NYC Then and Now

Feb 21, 2013 International Tourist Guide Day (1)

This is the 2nd year that I (and the NYC Guides Association) will be participating in International Tourist Guide Day. This year, tours will start in different places. All tours are free. I will be giving 2 tours.

My first tour will be geared to early risers and people looking to get their bearings before heading to work, a conference or more heavy duty sightseeing.

Times Square - My Time of Day - The tour will meet at 7:00 AM near the steps in front of the TKTS Booth in Times Square. This early stroll will look at the neighborhood behind the glitter. The tour will end by 8:30. We will see some surprising places, learn how to use a MetroCard, understand ticket and transportation options, check out eating places - who knows! I'll also talk about the tours going on for the rest of the day.

One of my earliest posts on this blog was about Times Square. Back then, I was still working on Double Decker buses. These days I enjoy sharing my New York with visitors, on foot, public bus or in subways.

 Here is the post about Tour Guide Day 2012. I will update this post with a complete listing of tours when the listing is put on line.

If you wish to join me on this tour, send an email or comment to my blog or contact me at ztaks@me.com or send a note through www.aguidenamedsue.com.

Here is the link for my North End of Central Park tour at 11 AM.

Happy February!

Feb 21, 2013 International Tourist Guide Day 2

At 11:00 AM, meet me inside the doors of St John the Divine, the largest Cathedral in the World. If you want to tour the Cathedral, arrive early, make a donation and have a look around or arrange for a tour there later in the week. (Hint - If you take the 1 train Uptown, you can see Tom's Restaurant of Seinfeld fame on the way over to the Cathedral.)

We will check out the North End of Central Park (without The Gates). We will see the skating rink, the Blockhouse (from afar), the Dana Discovery Center and the Conservatory Gardens.

 

 

Afterwards, get a snack and/or visit El Museo del Barrio and/or the Museum of the City of New York. Then walk or bus your way back to midtown or head North to Harlem. Or, head to your next Tourist Guide Day tour.

 

 

If you are interested in joining this tour, leave a comment or email me on the blog or at ztaks@me.com.

Stay warm.

Thanksgiving Day 80's - 2011

My brother and I felt that NYC got great press two days a year: Marathon Day and Thanksgiving. We thought it would be great to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and got the opportunity to volunteer in the mid 80's (85) when my cousin's new husband was head of the special events construction crew at Macy's. We (and 30 others) held down the Nestle's Quik bunny balloon on its first fly down Broadway. In those days the balloons were larger and not anchored to motorized vehicles. It was all arm strength. My arms ached for a week but it was a once in a life time experience that I will never forget. 

Thanksgiving 86 was spent in Rio with friends who worked for the Foreign Service. At 3AM we listened to Trini Lopez singing Lemon Tree at a Samba show. By 98, my parents had moved to Arizona and my brother was elsewhere so a friend came in and I finally went to see the balloons being blown up in the evening. The next day, we watched the parade from a little hill in Central Park near the Dakota building.  I gave my friend a copy of Time and Again by Jack Finney and he insisted we were standing by a tree in one of the pictures. (I wonder if the tree is still standing after Hurricane Sandy storm damage in Central Park).

For most of the last 8 years I worked Wednesday and/or Thanksgiving on Double Decker buses and sat in lots of traffic near the balloon area on Wednesday afternoons and early evening. I made it to relatives in the tristate area or dropped in on friends for dessert a few times and sometimes, I had a quiet dinner at my local coffee shop after a very long day.

Last year, my niece from Arizona brought her family in to visit the 911 memorial (my niece worked with many people from AON who lost their lives on Sept 11),  to see a rehearsal of their cousins who were marching in the parade, to watch the balloon inflation, to have dinner at Patsy's and to watch the parade from a very special vantage point before heading to Jersey for dinner at another niece's home. It was a whirlwind two days. I rushed off the bus to meet them at the WTC site and my Arizona great niece and nephew took 11 subway rides and a train ride before arriving for dinner in New Jersey on Thanksgiving.

In December of last year, I visited my parents in Arizona. We spent some quality time together watching Miracle on 34th Street. We actually watched it twice because my mother's short term memory was gone. She did not remember seeing it the first time.

