Category Archives: Exploring New York City Parks

Day One Hundred and Twenty-One: Walking the Borders of the Lower Part of the Upper West Side, from West 72nd Street to West 59th Street from Central Park West to Riverside Boulevard/12th Avenue September 29th, 2018 (again February 7th and 14th, 2025 and May 10th, 2025 and July 28th, 2026)

October 8, 2018Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Central Park South in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring Midtown Manhattan, Exploring Midtown West, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York City Parks, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), The Great Saunter Walk-The Entire Manhattan, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Manhattan, Walking on the Upper West SideAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Artist Gaetano Russo, Artist Malcolm Cochran, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Blondie's Bar, Christopher Columbus Statue, Columbus Circle, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Hell's Kitchen/Clinton, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Midtown West, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side, Gertrude Ederle, IRT Powerhouse, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Linda Stone Davidoff, Linda's Lawn, LittleShoponMainStreet, MywalkinManhattan.com, Private Passage, Riverside Park, The Upper West Side, Visiting Manhattan, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Walking the Upper West Side, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I finally was able to get back into New York City to resume my walk of the Upper West Side. It is amazing how fast the summer went. I haven’t been on this side of the island for months. Walking the lower part of the Upper East Side took many days and there was so much to return to in way of galleries, parks and restaurants that I had wanted to take my time. I hope to see the same on the lower part of the Upper West Side.

I really lucked out and it was a spectacular day, sunny and warm with blue skies. It had been a very difficult summer with the rain and the humidity and it was nice to see a pleasant fall day.

I started my day taking a seminar of the changes that will be going on with the editing system at WordPress.com (where this is printed through). It seems that they will be introducing a new editing system to our blogs that will help make them better and I look forward to improving my sites.

After class was over I visited the Museum at FIT (The Fashion Institute of Technology-see reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com) which is located at 227 West 27th Street on the corner of Seventh Avenue at 27th Street on the main campus to see some of the new exhibitions. Don’t miss their “History of Pink” exhibition on the use of the color in fashion with some clothing items dating back to the 1700’s and their “Reconstruction” exhibition of the components of fashion.

The Museum at FIT at 227 West 27th Street

https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/index.php

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d548861-Reviews-The_Museum_at_FIT-New_York_City_New_York.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/483

From FIT, I took the number 1 subway up to West 79th Street to continue my walk of the lower part of the Upper West Side. My first stop in the neighborhood was to join other Alumni from Michigan State University at Blondie’s Sports Bar at 212 West 79th Street to watch the Michigan State versus Western Michigan football game (we won 31-20).

Blondies at 212 West 79th Street

http://blondiessportsny.com/

Even though the score was not that high I have to admit our coach does have class and does not run up the score like other coaches do when playing a smaller school. Over a plate of chicken tenders ($8.99 for six), which were delicious (see review on TripAdvisor) I got to hear all the noisy Alumni in the back go nuts at every play. I had gotten there after half time so I had to sit through all the play by plays of the game.

After the game it was the late afternoon but sunny, gorgeous and warm, the perfect day for a walk around the City. My starting point was West 72nd Street and Central Park West corner near The Dakota Apartments at 1 West 72nd Street, where tourists were all snapping pictures. They had just finished the outside renovation on the building and the apartment complex looks elegant and you can see all the architecture elements of the building shine. The iron work around the Dakota is interesting with all its twists and faces looking out at you.

The Dakota Apartments at One West 72nd Street

The view from 72nd Street

The entrance of The Dakota

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota

The Dakota logo on the top of the building

The grill work outside The Dakota Apartments

I walked down West 72nd Street like I was visiting an old friend. I had not been on this side of the island since the beginning of the summer and there have been quite a few changes on the road. A few more of the businesses have closed and more of the buildings on the street are under scaffolding. So much is being renovated in the neighborhood.

The West 72nd Street shopping district

As I rounded West 72nd Street onto Riverside Drive, I came across the very busy Little Engine Playground at West 67th and Riverside Drive. This whimsical playground is part of the NYC Parks Department and the main feature of the park that the small children enjoy the is the small train that they can climb inside and on top of in the middle of the park. This popular park is on the corner of West 67th Street and Riverside Boulevard and it one of the popular parks for kids in the Riverside Park Conservatory. The afternoon I was there the kids running all over the park while the parents talked amongst themselves.

Little Engine Playground at 67th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/playgrounds/490

Riverside Drive and Riverside Park end at West 72nd Street but the park continues with the new Hudson River Park that currently lines the river below the Henry Hudson Parkway which itself ends at West 57th Street. This stretch of riverside is the newly landscaped park with benches, running and biking paths and a cafe, Cafe Pier One. The park is a new addition to the City that stretches down to Battery Park City.

It is a pleasure to walk along the newly reclaimed waterfront which I think was what Robert Moses wanted in the first place. This highway was needed at the time to open up the whole area to cars and now is being reclaimed as parkland. The park was conceived in the mid-90’s but construction started on parts of the park starting in the Bloomberg Administration in 2003 and still continues today to reclaim river side land and rotting piers for parkland and it the largest riverfront park in New York City and one of the largest in the country.

As I walked down Riverside Boulevard, you can see all the new sidewalks, plantings and small pocket parks that line the Boulevard from West 72nd Street to West 57th Street and the Boulevard is now lined across the street from the park with series of luxury office and apartment buildings. Everything is so new that you can see the deep green of the new sod in the park from parts of the Boulevard above.

Riverside Boulevard and Riverside Park on the Upper West Side

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/riverside-park

To get a full view of the park, I walked along both the Boulevard and the inside the parks paths to see what the vision of the Hudson River Park Trust is trying to achieve. What the park does so well it that it combines the river with the park and it blends the natural beauty of both. It also protects the park goers with large boulders so that people don’t fall into the river from the side of the park. It’s a sloped effect where the river shines on a sunny day.

Both from the street and from the paths, you get beautiful views of the cliffs on the New Jersey side of the river but still engage it via the various piers that you can walk on that jut out into the river. When you reach West 59th Street, Pier 96 and the Hudson River Pier and the boat basin giver great views of the Hudson River.

I walked around the park and saw an unusual sculpture in the shape of a bottle. The public art piece ‘Private Passage’ by artist Malcolm Cochran is a unique sculpture in that what appears to be a ship in a bottle is actually a replica of a stateroom in the Queen Mary all done in metals. At night and in bad weather I read that the piece is illuminated.

‘Private Passage’ by Malcolm Cochran

The inside of the sculpture

Malcolm Cochran is an American artist and former Art Professor at Ohio State University. A graduate of Wesleyan College, Mr. Cochran has had many solo and group shows since the 70’s and has created numerous works all over the world. ‘Private Passage’ was created for Hudson River Park in 2005 and is an engaging piece of art where the visitors have to look inside the port holes to see the art inside the bottle. It is very clever.

Malcolm Cochran artist

Home

Another piece of art that stands out in the park is actually part of the original park when the train tracks dominated the area. At the West 63rd Street section of the park is a section of the New York Central Transfer Station elevated above the side of the park. This is all that is left of the celebrated rail line that had been built in the 1800’s. It sits majestically above the park on what is left of a rotting pier.

As part of the Hudson River Park is ‘Linda’s Lawn’, a piece of the newly landscaped park named after Linda Stone Davidoff, a champion of the City and one of the city planners and a member of the Parks Council who fought to have this 27 acre park as part of the West Side landscape (NYParks.org).

Linda Stone Davidoff, Parks Activist

https://www.gothamgazette.com/development/2264-linda-stone-davidoff-1941-2003

The lawn has really matured over the years

Even the waterfront looks like artwork

Now this patch of green is enjoyed by all New Yorker’s due to efforts to protect the river front of over-development.

Linda’s Lawn in Riverside Park

https://foursquare.com/v/lindas-lawn/4dbed7ca0cb691071cd8d074

As I walked the park up and down from West 72nd Street back to West 59th Street, I crossed the rather difficult street path and walked down West 59th Street. Near the local school is Gertrude Ederle Playground which sits next to the Gertrude Ederle Recreation Center. This park stretches from West 59th to West 60th Street and is a very popular park with the areas families offering many whimsical playground jungle gyms and swings and a very nice field for soccer and baseball. It also offers a very nice public bathroom that is nice to have when walking around the area.

Gertrude Ederle Park

The playground

Gertrude Ederle was a champion Olympic and distance swimmer, who was a member of the 1924 Paris Olympic Games. She set over twenty world records in swimming in the early 1920’s and won a gold medal for the 400 meter freestyle relay. She swam the 22 mile harbor swim from Battery Park to Sandy Hook, NJ in a record that stood for 81 years. She also set the record for crossing the English Channel as the first American woman and received a ticker tape parade when she returned. She also appeared as herself in the 1927 romantic comedy ‘Swim, Girl Swim’. She continued to swim by teaching deaf children to swim (she had lost her hearing at this point) and lived to ripe age of 98 passing in 2003 (NYCParks.org).

Gertrude Ederle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Ederle

Across the street from the park is the former IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit) Powerhouse at 840 12th Avenue. This ornate building was built in 1904 and takes up the entire area from West 59th to West 58th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues. Designed by architect Stamford White, the building is used by Con Ed of New York to supply the New York Steam system. It is designed in the ‘Renaissance Revival’ and really walk around the building you can see the beautiful details of the building especially around the building . It was recently declared a Landmark Building in New York (Wiki).

IRT Powerhouse at 840 12th Avenue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRT_Powerhouse

The details on the building

The embellishments

I walked both sides of West 59th Street past John Jay College which stretches from 11th to 10th Avenue and then past a branch of Mt. Sinai Hospital which stretches from 10th to 9th Avenues. These buildings take up the entire city blocks between West 58th and 59th Streets and stop at the intersection of West 59th Street where Columbus Avenue turns in 9th Avenue. This leads to the back section of Columbus Circle and the new building that houses the headquarters of Time Warner and the Mandarin Hotel. This complex stretches from 9th Avenue to Columbus Circle from West 58th to 60th Streets so there is a lot of crossing streets in this area that is loaded with tourists.

Columbus Circle Park at 59th Street

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Circle

I stopped in Columbus Circle Park roundabout and sat watching skateboarders who took over the southern part of the park filming their antics of flying over benches. Tourists stopped here to take pictures and film movies of the guys skateboarding.

The Statue of Christopher Columbus has been part of a recent controversy that has since calmed down. There were some New Yorker’s that said that the statue should be taken down for the way Columbus exploited the Native Americans. Honestly, I don’t think they thought that way in 1492 and it shouldn’t be related to in 2018.

The statue was designed in 1892 as part of the 400 hundred anniversary of Columbus discovering America by Italian artist Gaetano Russo. Russo was an artist from Messina, Sicily who studied at the Academia de Belle Arti in Rome. In the inscription it says “To the world he gave a world”.

The 76 foot statue was designed by Italian sculptor Gaetano Russo as part of a plan to honor Columbus’s discovery of the Americas as part of the 1892 commemoration of the 400 year anniversary of the event. If you look closely at the pillar, you will see the reliefs of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria ships on the memorial (Columbus Memorial and Wiki).

Gaetano Russo

https://www.askart.com/artist/artist/11066965/artist.aspx

https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/12/gaetano-russo-sculptor-christopher-columbus-monument-new-york-city.html

The statue and the circle had recently been renovated in 1992 for the 500th Anniversary of the crossing and again in 2005 adding the new fountains and benches which everyone relaxes on (Wiki).

Christopher Columbus Statue at Columbus Circle

The bottom statuary of the statue.

The traffic circle had been part of the original plan by Frederick Olmstead design for the park in 1857 for a ‘Grand Circle at the Merchants Gate’ and the entrance to the park and 8th Avenue (NYCParks.org).

The roundabout is where traffic enters the Upper West Side from Midtown Manhattan and is the halfway point of the island of Manhattan. I still can’t believe that I have gotten here.

From Columbus Circle, I doubled back around the Time Warner Building and made my way back down West 60th Street crossing Columbus Avenue to West 59th with a second pit stop at the bathroom at Gertrude Ederle Park, which at this point was loaded with families climbing the jungle gyms and playing softball.

Sometimes it’s nice to sit by the fountain and just relax

The Time Warner Building really changed the complexity and mood of the neighborhood from an working class area to one very upscale. The building replaced the old New York Coliseum which was knocked down in 2000. The building was designed by David Childs and Mustafa Kemel Abadan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The complex houses many upscale shops, restaurants and offices as well as the new Mandarin Hotel (Wiki).

Time Warner Complex

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Bank_Center

I made my way back up through Hudson River Park to enjoy the sunshine and walked from West 59th to 72nd Street passing familiar businesses that I had seen the last time I was in the neighborhood.

The complex at nightfall

This took me to my last leg of rounding the neighborhood by crossing the West 72nd Street border to Central Park West and making my way down past the still green trees of Central Park. There was a free concert going on in the park at the time so there was security all over the place.

I walked past the many families walking around the park at twilight and thinking to myself how it had all changed in thirty years when you would not be caught dead in the park after sunset. Now there are free concerts and walking tours after dark.

I relaxed in Columbus Circle for the remainder of the evening and watched the skate boarders do their routine and this lady dressed as a ballet dancer or could have been a ballet dancer in a tutu with Christmas lights in her dress dancing around the circle. Half way through her routine she bumped into a guy walking around the park and then they danced together.

What was amusing was when the skateboarder collided into her as she danced and the two of them bumped one another. Both of their reactions were priceless but they both got a laugh out of it. Funny for a park that could have torn a city apart that people can still laugh at their differences and find a common ground. They both talked and she continued to do her ballet around the park and the group of skate boarders continued to do their flip routines on the benches.

That’s true New Yorker’s for you!

Please read my other blogs on the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:

Day One Hundred and Twenty-One: Walking the Borders of the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7845

Day One Hundred-: Walking the Avenues of the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7867

Day One Hundred-: Walking the Streets of the Lower Part of the Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7899

Places to Eat:

Blondie’s Sport Bar

212 West 97th Street

New York, NY 10024

(212) 362-3311

Open: Sunday-Tuesday-11:30am-12:00pm/Wednesday- until 1:00am, Tuesday-until 2:00am and Friday and Saturday-until 3:00am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d522509-Reviews-Blondies_Sports_Bar-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Pier One Café

Hudson River Park

500 West 70th Street

New York, NY 10023

(212) 362-4450

http://www.pierone.com

Open: Sunday-Saturday-11:30am-10:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d3529096-Reviews-Pier_i_Cafe_Espresso_Bar-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Visit:

The Museum at FIT

227 West 27th Street

New York, NY 10001

(212) 217-4558

http://www.fit/nyc/museum/

Open: Sunday-Friday-12:00pm-8:00pm/Saturday-10:00am-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d548861-Reviews-The_Museum_at_FIT-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/483

Little Engine Playground

160 Riverside Boulevard

Riverside Park at West 67th Street

New York, NY 10069

Open: 7:00am-6:00pm

https://riversideparknyc.org/places/little-engine-playground

Hudson River Park Trust

353 West Street

New York, NY 10011

From West 72nd Street to Battery Park City

Open: Twilight Hours check the website

Home

Gertrude Ederle Playground

232 West 60th Street (through 59th Street)

New York, NY 10019

(212) 397-3159

Open: Check Website

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/M063

Linda’s Lawn

Hudson River Park Greenway at 66th Street

New York, NY 10069

Open: 6:00am-1:00am

https://riversideparknyc.org/places/lindas-lawn

Day One Hundred and Fifteen: Visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Rose Night in June June 14th, 2018 (Visited again for the event June 12th, 2024, June 11th, 2025 and June 5th, 2026)

June 21, 2018Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Brooklyn, Exploring Brooklyn Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York City Parks, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Sandwich and Deli's for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Brooklyn, Walking around Manhattan, Walking Downtown Brooklyn, Walking in BrooklynAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Brooklyn, Exploring Brooklyn Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, exploring New York by Foot, Exploring New York City, Exploring the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Little Shop on Main Street, littleshoponmainstreet.com, MywalkinManhattan.com, NYC Parks, Rose Night Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Visiting the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Manhattan, Walking Brooklyn, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

Every year the Brooklyn Botanic Garden opens its doors to the membership for the Annual Rose Night in June. This is when the roses are at their peak of bloom and members and their friends and family come to enjoy a private evening.

The Cranford Rose Garden

The crowds at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens in the Spring of 2024

I have to admit that the weather has played a big role in the way flowers have bloomed this year. Plants have either opened too early or too late. The crocuses opened about three weeks too early and they sat in snow. The tulips opened on time and then were hit with three days of 80 degree weather, which just burnt them out. The daffodils had a good but quick season due to the hot and cold weather. Daffodil Hill and the dogwood trees in the garden were spectacular. What vibrant colors and what a beautiful display that night.

Daffodil Hill when it was in full bloom in April

Rose Night was tough. Normally it is a week earlier as most roses come out on the first week of June but for some reason, they moved it to the second week and a lot of the roses had already lost their petals. The weather had been a big factor as it rained so much in late May and early June.

The beautiful wildflowers in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Still, many of the roses were still coming out and the gardens were awash in colors. So many types of roses were blooming that they almost time themselves. The gardens were full of colors of red, pink, yellow and even green. The overhead trellises were lined in whites, yellows and pinks. Some had aromatic smells while other smelled line a plain flower.

The colorful flowers in the Rose Garden

The crowds were large the night of Rose Night in 2024

It was nice to walk along the paths and spot the names of the roses. Everything is marked so you get to see when the flowers were grafted and developed. Things are timed so intricately in the garden so they all bloom in certain intervals. Some of the beds were beyond peak while others were just bursting out after a long winter’s nap. You will walk in amazement down the paths to see so much.

Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden

It was a beautiful sunny Spring evening and the garden was packed with families picnicking on the lawns all over the gardens, having dinner at the Magnolia Cafe near the middle of the gardens where a special menu was laid out. Others like me were listening to music in the area by the gift shop or ordering Rose Sangria from the bar which was made with infused rose petals (and is delicious).

The Rose Garden Terrace

The crowds were large in the gardens

The musicians were playing show tunes and the gardens hired a wonderful singer for the night. She was doing all the old Cole Porter songs while I was listening to her and the band. It was nice to just relax with a drink and listen to the band with the other members. Some take it really seriously and dress to the hilt in blazers and hats. I sometimes feel a little under-dressed for the occasion.

I took a long walk around the gardens. A lot is being renovated with the new watershed system that the gardens are setting up which will be opened later this Summer. All the daffodils, dogwoods and tulips are long gone making way for summer flowers to enter the beds. There will be a lot more to see later in the season.

The Rose Garden Plaque

The beautiful display of roses in June 2024

There will be other members nights of picnicking on the lawns and movies to see and walking tours to show it all off.

The Cherry Blossom Lawn in the summer months

The crowds in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 2024

The fountain in the back the Cherry Blossom Lawn

The fountain in the back of the Cherry Blossom Lawn

The fountain in full bloom on Rose Night

The back entrance of the Cranford Rose Garden

The entrance to the back of the Cranford Rose Garden in June 2024

This is the reason why being a member of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is so important if you live in the New York area. There are loads of wonderful events to get involved with on a monthly basis.

The pathways in the Rose Garden

For dinner in 2024, I discovered Gino’s Pizza down Flatbush Avenue at 831 Flatbush Avenue and it is a pizzeria whose food is excellent. I have come across this pizzeria on a long walk I did down Flatbush Avenue on the way to Brooklyn College. I have eaten here several times and the food is wonderful.

Gino’s Pizza at 831 Flatbush Avenue

https://www.myginospizzeria.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d4439520-Reviews-Gino_s_Pizzeria-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com”

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/5220

They make their own tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil and you can taste the flavor in the sauce. I had a Chicken Parmesan Sandwich. Talk about an amazing sandwich.

Not only was it loaded with fresh chicken cutlets but topped with several handfuls of melted mozzarella cheese. The sandwich was a gooey delight and the perfect dinner. They have nice outside seating and I like watching the characters walk by.

In both 2018 and in 2024, Rose Night was a real treat. The weather was sunny and warm with no humidity, the music was wonderful and the Rose Garden was out of bloom at this point (the seasons seem to be two weeks early every year so that roses had already hit their peak) but still enough roses that the gardens were beautiful to look at. It was a relaxing and enjoyable evening.

Please read my blog on Rose Night 2019:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/9062

Rose Night June 11th, 2025:

I returned to Rose Night again in June 2025 and it was another wonderful evening at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was a sunny and warm night and I got there before the 6:00pm start time and it was nice when the gardens were quiet. I got to take lots of pictures and then walk around the gardens before the Jazz band started the night’s entertainment.

