While the Road Scholar tour was going to be quite extensive, I wanted to see the weird places too. I walked all over the city those days. At one point after walking 10 miles, I realized I had another 4 miles to get back to the hotel. I took the subway!
I am very into movie and TV locations. I was disappointed not seeing King Kong on the Empire State Building, no baby Godzilla’s in Madison Square Garden, the Rose Main Reading Room in the NY Public Library where ghosts hang out was closed to the public, only old ladies like me on the “Big” piano (and it was terribly out-of-tune), and no one was dancing and singing at Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. But I did see dogs playing there. Maybe internally the dogs are singing and dancing?
The signs are still up for the Ghost-buster's Headquarters.
Most likely everywhere in NYC has been in some film or TV show. This diner had great food for a good price, was 80 years old with a wooden ceiling, and was a set in the “Daredevil” TV show (Karen and Ben ate here).
The Equitable Building was interesting. Because it was built so tall and straight, it darkened the streets below. The city made new laws after this to require set-backs depending on the height.
This creepy building without any windows is called the NSA Building. It’s owned by AT&T but the story is it is filled with phone servers that the NSA uses to tap calls. The building is supposed to be able to withstand an atomic blast and have enough food to last 1,500 people for 2 weeks. The big vents in front and on the building is probably used to get rid of the heat from the servers.
The hotel had a great view of the Empire State Building. However, I loved these wooden water tanks on the tops of buildings. After I took the picture I realized that’s the Chrysler Building too.
The hotel (The New Yorker) was also the place where Nicola Tesla lived for 10 years and where he died. His rooms are marked plus there is a small display about him near the lobby.
A few weeks ago, I was extremely excited to be able to get tickets to the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Then...the writer’s strike. Instead, I got tickets to the Morgan Library and Museum. A cool secret at the Morgan Library is that you can’t get to the upper shelves from the main room. There are secret stairs behind the shelves that are opened by pivoting open a bookcase.
I was also able to get fairly low-cost and last-minute tickets to the musical Hamilton ($112 vs $200-$400). One story here...I went to the bathroom during intermission. By moving quickly, I got to the bathroom with a short line. By the time I left the entire lobby was full of women trying to get to the one ladies bathroom in the theater. We were told to "push and shove with love” our way back to our seats. I placed myself behind a tall lady who was confused why this little old lady was following her so closely and drafted behind her. Turns out she was sitting just in front of me.
Central Park on a Saturday morning was full of runners, people walking their dogs, bikers, bird watchers, ball games, and tourists getting selfies at all the famous spots. The park is BIG (843 acres). My hint for Central Park is to have “Where is the Public Toilet” app loaded. There are several free restrooms in the park but they are difficult to find.
The tour of the Alexander Hamilton family home at Hamilton Grange was very interesting. If you look at the picture, the silverware is upside-down. The guide said this was the way it was done then. The story is that this showed off the makers mark / monogram on the back of silverware. The internet also says this is the French formal method for silverware which was also popular with the British in the 17th & 18th century. So I don’t know if the Hamilton’s were showing off or just following fashion. Another story was that Eliza’s portrait was done by an artist in debtor's prison. This set a fashion for others to use this artist so he was finally able to make enough money to get out of debt.
The Alexander Hamilton family is buried in the Trinity Church Cemetery.
There is an area in NYC where ticker tape parades are held. Each time there is a strip put into the sidewalks explaining who and when they had a parade. It included heads of state, astronauts, and US hostages in Iran.
There are both classic foods and classic scams in NYC. I paid $20 for 1 hot dog and 2 drinks with a street vendor. It should have been $10 so always ask the price before buying. The hot dog wasn’t even good. The NY bagels and pizza I had weren’t very special either. I did love the pork tacos at Los Tacos No. 1 and the Scotch Egg at Fraunces Tavern.
The Charging Bull at Wall Street was funny. I went Sunday and there weren’t many people there. However, there was probably 20 people waiting in line to get their picture taken at the head of the bull. There was only 3 people in line to get their picture taken by the balls. When I returned on Tuesday with the group, there was probably 30 people in line by the balls and fewer at the head. We Americans are weird!
Actual New Yorkers were much nicer people than the myth. Follow the rules and you are OK (stay on the right side for sidewalks, escalators, and stairs and leave enough space for faster people to pass on the left; people exiting from the subway car have priority while people entering the subway station have priority; have your order ready when you reach the counter at a restaurant). Some don’t want to chat (they have their own life going on and may not have time for yours right now) while some enjoy a chat. Because I was with a group of older people, I saw many instances of NYers offering their seat on the subway. One man stopped me to tell me to keep my phone out of my back pocket since it could be stolen. There are homeless but most were quietly sleeping or sitting somewhere in the corners not bothering anyone or wanting to be bothered.
I saw two instances of Loud Rude People (both seemed to be people with a mental illness) but both involved a Nice NY Person who helped. In one instance, a Loud Woman randomly screamed at an Innocent Man on the sidewalk. A Nice Businessman stepped up to talk to the Innocent Man to reassure and support him. Another time a Loud Man was verbally harassing women on the subway. The Nice Man (who had already helped me get on the right train and looked like he could protect himself), moved to sit across from the man to be prepared if the Loud Man got physical with anyone.
A funny example of NY people was when I sat at the counter of a deli. The waitress came up with a customer’s order for specially cut onions on her chopped liver. The cook stared at her for a second then said he would do it only if she served it “with disdain”. I ate a more acceptable Rueben sandwich.
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