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Day Sixty-Two: Christmas Visit to Philadelphia December 16th, 2016 (again December 31st, 2024 and February 7th, and March 7-9th, 2025)

January 5, 2017"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Bakeries for the budget minded, Candy and Ice Cream stores for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String in New York State, Dining on a Shoe String in Philadelphia, Exploring Historic Towns of Pennsylvania, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Philadelphia block by block, Exploring Philadelphia, PA, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Gourmet restaurants for the budget minded, Historic Neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Historic towns in Pennsylvania, Interesting Bakeries, Interesting Food Products, Interesting Ice Cream Shops, Little Shop on Main Street in Philadelphia, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Sandwich and Deli's for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in Pennsylvania, Visiting a Museum in PhiladelphiaAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Bassett's Ice Cream, Beiler's Doughnuts, BergenCountyCaregiver, Carmine's Cheesesteaks, Christmas Windows, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Philadelphia, Exploring Philadelphia block by block, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Macy's Philadelphia, Macy's Philadelphia Closing, MywalkinManhattan.com, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Reading Market, Visiting Philadelphia, VisitingaMuseum.com, Wanamaker's Department Store, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

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

https://l.macys.com/philadelphia-pa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanamaker%27s

http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org/2010/06/john-wanamaker-philadelphia.html

The Christmas Windows at Macy’s Philadelphia:

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.

The final Christmas Card to the audience

Video on the show:

IMG_4428 Download

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:

IMG_4431 Download

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

Christmas Light Show at Macy’s Philadelphia

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 Scrooge meets his future

Video on the display:

IMG_4469 Download

The Dickens display Scrooge faces his new life

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

Reading Terminal Market

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)

https://readingterminalmarket.org/merchant/carmens-famous-italian-hoagies-cheesesteaks/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d3606272-Reviews-Carmen_s_Famous_Italian_Hoagies_Cheesesteaks-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=69573

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.

The Dutch Eating Place at Reading Terminal Market

Home

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60795-d463036-r987298128-Dutch_Eating_Place-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/1015

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.

https://www.beilersdoughnuts.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d3964520-Reviews-Beiler_s_Bakery-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=69573

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/1033

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

https://philamuseum.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60795-d10800264-Reviews-Philadelphia_Museum_of_Art-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawbridge%27s

The original Strawbridge & Clothier building now a clothing store

New Book Celebrates 128 Years of Strawbridge & Clothier

The Lit Brothers Department store long closed

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

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

https://www.bassettsicecream.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d2321510-Reviews-Bassetts_Ice_Cream-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=69573

The Downtown Christmas Market

The decorated gate at City Hall

The gardens in the Christmas 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

https://www.saksfifthavenue.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d208852-Reviews-Saks_Fifth_Avenue-New_York_City_New_York.html

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 a bargain 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.

Downtown will never be the same

Places to Visit:

Macy’s Philadelphia

1300 Market Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

https://l.macys.com/philadelphia-pa

(215) 241-9000

Open: Sunday 11:00am-7:00pm/Monday-Thursday 11:00am-8:00pm/Friday 11:00am-9:00pm/Saturday 10:00am-9:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60795-d2108535-Reviews-Macy_s_Philadelphia-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

Reading Terminal Market

12th & Arch Streets

Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 922-2317

Open: Sunday 9:00am-4:00pm/Monday-Saturday 8:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60795-d104158-Reviews-Reading_Terminal_Market-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

Philadelphia Museum of Art

2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Philadelphia, PA 19130

(215) 763-8100

Open: Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday & Thursday 10:00am-5:00pm/Wednesday & Friday 10:00am-8:45pm

https://www.philamuseum.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60795-d10800264-Reviews-Philadelphia_Museum_of_Art-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

Places to Eat:

Beiler’s Doughnuts

Reading Market

51 North 12th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 351-0735

https://www.beilersdoughnuts.com/

Open: Sunday Closed/Monday-Saturday 8:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d3964520-Reviews-Beiler_s_Bakery-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/1033

Basset’s Ice Cream Shop

Reading Market

51 North 12th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 925-4315

https://www.bassettsicecream.com/our-store

http://bassettsicecream.com/l-58-%20Reading-Terminal-Market

Open: Sunday 9:00am-3:00pm/Monday-Friday 9:00am-6:00pm/Saturday 8:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d2321510-Reviews-Bassetts_Ice_Cream-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies & Cheesesteaks (Closed in October 2024)

Reading Market

51 West 12th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 592-7799

https://readingterminalmarket.org/merchant/carmens-famous-italian-hoagies-cheesesteaks/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 8:00am-6:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d3606272-Reviews-Carmen_s_Famous_Italian_Hoagies_Cheesesteaks-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/1042

Dutch Eating Place

1136 Arch Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 992- 0425

Open: Sunday-Monday Closed/Tuesday-Wednesday 8:00am-3:00pm/Thursday-Saturday 8:00am-5:00pm

Dutch Eating Place

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d463036-Reviews-Dutch_Eating_Place-Philadelphia_Pennsylvania.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/1015

For those of you who are going to miss the full lightshow in the future this Christmas, here is a treat, the entire light show:

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

Trust me everyone, I am going to miss this fantastic store too in the future.

Day Sixty-One: The Second Annual “Teens, Tots & Toys” holiday event with Best-Selling Author and Caldecott Medal Winner Christopher Raschka with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library December 10, 2016

January 4, 2017Exploring Lodi, New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Junior Friends of the Hasbrouck Heights Library, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, MywalkinManhattan.com: Friends of the Hasbrouck Heights Library, MywalkinManhattan.com: Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library Events, UncategorizedAuthor Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Christopher Raschka, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Lodi NJ, Friends of the Library, Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Lodi, Lodi Memorial Library, MywalkinManhattan.com, New Jersey, Teens/Tots&Toys, Tinker Street the Elf, Visiting Lodi NJ, Visiting the Lodi Memorial Library, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

This is the second time I have hosted the “Teens, Tots & Toys” holiday event at the Lodi Memorial Library. The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library created “Teens, Tots & Toys” as an alternative to many libraries having a “Story Time with Santa” event that can leave out some children who don’t celebrate Christmas.

Our mascot for the event, “Tinker Street” was created by myself to set the tone for the event and can be seen on YouTube in the video from last year’s event with special invited guest, US & World Figure Skater Elaine Zayak and with this year’s event with Best Selling and Caldecott Medal Winner, Christopher Raschka. We were so happy that two such prominent people wanted to join us for this event.

Chris and I at “Teens, Tots & Toys”

The premise for “Teens, Tots & Tots” is as a holiday event that caters to all children and their families. The Friends wanted to build the event on having a toy drive, a celebrity visit and showing a holiday movie. Last year, we donated toys and books to the Emmanuel Cancer Center in Midland Park, NJ. This is in partnership with the library when they run their Annual Gingerbread House Making event.

This holiday season we were very excited when Best-Selling Children’s Author and Caldecott Medal, Christopher Raschka, decided to join us. I have to admit, we had a lot of communication between each other for over a year and there were a lot of emails going back and forth and time commitments we both had and I was glad that he could join us for our holiday event. I was very excited that he was coming to our library. As the expression says. “Good things come to those who wait” and the visit went beyond my expectations. Everyone had a such a good time.

