I exit the subway at Lexington and 59th Street. Headed in the direction of Central Park on 59th I stumble on an antique bookstore. I walked in to browse and feel the air of sophistication. On the few shelves that were not locked behind glass I came across Quo Vadis (not old enough edition to… Read more »
At 16, my dream job was working behind the deli counter at Daitch Shopwell. As a stock boy this would be a coup. Watching Milton or Marty cut thin slices of rare roast beef and Jarlsberg Swiss, I cried with pain. Pain that some son of a bitch was going to eat that tasty mound of meat… Read more »
Monday I went into one of the most suspicious places in the world. In fact, I find the place so contemptibly suspicious, I go there practically every day. What makes the place suspect is its openness. The place freely offers all the available information of humanity to the general public. There has to be a… Read more »
With one foot in classical music and the other pressing the heavy petal of metal music, musical virtuoso Brennan Dylan takes a few minutes to answer some questions for AskANewYorker.com. Among many fascinating insights from his earliest experiences in his musical development, he explains some of the consequences of music piracy, shares the number one… Read more »
This past weekend the wife and I packed our two baby girls into their car seats and drove upstate (upstate defined as north of the Bronx/Westchester border) to celebrate the 90th birthday of my Grandmother, Mary Sheahan. They don’t make New Yorkers like Mary Sheahan anymore. My Grandmother immigrated from Ireland and went through Ellis… Read more »
New York City of the 1970s is what you discover in Lynn Steward’s debut novel, A Very Good Life. If you miss the Manhattan of that era (or missed it altogether) you’ll especially enjoy the ambiance re-created within the pages of this book. Stepping into A Very Good Life is much like walking into the legendary… Read more »
I will be crispy, very clairvoyant and a little frivolous. Art is food. The ancient realm and art form of paint on canvas holds a central pedestal in my art world. Finding something for my wall is like fitting in a missing piece of my soul. We (humans) like things specific yet universal, simultaneously. Tough… Read more »
Got into a sparkling new cab this morning. The seats, dashboard and windows shined. Riding my finger along the metal detail on the passenger door, I thought, the only time my brother Rory and I were ever this clean was for one lone hour at a photography studio on Third Avenue in spring 1960. I repel wool…. Read more »
WRITE ON NEW YORK Just before you fall in love. Just before you drink your wine. Just before you pack your bags. Just before you see your kid for the first time. Just before you write. Just before the buds open, the flowers break through the ground, the world bursts into green in the first… Read more »
For dance performances, most people avoid one of my favorite seats. I like to sit on the side where a portion of the stage is obstructed. Although I miss some of the performance, this inadvertently offers a sliver of a view backstage. Between the side skirts, I can often see dancers standing at the edge… Read more »
