Jungle Gym

What I love about this city is the adventure and discoveries. New York is like a real jungle and walking though the dense thicket of things and people is like a safari, revealing surprises at every turn. While walking through the East Village and passing by the island that is home to the Astor Place cube, I discovered a jungle gym, with an assortment of unusual steel forms (that appeared to be bike racks) anchored to the ground. My immediate thought was to get a photo and my focus primarily about composition and other photographic concerns. See second photo with cube here.
It never occurred to me to question why these objects were here or why the collection was so disparate. The extreme variety of shapes and sizes should have tipped me off that there was more than meets the eye.
I had essentially forgotten the photos - a quick scan of them on my flash card made me question whether this motley crew of bike racks were blog-worthy. However, the forms were rather attractive and a quick online search revealed a pleasant surprise - these were the nine finalists in the "CityRack" Design Competition for New City Bike-Parking Standard by the New York City Department of Transportation. See the nine designs and information about the competition here.

The competition drew over 200 entrants from 24 states and 26 nations. An international jury of six will decide the first, second and third place winners. The winning design will be announced at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum during National Design Week (October 19-25, 2008). The first place winner will receive $10,000 and transfer design rights to the City of New York which intends to use the winning sidewalk bike rack design as its new prototype for bicycle parking. There are currently more than 5000 racks throughout the city with a design that is over 10 years old.
As I have written about before, the overriding considerations in this city for things in public spaces is their ability to withstand vandalism, abuse and heavy use. For better or for worse, these things supersede all others and utility rules. See my posting Very Practical here.
What I love about these designs is that it is clear that the entrants really understood the harsh NYC environment - all the designs are minimalist and look like they would survive.
I am sure it will be quite an honor and a thrill for the winner to stroll the jungle that is New York City, discovering his or her design on the streets ...

The Plaza

A number of readers have inquired why I have not done a posting on the Plaza Hotel in the two and a half years I have done this site. It may come as a surprise to those who know this city and it should - the Plaza is one of the most important landmarks in the entire city.
So why I have I waited? The primary reason has been the ongoing construction with exterior scaffolding since 2005. This property has changed hands a number of times, briefly owned by Donald Trump (from 1988-1995). It was then purchased by the current owner, El Ad Properties for $675 million. $400 million has been invested in renovations. All the rooms along Central Park are now residential condominiums. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark - the only other hotel with this status is the Waldorf Astoria.
It is difficult to do this hotel justice and communicate the importance of this structure. Its stature is enormous, both physically and symbolically. The Plaza sits at the crossroads of two of the most important thoroughfares in New York City - Fifth Avenue and Central Park South.  Any property located on Central Park immediately gains importance and caché. The same is true for Fifth Avenue, particularly where it flanks Central Park from 59th Street to 110th Street.
The current property is the second to be built on the site - the first in 1900 and the second was rebuilt in 1907, designed by Henry Hardenbergh in the style of a medieval French chateau. The name derives from Grand Army Plaza, the public space adjoining the front entrance of the hotel along Fifth Avenue. The plaza is the site of Pulitzer Fountain, Abundance, by Karl Bitter.
At one time in the 1950s and 60s half of the hotel rooms were occupied by residents living there full time like Frank Llloyd Wright and Marlene Dietrich. many clebrities have grace its rooms - F. Scott Fitzgerald, Alfred Hitchcock, Truman Capote, the Vanderbilts etal. The Beatles performed there on the first USA visit in 1964.
One could name drop all day and certainly there may be "better" hotels or rooms in the city, but for any New Yorker, one name says it all, the Plaza ...

Morphic Resonance

There is something called the hundredth monkey effect - a phenomenon where supposedly a learned behavior spreads instantaneously from one group of monkeys to another once a critical number has learned it. This idea was popularized by Ken Keyes in his book The Hundredth Monkey. On the Japanese island of Koshima in 1952, macaques were observed to have learned to wash potatoes - this behavior was passed on to others on neighboring islands, supposedly without any direct contact between monkeys. The paranormal effect was reported to be evidence of morphic resonance, a theory of Rupert Sheldrake, a former British biochemist. According to the theory, the repetition of similar acts and/or thoughts creates morphic fields which have effects on others.
The whole concept is extremely fascinating and very compelling - perhaps accounting for its popularity amongst new age thinkers. However, morphic resonance is not supported in the scientific community and the hundredth monkey effect is largely considered to be an urban myth.
I have always been interested in treehouses - at one time several years ago, my interest became so acute I decided to search for existing books on the subject and surprisingly, a new text had just been published. Subsequently there has been a proliferation of other books and articles - a number have appeared in the New York Times.
I was both surprised and excited to see this display of tree houses in Madison Square Park, juxtaposed against the New York cityscape - see another group shot here. This is a public art project called Tree Huts by Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata. If you don't mind a bit of artspeak, you can read about it here at the Madison Square Park website or here at the Tree Huts blog.
Although I realize that all the recent interest in tree houses is almost certainly due to cross pollination, I just love the idea that it could be morphic resonance :)

Note about the photo: The gold topped building in the background is the New York Life building - you can read my posting and see its spectacular night time illumination here.

