Walking Off the Big Apple

On Birds of Inwood, a Visit to Cold Spring, New York

2025-02-13T11:10:00.001-05:00

I often meant for the title of this blog, Walking Off the Big Apple. to occasionally refer to the times when we want to get away from New York City.

Over on Birds of Inwood, my newer blog (it's two years old), I have a post for such an occasion. Day trip? Let's go. But it's winter and cold. OK! Now I really want to go.

The winter landscape is so underrated in my book.

Please read the new post, Big Landscapes, Little Ducks.

We're going to Cold Spring. Brrrr! Beautiful!

Image by Teri Tynes from February 11, 2025.

On This Timeless New York City Day of January 25 and a Snowy Past

2025-01-25T18:52:00.000-05:00

For today's entry of New York City pictures I snapped on this date in past years, I discovered some of my favorite images. A timeless city, frozen in snow. Pictures that could serve as time portals. Ethereal beauty, some too poignant for words. Nature and the built landscape without people. One, a drawing of bus passengers during the Covid pandemic. The last, a Red-bellied Woodpecker who is likely to outlast us.

Washington Square in snowstorm. January 25, 2013

McSorley's in snow. January 25, 2013

Paley Park. January 25, 2015

Fort Tryon Park. January 25, 2016

interior, Met Cloisters. January 25, 2016

Fort Tryon Park Cottage. January 25, 2019

Sketch of bus passengers on Bx7 bus during Covid epidemic. January 25, 2022

Red-bellied Woodpecker in Inwood Hill Park. January 25, 2024

Photos by Teri Tynes from the archives.

A Snowy Walk in Inwood Hill Park on January 20, 2025

2025-01-23T06:59:00.000-05:00

Listening to the weather reports on Monday morning made me almost fearful of stepping outside. Yet my yearning for a snowy birdwatching walk was too great to overcome.

I managed to bundle up in multiple layers and head out to Inwood Hill Park.

The first big snow is the best snow, and I am glad for my walking ways. Otherwise I would have missed these sights.

For those unfamiliar with the landscapes of Northern Manhattan, such wildness can be a great surprise.

Inwood Hill Park is accessible by the A train to its northernmost stop at W. 207th Street. Walk west, and behold the winter wonders of New York City.

For more bird walks in the park, please visit my newer blog, Birds of Inwood.

Photos by Teri Tynes from January 20, 2025.

Cosmic Pause for the Holidays

2024-12-22T20:03:00.002-05:00

Walking Off the Big Apple is on pause for the holidays.

Hayden Planetarium. Rose Center for Earth and Space. American Museum of Natural History.
December 22, 2016.

Happy holidays!

On this Day from NYC Present and Past: December 21, 2024

2024-12-21T20:00:00.002-05:00

It snowed last night. It started in the evening as a light snowfall, a flake here and there of little importance. Morning arrived, and the event was elevated. It was our first good snow of the season and something to celebrate. The snow arrived on the day of the winter solstice and just in time for Christmas. Something seemed just right about this gift of snow today, a recognition that life in the city was just as it should be for this time of year and all would be well.

Snow plow in Inwood. December 21, 2024

House Sparrow in snow.

December 21, 2024

Morningside Park. December 21, 2024

A few more pix on this day from the past.

Waiting at the big boards in Penn Station. December 21, 2012

Inwood Hill Park. December 21, 2013

Metropolitan Opera House. December 21, 2013

New York Public Library. December 21, 2015

Photos by Teri Tynes

Explore Christmas-themed walks from the Walking Off the Big Apple archives.

On this Day from NYC Past: December 20

2024-12-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

I have long let this once active blog wallow on the web, but a few weeks ago I came across many photos from the recent past. I found them to not only interest me personally for whatever nostalgic reason but possibly of use for insight into snippets of NYC history. They are artifacts of things past and objects of curiosity. I am surprised that many do not spur specific memories. I have no idea what I was thinking at the time I took the image.

One thing is clear. For years, I was involved in the life of the city and no longer that active. I have a good job in the city, but I am no longer a new girl in the city. I go about my business catching the subway to work, shopping for groceries, and collapsing into bed at night. I have blended into the crowd.

Since the beginning of the Covid epidemic in 2020, a year I began to consider myself semi-retired, I often venture into the forests of Inwood Hill Park near my apartment in Northern Manhattan to look at birds. These pictures reflect that shifting interest, city to nature, but I often long for the city of fading memory.

Leonard Cohen in concert at the Barclay Center. December 2012

Inwood Hill Park. December 20, 2013

Back of apartments near Isham Park. Inwood. December 20, 2013

NYC Pharmacy during the holidays. December 20, 2015

Pigeon lineup. December 20, 2020

Carolina Wren in Inwood Hill Park. December 20, 2023

Great Blue Heron and Metro-North Hudson line. December 20, 2023

Photos by Teri Tynes. This post is part of an ongoing project.

