It has been hard since the Summer ended. I have a full load of classes at my college and being a full time student at NYU, it does not allow for much time to explore the City the way I want to on a daily basis. My walks now extend to and from Port Authority to the NYU campus on West 4th Street. I see a lot trust me and I have some of the most fantastic pictures of the brownstone neighborhoods of Chelsea and Greenwich Village but finishing the Theater District and Times Square is where I want to go to finish up that part of the City.
I will get back to my walk in Times Square soon.
It has been hard on Times Square with all the immigration coming into Manhattan and asylum seekers being housed in hotels in this area puts the police on guard again in this section of Manhattan and its tough to walk around and take pictures. I will probably have to wait until the Christmas break to walk this section of the City.
Halloween decorations in Greenwich Village.
Meanwhile, Halloween is here and it means all the running around from the City to the Hudson River Valley for events such as festivals, cemetery walks and haunted house visits. It also means all the Halloween events in Hasbrouck Heights including me running around town for the Third Annual “Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest” which has been growing every year. All of this happening while I am giving Midterms for my students and taking Midterms at NYU. I do not get much sleep in both October and December.
The Hasbrouck Heights Merchant Window Painting Contest was even delayed because of rain in 2023.
I had rained most every weekend of the month of October so that put a damper into the football games up at Yale in New Have with Cornell and Rutgers in New Brunswick with Michigan State. Cornell won the game in a torrent of rain and managed to break a six year drought against Yale. I missed not going up but the whole weekend was a washout. Rutgers was a complete disaster for Michigan State which is having one of its worst seasons on record. We lost our coach and it has been a spiral of lost opportunities and disappointments. Welcome to my sophomore year at Michigan State. We lost by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter in another rain storm. It keeps raining all the time.
The beginnings of Halloween in the Village the second week of October.
As the month has progressed the leaves finally started to change colors and we finally started to see the signs of Fall. As I walked through the brownstone blocks on my way to class at NYU, I started to see the beginnings of Halloween. People are really decorating this year in the Village. There is a real beauty to the Village when the Fall arrives and the homes are adorned with skeletons, ghosts and pumpkins. There are things that go bump in the night as well. It is really a thing of beauty.
Halloween means running around too. From place to another I like to experience different sites in the City, the Hudson River Valley and in New Jersey. As the leaves changed colors it made it even more spectacular but it much later in the month than usual. All that rain changed everything.
Store windows got very creative in Manhattan.
I went to Blairstown and Hope, New Jersey for Friday the 13th for the afternoon on October 13th and that is an experience. The weather finally broke and it was a sunny, spectacular day and the moment my online class was over, I bolted out of the house and headed to Blairstown where the original 1980 film was shot over forty years ago. Only the first twenty minutes of the opening of the film was shot in both Blairstown and Hope but people would be elbowing each other to get the picture in.
Downtown Blairstown, NJ on Friday the 13th
My blog on visiting Blairstown and Hope, NJ on Friday the 13th:
I got to Blairstown around 11:00am and I thought I would never get a parking spot. I parked at the edge of the downtown and walked around. Talk about perfect timing as people really had not arrived in town yet so it was perfect for picture taking. That would not be the case later in the afternoon when it really got busy. People were taking walking tours and there were two sold out showings of the original “Friday the 13th” film.
The Water Building on October 13th, 2023 is the most popular place to take pictures.
The famous walkway under the Water Building where Annie walked through.
The scenes where the towns of Blairstown and Hope, NJ were shot.
It is a fascinating experience to see all these fans of the original film running around to the locations where the opening scenes had taken place. All of the merchants had Friday the 13th merchandise and were also stocked for Halloween and Christmas. It was such a beautiful day outside it looked it was going to be a busy afternoon for everyone.
The Blairstown Diner was much easier to get into on January 13th early this year but on October 13th the lines were out the door all day. The food is really good here.
The Blairstown Diner at 55 NJ Route 94 is always busy on Friday the 13th
I was looking for a late morning snack having gotten up so early for class and then getting on the road after class was over for the long drive. The Blairstown Diner was packed and had a line twenty deep as well as the coffee shop in the downtown area was also extremely busy that morning. So I walked around the downtown area and Blairstown does not have a lot of options for dining or at least a lot at that time of the morning.
Dale’s Market at 66 NJ 94 is a great place for breakfast and lunch to go.
While I was walking around I found Dale’s Market at 66 NJ 94 and they have an amazing prepared food section with hot food and sandwiches to go. I got their ‘Deputy’ breakfast sandwich with eggs, bacon, hash browns and hot sauce and took it to the park across the street for a morning picnic by the river. That was better than any restaurant.
That amazing breakfast sandwich “The Deputy” at Dale’s Market
Footbridge Park in Downtown Blairstown, NJ is a great place to have a picnic and relax from the crowds on Friday the 13th.
After walking around the downtown and seeing that the crowds were getting larger in Blairstown, I drove over to Hope, NJ to visit the Hope Historical Society Museum. I made an appointment at 1:30pm to see the inside of the museum and take pictures. The museum is rarely open so I had to take that opportunity when it came. It is a nice little museum that you should not miss.
The unique Hope Historical Society at 323 High Street in Downtown Hope, NJ
The museum was open for a tour that afternoon so I got in to take some interior shots. The museum misses out without having a special ‘Friday the 13th’ exhibition inside the museum but they do have private tours by appointment.
The inside of the Hope Historical Society
The inside of the Hope Historical Society
After visiting the museum, I headed off the to the Moravian Cemetery, which was really busy that afternoon with people traveling from all distances to take pictures in front the sign made famous by ‘Friday the 13th”.
The famous sign from the film “Friday the 13th”.
What I got a kick out of was that the man who ran the cemetery was outside making himself available for picture taking and was selling cemetery dirt for $10.00 a jar. The irony is that people were buying it and making donations to help renovate the church. I thought that was very clever.
Selling cemetery dirt on Friday the 13th was a brilliant idea.
Before I Ieft Hope for the afternoon, I stopped for some dessert at Humpty Juniors in Colombia, NJ right down the road from Hope and had a sundae. It was a nice way to end the day of touring. As I drove through Hope on my way back to Route 80 to go home, the town got a lot more crowded with people taking pictures and stopping to film the town. It really amazed me how serious some of these fans took these shots of the town.
Humpty Juniors at 72 Route 46 West in Colombia, NJ
The Banana Cream Pie sundae at Humpty Juniors is outstanding.
The next weekend brought even more scares and delights when after finishing an extremely busy week of classes lead to me the Merchant’s House in New York City for a haunted house walking tour and back up to the Hudson River Valley to explore the Clermont Estate for their haunted house tour. Both were sold out and the crowds coming in and out at that time of the evening were pretty amazing.
The week before both of these tours was extremely stressful with three papers and two presentations at NYU and then at Bergen Community College I had to give three quizzes and two major projects. I was burnt out by the end of the week and needed to see a ghost or something that bumped in the night to distract me. I have never had so much coming at me at once.
On a rather gloomy Friday night, I headed into the City for a Candlelight (more of a flashlight) tour of the Merchant House at 29 East 4th Street for a tour of the house in the dark hoping to see a ghost. I had already toured the entire house on my own over the summer so I knew the house quite well and I had not seen or heard anything.
The Merchant House at 29 East 4th Street does look a little creepy at night.
We met in the main parlor of the house at 8:00pm for our tour where they had an exhibition on spiritualism and death during the Victorian Age. That was very interesting the view that the Victorians had of handling death. It was very proper and ritualistic.
The exhibition on death and spiritualism
The darkened Parlor the night of the tour.
We walked through all the floors of the house and I did not see one ghost. There were actors dressed as various characters throughout the home (I did not know why they would want to be alone in the dark in a house that was known to be haunted but that was there deal) but with the exception with one woman coming to grab us, they kept still.
The Merchant House I have felt in the three times I have visited had a very welcoming feel to it. Like the family was happy so many people wanted to visit it. I never heard or saw anything and even at the end of the tour we were asked if we felt anything but no one answered. I guess we did not more than have a good time walking through the dark with a flash light and have a good time listening to the docent talk about the family history.
Trust me when I say that these tours sell out fast both last year and this year so book early. It is really worth the trip to walk through an old house on a gloomy night with safety in numbers. If we HAD seen something, we would have had each other to protect ourselves.
The Treadwell family supposedly haunts the floors of the Merchant House.
Later that weekend, I visited Downtown Boonton, NJ after a Bergen County Firemen’s Home Meeting and Entertainment Afternoon event and walked the downtown to see what was going on for Halloween.
The Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association October Event:
The downtown was decorated with all sorts of characters, ghosts, ghouls, monsters and things that went bump in the night. The Boonton Downtown Association always does a great job decorating for the Halloween holidays.
Downtown Boonton, NJ has a unique and funky vibe to it as it as the creative types are moving into town.
One of the creepy downtown figures.
This looked like a cross between Jason and the Phantom of the Opera.
This friendly welcomed me in Downtown Boonton, NJ.
This alien creature greeted me near the library.
Downtown Boonton, NJ is so beautiful during any season.
After a long week of classes and my online Hotel Sales & Marketing class on Friday morning by Zoom were finally over and papers done, up I went to the Hudson River Valley to visit my next ‘haunted house’ tour at the Clermont Estate in Germantown, NY, the home of the Livingston family.
I have visited the Clermont Estate many times before COVID but now that it has finally reopened they are having all the special events that were once extremely popular including the Halloween tour which they had not hosted since 2019. The house was amazing and decorated for a Victorian Halloween.
