Eldridge Street

In my story on January 12, 2009, Small Achievements, I wrote of those small, nagging, unresolved questions, not quite big enough to aggressively pursue, but not quite small enough to completely forget. They raise their head when a particular situation recurs, whereupon, enthused by the moment, you promise yourself that this time you will absolutely put the mystery to rest as soon as you get home. 
Of course, it is either then forgotten or put off to another time, unless you have a photo of the mystery you would like to feature on a website about New York City and, in fairness to your readers, you really must get to the bottom of this. Now you have that added impetus to get the doing done.

One problem, however, with sharing a vista like this one is how you would go about taking a photo while driving in a moving vehicle. It's easy when you return from Brooklyn on a beautiful day, everyone is on the road, and your vehicle is not moving because traffic is at a standstill, briefly interrupted with some inching forward.

The bridges across the East River - Williamsburg, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queensboro - afford spectacular vistas of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Roosevelt Island, along with streetscapes, waterscapes, the Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island, and an articulation of buildings of the skyline of New York as far as the eye can see.

Somewhere in all of this, there will be a glorious accident of perfect alignment. So it is with the vista from the western end of the Manhattan Bridge looking north, straight up this narrow one-way street, where you have a classic New York City juxtaposition: an unobstructed view of the Chrysler and Citicorp Buildings, framed by rooftop graffiti and the jingle jangle of the Lower East Side with a spattering of Chinatown. But the question for me has always has been, what street is that, so conveniently aligned?

A little online forensic work identified the mystery thoroughfare, which runs eight blocks from Division Street at the base of the bridge to Houston Street and is wholly contained within the Lower East Side: Eldridge Street.

Note: if you look carefully at the photo, you will notice a church on the right side. This is the Eldridge Street Synagogue, built in 1887 and a national historic landmark. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States built by Eastern European Jews. It is also home of the Museum at Eldridge Street, which presents the culture, history, and traditions of the great wave of Jewish immigrants to the Lower East Side with tours, exhibits, and public and educational programs.

Trash and Treasure

What, in most places, would be an occasional chore or the domain of established businesses often becomes a cottage industry in New York City for the poor, homeless, disenfranchised, unemployed, or those living an alternative lifestyle: selling umbrellas on rainy days, sidewalk book selling, street vending, dumpster diving, and can/bottle collecting. Many of our problems or unfortunate circumstances in New York City become an Opportunity.

Contrary to one's intuition, can/bottle collecting is not necessarily the exclusive realm of the homeless. After reading about a man living in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, supporting himself and maintaining a small apartment on bottle/can collecting, I will no longer assume anything about those pursuing this activity. And those who are homeless can not so easily be characterized as a class of human which is insolent and indolent. Many are quite hardworking and ambitious. I would venture to say that "keeping busy" keeps a person sane and also gives a sense of self-respect, societal value, and entrepreneurial independence.

I caught this older woman on Spring Street in SoHo during rush hour, her bags of bottles balanced on poles across her shoulders. This mode of transport is not often seen in the city - can collectors typically have smaller caches or use carts when their booties grow.

At one time, recycling in New York City was threatened - analysis showed that recycling was a net loser from a financial point of view. A well-known cover article appeared in the New York Times in 1996 - Recycling is Garbage by Jack Tierney.

In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg suspended plastic and glass recycling, which, of course, incited outrage. In 2004, the decision was reversed. Since 2008, NYC has passed a number of recycling bills, making the city's recycling program one of the most comprehensive and aggressive in the nation, including electronics and plastic bags. Rag picking, can collecting, dumpster diving, or eBay trading - times and techniques may change, but opportunity always lurks for those who seek it. For now, bottle/can collecting looks secure - as always, one man's trash is another man's treasure...

Note: In researching this article, I came across a very interesting blog: invisiblepeople.tv. Here, you will find the stories of many homeless who have startling stories and backgrounds which may challenge stereotypical views of the homeless.

Randazzo's

The first time I went to Randazzo's Clam Bar many years ago, I was accompanied by a friend who was a born and bred NYC Italian (from the Bronx) who said this food was just like his mother's home cooking. Two other friends also came along, both born in New York City - one from Manhattan, one from Brooklyn (both Jewish). Three boroughs were represented - that's very serious street cred. You don't argue with that, and there was no need to, because we all enjoyed the food and experience.

Randazzo's, at 2017 Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, has a history of over 75 years. It was founded by Helen Randazzo, and its roots can be traced back to 1916. Read more about them at their website here. The menu is Italian, specializing in seafood: lobster, scungilli, mussels, shrimp, clams, calamari, and Helen's famous sauce.

On my second visit, I was with my Brooklynite friend and his brother. They were coming in from out of town, and we had planned to eat at Randazzo's as part of a day of adventure. Expectations were very high. For me, I wanted to solidify my connections with old, iconic New York City. For my old friends, nostaligia was a big element - to eat in Brooklyn, where they grew up.

This is a very dangerous formula: high expectations and looking to recreate experiences. We wanted to love it. We had to love it. It was part of our special day, and we would expect nothing less than a great reunion.

