Check out what's happening in the NewQuestCity Forums for New York .

2010 Summer Streets
01/03/2012

For the next three Saturdays in August, New York City will have a 6.9 mile car-free path leading from the Brooklyn Bridge in Lower Manhattan to the East 72nd Street entrance of Central Park.    The street closures will occur from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on three consecutive Saturdays in August, the 7th, 14th [...]

Five Boro Bike Tour: Sunday, May 2nd, 2010
01/03/2012

New York’s Five Boro Bike Tour is the largest recreational cycling event in the United States. Every year on the first Sunday of May, over 30,000 riders participate in the 42 mile ride around New York City. The route, closed to automobile traffic, takes riders through all five boroughs of New York City, across five major bridges, and finally across New York Harbor on the Staten Island Ferry.

Tour de Brooklyn: Sunday, June 6th, 2010
01/03/2012

Mark your calendars the Tour de Brooklyn is happening June 6th, 2010. This year’s tour is very exciting 23-mile ride. The tour kicks off at 9am from Coney Island and rolls through Sunset Park for an exclusive bicycle tour through Green-wood Cemetery!

NYC Century Bike Tour: September 13th 2009
01/03/2012

The NYC Century offers five route options (ranging from 15 to 100 miles) to provide all cyclists a great way to see New York City and explore some of the City’s best greenways and parks. This year the NYC Century Bike Tour will take place rain or shine on Sunday, September 13th, 2009. For more [...]

New Amsterdam Bicycle Show 2011
01/03/2012

The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show was held April 30th and featured a variety of New York bike shops and bike makers, amongst other loosely bike related vendors. New Amsterdam Bike Show (official site) About The New Amsterdam Bicycle Show The first bike show in New York City was in Brooklyn in 1897, and 114 years [...]

NYC Century Bike Tour: September 12th 2010
01/03/2012

The NYC Century offers five route options (ranging from 15 to 100 miles) to provide all cyclists a great way to see New York City and explore some of the City’s best greenways and parks. This year the NYC Century Bike Tour will take place rain or shine on Sunday, September 12th, 2010 and for [...]

2010 New York Bike Racing
01/03/2012

The 2010 New York City bicycle racing season starts this weekend in Central Park.   Over the coming weeks and months, both Central Park and Prospect Park will host numerous bike races this year.  More bike races will be held at the Kissena Velodrome, Floyd Bennett Field, Governor’s Island, Grant’s Tomb, Bear Mountain State Park and [...]

2009 David Walker Memorial Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic Photos
01/03/2012

Created as a Father’s Day event in 1973 by David A. Walker, the Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic is the oldest continually held bike race in New York. The three-quarter-mile circuit around Marcus Garvey Park hosts the nation’s fastest criterium specialists for a 55-lap spin. A variety of children and amateur bicycle races were held before [...]

Walkway Over the Hudson
01/03/2012

75 miles North of NYC (as the bike rides), cyclists and pedestrians now have their own Hudson River crossing. The Walkway Over the Hudson is a 24 foot wide, 1.2 mile long bridge that connects the city of Poughkeepsie with the Town of Lloyd. The Walkway Over the Hudson is less than a mile from [...]

Video: Kissena Velodrome Bike Ride
01/03/2012

Had the opportunity to ride a few laps at the Kissena Velodrome in Queens. Video shows five laps around the track at 4 times the normal speed. Video was shot on a weekday when there were no races or events scheduled (Track schedule) Kissena Velodrom website view more videos from NYC Bike Maps View Kissena [...]

TBTAM’s NYC Restaurant Recommendations
12/29/2011

Home cooking is what I do best. And yet, the most frequent e-mail request I get from readers, friends and family is – “Where should we eat when we come to New York?” Finally, after years of repeatedly wracking my brain for recommendations, I decided to create a restaurant recommendations page here on the blog. (You...

Teen Mom Kailyn Gets Mirena – Contraceptive Choice or Product Placement?
12/29/2011

In this week’s episode of Teen Mom 2, Kailyn heads to her gynecologist for birth control and leaves with a Mirena IUD in her uterus. The entire encounter, obviously edited, ran more like a commercial for Mirena than a contraceptive counseling session. Other contraceptives were mentioned generically only  -”a patch”, “a ring”, “the pill” –...