I had first become acquainted with Chris’s work when a few years earlier I had done another event at my old library with Giant’s player and fellow Cornell University Alumni, Kevin Boothe. Kevin had read from the inspirational book that Chris wrote and illustrated, “Everyone can learn to Ride a Bicycle”. I thought the illustrations were very unique and creative and that is when I thought it would be interesting to have the author come out to the library. It took almost a year and a half of planning.

Giants Player Kevin Boothe reading “Everyone Can Learn to Ride A Bicycle”.

Chris Raschka is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota who graduated with a degree in Biology. He also has a love for music as he was a member of both the Ann Arbor and Flint Symphony Orchestra’s. While working as an intern at a children’s orthopedic clinic in Germany, he experienced an interest in working with children.

He has received many awards and recognition’s for his work. In 1992, he won the Best Books of the Year citation, the Publisher’s Weekly, the Notable Children’s Book citation, the American Library Association (ALA) and the Pick of the Lists citation, the American Booksellers Association, all for ‘Charlie Parker Played Be Bop’. In 1994, he received the Caldecott Honor Book Award and he was the ALA and US winner of the UNICEF-Ezra Jack Keats award, both for ‘Yo! Yes?’. In 2005, he received the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award nomination for ‘The Hello, Goodbye Window’.

Chris Raschka was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 2006 for his illustrations in the ‘Hello, Goodbye Window’, written by Norton Juster (one of my hands down favorite authors since I was a kid and the author of the ‘Phantom Tollbooth’), a story about a child’s visit to her grandparents. In 2012, he won his second Caldecott Medal for his wordless children’s book, ‘A Ball for Daisy’, that chronicles a little dogs loss of his most prized possession and is a tale of loss, recovery and friendship. We were very lucky that he read from both of these books and from’ Yo! Yes?’

This was no ordinary author visit in that the author sat down, read the books and then led a discussion. Chris got up and engaged the audience with storytelling, acting and illustrations. I have seen many book signings but none like this.

Chris could not have been more personable with both the adults and the children in the audience and had the younger set completely engaged in his books. We first started off with a introduction of his work and a little about himself. Chris started his program with a drawing of his two cats. These two amusing drawings of the little cats made quite an impression on the kids, many of whom had pets at home.

What impressed me the most is when he got the children from the audience to get up and act out his books in character. You don’t see many authors doing that. Chris had children who volunteered from the audience act out the books ‘Yo! Yes?’ , ‘Goosey Goose’ and ‘Buggy Bug’ in a series of short plays. The kids were really excited to get up and act. He also got the audience to participate as well .

Then he did a series of drawings creating pictures using people’s names. He took kids from the audience and asked them to write out their names and then developed a figure of the letters of the names. The best part was each of the children were able to take the picture home. I have the most unusual picture of a person using the my name “Justin” (Yes, I did have it framed).

Chris engaging with the children of Lodi, NJ

Chris followed this with a book discussion of the Caldecott Medal Winning book ‘A Ball for Daisy”, the all picture book. He went through all the frames of the book and then got a group of the children to get up and act out the book using some balloons as props for the ball. He really got the kids to use their emotions in the play and it made the rest of the program very personal because the children could relate to him as another kid. Chris knew how to enter their world.

During the question and answer session, the children had some very interesting questions on how he published his books, where he got his ideas and he put his books together. He even explained how he came up with the idea for ‘A Ball for Daisy’ on an incident that happened with son when he ball was damaged by a neighbors dog. He also discussed how long a book took to develop and where some of his inspirations came from. It really was nice participation from the audience.

To honor Chris’s visit, the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library presented him with an ‘Honorary Membership’ to ‘The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library’ and our Mayor of the Borough of Lodi, Emil Carafa, presented Chris with a Medal of Honor from the Borough of Lodi.

Chris receiving an Honorary Membership to the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library

It was a fun and engaging afternoon and we were very honored to have Christopher Raschka be our guest for the Second Annual ‘Teens, Tots & Toys’ holiday celebration. We will see everyone next December for the Third Annual “Teens, Tots & Toys” celebration.

Chris with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year from the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library!

Articles on the Event:

http://lodi.bccls.org/friends-of-the-library.html

https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/garfield/1342/

https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/2017/01/10/letter-lodi-library-has-successful-year/96403338/

Day Sixty-One: The Second Annual “Teens, Tots & Toys” with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library: ‘The Legend of Tinker Street, the Magical Elf’ created by member, Justin Watrel December 10, 2016

January 3, 2017"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Lodi, New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Historic Hudson River Valley in New York State, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Exploring Woodstock NY, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, MywalkinManhattan.com: Friends of the Hasbrouck Heights Library, MywalkinManhattan.com: Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library Events, UncategorizedAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Christopher Raschka, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, diningonashoestringinnyc, Elaine Zayak, Exploring Lodi NJ, Friends of the Library, Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, Library Events, LittleShoponMainStreet, littleshoponmainstreet.com, LittleShoponMainStreet@Wordpress.com, Lodi, Lodi Library Special Events, Lodi Memorial Library, Lodi NJ, MywalkinManhattan.com, NJ, Teens/Tots&Toys, Tinker Street, Tinker Street the Elf, Visiting Lodi NJ, Visiting the Lodi Memorial Library, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, Woodstock NYjwatrel

Tinker Street, the Magical Elf

The Legend of Tinker Street

(The Legend of Tinker Street was created by Justin Watrel for the holiday event, “Teens, Tots & Toys” for the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library)

Christmas on Tinker Street in Woodstock, NY

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 1^st 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 all of 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 holiday 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.

Only Tinker Street can add a certain joy to the holidays and that’s the symbol of “Teens, Tots & Toys”.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library!

The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library with World Champion Skater, Elaine Zayak, at the first “Teens. Tots & Toys” in 2015.

The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library at the Second Annual “Teens, Tots & Toys” with Best Selling Author Christopher Raschka in 2016.

Join us again at the Lodi Memorial Library next December for ‘Teens, Tots & Toys 2017’

Day Fifty-Two: A Visit to Washington DC in search of Alan Ballatine-Garfinckel: Editing my novel, “Love Triangles” August 19th, 2016

August 28, 2016Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Washington DC, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, UncategorizedAlan Ballantine Garfinckel, Alan Garfinckel, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Ballantine Brewery, diningonashoestringinnyc, Dinner at Midnight, Exploring Washington DC, Firehouse 101, Garfinckel's, Garfinckel's Department Store, Hecht & Company, IUniverse.com, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Love Triangles, MywalkinManhattan.com, Visiting Washington DC, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, Washington DC, Woodward & Lothropjwatrel

Author Justin Watral

I am getting ready to release the second book of my trilogy, “Love Triangles” (“Firehouse 101” was released ten years ago and will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary on September 25th). Since a section of the book takes place in Washington DC and I had to run an errand in the nation’s capital, I decided to get some research in as well since I wanted to update that section of the book.

To put it bluntly, DC has changed tremendously since I started writing the book in 1989. When I first started to write “Love Triangles”, Washington DC was falling apart. I had just graduated from college and had visited DC several times since the eighth grade and decided to set the book at Garfinckel’s Department Store when I visited it in the summer my father took my brother and I down to DC for a business trip. Those were the days when you could let a 13 and 11 year old roam the city by themselves. We were staying at a hotel close to F Street and my dad trusted us while he was working.

