I got an email during Spring Break that Cornell Basketball was going to be playing Yale for the Ivy League Championships. We had an Alumni get together at the Lion Head Tavern at 995 Amsterdam Avenue before the game and we would be heading up for the game. You know that nothing works out the way you think it will.
By the time I got to the Alumni get together at the Lion Head Tavern which is several blocks from the gym it was almost over. It had been a long morning for me and try getting a bus to cooperate getting into Manhattan on a Saturday and then catching the subway uptown was interesting. I have to say that the tiny bar was PACKED with Alumni and current students having a good time before the game. The whole place both inside and outside the bar was spilling with Red and White. Everyone really thought we would win the Ivy League Championship. I thought so too with the current record we had for the season.
We had a nice time that afternoon before the game
When I got inside, all that was left was a salad that had seen better days and there was no dressing to it and some portobella mushroom burgers (Yuck!). I did not want to eat any mushy mushrooms. By that point at 1:30pm, everyone was heading up to the Levien Gymnasium where the game was taking place and I was starved, so I walked to Koronet Pizza on Broadway to have one their giant slices. I forgot how giant the slices are there.
I forgot how good the pizza was and how big these slices actually are. The cheese slice if cut into half could easily serve two hungry people. I downed the slice with a Coke before the game and it filled me up for the rest of the afternoon. It was so beautiful outside that the doors and windows were all open and the place was spilling with Cornell, Columbia and Princeton Alumni (Princeton had just lost to Brown in the Semi-Finals and they were all bummed).
The pizza slice is huge and takes up two plates.
After this large lunch, I walked up to the gym to get tickets. At first they were trying to sell me the seatback tickets for $60.00 but I could not afford that nor did I want to pay that for a Ivy League game. Since I was traveling alone, I did get a ticket in the bleachers for $30.00 which I still thought was too high but I came all the way to see the game so I paid for my ticket and then had to run around the perimeter of the gym to get to my seats. The commentators were blocking the easy route to the bleachers.
The place was mostly a sea of red and white with the Yale Alumni tucked into two sets of the gym. Our band and cheerleaders were on top of the bleachers yelling and screaming. At that point were behind by ten points when I arrived in the first half of the game.
The Cornell Team in the huddle during the first half of the beginning of the game.
The start of the game when I got there.
The first half was not so great. We had lots of mistakes. We kept up with Yale, a team that we had beaten the last time and lost by two points the time before. I have to say that our side of the court was rather loud. I have found at Ivy League games no matter football or basketball, Cornell Alumni and students are far more the dominate members of the stands even at away games. I have been to Penn, Columbia and Yale games were we take up all the seats and do most of the cheering.
It was not much of a game for either side in the first half as we left at half time 37-25 with Yale ahead by twelve. I knew a score like this you could catch up in the second half as I have seen Michigan State (my undergraduate Alma Mater), come back from games with higher deficits. The problem with Cornell is that we kept missing all our shots and Yale kept making the three pointers. That was the difference in the game.
The end of the first half.
The second half was a bit better in the beginning. We started to catch up from the blood bath of the first half. We started to chip away at their lead. During the break, our cheerleaders came out and got the crowd going along with the band.
Our cheerleaders led the way.
The Cornell Cheerleaders leading the way to a hopeful comeback and victory in the second half of the game.
We starting catching up in the second half and came out fighting. We were able to get the score within seven points with three and a half minutes left to the game. The crowds were exploding on the Cornell side and Yale got very quiet for about a minute and a half. It looked like the game was going to turn around.
We kept chipping away at that lead.
You got to keep fighting!
We moved within seven points of the lead but we could not sustain the game. We kept missing the three point shots and easy layouts.
The teams battling it out but we could not put the game away.
Oh well!
In the end we chipped away to nine points but we could not come back from the deficient. We ended up losing by twelve points 69-57.
I like all the other Alumni was bummed at the loss. Several I heard went back to the Tavern as the Columbia versus Princeton Girls Basketball Teams started their game. I decided to walk around the neighborhood as I had not been up here in several years to walk around. I had not released I had written my blogs here in 2017.
I needed something sweet and remembered the bakery on Amsterdam Avenue that had been there for years that everyone kept raving about, Hungarian Pastry Shop. I stopped for some dessert. I had read and seen so many videos on the shop I wanted to try it. The lines were long all day and I had to get into the line for a half hour before I could get in.
The Hungarian Pastry Shop at 1030 Amsterdam Avenue
I tried their version of the Napoleon, which was layers of Vanilla Cream, whipped cream and a caramel topping between the flaky layers and a Apple Strudel, that was loaded with fresh apples and cinnamon. I took the desserts across the street to the park and I have to tell you that they were terrific.
The pastries are amazing!
I ate them at the park across the street and just relaxed and watch the world go by. I admired the statuary in the park which I had seen when I visited the park years ago on my walk through here.
Down the long paths of plantings and around the bends of the property, I sat by the interesting statue at the center of the park. The breathtaking statue is called the “Peace Fountain”, created in 1985 which shows a unusual look at the battle between good and evil by artist Greg Wyatt, who was an artist in residence at the church.
Mr. Wyatt has graduated from Columbia College with BA in Art History and studied at National Academy of Design. He bases his work on the philosophy of the “spiritual realism’ merging realistic images and abstract forms of space, form and energy (Wiki).
The ‘Peace Fountain’ by artist Greg Wyatt
The sign from the sculpture.
I decided rather than head off to a museum downtown, I would update my blogs in this part of the City and walk around Morningside Heights, Bloomingdale and parts of the Upper West Side. It was a nice afternoon and it was a chance to catch up and see what was going on in the neighborhoods and what had changed. I have to say that the SoHA section of Harlem (from 125th to 110th from Morningside Park to Fifth Avenue) has really changed and gentrified even more than I remembered. This was the same with the Bloomingdale section of the Upper West Side (from 110th to 94th Streets from Riverside Park to Central Park).
I walked all around Morningside Park amazingly enough not looking as dangerous as everyone said it was now. There were plenty of people walking their dogs, conversing in the park and playing basketball. The flowers were just starting to bloom and the park by the pond looked really pretty.
Morningside Park in bloom
The pond area of Morningside Park
The pond with Columbia University in the background.
I walked all around the streets and avenues looking at old restaurants that had closed or moved, businesses that changed hands and how much the neighborhoods have changed in seven years.
West Place Chinese Restaurant at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue
Not wanting to head home without eating dinner, I went to West Place Chinese Restaurant at 1288 Amsterdam Avenue for dinner and this time I tried the Boneless Spareribs with Fried Rice and an Egg Roll combination platter and the meal was excellent as usual. I had not eaten here in months and the food is consistently excellent. The portion size was larger than I remember from the last time. They really piled the food into the container.
The Boneless Spareribs with Fried Rice and an Egg Roll.
The Boneless Ribs were overflowing on the platter.
These sweet and juicy bites are full of flavor and piled into this small dish. There was enough food for two people.
The Egg Rolls are amazing.
By this time it was getting dark and I wanted to head home. I took the subway at 125th Street, got the joy of watching some kid jump the turn style and then headed up to take the subway back downtown.
It may not have been a good game but it gave me a chance to revisit several neighborhoods, update blogs, eat some terrific food and enjoy a day supporting Cornell University on what should have been our championship year (Yale eventually won the Ivy League Championship by one point over Brown and will go off to the NCAA Championship).
In honor of Small Business Saturday, I am featuring wonderful reasonable restaurants in New York City.
Now the pizzeria is known as 109th Street Pizzeria
The pizza here is delicious.
*Since the pandemic, Make & Bake Pizza has changed names and owners and is now known as 109th Street Pizzeria. The restaurant has also been renovated since my last review.
I came across Make & Bake Pizzeria when I was visiting East Harlem for my walking project, “MywalkinManhattan” and I needed a snack. I had already visited Moe’s Grocery a few doors down for a ‘Chopped Cheese’ and I needed a slice of pizza.
I followed the school kids from the two schools across the street into the pizzeria and they really seemed to like the pizza here. Because the kids are from the housing projects that surround the school and this part of Second and Third Avenues, the prices at the restaurants in the area are very reasonable. Here the prices are more than reasonable, they are cheap.
A slice of cheese pizza here is $1.00, a soda and water are $1.00…
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.
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.
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
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:
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.
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.
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 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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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 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.
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
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)
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
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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 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
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).
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:
I started walking the streets of East Harlem after a long day in the Soup Kitchen. They keep me very busy there and I had to work the busy bread station. It can very harried if there are any sweets such as pastries and doughnuts to give out. I was worn out but still carried on.
I took the number six subway uptown to 110th Street and started my day with lunch at the Blue Sky Deli (Haiji’s) at 2135 First Avenue again for another chopped cheese sandwich. I am beginning to love these things. For five dollars and my budget on the project, it just makes sense. Plus, it is nice to sit in Jefferson Park and just relax and watch the kids play soccer while I am eating. I don’t know if it was the sandwich or all the walking but I had stomach cramps for the rest of the day. It was a long day of walking.
Blue Sky Deli is now known as Chopped Cheese Delicious Deli at 2135 First Avenue (this is what is looks like now
There is nothing like one of their Chopped Cheese’s and I try to visit every time I am in the area.
The Chopped Cheese with a Welsh’s Grape Soda makes the best meal
Yum!
I started the day by retracing my steps on 110th and looking over all the housing projects that line this part of First Avenue. I looked along the long line that is First Avenue and made sure to walk this part of the street as quick as possible. It does not start to get sketchy until about 105th Street but still you want to get through as fast as possible.
The sign for the East River Housing Complex
Walking eight blocks across and back is impossible to do in one day even walking fast so I broke it up into two and a half separate days.
Along most of these blocks I was retracing what I saw along the Avenues and there is a lot of new construction and renovating along the way. A lot of buildings are being sandblasted to their original beauty and along the way there are little surprises along the way to discover. I just wanted to let readers know that since I had already walked First Avenue and the side streets on both sides, when I reached First Avenue when walking the streets, I did not cross the street and stayed on the west side of the avenue.
Most of the side streets I had walked already in some form along the way of walking the Avenues and took time out revisit many of the parks and restaurants that I had traveled previously. There are still many gems in this neighborhood that you should take time to visit. In some parts of the neighborhood, I would suggest going during the day when many other people are around. Even as safe as Manhattan has gotten over the years, I still look over my shoulder all the time and watch everyone no matter what neighborhood I am in.
I made several walks through the housing projects all over the neighborhood. You can really understand the complexity of the projects by walking through them as many as times as I did. It really is a different life. Sometimes I get the impression that being piled up in one complex is not good for anyone. The yards are not properly taken care of and playgrounds that are not kept in great shape.
Yet there are signs that residents have made it their own though. I walked through the Dewitt Clinton, Franklin, Lehman and Washington Carver Housing complexes and here and there are raised beds for fruits, vegetables and flowers. Some residents have taken it upon themselves to clean up the garbage in the playgrounds and paint the equipment and benches. Some make their own repairs in the play areas and then stand guard, watching what the kids are doing. I discovered this as I walked through the Washington Houses three times to complete 108th, 107th and 106th by crisscrossing the open-air park in between the complex. People kept looking at me walking through park.
Along the way, I discovered many small community gardens tucked between buildings such as the Neighbors of Vega Baja Garden at 109th between First and Second Avenues and the Humaniano Community Garden at 108th between First and Second Avenues. These small patches of green make the block. Hidden behind fences, I can see that the neighborhood puts a lot of pride into landscaping them and planting them. Sometimes they are open to the public but I just walk by because no one is there.
Street art along a wooden fence at East 109th Street just off Second Avenue. I thought this was brilliant and very original. There is a real message in this.