Guilty Pleasures

This past weekend was the 6th annual Open House New York. I have been very enthusiastic about this event and have attended the past three years - see the links for my previous articles and photos below. This year I decided to take a journey to the Ukrainian Institute, owing to its description as "ornate, French Renaissance-style mansion, once owned by oil tycoon Harry F. Sinclair, now houses the Ukrainian Institute." After all, who doesn't like to visit a mansion? See photos of the interior here.
The French Gothic house, known as the Fletcher-Sinclair mansion, was built in 1898 by Isaac D. Fletcher and designed by architect C. P. H. Gilbert. Read about it here in an article by Christopher Gray of the New York Times.
At one time there were a myriad of mansions in Manhattan. Those who find displays of opulence disturbing because they may have been built on the backs of others, will perhaps find comfort that most of these were abandoned as private residences. I must confess, that for me, mansions are guilty pleasures. According to the aforementioned article by Christopher Gray: "Death and Taxes'' in Fortune magazine of July 1939 remarked that the Fifth Avenue mansions had become ''symbols not of power but of decay'' -- of the 72 private houses then left on Fifth Avenue, 33 were closed. The article reported that even a moderate-sized house required 10 servants at a yearly payroll of $14,000, with $4,000 alone in food for the staff. The bare minimum for keeping a house open was $30,000 a year."
These mansions have been converted to other uses such as embassies, museums, institutions and high profile retailers. Whether one sees these uses as more socially acceptable is one issue; certainly it is nice that most of these can now be used and enjoyed by the populace.
The Ukrainian Institute of America took over this property in 1955. Their function is to develop, sponsor and promote through activities a greater awareness, understanding, knowledge and appreciation in the United States of the art, literature, music, culture, history and traditions of Ukraine.
Their current usage of the mansion allows me to better enjoy a guilty pleasure :)

Related postings from previous Open House New York weekends: Masonic Lodge, Secret Rooftop Garden, Terrapin Chelsea Art Gallery, Stairwell, Cold Stone, 

Love Affair

Why would anyone have a love affair with a sporting goods store? It's simple. Let's say you just moved to NYC to go to college and it's 1969. And let's say you never left home before in your life - everything is new, exciting and scary all at the same time. Winter is coming and you need a warm coat. You have virtually no money but fortunately your mother gave you money to buy one. Where do you go and what do you buy?
Those who know things say go to Tents and Trails or Paragon.
Tents and Trails was on Park Place - virtually no man's land at the time. It was a real destination retailer with a virtual cult status and a quality reputation - I have purchased many things there. But it wasn't that big. I needed a place that felt overwhelming like the city itself. Paragon just felt like the right place. At the time, Northface was the brand of choice. So that is my first memorable NYC shopping experience - Northface at Paragon. That coat lasted years and I saw it and Paragon as responsible for providing protection from harsh
There's a wave of comfort that comes over you when you enter a place like this - a feeling of confidence that you need look no further. After all, this is the leading sporting goods store in NYC - the preeminent city in the country. This is a no-nonsense new york place. All the quality brands with a experienced sales staff that can be brutally honest.
Paragon Sports, 867 Broadway at 18th Street, has been in business since 1908 - many consider it to be the finest worldwide. It has an enormous product line (50,000 products), cutting edge equipment and clothing - many products are unique, carried exclusively at this store. It has only one location, much like a handful of other unique, iconic, legendary NYC stores like B&H Photo and J&R Music World. There's an intensity about these stalwart, single location shops - no dilution of expertise or product. Everyone and everything is under one roof.
Be forewarned - if you visit you may fall in love too :)

Suggestion: If you visit, make sure to see all three floors and all the rooms on the ground floor. While in the area, visit ABC Carpet and Home and nearby Union Square - see here. If you work up a hunger, grab a meal Republic - see my posting here.

Pumpkins Too

The display in this photo may appear to be somewhat early, but that is the state of the current retail environment. Business is so much more sophisticated and competitive. The general increase in foreknowledge of holiday sales has lead to an enormous expectation on the part of businesses. So now retailers extend holiday periods as much as possible in hopes of driving more sales. Historically, the Christmas season has begun on black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. However, we now see many retailers with Christmas displays and ornamentation well in advance of Thanksgiving.
For many retailers, profit or loss for the entire year depends on Christmas sales, so I am sympathetic to a degree. But on the other hand, the overly aggressive marketing, advertising and promotion can become distasteful, turning holidays into nothing but commercial events - soon we risk having a perennial Christmas I am not against celebration, but one must be careful or the spirit and meaning of holidays can be easily lost.
Autumn and Halloween are very much times defined by nature and the outdoors - pumpkins and straw are visual treats for city dwellers - much needed reminders that there is a world apart from concrete, asphalt, glass and steel. The city has to put its own spin on many holidays, keeping as many key elements as we can and improvising the rest. Trick or treat at Halloween is one holiday activity that is severely curtailed.
But we have pumpkins - wonderful eye candy for triggering memories of shuffling though fallen leaves or the excitement of making the neighborhood rounds on Halloween ...

Joe Jr's

Many New Yorkers enjoy comfort food as much as their suburban brethren and in America, the restaurant of choice for comfort food is the diner. These places appeal to Americans for so many fundamental reasons - large portions, low prices, long hours (many are open 24/7), fast service and typically an enormous, extensive menu of virtually every staple in the American diet - even breakfast items can be had all day.
Of course in New York, we just love those legendary places and iconic diners are no exception with places like the Market Diner in Chelsea and Moondance in SoHo which made big news when it was sold and completely moved to Wyoming in 2007.
Food reviews at diners are mixed - much depends on individual tastes and also the type of dish ordered - food quality can vary more than in a typical restaurant - a place may be good for burgers and breakfast but not great for filet of salmon. The safe bet is to go with simple, low risk, "standard" fare.
Joe Jr's Restaurant gets rave reviews with numerous patrons calling it the "best diner on earth" and other superlatives. I have only eaten there a couple of times so I leave you to be the final arbiter. Joe Jr's has two locations - the one in the photo is at 482 6th Avenue; the second location is at 167 3rd Avenue in the East Village. These establishments have been around since the 1930s and have stood the test of time ...