Our food experience was uneven. I've read dozens of reviews, all the way from one-star to five-star. I realize that a place like Randazzo's can travel far on its own momentum and that things change. But I'm going back. And I will find things I like. Because nothing's going to stop me from liking this place. You gotta problem with that? :)

Matters of Opinion

The Al-Madinah School at 383 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn is in one of the most uninviting locations I can imagine: on a major thoroughfare, Brooklyn's 3rd Avenue, abutting a Uhaul parking lot, and across the street from the Gowanus Canal - once a busy cargo waterway, now a polluted body mired with environmental concerns.

In New York City, we make use of what space is available, and one can never judge by a place's exterior. So I decided to do some reading about this private school. In reading about it, I came across a startling range of opinions in online reviews:

The quality of academic programs is very good. The teachers are very much involved and enthusiastic about teaching the children.

Al- Madinah school is the best school. My children first were in public school for six years and then are transferred to Al-madinah school. And I can tell the difference. now they are more behave and responsible and much much much better in Arabic, Quraan and islamic studies, and That all I need ...


Horrible!! never expected an islamic school to be like this..the islamic studies,quraan and arabic are good but other than that no!! this school is best for K-6 ! the students are very rude, mean,spoiled,careless, etc, some students if your lucky are nice! i dont reccomend any1 there..waste of money! 
Al-Madinah school is just not up to New York state standards. The ebviromenft for learning is filthy and tacky. The academic level is wary below standard, and the school should be for religioun only.



Its very clean and Im glad that halal food is prepared on premises. Wonderful


Al-Madinah is good in the islamic studies, arabic, quran course but it does not supply much in the academic course. I talk from 3 years of experience and I do not think this school is not so great nor good either.

One thing that has puzzled me for as long as I can remember is how much human opinion can vary. I once remember a university professor asking us to consider for our next class the question, "If someone disagrees with you, do you feel they are wrong or have a different opinion?" This question goes to the heart of tolerance, moral relativism, and absolutism - ideas of enormous consequence, fueling nearly every debate, argument, or war.

Some years ago, I occasionally spent time watching a fundamentalist Christian who used to proselytize on Sundays in the park. He posed the same type of question routinely: whether the individuals there considered themselves relativists or absolutists. Specifically, did they believe that there existed moral imperatives that were absolute and crossed all cultures? His belief was that most people claim to be moral relativists but in reality are absolutists. He would pose specific examples, and arguments would often flare up, even between couples.

With the Al-Madinah School in Brooklyn, religious opinion of what is good, bad, right, and wrong is part of the curriculum. Outside their walls, the same opinions are made about the school itself. I leave you with a quote from Mark Twain: "The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane."

Note about Al-Madinah: The school occupies a 5-story, 9000-square foot facility (part of it seen in the photo). You can see more, along with information about the school, here at their website. They offer education from preschool through high school.

Pomp and Circumstance

I have a number of questions when I see people like this, particularly the man with the quiff - questions such as "Where are you going to go looking like that?" and "Where do you work?" Yes, on a Saturday night out or while shopping at the Apple store, you do look cool as hell, but once the novelty wears off at the workplace, who wants to be looking at this day in and day out? Even as a freelance associate or fellow artist, this is going to get old pretty fast. Are you going to be able to hold a conversation with this man and not be distracted by pink glasses, a pink shirt, and a blond-tipped pompadour that looks like the surf's up at Malibu Beach?

Now an accordion on your back is much more of a temporal and transitory thing. It's really just an unusually large accoutrement which is likely not worn this way at home or at the workplace. There is a very good reason this woman is using an Apple computer with an accordion on her back; I just don't know what it is. She probably was just playing her instrument or will be playing it soon. Or, perhaps she can't afford a case. Perhaps she doesn't want a case and finds it more convenient to carry on her back. Perhaps she wants people to know she is an accordionist.

There are few stores in New York City with as self-assured an attitude (both from the staff and customers) like that of the Apple Stores. Some may bristle at the cult-like atmosphere - there's a smugness of Apple users as being in the know, using the tool of choice, and willing to pay a premium for it. Iconoclasm has historically been a defining characteristic of both the company and its core adherents.  Apple has had a dominant role in the art community from early on. Under the circumstances, pompadours and accordions fit right in :)

Photo Note: These photos were taken at the Apple Store in SoHo. Both individuals were in the store at the same time. Apple has an extremely liberal attitude regarding use of their computers. All have high-speed Internet access, and no restrictions are placed on use or time. Many stop here to check email or for any other variety of uses.

The Rockaways

Just a subway ride away on the A train, you will find not a bay, inlet, or river, but rather, the Atlantic Ocean. This is the Rockaways, a peninsula, most of which lies within the borough of Queens, New York.

The beach has an active surfing community - there are three surf shops in the area. The approach of hurricane Bill was seen by most as worrisome, but surfers heralded the storm as a joyful rare opportunity to surf the big waves. So, this seemed the perfect time to take a trip out to the Rockaways to catch some waves with a camera. Beaches were closed to bathers but open to surfers. See more photos here.

The 6.2 mile boardwalk is a huge feature of the area, extending from Beach 9th Street to Beach 126th Steet. The central area of Rockaway Beach is fronted with large, hulking public housing projects, many of which became riddled with crime. There are new apartment condominiums newly built and in the works. Strings of closed stores line 116th Street, the main shopping district.

