very simple

Gothamist today highlights the New York CityStore, which sells all types of New York memorabilia and tchochkes. I love this kind of stuff. My favorite? Show your support for the Department of Sanitation (!?). Hm. Then again, if these guys didn’t do their jobs day in and day out, it would become very quickly impossible to live on our tiny little concrete island. Maybe I’ll order a hat.

My actual favorite stuff is anything to do with the Chrylser Building, the Subway, or maps. And hey, my birthday is only two months away. How about that!

Heh. I find this mistake in the NY Times more amusing than I probably should. They still can’t figure out how to fire Judith Miller, but when they make an obvious, amateur error they sure know how to point it out:

The MTA is proposing new rules (again) in an attempt to enforce civility on the subway. What fun. Most of it is common sense, but apparently some folks, like the guy in the photo, seem to think that they walk by floating on a cloud of air that keeps their shoes from picking up any of the detritus of our city streets.

My personal favorites? The "pole-huggers" – those folks who seem to think that the way to utilize the center pole is by leaning their entire body up against it so that no one else can hold on. I know that it’s actually an attempt to not touch the pole with their bare hands because of some kind of germophobia, but they should just do what the rest of us do – wash their hands as soon as they get to where they’re going. Or wear gloves. I have a tendency to intentionally wedge my hand between the pole and this type of person, just to annoy them.

But apparently the new rules are also going to attempt (again) to reintroduce the photography ban (which some police seem to already believe is in effect). I’d like to see how long it lasts when the police start ticketing, en masse, groups of tourists who haven’t read the rules before boarding the subway. I understand the intent of the law, but it seems a bit overbroad (and frankly, the terrorists are sneaky – they’ll figure out how to take pictures with non-obvious cameras – they’re not going to be the ones taking pictures of their drunken friends on New Year’s Eve).

Find any address in the five boroughs.

Thanks to Curbed for the link.

Ahh, Rockefeller Center at Christmastime. There’s nothing quite like working half a block away from every single tourist to visit the city at this time of year (well, except actually working at Rock Ctr, like one of my best friends does). It’s like they’ve never seen a tree before.

This is the time of year when us "natives" (or "sort of" natives) start getting treated like tourist attractions in our own right. I got told to move in four different languages last week while waiting for the bus (To be fair, the bus stop is in the direct line of site for the gift-wrapped Cartier flagship store). Oh, and two weeks ago I ended up being the photographer for a group of extremely drunk irish tourists. That was fun (actually, it was kind of amusing, and since I was waiting for a friend, I had time). But I couldn’t understand a damn thing they were saying, even though they were clearly speaking english. Luckily, I was perceptive enough to figure out that they wanted Radio City Music Hall in the background.

But this is the time of year when the crowds near my office become pretty much unbearable. For any tourists who actually read this, I’ll reiterate something I’ve said before: Have some cognizance of the fact that the people who live and work here actually live and work here. We don’t have time to tiptoe behind you while you meander slowly, four across, down the sidewalk. The only window display you are supposed to stop and look at is Saks Fifth Avenue, and if you want to look at that display, please get in the carefully provided line indicated by the very obvious velvet rope they set up. It’s there for a reason. Trust me when I say that you’re not the first person to think of taking a picture pretending to "hold up", or lean against the Empire State Building from the opposite corner. Or the Flatiron building.

If you’re going to a show? please do not eat at the Olive Garden. or Red Lobster. really. You came all the way to New York City. Break out of your comfort zone a little bit. And don’t complain about the prices. You knew it was expensive before you planned the trip. Unless, of course, you’ve been forced at gunpoint to pay for a meal at Alaine Ducasse. That’s expensive. You can go down to Chelsea and visit my friend Vinnie’s restaurant, and get a decent meal for a reasonable price (and hey, the second to last time I was there? so was Daniel Day Lewis, dressed remarkably like a bike messenger – I’m embarrassed to say that my dad recognized him before I did).

