080323 Walk
Today’s walk was pretty mundane, nothing of great interest happened or was seen. But you would never know it by the length of what I just wrote.
Interesting/silly facts about today’s walk.
Route: My Apartment to 86th Street, down 1st Avenue to 42nd Street & 2nd Avenue.
Start / Finish Time (approx.): 12:30pm to 2:30pm
Weather: Cool/Cold, 40’s, sunny
Mileage (approx.): Actual 3.4+
Photos Taken: 129
Money Found: $.00
When I started I realized (again) that I should take some photographs of my neighborhood, apartment, grocery store, etc. Mainly for me when I am old and gray to look back and remember I did actually live in New York City. Also, they are for those who haven’t or won’t be able to visit and actually see my neighborhood. I may only include a few images, see below for sure.
So, I shoot some photos of my apartment from across the street and a few others between 84th Street and 86th Street and between 2nd Avenue and 1st Avenue. Come to find out, 1st Ave. has some nice examples of open urban public spaces and plazas. There were at least 7 that I was impressed with, including a park, each having ample light and air, far away enough from the street.
I passed this Doggie Daycare center before getting to 79th St. They have rooms for BIG Dogs, medium to small dogs, and a very little room for the tiny dogs. When I used to pass by here, I loved to watch the dogs play together and sometimes with the caretaker. I used to come to this area to go to a place called Rainbow, which is a small household goods store. I referred to it as a mini Wal-Mart. Now that I go to Target in Brooklyn, Jersey City or Queens, I am rarely in this part of the neighborhood.
There was a young man and his Golden Retriever, both sitting on a bench outside of a shop, just chillin’. The dog was very well behaved, especially when this tiny little dog was very interested in the Golden. They kept sniffing each other’s snouts like they were saying hi with kisses, you know like the Europeans (& New Yorkers) do. It was such a cute interaction, see the pic below.
Between 2nd Ave. and the East River and in the upper 60’s and lower 70’s are a lot of medical centers and doctors’ offices, as well as a hospital (the one I went to for my knee a year ago). One of these buildings, it is on York actually, is where I met Wendy Brantley, her both amazing mother Shelley and boyfriend Tom. She was in there for a cancer she had since she was little (13, I think); she was only 26 or 27 when I met her. It was the first and only time I got to have any conversation with her. She never went home, though she moved on/into a couple of other care centers before succumbing to the cancer.
I say this as I am reminded of her being in this area and seeing a father helping his mentally challenged daughter crossing the street. I can’t help but notice their relationship. Yeah, I happen to get them in a photo, it was a case where I could use the park behind them as an excuse to shoot the photo. I wanted the park behind them too, don’t get me wrong. I am saddened by their situation, but I refuse to speak anything negative over them, so I won’t say anything further.
When I was looking for an apartment 4 years ago (yes, it has been that long), I saw this place on 62nd and 1st (the same price as I paid for my place) where it looked like the floors morphed into the walls, like there was no distinction where one ended and the other began. The kitchen was about 3 feet long and one sided, that was it. It was a very dingy and awful. I passed by the building it was in (Note for self: image number IMG_0492.jpg).
I went into the Bed, Bath & Beyond for a break and to window shop for a couple of frames I needed for gifts. I then passed by the Queensborough Bridge or also known as the 59th Street Bridge. Paralleling the bridge is a tram that goes from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. The only tram, from what I’ve heard, that is used for actual public transportation. Under the bridge as part of the bridge’s base is a grocery store, and looking back on it, I should have gone in it. On the south side is an open plaza that has a cool store (architecturally anyway). A few years ago I went in it when it was a modern furniture store (like Design Within Reach, for those in the know). Up the street near the entrance to the Bridge is the Humane Society, they encouraged me to go up to the animal shelter on 110th St. Which is where I first saw Renzo and decided that I would bring him home…well, actually I asked and God said that I could? He is something I love and appreciate more and more each day.
I passed by a place named JIMBO’S. I am hungry right now and it is sounding really good. I also passed the street where the construction crane collapsed a few weeks earlier, killing one tourist and 6 others, 7 in total. The street is still closed off, at least at the time the photo was taken. I am sorry there is nothing really to see in it. I passed the Trump World Tower, one of many Trump named buildings in the city, across the street from the United Nations (buildings) and across from this beautiful little public space, including its fountain. I obviously passed the U.N. and even stepped onto the grounds at the tours entrance, where I took my self portrait (see gold photo below). Time didn’t allot itself to actually continuing further onto the grounds of the U.N. The line was a little long getting through security.
Most people may not know this, but New York City is made up of 5 boroughs (an administrative division of the city, or smaller towns making a larger city). All but 1 of them are islands or part of islands. Staten Island and Manhattan are individual islands, the Bronx is the only one part of the mainland, and Queens and Brooklyn are technically part of Long Island. But don’t tell them that.
There is a little section of the East Side in the upper 30’s and lower 40’s, that is basically a city within a city. Tudor City is its name. It is a neighborhood that happens to be raised above the normal street level, by about 30 feet, having its own street/s. It does tie back somewhere to the Manhattan street grid, but I haven’t found it yet (I really haven’t looked though). I will go up there someday, but not today.
Well, I end this walk by jumping on a bus that will take me down 42nd street to Grand Central where I can jump on a #4 train to Brooklyn (Target). Which by the way is closed today…oh yeah, it’s Easter Sunday. Happy Resurrection Day everyone!
God Bless,
Brant
BTW, my apartment is the 2 windows right above the word “HOLE” in “Jackson Hole.”
