I am one of those New Yorkers... and other New York City, NY General Tips

Favorite Thing: I am one of those New Yorkers who hates to go above 23rd. Street. That said, my favorite neighborhoods are:
the Lower East Side (LES)
East Village (EV)/Alphabet City (rarely called that anymore)
Greenwich Village


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Favorite Thing: Go to Coney Island. Take the D, B, or F train to the last stop (Stillwell Avenue).

This is one of the most evokative places in NYC, in my opinion.

Check out this website Coney Island for an extensive history of this QUEEN of amusement parks.

Fondest Memory: Gazing upon the ruins of the Thunderbolt Rollercoaster, built in the 1920's, before it was torn down.

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Favorite Thing: Visit Thompkins Square Park. It's not what it used to be (and even then, it was pretty damn interesting). THIS is the place to spend an afternoon in good weather and people-watch, especially in the summer. There is always something going on, or so it seems. On weekends there is a small farmer's market on the Avenue A side. There are a few art shows during the summer, as well as a number of rally's, benefits, concerts...you get the picture.

Fondest Memory: I've spent many afternoons here with friends, or reading/writing. It's actually quite peaceful depending on where you're sitting.

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Favorite Thing: See Ground Zero, if you're so inclined. It's important to see what it's really like, so as not to forget that America is not invinceable. It's important to realize that 5,000+ people died. It's important not to forget that the Towers existed once.

Fondest Memory: NOTE: This is not a fond memory, but it is an important one.

I wrote this in my journal two days after the attack:

Going downtown to Union Square Park, where I saw with my own eyes those fliers. Yeah.
Those fliers seem so innocuous on TV, no?
Or maybe not really. But still, we can distance ourselves a bit from them.

I need what we (in one of my writing programs) would call 'distance' from all of this before I can really do it justice with a creative treatment. This will serve to soothe me more than anything else.

I felt like I needed to get away from CNN's treatment and see for myself. I've been to historic places many many years after the fact and felt incredibly moved. I knew that I needed to experience this up close.

Smell the odor of burning steel (so like the smell when I worked in a day treatment center by Greenwood Cemetery).
See the fliers with pictures of people with their loved ones, almost always with a happy look on their faces.
Look up at the gap in the skyline.
See people wearing dust masks (reminds me of when I was 9 and they realized I was highly allerigic to everything. I had to wear one in my house). I walked around downtown w/o one, but I was only there for an hour. I'm sure if I lived there, I would have one.

And think. Be alone. I needed it all.

I walked to St. vincents and then down to Houston and back to west fourth.

I wrote this after going down to see Ground Zero 10 days after the attack:

Two hours since I was at Ground Zero
and my tongue still tastes bitter from all of the soot and ash and smoke. If I lick my lips, I taste chalk. Taking deep breaths is difficult.

Hard to believe this is still like this 10 days and 2 days of downpours since the collapse.

The buildings along Broadway appear, for the most part, evacuated. Several windows have boards. The interiors are loaded with soot. People are using their fingers to write 'I love NY' 'God Bless America' 'Thank You NYPD/FDNY and rescue workers' on the store windows.

And I can't yet adequately think of capturing what the wreckage looked like just yet. I need some time to do this.

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