NYC and the Quality of Life

It goes without saying that no one lives in New York for its quality of life -- spending tons of money to live in virtually no space and dealing with the hassle of the traffic, the subways, the dirt, the grime, the crazies on the street -- clearly if all you care about is having a nice home in a nice neighborhood then you should look to reside elsewhere. New Yorkers live here because, except for quality of life, it has everything else.

But some people have found that they can get enough of that everything else elsewhere -- and believe it or not, some people are finding that in, and moving to of all places, Buffalo.

This week's New York magazine has a very thoughtful and insightful story about some New Yorkers who have done just that. You'll faint about how people can rent three-bedroom homes (not apartments, homes) for only $750 a month. Some people can get one-bedroom apartments for $350 a month! Reading this story wasn't enough to make me want to leave NYC but it sure was tempting.

Where the Urban Dream Life Is Going Cheap

Hillary Clinton Speech - 2008 Democratic National Convention

Our girl gave a hell of a good speech last night. She rallied the Democrats and clearly explained why a John McCain presidency -- shudder, cough, spit, vomit, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! -- would be a disaster for this country (of course there should be no need to explain that but it is what it is).

Obviously all those nasty Hillary haters, Republicans, sexists, and other assorted neanderthals out there will trash it and her but, most reasonable people will agree, it was a class act. Bravo!

Classic Mr NYC

Forgive me if you find this incredibly arrogant and lazy, but I have some favorite old blog posts that I would like to share with some of my newer readers. From time to time, I'll put up what I think are some of my better posts which I'm now calling "Classic Mr NYC." Of course just how classic they are is for you to decide :)

From July 27, 2007

"It's a City of Strangers": How to Check Out People on Public Transportation

Okay, admit it: every so often you find yourself on the bus or the subway and suddenly ... a vision walks on. A person of extra-ordinary beauty, someone "really hot" or "totally gorgeous", someone who clashes mercilessly with the kennel of people who usually rides the MTA. This person acts like a magnet for your eyes. Suddenly the ads for Dr Zizmor and the other passengers melt away ... and you lock your eyes on this person and stare ... stare ... stare. But ... oh no! Now you've crossed the line! You've gone over to the other side. You have become ... a creepy person! You're a creepy staring person! And now your l'object d'amour might whip out the pepper spray at any moment. You want to stop staring but you can't ... for the life of you, you just can't! So what do you do? Never fear, for Mr NYC is here to guide you through the art of checking out people on public transportation. Just follow these five simple rules:

1. When you first spot "the person", don't stare too long. Like Jerry Seinfeld once said, act like this person is the sun: you get a sense of the thing, then look away.

2. When you next look at the person, DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY. Use subterfuge. Pretend to read one of the ads above your head or, better yet, act like you're looking for one of the bus or subway maps on the wall. You can then check out the person who ... oh, you know, just happens to be in your line of vision. Make sure people think you are trying to look at something and not someone. Then you can more easily get away with looking at the person.

3. It helps if you have reading material. Then you can look up from it every so often to, you know, see what's going on and to, oh yeah, check out the hottie.

4. When the bus or train pulls into a stop, pretend to stare out the window. You know, you want to see what's going on outside, and who is getting on or off. This is a custom-built moment to check out "the vision."

5. If all else fails, and you just can't keep your eyes off this person, and you've done steps 1 to 4, maybe multiple times, then do this: pretend that, oh darn it, you have a crook in your neck, and you need to rub it and you gotta bend your head, oh, this way ... and then that way ... and you're just looking out ahead of yourself and ... oh wow, there he or she is! What a coincidence!

I hope you will find these steps useful. But please understand: Mr NYC does not, in any way, endorse any kind of harassment or talking to or touching of any stranger on public transportation. There is a galaxy of difference between "checking someone out" and actually trying to interact with another person. I hope this disclaimer is well understood.

And so I conclude with something by Stephen Soundheim, who in his great NYC musical "Company" observed:

It's a city of strangers,
Some come to work, some to play.
A city of strangers,
Some come to stare, some to stay.
And every day
The ones who stay
Can find each other in the crowded streets and the guarded parks,
By the rusty fountains and the dusty trees with the battered barks,
And they walk together past upholstered walls with the crude remarks.
And they meet at parties through the friends of friends who they never know ...