Arriving at the gardens before the start time

The Crawford Rose Gardens that evening.

Admiring the beautiful roses

Walking through the Rose Gardens and admiring the roses

The beautiful Rose Archways

The roses in bloom that evening

Members walking along the Rose beds that evening

Walking along the pathways in the Crawford Rose Gardens

I admired all the gorgeous roses that night

The roses with such vibrant colors

All different colors were in bloom

The colors of the other flowers in the gardens

The back part of the Crawford Gardens

The statuary in the back part of the gardens

Visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden before Rose Night in 2026:

I got an email from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden saying that the Cranford Rose Garden was at its peak of blooming and that I should see it while it was at its prime. I was busy at work and was able to travel down to down to the gardens a few days later. Talk about perfect timing as the petals just started to fall.

The Cranford Rose Garden at peak is one of the most beautiful sites. The colors and the fragrances are just amazing. I could not attend “Rose Night” in 2026 because of a prior commitment plus it would be a gloomy night with the threat of rain. So I went the Friday afternoon for the event the next Wednesday.

The Cranford Rose Garden in bloom

The Cranford Rose Garden is amazing from every angle and the views from the top of the hill overlooking the garden shows the extensive amounts of roses planted and the array of colors.

The beds of roses of all colors and species

The entrance to the Cranford Rose Garden is full of an array of different types of colorful flowers

The beautiful and diverse flowers in the Cranford Rose Garden

The beauty of flowers up close

All sorts of roses line the trellis borders of the Rose Garden

What I love about walking around is that you can see the diversity of the roses. The garden is planted with different species so they bloom at different times giving the beds an array of colors at different times. Along the beds and trellis everything bloomed so vibrantly.

The beautiful orange roses that lined the trellis

The colorful trellis pathways

The reds and pinks in full bloom

Roses lining the lamppost

Admiring the beds of roses at the Cranford Rose Garden

Purple reins supreme

Walking through the trellis pathways of red

The beauty of the trellis

The back part of the garden

The back terrace of the Cranford Rose Garden

The elegant statuary of the rose garden and the sun dial

The back Terrace area

The back of the Cranford Rose Garden is lined with all sorts of flowering plants having a rainbow of colors.

Walking through the terrace gardens

The beautiful roses in the back of the garden

The roses in the back of the Cranford Gardens

Walking out the back of the gardens

The back path of the Cranford Rose Garden

The fountain in the back of the Cranford Garden

Visiting the Cranford Rose Garden when it flowering is one of the most interesting collection of colors and scents. This is why I try to time my visits around the blooming of the flowers.

Places to visit:

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden

990 Washington Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11225

(718) 623-7200

http://www.bbg.org

Open: Mondays: (Closed)/Tuesday-Friday: 8:00am-6:00pm/Saturday & Sunday: 10:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60827-d103900-Reviews-Brooklyn_Botanic_Garden-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2785

Places to Eat:

Gino’s Pizzeria

831 Flatbush Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11226

(718) 287-8800

https://www.ginosbrooklyn.com

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-9:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d2484193-Reviews-Gino_s_Pizzeria-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/5220

The Japanese Gardens on a summer evening

The Water Shed Gardens on a Summer evening

The Children’s Garden on Rose Night

The colorful flowers on Rose Night

The fountain in the Rose Garden

The video of the fountain in the Rose Garden

The members enjoying the music

The group New Orleans Renaissance played for us that evening

The group performing that night

The video of the band playing

It was an amazing night and a lot of fun. I could tell that everyone had a good time .

It was another great Rose Night at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden!

Day One Hundred and Five: Walking the Avenues of the Upper West Side between Central Park West and Riverside Drive from West 84th to West 72nd Streets March 12-April 8th, 2018 (Again May 10th, 2025 and July 28th, 2026)

April 19, 2018Chinese Restaurants for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York City Parks, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Gourmet restaurants for the budget minded, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Toy and Play Shops, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, American Museum of Natural History, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side, Harriet's Kitchen, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, MywalkinManhattan.com, New York Historical Society & Museum, The Ansonia Apartments, The Upper West Side, Upper West Side, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Walking the Upper West Side, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, West Place Chinese Food, Zabar's Cafejwatrel

I have found that walking the Avenues of the Upper West Side to be much easier than the Upper East Side. There are less blocks to walk and this side of the island is smaller in space than the middle of the Upper East Side which begins to jut out on that part of the island.

Each Avenue on the Upper West Side has its own uniqueness to it. Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues are more of a shopping district with Amsterdam Avenue having most of the quirky restaurants and old-time stores. Broadway is rapidly changing was the stores of the 80’s and 90’s are quickly losing their leases and with the rents jacked up is home to more chains now more than ever. It seems that another new chain restaurant and store opens up every month. Even here, I have watched the chain stores lose their leases and go away.

West End Avenue is strictly residential and the blocks between it and Riverside Drive hold a treasure trove old stone townhouses, brownstones and marble mansions with the graceful cravings, ornate stairs and potted plants outside the homes. There is an immense pride in this part of the neighborhood, and I swear probably not much as changed since the turn of the last century.

I was walking up from Soup Kitchen that afternoon and after a long day on the Bread Station holding off questions of why we do not have any pastry (none was donated) and the lack of raisin bagels (again none were donated) and why we no longer use butter for the bread (the peanut butter was donated), it was off for a long walk to the Upper West Side. Being closer to midtown, I have been walking more often than using the subway.

I have walked Central Park West, both sides many times and the biggest changes I have seen in the buildings here is that most of them are being sandblasted back to life as new owners and residents have been rapidly converting the Upper West Side into the new Upper East Side. The new residents seem much richer, less liberal and a whole lot younger.

I have never seen so many baby carriages and little dogs since walking the heart of the Upper East Side. At least here, the dogs seem less spoiled (with the multiple grooming places for dogs, the B & B for Dogs (upscale kennel) and places for doggies treats and clothes, dogs get better treated than the homeless).

As you walk up Central Park West, the first thing you see it the statue dedicated to the members of the U.S.S. Maine that was mysteriously bombed February 15th, 1898, which started the Spanish-American War. The War started on April 25th, 1898 and would last eight months. After a series of conflicts due to the War, the Philippines and Cuba gained their Independence and we got Guam and Puerto Rico as part of the deal.

U.S.S. Maine Statue in Central Park

https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/maine-monument

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/centralpark/monuments/966

The statue, designed by sculpture Attilio Piccirilli and Charles Keck, with the help of architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle and was dedicated on May 30th, 1913. The statue was dedicated to the 261 people lost when the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana harbor in February of 1898. This started the Spanish-American War in April of 1898 (Wiki).

Artist Attilio Piccirilli

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11768

Really take time to look at this statue for its details, its plaques that line the base and the detail work. It unfortunately is now used as a bench for most people who attend the Christmas and Farmer’s Markets that now line the base of the statue. I don’t think most people today know what the Spanish-American War of 1898 was or its significance in our country’s history. If you say, “Remember the Maine” today, most people will go ‘huh’?

As I walked up Central Park West along the park side, you will see the landscape lined with trees, lawns, parks and massive rock formations which seem more prevalent ten blocks up. These formations are leftovers of the last Ice Age, and it is amazing to know that these will drag for hundreds of miles as the ice moved. I have noticed more of these rock formations on the Upper Upper West Side and in Washington Heights and it is interesting to see our connections still to the last Ice Age.

Being the time of year that it is, the whole park was winter hibernation but people using the park on a 46-degree day brings life to almost everything. The kids dominated the playgrounds after school and tourist and locals alike were walking dogs and chatting along the paths. Even in the colder months, Central Park is always busy.

When I reached the border of the neighborhood at West 72nd Street, I passed the famous Dakota Apartment Building that dominated the corner of West 72nd Street and Central Park West. Really look up at the detail work of this building. Built between 1880-1884, the building was designed by the firm of Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, the same firm that designed the Plaza Hotel. The name ‘The Dakota’ some feel came from the isolated location so far uptown at the time it was built in that the Dakota Territories were so isolated from the country at the time.

The Dakota Apartments at 1 West 72nd Street

The entrance of The Dakota Apartments

The logo on the top of the building.

The grillwork in front of The Dakota Apartments

https://streeteasy.com/building/the-dakota

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota

This video is on the Dakota Apartments and Rosemary’s Baby

The building is currently under renovation, but you can still peek into the side of the building to see the old courtyard where the carriages used to drop residents off and the apartments themselves were designed around the French layouts at the time with large ceilings and rooms that flowed into one another. The resident listing is a Who’s Who of the entertainment and arts industry and the filming of the movie ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ was done in the front of the building as well as the death of musician, John Lennon in the early 80’s.

As you pass the beauty of The Dakota, West 72nd Street has an array of architectural styles of brownstones and marble homes lining the street. The carving of the stone is work that you no longer see in design and so much of the neighborhood is under scaffolding as new owners are sandblasting these buildings back to their original beauty.

Continuing the walk-up Central Park West, you continue to pass many beautiful and graceful stone apartment buildings with beautiful views of the park that are going through their own renovations.

At West 77th Street, you are at the Museum Row of the Upper West Side with the New York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West and the American Museum of Natural History located on Central Park West and West 79th Street.

New York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West

https://www.nyhistory.org/

If you are reading this blog post in 2018, please remember to stop by the museum to see both the ‘Unseen Ocean’ and the ‘Senses’ exhibitions that just opened. The ‘Unseen Ocean’ explores the unknown deep of our oceans and the new species that we are discovering in the deep. It takes a look at the new development of equipment where we can explore deeper than before and the new discoveries that pop up with every trip. The ‘Senses’ exhibition explores how we react to the environment around us. These can be seen with the museum day pass.

As you round West 84th Street and down the block to Columbus Avenue, really look up around you and see the faces following you down the block to the next Avenue. The carvings of faces on the buildings stare out into the abyss or look to one another. You won’t really notice it until you really look at the detail work of each building. You will be doing a lot of stopping and staring between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.

Just look up and they all stare back

Back in 1984 to 1987, during the first really big gentrification of the Upper West Side, Columbus Avenue was a big deal, everything from 59th Street to about 86th Street was being sandblasted back to life and all sorts of new restaurants and shops were opening up left and right around the American Museum of Natural History.

Stores like the DDL Food Show (Dino De Laurentis’s Gourmet Shop), Penny Whistle Toys and the infamous Museum Café (where the Shake Shack is located now) were the topic of conversation when they opened. After the crash of 1987, most of these places had closed or where long gone and by the mid-90’s, the whole block was changing again as all the expensive stores and restaurants started to leave.

This building on West 81st Street started it all with the trendy stores on Columbus Avenue

Today Columbus Avenue between 72nd Street to 84th Street is starting to go through another change. Instead of all the expensive places kicking the reasonable places out, many store fronts have gone dark and sit empty. This is a plague that is going all not just all over the Upper West Side but all over the City. Many old-line businesses from the 70’s, 80’s and even the 90’s that I have seen for years, like Isabella’s Restaurant, on the corner of Columbus Avenue and 78th Street, where my dad and I had many a meal for his birthday and for Father’s Day, shut its doors about a year ago and now sits empty.

West 82nd Street off Columbus Avenue in the Summer of 2026

Columbus Avenue is now in a state of flux with newer more expensive places opening up here and there. I don’t think it has dawned on these landlords that not everyone wants a $16.00 hamburger. In the lower 70’s of Columbus Avenue, it is more and more chain stores and even they seem like they are struggling. You can have only so many stores selling the same merchandise that is currently on sale at Macy’s while the restaurants have similar menus. The rents are forcing, from my opinion, the merchants away from their creativity to what is safe.

Looking down Columbus Avenue during a recent street fair

All along stretches of Columbus Avenue, especially closer to the American Museum of Natural History, the store fronts are mostly empty and looking at the current prices to buy an apartment in the neighborhood, you can see the reason why. Apartments are going for what their East Side counterparts are going for (or maybe a little less depending on the street). The street is once again changing from more expensive fashion to I am not sure what, but I can’t wait to see what happens next on Columbus Avenue between West 72nd Street and West 84th Street.

With these changes comes the changes at the museum’s as well. The American Museum of Natural History is ever renovating displays or launching new shows. “Unseen Ocean’s”, the story of the newly explored deep, is resulting in long lines at the museum. New ways to explore the bottom of the ocean with nautical looking machines that even Jules Vern could not have thought of are finding new species and showing the food network of the bottom of the sea. This museum has woken up in the last ten years.

The American Museum of Natural History’s “Unseen Oceans” exhibition

https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/unseen-oceans

The New York Historical Society is a far cry from what it was fifteen years ago when no one entered the musty halls of that relic. Today more and more innovative programs are opening, and they even have an upscale coffee whose prices are ridiculous even for a museum.

Both museums have been sandblasted back to their original glory, have been renovated and are showing innovative programming that rivals anything of their East Side counterparts.

Amsterdam Avenue I have always felt feels like real New York with the funky stores, small independent restaurants and pocket parks that line interwoven parts of the neighborhood.

I had lunch this afternoon at Harriet’s Kitchen at 502 Amsterdam Avenue for one of their famous ‘Fried Chicken Sandwiches” (now closed). Trust me, it lived up to the hype I saw online. The sandwich was $9.95 with hand cut French Fries and a Coke made a total of $11.95 and it was worth every bite.

Harriet’s Kitchen at 503 Amsterdam Avenue (Closed in 2019)

This sandwich was the perfect food item for my walk as I needed the protein. The sandwich was two large chicken breasts marinated in buttermilk and then dredged in a cornmeal crust and then fried golden crisp. It was crunchy and savory in every bite. It was one of the best chicken sandwiches I had ever eaten. The fries were good as well as they were cooked to a golden crisp as well. It was accompanied by a spicy remoulade sauce and sour pickles which added an extra kick to the sandwich. The service was really friendly and even though the place is a little dumpy, the food is no reflection of that. I have not eaten chicken this good since my tour of Harlem.

Harriet’s Kitchen Chicken Sandwich was delicious

Right next to Harriet’s Kitchen is West Side Kids at 498 Amsterdam Avenue, so I got a chance to tour the store again which was stocked to the gills with new toys. Across the street from Harriet’s Kitchen is the Urban Assembly Green Space Garden at 145 84th Street, that the students maintain on the corner of West 84th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

This garden is used by the students for the growing season and at the height of the season they sell their fruits and vegetables to the public. Take some time to walk around this urban oasis when it is in season.

Amsterdam Avenue is like Lexington Avenue in that it is a nice mix of stores and restaurants that are more affordable to the average New Yorker. This is beginning to change in the low 70’s but like most of the neighborhood is a state of flux. I am beginning to see the same number of empty storefronts on this Avenue as well.

Broadway in this part of the island is designed as a French Boulevard with landscaping down an strip of island down the middle of the road with benches at each island stopover. As I had mentioned in my observation further uptown, this part of Broadway was designed for upscale living with grand apartment buildings.

Looking downtown with the Ansonia to the right

The Ansonia Apartments at 2101-2119 Broadway was built in 1899 by architect Paul E.M. Duboy in the traditional Beaux Arts style in the Victorian Age was a residential hotel. The detail work on the outside is gorgeous with all sorts of statuary, carvings and iron work and topped with a mansard roof. The building has housed many famous people in the arts, music and politics. You can peek inside the courtyard to see where the carriages once let the residents off similar in design to The Dakota further west (Wiki).

Ansonia Apartments at 2101-2119 Broadway

https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/broadway-corridor/the-ansonia-2109-broadway/4139

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ansonia

You have to walk on the side streets to appreciate the beauty of this building

The Apthorp Apartments at 2201-2219 Broadway was built between 1906-1908 by architects Clinton & Russell for William Waldorf Astor and takes up the whole block between Broadway and West End Avenue. The building was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and when you peek inside the building you can see the courtyard where carriages once a upon a time used to drop the residents off. Over-sized limestone sculptures representing the Four Seasons stand above the ventral barrel-vaulted entrance with wrought iron gates feature a pair of gazelle heads (Wiki).

Apthorp Apartments at 2201-2219 Broadway

https://streeteasy.com/building/the-apthorp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apthorp

The Astor Apartments at 235 West 75th Street tops Broadway with the grand apartment buildings and is currently going under a major renovation and restoration. The building is currently under scaffolding (as seems the whole neighborhood) so it hides the beauty of the building. The stores below are changing as well as even Barney’s has moved out of the neighborhood.

The building was developed in 1909 for William Waldorf Astor II by architects Clinton & Russell for the two eight story wings and the firm of Peabody, Wilson & Brown did the taller tower. The beauty in this building is in the simplicity of its elegance and the detail work along the roof.

Astor Apartments at 235 West 75th Street

https://www.theastor.com/

When walking up Broadway, note that this area was built at a time when the wealthy were scaling down their lives at the turn of the last century and this form of luxury was becoming the norm. By the 60’s and 70’s, these grand apartment buildings like the rest of the neighborhood got rundown but currently all are on the process of renovation, or their completion have led the apartments to be reconnected back to their four to five room layouts.

The stores along Broadway have given way to a commercial district of chain stores but still has lots of ‘gems’ lining Broadway. Rents have risen so much in the area that a lot of these stores and restaurants might face displacement in the future. Like the rest of the city, there is a cost of doing business in NYC.

Some of the most famous stores are the great purveyors of food the most well-known being Fairway at 2131 Broadway and Zabar’s at 2245 Broadway. These are more than just grocery stores; they are institutions in New York.

The Fairway supermarket at 2131 Broadway

Fairway supermarket, which now has branches outside the city, is stocked from ceiling to floor with everything you need to fill a kitchen. When I walked through it, it seemed more like a traditional grocery store, fancy but functional loaded with every brand imaginable. It is fun to to walk around the tight aisles and look at the merchandise. They also have a nice, prepared food section with everything you need for a picnic in the park.

The Fairway stocked for the weekend

Zabar’s though, is a true New York institution. I have been coming here since the 1970’s when my mother’s bible for food was both Gourmet and New York Magazines. Anytime we went into the city, Zabar’s was a place we visited especially if she saw it one of those two magazines.

Zabar’s Cafe at 2245 Broadway

https://www.zabars.com/

Zabar’s is broken down into sections each with their own mouthwatering smells and like Fairway, lined from top to bottom with delicacies. Their cheese department has the most wonderful aroma when walking through it and the bakery section always smells of croissant and chocolate. The prepared foods section is still one of the best in the city. They have enough for a full meal that you might make at home but ‘don’t have the time’. Just walking around is an experience. They also have a small restaurant off to the side of the building complex and it has specials during lunch (See review on TripAdvisor).

Westsider Rare & Used Books at 2246 Broadway across from Zabar’s and a little further down by West 81st Street and Broadway is piled high with used, antique and out of print books. This worn looking bookstore is what out-of-towners would say a New York bookstore should look like down to the literary looking woman who works there much like her counterpart at Westsider Records down at 233 West 72nd Street.

The people the store has working there fit the stereotype of who would work there. These two stores are fun to wonder around in especially if you grew up in the late 60’s and the 70’s and early 80’s before the ‘Yuppie’ transformation of NYC. You never know lol what treasure you will find in the stacks of these stores.

Westsider Books 2246 Broadway

http://westsiderbooks.com/bookstore.html

Most of the rest of Upper Broadway is quite commercial but helpful in everyday needs of shopping and entertainment. The big AMC Theater attracts people from all over the neighborhood and this area is always busy.

During a break in the walking, I stopped by the West Side Cafe at 218 West 72nd Street for the noted Sausage, Egg and Cheese bagel ($3.95) that I ate in Riverside Park. I had seen someone eating it the other day and had to have it. It was well-worth the visit and the sandwich were big and warmed me up with every bite on this cool day.

West Side Cafe & Pizza at 218 West 72nd Street (Closed in 2020)

West End Avenue like the area’s uptown is lined with graceful apartment buildings and on the side streets elegant apartment buildings and brownstones. There are a lot of beautiful churches and schools in this area of the neighborhood.

When you walk down West 84th Street (named after Edgar Allen Poe), you walk into a residential area that time has not touched (except for the sandblasting of the buildings). Most of the apartment buildings are art themselves with all the stonework, carvings and ironwork decorating them. Really take time to look at the stonework of the apartments and the brownstones lining all the streets between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive.

The Mickey Mantle Elementary School P.S. M811 sits at the corner of West End Avenue and West 81st Street at 466 West End Avenue which was named after the famous Yankee Baseball Player. The school specializes in teaching children with learning disabilities and is one of the best of its kind in the City. The school was renamed after the famous player June 4th, 2002, and its academic excellence would have made Mr. Mantle proud.