Street art on the fence of East 109th Street just off Second Avenue
The sun up close
The writing on the wall
I was back at Make & Bake Pizza at 1976 Third Avenue at 108th Street (now 109 Pizza as of March 2025 for lunch again (See my review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). For a dollar this is great pizza, and they give you a nice size slice. The restaurants in this are around the three local schools offer menus with reasonable prices catering to the kids and their families so take time to explore them. Mr. Moe’s is right down the road, and I can still taste that chopped cheese sandwich.
Now the pizzeria is called 109th Pizzeria and offers the same great prices as before
Make & Bake Pizza at 1976 Third Avenue (now 109th Street Pizzeria in 2025)
I also saw some of my favorite ‘street art’ murals on these blocks. Between 109th and 107th there are several that I saw. This ‘Spiritual Art’ work has almost an Aztec/Mayan look to it and its use of color and motion are so detailed. Take time to look at these works of art.
Some are ‘tags’ while others the artist was trying to tell a story. Look to the side of the buildings and the sides of schools. You might see some on the sliding doors of businesses. There is a lot of talent here. If there was only a gallery for these kids.
Street Art at 162 East 104th Street
The doorway of the building at the entrance of 162 East 104th Street
There was some new street art along East 104th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. I had never noticed it before it might be brand new but I thought it was brilliant.
The work on East 104th Street
The painting on the opposite side of the doorway
A mosaic on the side a wall near Lexington Avenue
As you travel to the corner of Lexington and 107th, the neighborhood starts to change again once you pass the Franklin Housing Project. The buildings around this area are being fixed up and sandblasted back to their original beauty and new restaurants and shops are opening bringing a little life back to the area. By Hope Community Inc., there are interesting portraits of Latino Cultural leaders. The detailed portrait of Pedro Pietri by James de la Vega is interesting and take time to admire the work.
Pedro Pietri by Artist James de la Vega (now hidden by an outdoor restaurant)
Mr. De La Vega is an American artist of Puerto Rican decent who lives in New York City. He is known for his street and muralist art. He is a graduate of Cornell University with a BFA in Fine Arts.
My first day walking the streets, I made it to the corner of 105th and First Avenue by the beginning of nightfall and decided to stop there. I was passing the East River Houses again and there were some shady characters walking around so I decided to finish 105th and rounded 104th Street for my next stop in the neighborhood and relaxed in the Central Park Conservatory at 1233 Fifth on the corner of East 104th and Fifth Avenue for the rest of the evening. My feet were killing me at that point.
Central Park Conservatory gates at 1233 Fifth Avenue
My next trip up to the neighborhood was June 21st, the third Anniversary of ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’. I can’t believe it has been three years since I started walking the island of Manhattan.
The Central Park Conservatory in the Summer of 2025
I still remember my first day walking in Marble Hill on Father’s Day 2015. I honestly thought I would finish in one summer and here I am at 96th Street on the East Side with the rest of the island ahead of me.
The French Garden Fountain at the Central Park Conservatory Garden
The newly renovated French Gardens at the Central Park Conservatory Gardens
In the Summer of 2026, I was able to tour the Gardens and see how vibrant the flower beds were in the early July. I had never seen the gardens more vibrant or colorful. I walked along the paths admiring the flowers and crediting all the work that had been done in the garden’s last renovation. The money and time that was put into it was well worth it. The gardens are in pristine condition and are breathtaking when in full bloom.
The entrance of the Central Park Conservatory lawn and fountain
The fountain and the geometric garden
Central Park Conservatory gardens at the entrance
The entrance of the gardens from the Harlem Meer area
The entrance to the flower gardens from the Central Park Conservatory lawn
The Central Park Conservatory garden beds
The gardens in full bloom in the Summer of 2026
The flower beds in the central of the gardens
The Central Park Conservatory Fountain and Lotus pools
The Fountain statues
The flowers beds around the paths
The orange flowers that line the paths
The vibrant purple flowers
The gardens that line the paths
The flowers were so vibrant and beautiful that summer. Each of the beds had a different color flowers and the way they played off one another made a interesting effect. I was so impressed by the plants.
The beautiful flowers that line the paths
The flowers are lining the paths
The flowers lining the paths
The flowers were so vibrant in the Summer of 2026
Street art along East 105th Street that really impressed me between Lexington and Madison Avenues. This had not been there on my last trip. These works were touching and very creative. The artist presented work that comes from the heart.
On the wall along East 105th Street
Painting along East 105th Street
I started at 96th Street and walked the length of it again from the park to the river. It was sad that the tulips along the river had died by the time I got back. They had been a colorful display by the path entering the river. Even the flowers at the Park Avenue Mall at Park and 97th Street started to change. Spring was giving way to the summer months and you could see the difference in the plants and trees. Between the plantings on the streets and second stage of flowers in Central Park, June was here.
Park Avenue around East 100th Street
You begin to notice distinctions in the grid pattern of the neighborhood block by block. By East 97th Street, you will see a real change. The Metropolitan Hospital, the Department of Sanitation and the Washington Housing projects set almost a border between the Upper East Side and Spanish Harlem once you pass Third Avenue.
Along the border of 97th Street on the grounds of the projects, the residents have set up a series of vegetable and fruit gardens and have done some landscaping that have some character to the lawns of the housing complex. I give the residents credit for their creativity, and I will have to revisit the site over the summer months to see how it turns out. Also along the street is the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Catholic Church, which is the only one of its kind in NYC. Stop and look at the detail of the church.
By 99th Street, the Washington Carver Houses start to dominate the middle of the neighborhood and Mt. Sinai cuts the neighborhood between the Upper East Side from Spanish Harlem to the east to Park Avenue. I tried once again to visit the Martha Stewart Garden in the Washington Carver complex at Madison Avenue and East 99th Street but again the gate was locked. At this point, it looked like it could have used a gardener to touch it up.
Martha Stewart Garden at Madison Avenue and East 99th Street
I continued the zigzag through the streets having crisscrossed again through the projects that I had walked a couple of times before. Between Park and Lexington Avenues as you round 101st Street, you can find some beautifully maintained brownstones and landscaped stairs with potted plants. It looks like something you would see in the village downtown.
The Park Avenue Mall at East 96th Street at night
This small break in the grid pattern shows what the neighborhood once was before the city leveled it for public housing. People are really moving back in this pocket of the neighborhood and fixing up the buildings. Here is where you will find the street art on the walls and fences. I saw a lot of the yarn art I saw uptown but am not sure if this was the same artist.
I had a funny incident with a young police officer at the 23rd Precinct on the corner of 102nd and Third Avenue. He was making a phone call and had just finished and really must have wondered what I was doing in the neighborhood. He took the time to yell a ‘hello’ to me and I just looked at him for a minute and said ‘hello’ back and waited for him to say something.
I guess my progressive glasses must have given me a professional look and he did not say anything else. He watched me walk through the Washington complex and strangely enough waited for me to come back and then watched me walk back up 102nd on my way back up to Fifth Avenue. I saw him staring at me again and I just nodded and smiled and kept walking. I didn’t know that me walking around was so interesting.
Between Park Avenue and Third Avenue up to where the projects start again by 109th Avenue and Madison and Fifth Avenue is where you are seeing where the neighborhood is starting to gentrify and people are starting to fix up the buildings and the new restaurants and shops are starting to pop up. There is a pizzeria on Lexington Avenue, Lexington Pizza, that I have on my bucket list (that closed in 2025).
Thank God I did not have to venture past 105th Street as it was getting darker. Between Second Avenue and First Avenue after 101st Street, I always felt that the people in the housing complexes were watching me. More like staring at me yet I could not catch them actually doing it. I guess I really stood out.
The street mural at West 104th Street by the Museum of the City of New York just popped up and I could not see the artist. I think it was created by Mount Sinai hospital around the corner
As I rounded 104th onto 105th Streets on First Avenue, I must have made quite the impression walking down the street. A group of guys, I swear to God, looked like they jumped when they saw me round the corner. When I had to walk back up the opposite side of the southern part of 105th Street and First Avenue to complete this part of the neighborhood, they completely disappeared. I swear I thought that they were going to gang up on me and jump me. They also gave me the strangest looks. It reminded me of walking on 155th Street by the river and what I saw up by the Dyckman Houses. I just don’t blend in.
I walked past the parks along 103rd and 105th Streets and brought a quick snack into the White Playground on 105th Street and relaxed for a bit just watching the parents watch the kids playing on the park equipment. I really like this park. They keep it in good shape and the parents in the neighborhood really seem to enjoy coming here.
When I was passing the subway station near 103rd Street right by the Washington Carver Houses, I had not noticed a street art portrait of Celia Cruz. The artist did a good job.
The Celia Cruz painting on 103rd Street
The work was done by artist James De La Vega in 2003
I walked past Maggie’s Garden at 1576 Lexington Avenue again on 101st Street and Lexington Avenue but the gate was locked on this day.
I ended the afternoon walking through Central Park and walking around the length of the reservoir and watch the joggers pass me by. If they only knew how much I had already walked that afternoon.
This sun was outside Maggie’s Garden the last time I visited.
It really made me think, looking at the crowd of joggers in the park and the people walking around the Central Park Conservatory that early part of the evening, how many of the people I passed that day venture past their part of neighborhood. These blocks have really been an eye-opener in urban planning gone wrong and how a neighborhood can be affected by the wrong decisions in building efforts. I saw a lot of people in the neighborhood trying to improve things on their own terms and take matters in their own hands.
The Harlem Meer at twilight in the Summer of 2025
I just don’t think that this part of Manhattan has to worry about getting too ‘hipster’ or ‘Yuppie’ unless the city sells off the projects and knocks them down. Even if they did, the neighborhood has its own character and I credit the people living there for making it that way.
The Harlem Meer in the Fall of 2024
There is no real way to explain it without you, the reader walking these streets yourself and soaking up the culture that is East Spanish Harlem. Do yourself a favor though, don’t dress like me
Happy Third Anniversary and a very Happy Father’s Day to my Dad!
Halloween 2024 on the Harlem Meer:
I had never seen the Harlem Meer so crowded before especially with lots of little kids. Families were enjoying the Halloween activities of pumpkin carving and painting, games and little treats that the kids got (I never saw anything as it was gone quickly). The festivities were just ending as I raced from class to get into the City before the Pumpkin Flotilla started at dusk. It was still light outside so I got to enjoy the exhibition inside the Dana Discovery Center, “The Gates”, on the history of the various gates people use to enter Central Park.
The Gates Exhibition at the Dana Exploratory Center
Then the fun began when the sun went down and the Halloween music started to play on the load speaker. Then two people canoeing started to paddle around the Harlem Meer Pond with lit Jack O’Lanterns following them. They started at dusk but when the sun finally went down, the real magic began.
For the next hour, one gentleman started paddling around the Meer then followed by another and they circled the pond for about an hour. Everyone was jockeying for space as we all tried to take the perfect pictures.
I stayed in the park taking pictures as the guys finished paddling around. The park had a almost spooky and mysterious look to it at sunset. I just wanted to get out of Central Park when it got dark. Too many bad memories of things happening. I headed over to the East Side
Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:
For checking out the street art and the community gardens in the neighborhood please walk the area. Things are changing so fast that you never know when something can disappear. The Community Gardens have their own hours depending on the season.
Whew! This was a two-day affair. I had already walked 5th and 1st Avenues and then all of FDR Drive and the Esplanade on other days. This left for me to walk the length of Madison, Park, Lexington, 3rd and 2nd Avenues from 96th Street to 110th Street. This meant 14 blocks back and forth, up and down the streets of the neighborhood. It was a long day of walking. I never realized how long it would take.
This part of Manhattan is a real mish-mush of everything. It transitions from East Harlem into the Upper-Upper East Side into Yorkville. Some others call it Carnegie Hill. It has it all. Housing projects, schools, a business district on Lexington, expensive brownstones, luxury apartments and hospitals that create the border between the two very different neighborhoods.
