As a member of the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) Film Society, I get invited to a lot of showings of new and old films alike. This evening I put the walk aside and got work done around the house and then headed into the city to see the showing of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”. The movie intrigued me as well as it horrified me and woke me up to what having a stroke is like from the perspective of the stroke patient.
Needles to say that after taking care of my dad, who had one of the most dangerous types of strokes you can get, for almost four years and knowing what is it like to be a caregiver, this was the first time I experienced what my dad was going through in his recovery. The main protagonist in the movie was a 43 year old fashion editor for Elle in Paris and was hit with such a devastating stroke that it turned him into a what some would call a ‘vegetable’. His form of communication was by winking to his therapists his thoughts and ideas. That was unique to some of the things I have seen up in Helen Hayes Hospital when visiting my dad in therapy.
I was shocked by it all especially seeing it from his perspective and what his feelings were and it made me sympathetic to the patients. It is easy for us as caregivers to say ‘I understand’ when we really don’t and when people responsible either don’t do their jobs or do or say something thinking the patient does not hear or understand and knows full well of their surroundings.
I walked out of the theater that night shaking and very emotional when I thought of my dad and all the times we sat in that theater at the museum before he got sick. It put life into perspective to me. I do not know how much the rest of the crowd felt but it hit me at the core.
As I left the MoMA, I saw Julian Schnabel surrounded by the usual ‘artiste-types’ and I did not want to bother him. I walked out of the museum still shaking. Something told to go back and say how I felt to the director.
I walked back into theater and approached Mr. Schnabel and pushed the artiste types to the side and introduced myself. I told him who I was and what I do for the Department of Disability Services for the County of Bergen and that I had taken care of my dad for over three and a half years. I thanked him for giving me a perspective of what my dad was going through and how it affected me as a former caregiver. I could see that he saw the emotion in my face.
The whole conversation took about a minute and if I had stayed one more second, I would have cried on the guy’s shoulder and I don’t think it would have looked good for me to cry on the shoulders of one our most important artist’s of the 20th & 21st Century. I found out later he was taking care of his own father when he was sick as he got involved in this film. Only another caregiver could have understood this.
So I am dedicating Day Seventy-Nine of “MywalkinManhattan” to Julian Schnabel, whose direction in this film opened my eyes. I think only someone who has lived it could understand the significance of this project. Losing a parent is not easy.
I recommend seeing the “The Diving Bell & the Butterfly” to all caregivers. When you are feeling frustrated or overwhelmed, please remember who we are taking care of and see it from their life. I am always glad that my dad and I had one another. We were very lucky!
I recently watched the movie “Harold & Maude” and its pretty similar with a more friendship factor with my close friend, Lillian, who I have known for twenty-three years and I went out to celebrate her 99th birthday. That is something!
Lillian has been living in Kings Park, NY now for about five years now and I have to say has been one of my best friends for over twenty years since I first met her at F.A.O. Schwarz, where we both worked at the time. I was the manager of the Children’s Department and Lillian was one of my sales associates. At 86, she could still ring circles around most sales people in the store, men or women, who were a third her age. There was just something about the spark of this woman that made all the employees and the customers gravitate around her. She is just a lovely person.
She even told me that at the facility her main purpose is to be a cheerleader for new residents. When I talk with her on the phone, she is still sharp as a whip but does have a tendency to repeat herself. At 99, she can do what she wants.
Kings Park, New York is located on the North Shore of Long Island just past Huntington and on the border with Smith Haven. The Assisted Living facility that she resides at is right near Sunken Meadow Park, one of the New York State National Parks. The whole area by the Long Island Sound is just beautiful. Many of the homes near the facility are picturesque and have beautiful views of the Sound.
For her birthday, she requested Chinese food, which I am happy to oblige. When you go to downtown Kings Park, there is a small but nice selection of restaurants and stores. The sad part is the area seems a little depressed with many open store fronts. The area still is quirky with some unusual things to see.
The last two times that I visited Lillian, I ordered take out food from Dragon House Chinese Restaurant, which is located in a strip mall in 118A Main Street in downtown Kings Park (See review on TripAdvisor). For a small take out place, the food is excellent. I enjoy ordering from the restaurant because the staff is friendly and helpful. Lillian has a good but not huge appetite so I ordered two dishes for us to share, the Sweet & Sour Pork and the Chicken with Garlic Sauce, both of which I highly recommend. Their roast pork fried rice is wonderful and their eggrolls are excellent. Its fun to watch Lillian chow down.
Dragon House at 118 Route 25 A on Main Street in Kings Park, NY
I got her birthday cake at Park Bake Shop, 112 Route 25 Street A, which is located two doors down (See review on TripAdvisor). I love going there! Their pastries, doughnuts and cakes are excellent and their employees could not be nicer. The bakery is a step back in time to the 70’s when the pace was slower and people actually talked to you.
Park Bake Shop at 122 Route 25 Street A in Kings Park, NY
I got a small strawberry shortcake for her birthday cake, a tray of cookies for her room to share with the other residents and nurses and then a flower cupcake for her to share at dinner with her tablemates. They do such a good job decorating cakes and the taste is amazing. Everything is so fresh and delicious. I even ordered their version of a ‘cronut’, which is a cross between a doughnut and a croissant and they fill it with fresh currant jelly and dip it in cinnamon-sugar. It is chewy, crisp and packed with tart flavor from the jelly. Not to be missed when stopping there.
After I got all the orders packed up and into the car, off I went for her birthday celebration. She was so happy I came to celebrate her birthday. It is so sad that most of her family has either died off or is so far away that they do not visit her. I found out from one the nurses that my December visit was the first one she had in almost two years. Her family lives so far away that it is tough for them to see her.
I always love the looks the other residents give me when I visit her. I can tell there is a tinge of jealousy in all the special attention I give to her. It is tough for most of these residents, whose families are too busy to visit them. This is why my time with her is precious. When you have been what we have been through over the years and what a true friend is you understand.
We had a really nice lunch together and the people surrounding us in the private dining room off the main on wished her a ‘Happy Birthday’. I could tell she really loved the lunch as Dragon House does a nice job with their combination platters. She just dove into the pork and the chicken dishes and loved their eggrolls. They make some of the best ones I have eaten.
I sang a quick ‘Happy Birthday’ song to her (I can’t sing) and we just laughed over the Strawberry Shortcake Birthday cake I bought. She was beaming after that. Park Bakery does such a nice job on their mini-cakes and it was just enough for the two of us and one other person who wanted a taste.
After lunch, we walked around the facility visiting some of her friends and then we sat in the private area off Independent Living and talked for the rest of the afternoon. I know Lillian knows what is going on around her and she makes the best of it. She knows that her family has not visited her in awhile. I love her upbeat attitude on life and the fact that she is so helpful and cheerful to the other residents.
The best part was that as we walked around the facility, many of the staff asked who I was and when I told them I was an old friend visiting her on her 99th birthday, everyone got excited and gave her a big hug and kiss and wished her well. One of the nurses from the other side of the building told her she would stop by with a balloon for her wheelchair. Lillian was loving the fuss made over her. She said to everyone that she was 99 years young.
She talked about her family, her jobs especially as a teacher, her husband and the people at the facility who were her friends. She has gotten used to the activities, the pace of living and the food. She also has a lovely room and gets out and goes to church, does arts & crafts and goes to movie nights. This facility keeps them very busy.
After our afternoon out, Lillian wanted to take a rest before her next activity before dinner and I had a two hour ride home to New Jersey. I said my goodbyes with a big hug and kiss and dropped the rest of the cookies in her room as a surprise.
