travel

Oysters and wild kids in NY Bay

I see a lot of old NYC oyster photos online, they pop up every once in a while. This image from 1900 is an oyster seller on the streets of New York.

Back in the day, NYC was called “The Big Oyster,” rather than “The Big Apple.” It was known for the oyster beds all over the bay and rivers.

Over the years, the rivers have been become, lets call it dirtier, but back then, the water was crystal clear. Oysters filter water, and that is a new project happening now.

The last commercial oyster bed in NYC closed in 1927.

In 2014, the non-profit Billion Oyster Project started. The goal is to restore 1 billion oysters to NY Bay by 2035. People in all five boroughs of NYC are volunteers working on the project.

1905 – oysters being sold on at the oyster barge.

Funny story – a friend and I went to Governors Island one day and as we left, a bunch of school kids barged (speaking of barges) out of the school, which is on the docks. The only way off the island is by ferry, so all those kids, about 200 of them ran onto the barge. The school on the island is the New York Harbor School.

From their website: “Our students learn to build and operate boats; spawn and harvest millions of oysters; design submersible, remotely operated vehicles; conduct real-life research; and dive underwater.”

I think my friend and I were the only two who weren’t related to the school, heading back across the bay to the city with the 200 kids.

Well, the kids were like little animals – fighting, pushing each other – throwing each other around. It was crazy. So loud and noisy. This was their “school bus” and it was just like a school bus on the water.

The kids were polite to us, allowing us on and off the ferry first. New Yorkers have a way about them, they are culturized and polite but they were being kids and going crazy on the ferry with each other. We were just watching and enjoying it all.

Recently I saw a tv show about the bay and the oyster project and those kids at the school were mentioned. Oddly enough, those wild kids are scientists in training and they are an integral part of the Billion Oyster Project! Those little monsters were growing oysters and cleaning up the bay!

Guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.

You can get more info on the Billion Oyster Project here, where you can learn more, volunteer and donate to the cause.

I wrote a post about Governors Island in 2017, you can read about the island itself, on what is going on there.

Till next time . . .

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Meeting up with friends before cell phones

The other day, I was telling someone to text me when they arrive in town and we’ll hang out and of course, that’s how we do it. But I was thinking about years ago when I would meet my friends when we were both out of town and we would always meet up without arranging things and texting.

I think I talked about this before, but it always intrigues me how we did things in the past. You know, like missing a tv show if we didn’t see it when it was on, not being able to tape, DVR or stream it and things like that.

I live in Miami and I would go to NY a lot during the year, and I had so many friends in Miami, and I don’t know how I told them all, but I guess I would do it separately, one at a time, and I would say, “I am going to be in NYC from Nov. 15 to 30, so if you are going to be around, let me know.

Now these friends and I were in Miami at the time, we lived in Miami, and I was making plans for NY maybe a month or two away.

And we would arrange to meet – a friend would respond, “OK, I’ll meet you in front of the Empire State Building at noon on Friday, November 28, see you then.” And we would actually meet then and there, after making these plans a month or so in advance.

We didn’t call each other on the phone, I mean landlines – I don’t remember why, but I don’t remember anyone calling me at my cousins’ houses or at hotels I was staying at, but there they were on the appointed date and time.

I remember meeting one friend at my hotel, the Grand Hyatt on 42nd Street, one night in December. I remember another meeting me at the Empire State Building one day and another meeting in Greenwich Village somewhere and that always happened.

We made a date and time, and we showed up.

Now we text back and forth 100 times before meeting up for lunch on the same day.

I liked it better the old way.

Till next time . . .

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Urban cops

A funny thing happened the day before I left NY.

Since a Nor’easter was affecting things up north, I sat down on a bench to check my airline schedule, to be sure it was on time the next morning. This past summer I had my flight home canceled and then rescheduled and rerouted thorough Boston, due to bad weather, so I wanted to check this time.

All looked good. The app said all was on schedule.

I was sitting on a bench across from Lincoln Center looking at my phone when two NYC cops came up to me. They asked how long I was sitting there. “Oh, no, I thought, what was this about?”

I had just read an ad in the subway, which was in Spanish, which said something like, “Have your real ID on you, they are on the streets! Truth!” So I thought this was that.

I told the cops I was only there a short time, and I asked why they were asking. One said, “Well, we were told a guy was chasing another guy with a firearm and they ran right by here. And we wanted to know if you saw anything.”

“What?” I said? “If I saw a guy holding a gun up to another guy running by, I wouldn’t be sitting here so calmly,” and I held my hand out as if I was holding a gun.

The cops laughed and ran off, looking for the guys.

Oddly enough, a few days before, these two cops came up to me in Hoboken (I blurred their faces here).

Again, I was sitting on a bench, this time to tie my shoelace. I seem to do a lot of bench sitting it seems. Anyway, I was sitting right in front of City Hall, and they came across the street looking at me. It could be because I took this picture of them, but they came up to me and said, “Hello. how are you doing?” I said, “Ok, thanks.” And they were on their way.

A few minutes before I had taken some pictures of some bigwigs in suits in front of City Hall, although I don’t think the cops saw that. I took the picture because I thought it was funny. Hoboken is literally one square mile in size and they have their own city council, mayor, police department, etc.