I was able to get up to Germantown while it was still light out after morning classes and was able to explore Downtown Germantown before the tour of Clermont. It is such a pretty little town but I can tell getting more expensive by the quality of shopping, restaurants and little inns that are in the downtown. I could tell that the sonic boom of COVID (people moving up from the city and changing all these little Hudson River towns), changed this town from a localized front to a quirky and expensive little community. Even the local grocery store was very nice in quality but very expensive.
The downtown Germantown shopping area.
The historical section of Germantown, NY.
The historic home just off Downtown Germantown.
After I toured Germantown, I had enough time once I got to the Clermont estate to tour the grounds and take pictures to update my blog. Things really did change from summer to fall. Most of the gardens were all dead now, the leaves were turning golden brown, yellow and red and it was a bit chiller outside. It was still fun to explore the grounds and watch the parks people lit the pumpkins. I had plenty of time to explore the estate before it got dark.
I walked along the river paths and passed groups of people taking pictures, past the ruins of the old Robert Livingston home that was destroyed by fire and then toured the gardens that were now in their fall transition. The estate was no less elegant and it looked beautiful in the autumn.
I made my way to the Visitors Center where the staff had fresh apple cider and cider doughnuts for all the people touring the estate that night and classic candies like tootsie rolls and Mary Janes for us to enjoy for early ‘trick or treating’. We all had a nice time watching the videos of the house and looking at the displays in what was once the old stables. Then our tour took place and we were led to the mansion.
The Ghost Tour took us on a tour through the house to meet the costumed characters throughout the mansion. The mansion was decorated for the Halloween and with the lights dimmed, it gave the house an eerie appearance to it.
When I arrived at the Clermont Estate, the house loomed in the distance in its it glories with the golden colors of autumn. It was so breathtaking along the Hudson River Valley with hues of gold, red and orange.
Jack-a Lanterns lined the pathways and lit the way to the house when it got dark. The tours started at dusk with pumpkins lit giving it a spooky start to the evening.
Before the tour started, we were greeted in the Visitors Center with fresh Apple Cider Doughnuts and Apple Cider from a local farm in Kingston, NY.
We were also treated to old fashioned Halloween candy with Mary Janes, Tootsie Rolls and other treats.
We started our tour at 7:00pm at twilight just as it was getting dark with the lanterns lit and the house waiting in the distance. It gave the start of the tour an eerie look to it and the affect brought out the best of Halloween.
The hallway was decorated for Halloween.
First we met an embittered Robert Livingston (who over acted) and acted like a jerk when I filmed him performing.
We stopped in the haunted Living Room to talk to the maid.
We met the ghost of Janet Livingston Montgomery in the Parlor. She talked about her time in the house and how life was back then.
Then it was off to the Dining Room to meet the last inhabitant of the house, Janet Livingston.
Margaret Beekman Livingston guarding the Dining Room.
On the way to the kitchen, we met Captain Kidd, the Livingston children and the last owners of the house on the way out the back door to end the tour. The whole tour took less than an hour.
We exited the house through the kitchen and out the door to a moon lit night with jack-a-lanterns taking us back to the Visitors Center. I loved this picture because it really did look like we were leaving a haunted house. We made it back up to the Visitors Center before the last group left on their tour. I got to go to the bathroom before they closed for the evening. The parking lot was pitch black and I had to use my cellphone to find my car. It was a two hour trip home that evening.
The week in between the Haunted House tours and pre-Halloween weekend was sheer insanity with papers due, midterms at both colleges, grading and a lot of running around. I swear for the entire month of October I never sat still. It was long nights where I was up until 2:00am every night barely getting five hours of sleep. I know that is the life of the graduation student but it got to be too much for me. Work and school were getting to me.
Halloween on West 10th Street.
That week I had to judge the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest which is in its third successful year. I had to drive every street in Hasbrouck Heights trying to find the most perfectly decorated house. I did not want to see access more than I wanted to see creativity. Having inflatables to me is cheating. It does not take much to inflate something. It was the people with the decorations on the house, the lighting and the props that make up how a house stands out in the contest. People who have fun and show other residents the true spirit of the holidays.
In the Merchant category that created the previous year, I look to the whole package of the business. Is it decorated inside and out? Does it have a window that is more than just props but a theme to it? How creative is the approach to the windows? I have to say that there was not many choices this year as many merchants did not decorate their windows this year. Most wait until Christmas to show their creativity. I am hoping the more exposure of this contest gets the more people will be more competitive at Halloween as well.
While that was going on and I walked the Boulevard looking for the perfect windows, the elementary school kids were painting the downtown merchants windows for the Annual Halloween Window Painting Contest. Those kids were really creative and here are some of the artworks I saw that afternoon:
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
HH Annual Window Painting Contest
Some of them were just fun.
Ghosts and Ghouls scare and delight.
Many spooky returns
The one on the right was my personal favorite.
Spooky creatures.
Spooky trees.
Ghosts haunting the way to Hasbrouck Heights.
A Halloween surprise.
More Ghost and ghouls
Chucky returns.
The rains returned on Sunday and through most of the week until the weekend before Halloween where we had a eighty one degree day that Saturday. Talk about brilliant weather and everyone really freaked out and ran around in shorts. The Saturday morning before Halloween I presented the winners of the Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights. I have never seen people so excited to receive an award which was well deserved. Here is the press release that we sent to the papers:
My blog on the ‘Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest’:
The Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest 2023
By Justin Watrel
Halloween has come to Hasbrouck Heights and the Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association has picked the winners in the Third Annual Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Halloween House Decorating Contest. We traveled every road in town both during the day and at night to find the best ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night on people’s lawns and houses, showing off the creativity of the residents of Hasbrouck Heights on Halloween night. The contest was under the direction of Chairman and Executive Board member Justin Watrel.
Justin Watrel, Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association Executive Board Member and Chairman of the Halloween House Decorating Contest.
The winners of the House Decorating Contest were Frank and Mary Rose Blunda at 510 Henry Street.
Frank Blunda with Chairman Justin Watrel, Hasbrouck Heights Men’s Association.
The Blunda’s have been runner-up for the last two years and had ‘upped their game’ with new decorations and designing their lawn to be more of an ‘open haunted house.’
This year’s winner was 510 Henry Street. The Blunda’s upped their game this year after being runners up for the last two years.
The Blunda’s do not just decorate, their decorations invite you into the the display to admire and enjoy it.
When told they had won, Mrs. Blunda said, “I thought you were going to tell us we were runners up again” but the committee informed her and her husband, Frank, the master mind behind each year’s creative show, that they had won. “I added some extra things this year,” Frank Blunda said. “You should see the way we have lit the house at night. We have a lot of fun with this.” The Blunda’s have done an excellent job with decorating each year and have made the town proud with their creativity. It is an award well earned.
510 Henry Street at night
510 Henry Street in Hasbrouck Heights at night.
The Blunda’s decorations at night.
The two runners up this year were 36 Hamilton Avenue and 42 Central Avenue. The boarded-up windows and Mad Scientist display of the lawn at 36 Hamilton Avenue is the creative genius of residents Alex and Laura Pena.
Alex Pena in front of 26 Hamilton Avenue
“I love decorating the house for Halloween,” Alex Pena said. “This year I added more things to give it the look it has. I try to find a creative way to display all the skeletons and pieces I have.”
36 Hamilton Avenue was runner up in 2023.
36 Hamilton Avenue was looked like a haunted house.
The house has the appearance of a home abandoned except for the ghoulish residents on the lawn getting their final goodbyes. The walkways, roof and door awning were covered with skeletons welcoming you to this haunted abode.
The Mad Scientist display at 36 Hamilton Avenue.
The Chief of the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department Chief Joseph Rinke and his wife Lisa at 42 Central Avenue were the other runners-up in the contest. The roof and sides of the house have skeletons climbing and crawling their way into the house.
42 Central Avenue was another Runner up for the House decorating contest.
Ghosts and ghouls greet you from the walkway to the entrance of the house. When you enter, the entire house is decorated to the hilt with decorations in every room and even a spider display in the bathtub.
“Our daughter was born on Halloween so we like to entertain and have the house decorated for Halloween,” Lisa Rinke said of all the wonderful decorations around the house. “My husband spent a lot of time clasping skeletons around the house.” It showed in the way the skeleton army wanted to enter the home.
Joe and Lisa Rinke’s house at 42 Central Avenue had a skeleton army all over the house.
Chairman Justin Watrel with Joe and Lisa Rinke the Runners Up at 42 Central Avenue.
The Rinke family with their award.
The Merchants did their share of decorating along the Boulevard. This year’s winner for the Merchant category is the winner for the second year, Heights Flower Shoppe owner Ray Vorisek. Heights Flower Shoppe always does an excellent job not just with their windows but inside and outside the store as well.
Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard won for the Second year in row.
Shoppers are greeted at 209 Boulevard with Mr. Pumpkin Head and various ghosts welcoming you into the story which was decorated to the hilt with interesting Halloween decorations, candy, and beautiful flowers to welcome guests to a Halloween feast.
Two time Merchant Division winner Ray Vorisek with Chairman Justin Watrel at Heights Flower Shoppe at 209 Boulevard.
“I love decorating the store for the holidays,” Ray Vorisek said. “The staff and I have a lot of fun during the holidays.” We are so proud of Mr. Vorisek and his staff for the excellent job they do each year with all the holidays especially between Halloween and Christmas.
Owner of Heights Flower Shoppe owner Ray Vorisek in front of his award winning windows.
The inside of Heights Flower Shop at Halloween
The Runner Up this year was Mimi and Jose Rodriguez at Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique at 444 Boulevard. Their creative display of a skeleton girl walking her skeleton dog was pure genius and built on the logo of the store.
Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique at 444 Boulevard was the Runner up for the Merchant Window Decorating Contest.
“The logo is my wife walking her dog,” Jose Rodriguez said. “My wife built on that.” Mimi Rodriguez was just as surprised by being runner up. “We thought this was a great way to decorate the store for Halloween and we had fun with it.” It was a clever way to incorporate the logo of the store with the design of the windows.
Owner Mimi Rodriguez with Chairman Justin Watrel in front of her windows.
There were many great houses with Halloween decorations to choose from but we awarded Honorary Mention to 115 Ottawa Avenue for their continued creative decorations including the madman being electrocuted in the front yard and lavish displays by 82 Woodside Avenue and 253 Henry Street, both previous winners of the contest in 2022 and 2021 respectively.
Chairman Justin Watrel with Mimi’s VIP Pet Salon & Boutique owners Jose and Mimi Rodriguez in front of the their award winning window.
Winners Jose and Mimi Rodriguez in front of their business.
Owner Scott Varicario decorates to the hilt every year with ghosts, ghouls and witches and things that go bump in the night all over the lawn at 253 Henry Street. Things crawl, reach and grab while they climb up trees and cover the yard.
253 Henry Street was the winner in 2021 and Runner up in 2022 and 2023.
Owner Scott Varicario always does an excellent job with decorating his house.
253 Henry Street is an excellent display that shows the spirit of Halloween.
“I love decorating for Halloween,” Scott Varicario said when we handed him the Honorary Mention to his creative efforts.
253 Henry Street
Last year’s winners, Matt and Lisa Fiduccia at 82 Woodside Avenue also showed off their creative efforts with a display on their front yard that always changes and has creatures popping out from here and there. There is always a rivalry between these two winners to show their love of the Halloween spirit.
82 Woodside Avenue was the winner in 2022 and the Runner up in 2023.
82 Woodside Avenue in all it gory!
A special Honorary Runner Up was given to 115 Ottawa Avenue owner Dennis Hall for his excellent displays over the last two years. Mr. Hall was very touched by the Honorary Award and said, “I didn’t even finish decorating this year. There is a lot more I will add in the future.”
115 Ottawa Avenue (Special Honorary award)
Honorary Runners-Up and Honorary Mention to Dennis and Aidan Hall of 115 Ottawa Avenue.
Everyone was so happy to win their awards and even to be mentioned that it made all the hard work worth. I never worked so hard on an event before but the people who won were really touched by the whole event and I could tell put a lot of hard work into creating the ‘works of art’ on their lawns and I was so proud of their work.
After I handed out all the awards and took pictures for the papers, I was off to Coney Island to go to Luna Park for a class project on experiencing the park as a tourist for my Customer Relationship Management class. No one could believe the weather that Saturday. It was clear and sunny and 81 degrees. It felt like a summer day on the Boardwalk.
Luna Park in Coney Island on a strange 80 degree day.
Our Research Paper for our Customer Relationship Management class:
We rode the Cyclone roller coaster, road the historic Carousel and then had lunch in the park at Luna Park’s pizzeria. The pizza was good but not the best I had ever eaten. They did a nice job with it and the service was very friendly. We got to spend most of the afternoon touring the park and talking with the staff getting their take on the park.
The Harvest Festival at Luna Park
The Halloween Harvest Festival
Luna Park was packed on this sunny warm late October afternoon.
We enjoyed lunch at the pizzeria.
The Luna Park Midway.
Our first ride was the Cyclone which I had not been on in years.
Our next ride that we experienced was the historic carousel which went around four times.
After we rode the only real ‘adult’ rides, we talked with the staff about the upcoming “Frost Festival” for the holidays when the park would be open through Christmas. This was a first for the amusement park and would extend tourism through Coney Island into the holiday season. The park staff seemed to like the fact that they had employment through the holiday season.
The Luna Park Boardwalk entrance.
After our walk through both Luna Park and Geno’s Wonderwheel Park, we went off to explore the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk was packed with people riding bikes and scooters, dancing on the Boardwalk and people were sunbathing all over the beach. Some people were swimming which I thought was crazy. The water must have been too cold.
The Boardwalk in Coney Island on that late October day.
We walked from the amusement section of Coney Island down to Brighton and Manhattan Beaches where the demographics and mood of the Boardwalk change immediately once you pass the Aquarium. It is more families and locals sitting the on Boardwalk in their chairs socializing with one another.
The amazing sunset on the Boardwalk that everyone stopped for to watch.
Even though it was eighty degrees out and getting darker it never fell below seventy degrees while we were there exploring the island and I was perfectly comfortable walking around in shorts and a sweatshirt. I was even hot with this and had gotten a tan that afternoon. The sunset was amazing on the beach and people just stopped to look.
The Boardwalk at twilight
The full moon at the end of the Boardwalk.
The parks lit at night.
Luna Park at 7:00pm at night was like a fantasy land of lights.
The amusements were busy when we finally left the parks around 7:30pm and I said good bye to my classmate and headed into Chinatown in Manhattan for a snack. I was getting hungry after all that walking and even Chinatown was busy on this warm evening. I just think the weather had people grasping onto what was left of the summer and enjoying it while they could.
I headed to Wonton Noodle Garden again for dinner. As the evening cooled, there was nothing better than a Cantonese Wonton Soup with Barbecue Pork, Wontons and Egg Noodles with a side of Fried Wontons. That was the best dinner and a great way to end the evening and a wonderful day. This is what a research paper should be all about. Being in the trenches and exploring it as a group.
The delicious ‘cure all’ Cantonese Wonton Soup with Barbecue Pork, Wontons and Egg Noodles.
The Fried Wontons here are delicious.
I had taken my students the next day to the Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society for a extra credit field trip for an afternoon of exploring the museum. Talk about a change in weather in one day. We went from sunny, clear and warm to gloomy, raining and a drop of about twenty degrees. It was still warm but seasonally warm at sixty degrees. I was not sure how the students would react to the museum but it seemed to be an eye opener to most of them. They had never been here before.
The Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society “Museum at the Station” at 176 Rock Road during a nice day in Glen Rock, NJ.
We spent about two hours at the museum on a very rainy afternoon. The historical society ladies explained the museum and its collection to the students and the Mayor of Glen Rock joined us after the town’s Trunk or Treat event was over. Mayor Kristine Morieko spent time with my students getting to know them and supporting a project I was doing to create a Marketing plan for tourism to the town. It was a great afternoon of networking for the students and getting to know the town of Glen Rock. I got to see the museum on one of the rare days it was open and got to see the George Wolfe exhibition of the local cartoonist’s work.
The “George Wolfe” exhibition at the Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society Museum.
On the night before Halloween, I got to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a Private Members Night. It was after a very long day of classes and running around over the weekend so it was a welcome distraction. I love these Private Members Nights. It is fun to wander around the galleries and just take my time with visiting.
The Met logo for the ‘Halloween at the Met-Private Members Night’
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Private Members Night was the night before Halloween, known as ‘Mischief Night’, where more tricks than treats are part of the fun. The museum has these private nights so that members can enjoy the museum on their without the huge crowds that come during the day. These events are so popular now and they have adjusted the hours to 7:00pm-10:00pm where working people can now enjoy the evening.
The Met lit at night for the Private Members Night did look a little spooky but a festive environment was inside waiting for us. A giant house of mystery awaiting us with treasures inside.
The lines started to fill as we entered the museum at 7:30pm. I got there after my Digital Marketing class at NYU was over. All the tricks and treats of the museum were open to members who entered the front door if they dared!
The very festive entrance of The Met at the information booth represented the coming of fall and the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays.
The beautiful Fall arrangements in The Met’s nooks. It really made the night festive.
The first exhibition that I visited was “The Northern Renaissance European Sculpture and Decorative Arts 1520-1630” and the exhibition held some of the most exquisite art of the collection. Beautiful decorative objects with the detailed work in the permanent collection. These treasures were gathered in one spot to show their true beauty.
The sign for ‘The Northern Renaissance European Sculpture and Decorative Arts 1520-1630’ exhibition
The craftsmanship of these objects were some of the most sophisticated of the era and royals competed to have the most beautiful objects adorn their homes. Some of the objects were pulled from the permanent collection and are different parts of the museum but when housed together they really make a statement of the quality and precise workmanship. These objects made a statement of the owners and who they were in society.
One of the most detailed pieces of the show was “Diana and the Stag”. The craftsmanship of the piece was amazing and it is such a beautiful piece.
The silver Diana and the Stag art object.
The next room I went to was the Wrightman Wing down the stairs to see Vertigo of Color” Matisse, Derain and the Origins of Fauvism. All these beautiful and bright colors in paintings from the French coastline.
The Vertigo of Color Exhibition in the Wrightman Wing of the Met.
My favorite piece and the painting that stood out the most was ‘Open Window Collioure’ by Henri Matisse. It was the most beautiful painting of the show.
“Open Window Collioure” is one of the most vibrant paintings in the show.
The other painting that really stood out in the exhibition was by artist Andre Derain.
The Andre Derain Painting “The Faubourg of Collioure”
The sign for the painting.
My next stop was the “Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200-400 CE” exhibition on the second floor. The display of Indian art was from all over the world and displayed some of the most unusual icons. The exhibition the immense craftsmanship of these early artists.
The entrance to the “Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India 200 BCE-400 CE” exhibition.
The Railroad Panels of the exhibition
The Railing pillars of the exhibition.
The Railing pillar sign.
Statuary from the exhibition.
The Pillar Abacus with elephants venerating the Ramagrama stupa.
The Elephant Pillar sign.
