manhattan

Entries Tagged as 'manhattan'

ING New York City Marathon 2003

November 3rd, 2003 · 16 Comments

The headlines of the day are about P. Diddy running the marathon.

The first spot we went to see the marathon was at 9th Ave. & 4th St. – about mile 7. These are the starter cars coming by before the runners.

Two little boys in front of us dressed up in their halloween costumes and were getting their hand slapped by a lot of runners.

We saw both my mom and my dad running at this point. They were running together.

Firefighters cheer on an FDNY runner.

The next spot we went to see the marathon was in East Harlem at 103rd St. and 1st Ave. This is P. Diddy and his crew running by. I don’t know if you can actually see him in this photo. We did see him running twice during the day.

Robin, Superman & Batman ran the marathon. I also saw Spongebob.

At this point we saw mom & dad, but they were no longer running together. Dad was about 10 minutes in front of mom.

Mom

Mom said she needed a “daughter hug” for encouragement.

The next spot we went to was 103rd St. and 5th Ave. right next to the park on a big hill. This was mile 23 and the hill was walked by many of the runners. No sign of dad. We missed him.

Here comes mom on mile 23.

Finally we went to the Family Reunion area where everyone meets up. After waiting a while we found mom but couldn’t find dad for quite a while.

We walked up and down and around, everyone searching for him. We were sort of afraid because we hadn’t seen him at the last spot we went to to cheer on the runners. Finally we found him.

He had been walking all around looking for us. I gave mom flowers for her great achievement.

I thought dad could use a big huge beer after all that running. He’s saved it for later.

Mom & dad wanted to steal this smart car.

The ceiling at John’s Pizzeria where we had dinner.

The pizza chefs at John’s.

Jeannette.

Congratulations to my mom and dad who both ran & finished the NYC Marathon yesterday. It’s inspiring .. not that you’re going to see me running any kind of marathon any time soon!

- The runners in Brooklyn at about the 7 mile mark (.mov, 1.6mb)
- Dad running at 103rd St./1st Ave (.mov, 372k)
- Mom running at 103rd St./1st Ave (.mov, 380k)

OHNY – Roosevelt Island

October 13th, 2003 · 24 Comments

After brunch, Jeannette, Masako, Tien, Eleanor and I took The Tram to Roosevelt Island to see the Smallpox Hospital Ruins. We missed the openhousenewyork tours, but the grounds are open until sunset every day so explored around by ourselves.

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After brunch at the Sidewalk Cafe we went to Veniero’s to get some Italian pastries for dessert. I’d never been to Veniero’s before – it sounds too much like an STD! – but had heard Jeannette talk about it many times. On the bus ride to the Upper East Side we dug in to the pastries. From the Upper East Side we took The Tram to Roosevelt Island, a small island in the East River between Manhattan and Queens.

The Tram goes from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island and back. The Tram opened in 1976 as a temporary solution to get people to Roosevelt Island since there was no subway service. The gondolas are Swiss-made and are the only such system used for mass-transit in North America. At the time of it’s opening, The Tram was free. It wasn’t until 1990 that they started charging a 10 cent fare. Today the fare is $2.00 and is the only place in New York that still uses the old subway tokens.

From The Tram you get a beautiful view of the Queensboro Bridge and Queens. The skyscraper to the right of the bridge is the Citibank building and is the tallest building in Long Island (including Queens and Brooklyn).

The Queensboro Bridge is also called the 59th Street Bridge because you access it from 59th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Simon & Garfunkel sang a song called The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy). It’s one of my favorite songs of theirs.

The Tram system has two sets of cables so that two gondolas can be running at the same time. Here we pass the other gondola at one of the highest points of the 4 1/2 minute ride. It’s about 250 feet above the water.

Descending, we approach the Roosevelt Island Tram station.

Roosevelt Island’s west side has a promenade along the water with great views of Manhattan. These cranes are working on FDR Drive on Manhattans’ east side.

While we were at brunch earlier we were trying to decide what to do. We wanted to go to Gracie Mansion but it was going to be too late by the time we got done eating. We thought about going to the MTA Transit Museum but it was closed. On the openhousenewyork map there were tours of the Smallpox Hospital Ruins on Roosevelt Island, but they were for Saturday, not Sunday. Because no one in our group had ever been to Roosevelt Island, we decided to go and check it out anyway. These are the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital.

The Smallpox Hospital was opened in 1856 and was the first hospital in the United States to take in the victims of the smallpox plague. Patients here were under quarantine because smallpox is so contagious.

James Renwick, who is best known for St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Smithsonian Institute Building, was the the architect who designed Smallpox Hospital.

The ruins of Smallpox Hospital as well as The Tram are featured in the 2002 movie Spiderman. Dave Gallagher documents the NYC Spiderman locations here.

Looking back at the ruins as we make our way to the southern tip of Roosevelt Island.