... And another hundred people just got off of the train.

New Yorkers Don't Dream Big Anymore?

Not according to Jennifer 8 Lee of The New York Times.

Does New York Need to Dream Big Again?

According to her, the slow glacial of development in this city is a bad thing. While none would agree that it's a good thing, consider that she actually poses the question at the end of her article, "Is it time for another Robert Moses?" To that, the answer is quite clear: NO!

While I certainly don't like red tape and petty politics and all the nonsense that prevents the city from augmenting itself (like the whole Ground Zero debacle), the idea of once again concentrating that kind of power in another supposed "master builder" is the wrong way to go. If Ms. Lee has read The Power Broker (or my review it, although I doubt it), she might see why that's a very, very bad idea.

New York grew and developed for more than three hundred years before Robert Moses got his hands on it. During that time, we built great things like the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park and the Empire State building and the entire subway system -- the thing we most love about NYC today. Democracy built those things and, while democracy can be a frustrating thing, in the end it's always the best way to go.

Newcomers to New York

Lovely story about the challenges and fears that people who have recently moved to NYC face and need to overcome.

Newcomers Adjust, Eventually, to New York

Having lived in this city all my life, I don't know what this experience is like but it must be an intimidating one. If I wasn't from here, I don't know if I'd have the chutzpah to come. Go them.

The Official Drink of NYC

Does anyone out there drink Snapple? Not being an iced tea man myself, I haven't really acquainted myself with the beverage but, apparently, it's the official drink of the City of New York.

Seriously.

In 2000, Snapple and the city government created a partnership, and Snapple sponsors the visitor's center in Times Square and they only sell Snapple (I think) in city buildings.

Also, if you buy a bottle, the bottle cap has a fun fact inside about NYC you might not know. Example: "The first person in the U.S. arrested for speeding was a NYC cab driver." Interesting.

Snapple was actually founded in Brooklyn in 1972. I always wondered why, when I was in college out of town, I didn't see anyone drink Snapple. Everyone in my high school (except me) loved the stuff but in college no one else did. Only now, only a decade later, do I come to learn that's basically a New York City drink. Boy do I feel foolish. I'm sure most of you won't disagree.

The History of Snapple

End of the Lines

The New York Times has a wonderful story today about, of all things, the last stops on New York City subway lines. It's an interesting and unique delving into a part of this city's untapped psyche.

The Curious World of the Last Stop

Separately, each of these various lines are, as the story indicates, rather lonely and sad places. You're at the end of something, you can go no further. Yet they're also, a in strange way, exciting places -- you can start the whole journey over again, you can be at the beginning. If you've ever gotten off at a last stop or got on at the first stop, you'll know what I mean.

By putting these various stations together and in their own unique context, this story creates a sort of strange community, an end of the line community. As you might imagine, most of these stops are located at the very edges of the city, way up in the Bronx, at the bottom of Manhattan, or on the fringes of Brooklyn and Queens. But scattered as they may be, when you put them together, they seem more than the sum of their parts somehow.

And isn't being more than the sum of its parts what New York City is all about?

(New Lots Avenue subway stop, last on the 2, 3, 4, and 5 line pictured above.)

The Wire - Season Two Titles (Tom Waits)

Like many Johnny Come Lately's to the HBO series The Wire, I've been catching up on it on DVD. And the rumors are true: it really is one of the greatest TV shows ever made. It's easily the greatest TV show about a city -- ever.

That city is Baltimore. It presents the whole complex tableau of cops, criminals, bureaucrats, politicians, lawyers, business people, union workers, journalists -- you name it 0- that make 21st century American cities whir. It also gets at why so many cities are not only crime ridden (drugs, greed, broken families, etc.) but just generally dysfunctional: the people in power benefit from the status quo and those who want to change it are usually shut down (brutally). Careerism and money too often get in the way of doing the right thing. Virtue is punished and venality rewarded. Yes, it's bleak comment on American urban life and policy -- but that doesn't mean it's not fun to watch. Despite being socially conscious, The Wire is massively entertaining and funny. I've never been more riveted by a series.