96th Street is the true border between the two areas but even that transitions as you get closer to the East River. A you get closer to 98th Street, you will see luxury housing complexes right across the street from some sketchy housing complexes right across the street (some people want the authenticity of the city).
This changes from block to block and if you follow the grid pattern, be prepared to walk through some housing complexes. I would only recommend that while the kids are exiting from after-school. Then the neighborhood is teeming with kids with their parents picking them up. Public or Private, adults are all over the place at the schools and it makes any neighborhood safe to walk around in as the police are out in many of these neighborhoods watching everyone.
Where you really see the difference in the neighborhood is between 97th Street and 99th Street on the East Side of Central Park. Some of the blocks are lined with beautiful and graceful brownstones and apartment buildings and then right across the street you can see where they leveled the neighborhood to building the housing projects that line long avenues and streets.
You start to see the changes as you walk down 97 Street and you reach the end of the Park Avenue Mall, a grassy knoll between the uptown and downtown grid which in the lower part of Park Avenue is planted with flowers and trees during the year. This gives way to the elevated railroad tracks after 97th Street and Park Avenue. As you get further up into the 100’s streets, Park Avenue is lined with housing projects. This is the failure of city planning where whole blocks in this neighborhood were leveled for public housing that never worked. This ‘slum clearance’ of the 1960’s would now be a fully gentrified neighborhood by now.
George Washington Carver Houses at 1475 Madison Avenue
Walking the Avenues, one sees how the neighbor changes. Every block is so different in this neighborhood. You can go from luxury housing to a public housing project just by walking the street. Also, if you walk while school is in session and when it gets out for the day, you should have no problem walking around the housing projects.
Pretty much everyone ignored me or just looked at me in the corner of their eyes and then put their heads down. It was such a strange attitude. In my opinion, people are people but the site of 6:4 preppie white guy walking around in a blue polo must have panicked people.
I saw this interesting mural at East 103rd Street near Lexington Avenue (I could not find the artist)
Along the way, there is so much so see and experience in this neighborhood. Small hole in the wall restaurants at very reasonable prices, great street art, small community gardens tucked between buildings, beautiful brownstones in a row and interesting views of Central Park and the East River as way of sidewalks. It is a diverse neighborhood that is getting harder to define as the whole island changes. Even in the short time I walked around Spanish Harlem, things were being knocked down and rebuilt.
It seems that every block had something to offer in some small way. Since I had done the borders of the neighborhood already and wanting to avoid First Avenue again (scary) with all the public housing, I started my trip up and down Second Avenue.
Hospitals seem to dominate in this section of the city with Mt. Sinai dominating the borders of Fifth to Madison from 96th to 101st and Metropolitan Hospital from 97th to 100th Street along Second Avenue. These large facilities create a wall on the neighborhood borders almost sheltering the Upper Upper East Side from Spanish Harlem. The neighborhood around them reflects the role the hospital plays around it with ever expanding buildings in the neighborhood and housing for the residents. I saw this up in Washington Heights with Columbia as they expand in the neighborhood.
Located off Second Avenue, the Marx Brothers have a small park named after them and it was busy after school with kids playing tag. The Marx Brothers were a famous team of brothers, Harpo, Groucho, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo, who were raised at 179 East 93rd Street. The brothers had many hits in the 1930’s and 40’s. The park has been recently part of a debate in the City on what connotates a park as a developer wants to build a tower here.
As you walk up Second Avenue, the area is dominated by a mix of brownstones and public housing. This is dominated by the huge Washington Housing complex that stretches from 97th Street to 104th from Second Avenue to Third Avenue. After school, this area was very lively with kids but boy did they give me looks when I walked through later in the week when I was doing the streets. Because of the way the grid works, you have to walk through the same paths. So, the same people kept seeing me walk through the complex.
As you pass the park and walk past the New York Health+Hospitals Emergency Room complex, there are a series of artworks that you should not miss along the walls of the hospital.
This mural was just outside the entrance to the hospital
The painting was created by artist Priscila De Carvalho
Artist Priscila De Carvalho is a Brazilian-born, queer American artist based in New York City. Known for her diverse artistic practice, she works in public art, painting, sculpture, and site-specific installations (Artist bio).
There was a series of photos along the Second Avenue wall entrance to the hospital that were very interesting that reflected the neighborhood.
The photo art on the Second Avenue wall outside the museum
A close up shot of the work
The display is called “Joy, Love and Resistance in El Barrio” partnered by Photographer and Artist Hiram Maristany and artist Miguel Luciano
Hiram Maristany was Nuyorican photographer and activist revered as the photographer of “Puerto Rican life in East Harlem.” He was an active member in his community and through this program Maristany met other young activists, including future Young Lords members (Wiki).
The installation represents the work of Mr. Maristany, who took these pictures around Spanish Harlem. It is a representation of how the neighborhood represents itself and the moments of job and compassion that is part of the neighborhood.
Miguel Luciano is a Puerto Rican-American born artist who lives and works in New York City.
This unusual sculpture was along the wall of the hospital but I could not find the artist on this
Between Third Avenue and Lexington, there is a nice place to sit and relax at the Marketplace Plaza. This small pocket plaza was created between to newish buildings and provides a comfortable place amongst the flower beds to sit and relax and people watch. There are benches and rows of flower beds to admire and rest your legs on the long walks up the Avenues.
Third Avenue is the most commercial section of the neighborhood dominated by stores and restaurants along the way. It is again a street of extremes as new buildings dominate until you reach the Lexington Houses at 98th Street and then the street is juxtaposed again with a series of public housing, luxury buildings tucked away and commercial buildings that are in the process of renovation.
I reached the Poor Richards Playground outside the Tag Young Scholar School and Junior High 117 by mid-afternoon and the kids were letting out for the day. The place was mobbed with children and parents from the neighborhood. Poor Richard’s Playground was named after Benjamin Franklin as this was one of his alias’s, Poor Richard Saunders of which ‘Poor Richard’s Almanac’ was named. He has so many accomplishments to his name it is hard to pin-point one (NYCParks.org).
Kids were playing basketball and tag on the school’s playground and I got quite the looks from the teachers as I watched the kids play basketball especially when I had to throw the ball over the fence when it flew over to me. I just smiled and continued the walk.
Poor Richard’s Playground at 240 East 109th Street
Across the street from the school and the surrounding blocks there are some really nice reasonable restaurants for lunch. These are places that the kids and their parents were eating at after school. Make & Bake Pizza at 1976 Third Avenue now Third Avenue Pizza as of 2022 (See review on TripAdvisor) has terrific pizza at $1.00 a slice and it is so fresh because the place is so busy. Even when I visited again in 2026, the pizza was still the same flavorful delicious pizza.
Another great place to eat is Mr. Moe’s Deli at 2001 Third Avenue called “Third Ave. Deli in 2023 (now Mr. Moe’s Grocery Deli is at 1924 Second Avenues). They make a terrific, chopped cheese sandwich that competes with Blue Sky Deli up on 110th Street.
Since the grill was closed at Third Ave. Deli in 2023, I had to go to Aldalhi Deli at 1923 Third Avenue a few doors down for a Chopped Cheese. They do a great job too.
Moe’s Grocery is now Third Ave. Deli and the grill is now closed for repair
The Chopped Cheese sandwich at both places is really good.
The nice part about Mr. Moe’s is that their chopped cheese sandwich comes with a Coke for $3.50. It is a great bargain and it is delicious (the grill is currently closed in 2023).
The best part is on a nice day take your lunch to the White Playground on 106th between Third and Lexington Avenues and relax on the benches. It is such a nice playground and is beautifully landscaped and I thought very safe with all the parents and grandparents around watching the kids play.
Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue are also the land of extremes as well. Walking up Lexington Avenue to about 98th Street is an extension of the Upper East Side until you hit the Lexington Houses at 98th Street and those go on for a block until you reach between 101st and 102nd Streets, where you will see the most beautiful set of brownstones with artwork from local Harlem artists on the west side of the road across from the gas station. The is also a few outdoor cafes that are very nice in the area so you can see the area is getting gentrified.
Lexington Avenue at East 104th Street
The doorway was particularly interesting
The street art in this neighborhood is varied and very unique. On 106th Street off Lexington Avenue, there is a painting dedicated to Puerto Rican Poet Julia de Burgos entitled ‘Remembering Julia de Burgos’ that has excellent detail and you should take the time to see. Also, along 110th Street and Lexington Avenue on the wall of the Success Academy, there is another interesting mural that is very colorful.
The artwork featured on this blog was my favorite piece of street was the man dressed in animal costumes that I saw on 106th Street. I was not too sure if it was a Central American theme to it or just tagged. Artist collaboration between street artists Elle and Craw designed this amazing work.
This was a collaboration by street artists Claw and Elle and are both known in the fashion and art industries.
Similar works were done on the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 105th Street
The artwork at East 105th Street was done in tiles
Whatever the story to this artwork, whoever did it I thought was extremely talented. Another piece of street art that had been created was right by the mosaic of Julia de Burgos and was of a street vendor in East Harlem. I looked all over but could not find out who the artist was on it.
The street vendor in “Aqui me Quedo” on East 103rd Street
Julia de Burgos Painting in East Harlem
The Julia de Burgos mosaic near the Julia de Burgos Latin Cultural Center at 1680 Lexington Avenue
Travelling back down Lexington Avenue, there is all sorts of architecture to admire. There is a beautiful row of brownstones between 106th and 107th Streets.
The brownstones were so beautifully landscaped
A small private gated park by Bean Y Vino is at Lexington Avenue and 104th Street that I could only see from the outside is nicely landscaped.
Between 100th and 101st Streets on Lexington Avenue, there is Maggie’s Magic Garden, which is a whimsical little oasis of trees, flowers and plants with imaginative statuary all over this little space tucked between two buildings.
Maggie’s Magic Garden is part of the NYC Parks system
I was lucky that the garden was open that day and met Maria ‘Maggie’ Amurrio herself who created the garden over a decade ago from a weed ridden lot to this little piece of paradise that is perfect for kids to visit.
She and I talked for about a half hour and she explained that she was sick and tired of this lot looking like this and wanted to do something about it. Like many of the Community Gardens and their creators whom I have met along my travels, she took matters into her own hands and with the help of other volunteers started to clean the lot up and plant it.
The sun sculpture outside Maggie’s Magic Garden
She told me that later the Parks Department recognized this effort and now she has the seal from the city. Not only does she grow flowers here but is also growing fruits and vegetables and took me on a tour to show me where birds live in the trees. It is amazing how the determination of one New Yorker and a group of volunteers shows in creating this creative piece of landscape. Try not to miss this little oasis on your travels up and down Lexington.
The fence decorated that currently surrounds this little park
Street art on Lexington Avenue
Traveling up Park and Madison is interesting because when you get past 98th Street, it is pretty much public housing complexes from 98th to 110th Streets, stretching from Park Avenue to Madison Avenue. This is dominated by the Washington Carver Houses from 99th Street to 106th Street, the Lehman Houses from 107th Street to 110th Street, the Governor DeWitt Houses on the Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue from 110th to 108th and then to 106th to 104th Streets and the Lexington Houses from 98th to 99th Streets.
The sign for the Dewitt Clinton Houses
So, walking through this area of Park and Madison Avenues make sure to go through while school is out and people are outside. I never felt unsafe but there will moms and kids all over the playgrounds in the projects and everyone ignored me.
The projects also cut the neighborhood into sections as you have to keep walking through them to get to the extension of the street. So, as I was finishing the Avenues on my way to starting the streets, you have to make several trips especially on 107th Street through the projects to complete the grid.
When I was passing the subway station near 103rd Street right by the Washington Carver Houses, I had not noticed a street art portrait of Celia Cruz. The artist did a good job.
