A few musings based on our stay in New York City
As we wrap up our 9-week stay in Brooklyn (with many, many forays into Manhattan), we look back at the ginormous list of things we saw/watched/attended/participated in/experienced with a warm afterglow. Here is a peek at a spreadsheet we used to plan and track our activities. And Namita will have captured much of this action in our Polarsteps page. It is no surprise though that there was so much to do .. after all, New York City is a city unlike any other.
“City of the world (for all races are here, all the lands of the earth make contributions here), city of the sea, city of wharves and stores, city of tall facades of marble and iron, proud and passionate city, mettlesome, mad, extravagant city” (from Walt Whitman’s poem “City of Ships”)
“One need never leave the confines of New York to get all the greenery one wishes. I can’t even enjoy a blade of grass unless I know there’s a subway handy or a record store or some other sign that people do not totally regret life” (from Frank O’Hara’s poem, “Meditations in an Emergency”)
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Here are a few musings based on the incredible time we had:
FREE ACTIVITIES
It is remarkable how many of the events/activities we enjoyed were free. To list a few:
Folk social dancing in Prospect Park
Dance fitness, yoga in Prospect Park
Fitness classes in Brooklyn Public Library as part of Shape Up NYC
Self-defense classes in Brooklyn Public Library
Birdwatching 3 days a week by Brooklyn Bird Club
Birdwatching in Bryant Park, Green-wood Cemetery and Governors Island
Art Bath in Lincoln Center
Sufi concert at Brooklyn Museum
Art appreciation session in Brooklyn Museum
Movies in the park
We are incredibly grateful to the kind souls who conceive of these ideas and translate them into reality, and to those who invest their time and soul in being the teachers/guides/organizers. It must take a special mindset to serve with barely any recognition and acknowledgement but Namita and I wholeheartedly appreciate you!
STREET MUSIC
We have always loved musicians making wonderful music in public spaces - in many cases just for the heck of it and in others with the hope of a few dollars in their hats to show for it by the end of the day (aka busking). We are entranced by this music that often is unexpected and permeates the hollowness of streets, subway stations and parks with the most wholesome, often soul-stirring renditions.
SAFETY
This may come across as a surprise to many, but NYC feels incredibly safe. We did not have to worry about phones / bags being filched let alone face a risk of mugging or worse. And this is particularly remarkable that this is the case in the busiest city in the world with all the income disparity that you can imagine there is. Where there is rampant crime in several cities around the world, it (deservedly) gets bad press but in the absence of such crime, we very often don’t acknowledge this and take it for granted.
This is not to say that there is no crime in the city - I bet there are neighborhoods which don’t agree with me but for a regular Joe or Jane going about their business in the city, they don’t have to look over their shoulders at any time of the day/night.
SUBWAY
Another surprise to many and also to us is how uneventful and timely the much-maligned NYC subway system is. Internet is rife with all kinds of weirdos doing weird things on the subway but over the 50+ trips we took, there was barely anything that made us sit up or stare or feel uncomfortable. There was an occasional case of a drug addict or a homeless person that clashed with the humdrum of a typical subway ride but that was the playing out of what the city is - the richest of the rich milling shoulders with the most unfortunate.
Also, trains largely were timely and frequent - you could count on them to take you across the length and breadth of the city on time. The extensive subway system is truly a lifeline of the city.
The G train that we boarded most often, at 15 St-Prospect Park, Brooklyn
GOLF
There are surprisingly several public golf courses in the city - each borough other than Manhattan boasts of at least one. Many are majestic tree-lined courses displaying great fall colors at this time of the year. While playing these courses, the incongruity of the calm and quiet of the fairways contrasting with the chaos and bedlam just outside does not escape you.
I was able to play at a few different courses (Marine Park (Brooklyn), Forest Hills (Queens), Van Cortland (Bronx), Dyker Beach (Brooklyn), Silver Lake (Staten Is) and Riis Park (Brooklyn)) and get my golf fix while still enjoying the bustling city.
NYC MARATHON
We had always heard of this but it was heartwarming to see for oneself how the city poured out on to the streets to cheer and egg the 60,000+ runners on to take the next stride, and the next, and the next. Some were there for their friends or family but most were there just to do their bit for one of the grand events of the city and having fun along the way!
MEETING PEOPLE
Unlike our previous stint in the largely rural Atlantic Canada where random strangers would break into a conversation with us at the drop of a hat, not unexpectedly the denizens of the busy metropolis largely keep to themselves, wrapped up in their cocoons. But once the veneer slips, there is no stopping them - they are like anyone else, eager to converse, to share and to learn.
LASTLY
This sign on the Belt Parkway as you cross over to Queens left a smile on our faces! It is indeed hard to leave Brooklyn - it has big city vibes yet the warmth and laidback feel of a small town!