Most of all, The Wire shows how "law and order" is not a black and white business (racially or morally), how people aren't all good or all bad, how circumstances so often force us to make choices we don't want to make or shouldn't have to make, how the line between right and wrong, ethical and unethical, legal and illegal, is so often very blurry.

I could go on and on about every aspect of the show (the plots, the characters, the performances, the writing) but I couldn't do it justice. It's all perfect. So if you've never seen The Wire, get on Netflix ASAP and order the first season.

Now what does The Wire have to do with NYC? Nothing, sadly. There isn't a show half as good, even a quarter as good, heck even a tenth as good about NYC as "The Wire" is about Baltimore.

What are the big shows about New York? Empty cop procedurals like Law and Order (and it's clones) and CSI: New York or silly shows like Dirty Sexy Money and Lipstick Jungle. The closest NYC ever came to having a "great show" about it was NYPD Blue which managed to start sucking after a couple seasons and was never anywhere near as good as The Wire. Maybe NYC is just too big and too complex for a TV series to it just justice, but I'll hold out hope that maybe one day such a show will come along. Until then, any good New Yorker should watch, enjoy, and celebrate The Wire.

Movie News

For you movie buffs out there, you might find the following interesting:

The Paris Theater -- you know, the one next to the Plaza Hotel on 59th street -- is turning 60 years old next month. It's the oldest continuing art house cinema in the country and it's a real treasure. If you've never gone to see a movie there, you should. It reminds you of a time when movie theaters were really theaters, and going to the movies was a semi-classy event. The Paris has a balcony and a curtain in front of the screen that goes up at showtime. I remember going to see The Remains of the Day there in high school, Life is Beautiful there in college, and then a movie called The Company, one of Robert Altman's last films, a few years ago. My mom told me about going to see movies like The Bridge on the River Kwai and other classics there back in the day. At a time when NYC landmarks like CBGBs are vanishing, let's be thankful the Paris is still there.

2. And if that don't excite you, then this might: The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are coming back to the big screen! From September 12 to October 2, Film Forum will be showing these classic films that were completely restored by Mr. Francis Ford Coppola himself. It's hard tow believe these two movies are almost 40 years old. Needless to say, New York City film geeks are going nuts (that includes me). Get all the info about it here.

Which do you prefer: 1 or 2?

Windmills in NYC?

There will be if Mayor Mike has anything to do about it. Apparently he wants to take us back to the days of the Dutch.

Attention, Mr. Mayor: We Had Windmills 400 Years Ago

What's old is new again. But hey, if it works, why not?

Deirdre Flint in NYC

If you're unfamiliar with the folk singer Deirdre Flint, then you should be. She's one of the smartest, funniest, most charming chanteuses performing today. Her songs wax nostalgic and lovingly about dating, the 1970s, breakups, Nancy Drew, old friends, Donald Rumsfeld, boobs, cheerleaders, belly dancers, Nancy Drew, nuns, food, Kenya -- you name it. In this clip, she reminds us about that terrible fate our nation avoided, the metric system.

She's easily one of the most original singers out there.

I had the joy of seeing Deidre with her singing troupe The Four Bitchin' Babes last year at BB King's Blues Club. She and her fellow babes brought the house down with one of the most enjoyable shows I've ever seen. Deidre doesn't play in NYC too often but tomorrow night she'll be at the The Living Room on Ludlow Street as part of the Upstairs Sessions. The show starts 7:30 and, for more information, check out Deidre's site.

You can also listen to more of her music here.

Wacky New Yorkers

So I'm walking home from the gym yesterday afternoon and pass two ladies talking when I hear one of them say to the other, "I orgasm when ..."

Very proud of the fact that I did not allow my head to turn or slow my gait to hear the remainder of that sentence. Needless to say, being a man, I'll always be curious as to what it was (besides the obvious). I just marveled that anyone would say something like that on a crowded street but New Yorkers are truly bold. Wacky even.

Oh, but it gets wackier. An hour or so later my lady and I are driving down a street when we pass a church. All the dressed-up people on the street and a couple of white stretch limos made it clear that a wedding had just taken place. And where was the bride? In the street! She was running from car to car, asking the drivers to roll down their windows, so that she could get and gives total strangers kisses. She clearly was so happy she wanted to share the joy!

