors per day. The original exhibit was designed to give a simulated helicopter ride over the city - visitors traveled the periphery of the model in fake helicopter cars for a 9-minute tour while listening to a narration by the newscaster Lowell Thomas.
From the Queens Museum website:

"The Panorama was built by a team of 100 people working for the great architectural model makers Raymond Lester Associates in the three years before the opening of the 1964 World’s Fair. In planning the model, Lester Associates referred to aerial photographs, insurance maps, and a range of other City material; the Panorama had to be accurate, indeed the initial contract demanded less than one percent margin of error between reality and the model."

The museum building was originally built to house the New York City Pavilion at the 1939 World's Fair and is the only structure surviving that fair. Between 1946 to 1950, it was home to the General Assembly of the newly formed United Nations (in 1950, it moved to its current home in Manhattan). The model has been part of the permanent exhibit since the Queens Museum opened in 1972.
You should see this magnificent model in person. Admission to the Queens Museum is only $5 and a subway ride away - why not take a ride and see for yourself?

Model and Museum note: The model was updated in 1992 with over 60,000 structures modified (the original Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, however, still remains). A recent new upgrade includes lighting for audiovisual presentation. For information about the museum, directions, hours, exhibits see their website here.

Continental Divide

Most likely, you have never been to Corona, Queens, and most likely, you will never visit either. You will neither read of any gentrification movements there nor of an exodus of disenfranchised Manhattan artists discovering the neighborhood. This is a working-class neighborhood - at one time predominantly Italian and now 75% Hispanic. Like many area of Queens, the neighborhood has a broad ethnic diversity - Mexicans,  Dominicans, Bolivians, Ecuadorians, Colombians, Guatemalans, Peruvians, Asians, Pakistanis, and Italians.
I say that you will likely not travel there because the rivers of this city that separate the boroughs are in many ways like the Great Wall of China. A body of water can be a big cultural divide - it separates countries, states, cities, and in New York City, the boroughs.

The rivers of New York City are also a tremendous mental impasse - unless a commuter, most will rarely cross one even if the distance and travel time is short. Central Park seems nearer to a downtown Manhattan resident than a closer destination in Brooklyn. So there must be a very good reason to leave your borough, and visiting Corona will not usually be a good reason.

Each borough, and even each neighborhood, is a world unto itself, and many find little reason to leave it except for work. The population density of New York City supports an incredible range of services in a small area. Many Manhattan residents get much of what they need in walking distance of their home - a great luxury and convenience. Step out of your apartment, and there is a universe of goods and services a short stroll away. This is true to a lesser extent in the boroughs, where you have larger tracts of residential housing without commercial establishments. However, every neighborhood is like a small town, and its center typically has its own set of services.

Many of the neighborhoods in the outer boroughs are dominated by one or more ethnic groups - traveling to these lesser known neighborhoods can be culture shock. There are signs in other languages, unfamiliar foods, and unusual dress. The pace is slower. And here, extravagance is out of place. Money is real, and careful husbandry the rule.

So, with a sudden break from our frigid weather and temperatures in the 50s, Sunday seemed the perfect time to sample the goods without waiting until summer. I am sure I was the only person who drove from Manhattan to Queens to sample Italian ices at the Lemon Ice King of Corona (which is open all year). The ices have been made by Pete Benfaremo for 58 years at the same location.
It was chillier than expected, and I, along with a friend, found ourselves alone when we arrived at the Lemon Ice King at 108th Street and 52nd Avenue. I felt a little awkward and foolish. The clerk apparently did not share my enthusiasm or spirit of adventure.

There were few patrons, and I did not know that there was no indoor space for customers. So, after choosing our flavors from a selection of 20 plus flavors at the street counter, we ate our ices standing on a blustery side street, while seeking as much sunshine and as little wind as possible. See here for a peek inside.

And did the ices live up to their legendary status? Honestly, we both found them too sweet, virtually killing the flavors. But perhaps I will try again on a warm summer's eve and when I am in the mood to travel across a continental divide...

The Core Club

What will $72,000 get you? The first year's membership at the Core Club ($60,000 initiation fee), but only if you're invited. I was asked recently if I had photos of the Core Club, so I decided to investigate. The club was started in 2005 by Jennie Saunders and is located in the first five floors at 66 East 55th Street. The sleek building, Park Avenue Place, is a luxury condominium in Manhattan's Upper East Side, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. Original investors gave $100,000 each, with an understanding that this would be paid back at some time.

I did enter the reception area with its Damien Hirst spin painting and was greeted with a polite welcome. I was not permitted a tour or photos of the inside, of course.