Garfinckel’s Department Store today

I knew at a young age what I wanted to do when I grew up and since I has just been in Washington DC with my eighth grade class a few months before, my brother and I roamed downtown DC and spent the day roaming the department stores on F Street. This was the heyday before the shopping district went downhill. We roamed around the Willard Hotel, Hecht & Company, Woodward & Lothrop and finally spent the afternoon at Garfinckel’s shopping for gifts for our parents before hitting the Smithsonian .

I remember buying my father a bottle of ‘Grey Flannel’ for a thank you gift and getting my mother a decorative candle because we could not afford the silver salad server by a dollar when we were at Garfinckel’s. Looking back on customer service, it must have been unusual to see two teenage kids shopping by themselves in DC but the woman never blinked an eye and as friendly and professional as I remember her being, she wouldn’t give us a break on the salad server. So we settled on the candle.

The elegance of Garfinckel’s selling floors

I still remember having a snack in the Greenbrier Room, the restaurant in the store and my dad had that bottle of ‘Grey Flannel’ until I moved back in with him in 2001 from Guam. I believe that I was the one that finished it up. It is funny how one afternoon can inspire a book considering the store closed over twenty five years ago.

Once I finished some work I had to do in the city, I took a special trip and walked all over the downtown area that had inspired the book so long ago. The buildings for the most part are still there. Hecht & Company converted to Macy’s years ago and they had closed the old store on F Street back in the 90’s.

Woodies closed in the 90’s too when merged with John Wanamaker from Philly and both stores which needed massive renovations fell under the weight of a bad economy and Garfinckel’s closed when it was spun off to Hooker Real Estate Company and all the stores owned by Hooker that included Altman’s and Bonwit Teller closed for lack of business. The early 90’s were dark days in retail as many old-line and carriage trade department stores that had survived the Depression and years of consolidations finally closed their doors for good. The closing of Garfinckel’s came about the same time I started to write “Love Triangles”.

The Woodward & Lothrop Department Store today

To keep the updates on the book fresh, I walked down to F Street to see the old buildings. Hecht & Company was now another retailer but the building is still beautiful and a testament to when shopping wasn’t a chore but a leisure activity. Woodies still keeps its name plates and pictures of the old store in its heyday in the lobby which is still polished oak and marble.

Occasionally an old timer like myself will walk the lobby and still look at the old pictures and have good memories of a store long forgotten by a newer generation of shoppers. My next part of the F Street tour was the old Garfinckel’s building which is now been renovated, reopened and renamed the Hamilton Square Building housing what was once Clyde’s of Tyson’s Corner and now the Hamilton Grill. You can still see the Julius Garfinckel nameplate above the doors of the building hidden behind the awning. That is all that is left of the store that I bought those gifts so many years ago. It’s still an elegant building.

The Hecht and Company building on F Street in Washington DC

After the department store tour, I made my way across the street to the Willard Hotel, still considered one of the Grand Dames of the city which has been now overshadowed by Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton Hotels plus a slew of others that have opened in the last thirty years. It’s still a beautiful old hotel but it could really use a spruce up when you look closely at it. The one nice added feature was the outdoor café that they put in the back of the hotel facing the Mall. That was packed to the gills with tourists looking for some shade.

I walked around the Mall and towards the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue and the security was out in full force. I have never seen so many policemen and security before but since people have jumped the fence and landed in the yard lately, it is better that way. The tourists acted like tourists in front of the building but I always felt that I was being watched.

I walked back around the downtown and walked down to Chinatown, which at this point has been reduced to one block and about a dozen restaurants in which some are still living on their reputations from years ago. I went to Chinatown Express (746 6th Street SW), a noodle and dumpling house that I had eaten at back in 2010 with my dad when we took a trip to DC to see the White House Christmas tree. Back then, the restaurant was introducing fresh dumplings and noodles made in front of you which not many places were doing in New York City yet. How New York has caught up and done better. The food went downhill in six years (See review on TripAdvisor).

Chinatown Express at 746 6th Street

The soup dumplings were dried out, the shrimp dumplings were under cooked and over pan-fried and the noodles were good but not great. The service was lackluster. Ever since they built the Verizon Center, they pretty much destroyed what was left of Chinatown. It is now down to about a block and most of the restaurants look like tired old relics of bygone era. The area has gentrified itself out of character.

I was able to walk back down E Street towards Ford Theater. The modern section of the building really showcases the times but the old building is a step back in time. The scary part is when you walk across the street to the doctor’s house where they took the body after the shooting. They still have the blood soaked pillow in the display case. The exhibition is a real eye opener and this should not be missed. It is one of the tours that is a must do when in DC (See review on TripAdvisor).

The Ford Theater in Washington DC

My last part of the tour was a walk around the Mall and a tour of the Natural History Museum off Constitutional Avenue NW. This is one of the museums I still remember from my eighth grade trip to DC. I still have a fascination with the Hope Diamond and it is something to see it. The whole Gem exhibition should not be missed as some of the most famous gems are located here as well as the stones in their raw state. The animal exhibitions are good but do not have the same effect as in the Museum of Natural History in New York.

National Museum of Natural History on 10th Street

The Hope Diamond

By the end of the day, the humidity was a killer. I was exhausted from all the walking and the heat was no help. I walked back to Union Station and cooled down. They have fully renovated the station and it is much more than just a train station. It is a destination of shopping and restaurants and has the most impressive lobby to walk around. The station is the true hub of the city with both the trains and subways to take you to all parts of the city. Make sure to visit the McDonald’s in the station. The service is excellent and for a McDonald’s the food is really good (See review on TripAdvisor).

McDonald’s Union Station

I don’t care what people say about traveling by train, it is the best way to go. If I drove this trip, it would have taken me four hours and we got down to DC in two and a half hours by Acela and it is the best way to travel. It is so relaxing and peaceful in the Quiet Car. You just relax and watch the cities and towns pass you by. Even Trenton looks pretty good from the train.

Be on the look out for the release of “Love Triangles” as an Ebook as well as read my first book, “Firehouse 101”, the first book in the trilogy. You will see how they tie in a moment in time and show New York City in a unique light. Enjoy the reading and take a train ride down to DC. With so many things to see and places to visit, it is well worth the trip.

(As of January 2020 the book is going through more edits)

In the meantime, please read this excerpt from the book that I recently read at a book reading.

love triangles teaser

Reviews from Research Trip for the book:

Places to Visit:

Ford Theater

511 10th Street NW

Washington DC 20004

Homepage

Open: Check the website for show dates & tour times

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d104861-Reviews-Ford_s_Theatre-Washington_DC_District_of_Columbia.html?m=19905

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

10th Street & Constitution Avenue

Washington DC 20004

http://naturalhistory.si.edu/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-5:30pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d104867-Reviews-Smithsonian_National_Museum_of_Natural_History-Washington_DC_District_of_Columbia.html?m=19905

Places to Eat:

Chinatown Express

744-746 6th Avenue NW

Washington DC 20001

(202) 638-0424

https://www.chinatownexpressdc.com/

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

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g28970-d450543-Reviews-Chinatown_Express_Restaurant-Washington_DC_District_of_Columbia.html?m=19905

McDonald’s Union Station

50 Massachusetts Avenue NE #2

Washington DC 20002

https://foursquare.com/locations/mcdonalds/washington-dc

(202) 408-5014

Open: Sunday-Saturday 4:30am-3:45am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g28970-d4760460-Reviews-McDonald_s-Washington_DC_District_of_Columbia.html?m=19905