My lady, being a mench, powered down the windows and I obliged the lady. She thanked me, we congratulated her, and on she went. The wacky scene was made even wackier by the sight of her exasperated photographer trying to take pictures of this while dodging traffic. I hope he gets a bonus from that.

Yes, there are some wacky New Yorkers out there and thank god for them. Makes me happier than ever that I live here, where free spirits feel free to be free.

Definition of Wacky

NYC Tastes

Just found a great new blog that should be of interest to New York City foodies. NYC Tastes has reviews and incredible links that any real food fan will love. Check it out!

WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog

Now that Mike and the Mad Dog are no more, here's a vintage clip from a January show that shows what made them such a great team.

End of a Radio Era

Never thought this would happen. The wildly popular "Mike and the Mad Dog" afternoon sports radio show on WFAN is no more. They fired "Mad Dog" Chris Russo yesterday since he wouldn't commit to a long contract. Now it will only be Mike Francesca doing the show. This split had been rumored for a while and now it's official.

These guys have been doing that show since 1989. In NYC, it is the sports radio talk show, hugely influential, incredibly respected. It is (or was) a sports institution in this town, right after George Steinbrenner and the Harlem Globetrotters, and it's sad that it's no more.

Good luck to Chris Russo. NYC radio will never be quite the same.

Gotta Love New Yorkers

This is a nice little story from today's Daily News:

Good Samaritan who found $100 bill comes forward, thanked by owner

According to this article, if you lose your wallet in NYC, there's an 82% chance you'll get it back. Can you believe that? I really do think New Yorkers have some of the biggest hearts.

War Over Willets Point Part II

My previous entry about Willets Point has generated a little controversy but I choose to look at it as triggering a discussion. You can never stop learning things. Please check the Comments sections.

War Over Willets Point

Every year or two an epic battle between developers and citizens erupts in New York City. There was the battle over the West Side Stadium in 2005 (which was killed) and then there was fight over the Atlantic Yards development project in Brooklyn (which wasn't killed) in 2006-2007. Now, in 2008, Willets Point in Queens is the new front is this perennial struggle.

Here's the deal: Mayor Bloomberg's administration and his developer friends want to rezone the area and use eminent domain laws to evict over 200 small businesses and tear up the whole neighborhood. Why? They want (allegedly) to build a hotel, a convention center, and lots of retail space. This gang considers Willet's Point "doomed" and they want to gussy it up and pimp it out. They believe tourists and convetioneers and fancy stores are gonna schlep all the way out to Corona, Queens (right near where Shea Stadium was and is) for this stuff. This is an area btw that is grossly underserved by public transportation (basically there's just the 7 train) and already is choking with traffic. If this plan goes through, not only will all these small businesses be wrecked so that big businesses move in, but already nightmarish traffic will be made worse. That's assuming that the crowds come, which I found doubtful. Can anyone say ... debacle?

This ain't happening without a fight. The City Council has to approve this and right now more than 32 members say they're opposed. The neighborhood is outraged by this plan and rightly so. The focus should be, as always, on building more affordable housing in this city. We need that more than anything else!

Why do some people think hotels and stadiums and convention centers are the answer to improve blighted cities or neighborhoods? Oh I know, "they create jobs" but most jobs in this country are created by small businesses. So I have an idea: make it easier for more small businesses to open in Willets Point (more jobs!) and build more affordable housing (more jobs and housing!). As always, it seems that some people don't want to do the right thing until they exhaust all of the alternatives.

If you want to know more check out today's Times' article about this: A Confrontation Over the Future of Willets Point. Also, there's a great blog called Queens Crap which is easily the best informational resource (better than the Times) about this and all things Queens.

Imagine ... No possibility of sitting down ...

Seatless Subway Cars

I know I'm a little late addressing this topic but I just wanted to chip in my two cents about the MTA proposal for seatless subway cars: I don't think it's a good idea. Admirable and understandable, but not a good a one.

These cars will have flip seats that, during rush hours, will be flipped up and locked. No seats for anyone, everyone will stand. That includes old people, sick people, pregnant women, and little children. Obviously the idea is that these cars will be roomier and able to carry more people thus reducing passenger congestion. And it won't cost the MTA or taxpayers any money.