Before heading home, I took a quick tour of Kings Park and walked the downtown one more time to look at the restaurant menus and take a tour of the historical park near the railroad on the history of Kings Park. Then I drove around the North Shore to take a view of the beauty of the area with its parks and long stretches of woods.
It was a nice afternoon out and I dedicate this blog to Lillian on her 99th Birthday! There are more surprised in 364 day for her 100th!
Sakura Matsuri: The Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival on April 29, 2017, at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden
The beauty of the park in the spring
I took time out of ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’ to visit Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden at 990 Washington Avenue (see review on TripAdvisor) for the annual ‘Sakura Matsuri’, the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival that the garden hosts every year at this time to welcome in the blossoming of the cherry trees in the main part of the garden.
The Cherry Blossom Festival in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Needless to say, the gardens were mobbed with people. This festival has grown every year since I have been a member. When I first joined the gardens back in 2003 it was a much smaller festival but after a few articles in the New York Times, it has become quite the event.
The event features all sorts of activities such as traditional dance, music and fashion. There is even a traditional Japanese market with all sorts of products such as books, wraps of clothing, pillows and food. Chocolate sampling seemed to the most popular and those booths were practically fighting people off.
The beginnings of the Spring
I got there so late since it is almost a two-hour trip by public transportation. I arrived there by noon time and was able to cut in front of everyone through the Membership line. That saved about 45 minutes.
Brooklyn Botanical Garden entrance at 990 Washington Avenue
I was able to walk through the trees, dodging people taking pictures an picnicking on the grass. There were all sorts of concerts and fashion shows going on while I was walking around. Most of the events and workshops did not interest me but one.
The Cherry Blossom Lawn during the summer months
The J-Music Ensemble of Brooklyn preformed in the Osborne Garden by the entrance of the garden. They were playing traditional Japanese video game music themes. This left me lost as I have not followed these video games in years and have not looked at Pokémon since I left FAO Schwarz over twenty years ago. Nothing was lost in the translation as the concert was excellent and did not feel that this really catered to kids. After just two songs, most of the little kids and their parents walked out of the concert. The most interesting part of the concert is that they had us sitting in blown up chairs of one of the characters of the cartoons.
The group like the audience was very multi-cultural as some of the members were from Japan, some from Brooklyn and others from all over the US. It seemed by the introduction; they were all living in Brooklyn now. Whatever the situation, the music was wonderful, and we all enjoyed the concert.
The entrance of the Gardens
The best part of the day was just walking through the extensive gardens and the cherry trees. When walking through the row of trees closer to the Japanese Garden, the wind blew, and I was walking through a sea of cherry petals. That was just amazing. I haven’t felt a high like that since I had a school of angel fish part in front of me on a reef off the coast of Bora Bora.
The Cranford Rose Gardens
The rest of the afternoon I explored the rest of the gardens, walking through the Water, Rock and the Japanese gardens, looking over the plantings. I was sorry that I missed seeing Daffodil Hill when it is in full bloom and the Tulip gardens were just peaking in bloom. That was still a dazzling display of colors.
The beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival
In April is when the real magic begins and the blossoms are in full bloom. I revisited the Gardens again in April 2024 and got better pictures and really showed the Gardens in their true beauty. The bloomed early than usual and it was another warm sunny day when I sat on the lawn and just enjoyed looking at the blossoms.
The Cherry Blossom lawn on a warm afternoon.
People out enjoying the blossoms.
The crowds enjoying Mother Nature’s show
The blossoms at full peak.
I walked out of the back part of the gardens and explored Prospect Park and the Prospect Park Zoo. Even that was mobbed with people from the garden displays spilling into the zoo. I got there in time to see the seal feeding and that is always fun. The seals seem to like an audience.
Daffodil Hill at its height
In search of something to eat, I avoided the fast-food restaurants at the back of the park and explored Flatbush Avenue into Prospect-Lefferts neighborhood. This area is in the midst of a major gentrification. The last time I walked down Flatbush Avenue, I could see the changes starting and that was in February.
Four months later, I have seen about ten businesses close their doors with ‘For Rent’ signs on the windows and some of these businesses were neighborhood staples. There are two more apartment buildings opening up in the neighborhood and that will change the complexity of the area even more.
With Midwood, Kensington, Borough Park and Ditmas Park to the south of the neighborhood, the area is surrounded by middle-class enclaves that keep expanding. This area in just four months is going through a very quick transition as new people move into the area.
The Childrens Garden during the summer months
I avoided the ‘hipster’ restaurants that are so over-priced anyway and went back to ‘Family Pizza’ at 720 Flatbush Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor). The pizza is just amazing in this little hole in the wall pizzeria which has been family owned for years. The slices are huge and the sauce has some flavor to it. The guys are the counter are really nice too.
Family Pizza on Flatbush Avenue at 720 Flatbush Avenue
The Cheese pizza is excellent here.
The rest of the afternoon I just explored the side streets and then made one last trip through the gardens. The cherry blossoms were not going to last past this weekend, and I wanted to enjoy them one more time. It really is a beautiful park.
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.
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.
The Martin Luther King Houses
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
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 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.
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
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.
Esplanade in East Harlem
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)
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 started the day walking 125th Street again on a beautiful sunny February day. It must have been 62 degrees out, sunny and glorious. The kids in the city like in the suburbs were off from school for the winter break, so everyone was outside in the parks enjoying the warm weather. The streets were crowded with people walking their dogs, students from Colombia walking around between classes and neighborhood children playing football and baseball in the parks.
With all the area above 125th finally complete, I have started to walk the neighborhoods below traditional Harlem and above the Upper East and West sides. Morningside Heights is the area bordered by Morningside Avenue to 110th to 125th to Riverside Square Park, South Harlem is from Fredrick Douglas Boulevard, South Harlem is bordered again from Fredrick Douglas Boulevard to Fifth Avenue from 110th to 125th Streets and Spanish Harlem from 5th Avenue to FDR Drive from 110th to 125th Streets. So this time to make it easier I have broken it up into three sections to do the walk.
I started the walk today at 125th Street at Morningside Avenue walking shoppers and tourists milling around the shopping district at 125th Street. The whole shopping district is going through a transformation from old cut-rate stores and family businesses to a series of chain restaurants, stores and gyms. Every business you find in a suburban strip mall are coming to Harlem from TJMax and Rainbow to Red Lobster and Olive Garden. It is pretty shocking how fast it has changed but even more how the flavor of the area is being adjusted to tourism.
The famous Apollo Theater is surrounded by Red Lobster and Whole Foods now
Another surprising aspect of the neighborhood is how nice it has gotten. Gone are the days that Colombia University had to practically erect walls to keep the neighborhood out. Colombia students like their fellow SUNY students thirty blocks up are starting to move in and take over this neighborhood. The South Harlem area is awash with scaffolding of people renovating the buildings and new restaurants and shops.
Morningside Park, which pretty much is the traditional border between the university and Harlem has been renovated over the past twenty years and is no longer the dismal overgrown park that you would get mugged in if you entered. My dad went to Colombia in the 60’s and my cousin in the 80’s and in those years, you would never enter the park. In 1993-95, the park was renovated and had new plantings and equipment installed in the park, giving it the same cheerful appearance of any other park in the city. Does it have it’s share of problems still? Like any park in New York City after dusk, you have to watch yourself.
Morningside Park near Columbia University
Because of the weather being so warm at this time, the park was being spruced up with park employees raking and cleaning up the beds and lawns. The garbage was being picked up as well and the park looked clean and well planted. With it being February, not much is in bloom but you can see where tulips and daffodils are starting to pop up in the soil. Lots of people were jogging in the park, walking with baby carriages or playing sports. A far cry from the needle and crack cocaine days in the 80’s. You can see the new landscaping and water features that have been created in the park and at dusk the lights actually work.