Day Fifty-One: Walking in Harlem on the East & West Side 155th Street to 145th Street between Broadway and Edgecombe Avenue August 8th, 10th and 11th, 2016 (again on June 27th, 2024)

August 12, 2016Bakeries for the budget minded, Cheap Spanish Restaurant for Budget Minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring East Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Hamilton Heights/Manhattanville, Exploring Harlem in Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Morningside Heights in Manhattan, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring NoHA (North of Harlem), Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring the Entire Length of the Island of Manhattan/Broadway Walk, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Washington Heights in Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Interesting Bakeries, Interesting Pizzerias in Manhattan, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), Spanish Restaurants for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around ManhattanAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Convent Garden, diningonashoestringinnyc, Estrella Bakery, Exploring Harlem, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Five Star Estrella Bakery, Harlem, Hispanic Society Museum & Library, Hope Stevens Garden, Jackie Robinson Park at 148th Street, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Maggie's Garden, MywalkinManhattan.com, New York City, NYC, Sugar Hill Neighborhood, Upper Manhattan, Victorio's Pizza, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walk Manhattan, Walking in Manhattan, Walking Manhattan, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I finally finished my two Brooklyn tours through school and was back up in Harlem today. It was a long day of walking as those city blocks across are long. I started at the subway stop at 168th Street and walked down to 155th Street (the subway was not running to 155th Street over the weekend).

As usual when I have to walk down Broadway, I stopped at my new favorite bakery, Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway (check out the numerous reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com) for chicken pastelitos and cubanitos.

The pastries at Five Star Estrella Bakery are wonderful

If you like hot snacks and sweet desserts, this will be your ‘go to’ place for a quick snack when walking up here. The food here is wonderful and the selection of baked items and snacks is extensive. It is still one of the reasons why I don’t complain about getting off at 168th Street when the C subway is not in service. I like to stop at one of the pocket parks on Broadway to relax and eat. It was a long afternoon of walking.

Don’t miss Five Star Estrella Bakery at 3861 Broadway

https://www.instagram.com/5_estrella_bakery/?hl=en

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4416394-Reviews-5_Estrellas_Bakery_Cafe-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My walk over these three days took me from 155th Street to 145th Street from Riverside Drive to Lenox Avenue (there are still some side streets on the other side of Jackie Robinson Park that I have not finished yet). Don’t let these maps fool you, these are long blocks being walked in humid weather.

I started my walk today at the Hispanic Society of America Museum at 613 West 155th Street which is on the Boricua College-Manhattan Campus. It shares the campus with the American Academy of Arts & Letters, which closed down in June for the rest of the summer. The Hispanic Society of America is a free museum that is small enough that you can enjoy the visit for about an hour without being overwhelmed like you would at one of the bigger museums.

The Hispanic Society of America at 613 West 155 Street

It was a small but no less impressive collection of Spanish Art from different periods. The Hispanic Society of America was founded as a free museum and research library in 1904 by the American scholar and philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington (1870-1955). Over the past century, the Hispanic Society had promoted the study of the rich artistic and cultural traditions of Spain and Portugal and their areas of influence in the Americas and throughout the world. The Museum and Library constitute the most extensive collection of Hispanic are and literature outside Spain and Latin America (Hispanic Society of America literature).

The front galleries

The museum had a nice crowd that afternoon, (how these people found it I will never know. I never knew it existed) and the galleries were small but the work was impressive. Some of the pieces that stood out were Jouquin Sorallo y Bastida’s ‘Vision of Spain’ created between 1911-1919, with many traditional views of parts of Spain and ‘After the Bath’ done in 1908, which looked more like a contemporary beach scene.

The portrait gallery

The one piece that stuck in my mind was a new piece to the collection, ‘The Four Fates of the Soul’, which showed Death, Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. The sculpture really proved it’s point and made me think that we really are being watched from above. Even the guard as I was leaving said it was a new piece to the collection but people really talked about it as they were leaving.

I thought this painting was a bit creepy

After the museum, I had about ten minutes to walk around Trinity Cemetery, which is a quiet but scenic place. On a nice sunny afternoon, it can be an interesting place to tour around in.

Trinity Church Cemetery George Washington plaque

https://trinitywallstreet.org/cemetery-mausoleum

The Broadway entrance to the cemeter

The graves on this side of Broadway overlook the Hudson River and are so peaceful with beautiful views, it makes you think of where you want your final resting place to be located. To live eternity here says something. Even the views of New Jersey are gorgeous. Be sure to get to the museum and the grave site early as they do close at 4:00pm.

Trinity Cemetery on 155th Street

I began my zig-zag trip of this part of Harlem at 154 Street and from there until 145th Street, the areas between Riverside Drive and Edgecombe Avenue house some of the most beautiful and elegant brownstones that I have seen in the city. So many of the them are under scaffolding as the new population moving up here is putting a lot of money into the renovations of these properties. The results are amazing with wooden doors, elegant metal work cleaned up and lively planters all around the stairs and the windows.

Sugar Hill Neighborhood

Fabulous Harlem, The Sweet History Of Sugar Hill

With the CUNY campus just south of this area, you can see that college population is spreading its wings all over the neighborhood as the students, even in the summer, are moving in or living in this neighborhood and invest in buying in the bodegas, restaurants and hanging around the parks. The more diverse population looks like it is really making an effort to work together for this neighborhood. The most beautiful of these blocks is concentrated between Amsterdam Avenue and Nicholas Street so take time to really look at these homes and see the love and care that is put into them.

Jackie Robinson Park where the students hang out.

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jackie-robinson-park_manhattan

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d21085366-Reviews-Jackie_Robinson_Park-New_York_City_New_York.html

The front of Jackie Robinson Park

Another stop I made was in the Hope Steven Garden at 153rd Street that runs through 152nd Street. This was an empty lot between all the buildings that has now been cleaned up and the neighborhood held their Annual Open House & Barbecue for the neighborhood. It was not much of a turnout at that point of the afternoon but all the neighborhood seniors looked at me like ‘oh oh, another one is moving in’. You begin to pick up on these things when you walk through neighborhoods that have not seen me before.

Hope Steven Garden at 505 West 142nd Street

Everyone was really nice though and some of the ladies were explaining how the neighborhood banded together to clean and landscape the garden. The garden now contains peach trees, berry bushes and a grape arbor while supporting a cat colony that lives in the garden. Some of the neighbors were grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and older residents were chatting amongst themselves. No one made a fuss about me eating and since I was not hungry, I did not partake in the barbecue but it looked pretty good.

Most of the residents sat around and chatted with their neighbors or busy working in the garden. As I sat down to rest, two of the women who volunteer here, looked like they wanted to recruit me to do the same as they told me the story of how the city’s water aqueduct runs underneath the garden so they can never build here and how bad the neighborhood had become and how it was coming back to life. It takes a big person to show the immense pride in a neighborhood.

I stopped back in Convent Garden again to visit Ms. Davis, who was chatting the afternoon away while getting her exercise working in their garden. She was telling me that they will be having a jazz concert with food on Labor Day Weekend and invited me to join in. This I don’t want to miss as it is my two favorite things, jazz music and food. The volunteers were really working away at making this garden the well maintained and colorful place that the garden is to the neighborhood. Everything is in full bloom right now.