Driving from one end of Rockaways to the other through the varied communities - Belle Harbor, Far Rockaway, Arverne, Neponsit, Rockaway Beach, Rockaway Park, Breezy Point, and Edgemere - is one of the most shockingly diverse demographic ranges of humankind I have seen, from lower to upper middle class. Driving amongst the virtual mansions in Belle Harbor, the ramshackle nature of central Rockaway seemed a flawed memory.

I missed many of the interesting areas, such as the historic bungalows off the boardwalk at Beach 108th St. that have become summer rentals and the scenic area at the end of the boardwalk from 121st to 126th Streets. I intend to return and explore more of the area on foot.

This is truly the land of the haves and have-nots, but the ocean and the boardwalk looms large and mitigates much of the area's depressed pockets. The ocean is a curative for the human soul, and I believe all feel fortunate to have such a fine strip of ocean, sand, and boardwalk...

NOTE: The Rockaways have a rich history: from 1902 to 1985, there was a large amusement park call Rockaways' Playland. See a photo history here.

Secret Tunnel

Did you ever have a nagging thought revolving around something unresolved? I recall reading in a secrets of New York City book that there was an underground tunnel in Chinatown, now some sort of shopping arcade. However, no one I knew had heard of such a place.

I do love to find secrets in New York City. This is increasingly hard to do, so this mystery would typically make the prospect of search and discovery all the more exciting. However, in this case, all of the individuals I queried, including a long-time resident of Chinatown for 30 years and a few members of the Chinese community, had no idea as to what I was referring to. I began to seriously question whether such a thing existed.

Some digging did finally uncover the existence of a tunnel on Doyers Street in Chinatown, but no address or precise location was given. I made an excursion to Doyers Street, a one-block alley between Pell Street and Chatham Square. This street, which makes a sharp 90° turn, was once known as the Bloody Angle, owing to the numerous shootings that took place there at one time. From the New York Times:

Doyers Street, a crooked, one-block street off Pell Street in Chinatown that was near the Bowery and the notorious Five Points intersection, offered an ideal place for ambushes during the wars between the On Leong and Hip Sing tongs in the late 19th and early 20th century. Tabloids of the day christened the angle in the street, and the police said that more murders occurred on that spot than in any other place in an American city.

I canvassed the entire street. There are many hair cutting salons on the street - it is sometimes known as "hair alley." At 5 Doyers Street, mid-block, I found a staircase leading down below ground. It did not have the charm of a secret historic tunnel at all, but it was an underground passageway. I learned that this was known as the Wing Fat shopping arcade - a maze of quite nondesrcipt passageways with fluorescent lighting and acoustic tiled ceilings. A variety of merchants line the arcade: acupuncturists, dentists, a philatelic shop, and the office of Tin Sun metaphysics. The tunnel winds it way underground, leaving Doyers Street to exit in the lobby of the Wing Fat Mansion building at Chatham Square.

This tunnel was apparently the main artery in a network of tunnels used by members of the Tong gangs as escape routes. It is interesting that there is no signage or advertising of this historic tunnel. In a way, it remains undiscovered...

Pet Pride Parade

Money and privilege often lead to indulgence, and what better place than New York City to find businesses, products, and services oriented to those who want to give their pets all the special treats that they and other humans have?

We have pet cemeteries and mausoleums, a pet bakery in Brooklyn (Buttercup's Paw-Tisserie), a Parisian boutique for dogs (Zoomies), the Dachshund Octoberfest, pet spas with underwater treadmills, massage, and acupuncture, as well as homemade organic dog food and physical therapy. There's doga (yoga with dogs) and dog dating.

Medical treatments know no bounds - the Animal Medical Center of New York City is world-renowned. This veterinary hospital provides routine and emergency medical care for pets and also offers treatment for animals suffering from complicated diseases. The staff, which includes more than 90 veterinarians, utilizes an interdisciplinary team approach and combines expertise in 17 different specialties. The facility is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

And with all the stresses of the city lifestyle, pets may need psychotherapeutic treatment. No worry, however, because pets are now also getting psychoactive drugs.

Of course, much of this is not really so much about the comfort of the pets but more often about indulging the neuroses, obsessions, and compulsions of the pet owners themselves. Fortunately, pets are typically happy to oblige.

In today's photo, we find our four-footed friend who sported his walking shoes and appeared to be quite content. Some dogs are fitted with shoes owing to their fragile nature and discomfort with cold or rain; others wear them because their owners desire for cleanliness in the home. Sweaters and other apparel are quite common with dogs in the city, where daily walks in all four seasons are necessary.

We have a Dance Parade, Gay Pride Parade, Lesbian Parade, Easter Parade, Halloween Parade, Mermaid Parade, St. Patrick's Day Parade, Hispanic Day Parade, Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Spring Madness. May we soon perhaps have a Pet Pride Parade?

Related Postings: Dog Dating, Dachshund Octoberfest, Easter Parade, Wolfdog, Robin Kovary Run For Small Dogs, à la Chien, Spring Madness, Parasol, Dog Run, Zoomies

Crossing Delancey

Subcultures have their own languages, and the art community is no different. Over time, I have been privy to bits and pieces of artspeak, with words such as iconography, a word not often used outside the world of the arts. I say bits and pieces, because the special vocabulary is not wasted on the outsider, and perhaps there is even an element of secrecy, lest we learn enough to do an effective job of posing as one who is knowledgeable in the arts, thereby diminishing the special and exclusive nature of the "club."