Morningside Park in bloom in the late Winter.
I traveled down the road planning on visiting the park again in more detail. I turned at 110th Street and walked the entire length of 110th from west side to east side and talk about a street of extremes. As you walk towards Riverside Park, you have Colombia to the north and the very top of the Upper West Side to the south. The buildings on this side of West 110th have been sandblasted back to their original elegance and from what I can see of the residents had never really gone down hill with the rest of the neighborhood.
Riverside Park by 110th Street
Amsterdam Avenue north of 110th Street has some interesting restaurants that I will need to try and I am discovering the holes in the wall that must cater to the students. Many have reasonable lunch specials and some have creative menus. I stopped in Riverside Park for a bit to relax before the long walk and the park was busy with nannies and mother’s with their kids in the 110th Street Tot Playground. The place was teaming with toddlers having a good time. The park still has not had the hint of Spring but having traveled this area last summer, it is a beautiful park when in bloom.
I walked down to Columbus Avenue and walked around the newly planted park area and discovered Hunan Chen’s Kitchen, a tiny hole in the wall restaurant at 1003 A Columbus Avenue (See review on TripAdvisor and on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). This little restaurant has only one table and is so small you can barely turn around. What is lacks in atmosphere, it makes up in food and service.
Hunan Chen Kitchen off 110th Street at 1003A Columbus Avenue (Closed 2020)
The restaurant is now Dragon 109 but the prices are much higher than before
The lady who works the counter could not have been friendlier and accommodating. The prices were so cheap that you can order a nice meal for under $10.00 that could feed two people and for $5.00 you can buy a nice snack in their appetizer and soup section. I ordered an eggroll and a pint of Roast Pork Lo Mein. I must have gotten a pound of Lo Mein that was steaming hot and loaded with roast pork. It was delicious and well seasoned. The eggroll could have had more roast pork in it but was still plump and well-cooked.
I was able to eat in on the benches in Morningside Park at the entrance at 110th Street. It was nice to people watch on a warm day and fun to see the students finally utilizing the park for pleasure.
Their Roast Pork Lo Mein with egg roll is the best!
After lunch, it was a the long walk to the northern stretches of Central Park and the Harlem Meer. This section of the park was packed with people. Seniors were fishing in the Meer (lake) and the kids were playing in the playground by the Lenox Avenue entrance. This area had been replanted and fixed in the late 90’s and again in the early 2000’s by the city with the help of the Central Park Conservatory. People were taking pictures of the ducks or chasing the pigeons around the park.
The Charles A. Dana Discover Center and the Harlem Meer
I had an interesting afternoon at the Charles A. Dana Discover Center located on the Meer and reading how the area was so influential in the Revolutionary War. Much of the battles had taken place in this area and the forts were located right in the park boundaries. The Battle of Harlem was not far from this spot and it was amazing how the area went back to nature once the war was over.
The Harlem Meer with the Dana Center in the background
The panels tell the story of the area and you should take about an hour and really read about the areas part in the war. On such a beautiful day the park really sparkled and it looked like a lot of adults were playing hooky on such a nice day.
The Harlem Meer and Fifth Avenue
Crossing Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue is the start of the extremes of 110th Street. You will pass what was once public housing but looks like it is going ‘market rate’ with renovations and once you pass the border of Madison Avenue, you will enter Spanish Harlem and a series of public housing projects. Again this area was alive with people but the mood of the area is completely different.
The Lehman Village Houses
The Spanish influence was all over the place. On the walls of the stores and in the restaurants and signs as well as the music. There must be at least four or five housing projects in this area in various degrees of maintenance. Some were well maintained like by the Lehman Houses. By the Houses, it got a little scary. I would not venture in that area at night. At the end of 110th Street, you have the East River Houses, that look like a more pleasant middle-class looking development.
I walked around Thomas Jefferson Park, a space of green that needs a serious renovation. The park could use a little sprucing up from what I could see. I did not want to enter the basketball grounds due to a scary looking group of teens and walked around the edges of the park. Just south of the park on New Street, Zip Car seems to have their headquarters and the whole lot is lined with cars.
Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem
The funny part about 110th street in this area is that it is dotted with new housing, bars and restaurants. The 20 year old set is starting to move into this area. On a rather seedy stretch of 110th, I was always looking over my shoulder until I saw some 20 year old ‘hipster’ with shorts on and an expensive iPhone playing that I felt like a jerk. Either I was the one worrying or he was putting himself at risk.
I stopped for a snack at El Chevere Cuchifritos, a Spanish restaurant, take-out place and bakery at 2000 Third Avenue for some pastilitoes. I ordered them with my broken Spanish which seemed to pass fine as the woman waiting on me understood what I said. I ordered a chicken and beef but got a cheese and they were good but not as good as some I have had in Washington Heights. They are reasonable at $1.50 each and very fresh. They have a nice selection of reasonable hot foods to take out and I just munched on them on the trip back up 110th to Fifth Avenue.
El Chevere Cuchifrito Bakery at 2000 Third Avenue
Fifth Avenue from 110th to 125th Streets was where I was lining my walk to concentrate in this area. I walked up and down Fifth Avenue to Marcus Garvey Park and walked around the park which was packed with people walking their dogs by the dog park and kids playing in the playground. Even though the avenue is lined with public housing, the area is dotted with new developments especially on the north and west parts of the park.
Marcus Garvey Park (Mount Morris Park)
The west side of Marcus Garvey Park is the Mount Morris Historical Area. This stretches from about 124th Street to 118th Street and has the most beautiful and graceful brownstones the line the side streets by the park. This area like the rest of Harlem is being sandblasted and renovated back to an earlier era and people are snatching up these homes.
I finished this park of the walk by walking down Fifth Avenue through the Taft Homes that line the streets and back down 110th and back up Morningside Avenue and then down Manhattan Avenue to finish off the walk for this part of the visit to the area.
This is a huge area to cover so I will be breaking the visit down into three sections to really see what the neighborhood has to see and offer. I have already walked the boarders of 125th Street and 110th Street and will continue on to do the avenues first and then the side streets. So join me as we explore the newest in ‘hip’ areas, SoHA.
Please read my other blogs on walking East Harlem:
I put my walk in Manhattan aside for the day and walked the streets of Philadelphia, PA for my annual trip on the Acela to visit the ‘City of Brotherly Love’. I go down to Philly twice a year on purpose for my cheesesteak fix at Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagie’s Cheesesteaks and to have Beiler’s Doughnuts and Basset’s Ice Cream, foods that you just can’t replicate in New York City or New Jersey. Not the way they do it. This requires a trip on the Acela to the Reading Terminal Market downtown.
Downtown Philadelphia Christmas Market 2024
During the holiday season, I also like to see the light show at Macy’s (which I still call Wanamaker’s) and visit the tree at City Hall. Philadelphia has its own magic at holidays. There is such a beautiful holiday market that surrounds City Hall with all sorts of artisan crafted foods and handmade products. There was a slew of singers, actors and musicians that were entertaining the public.
Downtown Philadelphia’s Christmas Market in 2024
The City Hall Christmas Tree may not be as big as the one in New York but no less nice. It was beautifully decorated and at twilight, covered with colorful lights. A lot of people were taking pictures around it or were getting ready to skate around the makeshift skating rink. It is not Rockefeller Center, but the affect was just as nice, and it really did put me in the Christmas spirit.