I have tired of "exclusive" clubs in this city. This is not the green of jealousy raising its head here. In the 1980s, I was privy to entry of many music clubs that had a policy of exclusion and selection. Throngs would gather outside these clubs, hoping to be selected for the privilege of entry. Studio 54, Xenon, the Mud Club, Area, Palladium, Peppermint Lounge, Danceteria etal. At the time, I had a coworker who was well connected, and I was frequently put on the guest list. Often, I entered a club with huge numbers outside clamoring to get in, only to find a dance floor virtually devoid of people. Boring. The illusion of extreme importance was the thing being sold to cultivate an urgency and lust for entry.

Now I am sure that the Core Club is not as vacuous a cultural experience as a night at Studio 54, but I question how many real movers and shakers want to hobnob in a private club. The Core Club did reel in some big names initially: John McEnroe, Richard Meier, Vernon Jordan, Steve Schwarzman, Bruce Wasserstein, and Teddy Forstmann. There is a library compiled by a veteran of the Paris Revue. The place also features a screening room, gym, and restaurant headed by Tom Colicchio. But aren't people in this social strata already well connected and busy, with a rich social and cultural life? I could see a place like this of interest to a member of the nouveau riche who is early in the image game and needs affirmation that they are someone or have arrived.

My feelings were confirmed this morning as I read an article from November 2008. Apparently the club is having difficulty in repaying the initial seed money. Numbers were not what they anticipated. Memberships were given at reduced prices to attract certain individuals...

Jump for Joy

One area where a huge city like New York can fall down is service. We have lip service of course - the beatitudes and platitudes recited by employees as instructed by policy manuals from the corporate office. But I mean real service, where the salesperson puts him or herself on the other side of the counter, sees another human who has a need and within reason, do what is required to satisfy that need without attitude.
I often find myself in a retail store looking for a salesperson, eventually to find a number of them congregated for what appears to be happy hour. Any effort to intrude is seen as an annoyance, taking them away from what appears to be more important matters and then to render service begrudgingly. A customer starts to feel guilty for disturbing the sales staff.
One can find good service in New York City, it is just not like the experience of being in a very small town where it feels like politeness and great service are universal. You have a sense that it is assumed this is the normal human condition. I yearn for these signs of humanity in New York City and when I find them I jump for joy.
Saturday I jumped for joy at the LMC Car Wash & Lube at 36-21 21st Street in Long Island City. The first thing I noticed was how clean this place was, particularly in light of traveling many blocks on a very blighted stretch of road. My car was in dire need of a wash - like many, the inconvenience of a few minutes and a few dollars usually seems too much to bear, spoiled as I am with the extraordinary conveniences of the modern world.
At LMC, after prep work, the car goes through its wash and dry cycles unoccupied - customers get to watch the entire process from behind the glass wall of their retail shop, which is stocked with all manner of auto supplies and accouterments. There were bottles of many hued liquids with the afternoon sun shining through them. Everything was in its place with a place for everything. Tidy, clean, efficient with good service and entertainment - watching your car become scrubbed clean is so much fun. All of this maybe the standard for retail establishments outside the city, but in New York, people will tolerate some very rough edges.
Perhaps many would consider my exuberance over a car wash to border on lunacy and maybe it is. Call it what you may, but when I find a place like LMC, I want to jump for joy ...

New Yorkers Gone Wild

I've written before about how New York City not only tolerates the unconventional, but it also embraces, nurtures and even encourages it. Iconoclasm is celebrated here. I had a high school English teacher who was personally frustrated with the ostracism for thinking differently in a small town. He encouraged us to attend university in a large city and move from the small town provincial environment. One day, he announced that although it was required to have the local paper in the classroom, we would not be reading it - we would be reading the New York Times. The local paper, he said, would remain stacked in the corner and was suitable for training your cat. A bit harsh and disrespectful of local talent, but it was the Dead Poet Society of my youth. I shared his frustrations and his advice had an influence on my decision to move to New York City.
I think things have changed much since that time. With electronic media, styles and popular culture are much more quickly adopted across the globe. However, at a core level, most people really don't like the offbeat or unusual, excepting for some, perhaps, a period of wild youth and rebellion. Take a look at some of the captures I have gotten in the last three years. First we have André - I called this posting Out There, because he really is. In this second photo, Fashion Forward, he poses for me with an unusual dresser. I have subsequently met André on numerous occasions and learned he has done quite a bit of fashion work - he has graced the cover of French Vogue and has his own Wikipedia page. Spike is a character that could easily be subject to hostility in another environment. Here we have a man who travels with an exotic bird, boa and small alligator .

Women who dress provocatively will always get some looks, but I can't imagine the reaction in a small town to women dressed like some I photographed - take a look at Narcissim Gone Wild, the Water Sprites, this urban Wood Nymph, topless women in a Dyke March, the bearded lady who founded Circus Amok or a group of metal fans in Piercing Al Fresco.
I had to hustle to capture the woman in today's photo. I loved the geometrically designed coat and snakes on her legs - I assumed these were tattoos, not printed hose. I never got a chance to ask her or give her my card - I imagine she likely would have posed as would any New Yorker Gone Wild ...