Convent Garden in full bloom at Convent Street and St. Nicholas Avenue

The Sugar Hill neighborhood is really impressive and you could see that this was not one of the places that went downhill as the rest of Harlem decayed in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. It was and still is an grand group of homes that their owners take a lot of pride in. Now that the rest of the city has caught up with it, it will be interesting to see what comes out of it the next few years.

Maggie’s Garden is now part of the NYC Parks system

Another small oasis exists on 149th Street, which is Maggie’s Garden. It was locked at the time but also another garden taken from an empty lot and brought back to life. Maggie Burnett, are Harlem resident, turned what was once a ‘rickety old house’ when torn down into an urban oasis starting in 1974.

Fighting off drug dealers to build the garden, she got some help from New York Restoration Project and its founder, Bette Midler who assisted in 1999 helping clear the site and now it is a garden with trees, flowers, a full vegetable garden and a barbecue. You could not see all that from the locked gates. (Daily News article).

Maggie’s Garden at 564 West 149th Street

The artwork in front of Maggie’s Garden on a recent trip

I was able to start my walk on the other side of Bradhurst Avenue on the other side of Jackie Robinson Park. I will let you know that the college students from CUNY have discovered the park and were sunning themselves the afternoon I walked around the park. Bradhurst Avenue has a lot of new buildings on it and the businesses include a Starbucks so you know that neighborhood is going through a transition.

Jackie Robinson Park at 85 Bradhurst Avenue

To let you know though, this transition stops here and the further you get away from the park, the seedier the area gets. By the time you hit Lenox Avenue, gentrification has not hit this area of the neighborhood and you should watch yourself. The buildings are beautiful and there is a police station a block in but it still needs a lot of work on this side of West 145th Street.

The end of the walk that day was at 145th Street and lunch at Harlem Brothers Pizza & Wings at 346 West 145th Street (Closed in 2021) which is right next store to Victorio’s Pizza that is more of the rave. The pizza was just average and the sauce did not have much flavor to it. The funny part was to listen to Indian music while eating my pizza. That was strange.

Victorio’s Pizza at 348 West 145th Street

https://www.victoriospizzaplusharlem.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10539122-Reviews-Victorio_s_Pizza_Plus-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The inside of Victorio’s Pizza

The pizza at Victorio’s is excellent. Very crisp and the sauce is amazing

My recommendation is go to Victorio’s Pizza and get it to go and eat it in Jackie Robinson Park. The middle of the park has benches to sit on and the park is really pretty with its slopping walkways and rock work and it’s large trees to sit under.

The front of Jackie Robinson Park’s band stand facing Bradhurst Avenue

The entire walk between 155th Street and 145th Street with an extra afternoon walking down Convent Avenue took almost five hours. Again, don’t let these blocks fool you as they are long and you will want to stop in the parks and gardens and walk around.

Places to Visit:

Jackie Robinson Park

85 Bradhurst to Edgecombe Avenues at 145th Street to Manhattan Avenue

New York, NY 10039

(212) 234-9607

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

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jackie-robinson-park_manhattan

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jackie-robinson-park_brooklyn

Convent Garden

Convent Avenue & St. Nicholas Avenue

New York, NY 10031

(212) 639-9675

Open: Check website for hours

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/convent-garden/highlights/7737

Maggie’s Garden

564 West 169th Street

New York, NY 10031

https://www.facebook.com/maggiesmagicgarden/

Open: Check website for hours

Hope Steven Garden

505 West 142nd Street

New York, NY 10031

Open: Check website for hours

https://www.manhattanlandtrust.org/contact-us/hope-steven-garden/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hope-Steven-Garden/222694217809657

Sugar Hill Neighborhood

Between 135th Street to 162nd Street and Edgecombe Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue

http://www.sugarhillmap.com/about.asp

Hispanic Society of America

163 West 155th Street

New York, NY 10032

(212) 926-2234

https://hispanicsociety.org/museum/

Open: The museum is currently closed for renovations. Please check the website for the opening.

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d110237-Reviews-Hispanic_Society_of_America-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/160

Places to Eat:

Victorio’s Pizza

346 West 145th Street

New York, NY 10039

(212) 283-2100

Open: Sunday 11:00am-9:00pm/Monday-Saturday 11:00am-8:45pm

https://www.victoriospizzaplusmenu.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10539122-Reviews-Victorio_s_Pizza_Plus-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

5 Star Estrella Bakery

3861 Broadway

New York, NY 10032

(212) 795-5000

Open: Sunday-Saturday 5:00am-9:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4416394-Reviews-5_Estrella_Bakery-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/407

Harlem Brothers Pizza & Wings (Closed in 2021)

346 West 145th Street

New York, NY 10039

(646) 455-0942

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d10715273-Reviews-Harlem_Brothers_Pizza_Wings-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

Day Fifty: Walking Tour of with Trina Morris and F.I.T. of Greenpoint, Brooklyn July 23rd, 2016

August 9, 2016Bakeries for the budget minded, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Brooklyn, Exploring Greenpoint Brooklyn, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring NYC Parks, Exploring Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Gourmet restaurants for the budget minded, Historic New York City neighborhoods, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Pizzeria's and Italian Restaurants for the budget-minded, Polish Restaurants for the Budget Minded, UncategorizedAuthor Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, BergenCountyCaregiver.com, Brooklyn Label, DiningonaShoeString@Wordpress.com, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Brooklyn, Exploring Greenpoint Brooklyn, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring Wiliamsburg Brooklyn, Firehouse 101 Novel, Franklin Pizza, Greenpoint, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, littleshoponmainstreet.com, MywalkinManhattan.com, Old Polish Bakery, Peter Pan Bakery, Polka Dot Cafe, Professor Justin Watrel, Trina Morris Tour Guide, Visiting Brooklyn, VisitingaMuseum.com, Walking Brooklyn, Walking in Brooklyn, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watrel, Word Bookstorejwatrel

*Blogger wants to note that the blog was updated in 2020. Many stores and restaurant have either closed or changed hands since this tour.

My second “Talk & Tour” class with the Fashion Institute of Technology took me on a full day tour of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Many of my classmates had been on the Bushwick tour with me two weeks earlier plus a group of out-of-towners. How people down South find these obscure walking tours in New York City is beyond me. Even I had to get the FIT catalog from school. What made this tour interesting was that my family lived here when they first came to this country at the turn of the last century and both my Grandmother and Grandfather on my father’s side lived here until the 1960’s.

Our Instructor for the day was Trina Morris, whom I have taken many walking tours with which covered DUMBO, Carroll Gardens, the Lower East Side, Williamsburg, and finally Boerum Hill at a time when I was writing my first book, “Firehouse 101” (See IUniverse.com for details on the book), which was set primarily in Boerum Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods.

I had used the walking tour to get a better feel for the neighborhood and after the tour was over that weekend back in 2002 came back to the neighborhood about 18 times over the course of writing the book to see the changes. Since writing my first novel, all of these areas have changed tremendously with gentrification All of Brooklyn just keeps changing. Trina seemed thrilled that I had an autographed copy of the book ready for her on the subway ride over.

Getting to Greenpoint is not the easiest trip. We had to take the C Train from school and then transfer to the L Train (recent college train) to the G Train to get to the heart of Greenpoint. Unlike Debbie’s tour a few weeks earlier, Trina’s tour deals with going to all the best stores and restaurants whereas Debbie’s tour concentrated more on art work and talking with owners opening new businesses. Both tours showcased the neighborhoods beautifully but there were times I felt like quite the tourist. Especially when the locals looked at us like we were from Mars. I felt that way when we were in Bushwick as well as the local residents looked perplexed on why we would walk around their neighborhood.

Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Our tour started at the G stop on Manhattan Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue, the furthest point you can get into Greenpoint from Manhattan. From there we walked down Greenpoint Avenue and turned right two blocks away to Franklin Avenue. Franklin Avenue has been one of the shopping areas of Greenpoint for years but now newer residents are putting an upscale swing to it with boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants and clothing stores giving the street a nice mix of old and new merchants.

When I did a tour of the neighborhood, I stopped at Old Polish Bakery at 926 Manhattan Avenue for a doughnut. The selection of baked products look really good but word of advice. They must do their baking early in the morning because the doughnut was dried out (see TripAdvisor review).

Old Polish Bakery at 926 Manhattan Avenue

Our first stop on the tour was Zoe’s Beauty Products Salon & Spa at 119 Greenpoint Avenue. This beauty spa has a full line of men’s and woman’s products as well as get a full day pampering. Take time to look at all their products as they have a full line of merchandise for every need. A very nice shop with friendly service and a good selection.

Zoe’s Beauty Products and Salon at 119 Greenpoint Avenue

Our second stop on the tour was at Budin Coffee Shop at 114 Greenpoint Avenue, a beautifully designed store with wooden shelves and an open bar. Budin is what TV would call a ‘hipster’ shop but the service was friendly and they did make a mean iced tea. They have a nice selection of drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

Budin Coffee Shop at 114 Greenpoint Avenue (now closed)

Check out their gift area as well. There is some unusual items. What was nice too was they let us use the bathroom and for that I give them a big thumbs up (see TripAdvisor Review).

Budin Coffee Shop is very trendy inside (now closed)

Our next stop on the tour was a small clothing store named ‘In God We Trust’ at 129 Bedford Avenue, which has a respectable line of casual wear. This biggest observation that I have found in clothing stores in these so called ‘hipster’ neighborhoods is that you can not find a size over 30 inches and a large for men.

In God We Trust at 129 Bedford Avenue (Now Closed)

It’s like shopping at Bloomingdale’s today. They don’t want to sell to anyone who is not 5:5 and a waist of 30 inches. Even though the selection was interesting I’m not sure who they were buying for in the neighborhood.

Inside “In God We Trust” (now closed)

A fun shop that we quickly went though was the East River Skate Shop at 86 Greenpoint Avenue. They had an interesting line of tee-shirts with unique prints and even though I am not into skateboarding, their line of skateboards would attract any adult interesting in trying the sport.

East River Skate Shop at 86 Greenpoint Avenue (Now Closed)

Walking to the end of Greenpoint Avenue facing the East River is the most beautiful view of Manhattan that had been hidden all these years behind factories. These factories today are becoming lofts, studios and restaurants with a bar called ‘Barge’ that was very active that afternoon. I was amazed on how busy the place was considering it was the middle of the afternoon. On the sunny clear day that is was it had the most spectacular views of Manhattan and a nice soundtrack going.

Also, at the end of Greenpoint Avenue is WNYC Transmitter Park along Greenpoint Avenue, which shares the same views as ‘Barge’ and they show films there on Friday nights. They were setting up for the new ‘Star Wars’ film the night I was there and expecting a pretty big crowd. The park has beautiful views of Midtown around 34th Street. It has a nice smell of salt air as well. Frankly it could use a good weeding.

WNYC Transmitter Park

We turned the corner onto Franklin Avenue, which is where most of the gentrification is taking place. I was able to tour the neighborhood about a week later to get a better feel for it and Greenpoint is still a neighborhood, not unlike Bushwick, that is still in transition. Many of the old residents still make their home here and you still see it on the upper reaches of Manhattan Avenue, where a sizable Hispanic population still lives for now and on the lower parts of street where a sizable Polish population still lives.

Franklin Avenue is where everyone is moving in. The block faces, along with West Street, the East River where the views of Manhattan are priceless. West Street is where all the former factories and warehouses are located which is quickly being replaced by studios, stores and small factories where the new residents live and work.

When visiting the American Playground between Nobile and Milton Streets, you can see the rapid change in the population with men in their 20’s playing basketball and young mothers with their small children having play dates. It was a mostly white crowd that differed from other parks that I visited in the neighborhood.

American Playground on Franklin Street

On the way up to lunch, we stopped at Word Bookstore at 126 Franklin Avenue that has a great selection of independent and commercial authors and they had several local book signings set up. Its a small store with a depth to their selection and the staff is very friendly.

Word Book Store at 126 Franklin Avenue

We then toured You & Yours Vintage Shop at 77 Franklin Street (Now Closed) and People of Tomorrow Consignment Shop at 66 Franklin Street (Now Closed) both offering a nice selection of clothing and accessories for the person and the home. You really have to know what you are looking for when visiting these shops because the merchandise is rather unique. What’s nice is that I found the service both here and at other stores on Franklin to be very personal and welcoming.

Lunch that afternoon took us to Brooklyn Label at 180 Franklin Street (changed hands since my visit there). As the kids say, OMG, this restaurant was incredible. The food was French Bistro and the brunch menu had a good selection of both breakfast and lunch items at very reasonable prices and the portion sizes were huge.

Brooklyn Label at 180 Franklin Street

I had a Croque Monsieur ($12.00) that was out of this world. The sandwich was huge and the Gruyere cheese had a sharpness and twang to it. It was served with a kale salad that had a delicious dressing and the French Fries were cooked perfectly. The sandwich was filled with so much ham and cheese that I could barely finish it. The meal was so big I had no room for some of their delicious sounding desserts. The service was friendly and flawless. This is a definite on anyone’s list when dining in Greenpoint (see review on TripAdvisor. I gave them an Excellent).

The inside of Brooklyn Label

The food and the company made the meal perfect. It was nice getting to know the people I toured with that afternoon. Some of them had such interesting backgrounds and personal stories from bankers to lawyers to nannies, all of them had a story to tell.

Porter James Vintage Furniture at 116 Franklin Avenue

After lunch our shopping trip had us zig-zagging along Franklin Street. We stopped at Pas Mal and Pip Squeak Chapeau at 99 Franklin Street to look at their clothing lines, Porter James, a home furnishing store at 116 Franklin Street. It carries a lot of 1960’s furniture. We also visited Adaption at 109 Franklin Street to look at more vintage furniture.

Pip Squeak Chapeau/Pas Mal at 99 Franklin Street

Adaptions Vintage Furniture at 109 Franklin Street

We stopped at the seafood store Little Neck Outpost at 128 Franklin Street, which had food for sale and lots of gifts and snacks as well. They had also have a selection of hot foods to take home.

Little Neck Outpost at 128 Franklin Street

On my own part of the tour, I went further up on Franklin Street to Commercial Street where the warehouses are giving way to condos and views of Manhattan and Long Island City, which was once thought to be the next SoHo.

Greenpoint Playground at 243 Franklin Street attracted the most diverse amount of children and had beautiful views of the skyline. In a few years, I predict this will be the ultimate Yuppie park as condos and renovations are taking place in the buildings surrounding the park.

Greenpoint Playground at 243 Franklin Avenue

Manhattan Avery Park (Newton Barge Park) at 37 Commercial Street has some of the best views of Newton Creek’s boating and sailing docks and some unique art work along the fences. Newton Creek is currently being cleaned up so much more activity is going on this side of the neighborhood as well as new condos, restaurants and an ice cream shop have opened here.