The Mickey Mantle Plaque on the school

https://www.p811m.org/

https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/M811

Mickey Mantle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mantle

https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/mantle-mickey

You can see the back of the Antony Apartments between West 79th and 78th Streets and still you see the grandeur of this apartment building from all sides including the courtyard. The West End Collegiate Church at 245 West 77th Street can be seen for the entire block and it picturesque in its appearance.

West End Collegiate Church at 245 West 77th Street

https://www.westendchurch.org/

Built in 1892 by architect Robert W. Gibson, this church was designed in the Gothic Dutch-Flemish Revival Renaissance design and is a noted landmark as headquarter to the church and the Collegiate School, one of the best prep schools in the City. Walk around the church to see the brick details and the Coats of Arms of past patrons lining their walls (Wiki/Church Website). The look of the church is different from all sides.

The church from the other side of the street

The windows have beautiful details around them

The historic plaque

There is a small plaque at 440 West End Avenue dedicated to Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican Governor and great State Reformer. He had championed the eight-hour day, forty-eight-hour week for workers (under 16) and set up a Trades Act to protect workers much of what we work with today. He also served as Secretary of State under President Harding among his many accomplishments.

I finished my walk at the Eleanor Roosevelt statue at the end of Riverside Park and walked around this side of the park which on a cool day was relaxing. I just sat by the benches and looked at all the interesting buildings.

Eleanor Roosevelt Statue at Riverside Square Park

A close up of the statue

The statue was done by sculptor Penelope Jencks and Michael Middleton Dwyer and the architects on the project were Bruce Kelly and David Varnell. Ms. Jencks is an American artist who studied at Boston University and graduated with BFA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope_Jencks

http://www.gobronze.org/artists/jencks/eleanor.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt

The monument lies at the threshold of the Riverside Park and is one of a sequence of civic monuments along Riverside Drive honoring people of historical significance (NYC Parks.org). It’s a nice place to just relax and watch the world go by. This is also the end of Riverside Park which ends at West 72nd Street.

Riverside Square Park in the Spring

Just to add more walking in, I walked to West Place Chinese Restaurant at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue for dinner that night. I had a craving for Chinese food and still had a lot of energy left in me from the sandwich earlier and it had started to clear up, so I made the trek up Amsterdam Avenue to above the Columbia campus near West 110th Street.

West Place Chinese Food at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue

https://www.menupix.com/nyc/restaurants/3245458/West-Place-New-York-NY

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d5065901-Reviews-West_Place-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

West Place Chinese Restaurant 1288 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10027

I had a Chicken with Green Beans and pork fried rice combination platter dinner ($8.75) that was excellent and could have feed two people. The chicken was packed with flavor from the spicy garlic sauce and the fried rice had a decent amount of pork in it. The egg roll was pretty decent as well, filled with pork and shredded cabbage.

The Chicken and String beans are so good here.

This local hole in the wall restaurant has now become a favorite not just of people living in the public and private housing complexes that line this part of the neighborhood above Columbia University but with the students as well. I have seen the place packed with Asian students on their lunch hour much to the surprise of everyone else.

After dinner, I walked from West 108th Street to West 42nd Street back to the Port Authority to go home. It had been a long day of walking but there is so much to see and if you really stop to look at everything closely in this neighborhood there is a lot of history packed into this part of the Upper West Side.

Please read my other Blogs on walking this part of the Upper West Side:

Day One Hundred and Five: Walking the Avenues of the Upper West Side from West 84th to West 72nd Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7354

Day One Hundred and Eight: Walking the Streets of the Upper West Side from West 84th to West 72nd Streets:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7394

Day One Hundred and Six: Walking the Borders of the Upper West Side from West 84th to West 72nd Streets and Riverside Drive to Central Park West:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7345

Places to visit:

American Museum of Natural History

Central Park West & West 79th Street

New York, NY 10024

(212) 769-5100

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-5:45pm

http://www.amnh.org

My review from TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d210108-Reviews-American_Museum_of_Natural_History-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

New York Historical Society

170 Central Park West

New York, NY 10024

(212) 873-3400

http://www.nyhistory.org

Open: Sunday 11:00am-5:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-10:00am-6:00pm-Thursday/Friday 10:00am-6:00pm/Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d136143-Reviews-New_York_Historical_Society_Museum_Library-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2954

Urban Assembly Garden

145 West 84th Street

New York, NY 10024

(212) 787-1189

http://www.uagreencareers.org/garden/

https://urbanassembly.org/

Places to Shop:

West Side Kids

498 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10024

(212) 496-7282

http://www.westsidekids.com

Open: Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-7:00pm

Books of Wonder (Closed this location

217 West 84th Street

New York, NY 10024

(212) 989-1804

info@booksofwonder.com

Open: Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-7:00pm

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/42

Westsider Rare & Used Books

2246 Broadway (between West 81st Street & Broadway)

New York, NY 10024

(212) 362-0706

http://westsiderbooks.com/

Open: Monday-Sunday: 10:00am-10:00pm

Westsider Records

233 West 72nd Street

New York, NY 10023

(212) 874-1588

http://westsiderbooks.com/recordstore.html

Open: Monday-Thursday 11:00am-7:00pm, Friday & Saturday 11:00am-9:00pm. Sunday: 12:00pm-6:00pm

Places to eat:

West Place Chinese Restaurant

1288 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10027

(212) 932-9390/9376

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d5065901-Reviews-West_Place-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/591

Zabar’s

2245 Broadway

New York, NY 10024

(212) 787-2000

http://www.zabars.com

Open: Sunday 9:00am-6:00pm/Monday-Friday 8:00am-7:30pm/Saturday 8:00am-8:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d948624-Reviews-Zabar_Deli_Gourmet_Foods-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/686

Fairway Supermarket

2131 Broadway

New York, NY 10023

(212) 595-1888

http://www.fairwaymarket.com

Open: 24 hours

West Side Cafe (Closed in 2020)

218 West 72nd Street

New York, NY 10023

(212) 769-9939/8815

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4959470-Reviews-West_Side_Cafe-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/599

Day Ninety-Seven: Walking the Streets of the Upper Upper West Side from West 96th-West 84th Streets from Riverside to Central Park October 21st-November 25th, 2017 (Again November 9th, 2024, July 26th, 2025 and June 3rd, and July 28th, 2026)

January 8, 2018Bakeries for the budget minded, Chinese Restaurants for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York City Parks, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the New York City Subway System, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Bakeries, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Halloween Holidays, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Manhattan, Walking on the Upper West SideAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Books of Wonder, Books of Wonder Bookstore, East Garden Chinese Restaurant, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side, Glaser's Bakery, John Koch Antiques, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Morningside Heights, Morningside Park, MywalkinManhattan.com, Pomander Walk, The Upper West Side, Upper Manhattan, Upper West Side, Walk Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Walking the Upper West Side, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, West Place Chinese Food, West Side Community Gardenjwatrel

It is amazing the changes that happen in just a month! The weather changed but not the way you would think. It went from being in the 80’s in the beginning of October to the 40’s and 50’s in November. Now you might say that is normal for this time of year, but the temperatures have been all over the place.

People were dining outside as late as the day after Thanksgiving. It was 52F on the 25th of November. Nippy yes but eating outside? In the sun, it really was warm. As I walked the streets of the Upper Upper West Side, it was a pleasant and warm day.

The nice part is that it has been so warm outside lately that the leaves did not change as fast as they normally do this time of the year. The leaves did not start to change in the New York City area until about five days before Halloween. Everything was greener than it normally has been in the past. As of my last day on this part of the West Side, the trees still have changing foliage in Riverside Park, so when the sun hit some of the trees, they still cast a glow of golds and reds.

Walking past the Fredrick Douglas Housing complex

The Fredrick Douglass Houses sign

The complex in the Summer of 2026

I have seen a distinct change in the make up in the city as you cross over the 100th Street on the West Side. Once you pass the Douglas Houses, the residential area starts to change along with the stores and restaurants around it. The bodegas and cheaper restaurants start to disappear.

Things keep changing around the Douglas Houses on the Upper West Side

Click to access DouglassI&II.pdf

The Children’s Aid complex across the street from the main complex.

The front of the Children’s Aid complex on Amsterdam Avenue

https://www.childrensaidnyc.org/programs/location/frederick-douglass-community-center

Children’s Aid is a professional powerhouse of solutions for young people. We are teachers and social workers, coaches and health care providers. We know what it takes to ensure children grow up strong and healthy, and ready to thrive in school and life: excellent education and health care, social-emotional support, and strong, stable families (Children’s Aid website).

The mural on the side of the building

The other side of the mural

The mural designed by Ji Yong Kim and artists and volunteers who were involved in the mural plus the volunteers from Morgan Stanley

https://www.jiyongkim.com/children-of-our-city

Artist Ji Yong Kim

https://www.jiyongkim.com

https://www.jiyongkim.com/about

RVCC Art Professor Creates Murals for Historic Bush Terminal

Artist Ji Yong Kim is a Korean born artist who is based in Brooklyn and a graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design with BFA and Montclair State University with MFA. Known for his colorful murals and is interested in an intersection of traditional images/structures of Buddhist art and images/ icons from contemporary popular culture (Ji Yong Kim bio website).

The rents have been going up in this area and there is a lot of empty retail space in the Upper Upper West Side. What there is a lot of restaurants where the price of a burger will run you around $16.00. The Upper West Side is becoming a lot more like the Upper East Side.

What I have also found is many beautiful pocket parks, unusual architecture with creative details and some wonderful restaurants and shops that show that the chain stores do not dominate a city. I never realized that it would take so long to finish the area. A little thing called Halloween came into play and then the weather got colder (See all the activities you can get involved with for the Halloween holidays for next year on this blog).

I started my first day at surprising enough 127th Street. I got on the C subway train by mistake ( I should have gotten on the A Train) but it gave me a chance to see what changes have come about in Morningside Heights. I swear as the new buildings at Columbia University are ready to open soon between 125th-134th Streets, the area is quickly changing around it. All over the area surrounding the 125th subway stop on the A subway line is being ripped apart and being rebuilt.

All the buildings around 125th Street are being sandblasted and gutted back to life or are being knocked down and rebuilt. This will just be an extension of Morningside Heights within the next five years. It will be more college campus than Harlem or the traditional Harlem that people know.

I had lunch that afternoon at West Place Chinese Restaurant at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue, a small hole in the wall Chinese restaurant that I passed several times (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) and had wanted to try for a long time. The food was wonderful, and the portion sizes were plentiful.

The General Tso’s Chicken is excellent

I had an order of General Tso’s chicken with rice and Wonton Soup with a Coke for $8.00. It could have fed two people easily. The food was as good as anything in Chinatown and the quality was great.

West Place Chinese Food at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue

https://westplace.netwaiter.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d5065901-r1069903587-West_Place-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

West Place Chinese Restaurant 1288 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10027

After lunch, I walked down Broadway to 96th Street, passing through the campus that I had walked months earlier. The Columbia Campus is another part of the city that just keeps changing with new buildings being built on old ones or old buildings being sandblasted back to their original beauty. This area is becoming more desirable to live in again and as Morningside Park keeps improving, everything that surrounds it does as well. Even the parks surrounding the campus keep improving with Morningside Park receiving new plantings and Riverside Park getting a spruce up. I got to my destination, West 96th Street and Central Park West by the early afternoon.

Morningside Park in the early Spring

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/morningside-park

My review on TripAdvisor:

The Morningside Park Pond in the early Spring

I started my day on West 96th Street on the corner of West 96th and Central Park West where some of the trees were still green even this late into the season. I swear Central Park is never not busy. Families were playing in the playgrounds and tourists still walking through the park getting a taste of the real New York. The weather has been so unusually warm this year that it is a pleasure to just walk around.

Riverside Park in the late Fall of 2024

For the most part, the blocks closer to both parks, Central Park and Riverside Park, the streets are lined with beautiful brownstones. Most of the side streets between Central Park West and Amsterdam Avenue are lined with some of the most elegant architecture from the turn of the last century. It is hard to believe that up to twenty years ago, parts of this area had been bombed out.

Halloween at 20 West 96th Street

I was able to see the last of the Halloween decorations give way to fall themes decorating the brownstones. Like their suburban counterparts, people like to decorate their buildings. Pumpkins and haystacks lined the elegant brownstones and occasionally there was a ghost or witch motif decorating the front.

Brownstones decorated for the holiday

West 95th Street decorations

Some of the most beautiful buildings outside of the Central Park district were the homes between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive right next to Riverside Park. Old elegant mansions and gracefully carved apartment buildings line the streets between both Avenues.

The West 95th Street brownstones

The townhouses along West 95th Street are just beautiful

The elegant details of these townhouses

Look up at the craved stone sculptures that line the building. Graceful animals, fierce gargoyles and lattice work line the tops of these buildings. It is time to put down those silly cellphones and really notice how beautifully built these homes were and the care put into them.

Riverside Park at West 94th Street

There is a lot of artworks on the Riverside Drive especially around this section of the Upper West Side. The Joan of Arc statue on 95th Street and Riverside Drive gives a description of her life and who she really was in the time of war. I didn’t realize how threatened they were by her that they had to accuse her of being a witch to get rid of her power of persuasion. The statute which was created in 1915 is in a small park within a park, “Joan of Arc Park”, that stands above Riverside Park above the paths.

Artist Anne Vaughn Hyatt Huntington

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anna-Hyatt-Huntington

Artist and art patron Anne Vaughn Hyatt Huntington created this beautiful piece. She had studied with many known artists of the time and completed her work at the Art Students League of New York and one of the first women artist inducted into the Academy of Arts & Letters (Wiki).If you want to know more about her life, stop here and read the plaques.

Joan of Arc Statue in the small park

The Joan of Arc Statue in Joan of Arc Park in Riverside Park

Joan of Arc Park on the Upper West Side

What stands out between 95th to 94th Streets off West End Avenue is the ‘Pomander Walk’, a small alley behind a large apartment building which contains a series of eight two story Tudor homes with gardens in front. This is hidden behind a gate off 94th Street.

Pomander Walk on West End Avenue

This whimsical little treasure was built between 1920-1922 by nightclub owner, Thomas Healy. He was creating income for a large hotel that he wanted to build on the property. He died in 1927 before he could find funding for the hotel and that’s why it exists today.

Pomander Walk is one of those hidden little Manhattan gems

Pomander Walk sign and entrance to the complex at 260-274 West 95th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/pomander-walk

I have read that today it is hard to find a home in this little strip and a recent two-bedroom apartment building sold for $700,000. Pretty good for a dolls house.

The outside of the homes can be seen in on 95th Street and look like a Swiss or German Chalet in the Alps. The detail work was under scaffolding when I first passed it and I wondered if it was a restaurant being fixed up. When you discover the gate entrance, it almost looks like a hidden ‘Land of Oz’. I could see the flowers and plants from the street. It reminded me of some of the small developments in Harlem where a small set of row homes creates its own neighborhood. You have to really look for it or you will miss it.

Pomander complex on West 95th Street

I was able to walk Riverside Park and enjoy that late foliage. The view of the Hudson River is just spectacular especially from the buffs of the neighborhood. I don’t think too many tourists appreciate this park with its beautiful vistas of the river and its great parks for kids. The trees were a combination of golds and oranges when the sun hit them. When I did the Great Saunter Walk, the 32 mile perimeter walk around Manhattan, the park looks much different with the lush gardens and everything in bloom.

Riverside Park in the spring is beautiful at West 95th Street in the Summer of 2024

Fall decorations on West 95th Street

The beautiful brownstones that line West 95th Street

The homes in the neighborhood were very detailed and showed the craftsmanship of the people who built them with such elegant details.

The walk down West 94th Street was just as nice in the middle of the Fall of 2024

I came across this interesting mural on West 94th Street

These blocks above West 84th Street were lined with blocks and blocks of beautiful brownstones ladened with interesting carvings and sculpture and wonderful decorations for Halloween and the Fall months in preparation for Thanksgiving.

As I walked down West 93rd Street for the first time in five years, I took the time to really notice the beauty in the buildings and parks. There were all sorts of wonderful carvings I had never noticed and street gardens I had passed by. Maybe some of these things had always been there but I was too in a rush to notice them to finish walking the street.

I came across the murals “4 Seasons in Central Park that was created by the students of PS 84 and the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School. It thought this was very clever

PS 84:

https://insideschools.org/school/03M084#google_vignette

Mural One

Mural Two

Mural Three

Mural Four

Mural Five

This lion looking humanoid kept looking at me on the way down West 93rd Street

The Upper Upper West is a combination apartment building built in the 1970’s and 80’s with more newer buildings being developed along Broadway but here in there in the commercial district some things do pop out at you. This is true of the former ‘Little Plantation Restaurant’ that recently closed on the corner of 93rd Street and Columbus Avenue. Attached to an apartment building, this space looks like a Southern plantation mansion fitted even with a porch swing. I am not sure how long this will last without being a restaurant but make a special trip to the building just see the detail work.

I walked down West 92nd Street to see another interesting mural that I had not noticed before. This one was closer to Columbus Avenue.

City Arts

City Arts on West 92nd Street

https://www.cityarts.org/

The mural in 2026

City Art Mural

Amsterdam Avenue and West 94th Street

The mural

The fullest part of the mural

Who says you have to go to a museum when there is a whole outside full of art? What I love around this part of the neighborhood are all the public murals and outside art.

Sol Bloom Playground in the Fall of 2024 at West 91st Street

The Sol Bloom Playground sign that welcomes you to the park next to PS 84

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/sol-bloom-playground

As I rounded the corners back to Central Park West, I stopped at the Sol Bloom Playground on 92nd Street near the local school to look for a bathroom. This whimsical park on a nice day attracts kids from all over the place and their parents running all over and playing on the equipment.

The memorial sign

The park was named after Sol Bloom, a self-made millionaire. He had made his money in his music and real estate businesses. He had built several apartment buildings and both the Apollo and Music Box theaters.

Sol Bloom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Bloom

The mural in Sol Bloom Park on the side of PS 84

The murals on PS 84 next to Sol Bloom Park

I ended the day at the 86th Station totally exhausted having walk the area between 96th Street to 90th Street. The one thing that differs the Upper Upper West Side from Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale to the north is how much newer it has gotten at the core. So many more newer apartment buildings in this area and more businesses catering to a higher end client. It just seems more like the old Upper West Side above 96th Street.

Riverside Park at West 96th Street

My second day walking the neighborhood I started after a long day at the Soup Kitchen. Working the Bread station all afternoon with the homeless asking you for pastries all morning long can be wearing. I got through it all. I started this part of the walk with lunch in Yorkville, wanting to try East Garden Chinese Restaurant at 1685 First Avenue again to see if it made the cut for my blog, ‘DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com’. It did!

East Garden Chinese Restaurant really blows my mind on how good this place is for lunch. Their lunch specials are reasonable (the restaurant closed June of 2024) and you get a very large entrée with a side of rice. Add in a Coke for an extra dollar and you have lunch and dinner. The place is really clean too.

East Garden Chinese Restaurant is excellent (Closed June 2024)

http://www.eastgardennewyork.com/

I had the Chicken with Broccoli with white rice, and it was a very large portion. Both the chicken and the broccoli were perfectly, and they do give you a nice amount of chicken. The sauce is flavorful and delicious (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC.wordpress.com as well). It was both lunch and dinner for me.

The Chicken and Broccoli here is excellent.

After lunch, it was across the street to Glaser’s Bakery at 1670 First Avenue for dessert (See reviews on both TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC-Closed in 2018). They make a peach Danish that is out of this world! I swear this is one of the best bakeries in the city! So much for the places with the $10.00 cookies, Glaser’s is the real thing. Every bite of that Danish was like heaven!

Glaser’s Bakery at 1670 First Avenue (Closed in 2018)

https://www.glasersbakeshop.com/

I decided to walk across the park this afternoon to get some real exercise and work off that lunch. The park in the late fall is glorious with the gold and yellow leaves and the cool but still warm breezes. I walked along the reservoir and watched the joggers pass me by. I had more than a few tourists ask to take pictures for them, but it is so much fun to see the park so alive with people and happy to be there. The park is so graceful in its own way and the fact that so much of it is being renovated by the Conservatory shows that people believe in it.

The Central Park Reservoir is amazing in the fall

https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/reservoir

I love the winding paths and the quietness of the park. Even though these paths have been traveled many times, I felt as if I had seen them for the first time. I had never been to this part of the park before and walking these paths felt like a new adventure. It amazes me that I have been in this park a million times since I was a kid, but I still wonder at the parts of it that I have never seen.