The Christmas tree by City Hall in Center City Philadelphia
The beautiful downtown Christmas tree with Downtown Philadelphia in the distance
The first part of my trip was to see the light show at Macy’s next to City Hall. I still have a hard time calling it Macy’s considering it was the old Wanamaker’s store since its inception. This beautiful grand dame of the department store industry was so much nicer when it was Wanamaker’s.
Macy’s Center City Philadelphia-The old Wanamaker’s Department Store
The Windows at Macy’s Philadelphia were nicely decorated similar to the windows in Manhattan
The Macy’s Windows based on the New York windows
Window Two at Macy’s Philadelphia
Window Three at Macy’s Philadelphia
Window Four at Macy’s Philadelphia
The beginning of “Mannequin”:
There were beautiful restaurants, luxury departments and it was always nicely decorated for the holidays. Macy’s does a nice job, but it was a different store in the 80’s and early 90’s. I still see traces of the old store in the movie “Mannequin”.
The movie trailer for “Mannequin” was shot at the store in 1986
The famous opening scene that was shot in front of the old Wanamaker Department Store
My favorite song from the movie “Mannequin”
The movie “Mannequin”
I can still see traces of the old store here and there. It was beautifully decorated for the holidays and it was really pretty in the store. The displays were very colorful and the main rotunda was so festive. It was not the same as the old Wanamaker’s but more like a Macy’s store in New York.
The Rotunda of Macy’s Philadelphia (former Wanamaker’s)
The beauty of the Rotunda decorated during the holidays
The decorations in the Fine Jewelry Department
The Eagle in the Rotunda
The Women’s Accessories Department during Christmas
The Men’s Department during Christmas
The decorations of the main floor
I have seen the light show about five times now and I know I can see the whole thing on YouTube, but it is still fun to see it live in the store and hear the organist play the famous pipe organ. It really is an exciting show. I love the music and I love the way they display the story line. Julie Andrews does a nice job narrating the story.
It is such a colorful program with all the lights and music. I love it when she says, “Goodbye Frosty” to Frosty the Snowman. The crowds are huge and all over the main level, so if you go see it in the future get there early.
Julie Andrews saying goodbye to Frosty!
The video on the Lightshow with Frosty the Snowman:
The light show is only during the holiday season so take the special trip out to see it. It is only about twenty minutes long but still it is one of the things I look forward to seeing.
This is one of the nicest shots of the show I could find online:
The Macy’s Christmas Show in the rotunda of the store
One of the reasons I came down to Macy’s Philadelphia not just to see the windows, see the Lightshow but I made a reservation to see the Dickens Village, which was a relic of Strawbridge & Clothier created in 1984 by the former rival of Wanamaker’s.
The Macy’s Dickens Village is now located on the Third Floor of the store which was the old Executive Offices
The start of the tour of the “Dickens Tour”
The start of the “Dickens Tour”
The Dickens display with Charles Dickens narrating
The Dickens display with Scrooge confronted by members of the Charities
The Dickens display The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Dickens display of Fuzzywink’s Party scene
The Dickens display Meeting Ghost of Christmas Present
The Dickens display Nephew Fred’s Party
The Dickens display Scrooge meeting the Ghost of Christmas Future
The Dickens display The end of the story with a Revelation by Scrooge
The Dickens Village is a lot of fun to walk through and it is a fun way to learn the story and understand the lessons about the story. It is nice to see that Macy’s is keeping these traditions going (for now). After seeing the Lightshow and walking through Dickens Village and walking around the store to see the decorations and what the store looks like, I wanted to get some lunch.
My main purpose and then I made a B-line to be the Reading Terminal Market for lunch. Somehow there are just regions where you cannot replicate the foods from that area. Philly is one of those places.
The sign for the Reading Terminal Market
I had not been to the city since the spring, and I needed my serious cheesesteak fix and the best place to do that in the downtown area is Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies & Cheesesteaks (Closed October 2024).
The Reading Market Terminal for all those wonderful restaurants
Located in the center of the Reading Terminal Market, which is only about two blocks from City Hall, Carmen’s has some of the best sandwiches in the city. I have my usual plain Cheesesteak with Cheese Wiz.
Inside the Reading Market Terminal in the seating area by all the restaurants
My favorite places to eat at the Reading Market, Beiler’s Bakery and Doughnuts and the Dutch Eating Place
Sorry New York City, we do a lot of things great up here but cheesesteaks like this are not one of them. They load a fresh, soft chewy hoagie bun up with thin sliced steaks and then load that up with loads of Cheese Wiz.
The amazing Cheesesteaks from Carmines
Biting into that sandwich is heaven on earth and I enjoy every bite of it. It is always funny to see the staff watch me enjoy my sandwich and the guy that looks like the owner likes it that I enjoy it so much (See TripAdvisor review). It is also fun to talk to the other guests because they come here from all over for the same reason.
When I returned to Philadelphia in December of 2024, Carmines closed in October upon the retirement of the owner to be replaced by Gus’s Cheesesteaks. Now the Cheesesteaks are $17.00. They still look good but a little expensive.
Carmine’s at North 51 12th Street for Cheesesteaks is great! (Closed October 2024)
Carmine’s Cheesesteaks was replaced by Gus’s Cheesesteaks and the cheesesteaks are now $17.00
When I returned to the Reading Terminal Market in 2024, Carmine’s had closed and replaced by Uncle Gus’s Cheesesteaks and their sandwiches were $17.00! I thought this was way too expensive so I went back to the Dutch Eating Place a few rows over whose prices and portion sizes were still close to what they were when I last visited. The food is still excellent.
I had not had a chance to eat a Thanksgiving dinner because of work, I had to have the Roast Turkey platter. This was lots of sliced turkey between thick slices of freshly made white bread served with Mashed Potatoes with lots of thick gravy with a side of Cole slaw and cranberry sauce. I ordered a freshly made Pink Lemonade for a drink with my meal. It was excellent and what was nice was talking with the other patrons. We had a nice conversation about my dining blog, DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com. They got a kick out it.
The Roast Turkey platter at Dutch Eating Place is so good and a very generous portion for lunch
Yum! This was delicious!
My next part of the trip was to Beiler’s Bakery, which has some of the best doughnuts in the world. These little gems are so beautifully displayed and are constantly being refilled that I do not think that there is a stale doughnut ever in that case. The line wrapped around the counter.
Don’t miss the selection of doughnuts at Beiler’s at 51 North 12th Street.
It is fun to watch the doughnuts fried out in front of you and then cooled on the racks. Then each doughnut is hand filled and glazed right in front of the customers behind the glass. All of their fillings are hand-made and are oh so good.
The employees making the fresh fillings and filling the freshly made doughnuts
The fresh fillings of the Beiler’s Doughnuts
I had a strawberry glazed with what tasted like fresh strawberry jelly and I had a peppermint cream filled doughnut that was a specialty for the holidays that had just a hint of the peppermint sweetness. It was a hard choice though. I could have eaten a dozen but you have to be good here (See TripAdvisor review).
When I made a beeline back to Beiler’s in 2024, I wanted to try some of the classic and creative doughnuts. I tried a Glaze Doughnut and a Lemon cream filled Lemon Doughnut which I went outside and devoured pretty quickly. The doughnuts are excellent and I really missed coming here. It had been three years since I had been to Philadelphia and I really missed Beiler’s.
The Glazed doughnuts really impressed me in the case
The Glazed Doughnuts are delicious
The Lemon Cream filled doughnuts are amazing
After lunch was over it was off to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the “Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism 1910-1950”, which was well-worth the trip. You don’t get to see much of this art in New York museums or just on a smaller scale than this. The exhibition showed such a wide range of art from the traditional landscapes to cubism and the modern person. I liked the way the way that the curator set the exhibit up. It jumped around and as it flowed you saw the art from many perspectives. I advise readers in the New York area to take a trip down to see this exhibition.