I recall once trying my hand at creative design for my business. Upon presenting it to an artist friend, I was immediately told, in a very critical way, that my efforts did not have to be so literal - a new use of the word for me.

I must admit, however, that I liked that use of the word and have added it to my arsenal of word weaponry, to be used when necessary. Recently, while crossing Delancey, the film of the same name came to mind, and it occurred to me that taking a photo would be an opportunity for a literal interpretation of the film's title. Perhaps an art faux pas, but my photography is not being subjected to an art school group crit (see a New York Times article here).

Literally crossing the street can be an undertaking - Delancey is a major thoroughfare with eight lanes extending from the Bowery to the Williamsburg Bridge, which crosses the East River to Brooklyn.
The Delanceys were a rich, pre-revolutionary French Huguenot family. Their large estate became what is now the Lower East Side. Read more about the history of the neighborhood here at the New York Songlines website.

At one time, until the 1920s, Delancey Street was a high-end shopping district. Over time, however, Delancey fell on hard times, and the character of the businesses changed, becoming the primary shopping district of the Jewish Lower East Side, known for discount merchandise and businesses such as Ratner's Kosher Restaurant (closed 2002), the Bowery Ballroom, and the Essex Street Market.

Delancey Street is also the site of one of my earliest postings in 2006 - the Live Poultry Market. There has been some gentrification, and the neighborhood is now a blend of older shops, a smattering of Chinatown and discount merchants, and newer retailers and night clubs.

The film, Crossing Delancey, is the story of Isabelle, an Upper West Side Jewish resident, who, matched to a pickle maker on the more ethnically authentic Lower East Side, finds love crossing to the south of Delancey Street, literally :)

Street Poet

If you were guiding a young person and making a list of things not to plan on doing for a livelihood, writing poetry would be somewhere near the top. So, poets must think out of the box and, in doing so, take it to the streets. There are many benefits to taking your writing to the sidewalks of New York City: no persuading agents of the merit of your work, you receive 100% of the proceeds, and payment is immediate.

And often, skills and arts honed on the streets, for an audience of passersby who are cynical and jaded, will fare well in a more conventional venue. Many well-known performers worked the streets early in their careers. Their material is the product of sifting out the unsuccessful material, leaving that which grabs and holds an audience, frequently with many other options.

Allan Andre hails from New York City. Online searches, however, find him plying his trade in other locales, including San Francisco. See his website here. I met him in Washington Square Park and offered the subject "indecision." Only some minutes later, typing away on a manual typewriter with a carbon copy, he offered me his poem. I made a contribution. See the text of my poem here.

As novel as this enterprise may sound, Allan is not the first or only to try his hand at Poetry While You Wait. Only a few blocks away, on University Place near Union Square, is the Poem Shop of Anayvelyse. German poet William Chrome was also found on the streets of New York City.

Outside of New York, Typing Explosion was a Los Angeles team of three who wrote poetry with the audience choosing titles. They worked regularly from 1998 to 2004. Zach Houston worked in San Francisco and inspired William Chrome to do the same in New York.

I recall reading a quote by a former French President that he could not imagine going to bed at night without reading some Verlaine. Difficult to imagine this as de rigueur for many of our former White House residents. But perhaps the proliferation of street poets is a harbinger of times to come...

Interesting Note: If you type "Verlaine" into Wikipedia, the search only returns Verlaine, the municipality in Belgium. To get the poet, you must enter Paul Verlaine. Is this the result of a poor search engine or commentary of the importance of poetry? :)

Mulberry Street

I so looked forward to my visit to Aix en Provence in the South of France. Everything I had read spoke of it as the quintessential cafe society experience. In New York City, there is a limited amount of quality street side cafe or restaurant seating. In most cases one must suffer the slings and arrows of anything and everything that passes by. Often, tables are placed on sidewalks much too narrow for adequate separation; the sense is that you really are eating on the street. Diners are often accosted by panhandlers and the like.
So for a New Yorker, Aix was paradisaical - wide sidewalks and a clean environment.

However, this is Mulberry Street in the heart of Little Italy. Beginning in 1996, three blocks from Broome to Canal Streets are closed to vehicles during the summer months, turning the street into a pedestrian mall. In September, the street is closed for the annual Feast of San Gennaro festival.

Outdoor seating for restaurants and cafes line Mulberry Street. Restaurant barkers solicit business from passersby. Add heat to the equation, and it will take a certain je ne sais quoi to enjoy eating in this zoo-like atmosphere.

A visitor to the area will also find the surrounding area dominated by Chinese merchants. Neighboring streets (such as Mott Street, one block east of Mulberry) have seen the encroachment of Chinatown. Little Italy has become essentially a small pocket of nostalgia, a virtual postcard snapshot of this historic neighborhood.

I cannot heartily recommend any particular restaurants here (or eating on the street). If you choose to try something on the street, I recommend eating guides such as the Zagat Survey or Yelp. Many residents pan the eating establishments here, but there are endorsers - in 2004, Mayor Rudy Giuliani cited Da Nico as his top pick for Italian in Little Italy. And yes, there has been Mafia mob presence on the street, as well as scandals.

