Snowy street in Washington Heights earlier today.
Snow Day
Tag: Manhattan
Bus Breakdown
NYC uses a mix of old and new buses in the city. A few days ago, I was on one of the older buses (the M100) when I started to smell something burning. At the next stop, the driver turned the bus off and told everyone to leave. I think the engine must have been overheating in a serious way for that much of an odor to enter the bus. I thought a building in the neighborhood was on fire. An overheating engine makes a lot more sense, since there weren’t any sirens.
It wasn’t really too big of a deal because we were able to board the following bus for free. New York City is pretty good about that sort of thing and often provides free shuttle buses during subway downtime as well. I felt bad for the guy in the wheelchair, though. With the engine screwed up, there was no way to get him off the bus. The engine usually revs pretty hard when the ramp is being extended, lowered and retracted. The newer buses are designed so that the floor of the bus is closer to the street level, which would make getting a guy in an electric, heavy wheelchair, out of a broken down bus much easier.
I hope everything turned out ok for the guy. He seemed pretty cool when I briefly spoke to him as I was getting off the bus. I thought about staying to help, but I figured I’d just get in the way. When we were pulling away on the following bus, three police officers were standing by the open rear doors, probably figuring out how to get the guy and his chair out. The bus driver was still talking on the bus phone, probably requesting help. I think the LCD said “Maintenance Call,” when I had walked by.
The Cloisters (Metropolitan Museum of Art – Medieval Gallery)
The Cloisters is the medieval art branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, located in Fort Tryon Park in upper Manhattan. The building that houses the galleries is an amazing conglomeration of multiple monasteries from Europe that were crated up, shipped here to New York, and then reconstructed on site using a mix of original and modern materials. The attempt was well done and walking through the Cloisters feels like walking through an old monastery. There’s a main chapel, a smaller chapel, gardens and exhibit halls. The gardens are full of growing herbs and plants that were used during the medieval period, from nightshade to hops.
Going to the Cloisters is a pretty short trip. You can easily see everything in a day, and that’s if you take your time walking around and reading all of the inscriptions. The Met advertises that you can pay at either the main branch or the Cloisters and then access both branches in the same day, but I think that’s a bit of stretch, unless you do it on a Friday or Saturday, when the main building doesn’t close until 9 PM. Also, keep in mind that the prices listed at the entrance are “suggested” prices, meaning that’s what they recommend. You don’t have to pay that much to get in, so if you’re a little tight for cash, you can give them a dollar or two and they’ll still let you in.
Another great thing about the Cloisters is the park it’s located in. Fort Tryon park has some great views. Unlike most parts of Central Park, Fort Tryon Park is extremely hilly, with lots of paths, stairs, and great places for photo opportunities. When my wife and I went to the Cloisters, we rode the bus in from the train station, but on the way out we walked through the park. We’re looking forward to going back to the Cloisters in the near future, but we’re looking forward to exploring the park just as much.
The High Bridge Trail
The High Bridge, officially known as the Aqueduct Bridge, was originally used to bring water onto Manhattan Island from the Croton River. Construction began in 1837 and was completed in 1848. The bridge had the appearance of a Roman stone, arched aqueduct. In 1928, the bridge was rebuilt using steel construction that worked well for quite a few years, but since the 1970s, the bridge has been closed to all traffic. New York City is working on changing that as part of an effort to create a network of trails and paths for biking, jogging and walking.
So far, the renovation looks good. It’s not done yet, by a long shot. My wife and I went down the long flight of steps from High Bridge Park in Washington Heights to take a look around. The trail is closed and all we could see was the very entrance to the bridge. We decided to check out the trail, which is well done. It’s wide, new, offers some interesting views, and opens onto either Amsterdam or Edgecombe Avenue.
There is also a dirt trail that you can walk on. At first, it narrows down to little more than a well-worn deer path, but then it opens up into something that looks like the city is maintaining it. There were a lot of people walking through there, mostly with dogs and their kids, but it looks like it could be a pretty spooky and dangerous place at night. We saw remnants of wild parties, and there was a kid just hanging around by the entrance of the path (where it opens onto Edgecombe near 155th) with a mobile phone in his hand. He had a I’m-the-lookout-for-my-robber-friends kind of vibe, so I kept my eyes open.
I wonder if the city is planning on paving that section and extending it through the deer-trail portion so it connects with the rest of the paved High Bridge trail that will lead over the bridge into the Bronx? I’m also curious as to how this section of bike/jogging/walking paths will hook up to the rest of the path system in Manhattan, because at the bottom end of Edgecombe, the only sign I saw that might be part of the paths seemed to double back to the north along Harlem River Driveway towards Harlem River Drive. Maybe one day I’ll go down there and see if there’s a way to double back again and head south along the river.
I really need to get a bike. It would make exploration faster. There’s so much to see in New York City that I doubt I could ever see it all just by walking.
North American Petroglyph Graffiti in New York City
On Thursday, my wife and I were walking downtown and, mixed in with advertisements, I saw this graffiti on the barrier walling off an empty lot. The first thing I thought of when I saw the images were the animal paintings in the cave at Lascaux, France. Those are some of the oldest cave art images in the world. I remember reading about them in an Art History course I took a few years ago. But, when I saw the humanoid figures, I was more reminded of the style of North American Petroglyphs, which I’d seen in… ::cough, cough:: … Ancient Alien History channel specials, with that white guy with the crazy, curly looking hair:
Anyway, I like most of the graffiti I see anyway, but I especially appreciated the attempt of the person who did this to present something historical. I wonder if aliens painted this graffiti, in an attempt to remind us of the eternal truths of the petroglyphs in the southwest United States?