Philadelphia Art Museum at 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
I walked around the city after my museum visit and saw all the different holiday displays downtown. Philly really is a pretty city and the downtown has been much improved in the last ten years. It is so much more vibrant and safer than in years past. I walked down the main shopping district to look at the closed department stores of the past, Strawbridge & Clothier and Lit’s. Downtown Philadelphia is improving but still has a ways to go since you can’t always build office buildings in an economy that is still working remote.
The old Strawbridge & Clothier in Downtown Philadelphia
Before I took the train back up to New York City, I took one more stop at the Reading Market to go to Basset’s Ice Cream for a cone and stop at Beiler’s Bakery across from their doughnut stand to take some baked goods home. I can’t get Shoofly pie or proper moon pies at home.
Again the place was still so busy and I was able to load up on Whoopie Pies, Shoofly Pie and Sweet Rolls for the trip home and some Whoopie Pies for my aunt who needed some cheering up. They are so well-baked and delicious I wanted to eat them there. Everyone at the stand was so patient with me as I had to make my decisions. Add in a few fry pies and I was done for the day (See review on TripAdvisor).
Beiler’s Bakery was fully stocked on New Year’s Eve and was really busy
Next was off to Basset’s Ice Cream for a cone for my walk back to the station. I settled on the holiday Eggnog flavor (Yum) and the Pomegranate and Blueberry flavor (unusual and worked). On a fresh waffle cone there is nothing like it even in the winter. Everyone I passed saw the huge smile on my face and made comments about eating ice cream in the winter. Sorry folks, there is nothing like ice cream with butter fat in it to make a man smile (See review on TripAdvisor). It was a great walk back to the train station. All the lights went on in downtown and the City Hall Market looked even more festive.
Basset’s Ice Cream at 45 North 12th Street at the Reading Terminal Market
The train station was beautifully decorated with lights, wreaths and a huge tree and it was nice to just sit back and relax until the train came. On the way back, the city was all lite in front of me. The boat houses on the river were lit with Christmas lights and boats passed by lit up as well.
The Christmas tree in Penn Station in Penn Station in Philadelphia
The tree was truly beautiful at the end of the Christmas season
The latter part of the evening when I got back to New York City was a quick trip to the Met to see their Christmas Tree and an evening of looking at the windows of Barney’s, Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor.
Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City at 611 Fifth Avenue
The entrance to Saks Fifth Avenue during Christmas holiday
I took a quick trip through the holiday market in Bryant Park and then to Port Authority. It really was the perfect day to get into the holiday mood.
Post Christmas visit during the Philadelphia Flower Show 2025:
What was sad though when I returned two months later for the Flower Show, it was announced that Macy’s was shutting down the downtown store as part of the store cuts as Macy’s was downsizing the company. Almost all the inner city stores like Brooklyn and Philadelphia were going to join stores like Pittsburgh and Minneapolis. It was a sad day for Philly.
Macy’s during my day of touring
Sad day in Philly
It reminded me of when B. Altman closed in New York City
The display windows said it all but had been very festive just two months earlier
The once elegant Men’s Department
The mannequins for sale
Me with the ‘Mannequins’ on the first floor
Me with the decorations that once adorned the first floor during Christmas
It’s so sad to see where John Wanamaker once walked and Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall once danced down the aisles has now been reduced to abargain sale
The empty cases were once filled with beautiful jewels and fancy perfumes
All the Christmas decorations from two months before were all sold
The beautiful atrium where I watched the light show a few months before
The Accessories Department
No one was near the Eagle that day
The back part of the Atrium
The sadness of the Clothing Department
The Cosmetics Department had nothing left
The beautiful embellishments around the Cosmetics Department of the Eastern States. This is of Massachutes
This is the New Jersey emblem
Where Kim Cattrell and Andrew McCarthy danced in the film
The lion guarding the stairs
The actors dancing in the film “Mannequin”
The front of the old Wanamakers store where the opening scene of ‘Mannequin’ was shot
Not what John Wanamaker envisioned for his store
When I returned in November of 2025, they were trying to keep the tradition alive.
It is a sad day as this was once one of the most beautiful and creative stores in the country now reduced to a bargain sale.
I have had to put my walk on hold again for a month as I was organizing another visit from the Bergen County Zoo to the Lodi Memorial Library. The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library decided to do a series of events with the theme “Follow the Yellow Brick Road Back to You Library”. This was to promote visiting the library and opening a library card.
The Lodi Memorial Library in Lodi, NJ
Our first event was the visit from Miss New Jersey 2016 Brenna Weick and finished with a huge fundraiser at Friendly’s Restaurant in Woodland Park, New Jersey. We reached out to the Lodi Community and the surrounding towns with engaging, innovative programming that appeals to all ages.
The visit from Miss New Jersey 2016 Brenna Weick, who performed “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” to the audience
Miss New Jersey Brenna Weick singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
Her visit started our series of events to “Follow the Yellow Brick Road back to the Lodi Memorial Library”. Miss New Jersey read the book “The Wizard of Oz” to the children at the library and sang to the audience, showing us the talent she showed in the ‘Miss America’ Contest. After her visit, we had the Bergen County Zoo visit with barnyard animals that Dorothy might have seen on the farm.
The video of the program on YouTube
This event featured two innovative programs that were created by the Bergen County Zoo exclusively for the library, “Dorothy’s Barnyard Animals” and “The Tales of Flying Monkey’s”. Both programs included a reading of the book ‘The Wizard of Oz’ tailored to that program.
In the first program, “Dorothy’s Barnyard Animals”, zoo educator Carol Fusco created a program to show the children and their parents what animals live in a barnyard and what animals ‘Dorothy’ might have taken care of while working on the farm. She went through what animals are available to see at the zoo versus what animals you might see on a working farm in New Jersey and beyond. She then asked the kids what animals they have seen recently to a very engaging discussion of what is in their own backyards.
Dorothy’s Barnyard Animals was the second theme for the event
Then she brought out a special guest, ‘Butterscotch’ the chicken, who came out to visit us all the way from the Bergen County Zoo. This gentle little bird was so friendly I swear that she smiled at me. The kids just loved her and some of them got to pet her. I can tell you that that chicken did not blink and the kids got such a kick out of it (I could tell the parents did as well with the big smile on some of their faces).
The second program, “The Tales of Flying Monkey’s”, Carol and her partner from the zoo read a section of the book after Dorothy had melted the Wicked Witch of the West and how the monkeys were indebted to Dorothy for freeing them from the clutches of the evil witch. They explained who the monkey’s really were to the kids and made them less afraid of them. I thought it was an interesting they took that perspective on how misunderstood the characters were in the movie versus the book.
“Tales of Flying Monkeys”
Then there was a discussion of mammals who fly and there place in the wild. There was an interesting discussion how animals fly and the place in nature that they had. The educators passed around pictures of different animals and explained how they live in the wild. For a program that was geared to kids from the first grade to third grade I really learned a lot. I never knew that much about animals from the perspective of the zoo keepers but it opened my eyes on their place in society. Plus I got a kick out of holding the chicken. It is really a great chicken.
The barn at the Bergen County Zoo where all the barnyards animals live
We had about 30 people at the event and a mixture of age groups including a lot of parents and grandparents join us for the afternoon. I even had the parents walk up to me and say that they learned a lot as well. That made me feel good that the Friends could offer such a nice educational program that engaged the kids and got them off their cell phones. It was a younger crowd then I had thought we would attract but it seemed to me that the families all had a good time and were happy that the zoo came to them.
