Okay, it’s time for your vote to count, with or without superdelegates… Which neighborhood should be explored this weekend? Select and submit!

Yesterday, New York was blessed with cloud-less sunshine and relatively mild temperatures for a March afternoon. My college pal and fellow music-major, Chris, is visiting his sister in the city for a couple weeks, so he agreed to join me on a “Know York” adventure. As we set off, heading West on foot from our meeting spot of 94th and Lexington, I enjoyed hearing his interpretations of my blog thus far, and his excitement to be partaking in some nitty-gritty New York exploring. We walked across Central Park and then caught the B train up to to 125th Street.

Every neighborhood in Manhattan, or New York City for that matter, has its own distinct style and flavor. Each has had its own unique history, events, demographic and traditions. Harlem is no exception, setting itself apart from the rest of Manhattan with a rich history and its ability to overcome setbacks and stereotypes. Today, Harlem is much cleaner and safe than thirty years ago, and is filled with a dynamic population that is overwhelmingly proud of their little neighborhood. More more information on the history of Harlem, I recommend checking out the wikipedia article here.

Once Chris and I got up to street level, we decided to complete our walk across town and catch a glimpse of the Hudson River and New Jersey. One our way we came across the Cotton Club, a historic nightclub. I should mention here that I dropped my camera the other night and it’s in need of some repairs before I can take pictures again. 😦

We saw also some other notable sites, including the Apollo Theater, Clinton’s Tower, and Whitecastle. If you have never been to Whitecastle before, don’t change that. On our way back East along 125th Street, Chris found a shoe store and proceeded to buy some very snazzy dress shoes. I was getting pretty hungry, so we found a little buffet and loaded up styrofoam boxes with soul food. Among my items were baked chicken, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and sweet plantains. In the words of Rachel Ray: “yumm-o!” And you can’t complain about a lunch that costs $6. After lunch, we walked around a bit more, and saw hundreds of picketers, protesting the big businesses on 125th Street. I don’t know much about the situation there, but it seems there are quite a few residents who don’t like the Starbucks, H&M’s, Gaps, and other corporate stores that keep popping up.

Tired from walking and our filling meal, the two of us heading to the 4/5/6 station at 125th Street and took the short subway ride back down to my neighborhood. It was a shorter exploration, with not as much to see, but it was still charming to take in the energy of Harlem, along with the beautiful sunshine!

Happy Easter everyone!

Look at this image. Is she turning clockwise or counterclockwise? If you focus enough, you may be able to see it either direction, but if your first instinct is clockwise, you are right-brained (creative) and conversely, seeing the dancer spin counterclockwise means you are left-brained (logical).

I’m apparently left-brained. One of the traits of these left-brained nerds is the burden, sorry- I mean tendency of being analytical. I have always known that I am an extremely analytical person. The fact I keep a blog, analyzing myself and daily activities, even writing here an analysis of my analyticity loudly argues the fact I am annoyingly and astonishingly analytical. And admiring alliteration. Always. Anyhow…

I have lately gotten stuck in a rut, thanks to my inability to stray from my preconceived notions of what my blog “should” look like. Which is ridiculous. Why would I get hung up on such a small detail? (Or would it be “hanged” up? thought Ashley after typing that sentence.) Weeks and weeks ago, I planned a Know York adventure with my good friend Jess, to the charming and unique West Village neighborhood. I was so blinded by the thought of neatly summarizing centuries of fascinating history and anecdotes that it prevented me from sharing with my “bleaders” (a term I am confessedly borrowing from one of my recent reads, “Julie and Julia…” Blog + readers = bleaders) the fun experiences I created for myself on my adventure. Isn’t that what it’s really about? My analytical mind wanders the far reaches of possibility, wondering what other formulated template I could adapt, how it would affect the overall presentation of my site, etcetera etcetera etcetera STOP.

We are now spinning clockwise. And continue. Uninhibited. Hell, crack open a beer.