When we left the museum that night into the darkness that would become Halloween the next day, the museum employees wished us a good evening and gave us this sweet treat, a chocolate pumpkin that we were all munching on as we left the museum. It was the perfect way to end the evening. This is why I love the Met and have been coming here since 1973 and a member since 1993. It is a place of magic!
The delicious “Treat” we got when we left The Met that evening. The museum knows how to treat its members!
After the haunted night at the museum was over, I walked along the streets of the Upper East Side of Manhattan enjoying the decorations in preparation for Halloween the next day. Families really decorated their homes and the stores and brownstones were decked out for the Halloween holidays. This is becoming just as big as Christmas. Here are some of the great decorations that I saw that night.
Most of the these pictures were taken in the East 80’s and 70’s along the side streets between Madison Avenue and Third Avenue as I explored the neighborhood looking for the best haunts. People were really creative this Halloween.
Walking around the Upper East Side on Halloween week.
Halloween windows at a Park Avenue Florist during Halloween week.
Halloween decorations on the Upper East Side in the East 80’s.
Halloween on the Upper East Side in the East 80’s.
Halloween on the Upper East Side.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
The haunting of the Upper East Side.
The next night was Halloween night and the Annual Halloween Parade that was celebrating its 50th Anniversary. My professor called class that night because she was sick and that meant getting to the parade route at 4:00pm. This meant meeting up with ‘cousin’ Mark Schuyler (our families married into one another 150 years ago so it makes us tenth cousins by marriage) and guarding the performers gate. I swear we hear every excuse from people trying to sneak in to watch the parade from they live here to they have reservations to a restaurant inside.
Guarding the gate: “Cousins” Mark Schuyler and Justin Watrel
The parade went by really well. The weather cooperated and it was in the high 50’s so it was a crisp but warm night at the parade. It was nice to see the crowds coming back to the parade again. COVID really effected the parade and in 2020 there was no parade. When it came back in 2021 (finally), it was nice to see people again.
Puppet rehearsal on Dominick Street and Sixth Avenue.
We stood at the gate, talked to tourists visiting the City for the parade and directing them to where they could march in it (it is at Canal Street where you will stand with hundreds of other costumed revelers ready to march up Sixth Avenue. People were having a ball. The parade is always exciting.
Excitement builds as the Ghostbusters enter the parade.
When we closed the gate at 8:00pm, I got to watch the parade from where it begins at Dominick Street and Sixth Avenue. This is where the magic is created and you see all the floats go uptown. I am not sure why people keep trying to sneak into the parade from here because it is not the greatest place to see the parade. You can see all the performers but it is better to go uptown on Sixth Avenue and enjoy it from there.
Patrons ready to enter the parade.
One of the best marshal costumes at the parade.
I watched the parade floats pass by me and now I could see why people fight to get onto the floats. Everyone on the floats looked like they were having a blast. People in costume were dancing and singing to mostly disco music on the floats as they passed by to head up Sixth Avenue. In between, hundreds of people marched in costume uptown. It made for an exciting parade.
The floats prepare to head up Sixth Avenue.
Floats heading uptown with everyone having a good time.
The bees entering the parade.
The floats entering the parade.
People getting ready to enter the parade to head uptown.
I left the parade around 9:30pm as it got cooler to head to dinner with other members of the parade staff. I could not believe how crazy busy the City was below 23rd Street. Every fast food, pizzeria and bar was packed with people. All the way to the restaurant, costumed people filled all the restaurants and bars much to the delight of every business owner around the parade route.
The irony of the whole evening was that when I left the restaurant that evening for home I passed a West Elm that was completely decorated for Christmas! As I looked at the Christmas trees, ghost, ghouls and things that bump in the night passed me drunk. God, these holidays are getting blurred. They are not even waiting until Thanksgiving to get the Christmas displays up. That was an interesting way to end Halloween night. That was until I got back to Hasbrouck Heights and the bus passed a house with a Christmas tree up.
Halloween would not be complete without a trip to the Pumpkin Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor at Croton-on-the-Hudson. I lucked out and it was another mild night in the 50’s when I arrived at 7:00pm.
I stopped for dinner at Dong Happy Garden at 440 Riverside Avenue #440 for dinner like I usually do before I go to the Blaze. Their food is always delicious. I swear that I have never had a bad meal there. As it cooled, I was in the mood for some Wonton Soup. The chicken broth was rich in chicken and ginger flavor and the wontons were plentiful. It was the perfect start to dinner.
The Wonton Soup at Dong Happy Garden at 440 Riverside Avenue #440 is excellent.
For dinner I am trying to lay off the fried foods and had the Beef with Broccoli, which is excellent here. The beef is plentiful and very tender, marinading in Hunan and Soy sauce and loaded with fresh broccoli. They have a nice place to sit while you are eating here, better than most take out places I go to and I highly recommend it before heading in for the grand show of hundreds of pumpkins.
My dinner on a cool night, Beef and Broccoli with Pork Fried Rice and an egg roll and a Coke.
The Beef and Broccoli is so good here!
After a good dinner it was off to the Blaze. For some reason, I did not see as many pumpkins as I normally do. It might have been because it was the second to last weekend of the show and they have been gearing the show down for the end of the season.
The entrance to the Pumpkin Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor.
The Van Cortland Manor at 500 South Riverside Avenue is always packed this time of the year. The night I went it was not different. I had never come to the show at 7:00pm and it was busier than usual. When you go to the 8:00pm, you have the estate to yourself.
The entrance to the Pumpkin Blaze in 2023.
There were a lot of the same displays in years past with pumpkin Ferris wheels, a pumpkin carousel, a pumpkin art gallery and city scenes. This year there were a series of pumpkin characters in a circus scene, flying through the air and acting silly. There were headless horseman displays and wondering through the maze. The illuminated Albany Post Road at night is really amazing at night.
You are greeted by Pumpkin Ghouls when you enter the Blaze.
Greeted by creatively carved pumpkins.
Some of the carvers did an amazing job with it.
My favorite group of pumpkins.
Passing the Pumpkin Church
Entering the Pumpkin Blaze that evening is like entering a surreal Halloweenland with lights and decorations all over the place. You really have to take your time to walk through the displays and see the details that are being shown.
Walking through the Pumpkin Art Museum.
Walking through the maze of the Blaze.
The decorated old Albany Post Road with pumpkins called the ‘Infinity Road”. The eerie road leads to no where but is actually the road that once led to Albany and where the Van Cortlandts had their pub and ferry building.
The Haunted Jellyfish as I entered the Tappan Boo Bridge
Walking through the lit tunnel with other patrons.
Crossing the bridge near the jellyfish.
The Van Cortlandt Manor lightshow. The manor will be closed for another year for renovations but still the light show is amazing.
Walking through the pumpkin cemetery across from the mansion.
Exiting the Blaze for the evening.
The spider web towards the entrance.
The Pumpkin figure as I left the Blaze that evening.
I was at the Blaze that evening for about an hour. It really was a nice walk. The crowds were not as heavy as they normally are but once Halloween is over, the place is busy but not as busy are before. Still it was another enjoyable way to end the Halloween season.
Again the irony was as I was driving home that night as I passed through Tarrytown and Sleepy Hallow, I saw the Christmas lights and decorations up. Goodbye Halloween and Hello Christmas!
Members of the Greater New York Michigan State University Alumni Association at our Annual Summer Picnic
I joined other alumni from the New York City Chapter of the Michigan State Alumni Association for our “Annual Summer Picnic in the Park” on July 29th, 2023. This was a much more festive and social event than when I met with the alumni association back in February for the memorial service for those students lost in the active shooting on campus. This was a perfect way to share some “Spartan Spirit” and good times ahead. I have to say one thing, not matter what happens being tragedy or success, Spartans stick together.
The interesting rock formation in Central Park before I got to the picnic site.
We really had a good time. I got to know members of our Alumni Executive Board and other long-time members of the alumni association. We all brought our own lunches and cookies, and bottled water were supplied by the alumni association. It was nice to just sit back on the picnic benches and relax and enjoy the breathtaking sunny summer day.
Most of us talked about the upcoming football season and the problems that we had last year. None of us understood how we could go from a Championship season the year before to a losing season last year. It was disheartening to many of us alumni to sit through these games that we should have won.
We also talked about the upcoming basketball season which was on its way as well. I try to attend all the games that are in New York City when I can and that is always fun. This is when you know how extensive our alumni association is in the tri-state area.
I tried to weigh my opinions in while biting into the homemade chicken parmesan sandwich I made for myself. I swear, so many of our alumni know more about the stats for the team and the players than I could ever imagine.
I also got to meet some incoming Spartans from the New York City area and it is nice to see the latest wave of Spartans entering the university. I remember that enthusiasm when I got there back in 1983. I can’t believe that forty years has passed since I entered college for the first time (I am at my fifth college now attending New York University).
I had gotten there a little late so many people had left by that point so the rest of us piled onto three picnic tables and talked the afternoon away on issues Spartan related and also the general status of Manhattan and the rest of New York City for those alumni that lived in the City. On this late summer afternoon, I could see the Great Lawn in the distance and many people sunbathing, reading, playing fresbie or watching the pop-up softball game in the distance.
It was a nice relaxing afternoon, and I would be joining many of these people at Blondies on the Upper West Side in a few weeks for the opening of the football season. It also gave me a chance to explore Central Park on this beautiful sunny day. I am sorry but there is no place like Manhattan on a sunny afternoon.
Go Green! Go White!
The Great Lawn in Central Park that beautiful afternoon. Midtown sits in the background.
The Michigan State University Picnic in 2025:
Finally getting into the park at 2:45pm
I attending the picnic again in 2025 after a very harried morning and then dealing with public transportation. It took me almost two hours to get from my home to the picnic and I live ten miles from the location.
