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Walking Off the Big Apple
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New York walking journal, neighborhood guides, maps, lists of affordable hotels, and art reviews with entertaining commentary on the cultural life of the city.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'politics'
James Weldon Johnson's New York and Four Stops in Central Harlem
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), influential writer, activist, and diplomat, settled into life in Central Harlem in an attractive red Romanesque building near the corner of 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in 1925. He lived in the building, designat...
Aernout Mik at MoMA: Something is Happening Here, But I Don't Know What It Is
Last weekend, when I stood for two hours with a crowd behind barricades watching the Secret Service and police accompany the First Couple's motorcade to the restaurant on Washington Place for date night, I thought about the video installations I had ...
A Special Date Night in the Village: The First Couple Dines at Blue Hill
Those of us who gathered along Washington Square West at the intersection of Washington Place early Friday evening made our own fun as we stood patiently waiting for a glimpse of the special guests. After hearing a little earlier the helicopters fly ...
Winston Churchill in New York: Sir Winston Churchill Square, New York's Downing Street, With a Note on the Opening of Topshop
For children growing up in postwar America, the real-life British action figure known as Winston Churchill looms large. We knew him on this side of the pond as a portly and clever world leader who smoked cigars and saved his country (that we got to k...
A Stroll Down Pennsylvania Avenue
From January 2009 He really had to get out and walk, you know. After weighing all the security nightmares, you have to show that it's okay to be who you are and to not be afraid. After the turmoil of the last few years and the economic times at hand ...
More on Chester Arthur's Curry-Loving Neighborhood, and A Map
Following up on yesterday's post about President Chester A. Arthur, I wanted to spell out some of the attractions of the neighborhood in the form of a walk. There's not a specific itinerary, just a map. I recommend knocking around this part of south ...
Chester A. Arthur's Neighborhood, and A Hint of Vindaloo Masala
While walking through the northern section of Madison Square Park, you may have encountered the striking statue of Chester A. Arthur (1830-1886), the 21st President. The VP in James Garfield's administration, Arthur assumed office upon the tragic dea...
JFK: The Presidential Candidate from the Bronx, and Other NYC Sites Associated with the Kennedy Family
"Ladies and gentlemen: I said up the street that I was a former resident of the Bronx. Nobody believes that but it is true. I went to school in the Bronx. Now, Riverdale is part of the Bronx, and I lived there for 5 or 6 years. [Laughter and applause...
Walking Broadway with Abraham Lincoln: The Visit to New York for the Cooper Union Speech
Anyone who has ever traveled to a large unfamiliar city for the purpose of an important job interview and who might be a little anxious about the big job talk itself and what to wear and meeting new people should be able to imagine themselves in Abra...
Theodore Roosevelt, the Boy, on E. 20th Street
I read with interest Jim Dwyer's article today in the NYT, "Courthouse Mystery as One Rough Rider Replaces Another" about Senator Charles Schumer's quest for more Theodore Roosevelt love. Seems like our senator (we functionally have only one right no...
On New York Street Corners and Elsewhere: President-Elect Gifts for the Holidays
I'm enjoying the Obama-related merchandise on the streets this season, and I've had to restrain myself not to buy a whole lot of it. Many of the items for sale that feature the President-elect can be found on street corners by individuals who have al...
Images of the State at the Asian Contemporary Art Fair
I had some surreal and unsettling moments while attending the Thursday night opening of the Asian Contemporary Art Fair at Pier 52. An artist friend was looking forward to seeing how her work was presented at the fair, and so we arrived fairly early ...
The Sounds of the Village on Election Night, and the Raw Percentages from the Five Boroughs
Just after 11 p.m. on Election night, the moment the networks projected Senator Barack Obama to be the President-Elect of the United States of America, a great roar went up in Greenwich Village. Opening the door to the balcony, I could hear the colle...
Election Night Special Events in New York: Salons, Soups, and Sleepovers
After gathering even a short list of Election Night events in New York, I'm wondering why I made plans to stay home.• New Museum of Contemporary Art (235 Bowery): "On Election Night 2008 the New Museum hosts an evening of tequila, trivia, and live-...
Casting a Vote at the Break of Dawn
I'm usually only one of a handful of people up and about in the early hours of a typical Greenwich Village morning. It's mostly just the few people who have no homes and who are waking up from their places in the park, the early morning types with do...