KNOW YORK – WEEK SEVEN – WEST VILLAGE WITH THE AWESOMELY FABULOUS JESS

IF you want to know the history of the West Village, google it. It’s in Manhattan, on the west side, down below Chelsea. We met on Bleecker street and headed West, towards everything good. (Though the East side of Bleecker street is equally spectacular. I should add here, most of my details will probably be wrong, considering we actually took this trip about a month ago. Our first place of business was Magnolia Bakery – a super cool establishment that offers yummy cupcakes for about $2. After waiting in line with the other panting patrons, we finally got our digits on these two beautifully delicious cupcakes. How fab?!

Then we walked all around the funky and fantastic “village.” This is a neighborhood I would LOVE to inhabit. I know that I say that about every place I explore, but I truly mean it here.

Then we saw the most narrow house in Manhattan. 9 1/2 feet wide. To put things in perspective, think about Yao Ming. He’s practically that tall. (Once you pass 7 feet, it’s all the same.) Apparently, this building has been around for quite awhile, and some cool people like Ernest Hemmingway lived there. I don’t know, google it.

On our way we went, passing the historic “Chumley’s,” a prohibition era bar at 86 Bedford Street, hence the term “86 that.” We also spotted some puppies for sale in a window and the infamous “Gay Street.” Hahahahaha lolz oh-em-gee did you buy that poster on the street and like woah, are you in middle school? Sarcasm doesn’t translate well in bright green.

For whatever reason, I had predetermined our lunching spot of the day, because I really wanted to try oysters for the first time in my life. So on to our lunch spot, “Fish,” on Bleecker. $8 gets you six raw oysters with various sauces and your choice of wine or beer. I chose wine and was a bit squeamish as the curious looking creatures arrived, chilling in a platter of crushed ice and broken dreams (of creating pearls). The first one was a little tricky. It got stuck on the shell, but I eventually got it in my mouth. Not bad. Pretty good, actually. I need to try it again.

So ten bucks were spent and good times were had. Alright. There you go. I had to get this down since I am exploring West Harlem tomorrow. Wish me (and my right-brain) luck.

Okay I’m back on board. For now. At least I think.

Week Six?! Time flies when you’re having fun. After a long night of improv and post-show debauchery, I set out Saturday afternoon to explore one of the most “stereotypically New York” New York neighborhoods. Think… Seinfeld.

Week Six: Upper West Side

Where is that exactly?
Though one might gather the indication of location from the neighborhood’s name, I thought I would take the liberty of explaining the exact borders of the Upper West Side. The area stretches from the Hudson River to Central Park and from 59th Street up to _________. Okay, New Yorkers cannot agree of the exact ending point of the UWS. If you asked a Realtor, he would tell you the area encompasses Washington Heights. If you asked Woody Allen, he’d claim the border is strictly 110th Street. I’ll let you decide. Whatever the case, I actually stayed South of 83rd Street. I only had about four hours. To truly explore the Upper West Side you would need an apartment conveniently located around 75th and Amsterdam. Hey Dad, I know you have been thinking of investing in real estate….

History:
Just like most New York City neighborhoods, the Upper West Side is overflowing with historical significance. Originally named the “Bloomingdale District” (from the Dutch “Bloemendaal”), the West Side was a sprawling countryside landscape containing summer homes of the city’s elite. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, more and more suburban villas were built and the neighborhood eventually declined as lower class residents began to fill squatters’ housing and seedy taverns. Haha, “seedy taverns.” That just made me laugh out loud. After 1904, with the arrival of subway stations, the Upper West Side quickly boomed and became an ethnic melting pot. During WWII, a large population of German and European Jews came to New York and settled in the Upper West Side, creating a rich and vibrant Jewish culture. Today, the neighborhood is still bustling with diversity and tradition, lending itself as the backdrop to many “New York” movies and television shows.