I walked along the back paths of the lake by the low 80’s and ended up walking to West 82nd Street and Central Park West in the mid-afternoon. The trees were still brilliant with colorful leaves as November was still gripping. We had had such a warm fall that many of the trees turned late much to the benefit of those who like to walk around the neighborhood.

The new West Side Kids store at 201 West 84th Street

https://www.westsidekidsnyc.com/

I walked up to 84th Street and Central Park West to resume my walk of the neighborhood. I really like the stores in this neighborhood. They have character. I walked into West Side Kids at 498 Amsterdam Avenue and West 84th Street, to look at the toys and games. It is one of the classic stores of the city and still holds on to the tradition that kids are not all glued to their cellphones. It has a nice array of games and stuffed animals and assorted pocket Knick knacks. It is a place I would have liked to shop at when I was a kid.

West Side Kids at 201 West 84th Street is a fun store

https://www.westsidekidsnyc.com/

John Koch Antiques at 201 West 84th Street (It has now moved to Long Island City and West Side Kids has taken this space) has unique window displays and in the short visit I had there had many wonderful pieces to decorate the office or your home. I liked the sailboats in the window. There was a turn of the last century feel about the place.

John Koch Antiques at 201 West 84th Street (Closed November 2022-Now in Long Island City-Now West Side Kids)

https://www.kochantiques.com/

https://www.facebook.com/johnkochantiques/

Books of Wonder at 217 West 84th Street (See review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com-Closed in 2021) was enjoyable except they were going through a floor move when I was there, and I only got to see the front of the store. It has an excellent selection of classic and contemporary children’s books.

Books of Wonder Book Store at 217 West 84th Street (Closed June 2021)

https://booksofwonder.com/

The beauty of the brownstones of West 84th Street

The unusual entrance of 38 West 84th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/38-west-85-street-new_york

As you turn the corner onto West 85th Street, take time to admire 101 West 85th Street. The building has the most beautiful architecture and beautiful details and built in the 1880’s. The Red House Apartment building at West 85th Street and West End Avenue near Riverside Drive has unique details to it as well. You really have to stop and look up to admire the design of the building.

151-153 West 85th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/151-west-85-street-new_york

https://www.landmarkwest.org/building/151-west-85th-street/

The buildings 151-153 were built between 1890-91 by architect John G. Prague in the Queen Anne Style with Romanesque details (Landmark West website).

151 West 85th Street

153 West 85th Street

74 West 74th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/74-west-85-street-new_york

https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/central-park-west/the-clifton-74-west-85th-street/1689

The Clifton at 74 West 85th Street is a pre-war condominium building in the Upper West Side’s Central Park West neighborhood finished in 1910 (CityRealty.com).

The detail work from the building

72 West 85th Street

https://www.landmarkwest.org/building/72-west-85th-street/

https://streeteasy.com/building/72-west-85-street-new_york

This townhouse was built between 1894-95 in the Romanesque Revival style by architect Adam Fischer

The details

The faces staring back

The faces staring back

I rounded West 85th Street around West 86th Street and then to West 87th Street.

The building was built in 1890 and is called the Brockholst Apartment. It was named after Brockholst Livingston, the former Supreme Court Judge who family estate the building was built on. Look close at the checkerboard stonework and iron work details (Daytonian).

101 West 85th Street; look at the details of the building

The beauty of the entrance of the building

https://streeteasy.com/building/101-west-85-street-new_york

http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-1890-brockholst-apartment-no-101.html

331-337 West 87th Street

The doorway at 331 West 88th Street

The elegant details of 331 West 88th Street

The beauty of the Red House Building at 350 West 84th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/red-house

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_House_(Manhattan)

https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2011/08/harde-shorts-1904-red-house-no-350-west.html

The Red House, completed in 1904, is located on 85th Street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive. The work of the architectural firm of Harde and Short, it is a distinctive six story red brick and white terra cotta building with bold multi-paneled black painted windows, adorned with dripping Gothic screens and a terra cotta salamander & crown cartouche. The center is recessed behind a triple arched entryway. The partnership of Herbert Spencer Harde and R. Thomas Short was formed in 1901 (Streeteasy.com).

When walking up the block and turning onto West 87th Street, take time to admire the foliage at Central Park West. The park is truly beautiful on this part of block. The trees are really ablaze with color.

Central Park in the Fall of 2024

128 West 87th Street

I strolled past the West 87th Street Garden which was open for the first time that I ever walked this neighborhood. Every time I passed the gardens, they were closed to the public but the weekend I revisited in 2024, all the Public Gardens seemed to be open for planting.

West 87th Street Park & Park at 55 West 87th Street

https://www.87thstreetgarden.com/

The West 87th Street Garden in the Fall of 2024

The West 88th Street Gardens with Fall foliage

The Babe Ruth Apartment at 355 West 87th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/345-west-87-street-new_york

The plaque

George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth

The doorway above 155 West 87th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/155-west-87-street-new_york

West 88th Street

West 88th Street entrance to this beautiful townhouse

The entrance to 61 West 88th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/155-west-87-street-new_york

The brownstones along West 88th Street

There were so many beautiful brownstones with such interesting carvings and gardens in the high 80’s and 90’s on the West Side that I could not feature them all but here are many of my new favorites that I passed along the way.

25 West 88th Street

https://lesliegarfield.com/properties/new-york/sale/25-west-88th-street

Designed by architects Thom & Wilson in 1889, 25 West 88th Street is one of the finest renovated single-family townhouses on the Upper West Side. This triple mint home is among the first in Manhattan to receive a national designation as a Platinum Certified LEED Home and Passive Energy Certification (Leslie Garfield.org).

25 West 88th Street

25 West 88th Street The embellishments

34 West 88th Street in its full glory

https://streeteasy.com/building/34-west-88-street-new_york

34 West 88th Street

https://streeteasy.com/property/1520870-34-west-88-street-3

179 West 89th Street-The old Claremont Riding Academy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claremont_Riding_Academy

https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2010/11/claremont-riding-academy-175-west-89th.html

https://www.landmarkwest.org/building/173-177-west-89th-street-claremont-riding-academy-was-claremont-stables/

175 West 89th Street

175 West 89th Street

The old Claremont Riding Academy was built by architect Frank A. Rooke and was built in Romanesque Revival style in 1892. These were the oldest continuously operated equestrian stable in New York City and the last public stable in Manhattan (Wiki).

When I arrived at P.S. 166 on 132 West 89th Street, the Richard Rodgers School, is the Manhattan School of Art & Technology. I read the plaque that was dedicated in 2003 to the famous composer. The school was built in 1897 and is one of the few terra cotta Gothic designs in the New York Public School system. It is such an honor to a famous composer of musicals such as ‘The Flower Drum Song’ and ‘The King and I’.

The Playground 89 next to P.S. 166 adds a little life to the quiet neighborhood. Even on a slightly warm November day, there were loads of kids running around while their parents relaxed and chatted on the benches surrounding the park. It was nice to see so many families out that afternoon.

PS 166

The front of PS 166

The historic plaque

The Richard Rodger’s plaque

P.S. 166 is one of the few Terra Cotta schools in NYC

https://www.greatschools.org/new-york/new-york/2547-Ps-166-The-Richard-Rogers-School-Of-The-Arts-And-S/

As you round the neighborhood on West 89th Street, I walked into the West Side Community Garden at 123 West 89th and Columbus Avenue. This little gem of a park is located behind an office building and is across from P.S. 166.

Westside Community Garden sign at 123 West 89th Street

Though not in the full bloom that I saw from the pictures posted in the park from the Summer Opera Program, the trees still held on to their golden hue and some of the plants had some greenery to them. It looks like the community really backs and maintains the park. In warmer months, there is a lot of special events here.

West Side Community Garden in the Fall of 2024 when the replanting was taking

2023

In the Spring of 2026, I got to see the whole garden in full bloom. The volunteers take amazing care of the gardens and their well landscaped paths.

The historic sign

The gardens in the Spring

The entrance to the park

The pathway in the garden

The pathway in the park

The pathway near the entrance to the park

Down the street from the school and the parks is Ballet Hispanico at the corner of 167 West 89th and Amsterdam Avenue. Some of the holiday shows had been posted and looked rather interesting. The building was closed the day I was there.

The last part of my journey of the streets of the neighborhood was crossing West 90th Street for a second time and exploring the avenues. I stopped at the St. Gregory’s Playground near the corner of West 90th Street and Columbus Avenue. this little pocket park on the other side of the West Side Community Garden is in dire need of a face lift.

St. Gregory’s Playground 130 West 90th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/st-gregorys-playground

I can see this is something the neighborhood needs as a parent yelled out to me if I was from the NYC Parks Department (I have no clue why I look so important to people when walking around the city. Either I look like a policeman or a city official).

Since my trip back then, the park looks like it has been renovated and these interesting purple flowers have shown up in the Fall of 2024. Very Surreal!

St. Gregory’s Park at 130 90th Street

There is another small park behind the Wise Houses, a small public housing project, in this very quickly gentrifying and updated neighborhood. As I had read online and seen by walking though it (more stares from the residents), the small park has some unique fixtures yet is falling apart when you really look at it. The benches and some of the equipment is in need of repair but I could tell is well used by the residents by the kids running around. Like the St. Gregory playground, it could use a facelift.

The new Wise Park right next to the housing complex has been totally renovated and looks amazing!

https://www.landmarkwest.org/public-art-survey/stephen-wise-towers-playground/

The park has been dedicated to Henry J. Browne, who was a resident of the community

Click to access Wise%20Towers.pdf

The last part of the walk took me back to West End Avenue on West 90th Street and the most elegant row of brownstone homes that lined the avenue. I have noticed on my walk of this neighborhood that the individual homes along the streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue and Riverside Drive and West End Avenue have some of the most unique architecture in the neighborhood.

The beauty of West 90th Street

West 90th Street brownstones that line the street

West 90th Street art on the brownstones

Faces staring at you on West 90th Street

Colorful garden along West 90th Street in early November

The one apartment building that always stood out to me when walking West 90th Street was the Concord Building Apartments. The grace and the detail of the carvings makes you stop and stare at the faces staring back at you.

The Cornwall Building at 255 West 90th Street

https://streeteasy.com/building/255-west-90-street-new_york

https://www.corcoran.com/building/upper-west-side/3065

Built by Neville & Bagge, The Cornwall remains one of the architectural gems of the Upper West Side. Completed in 1910, The Cornwall is a 12 story building with a red-brick façade, three-story limestone base, a number of decorative balconies and impressive Art Nouveau style roofline.
The apartments have fine pre-war details exhibited in gracious layouts, high ceilings, pocket French doors, intricate woodwork, onyx fireplace surrounds and glass transoms (Streeteasy.com)

The beautiful details of The Cornwall Building

The stonework is just amazing

It must have been something when the whole neighborhood must have looked like this but that is progress. In the middle of the neighborhood, the area keeps updating, modernizing and changing. It seems that the neighborhood is morphing into something a little more upscale like its southern neighbors and less like Manhattan Valley to the north. For now, not quite the traditional Upper West Side but still homey and welcoming to people moving in. I enjoyed my afternoons here.

Halloween decorations on West 90th Street

Still more decoration in the post Halloween week

Take the A or C or 1 subway trains to the Upper Upper West Side. The A train will be express from 59th Street to 125th Street.

The West 96th Street subway stop was a constant for me when visiting the Upper West Side and the views are spectacular

Read my other Blogs on the Bloomingdale/Upper West Side neighborhoods:

Day Ninety-Three: Walking the Borders of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6760

Day Ninety-Four: Walking the Avenues of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6842

Day Ninety-Seven: Walking the Streets of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7100

Places to eat:

West Place Chinese Restaurant

1288 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10027

(212) 932-9390/9376

Open: Sunday 12:00pm-11:00pm/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-12:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d5065901-Reviews-West_Place-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

DiningonShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/591

East Garden Chinese Restaurant (Closed June 2024)

1685 First Avenue

New York, NY

(212) 831-5900

http://www.eastgardenchinese.com

Open: Sunday & Saturday 12:00pm-10:30pm/Monday-Friday 11:30am-10:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12860202-Reviews-East_Garden_Chinese_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/489

Glaser’s Bake Shop (Closed in 2018)

1670 1st Avenue

New York, NY 10128

(212) 289-2562

http://www.glasersbakeshop.com

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d930552-Reviews-Glaser_s_Bake_Shop-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/409

Places to Shop:

West Side Kids

201 West 84th Street (new address)

New York, NY 10024

(212) 496-7282

http://www.westsideskidsnyc.com

https://www.facebook.com/WestSideKids/

Open: Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm/Monday-Thursday 11:00am-7:00pm/Friday-Saturday 10:00am-7:00pm

John Koch Antiques (Closed in 2022 and moved to LIC)

201 West 84th Street

New York, NY 10024

(212) 799-2167

http://www.kochantiques.com

Open: Sunday Closed/Monday & Tuesday 11:00am-5:30pm/Wednesday-Saturday 11:00am-7:00pm

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/20

Books of Wonder (Closed in 2021)

217 West 84th Street

New York, NY

(800) 207-6968

http://www.booksofwonder.com

Open: Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-7:00pm

My review on LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/littleshoponmainstreet.wordpress.com/42

Places to Visit:

West Side Community Garden

123 West 89th Street

(212) 316-5490

http://www.westsidecommunitygarden.org

Open: No hours posted

Ballet Hispanico

167 West 89th Street

New York, NY 10024

(212) 362-6710

http://www.ballethispanico.org

Playground 89

West 89th Street

New York, NY 10024

http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/playground/eighty-nine

Open: Varies with the school

Joan of Arc Park

Riverside Drive Between West 96th-West 91st Streets

New York, NY 10025

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-1:00am

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/joan-of-arc-park

https://riversideparknyc.org/places/joan-of-arc-monument/

Morningside Park

Morningside Drive

New York, NY 10026

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/morningside-park

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morningside_Park_(Manhattan)

My review on TripAdvisor:

Day Ninety-Four: Walking the Avenues of The Upper Upper West Side (the Bloomingdale District) from Columbus Avenue to West End Avenue from 96th Street to 84th Street October 18th, 2017 (Again July 28th, 2026)

October 25, 2017Bakeries for the budget minded, Chinese Restaurants for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York City Parks, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Pizzerias in Manhattan, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Uncategorized, Walking around Manhattan645 West End Avenue, Addthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Cheesy Pizza, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Bloomingdale Manhattan, Exploring Hamilton Heights, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, MywalkinManhattan.com, Silver Moon Bakery, Upper West Side, Urban Assembly Garden, Visiting the Upper West Side, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, West Side Kids, Wild Bird Fundjwatrel

I had another beautiful day in the city. I can’t believe this is fall with the 82-degree days. It is so funny to see so many people in outdoor cafes this late into the season. It reminded me of when I was walking Morningside Heights in February and it was 82 degrees then. The weather has been very wacky this year and everyone says there is no Global Warming. That’s hard to believe.

I finally managed to sneak into the city to walk the Avenues of the Upper Upper West Side. I had spent the morning in the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen again and they put me back to work in the kitchen. By the time I left chopping loads of chicken breasts up for the next day’s lunch, I was exhausted. With Thanksgiving around the corner, it is going to be busy in the prep kitchen. I had been in the prep kitchen during the holidays, and it is a lot of work.

I started my walk this afternoon by relaxing with lunch at Zhong Hua Chinese Restaurant at 23 West 100th Street (See review on TripAdvisor), a tiny hole in the wall Chinese restaurant I passed when walking Manhattanville. This is right on the border at the official end of the Upper West Side meets the Douglas Housing Projects. I could tell most of the customers came from the housing projects by the customer base walking in. They must be very loyal because the staff knew who everyone was and said hello.

Zhong Hua at 23 West 100th Street

https://menupages.com/zhong-hua-new-chinese-restaurant/23-w-100th-st-new-york

There are a couple of tables to sit at in the restaurant and it is not the fanciest place, but the food is not bad. I had a Sweet & Sour Chicken lunch special. It was okay. Typical Chinese American cooking. It tasted like fresh Chicken McNuggets with a standard red sweet sauce and served with white rice. The combination lunch special was $6.00 with a Coke and was not bad. Not the greatest but not bad. It filled me up for my long walk around the neighborhood.

The Sweet & Sour Pork was okay

Columbus Avenue was my first part of the walk. Columbus Avenue was the new trendy avenue when the city started to gentrify in the early 80’s through the crash of ’87 and now has settled into a more upper middle-class street with a combination of upscale stores and chains. There are so many banks on the avenue that I do not understand how they survive.

This was at one shining moment the center of the island with all the new innovative restaurants and shops opening up here starting with Museum Café opening right across the street from the American Museum of Natural History (it now houses a Shake Shack ten restaurants later). As someone noted in New York Magazine, it looks like a suburban mall with the parking (which is true for most of the island now).

In the upper 90’s, Columbus Avenue has turned into a series of large apartment buildings that must have been started in the late 90’s. It has changed the complexity of the neighborhood which was once all low-lining buildings. The border shared with Manhattanville gets even weirder with a Whole Foods and new luxury shopping one block from the Douglas Houses. It is a strange move, but it seems that everyone is using the Whole Foods from all over the neighborhood, so some marketing person was thinking.

The Whole Foods

The Whole Foods at 808 Columbus Avenue and West 96th Street

https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/upperwestside

The transition of the Upper West by the Whole Foods and the Douglass Houses

Once you cross over to the 80’s blocks, the architecture turns back into the more traditional low-rise buildings of the turn of the last century which is what gives the neighborhood its charm. Like the rest of the city, there have been a rash of small business closings around the block as the twenty-year leases that were signed in the 90’s when the neighborhood was still transitioning have come up and the complaints that the rents have tripled and quadrupled. The mix is now around the museum bunch of extremely expensive restaurants and realtors. This is not the West Side I remember.

One store that does stand out as being different is the Wild Bird Feed at 565 Columbus Avenue that seems more a hospital than a retail store. It saves pigeons and doves and brings them back to health. The rest is a combination of chain stores and expensive decorating places.

Amsterdam Avenue is pretty much the same as the parts in the areas above 90th Street is new apartment buildings and stores. Most of the chains have moved up to this area with the new buildings. As you move to the lower 90’s, Amsterdam Avenue becomes a series of neighborhood stores and restaurants that are strictly local. There are many great ethnic restaurants as well as all the services from laundry places to shoe repairs and drycleaners. They have really kept Amsterdam Avenue for the neighborhood.

At the corner of 84th and Amsterdam Avenue again is the Urban Assembly Garden that now is producing fall vegetables. It is amazing how everything changes in just two weeks. The kids were out cleaning up the beds when I visited again, and the teachers are eager for you to see what the kids are doing. Try to stop by the stand and at least say ‘hello’ to the kids.

Urban Assembly Garden on West 84th Street and Amsterdam Avenue

http://uagreencareers.org/

Across the street from the garden is West Side Kids at 498 Amsterdam Avenue which was mobbed with families who were shopping after school. There are some small restaurants a few doors down that were loaded with families. I could tell the parents here like their East Side counterparts really look after their kids’ education and welfare.

West Side Kids is now located at 201 West 84th Street

https://www.westsidekidsnyc.com/

The inside of the new West Side Kids

Broadway from 96th Street to 84th Street is a series of chain stores and independents. This part of the avenue is quite nice because it has the island in the middle of the road with trees and flowers still holding on from the summer months. It is being lined with brand new apartment buildings that are sprouting up all along the avenue. I have never seen a block so in transition. This is Broadway from 110th Street straight down to Columbus Circle.

When you turn the corner onto West End Avenue, it is a whole other world. This is the land of prewar apartment buildings, old brownstones and single-family homes. The side streets are unique brownstones where it looks like no two houses are the same. It is straight out of an exterior shot of ‘Sex and the City’.

If you are in the city for Halloween, there is a great holiday display outside the brownstone at West End Avenue and 90th Street. All sorts of movable ghouls and ghost are on display with a pumpkin demon flying up the side of the house. Someone is in the theater business here.

Halloween on the Upper West Side, the owner is very creative

There is a beautiful, tutored mansion that is being renovated on the corner at 274 West End Avenue and 95th Street that you have to see. It looks like a traditional German home attached to a prewar apartment building. This is the side of The Pomander Walk complex.