But will it really? No.

It means that more people than ever will be riding the subways. More space, more passengers, more madness.

In addition, New Yorkers will be p'od that they all have to stand and bump into each other. Ever been on a crowded subways? Not fun. What makes standing on the subway bearable is the hope -- the precious, godforsaken hope -- that just maybe, just maybe!, we'll get lucky and snag a seat. But if the cars are seatless and that hope is dead, then riding on a crowded car will be sheer agony.

And what about those old people, sick people, pregnant women, and little children? They work and go to school during rush hours too. Should they be punished? Mr NYC says no.

So thumbs down on seatless subway cars. Good idea in theory, awful in practice. Of course, if I'm wrong, it won't be the first time.

N.Y.C. Subway Report: That Seat Is Taken — Forever

Gotta Love New Yorkers

So during my aforementioned visit to Central Park today, we walked past a lady walking her bicycle down a path and overheard her say the following: "... so I told him: 'I don't want a boyfriend, there's no pressure, let's just be f@#k buddies' ..."

Don't you appreciate such enlightenment? What a nice lady!

P.S. This is my second Gotta Love New Yorkers. I think I'll make it a regular segment from now on.

Newbie NYC

Just stumbled upon another really great NYC blog: Newbie NYC. Check it out, it puts Mr NYC to shame!

Row, Row, Row Your Boat ... in Central Park

Today my lady friend and I went to see if we could take the balloon ride currently being offered in Central Park. Sadly it was closed. The reason: too much wind (although it seemed very un-windy to us). Anyhoo, we did not let that deter us, and we did something just as enjoyable and much more old-fashioned: we took a row boat out on the lake.

The typically cynical New Yorker probably thinks of this as a tourist trap but au contraire: New Yorkers have been tooling about this lake ever since Frederick Law Olmstead's day. Sure there are tourists but lots of the people are recognizably native. All races, ages, classes, and creeds row these boats. It's not snobby or touristy. It's one of the few democratic pastimes left in NYC

As you row about the lake, you see how beautifully maintained Central Park is: there are weeping willows and gorgeous flower beds on the shore, and patches where overhanging tree branches provide shade. At certain points you row through beds of algae which might sound gross but is actually quite lovely. And beyond the lake and green of the park, you see the majestic buildings of Manhattan peaking out hither and thither: the San Remo, the Dakota, the Time Warner Center, the Plaza, the Citicorp and AT&T Buildings.

It's important, obviously, to look where you're going since your two biggest dangers are grounding the boat (if you're too close to land) or bumping into another boat. You always need to look around and mind your neighbors, but if you do and make it habitual, you can enjoy the lake just fine.

If you've never done this but have secretly always wanted to, my advice is do it! Do it now! Take someone you like (or love) and it'll be a memorable time. All the info you need is right here. You go the Boathouse, put down a $20 deposit that you get back, and pay $12 for an hour. If you row for over an hour, then it's $3 for every fifteen minutes. It's actually a pretty good deal and, for my money and time, was worth every penny and second of it.

They Really Do Check Bags in the Subway

I guess it had to happen eventually -- today, on my way home from work, a terse officer from New York's Finest asked me to show her the contents of my briefcase.

After descending into the station, the lady officer said "Open your bag for me, sir", and I placed it down on the little table. Instead of walking over two feet to where I was standing, she insisted I walk closer to her and open up. She examined all the naughty, dangerous things encased within -- a folder, date book, IPod, umbrella -- and sent me on my way.

I like to think I'm a solid, honest citizen and have nothing (well, almost nothing) to hide but, dammit, it's totally fascist that we're forced to open our bags to the cops. It DOES NOT make ANYONE safer! What terrorists or criminals does this thwart? The illusion of safety ...

We Got Him!!

From Green Bay to Broadway: Favre Is a Jet

Isn't that what New York is all about -- making a new start? It's a new start for the Jets too. Lord knows they need it.

Granted it was a little uncool of Favre to retire and then un-retire and make Green Bay all crazy but hey, a great player is a valuable asset and if the Packers don't want him, then I'm glad the Jets got him.

My brother actually worked with Brett Favre once and has an autographed football from him. I bet it's gotten even more valuable now.