Ashley and Sydney’s DAY OF FUN:
I met up with another improv buddy, Sydney, for our adventure to the Upper West Side. We traversed Central Park on foot as we discussed the happenings of Friday night, complete with his admitting to eating the equivalent of an entire pizza pie. Nice. All this talk of food got us off to a good start on our quest for some lunchtime fare. We went with a traditional New York fast food: Gray’s Papaya. This place sells two honkin’ franks with a soda for $3.50. Pretty good deal, in my opinion. Dogs eaten, caffeine consumed, we headed out for some exploration. $3.50 spent. One of the best parts of this day was certainly just walking through the streets and admiring the beautiful architecture. I’ve never seen a neighborhood so uniformly unique. (Is that an oxymoron?) We found the smallest park in Manahttan, “Septuagesimo Uno,” which you might know of if you’ve seen the mediocre movie “Little Manhattan.” But don’t put it on your Netflix folks, it’s not good. The park is about the size of a New York townhouse, nestled in between two residences like the center of an Oreo. Nice analogy, Ash. After our little discovery, we wandered up Broadway and made our way to the best store ever, Zabar’s. This store is so New York. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, so we faced our fair share of gourmet yuppies (I’m a self-proclaimed gourmet yuppy) and Jewish grandmas. We were lucky enough to wind our way through the store on a gastronomical enterprise, tasting cheeses, prosciutto, hummus, and sausage. Sydney added that I should note: $0.00 spent. Or “free ninety-nine,” to quote Kanye. After leaving the store, we knew we should start mentally preparing for the real Everest of the day, the Natural History Museum, by grabbing a cup of coffee. We found a cute little shop (after passing about ten Starbucks) and ordered a small coffee for the road. $1.50 spent. Did I mention Saturday was a beautiful day? It was a little chilly, but the sun was out and everyone seemed in a cheery mood. Until…. we got to the museum. It was quite amusing to observe many museum-goers on the verge of a mental breakdown. This is what happens when you go to a world-famous museum on a beautiful, albeit chilly, Saturday. Stroller heaven. The Museum of Natural History has a “suggested admission” of $20, but Sydney flashed his corporate card and we got in for free, guilt free. $0.00 spent. This was my first time to the museum, but I had been aching to go since watching “Night at the Museum” with Ben Stiller. The place is gargantuan. I think that every New Yorker should go, just to experience the shear awesomeness of the mammal exhibits. Check out the “Squid and the Whale” at left. I wish I would have had a little extra dinero, because the planetarium is high on my list of things to do in New York City, especially after my recent viewing of Woody Allen’s “Manhattan.” After a couple hours of indulging in natural history, our legs and feet were barking, so we headed out and hopped on a crosstown bus. Not a bad adventure, to say the least… and I only spent $5.00!

This weekend was reserved for one of the neighborhoods I was looking forward to most – Park Slope. One of my improv buddies, Victor, just relocated to the area a couple months ago after moving out of Manhattan, so we ventured out to explore together. Despite the dropping temperatures and wind chill, we had a nice adventure, all in a ten dollar budget!

Park Slope is in the western part of Brooklyn, bounded by Prospect Park and Fourth Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Sixteenth Street. Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue are the “main drags,” while the east-west side streets boast the famous Brooklyn brownstones from the late nineteenth century. There are a variety of ways to get there – I took the R train to Victor’s apartment, then took the F train back to make a stop in the East Village on my way back.

History:

Well, Park Slope is another one of those neighborhoods in New York City that is perpetually on the rise, getting more and more elite. In 2006, Natural Home magazine named Park Slope one of America’s ten best neighborhoods, rated by parks, gathering spaces, farmer’s markets and gardens, public transportation, locally-owned businesses, and environmental and social policy. Historically, Park Slope was developed during the 19th century, and was classified as one of the richest neighborhoods in the nation. The area of Prospect Park West was known as the “Gold Coast,” named for its sprawling Victorian mansions lining the park. (Think of it as an equivalent of Fifth Avenue or Central Park West.) Here’s a little trivia for you – most of you know that the LA Dodgers are originally from Brooklyn, but they actually started as the “Brooklyn Atlantics,” and played at Washington Park in the heart of Park Slope! The park was later destroyed in a fire, and the team was passed around from borough to borough until it ended up in…. Los Angeles. In the 1950’s, Park Slope observed a drastic social decline as the middle-class families fled to suburbia, and a new breed of working-class inhabited the neighborhood. Things didn’t start to change until the 90’s, when young dot-comers and professionals moved out of the rising rents of Manhattan. (Sounds like Williamsburg, huh?) Today the neighborhood seems to be a good mix of young and old, rich and poor, commercial and local. And you know it’s a cool place to live when the neighborhood boasts a large population of actors, musicians, artists, and writers.