It’s sort of a real life Mayberry, when you think about it. I always say if I was to move to New York, I would actually move to Hoboken, one train stop from NYC. It’s like being in Brooklyn, but on the other side of Manhattan, so it’s a quick ride in and out.

It’s autonomous, it rules and controls itself, as any city would. It isn’t part of a larger government, like Brooklyn is (which is part of NYC). So little Hoboken calls its own shots. There are really no tourists there, because who, except for me, goes to Hoboken? It’s easy access to and from the city (Manhattan), it’s right next to the larger Jersey City, which is its own city, too.

I’ve seen people pop over to Macy’s at Herald Square in Manhattan, it’s only a few train stops away. Very convenient, yet it’s a quiet little “village” right on the Hudson River, doing its own thing.

Till next time . . .

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My nonsense Uber experiences

I’m glad to be back in Miami. But it seemed like I would never make it home from the airport. The Uber drive from the airport almost took as long as the plane ride from New York, and it should only take about 15 minutes!

My plane ride home was uneventful, the best type of plane ride. It left on time and arrived earlier – can’t get much better than that. Except, then there is Uber.

I summoned an Uber and waited and waited and waited. The app showed she was right near me, but I couldn’t find her. And apparently, she could not find me.

The last time this happened was last December, during Art Basel, where the airport is a madhouse, but this was a quiet Tuesday afternoon in October, so the airport was dead, there weren’t many people in the place, but yet we could not find each other.

I kept looking for a gray car, I can’t remember the type now, but there were no gray cars and the thing with Miami cars is that we don’t have front license plates, so it’s sometimes impossible to find your Uber.

In places like NY, you see the car coming simply by looking at the front license plate.

I sent the driver a message or two or maybe six or seven. And I called her a number of times. Nothing. No response. After half an hour, I canceled the call and they are trying to charge me something for the cancellation, which I’ll fight.

I summoned another car. This one was “green” and the guy was apparently deaf. That’s what his profile said. So I thought what could go wrong. He arrived fast and turns out he wasn’t deaf. So that was good, I was picturing a Seinfeld episode in my head trying to communicate with him, but that wasn’t a problem.

The issue with this guy was that he took me on a long trip through Miami. Basically, on a sightseeing tour. We went through Doral, Little Havana and other areas. I asked him why. He said he was trying to avoid traffic.

Finally, when we got to my neighborhood, I told him to go straight ahead to the main street and not make twists and turns through the neighborhood, as Uber usually does with their maps.

After an hour-and-a-half, I got home. An hour and a half after we landed at the airport! I may start going back to yellow cabs for a while.

COMING UP:
My brush with Urban cops – NY and Hoboken
Friday’s Tomversation toons of the week
What’s behind my Publix self-checkout scrutiny?

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Discover the beauty of Autumn: A day at the farm

Three of us, two of my cousins and me, did our yearly thing – we went upstate New York to pumpkin and apple pick.

We ended up at one of the farms we had been to before, we usually change it around each year.

It’s so peaceful and beautiful on the farm. The leaves are starting to change, there are pumpkins in the field and apple orchards at another end and a farm store where you can get apple cider donuts, pies, jams, and so many other things, including hot apple cider.

We went to lunch at an old tavern from 1832 in Cold Spring, a small village right on the Hudson River.

A Nor’easter was coming, so the weather was a little rainy, sort of misty at times, but still so beautiful up there.

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Fall in NYC: Warm October Days

I’m back in New York. Perfect month – October. But it’s a bit hot – close to 80 degrees, and it may pass 80 over the weekend! Glad I didn’t pack heavy.

Did my usual and as you can see above, I had my first Mister Softee of the Fall. I actually ate my way through the city today.

I’m already noticing the polite way the city runs. People are holding doors for each other, smiling and saying hello in elevators, things like that. Unlike a lot of what I see at home in Miami.

Even at LaGuardia airport cars stopped so I could cross the street to get to my Uber.

But I did have one altercation, and maybe I was the rude one, but I don’t think so. It was with a Ramona Singer type at a deli, I’ll talk about that in another post, we had our own little reality show going on in front of everyone in the store! Stay tuned for a future post! Subscribe here so you don’t miss it.

I’ll be going to New York Comic Con on Thursday, so I’ll report back on that. I’ll also be going pumpkin picking with my cousins, I think that’s next weekend, when the weather will be cooler and perfect for pumpkins and apples.

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Alex Katz’s ‘Painting Energy’

Artist Alex Katz has been painting for over 75 years. He turned 98 this past July. This is a short piece I saw on CBS Sunday Morning this past weekend, so enjoyable to see and hear Alex speak about his life and work.

A collection of over 100 pieces from the Alex Katz Foundation Collection are on display at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine. I only just found out about it, unfortunately, it’s been there since May. It ends in just a few weeks – on September 14. I know I have a lot of New England readers, so this is your chance!

Alex Katz, 2004. Photograph by Vivien Bittencourt.

The exhibit is called, “Painting Energy.” These are pieces of art that Alex owns, pieces he purchased because he loved them and wanted to support other established and emerging artists purchasing their art. He’s paying it forward.