The Celia Cruz painting on 103rd Street
The work was done by artist James De La Vega in 2003
Mr. De La Vega is an American artist of Puerto Rican decent who lives in New York City. He is known for his street and muralist art. He is a graduate of Cornell University with a BFA in Fine Arts.
Further down the road on East 100th Street closer to Third Avenue, I saw the funeral portrait of a resident of the neighborhood. When you see these things, it really puts the neighborhood life into perspective.
Vivian’s Grandson-I could not find the artist
Across the street, there was another piece of street art dedicated to the children of the neighborhood but again I looked all over and could not find the artist on this either.
The children’s street art on East 100th Street by Third Avenue. It looked like it had been added onto over the years.
Martha Stewart has been involved in helping Mt. Sinai Hospital and built a beautiful garden across the street between 99th and 100th Streets that was locked both times I tried to visit it. Her and her staff did a nice job landscaping and planting this part of the Washington Carver Houses gardens and the playground. Many of the staff from the hospital use this area to relax on their lunch breaks and the kids are very active here.
Martha Stewart Garden at Madison and East 99th Street
Mt. Sinai creates the border between the Upper East Side and Spanish Harlem on this side of the neighborhood and the campus spreads two blocks over. Between this and the Park Avenue train creates the border on this side of the neighborhood. The between the west side of Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue are the most expensive housing in the neighborhood that faces Central Park. Even here the housing is being updated and renovated. You have also some of your nicest stone buildings with elegant carved entrances. Businesses also dominate this side of Madison Avenue.
There are some good options to eat at in the neighborhood. On the corner of 97th and Madison Avenue at 1398 Madison Avenue there is Famiglia Pizza. This has some of the best pizza by the slice in the city and their prices are fair. Their plain and sausage pizzas are really good.
The pizza at Famiglia Pizza is excellent
For a quick snack, I also like Tu Casa Grocery at 29 East 104th Street (Closed in May 2020) right next to the Museum of the City of New York. For a dollar, they have excellent chicken and beef pastelitos and they sell soda and candy for a reasonable price. I took a couple of pastelitos and a Coke and went into Central Park to relax after finishing the Avenues.
I finished the Avenues on May 15th by relaxing at the Conservatory Garden at 104th and Fifth Avenue. It was an interesting and tiring day and it was just nice to relax.
The weather finally broke today and I got a chance to get some more walking time in. It has been gloomy for the better part of a week and it was nice to see the sun finally peaking out. It didn’t last all day but at least it was not that cold out.
After another day in the Soup Kitchen (they had me working the door today so you get to talk to all the characters outside and hear their stories), I took the 6 subway train to 110th Street and walked to find a place to eat lunch. I was going to go back for another ‘chopped cheese sandwich’ but I walked in the wrong direction and ended up at 5th Avenue.
Wanting to start my ring walk of the area (walking all of the outside streets of the neighborhood, I decided to find a place around here. I ate Empire Corner II at 1415 5th Avenue at 116th Street, a restaurant I had passed many times when walking this area (see review on TripAdvisor). It was good but not great.
Empire Corner II at 1415 Fifth Avenue (closed 2025)
I had a Sweet & Sour chicken with a generous portion of roast pork rice that had no roast pork in it. Just some onions. For $6.00 with a Pepsi included it was not a bad lunch. They gave me a large amount of chicken so I could not complain.
The takeout place is a dump but being across the street from the housing projects, I did not see anyone who came in for their orders complain. If you are in the area, it is a nice place to stop for a reasonable meal.
The Sweet & Sour Chicken was okay
I started my walk down 5th Avenue past all the projects first, Taft Houses on one side and the Martin Luther King Jr. Houses to the other which gives way to 112th Street and the renovating of the brownstones and prewar apartment buildings that run from 112th Street to other parts of the neighborhood all around 110th and below as the Upper East Side is beginning to creep up into this area.
When I returned to walk the borders of the neighborhood again in 2026, I walked through all the twists and turns of the neighborhood. I walked down both First Avenue and then the Esplanade that covers from 110th Street from Jefferson Park to the Stanley Issacs Park and Playground. Then I walked down West 110th Street to Fifth Avenue and walked all the parks again. So this blog on the borders of East Harlem jumps around a bit.
I can tell you this, with all the new building in the heart of the neighborhood, East Harlem is definitely going to change in the very near future when all these apartment buildings open up. This is similar to what is happening in Washington Heights.
Within a few years, you will see an extension of luxury high rises start to be built in this area due to the proximity of Central Park. You are seeing this at 116th Street up to Mount Morris Park (Marcus Garvey Park).
Once you pass the circle where The Heritage 5th Avenue a Schomberg Plaza Circle is currently undergoing a renovation to mixed housing, you walk past buildings that you would imagine belong on 5th Avenue with the traditional doormen apartments that face Central Park (for many who remember the ‘Central Park Jogger’ case back in the 80’s, these apartments are where the supposed ‘Central Park Eight’ came from and started their rampage. That seems like a million years ago now).
The complex has since been renovated and in 2025, it is called the Heritage and it looks more like luxury housing.
Schomberg Plaza is on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 110th Street across from Central Park (it has now been renovated and is now called Heritage Plaza)
Robert Graham was a Mexican born American artist who studied at San Jose State University and graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute. He was widely known as a sculptor of large commissions (Wiki.com).
It was an impressive statue that overlooked the Circle and the entrance to Harlem.
The Harlem Meer and Central Park at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 110th Street
The Visitors Center was closed that evening
The walk down 5th Avenue took me past Central Park on one side and the start of the ‘Museum Mile’ on the other. What was nice is that the trees are in the beginning stages of budding and spring is here finally.
The Harlem Meer at Fifth Avenue and East 110th Street
Fifth Avenue along the park is quite a site especially when the tulips and daffodils are out in full bloom. What is unusual about Fifth Avenue residences is that one block from Fifth Avenue from 110th to 96th Streets leads into public housing complexes sometimes one or two blocks away. Almost everything below 96th Street on the East Side has been gentrified.
Walking around the Central Park Conservatory
Still walking down East 110th Street holds some surprises here and there tucked into its corners. One of them is the Pa’Lante Community Garden at 1651 Madison Avenue and East 110th Street.
The Pa’Lante Community Garden on West 110th Street was founded in 2017
The Pa’Lante Community Garden at 1651 Madison Avenue in the Summer of 2026
The inside of the gardens
The beds in the gardens are a combination of flowers and vegetables
I passed the Q subway line on the way to FDR Drive (see previous discussion on the new Q line in an earlier blog) and will have to use this on future trips uptown. It is such a pleasure to travel on the Q line instead of the over-crowded 6 line.
My first part of the travels took me down Fifth Avenue to 96th Street and crossing 96th Street to FDR Drive. Watching the students leave school that afternoon was like a microcosm of the city. The closer you are to the park; you see all the preppie kids who go to the local private schools and are being picked up by the equally preppie nannies and moms. The closer you get to FDR Drive; you see the public schools and the kids who live above 100th Street closer to the housing complexes.
The monument was dedicated in 1939 and designed by the architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon. It includes a granite seat and shaft adjacent to the marker (NYCParks.org).
I crossed over the 120th Street walkway and doubled backed to the Pleasant Finest Deli (now the Al Bassam Deli Corporation) at the corner of 120th and Pleasant Avenue. I love the owners. They always give me such a strange look. The best part of this deli is that the prices are so reasonable that it makes it a pleasure to stop for a snack.
Walking down Pleasant Avenue in the Summer in 2026
This part of Manhattan is very diverse but is ever changing. Kids are kids though and they all make a lot of noise as they run out of their schools to meet their friends, play in the local parks and run to the local pizzerias.
There is a very diverse crowd of kids at the Samuel Seabury Playground at Lexington and 96th Street, with kids, parents and babysitters running all over the place. I have never seen a park with so much energy. Kids were all over the place, chasing one another and on the play equipment. When I reached the end of 96th Street, another group of kids were playing at the Stanley Isaacs Playground at the corner of 96th and 1st Avenue. It was a slightly seedier bunch.
The Stanley Isaacs Playground has nice bathrooms to stop at while walking around
The Isaacs Playground though is a good place to stop to go to the bathroom as it is very clean and the tulips were up in full force both along the rim of the park, on the street leading into FDR Drive and at the entrance of the East River Esplanade on the corner of FDR Drive and 96th Street. Watch both ways when crossing the street as there is serious traffic here and the people drive like maniacs.
Walk along the corridor that is the Esplanade. Since I did not know this existed and that you could walk FDR Drive in this section of the island, I walked along the East River from 96th Street to 124th Street where is abruptly stops as they are renovating that whole park area. You will find that the first thing you are hit by is the smell of salt air. It smells like you are at the shore. It was such a rich salty smell and is a nice change from all the fumes of the cars.
The Esplanade during the Summer
Looking south down the esplanade
Looking north up the Esplanade
Walking the Esplanade is such a beautiful walk on a sunny day but you will notice one thing, the further you get from 96th Street the less the Esplanade is taken care of by the city. Either a private group planted by 96th Street or there is a group of gardeners who took it amongst themselves to clean up the Isaacs Park, the Esplanade and that part of the pathway to about 100th Street. After that, the Esplanade is somewhat over-grown by weeds and the beds are not that well maintained.
The views are spectacular though. It is such an amazing walk on this side of the river. At around 102nd Street is the walkway to Wards Island off the coast of Manhattan with ball fields and recreation facilities. All sorts of kids were running over the walkway to go to lacrosse and soccer practice dragging their equipment with them. Ward-Randall’s Island Park stretches from about 101st Street all the way up to about 128th along the river so I got to see the island come into bloom.
At about 116th Street exit, stop and admire the colorful totem pole someone created out of an old stone pillar. The faces painted on in colorful colors is quite amusing and very creative. I am not sure if it means anything but whoever painted it did a good job. It is an unusual piece of art.
The Esplanade ends abruptly at 124th Street as they are renovating the whole park area around the Wagner Houses. The area was fenced off and a very scary looking homeless guy was playing with his pants, so I turned around and went back down the path.
The Wagner Houses by First Avenue
The sign for the East River Houses
From here I walked FDR Drive the rest of the way down from 121st Street to 96th Street. Not the most exciting walk and a little dangerous with people speedy by and racing to get off the various exits. Its not a place I recommend walking down.
I had to pass the East River Houses again, this time on the FDR Drive side where thank God they are building a park so the whole area is fenced off from the rest of the complex. When they finish, hopefully it will be a very active park and keep the problems away. Even when I was crossing the street at 102nd, I caught a glimpse of someone watching me hidden in one of the doorways of the complex. I just kept walking.
East River Houses on East 105th Street along the East River Walkway (AVOID)
Across from the East River Houses on First Avenue and West 105th Street I came across this Memorial Mural. There was not much background on who this was but he meant something to a lot of people.
I could not find the full bios of these artists but this work was created by both New York and Miami artists in honor of this gentleman. I found their links above to show all their creations and a little about their careers.
I then passed the Woodrow Wilson Houses that are going through a new, innovative management change with the City. The apartments are slated to be renovated and managed by an outside firm. Let’s see how this plays out in a City that wants to get out of the housing business.
I finished the side streets between 1st Avenue and FDR Drive from 102nd to 96th. The whole area is dominated by the local schools and playgrounds and the kids were out in full force, playing basketball and gossiping with their friends. The Metropolitan Hospital is the border of the neighborhood from Spanish Harlem to the Upper East Side/Yorkville. This is the way it is by 5th Avenue with Mt. Sinai Hospital dominating the area between 5th Avenue and 103rd Street.
I made a stop at the Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue for a special members tour after hours to see the “Art Deco New York City” exhibition and that was a real treat to see the exhibition with the curator after the museum closed.
The Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue
You had a youth revolution that wanted to get away from Victorian values and with the lack of resources and money during the Depression, everything became more clean lines, less embellishment and more modern looking.
The exhibit ‘Art Deco City New York’
The bulk of the exhibition came from the collection of Cosmetic owner, Ronald Lauder, who contributed his Art Deco post card collection. Years of collecting showed all of us the changes not just in architecture but attitudes in travel and living. Gone were the bulky and elaborate in was simplistic and clean designs with a fresh approach.
The main gallery with Art Deco post cards
This perspective was shown in the 1939 World’s Fair, where a look to the future showed optimism and a look at new possibilities.
The 1939 World’s Fair
The outfits of that era also represented women and their freedoms from the Victorian era and the excesses. Gone were the days of corsets and bustles and in was the freedom of movement to the modern working woman who have to work to support her family. This reflected in the social life too.
Dresses from the 1930’s
Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building were the big projects of that era. It showed the optimism and show of the possibilities of the modern era during the Depression and kept people working.
Models of Rockefeller Center
The exhibition was very interesting and informative and shows up in the modern era today.
I ended the day relaxing in the Central Park Conservatory Garden, which was in full bloom ablaze with daffodils and tulips and the fountains going in full force.
The beauty of the gardens in bloom
The garden in bloom in the beginning of the summer
The fountain and the gardens
Walking through the Gardens
The lawns and trees were all green with the early spring budding in full form. Spring is here and the warm weather is coming. Don’t miss the Conservatory Garden now as it’s beautiful this time of year.
It was just such a nice place to sit back and relax after a long day.
The Central Park Conservatory in the Summer of 2024
The fountain is so beautifully
The Harlem Meer Halloween events:
I had never seen the Harlem Meer so crowded before especially with lots of little kids. Families were enjoying the Halloween activities of pumpkin carving and painting, games and little treats that the kids got (I never saw anything as it was gone quickly). The festivities were just ending as I raced from class to get into the City before the Pumpkin Flotilla started at dusk. It was still light outside so I got to enjoy the exhibition inside the Dana Discovery Center, “The Gates”, on the history of the various gates people use to enter Central Park.
The Gates Exhibition at the Dana Exploratory Center
Then the fun began when the sun went down and the Halloween music started to play on the load speaker. Then two people canoeing started to paddle around the Harlem Meer Pond with lit Jack O’Lanterns following them. They started at dusk but when the sun finally went down, the real magic began.
For the next hour, one gentleman started paddling around the Meer then followed by another and they circled the pond for about an hour. Everyone was jockeying for space as we all tried to take the perfect pictures.
I stayed in the park taking pictures as the guys finished paddling around. The park had a almost spooky and mysterious look to it at sunset. I just wanted to get out of Central Park when it got dark. Too many bad memories of things happening. I headed over to the East Side
Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:
I finished walking East Harlem and it was an interesting experience. It took two weeks to crisscross the whole neighborhood and I was lucky that I double-backed on several streets, so I got a more detailed experience. There was a lot of interesting architecture and some wonderful restaurants, bodegas and bakeries along the way to experience. I got to walk the parks at different times of the day, and I finished the walk when the schools were closed for Spring Break, so I got to see the neighborhood come to life with families out and about.
My first day of the walk, I could not have asked for beautiful weather. It was clear, sunny and in the 60’s. It was perfect outside weather. After a busy morning at the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (they had me working the hurried bread station and you would think that the homeless were at Starbucks with all of their requests), I took the number 6 subway to 110th Street to start the walk of East Harlem, now known as ‘Upper Spanish Harlem’. I have never seen so much renovation and building going on in one area which is changing the face of the neighborhood.
I started my walk up the Avenues and traveled on the north to south part of the neighborhood the first afternoon. I walked 3rd Avenue, 2nd Avenue and 1st Avenue and revisited Pleasant Avenue and the surrounding streets. It’s an interesting mix of commercial and housing space that houses a diversity of businesses.
Before the area was known as ‘El Barrio’, a Spanish neighborhood of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and Dominicans, it had the city’s first ‘Little Italy’ from the turn of the last century to about the late 1950’s to early 60’s when people moved out to the suburbs. There are still traces of the neighborhood left with some churches, businesses like Rao’s and Patsy’s still going strong and the streets named after famous Italians.
Pleasant Avenue off 120th Street in East Harlem in 2026
The area around Pleasant Avenue is going through a tremendous renovation as all the brownstones look like they are getting snatched up and being updated and a much younger crowd is beginning to move in. The biggest change that I saw that was attracting this crowd is the new Target Mall that was refitted into an old factory space between 118th-116th Streets. This mall has attracted everyone from the housing projects to the college students from the other side of the island. On a late Friday afternoon, the place was mobbed.
In 2019, the area gained designation as a National Historic Landmark district. The new district is centered between East 114th and East 120th Streets near First and Pleasant Avenues, covers roughly two dozen blocks. The area contains some of the oldest buildings in the district includes churches such as Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on East 115th Street. This district has some of the most important designs of tenement housing in New York City.
The area is concerned with the coming of the extension of the Q subway line to 125th Street of losing these sights. This area has seen its share of immigration from being an Italian to a Puerto Rican community and wanted to preserve this culture. This area has been designed as the “East Harlem Historic District and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places (The Spirit Westsider 2019).
The Historic district of East Harlem
I started the afternoon at the Blue Sky Deli (See review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) on the corner of 1st Avenue and 110th Street (2135 1st Avenue), home of the now cult-like ‘Chopped Cheese Sandwich’, which has become the rave of the internet as the hipsters enter Harlem. I have never seen such a debate over a sandwich, so I saved my appetite from my morning at the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (another busy day) and dove into the experience.
Blue Sky Deli (Haijj’s) at 110th Street and First Avenue; ‘Home of the Chopped Cheese’ is now called “Chopped Cheese Delicious” Deli.
The ‘Chopped Cheese Sandwich’ is basically a double cheeseburger that is chopped up. It is two hamburger patties cooked on a flat grill with two slices of American cheese on top, cooked with onions and peppers and topped with chopped lettuce and tomato.
The delicious Chopped Cheese Sandwich
Yum!
My video on this delicious sandwich
It is then tucked into a hoagie roll and then pressed. With ketchup and mayo to finish the sandwich, it is heaven on earth. I took my sandwich and a Coke into Jefferson Park on 111th Street and watched the neighborhood kids play soccer and do track.
The sandwich is a great blend of flavors and for $7.50 is a great deal. I know that comment gets a debate and rebuttal on the internet but when you are on a budget it is well worth it. Blue Sky Deli, also known in the neighborhood as ‘Hajji’s’, is known as the ‘home of the chopped cheese sandwich’ and is well worth the trip to this part of Harlem.
The mural outside of “Chopped Cheese Delicious” (not sure of artist)
The very touching mural outside the restaurant was dedicated to a long time resident of the area who has since passed.
On the first day in the neighborhood, kids were just getting out of school and the streets were mobbed with children and parents or grandparents picking up their kids. After a relaxing lunch, I walked through the commercial district of 1st Avenue ending up back at the Wagner Houses at the edge of the neighborhood between 120th and 124th Streets.
The Wagner Houses sign
The one thing I can tell you about walking around the Wagner Houses is that there are police there all the time. In the courtyards, by the schools and in the commercial district. I don’t know who was watching me more, the guys that looked like gangbangers or the police trying to figure me out. Between them and the bodega owners with the wondering looks on their faces, it seemed to me that people were just trying to ‘figure me out’. I just keep quiet and smile a lot.
Talking about commercial real estate, I have discovered that developers will build anywhere to make money. One developer is in the middle of construction of a luxury building on the corner of 1st Avenue and 120th Street right on the edge of Wagner House complex. It’s almost as if they are mocking the residents that live in the projects. That and who would want to buy these things. As I walked by the construction site, one senior resident said to me “They are not even that well-built.” I commented that living in the Wagner Complex was safer than these homes that are put up quickly and that it will last longer. She just smiled and gave me a funny look.
I even went back to visit the Pleasant Finest Deli (closed in 2022-now Al Bassam Deli Corp. in 2025) at the corner of Pleasant Avenue and 120th Street (see review on TripAdvisor) as the kids were getting out from school again across the street. I guess the tinted glasses through them off as they gave me strange looks as well like ‘what was I doing back?”. They were polite but in a formal way as I was buying a bag of chips. Maybe I was just picking up on it.
Walking on 1st Avenue has its advantages as you start to pass the last of the Italian businesses in the neighborhood. Pasty’s Pizzeria at 2287 First Avenue (See Review on TripAdvisor) being the most famous. This is worth the stop. The pizza is excellent and at $1.75 a slice is a great deal. I haven’t tasted that fresh of a tomato sauce in a long time. There is a sit-down place but stop in for a slice and just walk with it. On sunny day there is nothing better. Everyone else must have thought the same thing as I saw slices walking down the street.
I took a break and relaxed again in Thomas Jefferson Park on 114th Street and watched the soccer teams play. This is a nice park that I misjudged the first time I walked through it.
Thomas Jefferson Park at 2180 First Avenue in East Harlem
Yes, the park does need some work, but it is used by the whole neighborhood. From the hoopsters to the hipsters, I saw all types in the park playing sports, working with team competitions and parents of all sorts just relaxing with their kids. Over the three-day period that I walked the neighborhood, residents just spread out, brought their lunches and snacks and relaxed.
The “El Arbol De Esperanza” sculpture in Jefferson Park
The plaque for “El Arbol De Esperanza” by artist Brower Hatcher
Brower Hatcher is an American born artist. He attended Vanderbilt University School of Engineering in Nashville, TN and received his degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute in New York. He then studied sculpture at St. Martins School of Art in London, U.K. with Sir Anthony Caro and William Tucker. The artist is known for his life sized contemporary works (Artist bio).
Before I left Thomas Jefferson Park, I came across another piece of art that I had not noticed on my many visits to the park. The sculpture located in the middle of the park is entitled “Tomorrow’s Wind” by artist Melvin Edwards. The sculpture is made of welded steel and is tilted so that it reflects the sun. The piece was placed in the park in 1995 (NYCParks.org).
Mr. Edwards is an American born artist from Texas. He is known for his known for his abstract steel sculptures. He graduated with a BFA from University of Southern California and studied at the Los Angeles Art Institute.
To save some time and the fact that the kids were out, I walked the length of 1st Avenue down to 96th Street to the new Q subway line and doubled back and walked 102nd, 105th, 106th and 110th again to the Harlem River.
The East River Houses sign
This is scary stuff and a word of advice to readers, please avoid this section of the city. All along 1st Avenue in this section by the river are all housing projects especially the very dangerous East River Projects.
Avoid walking around the East River Houses on First Avenue
As I walked down both 105th and 106th Streets (the side streets on either side), I did notice that City bike was located on both sides as well as luxury condos were across the street and next door to the projects. That’s well and good but when you glance into the parking lots at 106th, you see what is happening and I swear that I may have stopped a drive-by shooting from a guy who was watching the basketball players a little too closely.
The inside courtyard of the East River Houses (Stay away)
Either during the day or night, avoid these two side streets as they are considered two of the most dangerous blocks in the city (along with Lexington Avenue from 123rd to 124th Streets). Please stay away!
As I walked back up First Avenue, I noticed that surrounding these projects are many luxury condos and new stores. It is a strange mix in the same neighborhood as you can see that the neighborhood is transitioning. Still, it is not the safest part of the city.
Needing to walk off a sandwich, a slice of pizza and two bags of chips, I crossed 110th on the way to 2nd Avenue. As you walk up 2nd Avenue, you pass the rows of brownstones and prewar housing that in some cases is falling apart mixed in with sliver luxury homes and new restaurants. The lower part of 2nd Avenue is quirky until you hit 112th Street and then you are back in the Jefferson projects. To cover 113th Street, which is two small cul-de-sacs, you have to walk through the projects.