The program was followed by a light reception with all sorts of cookies, fresh fruit, wrap sandwiches and chicken fingers that were donated by Inserra ShopRite of Lodi. We want to thank them and Inserra Supermarkets for their support. Thank you!
For those who have never been to the Bergen County Zoo, it is a real treat. It is located in Paramus, New Jersey in the Van Saun Park off Forrest Avenue. It is a real treat and has a nice selection of animals to visit and more creative programming to experience. A big Thank you to Carol Fusco and her team for creating such a great program for the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library.
Thank you to everyone who participated and we hope you enjoyed the program.
Articles on the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library events:
I can’t believe that it has been fifteen years since the attacks on the World Trade Center. It seems like a lifetime ago. As the site has been almost rebuilt with the new One World Trade Center (visited earlier in my walk last Thanksgiving) and two visits to the 9/11 Memorial Museum and numerous visits to the site, I think back on my eleven years on the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department and the path I have lead to this point.
I think that the department has really grounded me in many ways and made me more disciplined. I have been able to help my community in ways that baking items for bake sales and selling Christmas trees never did even though these raised a lot of money for their respective causes. I think I have become a better person and a more aware person since joining the department. I really do think you are born a fireman. It just comes out a time when you recognize it. It was like a calling for me and I found what I was looking for in my life and I would never change it for the world.
Am I the best fire fighter or the most dedicated? That is up for debate after every call. I do know one thing, I have been able to help the people in my community in so many ways and when I hear from perfect strangers in my town or surrounding towns “I remember you. You came to my house and helped so-in-so in my family. Thank you so much for that.”, it makes me feel like a better person.
When I wrote “Firehouse 101” (part of a trilogy of books that take place in New York City, the other two being “Love Triangles” and “Dinner at Midnight”), I was at a different stage of my life and honestly if I had to write the book today, I could not do it. The book helped me grapple with what I saw and heard from other guys on the department when I got home to New Jersey from the island of Guam where I was living at the time.
How did a ‘preppie’ like me join the fire department? I was writing several articles on 9/11 for the local paper when I got home (basically because would write for free and I volunteered) and I interviewed so many fire fighters in my town on their role on 9/11 that I got sucked in. After a three hour interview with our now former chief and a long service fire fighter that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time with the stories they told me of that horrible day, the chief turned to me and said, “Have you ever considered becoming a fire fighter?”
I really thought about it when I got home and said to myself “Why would anyone think ‘Preppie Me’ would make a good fireman?” Then it really got me thinking of a lot of times I had met firemen along the way in my life and how impressed I was by them. It stayed with me for a long time and then I was helping out with the town’s tree lighting ceremony about a year later and the fireman I interviewed was standing in line behind me for a hot chocolate and I asked how he like the article I wrote. Then out of the blue I asked “Are you still looking for more firemen to join the department?” He then took me over to meet the chief I had interviewed and I asked about joining the department. Two months later I interviewed with my company and five months after that on June 12, 2005, I became a member of Engine One of the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department and eleven years later I am still going strong as an Exempt fire fighter, member of the Bergen County Fireman’s Home Association, Department Secretary, Company Secretary, Head of our company’s annual barbecue and chicken parm dinner and still writing articles on the department. I really do think they saw something in me that day that I did not see in myself.
The Brothers of Engine One at the 2017 Summer Barbecue
As much as my brothers can drive me crazy at times, there is no other place I would rather be and when push comes to shove, they are there for me. The one true time I saw the ‘Brotherhood’ shine was when my father died and on the night of the wake, they came out for me. The fireman, who I wrote the article about, Fire Fighter Tom Rubino, who will be retiring from the department this year and is our acting Fire Chaplin, read a beautiful speech about my father, whom everyone on the department had known for years at that point and had admired his bravery and hard work after his stroke to get better. It made it even more touching that it was him that read the speech after that night so many years ago.
The Brothers of Engine One christen their new/old bell for Engine One
The members of not just my company but other companies as well came out to support me and my father at a very tough time in my life and I will never forget that kindness. It is really a feeling that someone who is not a fire fighter will ever experience. There really is something to being a fire fighter and being part of a community in the fire service.
So on this anniversary of 9/11, I leave you with a section of the book when Alex Livingston, a scion of the famous Livingston family of the Hudson Valley, interviews the fire chief from Firehouse 101 in Brooklyn, New York and his tale of the 9/11 attacks. It tells the story of fire fighter Ryan Callahan, who survived that attacks that day and watched his best friend die next to him.
To all the families and friends who lost loved ones that day, my heart goes out to you. It still is not easy for any of us on the fire service no matter when we joined. I hope one day you can read my novel “Firehouse 101”. It might help you grapple with your pain. If you want to read a funny but touching article on me, read The Gazette newspaper article in 2006 on my life a year later in the fire service “So, yous want to be a Fireman?”
Excerpt from the interview with Carmen Giovanni (who I wanted it to be played in the movie version by musician and actor Huey Lewis)
What exactly happened to Ryan that day?” Alex asked. “At the school or on September 11th?” Carmen replied. “Both,” Alex said now fascinated by it all. He wanted to get the story straight once and for all. “I can only tell you what the men told me. When they got the call on September 11th, this house was the second one to respond from Brooklyn. They were going over the bridge when they saw the second plane hit the towers. The house sent seven men down plus two others who were off duty. Some stayed to man the house, while the others went down to the site. We were going through a shift change, not unlike my own house at the time, so there were lots of men milling around that morning. They got the call early and being so close to lower Manhattan they went. Hilly was never one to wait. One of the men told me that on the ride down, Hilly had said, “When we put this one out, I personally want to catch those rat bastards that did this to our city.”
“What about Ryan that day?” Alex said wanting to get back on the subject. “From what I heard he barely said a word. He was in another world by that point. Others were chatting on and on about what type of plane must have hit when the second plane hit the other tower. Then they were all quiet. Those men saw too much that day,” Carmen added. He paused for a second, looked at Alex and gave him a sorrowful look like he was waiting for a reaction. Alex sat wide eyed and continued to write.
“From what the men told me, Hilly went into the Tower Two to see what they could do and where they should go first. Since there was so much chaos, Hilly took control and helped escorting people out of the building and away from danger. They say he was pretty calm. From what I knew of the guy, he would have had everyone double step and yell at them if they didn’t do it. So he and the rest of the men helped there. From what I heard, they then got a call to help on the upper floors, so Hilly took four of the men with him and told Ryan and Patrick to stay behind to help get the infirmed or injured out of the building. That’s why Ryan and Patrick were alive that day.
The picture of Ryan and Patrick was taken ten minutes before the first tower came down. It had literally knocked their helmets off. All Ryan could remember when he came out of the coma in the hospital was that he and Patrick had gone back to the lobby to help get more people out of he building. They had been helping an older man and the next thing he knew, he woke up in the hospital a few weeks later. Carmen was calm as he explained the story to Alex.
Alex could not believe what he was hearing. It was like a TV movie. So that was the story, that’s what really happened that day. No wonder Ryan wanted to forget it, what a horrifying experience. “So what happened at the hospital when he woke up?” Alex asked.
Carmen thought about this for a minute. Should he continue on? Who was this for anyway? Carmen decided to continue thinking that Alex was a concerned friend. In actuality, Alex was trying to get an idea of the magnitude of what happened that day to one person. He wanted to know what Leslie, Ryan, and Roger were not telling him. Alex felt that he had never been that nice to Ryan the whole time he lived in New York. He began to realize that he felt sorry for himself as Ryan had for himself and what concerned Ryan was much worse.