Thanksgiving Season 2012

2012 has been an interesting year. I left the double deckers after major changes were proposed for the way tour guides would be doing their job in 2012. My mother passed away after being ill for several years. I broke my right wrist (I'm a lefty), etc, etc. Despite all the not so good things happening to me, I always new I was better off than most of the other 99 percent. When Hurricane Sandy hit and I had lights and power I knew that I was lucky. And, on a positive note, after years of being a "wandering Jew" in New York where there is a house of worship for everyone, I found the one that fits for me: Or Zarua. That's perhaps why the Thanksgiving Day scene in the play JB came to mind in my Turkey Day post. JB is loosely based on The Book of Job. My high school put on the play a very long time ago and now I must read the original.

I woke up several days ago and realized that this might be the perfect year to play Auntie Mame (as in the roller skate scene in Macys) for real. I sat down at this computer and applied for a temporary job at Macy's. I and lots of other people were invited back for short interviews earlier in the week. If anything comes of it I will tell the longer version when/if I get the opportunity to invite you to find me at the store. If not, there is always next year.

 I walked across the Park before noon on Balloon Wednesday and discovered that the balloons were set out and ready to be inflated.

 

 

 

An hour and a half later, the first balloon was already inflated.

 

 

In between, I visited the NY Historical Society to try to see the new train exhibit and rediscovered the Luce Center which is really the great old attic of New York City. When you visit, make sure you stop on the fourth floor where you will find so many treasures.

I thought there was a typo for the death date of artist Theresa Bernstein then I googled her. You should too. If you find this picture you will find a wall of pictures I want in my livingroom in my next life.

Later Wednesday night, I went with a group from my synagogue to "glean" food from an upscale market and deliver it to food banks in need. I like playing Robin Hood and will probably do it again on Christmas Eve (after caroling). Thanksgiving morning I went to services and got home in time to see the TV time of the Oak Ridge High School band. I had taken some of them on Central Park and downtown tour on Tuesday.

How did I spend the rest of Thanksgiving? I stayed at home nursing a cold and communicated with several friends on line and off and I wrote these posts: remembrance of Thanksgivings past. Now back to the future. 

No Marathon 2012 Saturday Sunday and Monday

Saturday morning was the perfect time to take advantage of members' hour at MOMA, wander through midtown, and see how much of Central Park had re-opened.  The best time to see The Scream was early in the  morning.  I also checked out a small exhibit on the design floor about the opening scenes of Goldfinger. 

Then I wandered North talking to visitors as I went. I stopped to see the dangling crane and finally entered Central Park to walk the reverse of the Marathon route up the East Drive. In the last few years, I took this route after a long day on double decker buses where I talked about how to view the Marathon and why the buses were not on their normal route. I loved rooting for the runners who were still on the course at that hour; they were my kind of people. I decided to go off route because I was delighted to see people who came to run the Marathon actually exploring the Park.

Back at home, the should/shouldn't have cancelled the run discussion was playing out in the Tourguide and Tourist communities I inhabit in Cyberspace. The Tourism community was strangely silent. Hopefully they were/are working on the New York is open for business message that needs to be heard round the world. A poster I know who is a police officer provided my reality check about the decision. He pointed out that first responders of all types (police, fire, medical) had been working long hour 7 day shifts for days and there really weren't "resources available" to handle the race. I'm glad it was cancelled. I decided to offer free No Marathon tours for Sunday and Monday.

On Sunday, I met lots of runner/visitors in Times Square who mostly spoke French and watched many runners passing through on their way to running in the Park anyway. After no one showed, my tour not taken turned into a fun walk up through the Park via the finish line and eventually across the Great Lawn and out North of the Metroppolitan Museum of Art. The Park felt like Marathon Day. The runners ran. The bystanders cheered. The weather was gorgeous but the visible tree devastation was sobering.

I planned the Monday tour thinking that visitors who didn't run on Sunday would be up early with energy to spare. The good news for visitors and New York was that people who needed to run on Sunday ran their hearts and legs out and saw more of New York than they would see from the Marathon course. People who wanted to volunteer got out to Staten Island and Brooklyn and Queens and helped out any way they could.  Consequently on the first "normal" back to work Monday, Times Square was really empty between 7 and 8 AM.

This is me all alone in Times Square at almost 8AM on Monday morning. Eventually, I decided to do my planned tour on my own.I visited my favorite photo op street corner where you can take pictures of the Chrysler building, Empire State and 1 World Trade Center from the same corner. I discovered Free Coffee sponsored by MSNBC at Rockefeller Center and noticed the Warhol exhibit at Christies which I visited on the way home. 