Newton Barge Park & Playground at 37 Commercial Street

This is the tip of the neighborhood and there is a lot of renovations going on in the old factories and warehouses. Give it less than three years and this whole area will be luxury lofts. With the views of the city and access to many small pocket parks, this will become a very desirable area to move to in the future. I walked across Commercial Street back down Manhattan Avenue on the upper part of the neighborhood and you are starting to see the transformation of the neighborhood from Hispanic to a younger white crowd with more restaurant and bars opening up on this part of the neighborhood. There are still many reasonable Spanish restaurants to give a try that look quite good.

I took a detour for a snack at Franklin Pizza at 109 Franklin Street (see review on TripAdvisor) on the way back down. This slices here are nice sized and at $2.50 are a little pricey in current New York terms but the pizza is full of flavor and their sauce is delicious. It is the perfect blend of old and new neighborhood as everyone eats here and it is a good gathering place for neighborhood gossip as I found out.

Franklin Pizza at 109 Franklin Street

Our last store in this part of the neighborhood was Flying Squirrel at 87 Oak Street, a great little consignment store of clothes, toys and furniture for young children. The place was alive with activity as the kids seem to dominate in this store. The owner, Kate Schmitz, was really nice and explained her concept of the store to me, mixing brand new and consignment goods to attract the young families moving into the neighborhood. She also has a nice line of books as well. It is a great rainy day store for families.

Flying Squirrel at 87 Oak Street

We then took a turn in the block and walked down Oak Street to Guernsey Street to Meserole Street to the main shopping area of the Polish side of the neighborhood on lower Manhattan Avenue. Here we got to try two of the most well-known businesses in the Polish neighborhood, Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop at 727 Manhattan Avenue and Polka Dot Café at 726 Manhattan Avenue (See reviews on TripAdvisor).

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop at 727 Manhattan Avenue

Peter Pan’s doughnuts are some of the best I have ever had. Who could make a choice? I ended up eating three doughnuts because they looked so good. I had their apple filled doughnut with a white icing, a crème filled doughnut and a glazed doughnut. It put a damper on my dinner plans but like the kids say OMG they were so good. This is one store you can not miss when visiting Greenpoint. I had heard about them for years but never realized how good the doughnuts were for munching.

The Donuts at Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop are the Best!!

The other store we visited was Polka Dot Café, Polish gourmet shop, that has now reinvented itself into both a gourmet shop for Polish food and a small café where you can order food. Trina had arranged for us to try some blueberry dumplings that were cooked perfectly and were delicious. I was able to down a few of them on top of the doughnuts.

Polka Dot Cafe at 726 Manhattan Avenue

I was so impressed by the food that I doubled back after the tour was over and on top of everything else I ate I had chicken meatballs and a type of pancake that was filled with meat with a flavored ice tea. That chicken meatball made me proud to be part Polish and the food and the service was just excellent. I think the ladies got a kick that I was so happy with the food.

The Polish gourmet treats at Polka Dot Cafe

We all said our goodbyes by the subway as most of the people in my tour went back to Manhattan via the subway at Nassau Street. It was nice meeting everyone and Trina is a good tour guide. I am hoping that she arranges a tour of Bed-Sty next.

My last stop of the day was Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish at 607 Humboldt Street, a Polish Catholic Church that my Great-Grandmother Rock had raised money to help build at the turn of the last century. What a beautifully detailed church that my Aunt Dee later said she had been baptized in along with several great aunts and uncles had been married there. This had been our family church when my family lived in the neighborhood.

The inside of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish

I stayed for the 5:30pm mass and almost cried through the service knowing how important this church was to our family and what a big part it played in our lives. It was a nice service and the priest did a nice job with the mass but it really chocked me up to know that this was part of my past. I felt like my dad was there with me. In a way, I felt like I was home.

St. Stanislaus Kostka Church at 607 Humboldt Street, my family church

https://www.facebook.com/SSKCBrooklyn/

As for me, I was so stuffed with food from all over and it was such a nice night to walk, I walked back to Manhattan. I made the turn down Bedford Street and walked through Williamsburg through the ultimate part of the ‘hipster’ neighborhood. It was like walking through a college campus. God, did these kids make me feel old. It was funny how I never felt this way when I used to do the same thing on Rush Street in Chicago. I guess every generation goes through it.

I walked through Williamsburg and then over the Williamsburg Bridge into the Lower East Side and walked across lower Manhattan to Houston Street to see if there were any interesting movies at the Angelica. With nothing I wanted to see, I took the subway back to Port Authority Bus Terminal to go home. I felt so much better after that walk and worked off almost everything. The trip to Greenpoint was really interesting and who knew that my Great-Grandmother was so ‘hip’.

Even if you are not an FIT Alumnus, check out the walking tours that the campus offers. They are reasonable, engaging and you will have a great time.

Places to Visit:

In God We Trust (This branch now closed)

129 Bedford Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 384-0700

https://ingodwetrustnyc.com/

East River Skate Shop (Now Closed)

86 Greenpoint Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

https://www.eastriverskateshop.com/

Word Bookstore

126 Franklin Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 383-0096

https://www.wordbookstores.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 10:00am-9:00pm

Pas Mal/Pip Squeak Chateau

99 Franklin Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(917) 909-1514

https://www.pasmalnyc.com/

Open: Monday-Friday 12:00pm-8:00pm/Saturday & Sunday 11:00am-8:00pm

Porter James Vintage Furniture

116 Franklin Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(929) 337-9387

https://porterjamesofny.com/

Open: Sunday & Saturday 12:00pm-7:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Friday 12:00pm-7:00pm

Adaptions

109 Franklin Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(347) 529-5889

https://adaptationsny.com/

Open: Sunday & Saturday 12:00pm-7:00pm/Monday Closed/Tuesday-Friday 12:00pm-7:00pm

Little Neck Outpost

128 Franklin Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 383-3080

http://www.littleneckop.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 8:00am-7:00pm

Flying Squirrel

87 Oak Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 218-7775

http://flyingsquirrelbaby.com/

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

WNYC Transmitter Park

Greenpoint Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

(212) 639-9675

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

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

American Playground

Milton & Franklin Streets

Brooklyn, NY 11211

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/american-playground

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-9:00pm

Greenpoint Playground

243 Franklin Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/greenpoint-playground

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-9:00pm

Manhattan Avery Park

3 Commercial Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(212) 639-9675

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/newtown-barge-playground

Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-9:00pm

Saint Stanislaus Kosta Church

607 Humboldt Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 338-0170

https://ststanskostka.org/

https://www.facebook.com/SSKCBrooklyn/

Open: See church website for the mass times

Places to Eat:

Old Polish Bakery

926 Manhattan Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11222

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Poland-Bakery/288782161332865

(718) 349-7900

Open: please check their website or call them

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d5540706-Reviews-Old_Poland_Bakery-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Budin Coffee Shop (Currently Closed)

114 Greenpoint Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(347) 884-9639

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d7284898-Reviews-Budin-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Brooklyn Label

180 Franklin Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(347) 689-4072

https://www.brooklynlabel180.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 8:00am-12:00am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d890612-Reviews-The_Brooklyn_Label-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Franklin Pizza