Alex is one of those people who you just like to listen to when they speak. The Guggenheim Museum had an exhibit of his work in 2022, which I regret missing.

The paintings he chose for the Maine exhibit have to have a “pow” as he calls it. It’s sort of like an elevator pitch or shorter. He says it’s like an elevator door opening, seeing the painting, having the elevator door closing and “getting it,” from that one short moment.

“Alex Katz is a leader in contemporary art, but in the state of Maine, he’s king, and we all look up to him,” said fellow artist Katherine Bradford, whose work is part of the “Painting Energy” show.

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The best of summer

The Lake House was the best part of the whole trip. A dream realized.

I haven’t been writing here because it’s been a slow second half of the summer. I’m grateful for that.

Was all over New York State from late June into July – flew into Albany, then ended up at a wedding in Hudson, NY; was at a lake house across the Hudson River in Athens (on Tommy Trail!), which my brother obtained through Airbnb, then we all drove down to NYC and spent time in The Hamptons, too. Sort of a letter “L” shape for the early summer.

I felt sick at the wedding, not sure why, I think it was the heat – it was brutal from upstate all the way to the Hamptons – hot and humid.

One of my cousins feels that I was making it up because I didn’t want to be there – at the wedding – which makes no sense. I took two planes to get there, took an hour Uber ride to the house from the Albany airport, sent in two RSVPs (paper and online), made a special trip to get a gift card at Macy’s before I left home, had to lose a couple of pounds to fit into my suit pants, which was a joke with my friends and me for a month or so until I actually fit into the pants.

I bought a train ticket down to the city – arranged to be in the lake house with my family, originally I was going to get a hotel room and at the wedding, I did not touch any food or drink, until the end of the night when I had some ice cream, because who can pass u a big set-up of desserts anchored by a bar of ice cream sundaes?

I never ended up taking the train down the city, because I drove down with another couple of cousins, so that worked out well.

The wedding ceremony upstate in Hudson, was on the Hudson River and then across the street at the Basilica, an old factory that is an event venue now. I do regret not spending time on the river – I didn’t notice, but I am sure some of the guests grabbed a drink and took it across to the river and spent time there, where it looked like they had docks and boats – right there on the Hudson. Something I love.

I thought the Basilica was an old train station/depot, but I read that it was a factory in the late 1800s. Either way, a very impressive structure.

Just that should prove I was sick, for me to miss the Hudson River, which is right out my window, is a non-starter. That’s one of my favorite places.

Seeing Madame X, almost seeing Manhattanhenge (it was a bit cloudy), Mister Softee, MOMA, Brooklyn adventures and so much more. We did a lot.

Now I’m home, where it’s quiet – easing into autumn, which is my favorite season – where we will visit the Hudson Valley again, for pumpkin and apple picking! And ComicCon, can’t forget NY ComicCon!

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He’s in Iceland, the island

I had to get in touch with one of our neighbors. I saw our maintenance man, Rick (not real name) who really is clueless about so many things, but of course knows all of our business around the building, and I asked him if Gary (not real name), my neighbor, was home.

Rick, the maintenance man, said that Gary may not be home. He noticed Gary’s boat was gone from it’s dock out back. I told him the boat was gone for awhile, it may be out getting work done or something, so I texted Gary, asking if he was home. He texted back and said he was in Iceland. “Iceland?” I responded. “Yes,” he replied.

I told Rick that Gary was in Iceland of all places and Rick responded, “See, I told you the boat was gone.”

I replied, “You think he took that small 15 foot boat to Iceland? Iceland is way up in the North Atlantic, almost in Europe!”

Rick laughed and thought I said, “He was on an island.” Miami is surrounded by islands, but if he was on an island, I wouldn’t say, “He’s in Island.” I would say something like, “He’s on Key Biscayne.” Or, “He’s on Eliot Key,” or “He’s in Key Largo,” etc.

We both laughed, but I found it odd that Rick would think I said, “He’s on Island,” rather than “He’s on an island,” which is almost equally as odd since that’s not an expression I would use.

Either way, maybe we are both right, because Iceland is an Island.

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Striking a pose at MOMA

Taking pictures in front of Starry Night.

I’ve been in NYC awhile now, but I haven’t done my usual museum visits because the weather has been nice. It’s been brutally hot, but it hasn’t rained, and I’ve been saving museum visits for rainy days.

The news keeps saying there will be rain daily, but so far, so good. Nothing.

The New York City news shows the weather report what seems like every five minutes. Seriously. Every news report – early morning, mid-day, 6 pm and 11 pm. It’s all about the weather. Which is always wrong.

I did finally manage to stop by MOMA to visit my old friend, Starry Night. I noticed that people take a lot of photos in front of works of art, you know, with the person in the photo. They pose in front of the paintings; not usually sculptures, but in front of famous paintings.

I did notice a blind couple touching the sculptures, which I guess was allowed, but I found it strange that they were in most of the painted art galleries. Not sure how that worked.

I often find myself looking out the windows at the highrises, I don’t know why, but I do it. I did a cartoon about this a few years back, you can see it here.