If you have not been down Mulberry Street during the times it is closed to traffic, I do recommend a summer evening stroll where you can walk among the teeming masses. For an online virtual walking tour of Mulberry Street, go here to New York Songlines...

Photo Note: There is a very enjoyable book, New York Then and Now, which shows specific New York City locales using two photos, one earlier in time and one taken at the time of the book's publishing. In this spirit, today I have added a second archival photo showing a stretch of Mulberry Street, circa 1900.

Double Your Pleasure

In America, we love numbers, bargains, more, and doubling. Two is such a convenient multiple for the real world - double your pleasure, double your fun, double your money, double your results, double down, double trouble.

Washington, D.C. was the first big city I visited, and the Washington Monument was the first tall structure I ever saw. My obsession with it knew no bounds. I had many facts memorized, such as that it was 555 feet tall and 55 feet across the base.
One of the beautiful things about the Washington Monument is positioning near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. I love gazing in it and seeing the monument's reflection, getting a visual bargain: two images for the price of one.

When I moved to New York City, Greenwich Village was my first home, and the Washington Square Arch became the natural and perfect object for transference of my monument fixation. It was not as tall, but it was white, stone, also named after our first president, and had a lot of its own history and character. It also became a symbol for the neighborhood, with its bohemian and iconoclastic history, of which I believed myself a member.

In the previous design of Washington Square Park, prior to its recent renovation, when the fountain was turned off, the water would drain completely within minutes. However, the new fountain's system recirculates the water, and after being turned off (at approximately 10:30 PM), a shallow pool several inches deep remains. If the wind is light, the water stills and in a short time becomes a wavy mirror, reflecting the arch, any individuals sitting on the perimeter of the fountain and, if you are positioned correctly, the added bonus of the Empire State Building framed inside the arch itself.

If you're in Greenwich Village at night, take a stroll by the fountain, and the odds are very good that you may double your pleasure :)

Xiangqi

If you want a full cultural immersion experience, head to Columbus Park on a Sunday in Chinatown. This tiny park is Chinatown's playground, home to a wide gamut of traditional Chinese recreational activities. Here, you will find people doing Tai Chi or practicing martial arts in the pavilion, playing folk music, displaying caged birds, singing Peking Opera, women playing mahjong, and hundreds of men engaged in numerous games of Xiangqi (Chinese or elephant chess). You may find cobblers, watch repairers, and fortune tellers. There is also a children's playground and basketball courts. See more photos here.

Columbus Park is one of the city's first major urban parks (the park has alternatively been named Mulberry Bend Park, Five Points Park, and Paradise Park). The 3.23 acre park was planned in the 1880’s by Calvert Vaux, co-designer of Central Park, and opened in 1897. It was named Columbus Park in 1911. Read more about Columbus Park at the New York City Parks Department website here. From their website:

It is situated in the heart of one of the oldest residential areas in Manhattan. The southern end is adjacent to the infamous "Five Points." Until 1808, the site for the park was a swampy area near the Collect Pond (now Foley Square) and hosted a set of tanneries. In 1808 the pond was filled and became Pearl Street. When the filling began to sink, a foul odor emerged which depressed the living conditions of that neighborhood. As a consequence, the area became host to one of the world's most notorious tenements, known for its wretched living conditions and rampant crime, earning such names as "murderer's alley" and "den of thieves."

This notorious slum, Five Points, was dominated by rival gangs such as the Roach Guards, Dead Rabbits, and Bowery Boys, a central subject of the book The Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury, published in 1928. This, in turn, inspired the 2002 Martin Scorsese film, Gangs of New York.

To survive in New York City, unless you have enormous wealth to buffer the harsh environment, you must learn to be resourceful. Ethnic immigrant groups find ways to import their cultures. Regardless of how inhospitable the city might be or incongruous the activity, New Yorkers improvise, adopt, and adapt. The Chinese have done that remarkably well...

Location: Columbus Park is located one block south of Canal Street and one block west of Mott Street in Chinatown. It is bounded by Baxter, Mulberry, Bayard, and Worth Streets.

Related Postings: No MSG, Tết, Big Buddha, Hallmarks and Earmarks, Durian, At Arm's Length, Year of the Rat, Pearl River Mart, Buried Treasure, Tea Time

Tic-Tac-Toe Playing Chickens

Spoiler: This story has a happy ending.

The sign in this photo at the Chinatown Fair at 8 Mott Street, is missing a very critical word: Chickens. The sign used to read: World Famous Dancing & Tic-Tac-Toe Chickens. Since the 1960s, a number of dancing and tic-tac-toe playing chickens have been home here. Chinatown Fair was originally a museum. In Manhattan's Chinatown (2008) by Daniel Ostrow, there is a 1958 photo showing Chinatown Fair located at 7-9 Mott Street with an amusement arcade. Reference is made to Clarabelle, a scientifically trained chicken. According to the book, she was trained to play tic-tac-toe when Chinatown Fair relocated across the street to 8 Mott Street. The shop evolved to a gaming shop; today it is a popular video gaming arcade.