Fairytale of New York – Happy Christmas, Everyone
12/29/2011

Sing along,now, everyone - “It was Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tank…” Best Christmas song ever. Can’t believe I just now discovered it, thanks to Boerewar’s Emergency Medicine Chronicles. (He’s got a very funny video cover and all the lyrics there. ) The Telegraph has a nice write up about the song.

Coffee-Marinated Braised Short Ribs for Christmas Eve
12/29/2011

The wonderful thing about braised meat is that it literally cooks itself. The not-so-wonderful thing is that you need to plan ahead for the pr0longed cook time, especially if there is also a pre-braising marinade. Which means that if you decide at 10 am to make marinated braised short ribs for dinner, then spend the...

The Latke Master’s Latkes
12/29/2011

This latke recipe was good enough in 2007  to garner my blog a mention in the New York Times. Secrets of the latke masters. Happy Hannukah. [The Blog That Ate Manhattan] I figure that makes it good enough to re-post today.  Happy Hanukkah! Potato Latkes 3 pounds potatoes (I use Yukon golds) 2 eggs, lightly...

Pharmacies Commonly Deny Older Teens Access to Emergency Contraception
12/29/2011

It’s bad enough that the federal government is preventing younger teens from getting easier access to the morning after pill. Now we find out that older teens, who by current law should be able to buy ECP’s without a prescription, are being told by pharmacies that they can’t.  In a phone survey conducted by researchers...

Chicken Marbella – A Truly Sweet Repast
12/29/2011

New York has been my home now for 18 years, but it feels even more like home now that my old buds from Philly have moved here too. Add in a sister and her daughter visiting for the weekend and dinner becomes a truly sweet repast. Make it it all the more sweet by serving...

Hallelujah Corporations
12/29/2011

It would be even funner if it wasn’t so true. California at least is fighting back.

Business as Usual
12/28/2011

. Window displays wrap around three sides of the building - Fifth Avenue, 57th and 58th Streets. The windows must be seen and are a worthwhile destination, even for those who must travel. It is a yearly ritual for me, and I am never disappointed. For those who would like to stroll with me, see the video below. Happy Holidays, and thanks to the staff of Bergdorf's!



Related Posts: Bergdorf Holiday Windows 2010, Bergdorf Windows 2009

musicians and artists who take donations. The rules prohibit vending within 50 feet of a monument (includes the fountain) or 5 feet from a park bench, effectively making the park off-limits to performers. The impact of this is huge. Attorneys Norman Siegel (formerly of the ACLU) and Ron Kuby were on hand and poised for litigation.

The issue is of great personal interest to me as well as others, but I am not much for politics and political process. As a small business owner, I am accustomed to speedy decisions and implementation. We can turn on a dime if necessary and change course rapidly, addressing competition, changing markets and customer needs, streamlining business procedures, and a myriad of other functions. The prospect of decision by committee with long-time horizons for implementing change is anathema to the small business owner.

But political process is a necessary evil for a democracy with liberty as a cornerstone, and I respect that. However, I also do not relish an evening in a public forum, even on a relevant issue, listening to a large number of community residents making their cases one after another, essentially to be heard by those in agreement. Only if the collective voice becomes large enough, like the Vietnam War protests, and/or legal action or the threat thereof, will the powers that be take notice. Even the Parks Department representative left the meeting early, which I found quite sad.

A friend suggested that I speak since my entire business life has been supplying performers, many of whom work the parks of New York City. However, everyone in the room was in accord - I saw no change being effected by speaking to the choir, so I slipped out.

The meeting was in NYU's Kimmel Center, a newly built student center perfectly situated on the south side of Washington Square Park. I had never been in the student center even once - admittance typically requires a student ID, but not for a public hearing. So as I left the meeting room on the 8th floor, it occurred to me that I was now IN and not being chaperoned or policed. This was a rare privilege and opportunity to scout out spectacular vantage points for some photography.

The front of the Kimmel Center provides spaces for study, with windows directly overlooking Washington Square Park and facing north towards the fountain area, the arch, the Christmas tree centered below it, and Fifth Avenue running all the way up to the Empire State Building, appropriately lit in green and red, befitting the holiday season. Stairwells were accessible and are glassed, also providing views in a darkened environment.