“One of the men told me that they could not believe that Ryan made it out with just a sprained ankle and a few minor cuts. It was the way he fell. The base of a fountain protected him. Even I couldn’t believe it but that’s where they found him. He and Patrick were still alive. The man they were helping was literally crushed by the beam they found on top of him,” Carmen added. “How did they find them?” Alex asked. Some firemen from a downtown house found them and got them the hell out of there,” Carmen continued, “no one could believe that they survived the first collapse. There was no help for Patrick though; he died after they got to the hospital. The impact was more severe that it appeared, he was suffering from internal bleeding. He died before his parents even knew that he had made it to the hospital. Mr. And Mrs. Callahan had to help the two of them home.” Alex had known that the two families were very close and Patrick and Ryan knew each other since they were practically born. Carmen was not sure how much Alex knew of Ryan.
“His old girlfriend told me about that,” Alex said, “it must be horrible for any parent to bury a child under any conditions but after what had happened on September 11th, it must have been even more traumatizing, especially when it seemed like there was a chance he survived. No one should have had to die such a terrible death.”
Alex had not noticed that during the interview. Carmen’s face turned red them almost to almost purple, like he was holding his breath. Alex was worried and said, “Carmen are you okay? Do you need some water or something?” Carmen looked away then looked back at Alex. He looked him straight in the eye and started a speech that Alex would not ever dream of interrupting.
“You’re right, Alex. No one should have had to die such a horrible way because no one should have had to die that day!” Carmen shouted. “We had so many good men die that day that should not have and why? I’ll tell you why. No one was watching the signs, no one shared information. Everyone letting their egos get in the way. No one had a back up plan, no one understood the big picture. We all went in blind because no one knew. And the city, Jesus Christ, I still can’t believe it. You’d think we would have learned from the bombings in ’93, but we didn’t. We got smug. We thought they couldn’t possibly do it again. They wouldn’t even try. And we warned the city government! We said we needed new equipment but did they listen, NO!!! It was too expensive, we have no money, we have to cut the budget and wait until next year. Jesus Christ, here it is nine years later and we still don’t have it! What the fuck are they waiting for to get hit next? The Brooklyn Bridge? The Empire State Building? I would like to know what the hell they are waiting for. My own brother and I can’t even talk to each other on radio. The police can’t talk to the firemen in this city and that is so fuckin’ ridiculous!” Carmen said now screaming at the top of his lungs. Carmen took a book off his desk and threw it at the wall. He was really pissed!
Then he continued, “Nothing in this god-damned city will ever change. They will spend money on parades and on memorials and then turn around and not want to buy new radios for us because it is too expensive! Well tell me this; would the person who said it would be too expensive to buy us new radios like to explain to over two thousand family members and to over a hundred and fifty widows of fire fighters that there was no money for them? I would like to meet them myself and explain it to them!” Carmen was in a near frenzy.
“I even yelled at that stupid brother of mine to knock some sense into some of his friends in the police department to get the ball rolling. This is such a load of bullshit! When did we let out egos get in the way such that departments won’t even help each other? Do you know how many firemen are former policemen? This is our wake up call to talk to one another and be better organized. If we don’t, I won’t blame the federal government because it won’t be the government’s fault but our own pride and stupidity! We don’t need anymore god damn parades praising us. We need good working conditions. Our firehouses can’t be falling apart and rat infested, we need new equipment to do our jobs and we need better salaries so our men and women can live closer to the city they serve. Do you know that some of our men have to live at home because they can’t make it on the starting salary? Christ, that’s pathetic! Our men aren’t being subsidized by Mommy and Daddy to live on the Upper East Side!” Carmen gave Alex the conclusion to his speech when he swept everything off his desk and yelled at the top of his lungs, “NO ONE HAD TO DIE THAT DAY!!!!”
To read more of ‘Firehouse 101’, see my ad on Google Books or buy the novel through the internet through IUniverse.com. Google Books, Amazon Books, Barnes &Nobel.com or any internet site selling the book by Googling it.
When I started this project so many months ago, I dedicated this blog to my father, Warren George Watrel, who was more than just ‘Dad’ to me. My father encouraged me at every turn, never let me give up and pushed me and wanted me to accomplish my dreams without putting limitations on them. Since I was a child, he never forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do because he knew if I hated something, I was just going to leave it knowing it wasn’t the right match of what I wanted to do in life. The two things standing out was wrestling in junior high and working at certain restaurant chain as an adult, two things I really hated but did because I thought it was what I should have done.
When I got frustrated, he asked me what I really wanted and then encouraged me to find it and I always did in the end. This went with jobs, friends and life in general. My father never judged but wanted my brothers and I to be happy. That is pretty rare in a parent where everyone is competitive and thinks their child should be in the Olympics or go to Harvard. Speaking as a swimmer who won two medals at the Junior Olympics and as a Cornell Alumnus, I never had an interest in going to the Olympics as an adult and love it when Cornell beats Harvard at ice hockey and basketball (one day football) and was happy in the decisions I made because at the end of the day, they were my decisions not his and his support in what I wanted was very enlightening. When I take my lumps, they are my lumps.
When my dad’s health was affected by a serious stroke in 2011, I never gave it a thought that I would help him, it was a given to me. His battle to get healthy was our battle and for three and a half years I watched my dad defy every doctor who said he would never walk, speak or have a life again. Some of them even wrote him off as he might be a vegetable.
What I saw was a person stuck in a body that he wanted to get out of and was willing to try anything to get there. I never saw a man work as hard as he did to get well. Between he inpatient, out-patient and work outs with personal trainers and water aerobics, I saw the old him start to emerge with a stronger attitude, a more open view on life and a much more social person who was ready to open up to people. One of his therapist even encouraged him to go on speaking tours to encourage others not to give up and set an example of what can be accomplished with diet and exercise.
Sometimes in the end, due to circumstances beyond our control, things happen. My father passed away on October 13, 2014 and it broke my heart. The one thing he left me with a will to continue on and not give up. He set an example of what can be accomplished through hard work and dedication and believing in ones self as well as being encouraged by the outside forces of life to succeed.
He set an example that just because you have a disability, that your life is not over. It just becomes a different kind of the life. I was lucky to be with him every step of the way and was proud of his accomplishments and being able to live the life he wanted to on his terms. In essence, we still looked out for one another. As his son, I was proud to help him achieve what he wanted to in his life.
So to my remarkable father who set the example of never giving up, foraging ahead and not setting limits on himself or anyone else, I wanted to say with great love, Happy 81st Birthday Dad! I love you, respect you and miss you every day. Thank you for giving me the gift of letting me help you and making me a better person for it. The greatest present I get now, sometimes from complete strangers who saw us in everyday life, say to me “Oh, I used to see you and your dad together at such and such. You were such a good son to take such good care of your father” and I have so many seniors say to me “I wish my child would do for me what you did for your father”.
Well, to all of you who helped us along the way and encouraged him to never give up and just live life, a very big thank you! Your kind words every day made his life complete and also thank you for noticing. It makes my memories so much better that someone saw all this and was encouraged on their own. I don’t know how many people he inspired but I look around now and I see so many people who themselves have gotten better because he set an example of never letting a stroke dictate how his life would be and continued to live it.
See my dedication to my dad in all my sites, “MywalkinManhattan.com”, “VisitingaMuseum.com”, “LittleShoponMainStreet.com”, DiningonaShoestringinnyc.com” and in “BergenCountyCaregiver.com” all under WordPress.com that have been created in honor of my father.
Happy Birthday Dad with much love from me! I miss you so much but am inspired by your example as a person. We should all learn from it. My walk continues soon and as I explore a place we loved to visit so much, I will continue to be inspired by you and respect you in every way.
