"...NYC ! ...Dirty Wonderland !! ...I love you !!!" New York City by Dimi1

New York City Travel Guide: 15,523 reviews and 30,894 photos

... We're all gone to look for another America ...

About Dirty Wonderland, the home of fighters, dreamers as well as daydream believers in it's five boroughs, by Pistikis:

Contrary to popular belief, NYC is comprised of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

Pervading Manhattan centrism has deep historical roots.

The island's original inhabitants, the Algonquin Indians, called it "Mana Hatta" or "Heavenly Land", but soon they sold that "Mana Hatta" where they lived for just 25 bucks !

..But hey, it was a good deal for both parties.

For the white men because they got the island for small money... and for the smart Algonquins, because they weren't the land owners ! ;o))))

The British were the first who called the island "Mana Hatta" "New York," after James, Duke of York, the brother of Charles II.

Only in 1898 did the other four boroughs join the city. Flanked on the east by the "East River" (actually a strait) and on the west by the Hudson River, the first one, "Manhattan" is a sliver of an island, measuring only 13 miles long and 2,5 miles wide.

Sizeable "Queens" and "Brooklyn" are on the other side of the East River, and "Staten Island" is to the south. North of "Manhattan" sits "The Bronx", the only borough connected by land to the rest of the United States of America. Finally all that five boroughs together are New York City as we know it nowadays.

NYC, a lot of dreams once had been dreamed here..., just some of them are still dreamed by all those daydream believers... So many restless and dreamy journeys. ( by Dimitrios Pistikis )

NYC, "Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes together"
"I've got some real estate here in my bag"
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And we walked off to look for America

"Kathy," I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now"
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America

Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said "Be careful his bowtie is really a camera"

"Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat"
"We smoked the last one an hour ago"
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America !
All gone to look for America !!!

...feelin' groovy ! ...59th street bridge song...

... Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the mornin' last.
Just kickin' down the cobblestones,
Lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy.
Ba da da da da da da, feelin' groovy !

Hello, lamppost, whatcha knowin' ?
I come to watch your flowers growin'.
Ain'tcha got no rhymes for me ?
Doo it doo doo, feelin' groovy.
Ba da da da da da da, feelin' groovy.

I got no deeds to do, no promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morningtime drop all it's petals on me
Life, I love you, all is groovy !

NYC's five faces... the five boroughs...:

M a n h a t t a n

That's the Financial District, The Civic Center, South Street Seaport,Chinatown,Little Italy, Lower East Side,Tribeca, Soho, Greenwich Village,East Village and Alphabet City,Gramercy Park,Union Square,Murray Hill,Chelsea,Herald Square,the Garment District,Hell's Kitchen or Clinton,Midtown,Upper East Side,Upper West Side,Central Park,Morningside Heights,Harlem and Washington Heights.

B r o o k l y n

That's Greenpoint, a Polish neighborhood whose main drag is Manhattan Ave. To the south is artist-haven Williamsburg. Centered around Bedford Ave.,the neighborhood one of Brooklyn's trendiest. Another art-oriented community is DUMBO,short for Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass,which sits southwest of Williamsburg. Its western neighbor,Fulton Ferry,is where you'll find the Brooklyn Bridge. Brooklyn Heights,a uniformly preserved 19th-century residential area,sprang up with the development of Brooklyn-Manhattan steamboat transportation in 1814. This area's rows of posh Greek Revival and Italianate houses essentially created New York's first suburb. Downtown Brooklyn is the borough's civic center. To the east,vibrant Fort Greene,along DeKalb Ave.,is the hub of black artistic and cultural activity. To the south,Park Slope centers around 5th and 7th Ave.

Just south of Atlantic Ave., west of Park Slope,lies the quiet Italian neighborhood of Cobble Hill,whose gorgeous brownstone-lined sidestreets segue into Carroll Gardens. The ground floors of Smith and Court St. buildings are crowded with restaurants,thrift stores,antique vendors,artist cooperatives,and craft shops. On the other side of the Brooklyn-Queens Expwy. (BQE) is the industrial waterfront area of Red Hook. Cobblestone streets and Atlantic Ave. lead to warehouses,docks,and wonderful views of the Statue of Liberty. Farther south is Sunset Park,home to Greenwood Cemetery,the largest in Brooklyn. The nearby Shore Rd. of Bay Ridge is lined with mansions overlooking the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and New York Harbor. Bensonhurst to the southeast,is centered around Stillwell and Park Ave. Neighboring Borough Park is the largest Hassidic Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. Just southeast of Prospect Park and east of Borough Park is Flatbush,where Manhattan's turn-of-the-century aristocracy maintained summer homes; you can wander around Argyle St. and Ditmars Ave. to see some of the old mansions.

Two seaside communities lie in southern Brooklyn. Brighton Beach,or "Little Odessa" is populated heavily by Russian immigrants. To the west, Coney Island will take you back to a Brooklyn of years past.

Q u e e n s

Unlike Brooklyn, Queens is full of relatively self-contained neighborhoods. You don't mail a letter to Queens, NY, but rather to Long Island City, NY or Jackson Heights, NY.

On the borough's western edge are Astoria, where the biggest Greek community outside Greece is, and Long Island City.

As you move to the east, you'll find Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Corona. To the south of Corona are Forest Hills and Forest Park. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park sits, not surprisingly, between Flushing and Corona. Jamaica is south of Flushing, and the Rockaways are in the southwest. Use a map; the very useful Queens Bus

T h e B r o n x

The Bronx, that's High on a hill in the northwestern corner of the Bronx, Riverdale surveys Van Cortlandt Park to the east. Farther to the east, you'll find Woodlawn Cemetery. In the Bronx's northeastern corner is Pelham Bay Park. To the southeast of the park is City Island. Back in the borough center is Bronx Park, home of the Bronx Zoo and the Botanic Garden. West of the park are the neighborhoods of Fordham and Belmont. Farther south lie the different neighborhoods of the South Bronx, one of the city's most destitute areas.

S t a t e n I s l a n d

Unlike the rest of the city, Staten Island is quite spread out. Pick up much-needed maps of Staten Island's bus routes as well as other pamphlets at the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, 130 Bay St. To reach it, bear left from the ferry station onto Bay St., by LG.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Multyethnic and cool
Cons:Partly expensive
In a nutshell:The only really free minded city in the States

Intro Updated Nov 24, 2007
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Comments (9)

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JessH Jun 30, 2008 at 3:11 AM

Hi Dimitri. I loved reading your home page and also your NYC page. Can't wait to hear more of your insights and stories. Greetings from the desert / Jess in Dubai
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volopolo Oct 15, 2006 at 12:57 PM

lovely page! Nikos
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cissy4170 Apr 16, 2005 at 3:28 AM

Hey dim, great page by your wonderful introduction!
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Karin1S Apr 2, 2005 at 3:30 AM

Hey you've built a monster page :-))))))))))
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denise9999 Mar 30, 2005 at 7:02 AM

Great pics and pretty sensitive! Let me pay you a drink next time when you come over here, boy!!!
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Cruefan Mar 28, 2005 at 1:22 PM

Great page Dimitri, I loved the pics !
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MalenaN Mar 28, 2005 at 3:23 AM

Lovely NYC! Great photos Dimitri, I will come back to read more later.
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Goldenboy Mar 28, 2005 at 2:24 AM

New York... New York.... OOpps Im dreaming, to catch the chance...
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fga Sep 22, 2003 at 1:05 PM

Nice pictures!!!!! I will wait for more.......For me too NY is my love......