Walking through Central Park to the picnic site
Between the bus into the City and the subway to get to 85th Street and then having to buy lunch two blocks away and then walking back to park took a lot of time. By the time I got my lunch, walked to the picnic area and then sat down to eat when everyone else was done and were conversing with one another. I felt bad that I was starved and wanted to eat first.
The Spartan Chicken Fingers from New Leaf Deli were delicious
After I finally finished my lunch, I got to talking with other members of the Alumni Association. The conversation always rolls into the Men’s Football and Basketball season with some talk on the happenings on campus. I have not been back to East Lansing since 2013 so it has been some time since I have seen the changes on campus.
All of us talking at the picnic
Alumni came from both New York and New Jersey
Our picnic area was in the Pine Brush picnic area
Enjoying dessert with other Alumni
Even though I was only there for an hour, it was nice meeting other Alumni and catching up with people I only see at the games at Blondies, a bar on the Upper West Side. Either the football season only a month away and a new coach, we are all looking for a new beginning again.
One of the members’ dog that afternoon
I still had a nice time and look forward to the upcoming football season. No one knows how to predict it but I think we will do well in the upcoming season.
Don’t miss this terrific little hole in the wall pizzeria right near the SUNY campus in Harlem
* When visiting Harlem over the weekend of May 1st, 2025, all the businesses on this block were closed and padlocked, King Pizza among them. They are now permanently closed. Another great and reasonable place to dine in Manhattan is gone.
King Pizza at 110 West 145th Street in Harlem
The slices here can be cut in half and serve two people perfectly.
There are many pizzerias all over New York City but some stand out more than others. There are some that are just so unassuming, and you would not think twice about going to eat there. This is what I thought of King Pizza of Harlem until I stopped there last year for a quick lunch when I was walking “The Great Saunter”, the 32-mile perimeter walk of Manhattan.
It was raining like crazy last May and I needed to stop in to get something to eat and get out of the rain. I have passed this pizzeria so many times and never stopped in. I am glad that I did. The food and service are excellent.
The New Kamboat Bakery & Cafe (or just Kamboat Bakery) is one of the liveliest bakeries in Chinatown. I started visiting the bakery after seeing videos on YouTube mentioning it for a great place to have a snack.
Since then, I have been visiting often after class for their Roast Pork and Cream filled buns, Curried and Pepper Chicken Puffs, Egg Tarts and other bakery delights that I enjoy for lunch and for snacks.
The bakery section at Kamboat Bakery
The selection of baked goods and entrees is extensive and there are all sorts of puffs, tarts and twists filled with sweet and savory fillings including roast pork, hot dogs and even breakfast sandwiches.
Kamboat Bakery also has a selection of rice rolls and entrees over…
The City has been coming back to life in the last year and a half. With the exception of some empty storefronts (not as bad as a few months ago), the Theater District has come back to life. Broadway shows are filling up again and restaurants in the area on a Wednesday afternoon and Thursday through Saturday night are busy. It is nice to see life being brought back to this once desolate area of Manhattan. It is hard to believe that this area was written off as ‘dead’ two years ago. Rightfully so with almost all theaters dark, restaurants closed, everything boarded up and a large homeless population moving in.
My other walks in the Theater District:
Walking the Borders of the Theater District/Times Square: Day Two Hundred and Sixty:
Now the crowds are back especially on the weekends and the sidewalks are spilling over with people as the shows let out on Wednesday afternoons and the weekends. I have noticed that during the week the office crowds still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and that has hurt the area shops and restaurants especially the ones just off the Theater District on Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Avenues. It will be awhile until we see these weekday crowds return.
I always start my tours in Bryant Park just off West 42nd Street
I returned to Central Park South, Midtown East and Hell’s Kitchen to see how they have bounced back since the City reopened two years ago. They are busy but there is a slightly different vibe in the area. Since the local hotels are housing recent immigrants to the City and the City homeless, there has been a different crowd walking the streets during the day. As tourism picks up, I am not too sure how long a lot of these Midtown hotels will be able to keep doing this.
I started my walk on Thursday morning wanting to know how the business crowd was doing. The core of the neighborhood keeps changing in that during the pandemic construction continued in this area and much of the older buildings in the district have been knocked down and glittering towers are replacing them. Along the side streets you can still see the remnants of the old neighborhood but little by little they are being replaced.
The Theater District is one of those landmarked neighborhoods where the theaters play catalyst to all the restaurants and shops around them. On the fringes of the neighborhood, on all sides, from Eighth Avenue to Fifth Avenue are being knocked down and replaced. I have never seen so much building going on. There are even some old stand out buildings that will eventually come down to make way for newer things.
The core of the neighborhood is Times Square which stretches from West 42nd Street to about West 46th Street along Broadway and Seventh Avenues. When people think of New York City especially Manhattan, this is what they think New York is all about. It is one of the busiest areas of Manhattan and the most crowded. When you walk in this area it is wall to wall people. The area has now been turned into a pedestrian plaza and it makes it easier to maneuver around the streets and avenues.
I had to cover Sixth and Seventh Avenues and Broadway from West 42nd to West 54th Street (sharing the border with Central Park South at West 54th Street) and I have found this one of the most active neighborhoods that I have walked in a long time. It is funny because I had to bypass this area when I resumed my walk in June 2020 because everything was shut down. The only people in this district were the police, who were guarding everything and the homeless.
This area of the city was barren. Everything from the theaters to the hotels to the restaurants, anything having anything to do with Broadway was shut tight and boarded up. It was really creepy. No one walked in this area. It was so empty of people if I had started the walk here the police would have really looked at me. Plus, I could not give a fair analysis of the area because everything was closed.
I started the walk at the border of Bryant Park, which was packed with people eating their lunches, reading, playing on the lawn or just relaxing under the trees. I swear this park has changed and keeps changing. It is always so busy and the one thing I have to say is the partnership that runs the park keeps everything in good shape and runs the public bathrooms beautifully. I wish all bathrooms in the public parks ran like this and were that well maintained.
Bryant Park in the summer months
Sixth Avenue, also called “the Avenues of the Americas (No one calls it that from New York City) is a very corporate environment lined with glass box towers, some have been here since the 1960’s and is an open-air museum of corporate art that lines the outside of these buildings. It is also home to Radio City Music Hall and can get very busy on show nights and during the Christmas holidays.
The corner of the neighborhood starts with the Bank of America building that stands guard at Sixth Avenue and West 42nd Street. It is a beautiful building day or night but especially at night when the skyline is lit.
The Bank of America building on West 42nd Street
Bryant Park and the Bank of America Building at night
The Bank of America building replaced what was left of a very shady corner of the old Times Square and was the last part of the reconstruction of Times Square. It is now complete from Bryant Park to the Port Authority and it looks so much nicer. The area around Bryant Park has changed over the last twenty years for the better. Things were a bit more vibrant before 2020 but the outdoor movies and activities have returned to the park along with all the Christmas activities making the vibrant park it was pre-Pandemic.
Even though many of the buildings along the Sixth Avenue corridor lack personality, save Radio City Music Hall which is part of the Rockefeller Complex, the outdoor corporate art is very interesting and original. Most of the buildings on this part of Sixth Avenue have that sleek glass box corporate look to them.
The ‘Corporate Canyon’ of Sixth Avenue at West 44th Street
The one building that does stand out in the neighborhood is Radio City Music Hall.
Radio City Music Hall was completed in 1932 as part of the larger development of Rockefeller Center. It was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone and interior designer Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style, with Samuel Lionel Rothafel, or “Roxy,” a leading expert on movie palaces, as a primary advisor.2 The public areas of the music hall feature murals, sculpture, and other work by prominent artists of the time (NY Preservation Archive Project).
Radio City Music Hall later that evening
These interiors are considered some of the most impressive in the history of modern theater design, with no equal in America in terms of scale or variety of architectural, artistic, and decorative elements. As one of the principal achievements of the Art Deco style and as one of the finest theater designs in the country, the interior of Radio City Music Hall is of unique importance to the history of American architecture (NY Preservation Archive Project).
The Hall opened on December 27, 1932, with a lavish variety show and continued to feature films and stage productions until 1979. At this point plans were made to convert the theater into office space, but a combination of preservation and commercial interests resulted in the protection of Radio City Music Hall and in 1980, after a renovation, it reopened to the public (NY Preservation Archive Project).
Radio City Music Hall exterior
Rockettes Sculpture
The Christmas Spectacular for the 75th Anniversary of the Music Hall featuring the Rockettes
I stopped on the corner of West 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue for lunch at Halal Guys Cart. This is where the empire started. There are now franchise stores of Halal Guys at started in 2015 all from this little cart right across the street from the MoMA. I have been coming here for over twenty years and the food has always been excellent.
The Halal Guys cart under the scaffolding on West 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue
As you can see, I love the food here. It is my ‘go-to’ place on a cool night for a hot meal.
The menu at Halal Guys Cart
The Mixed Combo sandwich with Gyro and Chicken lunch (Yum)
Across the street from the Halal Guys at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 52nd Street is a very unusual blue stature that caught my attention. This is one of the corporate art works at that line Sixth Avenue and makes quite the statement. This piece is called “Jean Marc” and was created by artist Xavier Veilham.
Jean Marc statue at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 52nd Street
Sign for artist Xavier Veilhan
Artist Xavier Veilhan was born in France and was educated at the Ecole nationale superieure des arts in Paris and at the Institut des hautes etudes en arts plastiques. He works in photography, sculpture, film, painting and installation art.