According to a story in the New Yorker from 1999, chickens were trained in Hot Springs Arkansas, by Animal Behavior Enterprises, started by Keller and Marian Breland, both psychologists. After Keller's death, Marian married animal trainer Bob Brailey. Dr. Marian Bailey was one of B. F. Skinner's earliest graduate students.

Animal Behavior Enterprises trained chickens to walk tightrope and trained dolphins for Marineland. In the 1970s, the Bailey's produced a couple hundred "Bird Brain" chickens who, with the assistance of a primitive version of a computer, could play tic-tac-toe without losing. One was installed in Chinatown Fair in 1974.
There was also a Dancing Chicken, which was a sadder situation - claims have been made that it danced because of electrical shocks to a metal plate on which the chicken stood.

But the real attraction was the tic-tac-toe playing chicken. For fifty cents, you could match your wits against the chicken. The chicken was housed in a glass cage which taunted, "Can you Beat This Bird?" Backlit letters indicated "Your Turn" or "Bird's Turn." If you won, you got a bag of fortune cookies.

The New York Times ran a story in 1993 about a chicken named Willy when he died in a heat wave after two years of service, replacing a previous chicken that lived to be eight. The owner was uncertain about replacing the bird, but a tic-tac-toe playing hen named Lily did eventually appear.

In 1998, there was an article in the Poultry Press which tells the story of the release of Lily, the last tic-tac-toe playing chicken. The rescuer, in a plea to owner Mr. Samuel, was able to win Lily's release on January 29, 1998. After a few days in the rescuer's apartment, Lily was moved to Massachusetts to live with other rescued animals. Read the story here.

Chinatown Fair no longer has any dancing or tic-tac-toe playing chickens :)

Coup de Grâce

Irrespective of my interest in photography, sometimes I forget that we live in a world of color. This is easy - it is a full time job to take in all the sights and sounds of this great city. However, on occasion, a color op takes you by surprise and demands attention.

And so it was on Sunday morning, passing by the Acme Bar and Grill at 9 Great Jones Street, where a number of elements conspired in a riot of color.* Early morning, before businesses start, is often a great time to visit a restaurant. Everything is clean and tidy before the masses arrive.  See the interior here.

I entered to inquire about the aqua blue Chevrolet truck, assuming, like Caliente Cab, that this was an intentional decorative motif. It turns out that the truck was an employee's vehicle. I complemented the staff member on the arrangement, but I received a rather nonplussed response - he was unaware of the fortuitous combination of elements that made their establishment so photo worthy.

This was a tribute to reds and blues. Even the parking sign cooperated with its red lettering, as did the scaffolding and pink fire escape. And, unbeknownst to him, a man nearby with an aqua shirt provided the final coup de grâce...

*Note on Riot of Color: Fellow photographer Bill Shatto shares a love of color - the phrase "riot of color" has become a frequently uttered pronouncement on our urban travels.

Related Postings: Tale of Two Colors, Hispanic Day Parade, Color Brigade, Flamboyant, Building Gone Wild, That's Quite a Briefcase,  Fashion Forward, Taste,  Krishna Festival, Police Riot Concert, Narcissism Gone Wild, A Colorful Life, "Who See the Red"

The Tombs

I've never been in prison. I never want to be in prison. And I certainly don't want to be in a New York City prison called the Tombs.
I visited the Tombs on Sunday at midday. Why I would do such a thing is a different story: I was in the neighborhood.

No one looked happy at the detention complex, and there is no way to give this place a happy spin. I spoke to several corrections officers - all polite - but I could sense an air of incredulousness of why I would be there on Sunday, taking photos and asking questions. Virtually every New Yorker has heard of the Tombs, but why would anyone really need to know exactly where or want to visit?  I had never seen the buildings and was curious. So after numerous inquiries (and incorrect directions), I finally arrived at 125 White Street, the home of New York City's Manhattan Detention Complex, aka The Tombs.

Like many New Yorkers, I assumed that the colloquial name was given perhaps because the jail facilities are underground or some other grim reality. This is, in fact, not the case. The complex was nicknamed the Tombs after its first structure, built in 1838, designed by John Haviland and based on an Egyptian mausoleum. This complex occupied a full city block and was called the New York Halls of Justice and House of Detention.

The Tombs has gone through several incarnations: the original from 1838 was replaced with a new building in 1902 and connected to the neighboring Criminal Courts Building by the Bridge of Sighs. That building was replaced in 1941, and in 1974, due to health and security problems, part of the building was taken down and replaced with a new structure. The current complex consists of two buildings connected by a pedestrian bridge: the North Tower from 1990 with 500 beds (seen in the photo) and the South Tower which incorporates part of the original 1941 building.

The various warnings to visitors posted on the entrances made clear the harsh realities and no-nonsense atmosphere inside:

POSSESSION
                             OF
CONTRABAND
                        (WEAPONS)
   RAZORS KNIVES SHANKS SHIVS BULLETS
And any other weapon capable of causing injury and/or
otherwise endangering the safety of the institution
       WILL RESULT IN YOUR IMMEDIATE
             ARREST 

Other prohibitions include chewing gum, electronic devices, camera, mirrors, aluminum foil, pencil sharpeners, glass, and mace. I got the message, loud and clear.