On this Day from NYC Past and Present: December 19

2024-12-19T19:04:00.003-05:00

This post is part of a continuing series on NYC's recent past and present. I took these photos on today's date. Today is December 19.

Washington Square Park. December 19, 2011

Residence in Greenwich Village. December 19, 2011

Gray's Papaya. 6th Avenue. December 19, 2011

Anne Loftus Playground. Fort Tryon Park in snow. December 19, 2013

207th stop A train. December 19, 2015

MoMA. Jackson Pollock exhibit. December 19, 2015

Red-tailed Hawk. Inwood Hill Park. December 19, 2024

Photos by Teri Tynes.

On this Day from NYC Past and Present: December 18

2024-12-18T19:57:00.002-05:00

During Walking Off the Big Apple's most active years, I took thousands of pictures walking around New York. I thought it be would be interesting to share photos from my archives taken on this date in the city's recent past and any pictures from the present day. This is part of a continuing series.

W. 53rd Street and 6th Ave. Flower bed and The Halal Guys. December 18, 2016

Abandoned stuffed animal. Lexington Ave. December 18, 2019

Apollo Theater. 125th Street. December 18, 2021. Covid Omicron variant.

High tide, coastal flooding, Inwood Hill Park. December 18, 2023

Red-tailed Hawk on the hunt. Inwood Hill Park. December 18, 2024

Photos by Teri Tynes

On this Day from NYC Past and Present: December 17

2024-12-17T16:36:00.003-05:00

I'm continuing to post images from the WOTBA archives plus any additional ones from the present. See previous posts. As it's December 17 today, we'll continue with the holiday theme. NYC always expresses itself as a city for the holidays. The final two images reflect my current interest in birds.

The weather seems to vary from year to year in mid-December.

Columbia University. December 17, 2013

Tree stand. Inwood neighborhood. December 17, 2013

Whitney Museum. December 17, 2015

Chelsea Market. December 17, 2015

Fort Tryon Park. December 17, 2021

Met Cloisters. December 17, 2021

Carolina Wren in Inwood Hill Park. December 17, 2023

Red-tailed Hawk in Inwood Hill Park. December 17, 2024.

Photos by Teri Tynes. See many more birds on my blog Birds of Inwood.

On this Day from NYC Past and Present: Holidays December 16

2024-12-16T20:29:00.002-05:00

During Walking Off the Big Apple's most active years, I took thousands of pictures walking around New York. The city changes fast in some neighborhoods but slowly in others. I thought it be would be interesting to share photos from my archives taken on this date in the city's recent past.

Downtown, Midtown, Upper East Side, Uptown. Scenes from the last decade + 2 years in New York City.

SoHo street. December 16, 2012. 7:25 a.m.

Midtown arcades. December 16, 2012. 2:27 p.m.

Midtown hotel during the holidays. December 16, 2012. 2:27 p.m.

1 train elevated at 207th Street. December 16, 2017. 10:29 a.m.

Zabar's. December 16, 2017. 11:02 a.m.

Inwood in the snow. December 16, 2020. 7:16 p.m.

Home holiday scene. December 16, 2024

Photos by Teri Tynes

On this Day from NYC Past: December 15

2024-12-15T19:39:00.001-05:00

Frozen in time. Times Square, Bryant Park, and Grand Central Terminal on December 15 in 2015, Central Park in snow from 2017, the Met Cloisters and a Belted Kingfisher in 2023. From the photo archives on December 15. I feel all these attractions are timeless, except the absolute possibility of snow. Yet, as I write, snow is in the forecast for this week.

42nd Street. December 15, 2015

Bryant Park. December 15, 2015

Grand Central Terminal. December 15, 2015

Times Square. December 15, 2015

Central Park in snow. December 15, 2017

The Met Cloisters as viewed from Cooper Street in Inwood. December 15, 2023

Belted Kingfisher at the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park. December 15, 2023. See the current birds of Inwood on my blog Birds of Inwood.

Photos by Teri Tynes.

On this Day from NYC Past: Holidays December 14, 2012

2024-12-14T18:28:00.001-05:00

The following images are all from December 14, 2012. I am particularly wistful for the days when W. 57th Street had the holiday magic, especially the old Steinway & Sons store.

Billboard for the Leonard Cohen concert posted in the Theater District

Paley Park. 3 E. 53rd Street

Elizabeth Arden on Fifth Avenue

700 Fifth Ave

Steinway & Sons showroom on W. 57th Street near Carnegie Hall

Columbus Circle holiday market. Some things don't change.

Photos by Teri Tynes. The original post is here.