On the corner of 65 West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue is the famous Warwick Hotel (which just reopened after Covid months ago). The hotel is one of the oldest in New York City and one of hte many older hotels that dot this neighborhood.
The 36 story hotel was built by William Randolph Hearst in 1926 with the help of architect Emery Roth with the firm of George B. Post & Sons. The outside of the hotel is done with brick, granite and limestone giving it it’s unusual color scheme. Take time to look at the hotel’s detail work and old world charm in the lobby (Wiki).
Across from that is the most unusual sculpture of Seed 54 that is always hid behind a food cart.
Seed 54 by artist Haresh Lalvani
Seed 54 sign of artist Haresh Lalvani
On the corner is the an unusual sculpture that I first noticed when walking past a hot dog vendor on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 54th Street in front of 1330 Sixth Avenue building. This strange looking piece of artwork resembles an open air egg is by artist Haresh Lalvani. This unusual sculpture can be interpreted many different ways. The only problem is that the hot dog vendor on the corner distracts from even looking at it and I have passed it without even noticing it over the times I have been in the neighborhood.
Mr. Lalvani is a professional artist and Professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. His emphasis in the work is his study of morphology into nature and its affects on art. ‘Seed54′ is part of his HyperSurface’ series. Mr. Lalvani is a graduate of the Pratt Institute of Architecture (Pratt Institute).
Artist Haresh Lalvani in front of one of his “HyperSurface” works
Across the street in front of a rather non-descript building is this silver mesh globe in the heart of their courtyard.
The globe at 1345 Sixth Avenue
The globe sculpture hidden in the courtyard of 1345 Sixth Avenue is an interesting piece of art and unfortunately in all the trips to the neighborhood, I have not been able to find out who the artist is on this impressive work.
On the edge of the neighborhood between the Theater District and Central Park West is the famous New York Hilton.
The New York Hilton Hotel at 1335 Sixth Avenue at West 54th Street
The New York Hilton Hotel is one of the Tallest hotels in the world and the largest hotel in New York City. The hotel was developed by architect William B. Tabler, who built it in sections. The hotel opened to much acclaim in 1963 (Wiki).
The “Hope” sculpture sits on the corner of West 53th and Sixth Avenue
The “Hope” sculpture was placed here in 2014 on ‘International Hope Day’ which also happened to be the artist’s 86th birthday, Robert Indiana. He created the sculpture in 2008 and offers encouragement in the future.
Robert Indiana is an American born artist who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting in Maine, and the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. He was known for his large pop art sculptures.
Heading down Sixth Avenue in front of 1301 Sixth Avenue are two large sculptures of the Venus de Milo in shallow pools in front of the building that make quite the statement. These were created in 1990 by American artist Jim Dine. The statues stand out and make quite the statement.
The Venus de Milo statues at 1301 Sixth Avenue and West 53rd Street
Jim Dine is a contemporary American visual artist who graduated from Ohio University with a BFA. These are three of Jim Dine’s sculptures collectively entitled “Looking Toward The Avenue” installed in 1989 in the small plaza on the east side of Sixth Avenue at west 53rd and 54th Streets in Manhattan. The verdigris bronze statues emerge from a water pool. These sculptures are based on Venus de Milo, a masterpiece from the 2nd century BC (Big Apple Secrets).
The details on the Radio City Music Hall building
Rockefeller Center Building details
Across the street from the Rockefeller Center complex was this unusual apple sculpture that just appeared one day. I though this would make an excellent addition to the artworks that line the avenue but it will only be here for a short period of time.
La Gran Manzana “The Big Apple” is a great project created in homage to the city by international artist Enrique Cabrera in collaboration whit Mitsui Fudosan America Inc., one of the most important real estate developers in the country and the major in Japan one of the core companies Mitsui Group (Artsty.com).
Red Apple Sculpture “La Gran Manzana” by artist Enrique Cabrera
Artist Enrique Cabrera is a Mexican born artist who specializes in sculpture, photography, music and is an art restorer. The work La Gran Manzana is a temporary work through 2023 (Wiki).
Further down Sixth Avenue in front of 1211 Sixth Avenue was another contemporary sculpture that I must have passed several dozen time and never noticed. This sculpture “Annular Eclipse” was created by artist George Rickey.
1211 Sixth Avenue-The sculpture “Annular Eclipse, Sixteen Feet Variation I
Artist George Rickey is an American born artist who graduated with a degree in History from Balliol College at the University Oxford. His love of drawing had him continue his studies at various colleges in Paris. With his love of engineering and mechanics and metal work he started to create his kinetic sculptures (Wiki).
As you walk around Sixth Avenue, take time to admire the views of the buildings and the corporate setting. This is what people from outside the City think all of Manhattan is like. This is what you see in the movies when you think about Midtown Manhattan.
Sixth Avenue at West 47th Street
I revisited Sixth Avenue again in early December before I went to the Amy Grant concert at Carnegie Hall and it had been fully decorated for the Christmas holidays. If you want to see ‘Corporate Christmas’ at its best, it is Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. They may be the same decorations every year but it is so impressive.
Radio City Music Hall at Christmas 2023
Sixth Avenue and West 50th Street
The UBS Building at Christmas time on Sixth Avenue.
1345 Sixth Avenue in all its Christmas glory
1345 Sixth Avenue at Christmas time.
The decorations by 1531 Sixth Avenue surrounding the statues of Venus.
The decorations by 1531 Sixth Avenue.
The New York Hilton had this interesting cab display.
The Christmas ornaments at 1251 Sixth Avenue.
The Christmas display at 1221 Sixth Avenue in all its glory.
It is so amazing at the holidays
The Christmas tree display outside of 1211 Sixth Avenue was so colorful that night.
I even had time to sneak over to Rockefeller Center to see ‘The Tree” and watch the skaters before I ate dinner before the show. I never get tired of going to Rockefeller Center at Christmas and I always know the best times to go where there is smaller crowd.
The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is so iconic at the holidays. There is nothing like it anywhere.
Skaters at Rockefeller Center that night.
The Christmas tree is the highlight of this neighborhood during the holidays.
Bryant Park Christmas tree and the Village that surrounds it.
The skaters at Bryant Park at Christmas time.
The skating rink at Bryant Park.
The beauty of Bryant Park at night during Christmas.
Bryant Park at Christmas time is so spectacular. The Chrysler Building is aglow in the background.
The core of the neighborhood like the rest of New York City is very special at the holidays and you need to make a special trip just to go see the decorations here at Christmas.
I got back to Bryant Park in the afternoon and there was a concert going on in the park that was attracting the tourists. I think they were too busy taking pictures and filming the concert to ever really enjoy it.
Getting back to Bryant Park at Sixth Avenue and West 42nd Street
Walking up Broadway from West 42nd Street is what the world thinks New York is all about (not just the City but the entire State of New York). The streets within Times Square are closed off now and it is a pedestrian plaza until West 47th Street and filled with the most unusual characters. People are always hustling here so you have to watch yourself. I am so used to all this.
You have people in costumes trying to take pictures with you dressed as Minnie Mouse and Superhero’s. Run in the other direction if you see them as they will insist on money if you take a picture with them. It can be annoying but still a walk through these two blocks is a real experience. You will see rappers performing, dancers bopping around and actors trying to peddle Broadway shows and Comedy Clubs all over the area. It is really crowded in the summer months and walk fast to get past everyone. Watch your wallets and purses.
Broadway and West 44th Street-Times Square
Walking up Broadway between West 45th and West 46th Street one of the most impressive buildings you will see and one of the key buildings in the gentrification of Times Square if the Marriott Marquis, The Portman Hotel at 1535 Broadway. This impressive hotel was very innovative when it opened in the 1980’s with it’s central elevator and roof top bar. It has some of the most impressive views and its Eighth floor bars have the best views of the Times Square. I stayed here once with a friend of mine on my birthday and the rooms with a view are amazing.
The one thing that is important to know is that the bathrooms at the Marriott Marquis at 1535 Broadway are free and it is a good pit stop before heading further downtown. They are located on the Eighth floor and are clean and very nice. They also have some good restaurants in the hotel like the Broadway Bar (See review on TripAdvisor) to eat at but wait until you head further downtown (I did not visit the bathrooms on the 2020 walk so I am not sure if they are open now).
The hotel was designed by architect John C. Portman and was built originally as a Westin Hotel. The hotel was originally conceived and designed in the 1970’s but the financial crisis of the 1970’s put a stop to it. It was finished in 1985. It is still considered a very innovative design (Wiki).
During the Christmas holiday season, my brother and sister-in-law took me here for dinner after a long day of touring in the City. We ate at the signature Broadway Lounge on the Eight Floor with the most spectacular views of Times Square and I highly recommend eating here when you are in New York City. The food and the service are excellent.
The view from our seats by the windows.
Inside the bar that night for dinner. The place was really busy with post Christmas visitors.
The amazing three cheese Grilled Cheese with fries that I had for dinner.
I also recently got to try the Roast Turkey sandwich
The sandwich was excellent
The delicious and colorful Vanilla Cake for dessert.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Times Square was still pretty busy with out of towners and mostly locals and businesspeople as the City has opened back up again. Costume characters were fighting for customers all over the square and even the “Naked Cowboy” a staple in Times Square was out again. He was still there singing and dancing in 2022.
While in Times Square there are a few more sculptures that I missed on previous walks. The statue of Father Duffy sits erect on “Duffy Square” the northernmost part of the Times Square triangle. This is dedicated to “Father Francis P. Duffy”, a Canadian American priest in the New York Archdiocese and on the faculty of the St. Joseph’s Seminary. He gained fame in World War I as an army chaplain and was noted for his bravery and leadership during the war with the 69th New York.