This is when I really discovered how short-changed people in the housing projects are by living here. Talk about being treated like caged animals. All the lawns are fenced in, the parks are sterile with little life due to the equipment in them, garbage that is piling up in dumpsters or in the grassy area flying around in the wind and sitting areas that are damaged.
The Martin Luther King Houses at 1 West 112th Street
Because 114th Street stops at Lenox Avenue by the Martin Luther King Houses and does not start again until you exit from the Thomas Jefferson Houses by the Jefferson Park, you have to walk through the heart of the housing projects, and you begin to see a lot. Maybe it is home to a large portion of the population up here but by the designs, they are almost warehousing people in this section of the city.
There is some light to this with pocket parks off to the side of 112th Street and the Robert Wagner Playground at 120th Street. There was some life from the kids in the community as well as you see it in droves in Thomas Jefferson Park. There was some sunshine in that when you walk through the housing projects in that some residents have set up raised vegetable gardens and have planted flowers along the borders of some of the playgrounds. Kudos to these residents for bringing a personal touch to a sterile environment.
Walking both 2nd and 3rd Avenues you may have to really look but community pride does exist in these small gardens and in the community gardens on the side streets all over the area.
Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, as you walk to the 120’s, this area is also in a state of transition with a branch of the SUNY campus and housing, most of East 125th Street being knocked down and eco-friendly housing between 124th and 125th Streets across from the Wagner Houses. As you get closer to 125th Street, the whole area is being knocked down and rebuilt as is the whole shopping corridor of 125th Street. If it has not already been knocked down or renovated, it is about to be or planned to be. In about five years the whole block will look like Times Square.
The biggest renovation that I saw was the Taino Towers at 221 East 122nd Street. The whole place is being ripped apartment and renovated. It is considered Section 8 housing but after the renovation I can see it will go mixed-use and change the neighborhood again. It is a nice complex and will interesting to see one they renovate the theaters and add a health club.
I noticed interesting artwork on the side of the Taino Towers at 221 East 122nd Street. The towers had been going through a major renovation the last time I had visited the neighborhood and parts of the complex were still under scaffolding.
Artist Don Rimx painted a mural of Nuyorocan poet Jesus ‘Tato’ Laviera. The painting had been unveiled in 2017 (long after my visit to the neighborhood) and 123rd Street was renamed after the poet (Street Art NYC).
The mural of Jesus ‘Tato’ Laviera at Taito Towers at 122nd Street and Second Avenue
Mr. Rimx was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in 2009 moved to Brooklyn and then in 2014 to Florida. He graduated from Central High School of Visual Arts and Escuela Des Arts Plasticas. He is known for his use of styles in art and culture and known for his murals (Artist Bio).
Like most of this section of the neighborhood above 120th Street, the area is mostly commercial and from previous walks in the neighborhood above 125th Street is where the bus stations are, dealerships are located, and more City buildings are rising.
My second and third day in the neighborhood, I walked the side streets. Since I had already covered 125th, 124th, 120th,116th, 114th and 110th at length, I walked the rest of the blocks in one afternoon. Who knew it was take six hours and all the interesting things I saw along the way? I started the afternoon rounding 110th Street and stopping once again at the El Chevere Cuchifrito at 2000 3rd Avenue this time visiting the bakery (See review on TripAdvisor).
Unlike some of their counterparts around the neighborhood, El Cheveres bakery is really good and very reasonable. I had a glazed filled doughnut for $1.00 and it really hit the spot. The glaze was so thick you could cut it with a knife and there was a large selection of baked goods. A definite spot to stop when visiting the neighborhood just for the pastilitos alone. The food here is really good and cheap. Just come knowing a little Spanish. They appreciate it even if its bad.
The bakery and savory assortment
I walked the side streets this afternoon to finish the neighborhood. There are a lot of interesting sites along the way in East Harlem. I started on 115th Street and I seemed to hit every bakery in the area. My first stop on the journey was the market under the Park Avenue underpass, La Marqueta, at Park Avenue and 115th Street to try Hot Bread Kitchen Bakery (See review on TripAdvisor-Now Closed for Business), which had been written up many times but was never open when I visited the market.
The La Marqueta Building at 1590 Park Avenue and 115th Street
I tried two of their Mexican Chonco’s, which is a buttery-brioche type of muffin with either a vanilla or chocolate topping. Needing my carbs for the long walk I brought one of each ($2.00 each). Well worth it. The best part is your helping the bakery train people for a new profession and they do an excellent job.
I left the market to explore the rest of 115th Street and there are some interesting sites along the way. You have the Rodale Pleasant Community Garden at 437 114th Street that stretches to 115th by the church is an active community garden with flowers and vegetable beds. I could only see it from a distance at a distance as the gate was locked but great care I could tell went into maintaining it.
The Rodale Pleasant Park Community Garden in the Summer of 2023.
In the summer of 2023, the gates were open and I could explore it. Filled with flowering plants and trees, the garden was quite the site in the middle of August for the “Dancing of the Giglio”. People were walking in and out to relax and get away from the noise of the festival.
The Rodale Pleasant Community Garden at 437 114th Street in the Summer months
The gardens were a quiet oasis from all the noise of the festival
The unique tile designs in the gardens.
The beautiful sunflowers grace the garden in the middle of the summer.
Across the street, the famous Italian church, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is located. This church is noted for the famous dance each August when the Giglio Society does their famous “Dancing Giglio” dance carrying a giant statue of the Virgin Mary on their shoulders (along with a band). That is enough for another trip up to the neighborhood in the summer.
Dancing of the “Giglio” in East Harlem every August
The video of the lift in 2025
Read my blog on watching the Dance of the Giglio: Day Eighty-Four-The Feast of My Lady of Carmel and the Dancing of the Giglio:
I had also wanted to visit the National Museum for Catholic Art History which was on 115th Street in part of the church complex but it had closed a few years earlier for lack of attendance and funding. So I crisscrossed back to Park Avenue making various stops to look at churches and note menu’s on restaurants I wanted to try in the future.
The Dancing of the Giglio in 2025
The video of the Giglio:
It is really interesting to watch
The street fair in the summer of 2025
I revisited 116th Street to look over restaurants I had seen on previous days. The street is the main shopping and restaurant drag for this part of SoHA and runs pretty much the whole length of the island. It has an interesting place to eat so if you have the time take the time to walk around.
I spent most of the afternoon snacking around the neighborhood wanting to try many of the bakeries and small restaurants I came across. There are loads of reasonable places to eat for under $10.00 and if you are visiting remember to have about $10-$20.00 in ones as most of these places do not take credit cards.
One of my stops lead me to Bermudez Bakery at 1875 Lexington Avenue right off 116th Street (See review on TripAdvisor). I don’t know what I do that freaks people out so much but one of the guys who was inside called his friend from around the counter who was speaking jovial Spanish to everyone else took one look at me and spoke in more formal English. He could not have been nicer but when I turned around, all the other men inside had left the bakery. I thought that was weird.
The baked goods are excellent though. I had a flaky pastry with a mango jelly, but the best was their apple turnovers. They are so good, and they melt in your mouth. This bakery is a must go to. It may look dumpy on the outside, but the product speaks for itself.
The pastries here are really good!
The Apple Turnovers are excellent
I crossed over to 117th Street and walked from Park Avenue to the river. Outside St. Paul’s Roman Church at 113 East 117th Avenue just off Park Avenue you will find an Altar to the Virgin Mary that is very interesting. Take some time to read the plaque and look over the building. It is such a beautiful church.
St. Paul’s Church at 113 East 117th Street in East Harlem
Walking further down the street at the corner of 117th Street and the corner of 3rd Avenue there is an interesting mural on the side wall of a Payless Shoes store dedicated to the Island of Puerto Rico. This colorful artwork shows the strong roots of the neighborhood in the island as well as the pride these residents feel. Really look at the detail work.
Look for the Street art in the neighborhood (to the left of Chopped Cheese Delicious-since painted over 2025)
The neighborhood around Pleasant Avenue, which was the former Italian enclave is changing again as all the brownstones and apartment buildings are being sandblasted and renovated back into shape. Home to Rao’s Italian restaurant and Patsy’s original pizzeria, these blocks are still visited by tourists and residents looking for authentic Italian food. Pretty much outside these two businesses and the relationship to the churches most of the Italian heritage of the neighborhood is gone.
Between 118th and 119th Streets along Pleasant Avenue the neighborhood has created the Pleasant Village Community Garden at 342 Pleasant Avenue with a large flower garden and raised vegetable gardens in this full block garden. Many people were out that afternoon working in the garden and waved over when I was looking for it over. The residents take immense pride in the garden, and it will be interesting to see what it looks like in the middle of the summer.
Pleasant Valley Community Garden sign at 342 Pleasant Avenue
The plantings outside the gardens on the sidewalks
As you turn the corner on 119th Street, on the wall of River East Elementary School, the kids have painted the most interesting mural that lines the wall of the back of the school. Look over the colorful interpretation of robots. The kids painted a very whimsical mural as only kids can do.
The kids were out in full force that afternoon playing games and doing sports as they off for the spring break and I guess the parents needed to keep them occupied. All sorts of activities were keeping the kids busy, and I noticed a large police presence in the neighborhood while all of this was going on. I made another pit stop for a Coke at the Pleasant Finest Deli on the corner of Pleasant Avenue. I swear those owners are always giving me funny looks when I walked in like I am going to bust them or something.
The last part of the walk I covered 121st to 123rd Streets which is lined mostly with businesses, schools and many new apartment buildings that are going up around the new SUNY College. Most of 124th Street in this area has been rebuilt with a new eco-friendly apartment building across from the Wagner Houses, so new businesses are opening to cater to those residents as well as the whole area from 2nd Avenue to river is being ripped up and rebuilt with a renovation of he park and the extension of the esplanade along the river (the esplanade currently stops at 124th Street and is closed off with fencing). When this park is done, it should look spectacular with new lawns and the pool opened.
Word of advice if you are going to walk near Lexington Avenue between 123rd and 124th Streets, this is considered one of the two most dangerous blocks in Manhattan with two rehab clinics and a shelter on the same block.
There were three police officers hidden in a doorway in between the block and when I stopped for a Coke in a bodega on the corner of 123rd and Lexington Avenue, there were some pretty shady characters hanging out on the corner. This block is best avoided at any time of the day.
The Wagner Houses between First and Second Avenues
I double backed down 123rd Street and cut down 1st Avenue and 120th Street to the Wagner House Playground and saw the impressive statue of Robert Wagner Sr., who the houses were named after. Frankly, I don’t think anyone notices it or knows how important the man was in New York politics helping with housing and social security. That and being the future Mayor of New York’s father.
The statue was created by artist Georg John Lober and dedicated in 1959. Mr. Lober was originally from Chicago and studied Beaux-Arts sculpture at The Institute of Design and the National Academy of Design (Wiki).
Georg John Lober, the Executive Secretary of the New York City Municipal Arts Commission
My last stop was for a snack at the Jamaican restaurant, Jam Hut at 2327 1st Avenue (now Mama’s Restaurant-see review on TripAdvisor) for a beef patty. These large beef patties are freshly made and rather large. Again the owners gave me a rather odd look when I ordered my food.
You think no one had ever seen a 6:3 white male in the neighborhood before. I have now spent over a month in East Harlem. I had walked every block, park and set of Housing Projects.
You think they would be used to seeing me walking around at this point.
Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:
What a difference a week makes! I started the first part of my walking project last Friday night when it was 73 degrees outside and just spectacular. People had been out in the parks with their strollers and dogs and kids were playing sports all over the park even into twilight. Now it was about 43 degrees and back to being winter. The kids who were on their winter break really lucked out. They had a week of unseasonable weather to enjoy.