274 West End Avenue-The Pomander Walk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomander_Walk

The entrance to the complex is around the corner

https://www.realtyhop.com/building/274-west-95th-street-new-york-ny-10025

There are pillared twin mansions on the opposite corners of West End Avenue between 91st and 90th Streets with matching brownstones in the middle of the two homes. Both are being fixed up and the owners are very lucky to own such a beautiful, graceful homes. They look well-maintained and a little out of place with all the apartment buildings on the block.

West End Avenue has many architectural treasures

The Swan House at 95th and West End Avenue is a elegant old building with interesting landscaping around it. People do love their potted plants. The fortress like apartment building at 645 West End Avenue has the most interesting light features on the outside. They look like a giant is holding lanterns. It is straight out of the late 1890’s. I have never seen a light feature like this one. The building was designed by architect Gaetan Ajello and was built in 1912 (City Realty).

645 West End Avenue

https://streeteasy.com/building/645-west-end-avenue-new_york

The very unique light fixtures outside the building

These are so beautiful

At West End Avenue and 84th Street, there is a plaque to the famous composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, who lived in the building from 1926 to 1943. He did some of his most famous work when living in this building. Word of advice don’t linger too long reading the plaque. The doorman will give you funny looks.

Sergei Rachmaninoff

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff

There is another gorgeous mansion on the corner at 272 West End Avenue and 91st Street that has been fixed up and again harks back to the time this was an exclusive neighborhood (more so than then now) and lined with private homes. This beautiful, designed home was built in 1920 (City Realty).

272 West End Avenue

https://streeteasy.com/building/272-west-73-street-new_york

This whole area between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive from 66th Street straight up the west side of the island is lined with interesting apartment buildings. Each one is more unique than the other. It is a real change in these two blocks both in the architecture of the buildings and the feel of the neighborhood. It seems quieter and more reserved and the people walking along the streets seem more serious than their neighbors one block away. I just got that impression on the people living there by walking around at all hours of the day.

Dinner that night was at Cheesy Pizza at 2640 Broadway on the corner of 100th Street (See the review on TripAdvisor & my blog DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The pizza is excellent made wonderful by their delicious tomato sauce. I get so disappointed by many of these pizzerias in these neighborhoods that I pass. They look so good and end up having tasteless food that makes it a disappointing meal.

Cheesy Pizza at 2640 Broadway

https://www.cheesypizzamenu.com/

Not at Cheesy Pizza. The pizza is full of flavor and loaded with their delicious sauce and loads of cheese. They have some excellent deals with eight specials available all day long for $5.00, which is a steal in this economy. I had the personal pizza with a Coke, and you got four nice slices of pizza that is freshly made for you. I was not only impressed with the quality but with the friendly service as the guys behind the counter seemed happy to see me. I guess it’s the cop thing again. This place warrants a few more visits.

The Cheese Pizza here is wonderful.

Before I headed downtown, I made a special trip to Silver Moon Bakery at 2740 Broadway and 105th Street for dessert (See review on TripAdvisor & my blog DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The pastries here are excellent and rival their counterparts in other parts of the island. The nice part is they are very reasonable. Nothing is over $5.00. The quality is excellent, and the staff is not snotty like some of the bakeries on the East Side where they want to charge you $20.00 for a cake that costs about $3.00 in materials. I know rents are high but come on.

Silver Moon Bakery at 2740 Broadway (Closed March 2025)

https://www.silvermoonbakery.com/

Silver Moon Bakery is the home of the Crumuffin, which I have talked about before. I got a little boring and got a Linzer Tart. It was excellent. The cookie itself was so buttery and tasted like it had just come out of the oven. The raspberry jelly was tart and sweet and the cookie broken apart in my mouth when I ate it. Like a piece of heaven.

The selection at Silver Moon Bakery is wonderful.

That is the one thing about Silver Moon Bakery unlike their uptown competition. The product has not been sitting out all day long. The items are obviously bake in small batches throughout the day. Make the trip on the Number One Subway to 103rd Street to visit the bakery. It’s worth the travel time.

The Crumuffin at Silver Moon Bakery is the most amazing pastry!

Overall, I covered a lot of the Upper West Side, revisited a few haunts that I wanted to see again and got to relax and explore Riverside Park. The Upper West Side has so much to offer, and I will see more when I walk the streets in the neighborhood.

Read my other Blogs on the Bloomingdale neighborhood:

Day Ninety-Three: Walking the Borders of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6760

Day Ninety-Four: Walking the Avenues of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6842

Day Ninety-Seven: Walking the Streets of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7100

Places to Eat:

Silver Moon Bakery (Closed March 2025)

2470 Broadway

New York, NY 10025

(212) 866-4717

https://silvermoonbakery.com/

Open: Monday-Friday 7:30am-8:00pm/Saturday & Sunday 8:00am-7:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d1027122-Reviews-Silver_Moon_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/433

Cheesy Pizza

2640 Broadway

New York, NY 10025

(212) 662-5223/6312/0028

https://www.cheesypizzabroadway.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d7079166-Reviews-Cheesy_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/521

Zhong Hua Chinese Restaurant

23 West 100th Street

New York, NY 10025

(212) 932-3377

Open: Sunday-Saturday 9:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d423760-Reviews-Zhong_Hua_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Visit:

Wild Bird Fund

565 Columbus Avenue

New York, NY 10024

(646) 306-2862

Home

Open: Sunday-Saturday 8:00am-8:00pm

West Side Kids

498 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10024

(212) 496-7282

https://www.westsidekidsnyc.com/

Open: Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm/Monday-Thursday 11:00am-7:00pm/Friday-Saturday 10:00am-7:00pm

Urban Assembly Garden

145 West 84th Street

New York, NY 10024

(212) 787-1189

Open: Please visit the websites

http://uagreencareers.org/garden

http://uagreencareers.org/

https://urbanassembly.org/

Day Ninety-Three: Walking the Borders of the Upper Upper West Side from 96th Street to 84th Street from Riverside Drive to Fifth Avenue October 11th, 2017 (Again on June 16th and November 14th, 2024 and July 16th, 2026)

October 25, 2017Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan Valley/Bloomingdale/Upper West Side, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York City Parks, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Rim of the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver, Bettalona, Central Park Conservatory Park, diningonashoestringinnyc, El Museo del Barrio, Exploring Bloomingdale Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Upper East Side, Exploring the Upper West Side, Joy Brown sculpture, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Museum of the City of New York, MywalkinManhattan.com, Soldier & Sailor Monument, Upper West Side, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Around Manhattan, Walk Manhattan, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Walking the Upper West Side, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I always try to spend part of my birthday doing some form of community service. So I spent the morning of my birthday cutting vegetables for the next few days meals at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen.

I spent the morning cutting three big bags of potatoes, a crate of sweet potatoes and several heads of lettuce for salads plus cleaning up the kitchen after everyone. We need to prepare prep for several dishes in advance and several cases of fresh vegetables were coming in so the old ones had to be used first. Needless to say, I was exhausted as usual when I left for the afternoon.

My afternoon was spent walking the ring of the neighborhood, the Upper part of the Upper West Side. Since this area runs from 96th Street to 59th Street, I will be breaking it up into two parts. Years ago, one did not dare venture over 86th Street on the West Side. Then it became 96th Street in the 90’s. Today though, the whole Upper West Side from 59th is really nice all the way to the tip of Inwood. There are some patches above 145th Street as I have mentioned in the blog that are still a little on the rough side but every month seem to get better.

Now that I have finished walking around Yorkville/Carnegie Hill and Manhattanville/Bloomingdale neighborhoods, it now time to tackle the Upper West and East Sides. This stretches from 96th to 59th Streets on both sides of Central Park and line both the East and Hudson Rivers. It will be a lot of walking.

My day starting by taking the subway back up to Morningside Heights for lunch. I had passed several restaurants along the way on Broadway on my days walking this neighborhood and there were still a few I had wanted to try. My choice was Bettolona at 3143 Broadway between LaSalle & Tiemann Streets (See review on TripAdvisor). The food is wonderful and very reasonably priced.

The beauty of Bettolona is the exposed walls and the open air windows that face a quiet side of Broadway to cars but noisy once the Number One subway passes. It was one of the warm, sunny October afternoons at 82 degrees so it was nice to sit by the windows and enjoy lunch. What impresses me about the restaurant is the unusual art up on the walls by the local artists, the calm jazz music and the laid back service. Everyone was so nice without knowing it was my birthday.

Bettolona Restaurant at 3143 Broadway (Closed June 2022)

https://www.bettolona.com/

I had the Pasta Bolognese, which was excellent. Fresh pasta with a generous portion of a veal ragu on top. The sauce, the owner explained, was made with fresh tomatoes and spices. It had such a nice rich flavor to it. You could taste the red wine in the sauce.

The food was wonderful that afternoon

For dessert, I had the Crepelle with Nutella and banana, which I highly recommend. The dessert was two freshly made crepes filled with Nutella hazelnut spread and freshly sliced bananas.

Enjoying a crepe for dessert

A sweet light treat and the perfect way to end the lunch. I enjoyed it while watching students and members of the Columbia community walk by. I highly recommend the restaurant if you are in the area.

St. Clair Rose Garden when it is in bloom

After lunch, I wanted to walk off my fullness and turned the corner onto the extension of 125th Street to the St. Clair turn into Riverside Park to the West Harlem Piers Park to look over the Hudson River and enjoy the beautiful sunny day. The West Harlem Piers is a small park inside Riverside Park that faces New Jersey and offers the most spectacular views of the Hudson River and the Cliffs of Englewood Cliffs and Alpine on the New Jersey side. It is a nice place to just sit, relax and think. I do some of my best writing here.

West Harlem Piers Park off West 125th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/west-harlem-piers

West Harlem Piers Park in the summer of 2023

After I rested and digested, it was off to walk the fringe of the Upper Upper West Side. This encompassed 5th Avenue along Central Park to Riverside Drive facing Riverside Park from 96th Street to 84th Street. It was a large area but packed with interesting pre-war apartments, two large popular parks, loads of small local businesses and a few pocket parks along the way.

The Brownstone neighborhood of West 95th Street

This area unlike Manhattanville to the north of 96th, is starting to get a little more upscale as people with money are beginning to move above 86th Street, the traditional border of the Upper West Side. The area like the rest of Manhattan just keeps morphing quickly. You will never know when you turn the corner when another business will close and one replace it.

West 96th Street and Riverside Park in the Fall

It was a lot different in the summer months in 2026 when everything was in bloom and a lot more lush. Gone were the golden golds and bronzes and a lot of greens, purples and yellows in the park in the Summer.

Walking in Riverside Park in the 90’s

Walking up Riverside Drive in the 90’s

Walking along Riverside Drive at West 92nd Street

On the way down Broadway, I passed on the Columbia Campus a memorial plaque dedicated to General Garret Hopper Sticker, who led the New York City defense during the War of 1812. This was the location of the McGowan Pass in Manhattanville, which was a major travel artery on the Post Road to the Northern parts of New York and New England.

The McGowan Pass before the park

Fearing invasion by the British, the city rebuilt old Revolutionary forts and this area was home to the Barrier Wall to protect the travel route. It saw no action during the War of 1812, but this important piece of history is noted on the Columbia campus as the McGowan Pass still sits at the northern end of Central Park.

The McGowan Pass in its later years

https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/mcgowans-pass

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGowan%27s_Pass

The one thing that I can note about both Central Park and Riverside Park that day is that all the leaves were still green. The vestiges of the fall had not turned color yet and with the unseasonable warm weather still felt like summer. Central Park was crowded that day with people playing Frisbee and walking their dogs. Many tourists were still in the city wondering around the park. It leads me to ask, are any of us still working full time? I wonder.

I had already walked all of 96th Street already, passing the artist Joy Brown statues on Broadway at the subway stop (which run from West 117th Street to West 72nd Street until February 17, 2018) and the now familiar McDonald’s that has been my haunt for snacks and drinks when walking up here. I proceeded to walk down Riverside Drive through Riverside Park to enjoy the foliage and walk through a park still locked in the summer. It was so nice to pass couples walking their dogs or biking through the park. There is so much life going on here and people just enjoying nature.

Joy Brown’s work “The Kneeler”

Artist Joy Brown

https://www.joybrownstudio.com/

The homes and apartment buildings that line Riverside Park are from sign from the turn of the last century. There are still some mansions that line the park in the lower 90’s that are currently being refurbished. These you really have to look over for the 1880’s architecture. The loop around 84th Street will either take you to 83rd or 85th Street so opt for the lower one. Take your time and really walk-through Riverside Park and see the foliage and the view of the Hudson River.

Between 90th and 89th Streets, take time to explore the Soldier’s & Sailors Monument on Riverside Drive and look over the monument. It was built to honor the Union Army & Navy during the Civil War. The monument was designed by the firm of Stoughton & Stoughton for the City in 1900. It was dedicated on Memorial Day of 1902 with President Theodore Roosevelt overseeing the event. The monument has seen better days and like Grant’s Tomb, could use a refurbishing. Check out the detail work and the statues. It was well-designed and detailed.

Soldiers & Sailor’s Monument at West 89th Street

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldiers%27_and_Sailors%27_Monument_(Manhattan)

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/riverside-park/highlights/12871

The Sailor’s & Soldiers Monument when I visited in the Fall of 2024 and below in the Summer of 2026.

The monument in the Summer of 2026

Rounding 84th Street leads you into the former edge of the Upper West Side. Back in the 90’s, one did not venture higher than 86th Street and then it became 96th Street. Now it is all the way up the west side of the island to the very tip. This whole area is being polished up and new chain stores are being opened along the Broadway corridor.

Broadway between West 105th and West 106th Streets

On the corner of 84th and Amsterdam Avenue this is a patch of green in the way of the Urban Green Space Garden run by The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers. The students run this urban garden where tomatoes, cucumbers and root vegetables are grown next to one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city. The kids take a lot of pride in this stand so try to stop in and look over their produce. They are a welcoming bunch and the teachers are very encouraging as well.

The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers Park

https://www.uagreencareers.org/

I walked the remaining parts of the border of the neighborhood along Fifth Avenue and then crossed over the park to the East Side where I ended up at the 96th Street exit. I ended my walk at the El Museo del Barrio a, a Latino themed museum at the edge of the Museum Mile at 1220 Fifth Avenue to see visit the museum for the first time (See reviews on TripAdvisor & VisitingaMuseum.com).

El Museo del Barrio at 1230 Fifth Avenue

https://www.elmuseo.org

What an interesting museum. I visited all the exhibitions as the museum is rather small and the displays are very intimate. The ‘Nkame’ exhibition was very interesting dealing with a local religion on the island that it pays great respect. It is interesting in the use of black and white used in the art. Another exhibition that really hit the economic attitude of the island was the ‘Debtfair” exhibition that explained how the island got into its financial straits and how it can be worked out. They also have a nice restaurant and gift shop that you should visit.

I took a quick tour around the Central Park Conservatory at 1230 Fifth Avenue (See reviews on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). The garden was still in bloom with early fall flowers and green trees. Even at this time of night the conservatory was still busy. I really like the formal gardens to the south of the garden and the fountain.

Central Park Conservatory at 120 Fifth Avenue

https://www.centralparknyc.org/

The lawn of the Central Park Conservatory in the Fall of 2024

The gardens in the summer months

I love walking around the Central Park Conservatory at any time of the year especially in the Summer when all the flowers are in bloom. It is a wonderful experience to go in the early morning when it is quiet and you have the park to yourself (which is very rare). The whole garden just went through a major restoration and it has really changed. The whole Conservatory is refreshed and in bloom. It is quite a site!

The sign at the entrance of the Gardens

The entrance to the gardens

This time of the year (Spring) the Central Park Conservatory is in full bloom and its magnificence is at its finest in the Spring and Summer months. In May, the tulips and daffodils are just finishing their flowering and the lilacs are just finishing their blooming and still fragrant the garden. The lawns are all a deep green and the dogwood trees are just starting to bloom around the rings of the gardens.

The newly renovated pathways

Don’t miss walking around the Gardens off to the side closest to the Harlem Meir as they are open through the renovation. You will see beds of flowers along the fountain’s edge and can admire all the sculpture. What is most impressive is that in-between the Gardens is a vast green lawn surrounded by trees. The lawn of the Conservatory is nice to just admire with the trees lining it on all sides.

Central Park Conservatory Garden Spring 2025

The best time to come to the Conservatory Gardens is in early to late Spring and the early Summer when everything is in full bloom. This is when Mother Nature shows us her great magic.

The beauty of the Central Park Conservatory is that it blooms all year around except the winter and even then, there is a quiet elegance to the garden.

My evening ended with a lecture on ‘Rising Waters around NYC’, a discussion of how the rising sea levels affected the city during Hurricane Sandy and in the future. This discussion was at the Museum of the City of New York at Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street across the street from the Central Park Conservatory at 1220 Fifth Avenue & 103rd Street (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com).

Don’t miss their ongoing exhibition on ‘Core New York’ on the history of the city through the ages. It is really interesting and needs several trips to really see the exhibition in full.

The Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue

https://www.mcny.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48236-d15855802-Reviews-Museum_of_the_City_of_New_York-New_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Time Line of the City exhibition

The I went to the ‘Foods of New York’ exhibition

https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/food-new-york

Ice Cart “Pimp My Piragua” by artist Miguel Luciano

Artist Miguel Luciano

“Twilight” by artist Suzanne Anker

The effects of pollination of crops and the loss of bees shown here.

Artist Suzanne Anker

Overall, a very nice day and a great way to spend my 52nd Birthday.

Happy Birthday to me!!

Please read my blogs on walking the Upper Upper West Side:

Day Ninety-Three: Walking the Streets of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6760

Day Ninety-Four: Walking the Avenues of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6842

Places to Eat:

Bettolona (Closed June 2022)

3143 Broadway

New York, NY 10027

(212) 749-1125

http://www.bettolonanyc.com

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d3140758-Reviews-Bettolona-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Visit:

Sailors & Soldiers Monument

Riverside Park@ 90th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/riversidepark/highlights/12871

Joy Brown Statues (now closed)

From West 117th to 72nd Streets

Until February 17th, 2018

All Along Broadway

http://joybrownstudio.com/

Central Park Conservatory

402 5th Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 310-6600

http://www.centralpark.com

Open: Visit the website for hours seasonal

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d272517-Reviews-Conservatory_Garden-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/831

El Museo del Barrio

1230 5th Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 831-7272

http://www.elmuseo.org

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d116228-Reviews-El_Museo_del_Barrio-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/1600

Museum of the City of New York

5th Avenue & 103rd Street

New York, NY 10029

(212) 534-1672

http://www.mcny.org

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d116229-Reviews-Museum_of_the_City_of_New_York-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48236-d15855802-Reviews-Museum_of_the_City_of_New_York-New_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Urban Green Space Gardens

All over the neighborhood

West Harlem Piers Park

Marginal Street at West 132nd Street

New York, NY 10027

(212) 639-9675

http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/west-harlem-piers

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/west-harlem-piers/events

Open: 6:00am-9:00pm

Day Eighty-Seven: A Trip to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for Members Movie Night August 23rd, 2017 (Revisited on August 24th, 2022 and August 21st, 2024 and August 19th, 2026)

August 24, 2017Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Brooklyn, Exploring Brooklyn Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York City Parks, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Delis and Bodegas, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Sandwich and Deli's for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Brooklyn, Walking Downtown Brooklyn, Walking in Brooklyn840 United Deli Corp., Addthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Banh Mi Place, BergenCountyCaregiver, Brooklyn Botanic Garden Members Movie Night, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Museum, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Brooklyn, Exploring Brooklyn Block by Block, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Family Pizza Flatbush, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Movie Night BBG, MywalkinManhattan.com, Reasonable Chinese Restaurants in NYC, Reasonable Deli's/Bodegas, Visiting the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walking Brooklyn, Walking in Brooklyn, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I took some time before I start the next section of the walk to travel to Brooklyn to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden (See reviews on TripAdvisor and my blog ‘VisitingaMuseum’). I have been a member for over a decade and I am glad that my donation helps support the gardens. It is so much fun to walk around these beautiful individual gardens.

Members Movie Night in 2017:

In 2017, I got to Brooklyn too late to visit the zoo or the Brooklyn Museum, so I took a walk to my favorite pizzeria in the area, Family Pizza at 720 Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush (See review on TripAdvisor). Their pizza is amazing and if you are in the area, walk down Flatbush Avenue for a slice. Even at the $2.75 price per slice, it is still great pizza. The sauce is so delicious and really makes their pizza.