After stopping at Grand Central and wandering over to the UN, there was virtually no traffic on the M15 until it reached the East Village. I scratched the idea of going all the way downtown and got off at the East Village. I munched my way to the Eldridge Street Synagogue with dumplings from the original Vanessa's. I also stopped in at the Tenement Museum and on my way to the subway I got a knish at Yona Schimmel's. I would have also stopped in at Russ & Daughters had I read the article about their Sherpa Manager that was published in the New York Times the day before.

No more empty free tours for me. If you would like to learn how to explore New York like a native with a "native" (I started life in New Jersey), contact me with your dates and needs.

OHNY 2012 Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my 10th year volunteering at the 10th annual Open House New York. The volunteer meeting was at the beautiful Presbyterian Church on Fifth Avenue. This year, my volunteer job was a "bus woman's" holiday. I did the check in for fellow Guide's Association member Bob Gelber's Central Park tour. There were people from Sweden and Canada as well as the other 4 boroughs, Connecticut and NJ.  A fun time was had by all.

I headed to my reservation for the Newtown Creek WasteWater Treatment Plant ("eggs") tour. The lecture and the views were great! To learn more about our water supply you can go to the Department of Environmental Protection's website or Facebook page. (Or sign up for next year's tour).

Afterwards, I remembered I was in Greenpoint. Several years ago I took a Noshwalks Greenpoint tour and my favorite place was the candy store. I googled Polish Chocolate Store Greenpoint and ended up here. I bought about a half pound of assorted candies and unfortunately finished them before the end of my day. So much for diets.

 

(View from the top of the egg.) Sunday started with a backstage tour of the newly renovated Public Theater. As someone who saw the first season of the Public many many moons ago - The original HAIR was one of the shows - this was a fabulous tour. The rest of you can visit during their open house Oct 13th.  There is a new restaurant space in the building - The Library. Could not get a reservation for next week because of a party but a friend and I will sample the cuisine at Joe's Pub instead - same kitchen. Joe Papp's latest biography Free For All is on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

Then I headed to the Kings County Distillery tour in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This place is a must visit if you are near the York Street stop on the F train on a Saturday when they give tours. Actually bought some moonshine to take home. Then I walked through the Navy Yard for the first time and ran into another tour guide volunteer (after spending years pointing out its location from the top of a night loop bus) to the new museum in Building 92. Wonderful exhibit on the history of the Navy and the Naval Yard and the neighborhood with a really nice cafe inside as well.

I started heading back to the East Side of Manhattan using hop stop and walking directions to the subway were not wonderful (I should have just gone back to the F York St stop near the distillery). Rather than continue to the A train after a couple of backtracks because of lack of sidewalk on busy roads, I walked the Brooklyn Bridge to the 4 train instead. The construction is still blocking the view and pedestrians are still causing trouble in the bike lanes but it is still a fun walk.

I keep saying I will retire from volunteering at OHNY but actually next year I want to lead a North End of Central Park walk. Hope to see you then if not before. Where did you go this year?

 

 

Sept 11, 2012

This year seems unusually quiet. There was a very good article in the NY Times a few days ago about volunteers scrubbing the "Sphere' before the anniversary . The nearby Museum of the Jewish Heritage is open for free with suggested donation. I did not get around to organizing a fundraising tour as part of the notion of Day of Service. I will be attending morning services at my synagogue and I hope to see the Towers of Light in the evening.

There are several posts on my blog about Sept 11th.  Sept 10, 2001    Sept 11, 2001   Sept 11, 2009 

Sept 11, 2011  Sept 11 Reading   Ground Zero Man on Wire    

While cleaning my apartment, I discovered these cartoons from around the country that the New York Times published on the Sunday after Sept 11th. Still quite interesting with hindsight.

 

Open House New York - Call for Volunteers 2012 - my assignment

October 6 and 7 will be the 10th Anniversary of Open House New York. There will be many new sites. I will be a site volunteer for the 10th time. There are less than 20 of us who have volunteered every year.

For a variety of reasons, volunteer recruitment started late (today in fact) this year. The volunteer meetings will be Sept 18 and 22 but you must register in advance.

One year, I volunteered at the Chrysler Building so I thought you would enjoy this picture. You can read about other places I've volunteered in my prior year posts. Some of the prior year links may not work.

To learn more about Open House New York start here. Become a supporter, enter the raffle, go to the kick off party!

To find out more about volunteering (if there are spots left) and to register as a volunteer start here.

 Volunteers get a button that will get you to the head of the line when you are not working your shift.