Riverside Drive at the park in the Spring of 2025
In March of 2024, I came back uptown for the Cornell versus Yale basketball game for the Ivy League championship. I thought we would win the whole thing. We lost by twelve points.
After the game, I decided to to walk around the neighborhood and explore since I had not been up here in about seven years. The neighborhood has changed a lot over the last couple of years. Spring was coming to the neighborhood.
Daffodils blooming at Morningside Park
I started this part of the walk on Morningside Drive walking up the hill facing the park. It is some walk but I am sure in warmer weather it would be a lot more pleasant. You really do get your exercise walking this part of the neighborhood. Going up and down hills can take a lot out of you. What I liked best of this part of SoHA was the architecture. It had a combination of college campus appeal with the classroom buildings, the quad and the dorms mixed in with the pre-war buildings which have been renovated back to their original beauty.
I think the appeal of Morningside Heights is the college atmosphere mixed into the urban setting and the fact that the area is so much safer than it was even ten years ago. This is not the urban campus of my father and my cousin, who are both Alumnus of the school. There has been a big change especially in Morningside Park which borders the neighborhood with Harlem.
Morningside Heights is an urban campus for Columbia University in the Winter
The same block in the Summer of 2026
Even in the middle of winter, the warm weather has done strange things to Mother Nature and the park was starting to bud and bloom a month and a half early. As I walked up and down Morningside Drive, I took a walking tour of the park for a second time. This ice-aged formed park really has a beauty to it when you look up closely. The rock formations mixed in with the steps and the flowers peaking up and starting to bloom early adds to the grace of the park. The park just needed some TLC.
Morningside Park during the late Winter.
The park is full of long paths through the rock formations and offer nice views of the neighborhood below. There are several paths that go up and down the hills so be prepared to walk. By the pond toward the middle of the park, there is an interesting statue donated by respected banker, Alfred Seligman ‘The Bear and the Fawn’ with a little bear overlooking a fawn playing his flute. The statue was designed by American artist Edgar Edward Walter. Before the dedication of the statue, Mr. Seligman who was head of the National Highways Protection Society, died in one of the first documented highway accidents (Daytonian).
The pond area of the park.
The detail work is beautiful and the statue is one of those things you would miss if you did not walk the length of the park. When it was a working fountain, it must have really graced the park. I walked up and down the paths and stairs before I exited the park at 110th Street.
‘The Bear and the Faun’ by artist Edgar Edward Walter which was part of the Seligman Fountain
I walked around 110th Street to Amsterdam Avenue and walked up past the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and walked around the church and its gardens and statuary.
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue.
The detail work of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Down the long paths of plantings and around the bends of the property, I came across another interesting statue. At the center of the park, there is a breathtaking statue called the “Peace Fountain”, created in 1985 which shows a unusual look at the battle between good and evil by artist Greg Wyatt, who was an artist in residence at the church.
Mr. Wyatt has graduated from Columbia College with BA in Art History and studied at National Academy of Design. He bases his work on the philosophy of the “spiritual realism’ merging realistic images and abstract forms of space, form and energy (Wiki).
The ‘Peace Fountain’ by artist Greg Wyatt
The sign from the sculpture.
Really take some time to look over this statue and its detail work with all the animals, demons and angels. You have to see the figures from all sides to see all the characters in their stances and how it works into the battle of the forces. It is a very powerful statement of good conquering evil. It depicted the Archangel Michael versus Satan. On a warm summer day, it must be a beautiful park. It is a tough call now at the end of the winter.
Walking up Amsterdam Avenue, you hit the heart of Columbia University that runs from 114th Street to about 120th Streets. For pretty much the rest of the neighborhood until you hit 125th Street, this area is all geared to the university. The area is graced with graceful old buildings, some the turn of the last century and many pre-war apartment buildings on the side streets.
The Columbia University Quad in the northern part of the Green.
I always remember this scene of “On a Clear Day you can see Forever” that was depicted in the movie from these steps. It ended being shot on a another campus in another location.
The best is when you walk to 116th Street and that leads you in the Quad in the main part of the Columbia campus. This bustling area by the library was full of students who were socializing and sunning themselves on the warmer days. During the breaks from class, the students flooded the streets looking for something to eat or running back to their residence halls.
Outside the entrance to the Quad, just above 116th Street, there are several food trucks at night that cater to the Asian students offering Chinese, Japanese and Thai food. Take a serious stop and try the food. I had a delicious ‘pork sandwich’ that was chopped roast port on a steamed bun for $4.00, a nice treat after a long walk and I was able to eat it in the Quad. It could have used a little sauce to it but it was still loaded with pork and was a nice size. This steaming chopped pork sandwich was just one of the items that were offered at a very reasonable price to the students. There are noodle dishes and dumplings all around the $3.00-$7.00 range and at lunch and dinner the lines can get quite long. Bring cash.
I passed a small community garden, The Julia Gabriel People’s Garden at West 111th Street and it was open for touring. It was just coming into bloom.
The garden starting to bloom for the Spring in 2025
The gardens in the Spring of 2025
The gardens in the Spring in 2025
The beautiful flowers in the garden
I visited the gardens again in the Summer of 2026 and they were spectacular when they were in full bloom. They had just finished a Jazz event and the paths were still full of people walking around admiring the beds.
The garden in the summer of 2026
The side of the garden
The beautiful beds
This interesting statue I must have missed the last time I visited the neighborhood. This sits on top of the Columbia Law School. This interesting piece of work is entitled “Bellerophon Taming Pegasus” by artist Jacques Lipchitz.
This is “Bellerophon Taming Pegasus{ by artist Jacques Lipchitz
The story of Bellerophon represented the dominance of man over nature, according to Lipchitz. In Greek mythology, Bellerophon tamed Pegasus with a golden bridle from the goddess Athena and with the horse’s help accomplished a series of tests Zeus had assigned him. “You observe nature, make conclusions, and from these you make rules…and law is born from that,” the artist once said (Columbia Law School website).
Jacques Lipchitz was a Lithuanian artist who had studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and Académie Julian in Paris. He was known for his Cubism in his artworks and sculptures.
War of 1812 plaque on Amsterdam Avenue at West 115th Street
In the Summer of 2026, I passed the locked Gatehouse Gardens with its unusual artwork on the side of the fencing. I could see from the outside it has some interesting art inside the community garden.
Amsterdam Avenue like its counterpart neighborhood by the CUNY campus is dotted with great restaurants and coffee shops that cater to both the locals and the students alike. I had concluded my first day walking the Morningside Heights neighborhood that evening with dinner at V & T Pizzeria, a local eating establishment located at 1024 Amsterdam Avenue (See the review on TripAdvisor). It is the typical red sauce Italian-American restaurant that you would expect from Little Italy not from uptown.
V & T Pizzeria at 1024 Amsterdam Avenue in Morningside Heights
The food was really good. I had a house salad with a creamy Italian dressing that was typical for an old-fashioned restaurant with the iceberg lettuce and chopped tomatoes but still good. I was in the mood after a long walk for a meatball hoagie. The sandwich was huge! The only problem was that the meatballs were not that good. I mean they were big and had a nice sauce but the meatballs were average with not that flavor. It was disappointing but the other food coming out looked good, so it will give a reason to come back another time.
The meatball sandwich was okay
I stopped for dessert at the Hungarian Pastry Shop at 1030 Amsterdam Avenue for some dessert. I had read and seen so many videos on the shop I wanted to try it. The lines were long all day and I had to get into the line for a half hour before I could get in.
The Hungarian Pastry Shop at 1030 Amsterdam Avenue
I tried their version of the Napoleon, which was layers of Vanilla Cream, whipped cream and a caramel topping between the flaky layers and a Apple Strudel, that was loaded with fresh apples and cinnamon. I took the desserts across the street to the park and I have to tell you that they were terrific.
The pastries are amazing!
I continued up Amsterdam Avenue touring up the sides of both the campus and the edge of the neighborhood that lined the park and you get to see the transition of the area by 123rd Street when you see the General Grant Housing Project, a huge complex that lines the edge of the neighborhood between 123rd Street to 125th Street from Broadway to Morningside Drive.
The sign for the Grant Houses
This complex as nice as it looks from the outside has its share of problems on the inside. I had to walk through the complex a couple of times when walking through 124th Street extension and when I was walking the length of LaSalle Street to Amsterdam Avenue and no problems. It looks like a complex in Miami Beach.
The General Grant Houses at 75 LaSalle Street sit at the edge of the Morningside Heights neighborhood
It is in this area the new extension of Columbia University is taking place between 125th Street and 135th Street along Broadway across from the projects. Once those buildings open this summer that will completely change this part of the neighborhood bringing more students up to this part of the area and all the restaurants along the Broadway stop of the 1 Train and along this part of 125th Street will start to change as you are seeing it now.
Old bodegas and cut-rate restaurants that catered to the people in the projects are now changing to more upscale restaurants, bars, coffee shops and shops. Broadway alone has three Starbucks and they were all full the entire time I walked the neighborhood. There are some serious changes it will make to this part of Morningside Park.
Walking down Broadway really puts you into the heart of the neighborhood and through the campus. Everything here pretty much caters to the college and the faculty and students. All the restaurants have their own uniqueness to them with the Columbia symbol prominently displayed on the windows. I found it is nice to get take out and sit in the Quad and eat while watching the students. Two days into touring the area the weather was around 60 degrees so it was nice to eat outside and relax and see the world go by. Reality set in as the winter weather set back in and it was 34 degrees again and back inside, I went.
Looking down Broadway by Barnard College
It was a quick walk-up Claremont Avenue, the heart of Barnard College, the girl’s school of the college. This is area is being rebuilt and sandblasted as the college is expanding into the neighborhood. Most of the buildings between here and Riverside Avenue are filled with prewar apartments and student housing. Just be aware to prepare to walk on the street as some of the sidewalks are closed off. When it is all done it is going to look even more beautiful with the new buildings and renovations so close to Riverside Park, which in itself was a nice walk during the summer months.
Barnard College
The College building
As I walked the upper streets of the neighborhood, you can see more money is being put into the parks and historical parks in this part of the city. Sakura Park, which is lined with flowering trees still in winter hibernation, are beginning to see the first sign of spring as the buds are bursting early. On the warm days, there were a lot of students studying or playing games. The park is dedicated to the Japanese in parts with a giant Japanese Lantern Statue by the International Building that is quite detailed.
Sakura Park at 500 Riverside Drive in the Spring months is pretty amazing
Daniel Butterfield (1831–1901) was born October 31, 1831. His father was a leader in the express mail business and helped found the American Express Company. Butterfield graduated from Union College in 1849 and became a merchant in New York City. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he served as a colonel in the 12th New York militia. Demonstrating leadership in military engagements on the upper Potomac in the Shenandoah Valley, Butterfield rose rapidly in the ranks to brigadier-general of volunteers in the 12th Infantry (NYCParks.com).
Butterfield distinguished himself as an officer, and during the Chancellorsville and Gettysburg campaigns he served as chief of staff to the Army of the Potomac. Wounded at Gettysburg, he was reassigned as General Hooker’s chief of staff at Chattanooga and the Atlanta campaign. By the war’s end, Butterfield was promoted to a major general “for gallant and meritorious conduct.” Among all his wartime achievements, he is best remembered as the composer of the mournful bugle call “Taps (NYCParks.com).
The bronze statue of the general was created by the famous sculptor American born artist, John Gutzon Borglum, better known for his sculptures of four U.S. presidents on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. He studied at the California School of Design and Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and apprenticed in New York City (Wiki).