109 Franklin Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 349-2472

Open: Sunday 12:00pm-9:30pm/Monday-Thursday 12:00pm-9:30pm/Saturday 12:00pm-10:30pm

https://www.franklinpizzamenu.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d4457313-Reviews-Franklins_Pizza-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Polka Dot Cafe

726 Manhattan Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 349-2884

http://polkadotgreenpoint.com/

Open: Sunday-Saturday 9:00am-8:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d10636693-Reviews-Polka_Dot_Cafe-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop

727 Manhattan Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11222

(718) 339-3676

https://peterpandonuts.com/

Open: Sunday 5:30am-7:00pm/Monday-Friday 4:30am-8:00pm/Saturday 5:00am-8:00pm

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60827-d1458238-Reviews-Peter_Pan_Bakery-Brooklyn_New_York.html?m=19905

Day Forty: Meeting ‘Lodi Larry comes to the Library’: First Day of Spring Event with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library March 21st, 2016

March 30, 2016"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Lodi, New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Punxsutawney PA, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, Interesting Parks and Zoos in New Jersey, Junior Friends of the Hasbrouck Heights Library, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, MywalkinManhattan on Groundhog's Day, MywalkinManhattan.com: Friends of the Hasbrouck Heights Library, MywalkinManhattan.com: Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library Events, MywalkinMnahttan at Groundhog's Day, UncategorizedAddthistoyourgrocerylist@Wordpress.com, Author Justin Watral, Author Justin Watrel, Bergen County Libraries, Bergen County Zoo, diningonashoestringinnyc, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Friends of the Library, Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library, Groundhog's Day in Lodi NJ, Groundhog's Day, Justin Watral, Justin Watrel, LittleShoponMainStreet, littleshoponmainstreet.com, Lodi, Lodi Larry, Lodi Larry comes to the Library, Lodi Larry the Rabbit, Lodi Memorial Library, Lodi Memorial Library Open House, MywalkinManhattan.com, VisitingaMuseum.com, Warren George Watrel, Warren Watreljwatrel

I took some time out from my walk to run an event for the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library which is located in Lodi, NJ. I started to get involved in the Friends group last September and that has lead to many interesting visits from celebrities and athletes. Our latest guest helped us welcome in the first day of Spring (which ironically came after a snow storm the day before in which the heat melted all the snow before the event). His name was ‘Lodi Larry, the Rabbit’ and his home is the Bergen County Zoo.

The event was in response to our version of ‘Groundhog’s Day’, when we could not find a groundhog anywhere in Bergen County, NJ. Not one zoo or natural center had one. So when I approached a friend of mine who works at the zoo about one and she could not find one, she suggested the rabbit that they use for children’s events. With that in mind and not wanting to get caught in a snow storm for the event, we moved the event to the first day of Spring with the theme “Lodi Larry comes to the Library”.

Members of the Lodi community on the “First Day of Spring Event”

I was supposed to have only 25 children and their parents but word got out and we ended up with almost 40 children and almost 50 parents and grandparents. This was the first of the three events that I ran for the library since I joined that was a complete sell-out and then some. It was nice to see kids of all ages out to hear the program and participate in the question and answer session.

The only big problem we had was one of the volunteers from the zoo. The program was called “Lodi Larry comes to the Library on the First Day of Spring”. She got up and said, “I don’t know about the rabbit being from Lodi, but this rabbit’s name is Roger, not Larry.” Then she proceeded on with the event. If ever there was a time that someone screwed up, it was then. I was lucky that no one really noticed and the kids and parents had such a good time for the two programs that it was forgotten. I pulled her aside later and explained everything in detail about the program.

The Bergen County Zoo staff with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library 2016

Outside that little mishap, the programs went off without a hitch. Our first event was a program called ‘Wild & Crafty Animal Tales’, where the kids listened to the story “Make room for the Bunny” and then did a bunny craft. After that the kids got in line to meet the rabbit. That was a big deal for all the small kids. The rabbit seemed very happy with the kids and did not make a fuss. All the kids seemed to enjoy petting the rabbit.

Then our second program “In My Backyard”, took place right after the first program. The theme was that the zoo is a great place to see exotic animals but children can see wild animals every day right in their own backyards. The program induced children to identifying and safely observing New Jersey’s wildlife. Here the kids got to see a real turtle, something that has become very rare in the wilds of New Jersey. I was amazed on how children were so excited on seeing a turtle.

After both programs were over, we had a question and answer time with the staff from the zoo. Some of the questions these kids had were so observant and interesting. So much for the theory that kids today are obsessed with their cellphones. Put a turtle or a rabbit in front of them and they are no different then we were in the 70’s and 80’s.

When the question and answers were over, we had a really nice reception that was catered by our local ShopRite supermarket. Everyone was really impressed with the food. We had a six foot Italian sub that was cut into pieces for us, five pounds of Italian cookies, five pounds of cut fruit, bags of salty snacks and assorted water and juices. I have never seen such a reaction to food before. The site of a colorful buffet of refreshments really brought out the excitement of people. They formed two lines and when I am saying there was not a crumb left of food, there was nothing left. The platters were stripped clean. I was happy that there were no leftovers.

Special Events Chair Justin Watrel of “The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library”

People left and they were all saying that they had a good time. The kids loved their little crafts and clean up was so easy because they brought everything home. Its nice to see a crowd of happy faces leaving the library and hopefully this starts a trend of very successful programming.

I wanted to send a big ‘thank you’ to Mayor Emil Carafa and the entire Lodi Borough Council for their support, Superintendent of School’s Frank Quatrone for all his help getting the word out to the schools, the Lodi Boys & Girls Club, the Lodi Senior Club, Library Director Siobhan Koch and her staff for the filming of the program, picture taking and for helping with the reservations. A big ‘thank you’ to the Lodi Memorial Library’s Library Board and a another big ‘thank you’ to Friends President Judy Schroeder, Treasurer Edith Witte and Board Member Marilyn De Molli for all of their assistance on the event plus all the support from the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library.

Now back to the ‘Walk in Manhattan’.

Enjoy this three part video of the event at the Lodi Memorial Library. It would have been one solid video but one the volunteers made a serious boo-boo during the event:

Articles on The Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library:

https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/2017/01/10/letter-lodi-library-has-successful-year/96403338/

mywalkinmanhattan

Exploring the Island of Manhattan block by block and traveling beyond.

Tag Archives: littleshoponmainstreet.com

Day Sixty-Two: Christmas Visit to Philadelphia December 16th, 2016 (again December 31st, 2024 and February 7th, and March 7-9th, 2025)

Day Sixty-One: The Second Annual “Teens, Tots & Toys” holiday event with Best-Selling Author and Caldecott Medal Winner Christopher Raschka with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library December 10, 2016

Day Sixty-One: The Second Annual “Teens, Tots & Toys” with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library: ‘The Legend of Tinker Street, the Magical Elf’ created by member, Justin Watrel December 10, 2016

Day Fifty-Two: A Visit to Washington DC in search of Alan Ballatine-Garfinckel: Editing my novel, “Love Triangles” August 19th, 2016

Day Fifty-One: Walking in Harlem on the East & West Side 155th Street to 145th Street between Broadway and Edgecombe Avenue August 8th, 10th and 11th, 2016 (again on June 27th, 2024)

Day Fifty: Walking Tour of with Trina Morris and F.I.T. of Greenpoint, Brooklyn July 23rd, 2016

Day Forty: Meeting ‘Lodi Larry comes to the Library’: First Day of Spring Event with the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library March 21st, 2016

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