Empire State of Mind… New York Explorations-Part One

Where should I start?

Since I last wrote, many things changed. Work, city, and so much else.

A few months ago I finally applied for a posting abroad after having spent nearly three years in Delhi. Although the work had been highly rewarding, it was hectic, and I finally arrived at that feeling of having drawn all possible lessons from an assignment.

It so happened, then, that I arrived in New York at the end of July, to take up a new assignment, and new in so many ways. It was challenging, to say the least, to navigate through new methods of working, diverse people and working cultures and the one thing that kept me going was the city itself. New York. One of the best things to have happened to me.

Paris is still my first love, of course, but New York is a veeeery close second. The sky, the sun, the rain, the heat, the cold… Everything has been exhilarating and calming at the same time. Despite the busy work schedule, I was glad to have been able to make time to explore the city and its neighbourhoods.

New York is known for being a city that never sleeps, constantly on the move, like we in India speak of Bombay/Mumbai. But New York is alive, in the day, in the evening, at noon and at midnight. Brimming with energy, there is never a dull moment. And though this is not my first time here, it has been a discovery like no other. Here are a few glimpses of the city.

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  The Empire State Building decked up in Christmas lights

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  One Manhattan Square as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge, appearing transparent

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  The New York Life building

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  Indian tricolour flutters at the UNHQ

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  Long Island

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  Chrysler Building, midtown Manhattan

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  Manhattan skyline at sunset as seen from Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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  Street art in New York

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  Rockefeller Center

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  St Patrick’s Cathedral

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  Lavender Latte at a New York café

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  Love, love, love

My first outing happened on my very first weekend in the city, to Brooklyn. It was an unexpectedly warm and sunny day which brought any plans I had of walking the Brooklyn Bridge to a grinding halt. But a delicious lunch and ice cream meal completed the afternoon, inspiring me to return to Brooklyn just a week later. And this time, the weather and the light were perfect for a walk around the iconic Dumbo, or “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

For those wondering about Dumbo, New York has a few of these neighbourhoods which have contracted names, like SoHo (South of Houston Street), NoHo (North of Houston Street), Nolita (North of Little Italy), Tribeca (Triangle Below Canal Street), so on and so forth. How I Met Your Mother fans will remember Dowisetrepla. Thankfully, it does not exist.

Dumbo has this one iconic spot where everyone takes a picture and it took me some time to figure out why. It is because there is only one single street here where you can see the Empire State Building peeping from between the arch of the metallic blue Manhattan Bridge. The red brick buildings encasing the view add to the colour of the frame and every shot then looks like a postcard. Nestled neatly between Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, earlier called Gairville, today Dumbo is an upscale neighbourhood that is home to several tech startups.

The other iconic site in Brooklyn is, of course, the Brooklyn Bridge. With its high neo-Gothic arches and light coloured stone towers, the Bridge has for long been seen as an engineering marvel, considering the technology that existed in May 1883 when it was first opened. The Bridge became, then, a symbol of hope and optimism. Today it is a tourist attraction for anyone who visits New York, and for the beautiful view and majestic architecture it is endowed with, I would say the hype around it is not without merit. In my five months here, I have now walked the bridge twice between Brooklyn and Manhattan, once in each direction.

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  Brooklyn Bridge from a car

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  The Empire State Building peeping out from under the Manhattan Bridge, Dumbo

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  The high arches of the Brooklyn Bridge

New York is also well known for its dining culture. There are some restaurants and bars which almost seem like they were designed to be “Instagramable”. A place which is quite popular for its seasonal/monthly decorations is a restaurant called Oscar Wilde in the NoMad or Madison Square North district. When I first discovered this place in September, it was decked in an Alice in Wonderland theme full of floral and colourful props. But by the time I ended up going there, it was October and the theme had changed to Halloween. Needless to say, they went all out it trying to create a creepy and spooky atmosphere, there were some hits and misses but a fun experience on the whole.

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  Oscar Wilde, New York

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  Crazy clowns hanging from ceilings

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  Is it a clown? Is it the ghost of an escaped prisoner? Who can tell?

Another such instagramable place is Ophelia, a rooftop bar near the UN HQ, with its delicate snowflake decor and a view of Long Island.

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  Ophelia

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  Long Island on a cloudy night

New York is also well known for its music scene, particularly its Jazz clubs and bars, besides its concerts that bring us musical stalwarts from across the world, including India. My first experience of New York jazz was at Mezzrow Jazz Club in Greenwich Village. I have never really had great passion for Jazz, but this was a truly enjoyable experience. Besides this, Jazz @ Lincoln Center also offers Jazz concerts and I had the chance to listen to Charles Loyd and Zakir Hussain one evening. And with this I was able to check ohh yet another experience I had on my To-Do in New York list.

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  Mezzrow Jazz Club

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  Zakir Hussain performing at Jazz @ Lincoln Center

The To-Do in New York list is a long one and there is still a lot more to come… Broadway shows, museums, cute neighbourhoods and unique urban architecture, festive spirits and something for every mood… New York never disappoints.

As the year ends, I look back at the rollercoaster that has been my life. And I cannot wait to see what turns the rollercoaster takes in 2024.