The sign for the statue
This park leads into Riverside Park and the newly renovated Grant’s Tomb (see my review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). This area for years was over-grown and vandalized with the decline of the neighborhood, which is no longer the case. The tomb has been sandblasted back to its original beauty and when I passed it over the summer was lined with American flags. It is only open at certain times of the week, so plan accordingly.
Grant’s Tomb National Memorial at 122nd Street and Riverside Drive
Next to Grant’s Tomb is a small monument called the Tomb of the Amiable Child (see my review on VisitingaMuseum.com), which should not be missed. On the path close to the park, you will see this small marble urn surrounded by fencing. It is a somber site for a small child who died in the area in the 1700’s.
The Tomb of the Amiable Child at 124th Street and Riverside Drive
In Riverside Park I was able to walk over the summer and got a feel for how beautiful the park really is as it hugs the Hudson River. It is a great place to jog, ride a bike or picnic. It has gotten more popular over the years as the park has improved itself with more TLC from the community.
The park by Grant’s Tomb
The Friends of Riverside Park have done a nice job raising funds and awareness for the care of the park and it shows in the plantings and paths that have improved over the years. In the warm months, the place is in full bloom and with the view of the Hudson River the look is quite spectacular.
When walking the lower streets of the neighborhood on the west side of the park is full of prewar apartments and resident halls for the students as well as buildings that cater to the university. I don’t think there was one bad street on this side of the park. The area is very self-contained for the university and the buildings have an ‘old New York’ feel about them being built at the turn of the last century.
For the blocks between 111th Street to about 120th Street west of Morningside Park it is all about the university with class space and offices and a small Greek Row in the middle of the neighborhood. On the Claremont Avenue section of the neighborhood just west of Riverside Park is where Barnard College, the Woman’s College of Columbia is located and is expanding. More buildings are going up or being added to as the University expands.
This expansion continues in the area above Tiemann Place near the edge of the park and the river. The University is building a new ‘glass box’ section of campus between 125th and 133rd Streets along the river and the buildings should open up within the year. That is changing the whole complexity of the neighborhood around 125th Street in this part of the neighborhood. The upper reaches of Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue’s as well as this section of 125th Street between Marginal Street to Amsterdam Avenue is either getting new restaurants and shops that are catering to the college students or are being knocked down or renovated to cater to the changing population once those four buildings open up across the street from the housing projects.
The Columbia University extension above 125th Street is changing the neighborhood
For lunch that afternoon, I ate at Koronet Pizza at 2848 Broadway for a jumbo slice of pizza (see review on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). This slice is pizza is HUGE and could feed two hungry people very easily. The jumbo slice is part of an 32″ pizza and the pizza was delicious. It has a very flavorful and spicy tomato sauce and uses a good amount and quality of cheese. It took a awhile to devour that delicious slice of pizza. The restaurant attracts a nice mix of neighborhood people, college students and professors and has a good ‘family feel’ about it.
Koronet Pizza at 2848 Broadway has the biggest slices around
On the tip of the neighborhood between LaSalle Street and 125th Street are the Morningside Apartments and the General Grant Houses, which both look more like mixed income apartment buildings than public housing. I really toured the area on this trip. The area landscaping and playgrounds are much better than most housing projects that I have seen in the city and they look better taken care of than most of the housing projects in this area of the city.
The start of Riverside Drive from West 125th Street
This corner of the neighborhood is also home to various small parks such as The West Harlem Piers Park at 125th Street and Riverside Park with benches and paths for walking and enjoying the views of the Hudson River and the cliffs of New Jersey. This is a great area in the summer to listen to music or watch the sun set.
The St. Clair Rose Garden is located under the underpass.
The St. Clair Rose Garden is right off St. Clair Place by the underpass and steps leading to Grant’s Tomb. It will be nice to see how this garden looks in the summer months.
The West Harlem Pier Park offers amazing views of the Hudson River
As I traveled east along 124th Street, I walked the island from west to east and it does change from one side of the island to the other. I crossed the boundaries of Morningside Heights to SoHA to Spanish Harlem and you can see the difference from block to block.
Pretty much the blocks west of Fifth Avenue are a mix of pre-war apartment buildings, turn of the last century brownstones and new pocket apartment buildings with a mix of small neighborhood gardens in between the buildings.
On my third day of the walk around the neighborhood, I was able to walk the streets between 124th Street to 120th Street west of Mount Morris (Marcus Garvey) Park. This area between Mount Morris Park West to Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (7th Avenue) is the Mount Morris Historical District, which is full of beautiful and graceful brownstones which are carefully bring renovated. A good portion of the neighborhood is under scaffolding (as most of Harlem and Washington Heights has been) as the buildings are being restored by their owners.
The stonework of most of these buildings is so detailed and unique with carvings of leaves, vines and faces gracing the outside of the buildings. Some have stained glass features around the doors and windows and the outside steps have been sandblasted and fixed to new with potted plants and an occasional Christmas feature still decorating the outside of the home.
This area is also home to many small Community Gardens which at this time of the year are still under snow. There is the ‘Our Little Green Avenue Park’ at 123rd Street, the Joyce David Wilson Garden at 123rd Street, the Five Star Garden at St. Nicholas Avenue at 121st Street and Harlem Art Park at 120th Street at 3rd Avenue. These parks are small pocket parks taken care of by the neighborhood or street associations. I did not get much of a feel for them when they were under six inches of snow.
Five Star Garden Park at 121st Street in the Summer months
To tell you how the neighborhood is diverse in its housing is when you get to 124th Street and 1st Avenue where you have a luxury apartment building across the street from the Wagner Housing Project and the entrance to the Triboro Bridge and Louis Cuvillier Park which is under a renovation. You can see where new restaurants are popping up to cater to these new residents on 1st Avenue, 124th and 125th Streets.
The Wagner Houses at 90 Paladino Avenue I hate to say is a scary area even during the day. I always felt like I was being watched by everyone from the residents, to the Con Ed guys working in the area to the police looking out for the kids leaving school on 120th Street and Paladino Avenue by the river. People just kept saying hello to me like they were trying to tell me that they saw me there or in the case of the police just watched but tried to ignore me. I see this a lot in Harlem.
Walking around the Wagner Houses at 90 Paladino Avenue can be a little intimidating
One saving grace to the whole experience by the school was the bodega, Pleasant Finest Deli, on the corner of 375 Pleasant Avenue and 120th Street (see my review on TripAdvisor), which I could tell catered to the kids coming out of school with sandwiches under $3.00 and piles of chips and snack cakes for fifty cents to a dollar. The deals at this store were amazing and the owners looked like they were happy to see me. Just listening to the foul-mouthed parents was interesting. The way they berated their children just floored me. Some of these women should never have had kids.
That evening I went to midtown to eat at the Land of Plenty Chinese restaurant by Bloomingdale’s at 204 East 58th Street (see review on TripAdvisor), a restaurant I have wanted to try for several years when it was ranked the number on Chinese restaurant in New York City by the Village Voice. The food and the service were just excellent.
The Land of Plenty Restaurant at 204 East 58th Street
I had the most delicious soup dumplings that were made for me and I did not even have to hike down to Chinatown for them. They just burst in my mouth when I bit into them. I had a Shredded Pork with a Sweet Miso sauce with scallions and their Ten Ingredient Fried Rice for my main meal which both were delicious and flavorful. The Sweet Miso sauce really had a tangy spiciness to it. The service was friendly and welcoming. A definite must when shopping at Bloomies.
Their Ten Ingredient Fried Rice is amazing
I continued on to the east side of Morningside Park, where the Morningside Heights extends as I walked the area from 125th Street to 110th Street that now extends to Fredrick Douglas Boulevard, the new ‘Restaurant Row’ of the neighborhood. This area is dominated by beautiful brownstones of many unique designs, pre-war apartment buildings and many local businesses that are in the midst of change. The neighborhood bodegas are giving way to new restaurants, art galleries and boutique bakeries that are catering to the new residents who are buying all those buildings under scaffolding and the current residents who look like they are enjoying the change.
Along the way I have seen so many gorgeous buildings being restored. The most beautiful is the Washington Irving Building at 203 West 112th Street. This graceful building has the most beautiful stonework and detailed accents to the outside it, you literally stop and just want to stare at it. I have only seen buildings like this midtown buildings on Park Avenue and in the Village.
The Washington Irving Building at 203 West 112th Street
Small pocket parks and community gardens continue to dominate the areas that once housed brownstones. These future flower and vegetable gardens are all over parts of the neighborhood such as the ‘Electric Ladybug Garden’ at 111th Street. There is a distinct elegance to the area around Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (7th Avenue) with its tree lined island with trees and flower plantings waiting for the Spring to come.
The area that is rapidly changing the most is Fredrick Douglas Boulevard which among the new businesses is being known as ‘Central Park North’, with several businesses adopted the SoHA (South of Harlem) signature. I have never seen so many expensive restaurants with entrees over the price of $15.00 in one area. I don’t even find the menus that exciting or innovative. They just look like bars with food being served.
On my last day in Morningside Heights, I tested the boundaries and walked the entire length of 116th Street from one side of the island to the other. You see more local businesses along the 116th shopping corridor with many soul food, seafood, pizza and local chicken places dominating to a very diverse population. Closer to the Columbia campus, you have more upscale places to eat but once you cross Fredrick Douglas Boulevard and head toward Spanish Harlem, it can be anything from the latest African cooking to island cooking from Jamaica to fast food and the chain restaurants to local bakeries serving empanadas and doughnuts. You can eat your way through the entire street and it would take months to do.
On the streets from 119th-115th Streets from Morningside Park to 5th Avenue are lined with a series of brownstones and pre-war apartments which hug the ‘Mount Morris Historical District’ or just outside of it. These blocks are going through a tremendous change right now as students and recent graduates are spreading out from the traditional borders of the neighborhood, which means the west side of the park and moving into this section especially to the 5th Avenue border. Crossing Fredrick Douglas Boulevard means even pushing the traditional boundaries of the neighborhood and going into SoHA. By the time you cross Lenox Avenue below 115th Street, you hit the long line of housing projects from 112th-115 Streets and even the streets surrounding the projects are being fixed up.
I have never seen so many new restaurants and stores opening up especially opening up this economy. All of these pocket businesses are opening right next to the traditional neighborhood stores and you can see that changing for the next few years. There are so many small luxury housing projects going up in every corner of the neighborhood that will need to be catered to and the local population seems to like the additions to the many blocks as I see a diverse crowd in all the businesses. Even most of the newer businesses in the area are adopting the SoHA name.
Not everyone is happy about the SoHA name in Harlem
Pretty much everything west of Fredrick Douglas Boulevard and west to Morningside Park is considered part of the Morningside Heights area now as the last of the empty buildings are being renovated and a lot of the Mount Morris Historical area is under scaffolding. There is a lot of pride in this neighborhood as it keeps changing and improving itself.
On my last night in Morningside Heights after walking almost 28 city blocks, I indulged a little and had dinner at LaSalle Dumpling Room on 3141 Broadway (see review on TripAdvisor). Make this a stop if you are visiting Columbia campus because the food and the service are excellent. All the dumplings are made fresh on the spot per order and come out cooked as light as a feather.
LaSalle Dumpling at 3141 Broadway should not be missed
The Pork & Crab Soup Dumplings are excellent, full of juiciness and flavor and the pan-fried pork dumplings are light and delicious and were perfectly cooked. I also tried the Dong Jing Rice Bowl which was a combination of white rice, sautéed beef, egg, onions and cheddar cheese in a brown sauce and the combination worked nicely (even though the onions were not necessary). The service was excellent.
The Soup Dumplings here are excellent
This section of SoHA is catering to the large and growing population of college students and those post-graduates who want to live in the area. It is more of an extension of the Upper West Side than traditional Harlem. Take a walk around soon because it just keeps changing.
Just don’t call it SoHA to the wrong person!
Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:
mywalkinmanhattan 