Family Pizza on Flatbush Avenue at 720 Flatbush Avenue

https://www.restaurantji.com/ny/brooklyn/family-pizza-/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d4966907-Reviews-Family_Pizza-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

I have never seen a neighborhood change so fast. It is going from a West Indian and Caribbean Black neighborhood to hipster central. I have never seen a place change so much in an eight month period. Every time I walk down this street, it looks like another ten businesses have left and the ‘for rent’ signs keep going up. All the local businesses are being replaced by all the frou-frou restaurants and shops that cater to the hipsters.

The Cheese Pizza at Family Pizza is excellent.

As all the new buildings keep going up all over the Flatbush Avenue and the surrounding streets, all the businesses that surround them change as well. Even some of the small local businesses have been smart and upgraded their stores. I passed a Jamaican bakery that had been opened for years is completely renovated. It still looks the same outside, but they have upgraded as the neighborhood has changed. On the five blocks to the pizzeria, I counted at the least ten businesses that have left and some have been replaced with new restaurants and shops.

I decided to look it up and the head of the Merchant’s Association said that there were 22 businesses that were closed now and they were not being filled so fast. The ones that are being filled are opening expensive restaurants with things like $12.00 hamburgers and $20.00 pizza when the restaurants in the are that are left are serving food that is just as good for half the price. This was the difference between Family Pizza, where I ate tonight and the fancy pizzeria that opened directly across the street with the same pizza for double the price. Pretty place in comparison but still at the end of the day it is pizza.

After my walk down Flatbush Avenue and dinner, I walked back up to the Gardens. The movie tonight was the ‘Fabulous Mr. Fox’, voiced by George Clooney and Merle Streep. It was not too fabulous. In fact, I found the movie boring and sending the wrong message to kids. That’s the reason why it was a big flop at the box office (I could not believe I stayed for the whole thing but I wanted to see how it ended).

With a former line up of the ‘Wizard of Oz’, ‘The Goonies’, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘E.T’., they could have picked another classic live-action film like ‘The Parent Trap’ or ‘Freaky Friday’. They even cut out the free popcorn that they have every year. I could tell someone new was running it.

The best was when they showed “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Still the gardens were in bloom, and it was a beautiful warm, non-muggy night (79 degrees) to sit on the lawn and enjoy the film. The place is testament to families as it is like a step back into the 70’s with kids running around in their bare feet, parents talking to their neighbors and people from the same buildings socializing with one another.

The beautiful trellis in the gardens

It was nice to walk around the Crawford Rose Garden and some of the roses were coming back in bloom and the Japanese Garden was in full form. I had not been there since the Cherry Blossom Festival in April. I had missed a few of the events because of work but still the Gardens are going through a renovation and the new Water Garden is being expanded. If you live anywhere in the surrounding area, this is one membership you want to have in your collection of museums and parks.

Brooklyn Botanical Garden

It is one of those membership perks that I really enjoy and to come in all the way from New Jersey after work says something. It’s a great neighborhood to explore that is now constantly changing. It’s just nice to be outside under the stars watching a film on a warm summer night.

Members Movie Night in 2022:

This was the first time we had a ‘Members Movie Night” since the pandemic started. They had to cancel the one in 2019 because of rain twice and not running it and in the summers of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID. It had been a real bummer but then I got the email that they were running it again in 2022.

The Cherry Blossom Lawn during the summer months

I got to the gardens in the latter afternoon after work and I wanted to order dinner to take in the gardens since we could picnic on the lawns before the film. I was starved so I went to Banh Mi Place at 824b Washington Avenue.

Inside Banh Mi Place at 824b Washington Avenue in Brooklyn

https://banhmiplacebklyn.com/

I love the Banh Mi sandwiches here and I ordered the Pork Chop Banh Mi ($8.95). The sandwich was excellent. The marinated pork had so much flavor to it and the vegetables were so crisp and fresh that I love the quality of their sandwiches. I took my sandwich and my blanket and made my way to one of the back lawns of the gardens where other members were eating with their family and friends. It was a low 80-degree night and people were enjoying the sunshine and the cool breezes.

The Banh Mi Sandwich is excellent

Their sandwiches are excellent

After dinner, I walked more around the fountains and pools by the restaurant and the indoor exhibitions of the gardens and looked at the lotuses that were in bloom in the pools. There was a lot of plants that were in bloom this late in the summer and the whole garden had such a colorful appearance. In these post COVID times, it was nice to just walk around the park and enjoy the environment. After dinner and my walk around the gardens, I made my way to the Cherry Blossom lawn where the movie was being shown.

The Cranford Rose Garden

The movie this year was “Encanto”, which was an interesting live action movie, but it was hard to hear the film and it was more of a children’s film than one for adults. I ended up leaving early and as I left, I saw about fifty other people leaving the garden early as well. I guess like myself people did not want to be caught up in the crowd.

Member’s Movie Night in 2024:

I had just been to the Dutchess County Fair the night before with my friend, Maricel and had to travel home after breakfast. Thank God that we went on a Tuesday night as it was all locals at the fair and it was not that crowded. I got home in time to go through my mail and emails and then turn around and run to Brooklyn. This whole week was about running around. With school starting in two weeks, I have a lot to accomplish.

I got into Brooklyn by 3:00pm and started my day at the Brooklyn Museum. Since the exhibition that I had wanted to see had just closed, I walked around the Egyptian Galleries and admired the art. After about an hour of touring around, I wanted to tour the gardens before it got too dark to take pictures. Talk about a spectacular evening with lots of sunlight.

I got a sandwich at 840 United Deli #1 at 840 Washington Street. I had stopped there once before for lunch and remembered their sandwiches being really good. I got their All American Hero which was Hot Turkey, Pastrami and Swiss Cheese tucked into a chewy fresh bun. Talk about the perfect choice on a cool night.

840 United Deli #1 at 840 Washington Avenue

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d27668782-Reviews-840_United_Deli_Corp-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://mywalkinmanhattan.com/tag/840-united-deli-corp

The All-American hero for dinner that evening was made with Hot Turkey and Pastrami with Swiss Cheese, Mustard and Mayo. What a great sandwich!

The hurricane had just passed by us a few night’s earlier and had cooled the weather down. Even the night at the fair had gone down into the 70’s. I had to wear a sweatshirt the night of the movie.

Entering the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Movie Night

Entering the Gardens from the Main Entrance on Movie Night

The gardens were just spectacular the night of the movie. There was no one distinct flower blooming but many were and there were colorful blooms all over the gardens. I wondered through the gardens before it got dark (the movie would not start until 7:45pm at twilight) so I got a chance to walk through the entire set of gardens before the movie. I was able to snap pictures and just enjoy the late summer meeting. I joined the other members on the Cherry Tree Esplanade for picnicking. God that sandwich was good!

The Water Garden on Movie Night

The Water Garden on Movie Night

The Water Garden on Movie Night

The Water Garden on Movie Night

The Water Garden on Movie Night

The Water Garden on Movie Night

The Rock Garden on Movie Night

The Rock Garden on Movie Night

The Lotus Pools on Movie Night

The Lotus Pools on Movie Night

The Lotus Pools Gardens on Movie Night

The Lotus Garden Pools on Movie Night

It was quite a crowd that August evening. I don’t get it as I am always the one the little kids seem to run around as they chase each other all over the lawn.

People were starting to picnic at 6:00pm in the Cherry Blossom Esplanade

The trailer for “A Bugs Life” from 1998

Everyone picnicking and getting ready for the film to start

The crowds grew as everyone got ready for the film to start

All the members relaxing and watching “A Bugs Life” on the big screen. I ended up really enjoying the film

It got easier to watch the film as it got darker

It got really dark by the end of the film

It was just nice to be in the gardens again and to tour the different sections in bloom. This is what it was all about. Just relaxing! The Movie Night is a favorite evening event of the membership and the lawns are completely filled that evening as well as the gardens are busy all day.

Member’s Movie Night in 2026:

This year’s film was another cartoon feature (I miss the live films) “Ratatouille” from 2007.

The trailer from 2007

Before I sat down for my picnic dinner, I walked around the Gardens to see what they looked like in the middle of the Summer.

The Japanese Garden on the Summer of 2026

The gardens were in full Summer mode with greenery all over and the late Summer flowers peaking out all over the place.

The Japanese Gardens in the Summer

The Shakespeare Garden

The flowering potted plants in the Shakespeare Gardens

The Magnolia Court in the Summer

The Watershed Lawn in the Summer

The Cherry Blossom Fountain in the Summer

The Fountain is so beautiful when in bloom

Getting ready do the movie

I ordered my ‘picnic meal’ from 840 Deli again this year. This time I wanted a sandwich that was both hot and cool so I ordered the ‘Honey Moon’, which was Honey Roasted Turkey with Mozzarella Cheese and Honey Mustard, heated and then topped with lettuce, tomato and onion on a hero roll. It was delicious. The perfect sandwich for the perfect evening.

With a Pepsi, it was the perfect picnic dinner

The sandwich was the perfect combination of textures and flavors

It was a wonderful sandwich

After dinner, I just relaxed and enjoyed the film. The temperature was around 80 degrees.

The beautiful sun lights before the film

The start of the film

Watching the film as it got darker

It was another beautiful night for Members Night and the crowd had a lot of fun chatting, picnicking and relaxing on their blankets as we all enjoyed ‘Ratatouille’. After the movie was over, some people lingered around the lawn waiting for the crowds to disperse. The rest of us made our ways to the subway and back to Manhattan we went. I got home by 10:30pm.

Until next year.

Places to Visit:

Brooklyn Botanical Garden

990 Washington Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11225

Open: Sunday & Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Friday 8:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60827-d103900-Reviews-Brooklyn_Botanic_Garden-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/2785

Brooklyn Museum

200 Eastern Parkway

Brooklyn, NY 11238

(718) 638-5000

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-6:00pm/Thursday 11:00-10:00pm

My Review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60827-d110213-Reviews-Brooklyn_Museum-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Eat:

Family Pizza

720 Flatbush Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11225

(718) 462-0639

https://www.restaurantji.com/ny/brooklyn/family-pizza-/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d4966907-Reviews-Family_Pizza-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Banh Mi Place

824B Washington Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11238

(718) 552-2660

https://banhmiplacebklyn.com/

Open: Sunday 11:30am-9:00pm/Monday-Thursday 11:30am-9:30pm/Friday & Saturday 11:30am-10:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d8530850-Reviews-Banh_Mi_Place-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/2187

840 United Deli #1

840 Washington Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11238

(718) 789-9250

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d27668782-Reviews-840_United_Deli_Corp-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://mywalkinmanhattan.com/tag/840-united-deli-corp

Arriving in the gardens in the late summer:

The front of the gardens in bloom at the main entrance

Day Eighty-Five: Back to Coney Island for the Annual Sandcastle Building Contest and Walking Surf Avenue August 19th, 2017 (Again on August 17th, 2024 and August 15th, 2026)

August 21, 2017Chinese Restaurants for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Brooklyn, Exploring Brooklyn Block by Block, Exploring Coney Island, Brooklyn, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring New York City Parks, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the New York City Subway System, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Hot Dog, Hamburger & Fries for the budget minded., Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Brooklyn, Walking around Manhattan, Walking Coney Island, Walking Downtown Brooklyn, Walking in BrooklynAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver, Brooklyn, Coney Island, Coney Island Beach, Coney Island Sandcastle Building Contest, Coney Island Sandcastle Contest, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Brooklyn, Exploring Brooklyn Block by Block, Exploring Coney Island, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Surf Avenue in Coney Island, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, Louise Ciminieri Totonno's, MywalkinManhattan.com, Newark Museum, Sandcastle Building Contest in Coney Island, Totonna's Pizza, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walking Brooklyn, Walking in Brooklyn, Walking in Coney Island, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

The Coney Island Sand Castle Building contest is a lot of fun to see and experience. You see so many people’s creativity from professional artists to families just having a good time to a group of kids really showing their artistic touch. It seems though that it always falls on a weekend where so much is being planned at other cultural sites that I am a member of that it takes a lot of juggling and running around to get to that day. Being the end of the Summer and getting close to September, so many places are trying to cram in Members events before the kids head back to school.

In 2017, before I left for Brooklyn, I had a busy day running around Newark and then in Brooklyn visiting both the Newark Museum and Coney Island. I love how everything gets planned on the same day.

Everyone was preparing for the Solar Eclipse on Monday, so both the Newark Museum and the American Museum of Natural History are getting ready for the viewings. So I stopped at the Newark Museum first today to see what they were planning knowing that New York was going to be very busy.

The Newark Museum is running a series of members mornings with an early morning tour of the museum and a light breakfast that seems to be catching on with the membership. We had a early morning tour of the kinetic sculpture of Uram Choe, a Korean artist who specializes in metal working sculptures that move on motion.

His one piece upstairs in the Asian galleries opens up like the sun would in the morning and his downstairs on the second floor piece is a serpent eating itself, which is based on an old legend.

Uram Choe’s work at the Newark Museum

Artist Uram Choe

http://www.uram.net/eng_new/intro_en.html

Mr. Choe’s is a South Korean born artist from an architect background. He was educated at the Chungang University in Seoul and graduated with both a B.F.A and M.F.A. from the college. Choe’s works push the genre of moving kinetic art toward its newer-generation iterations, such as robotic art (Wiki).^] Each one of his pieces moves on a series of motors based on motion and is placed with such detail and the way it moves is so intricate.

The Newark Museum (See TripAdvisor review) is going though a major renovation where they will be opening the original entrance to the museum in the Fall after twenty years and hopefully a new beginning for a museum with a major identity crisis.

The Newark Museum at 49 Washington Street

https://www.newarkmuseumart.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46671-d217958-Reviews-The_Newark_Museum_of_Art-Newark_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

Newark Museum 49 Washington Place Newark, NJ 07102

The museum has such amazing works to see in a beautiful setting but the problem is that Newark still has a negative image to most suburbanites. No one I know wants to go there and that is a real problem for the city. The museum in a great area of the downtown that is being rebuilt and refigured with all sorts of new housing and lofts but it will take time to shake the riots of the 60’s from people’s minds.

They just opened the new American Indian exhibition and refigured the American Art wing to reflect the development of the United States from Native American time to the present. Their Asian and African galleries are very detailed but the biggest problem they have is the imagine of an ‘African’ museum which they can’t seem to shake. It is such a gem and try not to miss going there.

We had a long talk in the gallery about the artist and about the development of Korean Art from Ancient times until today and then the museum had a beautiful Continental breakfast on the top floor of the Ballentine House. This was Mrs. Ballentine’s daughter’s section of the house that was built in the late 1890’s when they moved in after her husband’s death. The room, now used as the trustee’s room, is a look back on the Gilded Age and the invention of electricity in modern homes. It really showed me the treasure trove of artifacts that exist in this small museum.

Ballentine House at 43 Washington Street

https://www.newarkmuseumart.org/ballantine-house-newark-museum-art

After the tour, there was a quick tour of the museum and then a train ride to Manhattan and then a long subway ride on a beautiful clear sunny day to Coney Island. The whole thing took about two hours and I got there by three o’clock.

The contest was gloomy at both times I visited but everyone was eager

The Annual Sandcastle Building Contest in both 2017 and in 2024, I thought would be much bigger than it was. Only about twenty people were competing in it in 2017 and in 2024 about the same amount. With all the artists living in Brooklyn and in the Metropolitan area, I thought this would be a bigger deal than it was but still the works coming from it were spectacular. Several mounds of sand in one section of the beach outside of Luna Park were used but still the imagination of the work was spellbound.

The piles were set with numbers along the beach

Artists and families starting to work around 12:30pm

Getting ready to start

By 1:00pm, everyone was getting to work for the 4:00pm deadline

Most of the works that I saw were some forms of castle which seemed to be the object that everyone based their idea on but some people were a little more creative. There were bears, mermaids and in 2017, one artist even dug out a complete hole and had the imagine of a woman lying in the sea.

In 2024, the creativity was the same with themes of brownstone neighborhoods to mermaid queens to just a simple smile in the sand. There were professionals whose sand creativity was part of their artistic employment to families just having fun and spending time together.

This simple face just appeared on one of the piles at the end of the contest

The creation of the Shark sculpture

The Shark Sculpture in process

The Shark almost finished

The finished Shark Sculpture

Another artist created this Shark display

The Coney Island Alliance hired an artist to create this masterpiece. It just shows the creativity of some artists.

The Coney Island Alliance sculpture in form in the beginning

He kept carving and sculpting

The piece took form

Almost finished

The finished sculpture for the Coney Island Alliance was just beautiful

The final work that represented the Coney Island Alliance. This was the ultimate piece done by a professional artist. I loved the details on this. Some of the professional artists did works to welcome everyone to the contest and their detail work was interesting as you see in the picture above. This was not done by a group of ten year old’s.

Still there were all sorts of works of art created by people of all ages and they showed their stuff by creating their interpretations of their views of New York City and mythical animals that roam the woods, beaches and streets of the big City. Some were fun, some were whimsical and some just stood out in their creativity.

The ladies putting the final touches on the Rat with Pizza sculpture

My favorite sculpture of the contest the rat with a slice of pizza

The start of Beware of Dog sculpture done by this mother and son team

The finished Beware of Dog sculpture

The final touches of Beware of Dog. The details were very clever

These artists created their own affordable brownstone neighborhood in Brooklyn

Then there was the Tales of Two Coasts, New York and Los Angeles, which had real estate details of their own.

I loved this look of Los Angeles, CA

This was the New York City side of the sculpture

Home ownership continued with this kitchen sculpture

Some of the mythical creatures included mermaids, animals and creatures large and small.

This family was sculpting the most clever cat

The finished Cat Inquiry sculpture

Another family was finishing this Hammerhead Shark towards the end of the contest

This Sea Maiden appeared in the sand

Rebirth and Birth Sculpture

This penguin found a home in the sand

This Heart with a Sunflower was in its final stages when I saw it last

The Magical Train was one of the first sculptures done

A Castle with a Moat was created

The mighty Elephant was being worked on towards the end of the contest

The iconic New York Hot Dog is happily served

The Shellebrity Sightings sculpture

The Phoenix sculpture on the beach

One of the most detailed sculptures I saw the creation of the Mermaid Queen.

The creation of the Mermaid Queen

The Mermaid Queen takes shape

The finished Queen Mermaid with her Crown

The finished Mermaid Queen

There was also the creation of the Sand Witches with their big smiles.

Creating the Sand Witches

Creating the main character

The Sand Witches sculpture

The creation of Do Not Feed the Bears

The finished Do Not Feed the Bears sculpture

Another Mermaid appears

Here and there during the contest and for the rest of the day, the sun peaked out now and then giving us some sun but the rest of the day remained cloudy. Still that did not dampen the spirits of our artists and by 4:00pm the winners were announced. The Winners were sculptures numbers 63, 07 and 39 with the People’s Choice being 01 (I am not too sure I have everything numbered) but the ones above are my favorites and worthy of all the picture taking.

In 2017, I walked along the beach to relax my feet and as I walked, I could not believe how empty the beaches were for a Saturday afternoon in August. By the water it was full but towards the back by the boardwalk it was empty. In 2024, the incoming hurricane weather kept people away as the beaches were closed for swimming. The surf was really rough that morning and afternoon and the weather was gloomy. Even when I visited on the 4th of July, the beaches were not as crowded as I would have thought. Not the Coney Island of yesteryear when every spot was full. I guess its just not that place anymore.

Taking a walk along the gloomy and almost empty Midway by Luna Park

After a long walk along the beach, I dried off and walked the boardwalk to the end to Seagate, a private community at the end of the boardwalk. Along the way, I passed by the Coney Island Houses, one of the more dangerous housing complexes in Brooklyn. I don’t know whose brilliant idea it was to build low-income housing along the shore front but that made no sense to me.

It looked like the complex was having a barbecue, that is until two guys went after each other in the basketball court area as the DJ was announcing a kids dance. She was beside herself to tell them to calm down. Then you had two groups of people trying to calm the situation down. It was not a pleasant scene.

I got to the end of the boardwalk and decided I wanted to see all of Surf Avenue to see the real changes on the island since the closing of the amusement area. I agree with an article I read years ago; it still is like a war zone.

They built all this public housing outside Seagate and as you walk along Surf Avenue until you get to about where the rehab center is, it just looks like Beirut. The whole area is full of rundown looking public housing and the street itself is a shell of the once glorious resort if it ever was that. If there are ever going to get this island back into shape, the city seriously needs to rethink this part of the island.

I walked the entire length of Surf Avenue down to Brighton Beach and really looked at the stretch of the island facing the shore. By Brighton Beach, the area got so much nicer and more built up. Even in some of the pockets before the amusement area, they are building new condos along the boardwalk in between the projects. Even still, even when you reach Nathan’s, there is just too much wasted opportunity along the shore front.