Masako stops to pick up a stone. Behind her are the ruins of Smallpox Hospital and the Queensboro Bridge. The three smokestaks are that of a powerplant in Queens.

At the tip of Roosevelt Island there was a grassy area with some chairs left behind by some fishermen. Sitting down and enjoying the view.. Manhattan to our west, Queens to our east. This is another view of Manhattan.

Eleanor, Jeannette, Masako, Rachelle, Tien

Pepsi Cola bottling in Long Island City, Queens. There’s been controversy around this sign.. whether it should be preserved or whether it should be taken down to make a clear waterfront for Queens West. I think it should be saved. It’s 60 years old and is well-known and loved as part of the western Queens skyline.

At the very tip of Roosevelt Island there were some rock outcroppings in the water. In the background is Manhattan.

Walking back up the promenade to the subway.

The seagulls of Roosevelt Island hate me. I was torturing them to get a good shot in front of the Queensboro Bridge and the Manhattan skyline.

- Tien’s post on Roosevelt Island

A Night Out, A Charity Walk, and Dogs

May 4th, 2003 · 10 Comments

Andy, Michele & Rachelle
Andy, Michele, Rachelle, East Village, Manhattan

Going out until almost 2 a.m. the night before the big cancer walk probably wasn’t the most responsible thing to do, but Andy and Michele were in town and we really were having a good time at Avenue A Sushi and then hopping around bars and clubs in the East Village.

Revlon Run/Walk for Women, Times Square, Manhattan

Saturday morning I jumped out of bed with only a few hours of sleep and met up with Jeannette, Jessica, Yvan and 55,000 other people in Times Square for the 6th Annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women. Nothing like sleep walking 5 kilometers! Just kidding. Jess & I walked and Jeannette ran. Yvan was there for .. uh.. moral support. This was the biggest walk/run for charity that I’ve ever participated in. After the confetti bomb went off, signalling the start of the race, it was a good 15 minutes before we could even move to begin walking. The entire walk was like a huge mob of people invading Central Park. Amazingly, we did bump into a few people that we knew who we hadn’t planned to meet up with and didn’t know were even participating beforehand. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to the cause on my behalf.

May 3, 2003. Revlon Run/Walk for Women. Jessica & Rachelle.

Participating in memory of my Grandma Norder and my Grandma Bowden, both cancer victims.

Jeannette stripping down, getting ready to run.

Pissed Women was the best walking group name. Their shirts said “Pissed Women Kicking Cancer’s Ass!” Second runner up for best group name: Boobs on the Run.

Confetti blast signalling the start of the race.

Finally starting to walk, 15 minutes after the start of the race.

Finally getting to the start line a few minutes later.

Walking through Central Park. The sun finally began to poke through the clouds making it a beautiful day.

Finish Line

- Jessica’s photos of the event (free ofoto registration required)

I’m happy to say that I now am in love with the nail salon that screwed us over the other day. Jess & I each got a pedicure and a manicure there Saturday afternoon and they only charged us $15. That place is so affordable it’s rediculous. And so busy. Probably since it was recently written up in Jane Magazine. I don’t know if I should tell you what it’s called.. because then you’re all going to rush in on our new find and make it all impossible to get an appointment and make them think that because of their popularity they can raise the prices! The owner of the salon has this little dirty whitish poodle-ish dog in the salon. I would normally hate a little annoying dog like this, but this one.. she had some ATTITUDE. So funny. She ran around in the salon and out on the sidewalk chasing much bigger dogs and barking like there was no tomorrow. And when she got scolded for it she acted like if she could speak English she would tell the world to “F OFF!”. As I waited for Jess to finish up, this little firecracker and I snuggled up and read some magazines in the warm sun. Afterwards, we ate at Kate’s Joint, a vegetarian restuarant filled with babies and stereotypically wacky East Village characters. Hipsters and hippies. The East Village is oozing with them.

Drew, the 3 legged pitbull from BARC
Drew, BARC, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Freddie from BARC
Freddy, BARC, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Sunday, Eleanor and Jeannette and I volunteered at the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition (BARC) through New York Cares. I’d volunteered at BARC, a no-kill shelter, once before – last year. It was there today that I met Drew, an BARC affectionate 3-legged pitbull with a tendancy to sit down instead of walk, and Freddy, a friendly mutt with a reluctancy to walk away from the shelter. After a few hours of dog walking and a call to Masako, who used to live in Williamsburg, Eleanor & Lucy Eleanor, Jeannette and I had brunch at Oznnot’s Dish, where I ordered something that reminded me of a a breakfast my mom used to make. She used to take a cup and cut out the center of slices of toast. Then she would fry an egg in the middle. My meal at Oznot’s was good, but not as good as the memory of mom’s, of course. I’m exhausted from this weekend. I think I’m going to nap until Six Feet Under comes on.