I was happy to have left the meeting. I was thoroughly enjoying my exploration - lemonade made from the lemons of political process. As you can see by today's photos, if you are lucky, Kimmel is the place to go when you seek a Room With A View :)

Related Posts: Pockets of Joy, Comfort and Joy, Only in New York, Delivery, Nested Embraces

Chinatown bus, the cheapest option. A nexus for people who have no other option, no other options at the time, or are between better options.

Today is Thanksgiving, a day to give thanks. And if you are fortunate enough not to have to travel by bus, you have something to be thankful for. Most New Yorkers have, at one time, arrived by bus at Port Authority and know that there are much better places to be welcomed to New York City.

In fact, I rarely put it this bluntly, but Port Authority is depressing as hell and, regardless of renovations, always has been. It is also a magnet for hucksters, hustlers, thieves, and the homeless. There are not too many smiles, and unlike a place such as Grand Central, you are never going to hear people say that they love Port Authority. This is the place that is truly inhospitable. There are no cushions here, nothing to soften against a city that can indeed feel harsh at times. If you want to experience the true grit of New York, head for Port Authority.

I am not sure about many things, but I am sure that I was the only person who traveled to Port Authority last night, solely to carouse, peruse, and look for an angel based on the story a friend told me of an extraordinarily heart warming incident. She was traveling yesterday to New Jersey to see family with her elderly mother.

Upon arrival at the terminal, she was approached by a homeless woman who offered to help. But this was not just a ruse or a quick task for money. This was HELP. She escorted them through the entire process, door to door. Carrying their bags, navigating through the crowds and corridors, purchasing tickets, and seeing them off. My friend was so moved that she told the homeless woman that she was an angel and, in the ensuing rush before boarding the bus, was able to extricate and give her $13 from her bag.

So, last night at 10:15 PM, I went to Port Authority to find that angel. If you are reading these words and look forward to a miraculous outcome, i.e., that I found that angel and spoke to her and photographed her, then read no further. Because I did not find her.

There were lines and crowds, as to be expected. No one was in a good mood. All had only one desire - to leave the terminal and get to their destinations for Thanksgiving. I did find one homeless woman eating in a corner. I told her of my mission and asked if she was perhaps that angel or knew of a homeless woman who might fit the description. She did not. I got the feeling that she thought I was insane. Perhaps she is right. Who travels willingly to Port Authority on the night before Thanksgiving, looking for an angel?

Thanksgiving Posts: Thanksgiving 2009, Thanksgiving 2008, Horn of Plenty, Inflation

12/28/2011

It certainly is spectacular, isn't it?

On Sunday, after my excursion to the Garabedian House on Pelham Parkway North in the Bronx, I decided that I would again go all the way to Bayside* to see what has been said to be the finest example of Christmas illumination and ornamentation of any home in Queens and, to some, the finest in all of New York City. The house is located in Bayside/Whitestone at 166th Street and 23rd Avenue, an intersection sometimes referred to as Santa's Corner.

Although the display is certainly over-the-top, I found the lighting more elegant and tasteful than that of many well-known Christmas extravaganzas found in places such as Dyker Heights or the Garabedian House. The front of the Bayside home is broken up into three sections -Toyland, the nativity, and music land. The side of the house has animated cartoon figures.

The owners are extremely congenial, allowing visitors access to the entire property, including the porch, which sports various displays depicting wintry Christmas activities and figures. Santa himself was, of course, represented. The owners provide music, and as I perused and explored the displays, my meandering was accompanied by the Beach Boys classic, Little Saint Nick. See my complete photo gallery here.



On my return to my office on Monday, I suggested to my office manager, a Queens resident, that she may want to visit the spectacular home. Interestingly, even though she already resides in the borough, she immediately responded, "I'm not going all the way to Bayside."
There's something about Bayside, Queens, that elicits the phrase "all the way." Even a spectacular Christmas display is apparently inadequate to lure some to making the pilgrimage. Not even for Santa's Corner :)

*On November 27, 2009, I wrote All the Way, a story about a confrontation between a store manager and customer, who insisted she be let in before the shop's opening hours, defending her need for special consideration because she had come ALL THE WAY from Bayside, Queens.