This graffiti is located on Varick Street, between Watts Street and Broome Street:
Union Square 8-4-2013
It was a beautiful day out!
An Evening Walk Down Riverside Drive in Manhattan
I sort of let myself fall off the exercise wagon while struggling with other commitments, so now that Summer session classes are over, I’m taking August to try to get myself together. That involves a lot of sorting, organizing, shopping, bill paying, appointment scheduling, and, of course, getting myself back into shape. I’m not going to be a hero and try to go from barely being active for two and a half months to dropping 5ks like they’re nothing, so I’m starting out with long walks first. This is definitely a great neighborhood for it, both in terms of scenery and because the area is hilly, rather than flat, making walks more physically challenging.
We walked down Riverside Drive from about 168th Street, where Columbia University Medical Center is and eventually wound up in Riverbank State Park, which is the nicest park I’ve seen in New York City, other than Central Park. The facilities are probably better than those at Central Park, though, since they’re newer. We saw an Olympic-sized running oval, a skating rink, and somewhere in that park there’s also a pool. We’re looking forward to going back and spending some time there. I bet that oval makes for good running, that’s easy on the knees.
A view of New Jersey from Riverside Drive
George Washington Bridge
A set of train tracks that run along the river.
Riverside Drive
Creepy looking stairs off Riverside Drive. Not sure where they go.
Interesting building on Riverside Drive.
No idea what these are. They’re just inside the park at the 145th Street entrance.
George Washington Bridge as seen from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
Looking back toward Manhattan from Riverbank Park
View of New Jersey from Riverside Drive
Classes start again at the end of the month, so hopefully I can make the most out of my time!
The Black Cat of Audubon Ave.
When my wife and I lived in Singapore, we saw cats walking around all the time. The locals call them “community cats.” That has a nice ring to it. It sounds a lot better than calling them “strays,” which implies that any cat not in a home is outside of its natural habitat. Cats can be friendly outside as well as inside and add character to a neighborhood, as long as they’re properly maintained, and from what I remember of Singapore, they were definitely well cared for. Fat little guys, always lounging on the void decks underneath the HDBs. =)
Anyway, I don’t want to get into that whole debate, really. I was just reminded of it a few days ago when I was walking down Audubon Avenue on my way home from the bakery and saw a black cat hanging out on the sidewalk. I don’t think this cat was really a stray, because she was just too fat and friendly, and she wasn’t scared of anyone. Maybe people around here just like cats. Who knows? Regardless, it brightened up my day.
When I reached down to pet her, she stuck her head up. Then she tried to play with my watch band and rolled over to swat at my hand. Very friendly cat! I hope someone is taking good care of her! She reminds me of my own black cat, Thumper, except she has a long tail. Thumper is from Singapore, so her tail is naturally short.
Ripped Books
I’d like to take some time later to write a long post about my experiences over the past week in Lower Manhattan in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, but I want to mention something I saw today that made me realize that some things in New York City never change.
When I was on my way home, I saw an older man pushing shopping cart down the street. He stopped by the trash can, peered in, and then reached into a box in his cart. He pulled out a book, looked around as if he were making sure no one was watching him, and then ripped the front and back cover off the book and tossed it in the trash can. He then reached into his box and pulled out another book. At this point, he saw me watching him and turned away from me and hid clutched the book to his chest. He looked over his shoulder at me and then ripped the covers off the book. He tossed the remains of the book into the trash can along with the first one and then hurriedly crossed the street, where he peered briefly into the trash can on the corner before moving on, presumably to find more suitable trash cans to receive his defaced books.
I had stopped to watch this guy, so I’d missed the light to cross in the direction I was going. When I did cross over to the other corner, I found a man in dirty, rumpled clothing singing to a pile of dirty clothes in a shopping cart.
Last week, Lower Manhattan was very dark and the streets were relatively deserted. Thinking about it now, I don’t remember seeing anyone … weird… out there. Not weird by NYC standards anyway. But now, the power is back and the crazies are out again. Some things just don’t change.
Weekly Flea Market Ave A and 11th Street
I’d forgotten about this place until I started going back through my photos. Last week, my wife and were walking down 11th Street. I don’t recall where we were going, but we saw a flea market and stopped in to look around. I’d always thought of flea markets as being a uniquely ‘Southern’ thing and I’ve been to quite a few. I have this vague memory of being at one where a guy had a stall set up to sell animals. I remembering seeing snakes. I have no idea how many years ago that was.
I asked around a bit and this flea market is set up once a week. The space it covers is pretty big, which made me wonder how much each individual seller pays the lot owner for the time they spend there.
If I had more time and more space, I would probably pick up some of the things they sell there, specifically books. I hardly have time to read the ones I have, though, given how much I read for classes I’m taking. I also saw some bicycles near the front entrance. I think I want to get bicycles for myself and my wife again. It would be fun to ride around Central Park and the bike paths that go around Manhattan. I don’t think I’d want to ride inside the city though and especially not on busy roads. Too dangerous.
On the way out, this guy saw me taking photos and indicated that he wanted to post for the camera, so I humored him and I’m happy with how it came out. He looks pretty slick.
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