Many believed, as I did, that this is strictly a detention center, housing those arrested until arraignment. However, I was told that many are here for months or years and that this complex operates as a prison.
My advice to residents and visitors: stay on the outside...

Note: As one might expect, services for those apprehended were next door on Baxter Street. I found it interesting that sandwiched between three bail bondsmen and a law office was a whiskey tavern. See photos here.

Gallivanting

When I was young, a popular refrain from my mother was, "No daughter of mine will be gallivanting all over town." This meant my sister, of course, who was easily bored and quite social and mobile at a very young age, earning herself the nickname "the roadrunner."

So I grew up believing that gallivanting must have been an accidental omission in the list of deadly sins or biblical commandments. Certainly there was nothing worse than to gallivant - the mere expression of youthful freedom appeared to be a mortal sin. Let's not even imagine the things a girl might actually do while gallivanting. Even worse, at night.

Without parental controls, what better time and place to gallivant with your friends than New York City at night? With the recent restoration of Washington Square Park, the fountain now sports a massive center plume and powerful side jets and has been a center for late night revelry, virtually without concern for temperature or rain. It has become a theater for bravado - will you take the challenge and go in with your street clothes on? They do, and they get soaking wet, with spectators watching in amusement. I saw a girl moon the audience and a man do a head stand on the steel grate over the center plume. More photos here.

There is squealing, shrieking, dancing, splashing, and jumping. The cavorting and play appears to be the most fun anyone has ever had. I don't know whether this is a case of pure joy or if there is an element of the classic "stolen watermelon tastes best." Some of these girls must know how much their mothers would be disappointed if they knew their daughters were out late at night gallivanting :)

Chess Monsters

The last great chess player I saw in Washington Square Park was Yaacov Norowitz; this was to be his story, as well as that of the other great players who have graced the southwest corner of the park. But I have not seen Yaacov playing in some time.

On and off, for a few decades, I have spent many a Sunday afternoon watching the games of many masters, international masters, grandmasters, and blitz players. I never got to see Hikaru Nakamura, reputed to be one of the undisputed monsters of blitz chess. I did often see Israel Zilber, a former Latvian chess champion who was homeless during most of the 1980s and was one of the best players in the park.

One of the wildest incidents I have witnessed in this area was a shooting. As all the players scurried for cover behind the low concrete wall which encircled the tables, one chess fan who had been watching the games actually made the rounds pausing everyone's clocks. Once the smoke had cleared and the police had reestablished law and order, the players jumped backed and resumed playing as if nothing had happened. We were told that that the incident was motivated by a previous drug deal gone awry. On this day, one party encountered the other, pulled out a gun in broad daylight, and fired.

One of the highlights for me was the regular appearance in the 1980s of Grandmaster Roman Dzindzichashvili, a two-time U.S. chess champion. He played blitz chess for money, as is common there. Blitz is speed chess, where each opponent is limited to 5 minutes total per game. Accumulated time for each player is tracked using a chess clock. A player whose time runs out loses (unless his opponent does not have enough material to win).

There is a spectrum of playing styles here. Much of street or park chess played for money involves hustling, which can take the form of anything from the classic hustle (i.e. disguising one's skill level) to outright cheating, which I have witnessed. Skills are honed specifically for speed chess, an aggressive style of playing and a mastery of all the tricks and traps of the game, along with distractions such as chess trash talk. Time odds are frequently offered to players of lesser strength. When played for money, games range from a few dollars and up - I have seen sessions played for as much as $100 per game. Side bets are also frequently made. Some regulars (such as Bobby Plummer, aka Sweet P) essentially set up office, staking out a good table early and barking the offer of a game to passersby. Some are able to eke out a subsistence living. This area is known worldwide to chess players, and many come here for a challenging encounter, prepared to lose some cash. Read article here.

This corner of the park was the setting for the 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer, a story based on the life of chess prodigy and Village resident Joshua Waitzkin. Bobby Fischer was a player here in the 1960s - unfortunately, this was before my time in New York City, and I never got a chance to see this legendary chess icon play.

The quality of player has gone down decidedly in the park, as has the physical environment in this area, which badly needs an update (scheduled as part of a future phase of the park renovation). I hope for a return of the chess monsters :)

Notable chess players who have played in Washington Square Park:
Joel Benjamin, Roman Dzindzichashvili, Kamran Shirazi, Joshua Waitzkin, Bruce Pandolfini, Vincent Livermore, Russian Paul, Hikaru Nakamura, Yaacov Norowitz, Luis Busquets, Bobby Fischer (early 1950s), Maurice Ashley, Asa Hoffman, and Israel Zilber. There are also regular games played in Union Square, Times Square, and Central Park.

Related Postings: Good Fortune, Marshall Chess Club

Sahadi's

In New York City, ethnic diversity takes on different flavors. There are neighborhoods with one large ethnic group or a number of ethnic groups, and there are ethnic enclaves - neighborhoods dominated by one ethnicity. Jackson Heights, Queens, considered one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the world, is a good example of the former.

Ethnic pockets, large and small, are scattered throughout the boroughs of New York City: Ukrainians in the East Village, Jamaicans in Jamaica, Queens, Koreans in Koreatown in Manhattan, Greeks in Astoria, Queens, Russians in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Hassidic Jews in Borough Park, Brooklyn, Mexicans in Spanish Harlem, Filipinos in Woodside and Flushing, Queens, Dominicans in Washington Heights, Indians in the East Village. There are also concentrations of many older European immigrant groups - e.g. Irish, Italian, and German.