One of the projects that I was working on as the Junior Friends Chair of another Friends group two years ago was the holiday event, “Teens, Tots & Toys: the Holiday Festival” an all day event that was filled with movies, craft making and celebrity visits all to raise funds and collect toys for the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation of Midland Park, NJ. It had all been planned and then got cancelled. It was an omen too as it snowed the entire day that year and all holiday events had to be cancelled.
It was time to put the event into motion. As my holiday activities were in full swing, we had just finished Christmas tree sales selling 240 trees through our Men’s Association, Christmas Decorating judging with the Mayor’s Celebration Committee, visits to help out in the Soup Kitchen, the fire department’s Annual ‘Santa Around Town’ and volunteering for the Sinterklaas parade, ‘Teens, Tots & Toys’ was the last big event on my list of holiday events.
We invited US Champion, World Champion and Olympian Elaine Zayak to join us for a book reading, Q & A and then an autograph session to be followed by two movies and then lastly gingerbread house making. I knew it was going to be a long day. It had taken six weeks to plan.
Even though the crowds were low (I never understand the patrons of this library that don’t appreciate a really great free event), the event went off nicely. Elaine showed up with her son, Jack and could not have been friendlier. She had just come back from teaching at the Hackensack Ice House and was dressed in her US Figure Skating jacket. She was a true professional.
Elaine Zayak in 1994 when she came back at the United States National Champions
I felt embarrassed by the turnout but Elaine was like don’t worry about it. She had been through this before at book signings. She had been at ones where there were five people and some where there were fifty. She told me she wanted to have something where she and Jack could spend the day with each other and she could involved him. The afternoon was perfect for that.
We started the afternoon with a warm welcome to the crowd that was there and wished everyone a Happy Holiday season. Then I went on to talk about the Legend of ‘Tinker Street’, the magical elf, who the event was honoring and then I introduced Elaine.
‘Tinker Street, the Elf’
A lot of the audience did not know of the contributions to figure skating that Elaine had done. She had introduced so many triple jumps into her skating program when she was starting out that the famous ‘Zayak Rule’ had been created to limit the amount of jumps that you could have in a program. She also brought a sense of athleticism to the sport by encouraging skaters to not just use a sense of style but a sense power to the sport. This gave it a strong point after the ‘figures’ went away in the judging.
Elaine read along with her son, Jack, from the book the “Skating Shoes’ by Noel Streatfeild. This book was made famous by the movie, “You got Mail” when Meg Ryan mentions the book to a bookstore patron. It was a very uplifting book about two friends and fellow skaters who were starting to compete against each other. The two of them took time to read from the book.
Elaine Zayak and her son, Jack
During the Q & A, there were some interesting questions that many of the Friends members had such as her competitions, what it was like to be in the Olympics, many of the famous skaters that she competed with and against, the Tonya/Nancy affair that was taking place at the same time at Nationals in 1994 and what she was doing today. She took a lot of pride in what she was doing with her teaching and encouraging young skaters.
Teens, Tots & Toys
Ms. Zayak with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library
We filmed the entire event and unfortunately the Mayor had been a little late because of a mix up in the time so we were able to refilm this segment of the program. We as the Friends, lead by our President Judy Schroeder, presented Elaine with an honorarium making her a member of the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library, the Library Director Siobhan Koch presented Elaine with her own copy of the book, “The Skating Shoes” and then the Mayor made his presentation.
Lodi, NJ Mayor Emil Carafa with Ms. Zayak
Lodi Borough Mayor Emil Carafa presented Elaine Zayak with an official medal from the Borough of Lodi, New Jersey and then placed the medal on her and read a proclamation from the Borough of Lodi honoring her many accomplishments. It was very touching to both her and the audience. Another nice thing about it is that the Mayor remembered when she was still skating as a teen and helping raise money for her to compete. Elaine also donated her fee to her two favorite charities, which we thought was very nice of her.
Mayor Carafa with Ms. Zayak
Everyone then joined us for a reception in honor of her visit. We had a beautiful spread of food donated by Inserra Shoprite of Lodi, New Jersey. The reception included a six foot Italian hoagie, a platter of fresh cut fruit, three trays of assorted cookies, assorted chips and assorted juices, bottled waters and sodas that the patrons could enjoy. Elaine’s son, Jack, really seemed to enjoy himself, first helping his mom with the book reading and then enjoying the good food.
The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library presenting Ms. Zayak with a membership to ‘The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library’
After Elaine and Jack left for the afternoon, we showed the film ‘Arthur Christmas’, the story about one of Santa’s two sons who helps save Christmas for one little girl whose gift was left behind in the North Pole. It is a very uplifting movie about the true meaning of the holiday and the spirit of giving.
After the movie, about fifteen families with about thirty children participated in the first annual making of Gingerbread houses, in which everyone looked like they had a lot of fun. You should have seen some of the creations that came out of that afternoon, made of icing and candies.
Although we did not have the crowd that we thought we would, everyone who came had a very nice time with the event. There is still a lot we have to learn about running these events, the patrons who came had a nice time meeting Elaine Zayak and her son, watching the film and creating the gingerbread houses.
This is what I read from the Legend of Tinker Street, the Magical Elf:
‘The Legend of Tinker Street’
Teens, Tots & Toys Mascot, the holiday elf, Tinker Street, is a lovable little prankster, who lives in the valley of the Catskills Mountains in which the downtown Main Street of Woodstock, NY is named after.
Tinker Street is a gregarious, generous elf who represents the happiness, generosity and thoughtful charity during the holiday season. Tinker Street does not represent one holiday but all holidays celebrated where love, family and get-togetherness are found.
Coming out of his home only on December 1st of each year, you can never truly see Tinker Street. You can only feel him when good thoughts pass through you, when a good deed is done and when helping another person is done with great kindness.
Tinker Street is an elf of great kindness and tolerance and where you find him is in the understanding that no two holidays are alike so respect for them is very important. The true meaning from a visit from Tinker Street is the generosity to charity, the thoughtfulness of a distant family member or friend and looking back to the kindness and remembrance of someone who is gone but not forgotten.
When we receive a visit from Tinker Street, we see only the best in ourselves and others around us. When you see a big smile on someone’s face or happy laughter in a gathering, you know Tinker Street has been there.
So to be part of the very first celebration of “Teens, Tots & Toys”, we wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season and experience the magic in the days ahead.’
This event also raised the awareness of the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation of Midland Park, New Jersey and the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library donated the next week around fifty toys and forty children’s books from the library that were donated to the charity, which helps families with children with cancer. It was a big plus to the Foundation of our donation and it helped so many children in a tough holiday season.
For all you patrons who attended the event or donated toys to help, thank you all from the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library for making such a big difference in a strangers life. You all show the true meaning of the holidays by giving of yourselves and commitment to charity.
Merry Christmas to you all!
Please enjoy this two part video of Elaine Zayak’s visit to the Lodi Memorial Library and her ‘key to the city’ presentation by the Mayor of Lodi, Emil Cafara!
Elaine Zayak’s Reading at the Lodi Memorial Library’s “First Annual Teens, Tots & Toys”
Elaine Zayak being presented Honorariums from The Lodi Memorial Library and the Mayor of Lodi, NJ presenting her the medal from the Borough of Lodi, NJ.
Elaine Zayak receiving a “Key to the City” medal to Lodi, NJ
Elaine Zayak at the U.S. Nationals
Elaine Zayak in the 1994 National Championships
Articles on the event for the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library:
Our full page coverage in The Community News December 2015
mywalkinmanhattan 