New York Happiness

I can whine with the best of them, and there are many things that are worthy of complaint in New York City. (My car keeps getting keyed, the F train is evil, there aren't enough basketball courts, etc.) But when you walk around here, you feel more locked in to the moment than you do anywhere else I've been.


Take Bryant Park. I just walked by it today to see that The Pond, a free skating rink, is now operating. (I took a picture that didn't come through, so you're stuck with the stock shot to the left.) People were cruising around the ice at 7:00 looking content and relaxed. Young couples tried to stay together while the more skilled skaters cut through and around them at breakneck speed. It was kind of glorious.

Later Kim and I went to Rhythm and Booze, and watched as a Phillies fan screamed so loud that the whole bar was ready to punch him, and laughed when they all cheered at once when Tampa Bay tied the game.

Silly things, but a reminder of how the city will provide sights and moments you can't experience anywhere else if you're just open to them.

Crushing on Brooklyn Heights

You'll find, if you look through the photos I've taken since I moved here, that there are a decent number of pictures of the downtown Manhattan skyline taken from Brooklyn. I took a half dozen more today when I ventured for the first time to Brooklyn Heights. As you can see, the fascination is justified.

Brooklyn Heights, as I understand it, is the first neighborhood really settled as a suburb of Manhattan. And today, the evidence of the well-heeled stock brokers and financial gurus who live there is hard to miss. The streets are lined with Porsches and BMWs, the houses are immaculate and many are being worked on by teams of laborers, and the only adults in evidence were nannies, the afore-mentioned construction crews, and cleaning ladies. All in all, I wouldn't trade it for where I am now, but man...that view.

The promenade that hangs over the BQE is simply an amazing public space. To be able to walk along an elevated path and glimpse the skyline, the Staten Island ferry coming and going, the Statue of Liberty (can you believe I had not ever seen it before I moved here?), and the Brooklyn Bridge is enough for almost anyone to be happy.

In fact, the neighborhood is so ritzy and exclusive that it is the appropriate setting for filming a drama about spoiled rich kids. Or at least, that's what I gather Gossip Girl is about from the people I have heard talking about. Anyway, if anyone would like to see the cast, they will apparently be in Brooklyn Heights on Friday. Tell 'em Dan sent you.

If you're interested in more modest pursuits, Henry Street seems like the place to go for a drink or a bite. If you want the most convenient stop, try the Clark Street station, which is a few blocks from the promenade and right near some good-looking bars and restaurants on Henry Street. As you stroll, you might be able to convince yourself that you, too, are one of the captains of commerce who can actually afford to live there.

Fall in Windsor Terrace

We've been swamped for the last month trying to finally unload our Rhode Island house, and succeeded at last only this past Friday. Next weekend we're going to a wedding, so it seems that most of fall will be gone before we reach that nirvana that we refer to as "being settled."

But we have been trying to explore, especially just getting to know the streets near our apartment. (I've been really enjoying biking around here and up to Park Slope.) One thing that you can't help but notice is that our neighbors are really, really into Halloween.

There have been some truly amazing displays, including the picture above. Someone had to get these Halloween statue/decorations up to the roof and secure them. Never mind the expense. But 3rd Street here seems to be in some kind of competition, with fake spider webs coating bushes and porches, ghosts that run across yards on motorized rope-and-pulley systems, and some pretty realistic decorations that look like dead and bloody bodies. (There are a few that definitely would have freaked me out as a kid.)

There is lots else we should have reported over the last few weeks: some interesting shopping in SoHo, a few fun nights out, a bit of Advertising Week, and more that I've already forgotten. (I'm going to try to get Kim to do a post about DUMBO and the River Cafe, which is fantastic.) I also went to London for a few days, which was a lot of fun, even if it doesn't quite fit into the topic of this blog. Suffice it to stay that we're definitely not regretting the move, and in fact are finding more reasons to love living here almost daily.

If only the F train would run more often!