And now I’m rambling a bit. and a bit off track. Other hints? read the bus route before you get on the bus. While I do find it endlessly amusing when people start freaking out on the M1 when it turns down 40th street (instead of going straight down 5th Avenue), the big neon electric sign on the front of the bus that says "via Park Ave South", should be a bit of a clue. And yelling at the driver that he’s going the wrong way? Really isn’t going to win you any points. When trying to orient yourself in the Madison-Park-Lexington part of town? Remember that Park is essentially 4th Avenue. Madison and Lexington are "extra", and fall on either side of Park. Actually, pick up John Tauranac’s Manhattan Block by Block. It’s the handiest book I’ve ever owned. Tauranac redesigned the NYC subway maps a few decades ago, making them readable, and he’s been doing the same for the rest of NYC ever since.

That’s all for now. But maybe you’ll get to see our mayor in a silly hat. Apparently he’s fond of them.

Jake Dobkin, Gothamist publisher, takes pictures of pretty much everything I would have zoomed in on at the MoMA reopening. A little Monet, Pollack and Mondrian, among others. I’m still planning on skipping work one afternoon to go check it out myself (the MoMA’s only a half a block from my office), but seeing these photos is like seeing some old friends.

In high school and college, one of my favorite activities was to take the train into the city and check out the art. The MoMA was one of my favorite museums, driven in part by the fact that my SUNY ID card got me free admission (unlike the Whitney or the Met). I know a lot of people are complaining about the "astronomical" $20 admission price, but frankly, I think it’s still a bargain. Plus, on a nice day, you can hang out in the courtyard all afternoon.

It looks like we’re getting another subway fare increase (this time of course, only on the form of Metrocard I use – the monthly). Here’s the part that ticks me off though:

The Bloomberg administration does think there’s still room for the MTA to do some internal budget tightening, especially with the private cars many executives get. The NY Times put a bunch of reporters on the tails of different MTA execs, finding out that many don’t use the MTA and asking them why they didn’t. For the most part, these execs seem to live in the suburbs, where having a car makes it easier to get around.

It’s really too bad that it’s all just a pipe dream.

Most of the time, I absolutely love living in NYC, and I praise it to everyone I encounter. In fact, my parents (who moved out of the city to the ‘burbs to raise us) could have told you stories of my youth where my only goal in life was to live in Greenwich Village. I had no idea what I actually wanted to do, but whatever it was, I was going to live on Christopher Street. Normally, one of the best things about living here is the ability to exist without owning a car (and, in fact, make fun of people who pay $500/month for a parking spot). But sometimes, I have a really crappy morning, and today’s bad morning was courtesy of the MTA.

I actually left my apartment early this morning, energized for work (odd for any day, particularly a Monday). Got to the NRW stop at 23rd and Broadway by 9, figuring I’d be at work by 9:15. then I stood on the platform. and stood. and watched the express trains go whizzing by on the express track. At about 9:20, I noticed an R train (always local) on the express track, and thought that was quite odd. THEN, the first announcement is made. Thanks to an earlier R train at 8th street with stuck doors, ALL trains are running express from Canal to 34th (thereby bypassing my stop). At this point? about 200 people on the platform. Who now all have to squeeze back out the turnstile so that we can book it up the stairs and to another station. The MTA should be absolutely prohibited from raising fares until, at the very least, they improve their communications system.

And did I mention that of all mornings, today was the day I decided to break in my new boots? Thanks MTA, just in time for below-freezing weather, my feet will now be wearing nothing but backless mocassins for the next week.

Apparently, living in non-sprawling metropolitan areas (like NYC) is healthier than living in suburbs. Who’d have thunk it? I suppose for all of the smog, people do tend to walk significantly more (plus, even when taking the subway, it usually involves lots of stairs).

There are some days that I just decide to walk home instead of taking the bus. It’s two miles (approximately 33 downtown and 2 crosstown blocks). And frankly, with city traffic, it often takes less time to walk than to ride.

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I haven’t posted much about politics lately, first, because I got super-busy at work again, and most of my coherent thoughts are going into the stuff I actually get paid to do, and second, because it just seems like the same topics keep getting played over and over again. I’ll be watching the debate on Thursday, though (possibly on TiVO depending on work), and will probably have some thoughts on it, but otherwise, you may be seeing a larger proportion of non-politics related ramblings.

Plus, vacation in two weeks!!