ESB Light Show

Every night the Empire State Building lights up. 

For NYU graduation its purple, Christmas time it is red and green, Pride it's, of course,  rainbow. 

Wondering WHAT COLOR IS THE ESB TONIGHT? Now you know :) 

Talk Show in the Subway

I LOVE that this happens (and works) in NYC... 

This guy. Being mobbed on the sidewalk between Carnegie Hall and a tour bus for signed head shots... Of some other guy. This guy isn't even the rock star.  

Christopher Walken Rex

The Rainbow Hoodie Gang had a dream to build a huge T-Rex with Christopher Walken's face when they ran into and teamed up with HONY and the HONY Community.

Now the Christopher Walken- HONYsaurus Rex is in NYC and on Facebook. 

Today I stumbled on a street fair with a Synagogue and The Chrysler Building framing it.

Starbucks Lessons

3 minutes ago this happened.

It's the first really chilly day of winter and I was looking for somewhere warm to camp out for 20 minutes before a dinner reservation on the Upper East Side- one of if not the richest zip codes  in the country.

As I walked up the stairs approaching the door to Starbucks on 81st and 2nd avenue I can hear a kid about 7 years old gleefully negotiating with his father as they approach the door from the ramp. 

"I'm going to have 2 treats!"

"Just one."

"Two treats!" 

Awaked pause while the father looks at me, notices I stopped walking because his son has dashed for the door and is now  reeeeaaaaaaly trying to push it open. (A previous lesson in persistence clearly stuck with him) 

"No, just pull it mate." 

"Oh! Yeah!" says the son, in that hopeful voice of youth, untouched by his mistake, as he dashes towards his treat(s).

"Wait. You always hold the door." 

Boy stops half way through the door and stands flush up against it holding it open with his whole body. I give the dad  nod to go in with his son and then realize he is teaching his son to hold the door for the lady (that's me!) 

"Wow. Thank you! What gentleman :)" I say as this warmth bubbled up inside me that chivalry is alive, valued (lord knows I value it!) and being passed down. It was a feeling that the future has hope and as I sat down and started writing this I realized that as nice as that moment was it's not such a unique experience in New York; and that might be the best thing about it. 

Seen in the Time Square Subway tunnel

This put a big smile on my dial.  

Rapture Lounge

Lovely local Wednesday night at Rapture Lounge in Astoria. Karaoke and the couch from Friends. 

Electric Boats in Central Park.

Man what a suprisingly peaceful way to spend half an hour. 

It was dark before I got home from work

I finished at 6. That day has come. 

Big Apple Brass Band

It was just one of those Sundays that, although I was awake all day, my day didn't start until 8pm. A few hours with Scott Kulick's Big Apple Brass Band at Shrine in Harlem had me feeling like I did something great today. Good people, vibes, tunes, moves and flavors. 

Happy Early Halloween....

Adrienne and Matt know how to throw a party... always with good people and delicious food 

Belli Osteria

Celebrated Rick's 50th at Belli Osteria.

The food was delicious!

Especially any of 'Grandma's' receipies and prices were kind to the credit card. 

Swim Jim

They hire out apartment building pools for group lessons. I like it. Plus Chester our teacher is the best! 

Tudor City

My brilliant friend Lindsey showed me this peaceful spot today in Tudor City. 

42nd st and 1st ave up on the bridge looking down 42nd st, Time Square in the distance. 

Crazy peaceful for midtown Manhattan.

Thanks for the breath of fresh air and great chat Lindz 

How I Met Your Mother

We have been binge watching How I Met Your Mother in our apartment because the series finale is upon us. Sometimes it is the nicest part of my day- and that's not as sad as it sounds. 

Tonight, after a day of work, great chats and tracking down a fresh Banksy piece we sat down with the latest episode while dinner cooked- I told you it wasn't so sad- and I realized that while I LOVED the show Friends when I was growing up; How I Met Your Mother is really the 'friends sharing life and apartments in NYC show' of my generation and I love it even more for that realization. 

Who wants to re-make the opening credits with me? 

Banksy

Banksy is in town!! 

Letting little old men sell his work in Central Park for $60usd, putting up pieces in polarized neighborhoods and causing a buzz. It feels like Christmas :) 

BAM

BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) has been a New York institution for over 150 years. You can find more about this multi-arts centre on there website or just take my word that if you are into high quality local and international art you should totally check this place out when you are in NYC.

It's home in Brooklyn is very accessible by subway, minutes walk from some great Brooklyn neighborhoods, the Barclay's Centre and it shares a block with the Brooklyn Flea's winter location!

I am a big modern dance fan and I have seen some of the best work from international rockstars at BAM. Today's collaboration between Doug Varone and Brenda Angiel (and respective companies) was part of BAM's Next Wave Festival and was FREE! I heart you too BAM. 

Fire Island

Fire Island. You beautiful thing. You have my heart and cleanse my soul in any weather. 

This weekend was LIRR>Bay Shore> $5 ride in waiting busses> ferry to Fair Harbor> :) 

The Artist at work

Thumbs up Fire Island

LIRR

The Long Island Rail Road is my golden ticket out of the city (no car for this New Yorker). 
It leaves from 34th st Penn Station, accessible from the A/C/E and 1/2/3 subways and you can get food, drinks and alcohol to enjoy on board (yep, you can drink on board) along the walkway before you find your track; golden. 

5 Pointz

5Pointz is one of my favorite things about NYC and today the news broke that it will be torn down and replaced with a lot of condos. See it while you can. Here's to 5Poitnz. 

In Long Island City as the 7 train sweeps around the curve into Court Sq there is a captivating city scape; 5Pointz. Considered the "graffiti Mecca" of the world 5Pointz is an ever evolving outdoor art exhibition. The walls of this 200,000 square foot factory are covered with the imagionations and artistry of some of the worlds best graf artists. 

It is free to walk around or you can support the project by taking a tour. It's always been my best secret to the city to share; here are some of my memories. WE LOVE YOU 5POINTZ. 

New York City ON LOCATION

One of the things I really love about living in New York City is recognizing the city in movies. It goes beyond knowing if the character is in Manhattan or Brooklyn. To recognize the corner a character on, preempt what shops are about to flash by in the background and remember my personal moments on that same spot is a special feeling.  

On Location Vacation tells you where in the city (and other places in the US) they are filming today.
Plus it's always fun to check out the set.

This made me laugh today. And then stop and take a picture. And then laugh again when I looked at it later.

HONY! aka Humans of New York.

This is Brandon. He runs an AWESOME blog humansofnewyork.com It is a visual census of New Yorkers with a little insight into their life or a shot of wisdom from them. Everyday he is out and about meeting, connecting, documenting and sharing us with our fellow New Yorkers and the world. 

I have long admired his consistency and quality so I was a little star struck when he introduced himself today.

We met on the train today, in the most common way train conversations start: over a book (I am reading  Alexis Ohanian's 'Without their permission.') We had a short chat and he was instantly such a genuinely nice guy I want to tell everyone how nice he is! But personal approval aside do yourself a favor and check out HONY it will make your day better, everyday :) 

HONY on Facebook  HONY on Tumblr HONY on Twitter

Ps. Brandon was featured on ABCNews doing his thing... check this out