The Father Duffy Statue in Times Square’s “Father Duffy Square”
The statue was created by artist Charles Keck and was dedicated in 1937. Charles Keck is an American artist who studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York.
Another statue that most people miss is the statue of composer, actor, and theater performer George M. Cohan, one of our great American artists. The artist wrote some of the most famous songs of that era including “Over There”, You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Give my regards to Broadway”.
The George M. Cohan statue in Times Square
The statue in Times Square of the composer was designed by artist Georg John Lober and was dedicated in 1959 in Father Duffy Square. Artist Georg John Lober was an American sculptor who studied at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and the National Academy of Design and was part of the New York Municipal Arts Commission from 1943-1960.
I will be really honest in that the only one who seems to notice these statues are myself and the pigeons. Everyone else in Times Square are too distracted with taking pictures and listening to music to notice them. Still they stand proudly in the heart of Times Square.
As I headed up Broadway, I had to stop in the new Krispie Kreme flagship store at 1601 Broadway. The sites and smells of the fresh doughnuts are amazing. You walk in to the store and get to see the doughnuts being made and then iced and filled. Then you get to buy them and taste them. It always has lines that wrap around especially at lunch time.
The Krispie Kreme Doughnut Flagship store at 1601 Broadway
Inside of Krispie Kreme flagship store making the fresh doughnuts. You get tempted with all the icing being doused on the doughnuts.
The freshly made doughnuts at Krispy Kreme are for sale and are delicious.
On the corner of Broadway and West 49th street is The Harrison Restaurant, once home to the ‘Java Shop’ restaurant where I worked for a little under a year. It is funny to look at this corner and still remember working here and all the things that I learned about the restaurant business. That is ancient history in a career that has taken many twists and turns in the last twenty years but I still do have some good memories of this spot.
The Harrison Brasserie at 1605 Broadway is the location of the old “Java Shop” where I worked from 1999 to early 2000
One building that needs to be noted on the way down to Times Square is the Brill Building at 1619 Broadway. Built in 1931 by builder Abraham E. Lefcourt the building was originally known as the Alan E. Lefcourt Building and got its current name from a haberdasher store front in the building. The building was known to play a major role in the music industry housing music studios and music company offices. Performers such as Carole King and Burt Bacharach had their offices here (Wiki).
The Brille Building at 1619 Broadway has a musical past
Details on the Brille Building are really unique.
Further up the road was another building dedicated to music and entertainment, the Ed Sullivan Theater where the “Tonight Show” is filmed.
The Ed Sullivan Theater is located at 1697-1699 Broadway between West 53rd and West 54th, in Manhattan, New York. The theater is a 13-story brick building that was designed by architect Herbert Krapp and built by Arthur Hammerstein. Arthur Hammerstein named the theater in honor of his father, Oscar Hammerstein I. Hammerstein’s Theater opened its doors on November 30, 1927 with a three-hour musical play called “The Golden Dawn.” (EdSullivan.com).
In 1931, Arthur Hammerstein, who was facing financial troubles, lost ownership of the building. Over the next five years the theater underwent numerous name changes until in 1935, when CBS secured a long-term contract on the building and began using the theater for radio broadcasts. In 1950, with the growing popularity of a new medium, CBS converted the theater into a television studio named CBS-TV Studio 50 (EdSullivan.com).
Ed Sullivan, who had been hosting his variety show “Toast of the Town” out of CBS’s Maxine Elliott Theater, moved into Studio 50 in 1953. The studio went on to become the home of The Ed Sullivan Show for the rest of the variety show’s 23-year run. On December 10, 1967, to mark The Ed Sullivan Show’s 20th year, the studio was named The Ed Sullivan Theater in honor of the great host. Like its namesake, The Ed Sullivan Theater has withstood the test of time and to this day remains the studio’s name (EdSullivan.com).
As I rounded Broadway back to Times Square, I quickly turned around in the crowds and headed up Seventh Avenue which followed the same path as Broadway and passed the busy Hard Rock Café, which was the old Paramount Theater at one time.
The old Paramount Theater is now the Hard Rock Cafe
The Paramount Theatre and adjoining Paramount Building on Times Square were conceived by Adolph Zukor, President of Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, to be a fitting flagship theatre and home of his company, the Publix Theatres Corporation. Located on the site of the old Putnam and Westover Court buildings, the Paramount Building was on the west side of Broadway from 43rd and 44th Streets, behind which was the Paramount Theatre (NYC-Ago).
Designed by the Chicago firm of Rapp & Rapp, the Paramount Building was twenty-nine stories tall and had eight setbacks to comply with zoning regulations. Surmounting its pyramidal top were a large clock and stylized globe that were illuminated at night. The time was indicated with flashes by white lights on the hour and red lights on the quarter hours (NYC-Ago).
The M & M store at 1600 Broadway but it stretches to Seventh Avenue
Positioned in the heart of Broadway, M&M’S Times Square is officially the hottest performance in town! Nothing brings more flavor to Manhattan than our two-story color wall packed with THOUSANDS of your favorite Milk, Peanut and Specialty M&M’S Candies. Melting inside? Our interactive InnerM analyzer will prove that you’re not the only one feeling the excitement (M & M.com).
In 2012, M&M’S New York launched the personalized printer, which will allow guests to create customized M&M’S right in the store. Store visitors can select from a variety of images, as well as create customized messages that will be printed on M&M’S candies in about two minutes. Guests can choose from 15 different colors and one mix blend, as well as select two images and create two customized messages to feature on their personalized M&M’S blend (M & M.com).
Seventh Avenue at West 52nd Street
My best friend works at the New York Sheraton Hotel at 811 Seventh Avenue and the hotel had been serving as a place where all the emergency workers doctors and nurses during the COVID crisis assisting people in the city at that time. It seems like a million years ago.
The famous New York Sheraton at 811 Seventh Avenue is where the chain started.
The hotel was design by architect Morris Lapidus who designed the hotel for the Tisch family and the Lowes Corporation. The hotel opened in 1962 at the Americana of New York. The hotel was sold to Sheraton in 1979 and was fully run Sheraton by 1990. In 2013, the hotel changed its name to the present one of the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel (Wiki).
On the corner of West 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue is this very unusual sculpture by artist Jim Rennert “WTF” that gives a perfect example of what happens to people who are not used to the Manhattan grind. I thought it was pretty clever. His sculptures dot Manhattan with conversation over the common man.
Jim Rennet statue “WTF” outside the Shake Shack at West 53rd and Broadway
Jim Rennert is an American born artist known for his large bronze sculptures depicting the everyday man. Mostly self-taught, his works are seen all over the country and really do make a statement.
Seventh Avenue at 43rd Street
I finished the walk of the Avenue of the Theater District at Seventh Avenue and West 42nd Street and looked back to see this view at Seventh Avenue around West 43rd Street. The sites and sounds and the excitement of Times Square and of the Theater District is what makes Manhattan Manhattan. This is what the City is all about.
Bryant Park in the Winter of 2023. Who says Times Square is boring?
If you want to see some of the most beautiful sites in New York City during the Spring months when Mother Nature truly works her magic then I would suggest going to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see Daffodil Hill and Magnolia Plaza.
The sign when entering Daffodil Hill in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
This is when everything is in full bloom during the early Spring. There is nothing like it and it is so breathtaking with a quiet elegance. On this clear and sunny Thursday afternoon, the gardens were quiet so I had plenty of time to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful views.
I finally got the gardens in the early Spring to see the crocuses, the Snowdrops and the Ironweed flowers that come in the early Spring just as the Daffodils were just coming out. These sensitive flowers are only in bloom a short time and I wanted to see them. They are just beautiful when you see them up close.
The Garden was ablaze with the colors of almost a thousand purple crocuses that lined the hills on the Prospect Park side of the lawns in 2024. Beautiful purple and while colors were in full bloom and Mother Nature shined in the COVID era with all of us socially distanced but still enjoying the park.
Crocus Hills ablaze in purple in 2024
The purple crocuses in full bloom in 2024.
The beautiful purple crocuses in full bloom.
While I was taking pictures of the crocuses, I walked around the gardens and came across the Snowdrops and the Ironweed flowers were also in bloom. These sensitive flowers are only in bloom for just about two weeks. To see them in the gardens in the late Winter is a real treat. They sometimes are in bloom in early and you have to see them quickly before they disappear in the ground.
The Snowdrops in full bloom in the gardens in 2024.
The Snowdrops up close.
The Ironweed just as beautiful. To see these graceful flowers in bloom are a real treat.
The Ironweed flowers in bloom right by the stream.
The Ironweed flowers in full bloom.
An Azalea that was early blooming in the garden in 2024.
When touring the gardens ten days after visiting to see the crocuses, other flowering plants came out in full bloom to show us that Spring has arrived even though it was 49 degrees when we toured the gardens.
The Japanese Pieris Tree in the gardens was in full bloom on this early Spring day
The Japanese Pieris tree was in full bloom in March 2024.
The Paper Bark Cherry Tree was in full bloom too and smelled of Butter and Lemon. It had the most amazing fragrance.
The Paper Bark Cherry Tree has the most amazing smell.
I passed this little bird chopping away at the berries left on this tree.
The Holly-Leaved Hellebore in full bloom by Daffodil Hill.
The Holly-Leaved Hellebore was in full bloom at this time.
The Spring brings so many surprises at different times. I in the Gardens during the Solar Eclipse in April of 2024 and there were all sorts of flowers that were in their full bloom. The Virginia Bluebells were in full bloom for their one a year . The display was beautiful.
The Virginia Bluebells in full display.
The Virginia Bluebells in all their glory.