Along Atlantic Avenue near Clinton Street, in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, there is a handful of Middle Eastern merchants. There are few Middle Eastern residents in this neighborhood today - there were many early in the 20th century.

Sahadi's, at 187 Atlantic Avenue, has been in Brooklyn since 1948 and is the most well known of the Middle Eastern shops in the area. You will also find others here, such as the Yemen Cafe, Damascus Bakery and Bread, Malko Karkanni Brothers, the Oriental Pastry and Grocery Company, and the Lebanese restaurant Tripoli.

At Sahadi's, you will find a place that does not pander to the tourist or outsider. This is the real deal, catering to a select clientele of Middle Eastern residents or food aficionados, all looking for authentic foods. Since there founding, Sahadi's has broadened its selection and has evolved into a gourmet shop where many other products can be found.

The company has a three-generation Lebanese family history, with its origins when Abrahim Sahadi opened A. Sahadi & Co. on Washington Street in New York City in 1895. Read the history here.
Sahadi's is now also a wholesaler, distributor, and manufacturer, known throughout the Middle Eastern community nationwide. This arm of the company, Sahadi Fine Foods, was formed in 1999 and is located in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. You can go here for a photo tour of the facility.

When it comes to my Middle Eastern training in cuisine, I have had several teachers. One of them was Sahadi's :)

Related Postings: First Oasis Restaurant, Kalustyan's, Moustache, Ful Mudammas, Mystery Meat

Under the Sun

When I saw the tip of a sail at a distance, darting to and fro, I was so excited. I knew what I was seeing: land sailing (aka land yachting or sand yachting). My first exposure to this activity was on television many years ago from the flats of Utah or Nevada. At the time I was fascinated - the whole thing looked so exhilarating and novel. However, I assumed I would never see this type of thing, lest I make a trip out west with a specific agenda to find a land sailing locale.

Land sailing in New York City? Floyd Bennett Field, with all of its unused runways, is a natural for this, but it still caught me by surprise to see an activity that requires such a large amount of unobstructed space. Years of living in New York City conditions you to negating an activity like this from contemplation.

It took some circumnavigating by car to find the runway being used. I was greeted cordially by the sole sailer at the time, Rick Honor, who had just done an interview for a piece on Floyd Bennett Field by the New York Times. Some would say it was another case of Morphic Resonance.
Rick was extremely generous, answering whatever questions I had about the activity and the equipment. He showed me his car, which was packed with a variety of air-powered vehicles, including equipment for kite boarding. He told me that on many weekends, there were land sailers who would be happy to teach me and let me sail one of their rigs. See my video of Rick land sailing here.

I was also surprised to learn that this activity was not born recently but had variations going back to China and Egypt. The modern precursor is credited to Flemish scientist Simon Levin in the 16th century - see painting here.
In its current incarnation, land sailing equipment is high-tech, with eight classes of vehicles including kite buggying. The standard construction today consists of a tricycle buggy with a main sail. Land yachting competitions take place worldwide. I was astounded to find a photo of a sail wagon on the streets of Brooklyn from the early 20th century, circa 1910-15. There is truly nothing new under the sun...

Related Post: Floyd Bennett Field, Umbrella and Chevy

Mysteries of Science

I have seen Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn strolling on the absolute hottest days fully dressed - layered in black (or navy), even with wool hats (streimel), in what appears to be the most uncomfortable wardrobe imaginable. And on occasion, we do see Islamic women fully draped in black on hot summer days. Of course there are religious elements at work here, and when one is dealing with religion, fashion and comfort play second fiddle.

But there are many others, as shown in today's photo collage, where the appearance alone of wardrobe appears to trump cooling comfort. Even on a blistering hot and humid August day, take a walk through the East Village, and you will witness any number dressed in tight black jeans and heavy boots.

Unfortunately, the issue of black versus white clothing and heat is not as simple as the fact that black absorbs heat from sunlight and white reflects it. There are additional considerations - how tight the garments are, wind speed, and the reflection/absorption by the clothing of heat from the body. White will reflect body heat back, and black will absorb body heat, so the net effect of loose white clothing is actually less cooling.
From an article from the Straight Dope by Cecil Adams, Does black clothing keep you cooler:

Desert-dwelling nomadic people such as the Tuaregs wear loose-fitting black clothing, and have been doing so for a very, very long time. If there were an advantage to wearing white clothes, you'd certainly expect they'd have figured that out by now.

Apart from color, there is also the issue of full dress. I have also met numerous individuals, both men and women, who will not wear shorts, skirts, sandals, or any wardrobe elements that expose the legs or feet - only what summer heat requires for maximum cooling. In these cases, there is also no religious dogma; perhaps the operative factors are vanity and/or self consciousness about their bodies.

Or maybe there are some fundamental differences in human physiology. Have you ever noticed people in a wardrobe of dress clothes on a hot day who do not look the least bit uncomfortable or even show one drop of perspiration? Another mystery of science...

Photo Note: These photos were all taken in Washington Square Park on very hot days during this summer.