DBlack

When Tishman Speyer took control of the Stuyvesant Town properties a few years ago, they made a big deal in the press about how they were going to spend millions of dollars on planting new trees and flowers all over the complex. This was a way of underscoring the failed attempt to turn Stuy Town's affordable housing units into luxury condos, a plan that went seriously wrong recently with the purchasers defaulting on their billion-dollar loans. Anyways, how they went about beautifying the complex was by ordering trees and flowers to be delivered and then leaving them above ground for weeks to die. Many of the plants ended up in the compost heap, or died soon after planting, and now that the money for this kind of beautification project has dried up, Stuy Town is as ugly and depressing as it ever was. The 80-acre park is a world unto itself, with apartments that are reportedly very spacious but very poorly maintained. This brick enclave is situated in the middle of Manhattan, and surrounded by neighborhoods that are so much more attractive and interesting, like Gramercy Park, the Flatiron District, and Union Square. The only real advantage to living in the complex is proximity, but otherwise it's hard to see how this desolate area would have become a land of luxury condos.

You'll want to go to Riverside Church (at West 120th Street and Riverside Drive) and be discreet about finding the Laura Spellman Rockefeller memorial Carillon. The reason for it, as you'll discover, is that you can ascend to the top and have an unobstructed view of the city below. Not at all like the metal grilles at the Empire State Building, you can really get a sense of the poetry of Manhattan's bird's eye view. I haven't been up there in many years, so I really hope they haven't caged it in by now. If they have, a trip up to Morningside Heights is still not wasted, since you can visit the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine, one of the largest cathedrals in the world. The guidebooks say it's still not complete, more than a hundred years after construction began, and they are still pumping visitors for donations, which would go toward this or that construction. They offer a Vertical Tour periodically, up the stone spiral staircases and onto the roof of the building. If you're lucky enough to catch one of these tours I highly recommend it. Otherwise, there's not a lot of amusement going on in Morningside Heights, as the area is dominated by the Columbia University campus. Many of the buildings outside of the fenced-in campus at 116th Street are in one way or another part of Columbia too, so the area is just one big university town, really. It is definitely one of the more beautiful campuses you'll see, with pristine lawns and students hanging out on the steps of the big domed library in the center. But once you're not a student any more, the area doesn't have a lot to offer you, so you'd best just head downtown for any kind of entertainment.

It's not an exaggeration to think of Central Park as the best public park in the world, when you think about how it provides recreation to millions of people every day. Besides its natural beauty, its historical highlights, and its beautiful views, the park also has many odd corners and surprising twists. Near 67th Street and 5th Avenue you can find a statue of Balto, a sled dog that saved Alaskan explorers from death, and a statue that has been sat upon by every kid who ever passed by. The Literary Walk is lined with Shakespeare and Burns, plus a spectacular collection of elm trees. At Box Bridge, a fine cast iron bridge, you can get your fill of swans, boats, and lovers. You can also visit Yoko Ono's Strawberry Fields and look at the “Imagine” mosaic, which is home to candles and hippies year-round. There's also a butterfly habitat to the left of the Boathouse restaurant, near where bicycles are rented. It is a fenced-in area with flowering wild plants specifically planted to attract butterflies. The Shakespeare Garden near Belvedere Castle contains all the flowers mentioned in all of Shakespeare's plays. But aside from all that, Central Park is the classic summertime hangout. You can grab a girl, a blanket, and a bottle of wine and make an afternoon of it.

NoHo (North of Houston) is the counterpart of SoHo (South of Houston). It is wedged between Greenwich Village and the East Village. It is also a relatively new neighborhood in terms of Manhattan
nomenclature, since it was named only as recently as 1999. However, it contains many historic turn of the century houses and office buildings. Among the most beautiful and notable are the Public Theater on Lafayette Street, and a part of the Collonade Row which is just across the street from it. Also right nearby is the new Cooper Union building, a really interesting piece of architecture, though you can't see all the great design details inside the building unless you're a student. Many of the residential options in this area are loft style apartment buildings, so the real estate here is quite expensive. In addition, it is incredibly central, with Astor Place being a hub of traffic of sorts. A lot of the best eating and bar options in the area are actually more in the neighboring East Village or Greenwich Village, but you just can't beat this neighborhood for its central location.

NoLita is a small and relatively recent neighborhood that has sprung up as its own entity, central to surrounding neighborhoods like SoHo, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side. The neighborhood included some truly beautiful buildings. For example, the Puck Building, an ornate building that got its name from Puck Magazine, a publication that no longer exists. Another great building is the very old St Patrick's Old Cathedral on Prince Street. It is surrounded on all sides by a brick wall, which was erected to protect the cathedral, back when there were riots between protestants and catholics, in the early years of Manhattan. On Sundays the area just next to the cathedral is lined with vendors selling all kinds of merchandise, and if you walk around to Mott Street, you will see a beautiful old door that leads to the cathedral's courtyard. I would say Nolita is one great place to do brunch. Not only does it have good places like Cafe Habana and Cafe Gitane, but the people walking around are always stylish, which is absolutely important for a brunch experience. There are also a lot of small boutique shops in the area. One of my favorites is a men's barbershop on Elizabeth Street that has a real old-world atmosphere.