Related Postings: Out There, Spike, Narcissism Gone Wild, Water Sprites, Wood Nymph, Spring Madness, The Dance Parade, Dyke March, Twelve Tribes, Penny Farthing, Homeless Art, Superheroes, Snake Charmer, Circus Amok, Fashion Forward, Piercing Al Fresco.

A Deeper Look

There is a body of water separating four miles of Brooklyn and Queens called Newtown Creek. Never heard of it? Join the ranks of most New Yorkers who also are unfamiliar with this important waterway. The Dutch acquired the creek from the local Mespat tribe in 1614. It was named for New Town (Nieuwe Stad), the name of the Dutch and British settlement in what is now Elmhurst, Queens. From the Queens side, I found a rocky outcropping. At the right place, (ignoring the jangle of industry), at the right time in the orange glow of sunset, I found it quite beautiful, and I could imagine myself somewhere on the coast of Maine. See second photo here.
However, with a deeper look, one can understand why there would not be a land rush to the banks of Newtown Creek. This is one of the most polluted bodies of water in North America, as well as the oldest continuous industrial area in the United States.

Newtown Creek had the country’s first kerosene refinery (1854) and first modern oil refinery (1867). At the end of the 19th century, Rockefeller had over 100 distilleries on both sides of Newtown Creek. The history of industry here is long - read more about it here at the Newtown Creek Alliance website.
There is no natural freshwater flow into the creek - all the historic tributaries were covered over in its 400-year history of industrialization. Read what the Newtown Creek Alliance has to say about this body of water:

"Every year Newtown Creek receives 14,000 million gallons of combined sewage overflow, a mixture of rainwater runoff, raw domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater that overwhelms treatment plants every time it rains. There are also discharges from numerous permitted and unpermitted pollution sources. The creek is mostly stagnant, meaning all the pollutants that have entered the creek over the past two centuries have never left."

The bridges which pass over the creek are equally unattractive - the Kosciuszko Bridge, the Pulaski Bridge, and the J. J. Byrne Memorial Bridge. Newtown Creek is not readily visible from these bridges, and there is also limited access to the creek, so there it sits, mired in pollutants and obscurity.

People love waterfront property - it is remarkable how much of New York City's water frontage is and has been so undesirable - Coney Island, the Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek, the Brooklyn waterfront, and the piers along the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan. But every dog has its day, and it is hard to imagine that one day this waterway will not be desirable, lined with footpaths, residential buildings, cafes etc. When that day will come, in 5 years or in 50, I do not know. Climbing out of the sewer can be a slow process...

Click of a Mouse

I am always surveying and scanning for photo opportunities and stories as I travel this city. While driving across 57th Street on Sunday, my eye caught Steinway Hall at 109 West 57th Street. Looking more closely it appeared that even though it was Sunday, there might be activity. My companion was unfamiliar with the building so I now had a dual motive. However, as every student of the murder mystery knows, there must not only be motive but also opportunity. So the thought of us both investigating was purely academic, as the prospect of finding a legal parking spot at 57th Street and 6th Avenue is all but impossible. I intended to make a quick jog across the street, leaving my friend to mind the car while I investigated. Forces were with us, however - there was a legal spot right across from Steinway Hall. I made a quick trip across the street alone and found a performance being held on the ground floor. A sign indicated that entry was allowed during breaks - I ran back to my car, fetched my fellow traveler and returned with perfect timing between music pieces, to enter the Steinway Hall rotunda. A flight of stairs took us to a balcony for an excellent view of the performers and audience. Various individuals were taking both photos and videos, so I snapped away - see here for some additional photos of this magnificent room.
I learned that the Greenwich International Conservatory of Music had scheduled a recital on December 19, 2008 which had been cancelled due to snow and rescheduled for February 1, 2009. The director told me that Sunday performances were not typical here. Apparently I was being gifted with a fortuitous string of events to see this so easily.
The place was abuzz with virtuosic children and their attentive, beaming parents. I have played some music off and on both as a child and an adult - I am awed by the enormous talent and work needed by classical musicians to hone their craft. The competition is absolutely fierce, the standards are impossibly high and the nuances extraordinary.
I only began listening to classical music very late in life - the genre was completely unknown to me growing up, so I am both surprised and pleased to see young children listening and observing so attentively as this young girl in today's photo. The program had 39 student performers with a repertoire that included works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Beethoven, Fauré, Schubert, Smetana and of course, Chopin.
Very few will join the ranks of professional musicians, but no matter. The focus and discipline learned will go far in any endeavor. Most importantly, children will learn that not all good things are subject to immediate gratification or can be had with the click of a mouse ...

Note: Steinway & Sons is one of the most remarkable businesses and fascinating stories in the history of New York City. Steinway pianos are still being made in their factory in Queens. I will do a story on them at a later time.