Walking on the Coney Island Boardwalk in 2017

I turned around and walked up Stillwell Avenue by the subway spot and there they are starting to knock down the block and replacing it with low rise apartment buildings. This is where all the hipster people must be living. It looks like more of this area is about to come down.

In 2024, I got to the beach at 12:30pm and walked around the shore until about 2:00pm watching everyone build their creations. Then I walked around Deno’s Wonderwheel Park, watching the patrons on the Wonderwheel and going into Spookarama, their haunted house ride.

Spookarama in Deno’s Wonderwheel Park

The haunted display by the ride

The haunted display in the park

In 2017 for dinner, I went to Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitano at 1524 Neptune Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets (See TripAdvisor review). This place is harder to get into than any trendy restaurant in Manhattan. They only make so much dough and as a matter of fact the smaller pizzas sold out before I got there and it was 4:30pm when I ate my lunch/dinner. The place was busy the entire time I got there. The only bad thing about the restaurant is the seating. They need to reconfigure their tables to accommodate more people. You can’t seat a single person like myself at a six top table.

Totonna’s Pizza at 1524 Neptune Avenue

https://www.totonnosconeyisland.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d4427073-Reviews-Totonno_s-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

The menu is so simple. Either you get a small or large pizza with a choice of ten toppings for $2.50 extra. The drinks were pricey with a bottle of Coke being $2.50. The pizza was $20.50 for the large or $18.50 for the small. The place is cash only.

The pizza was wonderful and with the size and the quality of ingredients, well worth the money. You get a large pizza that is a large pizza with fresh tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella, which gives it a different flavor from the shredded processed cheese most places use giving it a creamy flavor. The whole thing was topped with fresh basil and I added sausage to it. Cooking it in a coal brick stove gave it a nice smoky flavor. Needless to say, the owner could not believe I ate almost the entire pie at one sitting.

Totonna’s Cheese Pizza

I met Louise Ciminieri, the current owner and the granddaughter of the original owner. She told me how the business passed down from her grandfather to her uncle and then to her. Her uncle had a habit of only making so much dough and after it was gone, the restaurant closed for the day. A little strange for a business to make money.

Owner Louise Ciminieri of Totonno’s Pizza

She could not have been nicer or more welcoming to me and seemed to get a kick at the fact that I made such a fuss in meeting her. I told her of all the reviews online and the fact that my own mom had eaten here probably when her uncle first owned the business. She has not changed the place much over the years and she explained how the neighborhood has changed so much since they opened. What was once an Italian neighborhood is now all car repair places.

After dinner in 2017, I took once last walk around Surf Avenue and then headed back to Manhattan where I ended up spending the rest of the evening at an outdoor concert in Bryant Park. It was nice to just relax and listen to the music.

In 2024, I passed the pizzeria and it still has not opened for in house dining but people were buying pizzas to go. I thought I saw the owner sitting at the only booth left inside but I was not sure. I have to say that without in house dining, there is no reason to go. There is no place to eat around the restaurant (it is not the best part of Coney Island) and I don’t want to drag a pizza three blocks back to the beach to eat it on a bench. The pizzeria is only open on the weekends as well, so I searched around Mermaid Avenue for someplace else to dine.

Here I found Pizza on the Run at 1627 Mermaid Avenue near the side entrance to the subway station. I had passed the place many times but the outside always looked a little shoddy and I avoided it. Big Mistake! The pizza is amazing!

Pizza on the Run at 1627 Mermaid Avenue

https://www.doordash.com/store/pizza-on-the-run-brooklyn-25003736/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d4942117-Reviews-On_the_Run_Pizza-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

I have to admit that the pizza was a little pricey at $3.50 a slice but the slice was oversized and their sauce on the pizza was delicious. It was so well spiced and gave it so much flavor that I enjoyed every bite.

The Cheese slice was amazing and I plan on going back in the future and trying more items here.

After lunch was over, I gave myself some time before the contest was officially over and walked around this section of Coney Island. Little by little it is getting better. As the luxury rentals along Surf Avenue are getting ready to open for residents, I can see that they are trying to fix up Mermaid Avenue behind it. A lot of the businesses that had been there a few months ago are now closed and the side walks from the subway station down three blocks are being fixed. Along the walls was a bright mural welcoming people to Coney Island from the subway side.

The Welcome to Coney Island mural by Mermaid Avenue

Taken from the other angle

The mural was created by artist Danielle Mastrion

Artist Danielle Mastrion

http://www.daniellemastrion.com/about.html

Danielle Mastrion is a Brooklyn-born, New York City based painter and muralist who specializes in large scale, brightly colored murals (Artist bio).

Coney Island Surf Avenue businesses next to Nathan’s

On the way back to the beach, four other murals stood out as well. These are located on the walk down the sidewalk to Nathan’s on Surf Avenue.

Mural One

Mural Two

Mural Three

Mural Four

After the contest winners were announced in 2024 at 4:00pm, I left to head back to Manhattan. It was such a gloomy day. There was not much else going on that afternoon and people were leaving the beaches. As I took a look back at the shore, the waves were really coming in meaning the storm was on its way up the coast (we did get hit in Sunday).

I headed back to Manhattan to see the movie “The Funhouse” at the MoMA. They were having a retrospect on director Toby Hooper’s movies so I had already seen “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Poltergeist” .

The trailer for “The Funhouse” by director Toby Hooper

After the movie was over, trying to find a restaurant for dinner was trying in of itself. I had not realized how many restaurants in Midtown were closing at 9:00pm even on Friday night post-COVID.

I went into Murray Hill and the restaurant I had planned to go to had already closed at 8:45pm so I looked at my dine around program and found that Dim Sum Garden at 338 Lexington Avenue. I was really in the mood for Chinese food that evening and it came highly recommended.

The new Dim Sum Garden at 338 Lexington Avenue

https://www.daodimsum.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d27101318-Reviews-Dimsum_Garden-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The inside of the restaurant

I was able to order before the kitchen closed and it was a nice dinner. The food was so fresh and it looked like everything was made to order and homemade in the kitchen. The Shrimp Balls were especially good. They were made with sweet shrimp meat, nicely coated with rice flour and deep fried perfectly. It was one of the best Dim Sum meals I have had in a awhile.

My dinner of Soup Dumpling, Shrimp Balls and Roast Duck Rolls

The Shrimp Balls

The Soup Dumplings

The Roast Duck Rolls

It was a fun and very productive day and a great way to end the trip to Coney Island. The weather may have been a bit gloomy both times I visited Coney Island for the contest but it did not damper the spirit of the event. It looked like everyone had fun.

The Sandcastle Contest in 2026:

It was another afternoon of double booking when I attended the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association picnic in the morning and finished up there at 1:00pm.

My blog on the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Barbecue in 2026:

My Life as a Fireman: The Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Barbecue and Entertainment August 15th, 2026

Our Group picture in August 2026

Our lunch time preparation

I then raced into the City and hopped the subway to Brooklyn to see the contest results. Somehow I went from the Barbecue to the beaches of Coney Island in two and a half hours. Coney Island was packed that afternoon both on the beach and the boardwalk.

I arrived at the beach at 3:45pm just as the contest was completing

The contestants completing their creations

The professional artists who were commissioned to create their works for the contest were closer to the Boardwalk. They got really creative this year.

The work for the Coney Island Alliance

The other artist’s work for the Coney Island Alliance

Then I walked around the beach to see the works of the artists who participated in the contest from professional artists to families who partnered up and looked like they were having a good time.

Some of the works on the beach

I roamed around the sand piles and these were the works that I saw that afternoon:

I did not know if this was friendly poo or ice cream

An octopus

Homer Simpson on the beach

The Swan family

I was not exactly sure what this was

A shark eating a hot dog

The Cool Power plane to Puerto Rico

The Neck St Level sculpture

The castle

When I was finished watching the judging of the contest, I walked on the beach to relax my feet. It had been a long day. The beach was busier today than it was on the 4th of July but then the weather was cooler the day of the Sandcastle building contest.

Watching a sailboat go by the shore

The Coney Island Sandcastle Building Contest is held each August.

Please check out my recent blog on the Coney Island Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4th, 2024:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/50037

Please check out my blog on riding the new Q train to Coney Island from its start at East 96th Street in Manhattan:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/5966

Places to Visit:

Newark Museum/Ballentine House

49 Washington Avenue

Newark, NJ 07102

(973) 596-6550

https://www.newarkmuseum.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46671-d217958-Reviews-Newark_Museum-Newark_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/1818

Coney Island Beach

Surf Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11224

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60827-d106173-Reviews-Coney_Island-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Places to Eat:

Totonno’s Pizza

1524 Neptune Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11224

(718) 372-8606

https://www.totonnosconeyisland.com/

Open: Friday-Sunday 12:30pm-7:30pm/Closed Monday-Thursday

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d459062-Reviews-Totonno_Pizzeria_Napolitano-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Pizza on the Run

1627 Mermaid Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11224

(718) 746-6677

https://places.singleplatform.com/on-the-run-pizza/menu

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d4942117-Reviews-On_the_Run_Pizza-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Dim Sum Garden

338 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10018

(646) 559-2388

https://www.daodimsum.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-10:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d27101318-Reviews-Dimsum_Garden-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Day Eighty-Four: The Feast of Our Lady of Carmel and the dancing of the Giglio with the Giglio Society of East Harlem and walking Randall’s-Ward Island August 13th, 2017 (Again on August 13th, 2023 and August 10th, 2025)

I have been waiting to come to the Feast of Our Lady of Carmel in East Harlem to see the dancing of the Giglio for months since I had finished the walk in the neighborhood. I was not sure of what to expect since there really are not many Italians still living in the neighborhood. The church I am sure still attracts people from all over the city and I could see that my the members of the lift team.

It was a glorious day for the feast. Warm, sunny and no humidity. You could not have asked for a better day to be outside. The Dance of the Giglio started at 1:00pm and wanting to get into the city early, I took the 10:00am bus into the city. Who knew that I would get uptown two hours early.

I started my day with a Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich at Blue Sky (now Harlem Taste) Deli at the corner of 110th and First Avenue at 2135 First Avenue, home to the famous ‘Chopped Cheese Sandwich’ (see review on TripAdvisor & DiningonaShoeStringinNYC.wordpress.com). I swear, I don’t know what it is about this little hole in the wall deli but the food here is so good!

The Bacon, Egg and Cheese at Chopped Cheese Delicious is delicious

The sandwich was one of the best breakfast sandwiches I had eaten outside my absolute favorite one, the Sausage McMuffin with Cheese at McDonald’s. The sandwich was loaded with freshly cooked eggs, turkey bacon and American cheese. It was put on a hoagie roll and then pressed. For $4.00, it was a steal.

Blue Sky-Harlem Taste Deli at 2135 First Avenue

Chopped Cheese Delicious-Blue Sky Deli (Haiji’s)-2135 1st Avenue &110th Street NYC, NY 10029

I took my sandwich and sat in Jefferson Park as I have had many times with my lunch and watched the world go by. A lot has changed since March and April. The park was in full swing and all over the place people were playing soccer, baseball, handball or swimming in their giant pool. It was a perfect day to be outside and relax.

Jefferson Park in East Harlem

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/thomas-jefferson-park

All over the park, there were all sorts of birthday parties and family barbecues going on. Families really use this park and it was nice to see multi generations eating together. As I have said before, it is nice to see people socializing without a cell phone glued to their hands. There were lots of balloons and decorations and the boom of Spanish music to entertain them. Its fun to sit and watch people have a good time.

The Feast of My Lady of Carmel started around 1:00pm but the dance started late and everyone finally started to gather around the Giglio around 2:15pm. I give these men and women a lot of credit. The Giglio looked really heavy considering it was the structure itself plus about five musicians and the lead singer. One of the trumpet players was a little ‘zaftig’ to say the least. I will not be participating in this anytime soon.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at 448 East 116th Street

https://www.mountcarmelshrine.com

The program started off with a prayer the patron saint, St. Anthony:

(from the prayer sheet):

Sant’Antonio of Padua: “The Wonder Worker”

St. Anthony is know as “The Wonder Worker” for the many miracles and conversions attributed to him. Although quiet and unassuming he was regarded as a sensational preacher in his time. A Franciscan priest and professor of theology, he gave up teaching to be assigned to preach all over Italy, attracting huge crowds wherever he went.

St. Anthony is often depicted as holding the infant Jesus as it is said that the Christ child appeared to him in visions.

He is known as being of particular help in retrieving lost articles because of a story in which a book of psalms that had been stolen was returned due to his intercession.

He died June 13th at the age of 36. He was canonized the following year and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946.

The Giglio Society of East Harlem’s roots can be traced to a town several miles from Nola called Brusciana. The annual dancing of the Giglio began in 1800’s inspired by Francisco Vivolo’s vow to St. Anthony, the patron Saint of Brusciana. Francisco vowed to dance the Giglio annually if St. Anthony would help his gravely ill son recover from a very serious illness. The prayers were answered and the dancing of the Giglio in honor of St. Anthony began in Brusciana and still continues today.

The carnival on Pleasant Avenue

Immigrants from Brusciana continue the feast and uphold this grand tradition brought to this country by our forefathers. Our objective is to pass onto our children, as was done with us, the tradition of o’Giglio, truly one of the greatest wonders of the world!”

The carnival and the Giglio on Pleasant Avenue

After the prayer was over, the crowd went wild and the ceremony began. These handlers really worked hard as they broke several boards lifting this structure. It was amazing as some of them were smoking cigars or drinking a beer while they were doing it. The guys all looked like military, construction workers, police and firemen. Some did their job with ease, others looked like it was going to be a long day.

Getting to the Giglio

After the prayer, their master of ceremony, Jimmy Alleva , sang a few songs in Italian and I swear that his guy had the most beautiful singing voice. I read his bio online and it seems that he sings in feasts all over the tri-state area. Even though the guy is self-taught, you would swear he is a classically trained opera singer.

Singer Jimmy Alleva (in the blue shirt) leading the songs at the ceremony.

This video of him singing is from the feast in 2023:

IMG_7479 (2)Download

After he sang two songs in Italian, he ‘brought the house down’ with the crowd and there was a massive applause. Talk about bringing you closer to God when someone can touch a crowd like this. People were giving him ovations. Then came the lifts.

The Dance of the Giglio 2017

Don’t miss this video of the feast:

The ceremony from 2017 was the same as it was in 2023.

Like I said, some of these guys were experts and did it with ease and others were really struggling. They lifted that Giglio all over the neighborhood, up and down the street then to the church and back and then the Ladies of the Giglio did there lift and credit to all the women that lifted it along with the men because these ladies held their own. The Ladies of the Giglio did there lift with some of the men and these women were strong. They did a great job as well.

The start of the ceremony in 2023

The lifts of the Giglio went on for quite awhile being dedicated to various families who must have made donations to the church. After that it was festival time. One of the announcers said that the feast just keeps getting bigger every year and you could tell by the crowd that more and more people are venturing back into this neighborhood for the afternoon. The place was packed.

Getting ready for the lift in 2023

The Lift

The video on the lift:

IMG_7485 Download

The Lift

The best part was the fresh zeppole and funnel cakes that were cooked right in front of me. There were not that many food vendors on the block so they had control of the whole crowd. For $5.00 for funnel cake was one of the best I have had. They came right out of the fryer and loaded with powdered sugar. I devoured those fast.

Zeppole served at the feast

I walked around the rest of the feast, looking at the small rides and the games of chance. This feast is only two blocks long but a lot of people are packed into this small space. The band kept playing for the rest of the afternoon and groups of families sat under tents on the sidewalks catching up with old friends and members of the church.

The games at the carnival

It is going to be interesting the fate of this festival in an ever gentrifying neighborhood that has switched from Italian to Spanish to Hipster. The neighborhood is changing fast even in the time I have walked it. More and more is under scaffolding.

I stayed for about two hours and then decided to walk around the neighborhood. My walk took me past the Jefferson playground, down FDR Drive to the dreaded East River Houses (they still have not finished that playground facing the drive) and I walked across the pedestrian bridge to Randalls-Ward Island and walked across the explore the island. I walked the entire length of the island and it took about two hours.

Randalls-Ward Island is a island in the East River bend off Hell Gate and is connected to Manhattan by two pedestrian bridges one on 105th Street and the other on 125th Street plus the bridges leading you to the South Bronx. The island is part of New York County which is where Manhattan is located but it is truly one of those hidden ‘gems’ of the city that most people don’t know exist. I never knew it was there. When I crossed over the pedestrian bridge, I never knew of islands and their dark past. You would never know it from the new playgrounds and ball fields.

From what I had read online, the islands were once separated by a stream called ‘Little Hellgate’ that was filled in years ago to create one island. The reconfiguring of land that you see all over Manhattan, like in Marble Hill and in Battery City. The islands were originally used for farming by the American Indians, Dutch and English but it was during the Civil War, they started being used for a dumping ground.

Ward-Randall Island

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/randalls-island/highlights/6515

At various times up until World War II, the islands housed a potter’s field, homeless shelters, a ‘Insane Asylum’, small pox ward and a dumping ground for orphans. They were considered ‘islands for the undesirables’ and most of the city’s problems were shipped to the island, similar to the role that Riker’s Island plays today.

The Ward on Ward-Randall’s Island:

You would never know it now with all the new playgrounds, picnic sites, ball and soccer fields, concession stands and thank God, new bathrooms and water fountains. When I got to the island, everything was in full swing on a beautiful sunny day.

You thought the parties were in full swing in Jefferson Park, you should come to Randalls-Ward Island. All over the edges of the island were barbecues with meat sizzling on the grill, birthday parties with balloons with pink and blue all over the place and Spanish music blasting over their heads. These were not small parties but big family get-togethers. Its nice to see people having such a good time.

Even the ‘hipsters’ are discovering the island mostly hanging around that southern part of the island that faces the Upper East Side and the rapidly developing Queen’s waterfront. Theirs is the quieter section closer to the pedestrian bridge with the better vantage points over-looking the new ‘hipster’ enclaves.

Walking the island took me close to two hours as I walked through the parks and ball fields and under the bridges that crisscrossed the island. There were many natural flower gardens on the northwestern part of the island overlooking Astoria Park on the other side of the river. The Wildflower Meadow was in full bloom and was attracting all sorts of butterflies and honeybees. As you walked in there were all sorts of benches to relax and just watch the view.

The entrance to Ward-Randall’s Island

The island is still has remnants of its past. I passed the water treatment plant, a much needed addition to an ever growing city that seemed quiet that day and the FDNY Training Academy which was closed for the afternoon. You could see from the street the size of the academy and how much training these guys really get. It is isolated from the rest of the island.

On the most Northern part of the island , the police have their back offices and training facility and in between both of these are ball fields in which many leagues were playing that day. The nice part was when following the paths there were plenty of new bathrooms and places to just relax as well as snack bars where the prices were not unreasonable.

The New York Psychiatric Center still sits on the northern part of the island like a fortress. The ironic part of this is that it is surrounded by paths of flowers, marshes and lagoons that have been built around the island to clean the water. The Water’s Edge Garden sits just past the Center and offers the nicest views of the new Harlem being built.

The New York Psychiatric Center

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Psychiatric_Center

The western part of the island has the nicest walking paths by the water and many different gardens that are in full bloom. I passed the Icahn Stadium, where a small game was going on and could hear the cheers in the background. I kept wondering why such a great set of parks was not being better taken advantage of by the entire city.

I rounded the path back to the pedestrian bridge and while walking across tried to spot the ‘spotters’ that everyone talked about at the East River Houses. I saw a lot of open windows on the top of the complex but not a sole in sight. I will avoid this place in the future now.

East River Houses

Click to access East%20River.pdf

I walked back to the Q subway on East 96th Street going full circle since my day at Coney Island and took it down to Little Italy downtown. I had such a craving for Italian food that needed to be filled.

Little Italy now is just three blocks by one block and its barely that anymore. Even in between the famous restaurants that still exist, new boutiques are opening. The area is now squeezed into Mulberry Street from Canal to Broome Streets with a smidgen of restaurants up to East Houston, the original border of the neighborhood. Anything above Broome Street is not longer ‘Little Italy’ but ‘NoLiTa’ (North of Little Italy).

Little Italy Manhattan along Mulberry Street at night in 2025

https://www.nycgo.com/boroughs-neighborhoods/manhattan/little-italy

This area has been becoming trendy for about twenty years. Most of the old Italian businesses have closed by the late nineties and have become boutiques and non-Italian restaurants. If my grandfather who was raised here had a crystal ball and had owned one of these buildings, we would have been set.