One of my favorite Bowery places is the Bowery Ballroom at 6 Delancey Street. It's a building that was built just before the stock market crash of 1929, and most recently has become a great and renown music venue. Too bad CBGB's on the Bowery closed down, but not everyone knows that a part of 2nd Street at the intersection of Bowery and Bleecker Street was renamed Joey Ramone Place. You can also visit the thriving Bowery Poetry Club, and sit in on a poetry slam, or else go read a book along with other students and literary types at Think Coffee. Of course, the New Museum is located on the Bowery too. Many people feel the opening of this museum signaled and accelerated the Bowery's rapid gentrification in recent years. That is probably very true, and what was once an area full of flop houses and establishments of ill repute, is now packed full of pricey real estate and upscale bars and restaurants. It is not uncommon to see drunk and rowdy night-lifers stumbling around on the Bowery at all hours of the morning, but I would say they are distinctly better dressed in recent years. It's not surprising this has happened, as the Bowery is ideally situated between two important neighborhoods, SoHo and the Lower East Side.

One of my favorite things about Tribeca is the Hudson River Park, which is a long strip of interconnected parks and gardens that runs from Battery Park City and up along the Hudson. You can run or bike along the path in real tranquility, away from the usual hassles of the city. There are several piers in Tribeca, where you can play golf or go fishing, and at two of the piers you can actually do free kayaking during the summers (Pier 26 and Pier 64), but you have to get up pretty early in the morning, since there are usually more people than there are kayaks. Known for its large and expensive loft style residences, Tribeca has many great bars and upper end restaurants that cater to the residents. I really like Odeon on West Broadway. Back in the 80's it was supposed to be one of the trendiest restaurants in the city. It has remained popular to this day because they have great food and a chic but not completely pretentious atmosphere. Another draw for me is the Taste of Tribeca, an annual event where Tribeca's finest chefs prepare their signature dishes, and are then available to sample all along Duane Street.

Huge and impersonal in its buildings, the Garment District can really defeat your best intentions. There isn't a reason you'd want to be here if you don't live here, except to make use of the obvious, centrally located big attractions. For example, Penn Station is in this area, which means all the shady characters who hand around Penn Station are also in the area. Their presence has gotten a lot better since Bloomberg and Giuliani, but still. Another obvious attraction in the area is the New York Public Library, the main one which features an enormous study room. It's a great place to get work done, since there are so few other distractions. Bryant Park is also nearby, and it's one of my favorite destinations during the summers. You can not only watch free films in the evenings, but just hang out and lounge on lazy summer afternoons, and read a book. Other large and imposing structures in the area include the James Farley post office, Madison Square Garden, and the Javitz Convention Center. The area is dominated by loud, glittering, and ultra-commercial Broadway, which then spills over into the side streets. Aside from these two destinations, Penn Station and the Public Library, I have found very little reason to head to the Garment District, as it feels imposing and impersonal to walk down the street here.

Two great restaurants for fish in the West Village are Mary's Fish Camp on Charles Street and Pearl Oyster Bar at Cornelia Street. The West Village also has some amazing, and authentic pastry shops. Some of my favorites include Taylor's Bake Shop, Magnolia Bakery, and Patisserie Claude. Grange Hall is a perfect brunch place on a Sunday afternoon, and afterward you can stroll down the many small and winding West Village streets, and look in on the small specialty shops which are typical of the area. If you're in the mood for some culture, the Cornelia Street Cafe is very recommendable, not only because it has a typical West Village vibe, but also because it still hosts poetry readings and small concerts. Another small but historically important cultural institution is the Cherry Lane Theater, where Eugene O'Neill first got his plays performed in New York City. And while you're being literary, you should drink at Chumley's, a bar with a pedigree of literary former patrons and a layer of sawdust on the floor to hide the secret passageways that used to be in use during its Prohibition speakeasy heyday. The West Village once used to be the hottest place to go for jazz after Harlem, with gems like the Village Vanguard and Small's leading the way, but I think the scene isn't quite what it was in former years. Some of the authentic feel of the classic West Village hangouts has been diminished by the NYU student crowd.

Madison Square, take broadly as a term is the area around Madison Square Park, within the Flatiron District. It should not be confused with Madison Square Garden, which is located further up, in the East Thirties. The square used to be Manhattan's shopping paradise, and many of the buildings that are still preserved in the area used to be the grand old department stores on New York's lavish past eras. The area is still packed with retailers, major hotels, and various establishments involved in the entertainment industry. Architecturally, the square is notable for the famous Flatiron Building, the most distinctive and beautiful of all the buildings in the area. Also very imposing are the Metlife Tower and the NY Life Insurance Company building, both examples of typical turn of the century skyscraper office tower architecture. The most recent addition, which is in contrast to the surrounding buildings, is the huge 50 story glass tower, The Saya, at one Madison Park. It is a residential skyscraper and unusual to the commercial interests in the area. Madison Square has historically been one of the most important squares in New York City, and continues to be a mecca of shopping and commercial activity.

Kips bay is simply overrun with huge hospital buildings, which give the area an impersonal and alienating character. It is hard to think of this neighborhood as residential, since it is so unattractive and so blank in its features. No doubt the attraction to living here is convenience, especially for those who work in Midtown, but it has so little to offer otherwise as a neighborhood. One could never imagine hanging out around this place, or grabbing a drink with friends. The only time I have ever had a reason to cross over to this area is when I needed to attend some health workshops at the Rusk Institute, and I can tell you it was a nightmare having to navigate the area by car. The presence of so many hospitals and medical centers – the NYU School of Medicine and the Bellevue Hospital Center are also here, among others – makes the area a traffic nightmare pretty much constantly. Kips Bay also features a small park area right on the East River, with a man-made piece of landmass that extends out into the water. It was created from excess cement from the various construction projects nearby which was then dumped into the river. Overall, Kips Bay is unattractive and only desirable if you need easy access to Midtown.

I love to live on this street for all the reasons everyone else loves it, it's fun, it's happening, it's full of energy. But I think I wouldn't imagine myself five years from now, so for me it's a place of transition, best enjoyed when you're young and carefree.