Licensed to Shtup

So you want to hook up with someone but you're afraid they might give you the clap -- or something worse. "Who knows what kind of critters might be festering within?" you wonder.

Maybe you should pass. Self-love might be safer.

But then -- hold on -- your l'object d'amour whips out a card with a phone number you can call to verify that this person has been tested and is clean. "Oh goodie!" you shout. Time to rock.

This might sound ridiculous but it's real. It was a big story in the Daily News yesterday: American Sexpress Card: Don't jump in bed without it, founder says. It was created by a guy in Brooklyn and it's actually called the STFree card. Over 15,000 people have signed up for it. And in this town, which is a little randier than most, it's probably a good idea. Who knows, in a few years the government might require everyone to carry this card around like a driver's license.

If you think about it, after a while, having one of these will become a status symbol for guys in NYC. It will imply that they have been successful with the ladies and are "playas." Just watch.

Thanks MTA ...

Report Finds Poor Conditions in Subway Stations

Yeah! No kidding!! Did the MTA really need a report to tell them that? Da fools ...

The Jewish HBO

Well, that's what The New York Times and some other people call it but the Jewish Channel calls itself a "cultural home" for all things Jewish. It has movies, documentaries, discussion shows, everything that relates to Jewish life. I'm not Jewish myself but some of their programmings and offerings sound quite interesting. Check out it's website.

I like the channel's slogan, "TJC is Judaism, On-Demand." That's the 21st century for you: faith, when you want it!

Hey, if there are Christian broadcasting networks, why not a Jewish one?

NYC and Our Soliders

A Trip to New York Gives Wounded Veterans a Break From a Patient’s Dull Routine

A very touching story. "Doing the town" can't replace missing limbs or cure PTSD, but if the wonders of New York can lift the spirits of our soldiers, it makes the craziness of this place all the more special.

JMW Turner at the Met

Through September 21 there is a special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the paintings of JMW Turner. He was a late eighteenth century and nineteenth century English painter (1775-1851) who was, in many ways, the father of Impressionism. This is a the first big exhibit of this very important painter in decades.

I just saw the exhibit and it's really fascinating. His paintings range from modest watercolors to huge oil canvases. Turner's most iconic paintings are the burning Houses of Parliament (all done in 1834, they year of the big London fire).

What's interesting about the exhibit is seeing how Turner developed from a very conventional, classical painter into a really bold and original one. His early works begin as perfectly rendered scenes of London, Venice and the English countryside but, as you go along, the paintings get much more abstract and weird. While by today's modern art standards they are quite tame, for a painter to be putting out such unconventional stuff in pre-Victorian England, this was daring stuff.

Check out this exhibit if you can.

Nasty People

Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi has a brilliant article about John McCain and the disgusting criminal enterprise that is today's Republican Party: Without a Prayer. Taibbi sums it up perfectly when he writes:

"The Moral Majority Christians and the supply-side neocons always represented two of the worst and most vile impulses in the American character — mass, willful ignorance and total, shameless greed. In one wing of the ruling-party mansion they housed preachers who transformed the religion of "turn the other cheek" and "go, give away all your possessions to the poor" into a "Christianity" that celebrated shock-and-awe bombing and assault-rifle ownership and decried the progressive income tax as unfair to the propertied class. In the other wing they housed "conservatives" who turned the party of limited government into a giant snooping apparatus, one that borrowed trillions against the future earnings of ordinary taxpayers and sacrificed thousands of lives to snatch a few Middle Eastern oil wells for companies that were rich as hell to begin with."

Stupidity, fear, greed -- that's today's GOP. They no have solutions to America's problems because they created so many of them. The disastrous economy, the war in Iraq, the spiraling energy and health care costs, the vast corruption in Congress, the corrupt Justice Department -- what a friggin' mess!

Naturally John McCain believes he and his party are best suited to fix the problems they created. Please ... Would you ask your drug dealer to help you through rehab? Hmmmm? .... No!

This is not to say that Democrats are holier-than-thou paragons of virtue -- HELL NO! -- but their sins pale in comparison to the vile, sleaze, and foulness of the Republicans.

More than 3/4 of Americans say the country is on the wrong track. What hell is wrong with the other almost 1/4 of Americans?