There is even a change from the ‘red sauce’ restaurants of the past to more sophisticated Italian dining leaving the old restaurants to the tourists. One by one they are closing down or changing hands. It shows in the food quality.

I went to the Grotta Azzurra at 177 Mulberry Street (See reviews on TripAdvisor), where I have been eating for years and the food quality and service have gone way down. While I ordered my dinner, the table next to me the guest was fighting with his waiter on a glass of wine that he had ordered that he was not happy with and the waiter was giving him attitude. Not smart in an economy like this.

Grotta Azzurra at 177 Mulberry Street in Little Italy

https://www.facebook.com/GrottaAzzurra/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotta_Azzurra_(restaurant)

The food was mediocre at best that night. The fried Mozzarella was cooked perfectly on the outside and not cooked on the inside and I had to send it back. The second batch was better. The manicotti was good and the sauce was decent but the runner who served me the dish dumped so much Parmesan cheese on top all I could taste was the cheese. It was such a waste. The service was good but not great. All of this reflected in the amount of people eating there that night. Most of the other restaurants were much busier than here.

Little Italy at night August 2023

I walked back down Canal Street to the E subway and back to Port Authority to go home. I must have walked five miles today but got to see so much of what makes this city great. The cultural festivals of certain parts of the city have not died yet and still thrive with more attention from outlets like YouTube. It was an interesting afternoon into my own family’s past.

Another great video of that wonderful afternoon:

Video of the Dancing of the Giglio in 2017

The Giglio in 2025:

I visited the Feast of the Church of Carmel again this year after not being able to come the previous year because of classes at NYU. It was a spectacular morning and I was able to go uptown by 1:00pm. The official first lift did not start until after 2:00 pm because Mayoral Candidate Mario Cuomo would be attending the festival. That was pretty exciting since I know he really wants to be Mayor.

The festival was really busy when I got there at 1:00pm

The amusement rides were just getting started

The Giglio that afternoon had been imported in from Italy

I walked over to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel as it was letting out after the opening ceremony inside the church.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at 448 East 116th Street

https://www.olmtc.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Our_Lady_of_Mount_Carmel_(Manhattan)

Review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d8077789-Reviews-Church_of_Our_Lady_of_Mount_Carmel-New_York_City_New_York.html

I got there just as the band was exiting the church and they started the parade to the Giglio.

The video on the Opening Ceremony that morning

After the lively band opened the ceremony, I saw many of the people who had lifted the giglio in the past and I recognized many of the entertainers from past trips to the festival.

Everyone gathering for the opening of the ceremony

Singer Jimmy Alleva was the master of ceremony again and God can that man sing! What a voice!

The video on singer Jimmy Alleva singing both the US National Anthem and the Italian National Anthem

Then the ceremony with more song and cheers as the event continued as the crowd waited for the former governor to arrive. With all the traffic and horrible parking in the area, that must have been tough for security.

The opening ceremony

The video on the opening song for the ceremony right before the first lift

Just after the opening ceremony and the lifters were getting into place the former governor showed with his security team and gave a welcoming speech to the crowd in both English and Italian.

The video on the Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s opening remarks at the festival

I know it was a bit of a photo op but still I thought it was great of the former governor to make an appearance at the festival and I know that everyone was thrilled by this.

The first lift, Andrew Cuomo did participate in before he left for the day. I am sure he had other stops

To video to honor the former governor, Jimmy Avella sang ‘New York, New York’

Then it was time for the first lift. I swear this position is passed down from generation to generation as I saw the daughters of the lifters participating in the lift. It used to be all men and the ladies would have their own lift.

The video on the opening lift is the most exciting because all the fireworks are going off and the band is really lively

The guys moving the crowds around during the first lift

The video on the end of the first lift. I could see some of the guys were struggling through it depending on your position

The video on the second lift was happening as the former governor was leaving the festival

After the second lift was heading for the church and finished I searched out a place to eat. Most of the vendors were so expensive that I did not want to eat there. Come on, Zeppoles for $8.00 for six and a pizza for $18.00? I went to Patsy’s again for a slice and a Coke. I forgot how much I missed their pizza.

Watching the giglio after the dnd of the second lift

Patsy’s Pizza is one of the last hold outs from when this was an Italian enclave. Their brick oven pizza is still amazing but the cooks now look like they are all from Honduras.

Patsy’s Pizzeria at 2287 First Avenue in East Harlem

https://patsys-pizzeria.restaurants-world.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy%27s_Pizzeria

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d457168-r1023960656-Patsy_s_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Brick Oven Cheese pizza

The Cheese pizza here is excellent and the slice was only $2.50 (very pre-COVID)

After I finished my lunch, I wanted to update some of my pictures on my blogs on East Harlem. So I walked all around this section of East Harlem and walked up and down the area between Lexington and First Avenue from 116th to 110th Street.

I found myself still hungry after walking around and I stopped at Sam’s Famous Pizza at 115 East 116th Street. I forgot how good the pizza was here too. The Cheese slice was over-sized and they have the most amazing sauce. It just makes the pie.

Sam’s Famous Pizza at 115 East 116th Street

http://www.samsfamouspizza.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12295525-Reviews-Sam_s_Famous_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

The Cheese pizza at Sam’s Famous Pizza is excellent

Yum!

I could not believe how delicious the pizza is here. I had not eaten here in about five years and the food is still wonderful.

I walked around the neighborhood for about an hour and took a lot of pictures to replace things I had not been to in about five to six years. It had been a long time since I explored the neighborhood. I headed back to the feast one more time stopping for a Dominican ice along the way. Talk about refreshing.

The Dominican ices are the best

By the time I got back to the feast by 4:30pm, they had just finished the last lift and everyone looked relieved. They all looked tired. The crowds continued on into the evening as entertainment would be happening later that evening. I started to head home.

It was another fun afternoon at the festival.

Places to Visit:

East Harlem Giglio Society

The Feast takes place every August

Home

About Our Society

East Harlem is accessible by subway on the Subway 6

Ward-Randalls Island

East River Manhattan, NY

You can access it by highway or by walking the bridge at First Avenue and 105th Street

Open: See website

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/wards-island-park/history

Jefferson Park

2180 First Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(212) 639-9675

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-10:00pm

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/thomas-jefferson-park

Places to Eat:

Chopped Cheese Delicious/Blue Sky (Harlem Taste) Deli (Haiji’s)

2135 First Avenue

New York, NY 10029

(646) 682-7488

Open: 24 hours (currently)

https://www.instagram.com/hajjis110/?hl=en

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12328617-Reviews-Blue_Sky_Deli-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/74

Grotta Azzurra

177 Mulberry Street

New York, NY 10013

(212) 925-8775

http://bluegrotta.com/

Open: Sunday-Thursday 8:30am-11:00pm/Friday & Saturday 8:30am-11:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d424309-Reviews-Grotta_Azzurra_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Sam’s Famous Pizza

150 East 116 Street

New York, NY 10029

(212) 348-9437

http://www.samsfamouspizza.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 9:30am-10:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d12295525-Reviews-Sam_s_Famous_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

Patsy’s Pizzeria

2287 First Avenue

New York, NY 10035

https://patsys-pizzeria.restaurants-world.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-11:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d457168-Reviews-Patsy_s_Pizza-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

Day Seventy-Nine: Walking the Borders of Manhattan Valley (the Bloomingdale District) from West 110th Street to West 96th Street from Riverside Drive to Central Park West July 16th, 2017 (Again November 16th, 2024, and March 14th, 2025 and July 16th, 2026)

I walked a tremendous number of miles today. I had wanted to see three cultural sites before I left the Harlem area. I wanted to visit the Museum of Arts & Letters, The Studio Art Museum of Harlem and Grant’s Tomb. So, my trip on this hot Sunday started at the 157th Street One Subway station. I had wanted to start at the Museum of Arts & Letters.

The whole campus that the museum shares with the Hispanic Society was closed for renovation, so I walked from 155th Street to 122nd Street to tour the Grants Tomb National Memorial. The tomb is open only at certain times, so I wanted to get to the park early.

It has only been three months since I left this part of Harlem, and a lot has changed. Even I can’t keep up with all the changes as I was walking down Broadway. Many of the businesses that I passed have since closed. Many of the storefronts as you get closer to the SUNY campus around 140th Street to about 132nd Street have converted to small trendy restaurants and clothing stores. Many of the older businesses that had catered to the neighborhood Hispanic customer now have ‘For Rent’ signs or are being updated for a more diverse customer. I had seen this happen in the short time I was walking Inwood in upper Manhattan.

When I got to General Grant National Memorial at 122nd Street (See TripAdvisor review and on VisitingaMuseum.com), there were already a couple parties going on around the park area. On a nice day, there are always birthday parties for kids in the park around the tomb. People in the neighborhood love to spend time with their families here and in the other parts that surround the area.

General Grant National Memorial (Grant’s Tomb) at West 122nd Street

https://www.nps.gov/gegr/index.htm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d105812-Reviews-General_Grant_National_Memorial-New_York_City_New_York.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

General Grant National Memorial 122nd Street and Riverside Drive New York, NY 10027

There were not that many people touring the tomb and the building itself, so it was nice to take my time. Designed by architect John Hemenway Duncan in 1883 and the tomb was dedicated in April 1897 on the 75th Anniversary of President Grant’s birth. The President’s remains were placed here right before the dedication and his wife was buried here in 1902 (Wiki/NYC Parks).

The inside of General Grant’s National Memorial

President Ulysses S. Grant (Wiki)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant

The vaults are amazing with paintings on the ceiling of scenes of his life that were put up in recent years. The crypts of him and his wife, Julia, are on the bottom level of the tomb surrounded by the busts of generals that fought in the Civil War with him. It does not take that long to tour the tomb or the gift shop.

The Rotunda and tombs inside of Grant’s Tomb

I learned a lot about our 18th President Grant by watching a film on him. I never knew at the end that he died broke and what saved the family were his memoirs. Amazing the things that happen in people’s lives in the end.

President and Mrs. Grant’s tombs

After the tour of the tomb, I walked down to the Studio Art Museum of Harlem and toured several of the exhibitions. The museum is located at 144 West 125th Street (See review on TripAdvisor and on VisitingaMuseum.com) and is open for viewing for free on Sundays with the support of Target Stores. The museum is small and only take about an hour to two hours to see all the exhibitions which is nice. Some museums the exhibitions are endless, and it takes hours to see and absorb everything. The Studio Art Museum exhibitions are detailed but on a smaller scale.

The Studio Art Museum of Harlem

https://studiomuseum.org

I was able to see artist Rico Gatson’s exhibition on 70’s influenced art, Jamel Shabazz’s exhibition of photo’s around 125th Street, which I don’t know if you could do today without releases and the “Regard the Figure” exhibition, which is in the front of the gallery on figures that influenced the curator.

The Rico Gatson exhibits at the museum

All were very interesting and had their own unique perspective of the culture. I was able to get through all three exhibitions in less than two hours. After viewing the exhibits, I sat on their outside patio to relax for a while. It was a hot day and I just needed to cool off in the shade. There had been a nice crowd in the museum that afternoon.

Rico Gatson’s Work at The Studio Art Museum of Harlem

Artist Rico Gatson in front of his work

http://ricogatson.com/

After the Art Studio of Harlem, I walked down to the business district of 116th Street and went for some lunch. Like the rest of Harlem, things are opening and closing so fast you can’t keep up with them. Half the customers on 116th Street are White and Asian with lot of customers from Columbia University and the Upper West Side who are starting to come to this area to eat. There are many innovative restaurants opening up on the 116th Street row.

I had lunch at Harlem Pizza Company at 135 West 116th Street, a restaurant that I had passed and had read online that was very good (See review on TripAdvisor). The pizza was wonderful, and the service was very friendly and welcoming. I sat in the outdoor seating area, and it had cooled down a bit since it was later in the afternoon.

The Harlem Pizza Company at 135 West 116th Street (Closed June 2024)

Home

The restaurant is excellent, and I highly recommend it. I had a personal 12-inch pizza with sausage and soppressata that was perfectly cooked, the meats and sauce were highly spiced and was gooey and delicious. It was nice to just eat and watch the world walk by. It is a very relaxing that afternoon.

My next stage of the walk included walking Manhattan Valley, another name for the Upper Upper West Side. This area includes from West 110th Street from Riverside Drive to the West and Central Park North to the East and West 96th Street to the South. I was able to ring the neighborhood and work off breakfast and lunch at the same time.

I passed the Minerva Bernardino Greenstreet park on the way down West 110th Street. This tiny park is hard to miss as the flowers were blooming all over the place and tables were being set up around it by the restaurants. I thought it was a little cool of this.

The Minerva Bernardino Greenstreet Park at 110th Street

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/minerva-bernardino-greenstreet

The park was just starting to bloom.

The park was named after Diplomat Minerva Bernadino from the Dominican Republic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva_Bernardino

Her biography of her accomplishments was on the street sign.

The Greenstreet gardens in 2025

I started the later part of the afternoon walking from Morningside Park to Central Park West. God was the park busy. There must have been four birthday parties, two barbecues, five basketball games, a soccer game and a softball league playing in various areas of the park.

Morningside Park in Harlem

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/morningside-park

Morningside Park in the Spring

A lot has changed in this side of town in the last 25 years. It is a major change from the mid-80’s when most of this area was abandoned. I remember seeing pictures of this area in the late 80’s and all through the 90’s and it was not such a nice area. Most of the housing was run down, Riverside Park was over-grown and sensible people did not travel above 86th Street.

The Morningside Park Pond in the early Spring

I had dinner with a vendor my last year at Macy’s in 1995 on 92nd Street and the vendors and my boss at the time said to take the subway to 86th and walk up. I took it to 96th and walked down and even then, I could see what they were talking about. It was run down but didn’t seem dangerous. Two weekends later I got adventurous and walked up to Columbia University. Those were the years where fences were put on the entrances to Morningside Park.

The pond and the waterfall in Morningside Park in the Fall of 2024

A lot of the buildings were abandoned and boarded up by 100th and the further you got from Central Park the worse it got. I had even overheard two Columbia students talking about the fires in buildings across Morningside Park the evening before. You would not see any of that today. The mood in the Fall of 2024 was nothing but pleasant and the whole area has gentrified. Most of the people walking in the park the afternoon I had visited were a white, upper middle-class couples with strollers.

Morningside Park Farmers Market in 2024

https://www.morningsidepark.org/farmers-market

The wonderful items to buy and eat at the Morningside Park Farmers Market

I was not surprised on how nice it was to walk around now. This area has improved so much in the last thirty years and keeps getting nicer and more expensive. Pretty much everything until the 130’s on this side of the island is getting a facelift. The east side of the island over 100th is more juxtaposed. All along Fredrick Douglas Boulevard, Malcolm X Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard new restaurants, cafes and shops have opened catering to a diverse group of New Yorkers.

I started my walk down Central Park West, walking past the apartments on the other side of the park. Everything has changed so much up here. Almost all the apartments facing the Central Park now are luxury homes and apartment buildings sandblasted back to their original elegance. Each building has its own unique style. The best part of them is their view of the park must be amazing.

I passed some unusual historical sites and artwork along the way. At the entrance of the subway station at Broadway and 96th Street is a statue of a woman holding her child by the artist, Joy Brown.

Ms. Brown was born and raised in Japan and holds a BFA from Eckerd College in Florida and has done a lot of her personal training in the field. She is known for her work in pottery and bronze (Artist Bio)

Artist Joy Brown in front of one of her works

https://www.joybrownstudio.com

This very whimsical statue is part of a collection of statues that line Broadway and a map is provided at each site to find them. Some of the people thought it might be the Madonna and child. I guess everyone has their interpretation of it. There were a lot of families taking pictures by it when I was there.

Artist Joy Brown

https://www.facebook.com/joybrownsculpture

At the corner of 96th Street and West End Avenue is a plaque to Teresa Carreno, the famous Venezuelan pianist who lived at the Delha Robbins Apartments back at the turn of the last century. I had no clue how famous she was, but she had traveled over the world performing. She was a composer, conductor, soprano and pianist who composed over 75 original works. She also had interesting relationships that spread to four husbands.

Pianist Teresa Carreno

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Teresa-Carreno

She was quite the character at the turn of the last century. Here’s a sample of her work:

Pianist Teresa Carreno playing Chopin

When I made the turn around at 96th Street, there is no exit so be prepared to walk down to 95th Street and go under the tunnel by Riverside Park. Go under and around and take some time to walk through Riverside Park and take in the view. I had walked through this area last summer on my way up to 155th Street after some time at the American Museum of Natural History. It is nice to see the park in full bloom again.

I passed the Firemen’s Memorial at Riverside Drive at 100th Street and the Shinran Statue at 105th Street. I have never seen these before and the Firemen’s Memorial means a lot to me being a fireman. It’s nice to see the memorial being visited and flowers being left.

Artist Henry Van Buren Magonigle

https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1700547

The memorial was designed by H. Van Buren Magonigle and the statues that flank it were designed by Attillo Pirccirilli. The two were well known for their design of memorials including the U.S.S. Maine statue on Columbus Circle (NYCParks).

The statues represent “Duty” and “Sacrifice” on both sides of the memorial. The idea for the memorial came about in 1908 at the funeral of Deputy Chief Charles A. Kruger by Reverend Henry C. Potter who questioned why there were no memorials to our private public servants (NYCParks.com).

The Firemen’s Memorial in Riverside Park

The back of the Firemen’s Memorial

The detail work of the Memorial

The tablet at the Memorial

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/riverside-park/monuments/482

The Shinran Statue was dedicated to Buddhism. The interesting part of the statue is that the statue came from Hiroshima from outside a temple in the city and when the atomic blast happened as the temple burned this statue stood guard. The statue was then shipped to New York in 1955 and has stood, radiation free in New York City since then. I now sit as a monument to world peace (Atlas Obscura).

The Shinran Statue on Riverside Drive

Along Riverside Drive between 107th and 108th Street, there is a majestic set of mansions that line Riverside Park. These are going under renovation but still the detail work on these homes is very elegant and must have been something when they were built at the turn of the last century. They stand out amongst all the apartment buildings that line the park.

As I turned around at 110th Street and walked back around the same route on the other side of the street. One of the most beautiful spots along Riverside Avenue is between 96th and 97th Streets with a line of shade trees that must be over 100 years old. It is just so graceful and humbling to see these huge trees and the way they shade and lead the path down this part of the sidewalk. Its nature at its best.

Riverside Park in the 110 Street area in the Fall of 2024

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/riverside-park

I passed Central Park on the park side of Central Park West and when you reach around 100th Street, you see the rock formations that line the avenue. This is a result of the last Ice Age and I had seen similar formations uptown. Again this is when you realize that Manhattan is not flat. Nature takes over when you see the trees and plants growing through the cracks. This picturesque part of the park with trees, bushes and flowers sticking out here and there through the formations. Its wall is what separates the park from the street.

The rock formations prove that Manhattan was moved by the ice age in Fall 2024

Rock formations in the Upper Part of Central Park in the Summer of 2024

This part of Central Park reminds us that Manhattan isn’t all flat.

When reaching 110th Street at the corner of that and Central Park West, several new buildings are built around the circle of the two streets. Modern architecture dominates this part of the street and ushers in a new beginning to this once destitute section of the neighborhood as a gateway to a new beginning for the neighborhood. The lines of the Upper West Side and Harlem on this side of the island are beginning to blur.

West 110th Street is changing with new construction and gentrification of the brownstones in the lower parts of Harlem

We’ll see more as we visit more of the neighborhood on a tour of the streets and avenues. I ended the day with a trip to McDonald’s just off 96th Street and Amsterdam Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor).

McDonalds at 2549 Broadway

https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/location/ny/new-york/2549-broadway/2002.html

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d5075867-Reviews-McDonald_s-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=541&action=edit

That McDouble and fries tasted so good as they were freshly cooked for me.

The McDonald’s Strawberry Lemonade is one of the unofficial drinks of “MywalkinManhattan.com.

The best is their frozen Strawberry Lemonade which cooled me down inside and out. It is one of the best things recently added to the McDonald’s menu and a perfect drink for a hot summer day.

Read my other Blogs on the Bloomingdale neighborhood:

Day Ninety-Three: Walking the Borders of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6760

Day Ninety-Four: Walking the Avenues of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/6842

Day Ninety-Seven: Walking the Streets of the Upper Upper West Side:

https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/7100

Places to Eat:

Harlem Pizza Company (Closed June 2024)

135 West 116th Street

New York, NY 10026

(212) 222-9889