Related Posts: Bergdorf Holiday Windows 2010, Have a Witty Holiday!, Worth Seeing Again, SantaCon, Christmas Spirit, Dyker Lights

All that remained was something to barbecue or toast. Our meager funds ruled out any food, including marshmallows. The few cents we could pull together only allowed us to purchase one pack of chewing gum. Very sad, but true. And that is how, on that summer day, you would have found me and my entourage toasting chewing gum (skewered on sticks) rather than marshmallows. Our feast of burnt and melted gum was inedible - one could easily say that the outing was a failure. Marshmallows would have to wait for another time, when I had money.

I do recall one occasion in Fire Island where I was first introduced to S'mores. Indulging in such things seemed very appropriate for summer at the beach.
Marshmallow, however, is everything that New York City is not - soft, fluffy, sweet, and benign. So, even as an adult, with money to buy a room full of marshmallows, it was never forefront in my mind. I don't recall ever being offered a marshmallow in New York City.

So when a friend told me that the Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake at Stand 4 was a must have, I was on my way and at the bar within minutes, placing an order for this milkshake which is taken quite seriously. It comes highly recommended and reviewed. It was featured on the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate." Like many of the artisanal food places in NYC, Stand 4 goes the extra mile. According to Gourmet Magazine, the ingredients list consists of 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream (they use Laboratorio del Gelato), 1 tablespoon of whole milk, 1 large dollop of Woodstock Water Buffalo Milk yogurt, 5 Kraft Jumbo Jet-Puffed marshmallows, and whipped cream.

The Toasted Marshmallow Shake arrived shortly, delivered by a finely feathered waitress. The shake was delicious. Now, here was the unrequited love of my youth, brought vividly to mind in a new, extraordinary concoction. It feels like the summer of 1960, only I have enough money and we are toasting marshmallows, not chewing gum :)

Related Posts: Kick in the Shins, Cones, Trucks and Things, Fluff, Bon Appetit, Peanut Butter & Co.

I ignored it because parking does not become more restrictive after becoming less restrictive. So I was looking at the white sign showing the end of metered parking. If you can park legally from 8AM to 10PM (using the Muni-Meter), and after 10PM for free, why would you suddenly be unable to park or stand one hour later, starting at 11PM? You see the logic? This is New York City parking 101.

So, at 11:29PM, as I exited Gizzi's Cafe, I was greeted with a traffic police officer just completing my parking ticket for $115. Perfect timing - he did not need to place the ticket under the windshield wiper, just hand it to me for the added personal touch. I was LIVID.

With disgust, I grabbed the ticket and threw it in my back seat. I told the officer how I was furious and that I have lived in the neighborhood for over 40 years and never heard of such a night regulation. He responded that if I lived there so long, I should know of the regulation. Point well made.

Best I reign it in and quit talking, so I left. However, I DO know the neighborhood and its parking regulations. I just do not street park much nowadays, and apparently, the night regulation is relatively new. I learned from a neighbor that this added regulation was acquired by the Village Alliance to minimize late-night carousing by visitors, who often park on the street and make a ruckus until late hours, disturbing residents.

Coincidentally, this neighbor has also worked for me. She is a long-time graphic artist and agreed that these night regulation signs virtually become invisible, owing to their graphic design. Many leave their cars after 11PM and are ticketed, expecting that parking is permitted after meter usage is no longer required.

When I got home, I was still fuming. It took a full two hours to calm down. You can buy a very nice Blu-Ray DVD player for $115. Money well spent is one thing, but nothing infuriates many a New Yorker like a parking ticket. These extremely high fines are mostly revenue enhancers for the city of New York, which now collects nearly a billion dollars annually from parking tickets.

I plotted and schemed of how I could beat this ticket, which I read front and back. I read online. I went back to examine the group of stacked signs. I did notice that on this pole, the Night Regulation sign is the only one that does not display "Department of Transportation."

As I calmed down and my thinking became more mature, I began to accept that I would likely have to pay the ticket and just see it as an expensive lesson learned. Then it occurred to me that I could do a story about the incident and get something for my $115. Better yet, I thought, I will write a two-part story and amortize my expense over two parts. A bit childish, and really a rather elaborate way to justify a mistake made. But it was the best lemonade I could squeeze from the lemon handed to me on December 10, 2011 at 11:29 PM, and each cup was going to cost a hefty $57.50 :)

Related Posts:  I'll Kill You, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Nice Move, Kid, Eternal Vigilance and Tenacity, Pull Ahead, Great Minds and Fools, Itching and...

~ Repair Your Credit Today! ~
Don't let false reporting
lower your score!