Storm Pictures

[tonyb]

I'll pass along to all you young guys and gals what my cardiologist prescribed for me: a snowblower, a self-propelled one.

I have yet to fill that prescription. I assured my heart doc that I'm not competing with the neighbors, that I take it slow and easy and in fairly short sessions of about 20 minutes each. She told me that every winter they get patients keeling over on account of overdoing the snow shoveling, and that she'd be remiss if she didn't caution against it.

I've found it a heckuva lot easier to shovel two or three or four times during a "snow event," rather than wait for the snowfall to pass before attacking it. My push-broom gets used more than the snow shovel.

 

[Edward]

Love photos of NYC in the snow. Always wanted to visit when it's like that.

 

[Fading Fast]

Love photos of NYC in the snow. Always wanted to visit when it's like that.

It is my favorite time in the city - the City never looks more beautiful, never feels more timeless and is quieter than it ever is. I encourage you to come some winter.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Great pics! Glad you guys are safe and sound. Severe weather can be beautiful, but also...severe.

 

[Edward]

It is my favorite time in the city - the City never looks more beautiful, never feels more timeless and is quieter than it ever is. I encourage you to come some winter.

Of my few trips to the US, I've only made it to NYC the once. Back in 2004, spent a week there in February. No snow, buy boy was it cold. Nice, though - I'd much rather than than the sun. Hoping to get back someday, I'd love to spend Christmas there one year, and then another trip another time when it's warm enough to do the full Circle line boat trip (I passed the last time because part of the river was frozen and they weren't doing the full trip).

 

[Fading Fast]

As silly as it sounds for a long-time NYC resident, I only did the Circle Line a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. The views were incredible. Your thoughts seem spot on to me - you want it to be a nice day as you want to be outside on the deck.

Christmas time is wonderful as the city looks so beautiful all dressed up, but I think it is a hard time to visit as all the well-known spots are incredibly crowded. I know how to maneuver away from those areas and when you can sneak in to see them (hint, early in the morning on a weekend, the tree in Rock Center looks great and you can have the place practically to yourself), but as a visitor it is hard.

It really takes several visits at different seasons - as you are thinking - to really get to know a city, but that's not easy to do.

 

[vitanola]

Ah! One always dreams of the New York of one's youth. In the late 1970's I used to spend a substantial part of the summers with my aunt and uncle in Astoria, and would roam the site on the subways. The city was a magical place, then, full of possibilities. There were still remnants of the city of my grandfather's fond memories, the Yorkville and Lower East side of the second decade of the century. There were the surplus shops on Canal, many of which survived until the aftermath of 9-11, and the import shops on lower Broadway, the dives on the Bowery, the last surviving clubs on 52nd street, the remnants of "bohemian" culture (not the Yorkville kind!) in the Village, and at night the mysteries of the meat-packing district. All lost, swept away in the 'Nineties and Oughts.

 

[Fading Fast]

Ah! One always dreams of the New York of one's youth. In the late 1970's I used to spend a substantial part of the summers with my aunt and uncle in Astoria, and would roam the site on the subways. The city was a magical place, then, full of possibilities. There were still remnants of the city of my grandfather's fond memories, the Yorkville and Lower East side of the second decade of the century. There were the surplus shops on Canal, many of which survived until the aftermath of 9-11, and the import shops on lower Broadway, the dives on the Bowery, the last surviving clubs on 52nd street, the remnants of "bohemian" culture (not the Yorkville kind!) in the Village, and at night the mysteries of the meat-packing district. All lost, swept away in the 'Nineties and Oughts.

As a teenager in the '70s, I came into the city and remember fondly many of your references. I loved that neighborhoods, like Yorkville or "German-town" had a distinct identity. Today, as you note, it is almost gone, but staying with Yorkville as an example, a few traditional German stores remain and give it a bit of its old flavor (if only to someone like me looking to see and feel that old flavor). There were so many specialty book stores and record stores with personality - all gone - and, as you noted, the surplus shops on Canal and the surrounding streets offered value if you were willing to dig your way through and acclimate yourself to the storeowner's approach. All fun, fond memories of an all-but-gone time.