I came across these vibrant little yellow flowers that lined the lawns and hills right near the entrance to the Children’s Garden.
The tiny yellow flowers on the hill near the Children’s Garden.
This beautiful yellow blanket lined the sides of the hill and was such a nice contrast to Daffodils Hill.
The vibrant tiny yellow flowers.
These tiny yellow flowers lined the hills just past the Magnolia Garden.
Daffodil Hill was still what I came to see in the late Winter/early Spring day. It was in full bloom by the last week in March and nothing is more beautiful then this part of the gardens.
Daffodil Hill at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Hundreds of Trumpet Daffodils are in bloom on a hill just off the Japanese Gardens flanked by hundred-year-old trees and it just plays into the backdrop of the greens and browns of the trees and lawns. I can’t tell you on a beautiful sunny day how breathtaking it is just to sit and admire these elegant flowers. It really is a site to see.
Daffodil Hill in full bloom
I love the way these hundreds of flowers make such a beautiful statement and there is such a burst of colors between the yellows and oranges of the daffodil flowers. This only lasts for about two weeks and then the flowers hibernate again.
The side view of Daffodil Hill from the walkway
Daffodil Hill just off the Japanese Gardens
Daffodil Hill was especially beautiful when I revisited it in the Spring of 2026. It was in peak form and the flowers really shined in the sunshine and a slight wind. It is breathtaking!
Daffodil Hill in the Spring of 2026
Daffodil Hill in full bloom
Daffodil Hill in the full bloom peak
A video tour of Daffodil Hill in the Spring 2026
Daffodil Hill in full bloom in Spring 2026
Daffodil Hill is right next to the Magnolia Plaza that was also in peak bloom when I was at the gardens. The trees of the Magnolia Plaza bloom the last week of March and these delicate trees petals do not last more than a week. When I got close enough to them to take pictures, I noticed that some of them were starting to curl already.
The area between Magnolia Plaza and Daffodil Hill
The Daffodil Hill plaque
Not all the trees were in bloom yet but these delicate trees are very sensitive to the weather and I have noticed that the petals don’t last as long. Most of the trees were in full bloom but there was not much a smell to the trees. Still everyone was taking pictures in every direction between the Magnolia trees and Daffodil flowers.
The Magnolia Plaza in full bloom
The sign in the Magnolia Plaza
The edge of the Magnolia Plaza
The pathways in the afternoon
The Magnolia trees make such a bold and colorful statement
The array of colors in the Magnolia Plaza
The Magnolia Plaza facing Daffodil Hill in the distance
The Sundial in the middle of the Magnolia Plaza
After taking dozens of pictures of the Magnolia Plaza and Daffodil Hill, I walked over to the Rock Garden. There were not many flowers in bloom there yet as they come out later in the month. There was still an array of daffodils and a few crocuses still in bloom. The Rock Garden was quiet and perfect to walk around in as I had this part of the garden to myself.
The Rock Garden in the early Spring
The Rock Garden in the early afternoon
I headed to the northern part of the garden and visited the Japanese Gardens, where the cherry blooms started to bloom. These graciously landscaped gardens were created in the traditional Japanese form with a combination of trees and shrubs to balance the garden.
Entering the Japanese gardens from the path
The Japanese Gardens pool with traditional buildings
The Japanese Gardens in the early Spring
I came back about two weeks later to the Gardens and Daffodil Hill was starting to fade. The daffodils only have about two weeks until their season is done. The Magnolia blossoms were long gone as their season faded away too. There was only one tree blossoming when I came back.
Still other parts of the garden were coming into bloom and it was quite spectacular. The Cherry Blossoms were just coming into their peak period but not fully opened yet. The crowds started to get bigger in the gardens to see these.
The Cherry Blossoms were coming out in mid April
I walked along the pathways in the Cherry Blossom lawn area admiring all the buds that it shares with the Japanese Gardens. The trees bend gracefully and at this in this park I don’t see all the visitors climbing on the trees and pulling on the branches the way they did in Branch Brook Park in Newark or in Washington DC.
These beautiful pink trees were so colorful
People were taking wedding pictures along the paths and the trees made a glorious backdrop. I was so tired from all the running around from the previous week, I just stopped and sat under the trees myself and what a sight that was! It was so nice to just look up at all the flowering trees and see all the pink fluffy blossoms.
Along the Cherry Blossom tree path
People were snapping pictures left and right
The Cherry Blossoms were even more amazing when they were in full bloom in April of 2024. The fluffy blossoms had everyone running around the gardens snapping pictures.
The Cherry Blossom lawn in 2024.
The large crowds enjoying the afternoon under the blossoms.
The beauty of the canopy of blossoms.
The blossoms in peak form in April 2024.
What was also nice was the Bluebells were out in the gardens behind the Cherry trees. Their beautiful blue and violet hues were in full bloom as well and the gardens were awash with color.
The Bluebells were amazing this year
People were so busy looking at the Cherry Blossoms that they forgot to look at beautiful flowers. Their being planted by the Tulip tree made a nice backdrop.
The last thing I looked at before I left this part of the garden were the tulips that were in full bloom this time of year. This area of the park was really colorful with all the different hues of tulips.
The colors and the vibrance of the tulips were amazing
The colors and vibrance of the Tulip Tea at the gardens
The front of the Cranford Rose Garden in Spring 2024
When I arrived back in New York City in June after classes abroad, I had wanted to see the Cranford Rose Garden in full bloom with the thousands of roses that bloom and add some vibrance to the gardens.
The Cranford Rose Garden
The roses were in full bloom much early this year and were blooming at the end of May before my trip. I was finally able to sneak down to the gardens at the end of June and found that many of the roses were still in bloom and all the beautiful flowers that line the pathways were as well.
The Cranford Rose Garden’s roses at the end of the season
The Cranford Rose Garden Terrace
The back part of the Cranford Rose Garden with the Sundial Garden
The sundial statue in the Cranford Rose Gardens
I walked all the paths of the gardens, admiring the beautiful blooms of the roses and wildflowers that line all the gardens. Everything is time so nicely and there are all sorts of species of roses blooming during the season.
The roses still in bloom
The paths of wildflowers, roses and trellis shrubbery
The colorful flowers that line the paths
Certain species of roses still bloom in the gardens.
The Cranford Foutain Rose Garden
The fountain is so relaxing in the afternoon.
It was so nice walking around the terrace
The Cranford Family plaque dedicating the Rose Garden to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The trellis on the back of the garden
The entrance to the gardens from the Cherry Blossom lawn
If you can get to the gardens in early June, I would suggest a special trip to see the roses. This special time of the year only lasts about three weeks and then like the rest of the flower displays in the gardens are gone until the next year. The gardens are now maturing for the summer months with lots of greenery and are still a nice place to relax and walk around or just sit and enjoy the views.
The Cherry Blossom Lawn after the cherry blooms are gone.
The flowers of the garden’s Marsh area.
I came to the gardens in late July to see the Lotuses in the Lotus Pools when they were in bloom and when they are at their peak, they are so colorful and elegant. I now know why the Egyptians worshipped them.
The Lion Fountain greets you as you enter the pools
I started coming for Summer Jazz Nights during the summer of 2025 with not much success. One was on a night where it was too hot and the other it started to rain the moment it was too start, they cancel it and then it stopped raining. No luck!
Arriving in the Cherry Blossom Lawn before the concert.
The sun was out right before concert
The pathways were so lush
Just as the concert was about to start
When it stopped raining by the Rose Garden
The Japanese Garden when the sun came out
The Japanese Gardens in the Summer
The Shakespeare Gardens in full bloom
The Shakespeare Garden in the Summer of 2025
Vines on the bushes
The Shakespeare Gardens in bloom in the Summer of 2025
The gardens near the Lily Pond
The gardens by the Lily Pond
The Bonsai Garden
My favorite fountain
The fountain in the Summer of 2025
Before I left the gardens for the afternoon, I stopped in the gift shop and looked around. They have some wonderful things to buy including a section of Brooklyn made products. There is also an array of plants, books and decorative products to buy.
The Gift Shop at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
The Brooklyn made products and book selection at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
After my visit to the gardens, I stopped at Bahn Mi Place at 824 Washington Avenue for lunch. I had one of their classic Bahn Mi sandwiches with ham and pate on a chewy hard roll. The food here is consistently good and their sandwiches are excellent.
You have to order the sandwich with a Medium spicy sauce. It adds to the complexity
The sandwiches are excellent. The flavors of the fresh vegetables and meats with the spicy sauce makes complex flavor. The bread is fresh and chewy and don’t be fooled by the size of the sandwich. It is larger than I thought and very filling. See my review on both TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com.
I took my lunch and ate on the steps near the Brooklyn Museum and just enjoyed the afternoon. I people watched and enjoyed the cool, sunny weather. It was nice to escape from classes for a couple of hours and just relax and not think about school or work. It has again become a bit stressful between the two but I will handle everything.
On my next trip, I went to Gino’s Pizzeria at 831 Flatbush Avenue for lunch. For a small pizzeria, their pizza, sandwiches and pasta dishes are all reasonable and delicious. They make their own red sauce from fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil and that base gives all their dishes excellent taste and quality.
I was starved and had the Lasagna lunch. It was wonderful. Layers of Lasagna noodles with ground beef and cheese and handfuls of mozzarella cheese with lots of their sauce and a side of their fresh garlic knots. It was a great lunch.
I look forward to this time in the gardens and is one of the reasons why I keep my membership. I love to look at the hundreds of daffodils in bloom and watching as they sway in the wind and just want to look beautiful. It is the most amazing site every Spring.
mywalkinmanhattan 