UPDATE - tour guide's holiday this year. Although one of my passions is giving Central Park tours, this year I will be handling checkin and volunteer duties for fellow Guides Association tour guide Bob Gelber. (I've been on a Battery Park City tour with him. He is a great guide.)

This is the first year in a while that I will be near a computer to sign up for special events when registration begins on Sept 27th. I will post my Sunday plans then.

If you want to do more of OHNY with me on Saturday afternoon, you will have to sign up for the Central Park tour when registration opens and I will see you there. The starting point will be made known only to those who register. Have a great time!

More about the Chrysler Building:

Beyond the (NYC) Fringe Festival

At the Fringe Festival, you get to see shows that may (or may not) ever be performed again. They are works in progress and the audience is filled with friends, relatives, potential backers and theatre lovers like me. My father was involved with community theatre from the time I entered first grade so I have always enjoyed great and lousy live theatre and all points in-between. For my friends in the FB Forgotten Musicals group there are many productions that will soon be forgotten and some that will go on to longer runs. The Fringe is also affordable theatre in this very expensive city of ours.

I started attending the festival probably 15 years ago when most of the theatres were hiding in the Lower East Side and Alphabet City. This year Fringe Central is pretty central and the 19 spaces range from way east to way west. I have enjoyed getting a little lost in the West Village off the grid structure and discovering great little bars, restaurants, shops and architecture.

On Tuesday, I started my day at a tour of Channel Thirteen's Production Studio before heading downtown. We watched how cameras are managed and voice overs are done in the 21st Century. It is the 50th anniversary of 13. Tom Stewart who has done voice overs and pledge breaks at 13 for 25 years demonstrated for us. I used to see Tom act at The Actor's Company Theatre (TACT) a long time ago. I used to do voice computer programming back in a time when space mattered. It certainly doesn't today.         Then I came down for the first Fringe show.

While the first 5 shows weren't wonderful, I did discover Sockerbits a Swedish candy store. I also tried the Philly Cheese Steak place and a tiny soup store on 8th. My unexpected show was with friends I met during last year's festival. We went to a new  place for me before called Wine Stop fondue wine and salad and visited an old favorite Caffe Reggio for cappuccino afterwards. I went back for a SFOGLIATELLA today after getting a slice at that great pizza joint 3rd and MacDugal.

But I digress. Today, I saw Standby:The Musical and it is what the Fringe is all about. The Twilight Zone meets the 21st Century. The sixth character pays homage to Sammy Davis Jr. He's not Sammy he's his own character and he is good. And, the author has pared it down to a great production. The music works! The characters work. There still performances on the 22nd and the 23rd.

I have tickets for 3 more shows. Sunday will be Pulp Shakespeare which several people have recommended, Monday is a play about Kirk Douglas, and Friday is We Crazy. Who knows. I might see more.

What have you seen?

 

August 2012

If any of you are planning to join me during Summer Streets on August 11 or 18th we will be walking around Grand Central Terminal on a road usually reserved for cars. This article in today's NY Times about the protest to save Grand Central 50 years ago should be required reading.

The NYC Fringe Festival starts on August 10th. The links from last year work so use the link to last year's post for now if you are planning to buy tickets. For those of you who belong to TDF, most of the shows are listed for sale under Off Off Broadway right now. I am still going to do my thing and use vouchers in person at Fringe Central soon. I'll list my choices in a separate post when I buy tickets.

The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival starts on Saturday Aug 4th.

MOMA's new exhibit Century of the Child has something for everyone in the family. Don't forget that MOMA is open 7 days a week and late (but not free) on Thursdays during the summer. MOMA is still my favorite museum membership. The Beer exhibit at the NY Historical Society ends Sept 2nd.

Visit the Harlem Meer (my spelling is correct) in  Central Park for music on Sundays in August. And head to Museo del Barrio and the Museum of the City of New York while you are in the neighborhood.

While looking for something completely different, I discovered this must see FREE exhibit at the Arsenal in Central Park. Parks pictures from The Museum of the City of New York. And, an exhibit of Park historian and photographer's photos is showing at the Leica gallery until August 4th.

The Central Park Film Festival is August 21st to August 25th. And, the Met Opera HD film festival starts on August 25th and runs through Labor Day weekend.

Hopefully some of us will score tickets to Into the Woods at Shakespeare in the Park before it closes on August 25th.

Hope to see some of you during summer streets or early morning in Times Square. Enjoy the rest of the summer and add any events you find as comments.