On this Day from NYC Past: December 13

2024-12-13T19:37:00.003-05:00

During Walking Off the Big Apple's most active years, I took thousands of pictures walking around New York. The city changes fast in some areas or neighborhoods but slowly in others. I thought it be would be interesting to share photos from my archives taken on this date in the city's recent past.

December 13, 2013. 125th Street 1 train station

December 13, 2014. Lincoln Center

December 13, 2014. Washington Square march

December 13, 2020. Cooper Street, Inwood

December 13, 2021. Commute. Sketch by author

On this Day from NYC Past: December 12

2024-12-12T20:30:00.002-05:00

During Walking Off the Big Apple's most active years, I took thousands of pictures walking around New York. The city changes fast. I thought it be would be interesting to share photos from my archives taken on this date in the city's recent past.

191st Street Tunnel. Washington Heights. December 12, 2015

Westside Market. Morningside Heights. December 12, 2012

Greenwich Village intersection. December 12, 2011.

Grove Court. December 12, 2011

Milligan Place. Greenwich Village. December 12, 2011

White Horse Tavern. December 12, 2011

Images by Teri Tynes.

Walking Off the Big Apple Walks Again - Notes on the New NYC

2024-07-03T07:08:00.003-04:00

I left you last time a few years ago at the Moynihan Train Station.

Large development projects continue to shape how New Yorkers live and work. New attractions alter the ways visitors see the city. Transportation and food are two big themes.

The city continues to grow at the edges of the shoreline.

We may take some slow walks through the new cultural and political landscapes. Time will tell.

Walking Off the Big Apple is still here for those curious about the city's recent past.

For now, visit Pier 57 and grab some food at Market 57. Go up to the rooftop and look south. There you will see Little Island. On the left is the Whitney Museum. You could have a nice afternoon walking around these spots.

I'm still here. I spend a lot of time walking around Inwood looking at birds.

- Teri

PS. Fine me also on Instagram and Threads.

Introducing Birds of Inwood

2023-03-15T16:10:00.001-04:00

Introducing a New Website

It's been a moment since I posted last. Please forgive me. I have been in the forest down the street.

After spending many of my leisure hours taking photographs of birds in my local neighborhood of Inwood, I am introducing to you a new website featuring these beautiful and often enigmatic creatures.

It's called Birds of Inwood.

As I write there, "Inwood is my Amherst." With time, my advancing age, and the pandemic, I have learned to find depth and beauty in places close to home.

I have also found to my delight that designing a new website presents great opportunities. Birds of Inwood is pretty flashy! The birds are even larger than life on these new pages! Please visit.

You'll be glad I didn't call it "Flying Off the Big Apple."

Check out my forest home.

- Teri

At the New Moynihan Train Hall, and the Zen of Going Nowhere

2021-04-17T09:13:00.002-04:00

After slowly wandering around the Moynihan Train Hall, opened earlier this year in the James A. Farley Post Office Building across from Penn Station, an Amtrak worker approached me and asked if he could help with directions. “No,” I replied, “I’m just here to look at the station.”

Moynihan Train Hall, between Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, 31st Street, and 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan

I wasn’t taking a train anywhere, not an Amtrak train to Philadelphia or to Boston. I was here to look at this impressive, even enlightening building. The architectural design is somewhat restrained and serious.

Bright signage at the Moynihan Train Hall

At a time when the idea of actual travel is just picking up, for some New Yorkers like myself, just the novelty of seeing a new transportation project in the city seems to suffice. It’s like mental preparation for taking an actual trip.

Looking up

I remember catching Amtrak trains at the old Penn Station, not the beautiful and monumental edifice that was torn down beginning in 1963 to make way for Madison Square Garden, but the funky modern one across the street. After grabbing a coffee and pastry at nearby Zaro’s pastry shop, I would stand with many other luggage-laden travelers inside the central hall, just staring at the train board for departures. When the train platform was announced, we would hustle over to train exit and get in a long line to show our IDs and tickets before boarding the train. It was mayhem at holiday time.

Passenger waiting area

Now, I’m standing in the Moynihan Train Hall and looking lost, perhaps lost in nostalgia for the time of chaotic crowds. Here and now, during a pandemic, there’s almost at existential element to waiting. Have I died, and this is where I am now, looking up at the sky over New York City through the skylights? I considered taking the escalators downstairs, but given my mortal frame of mind, I had no interest in where those would lead.

Waiting for the return to normal travel

While the new train hall is dedicated to former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, much of the new station bears the markings of current Governor Andrew Cuomo. Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, the governor has often repeated the state motto, Excelsior (“Ever Upward”), E Pluribus Unum (“Out of Many One”). The “Ever Upward” at this location seems to lead to future retail.

Memories of "the stairs to heaven"

The Amtrak worker guided me to the baggage area. There I saw a little museum to the glory that was once the old Pennsylvania Station, one of the greatest Beaux Arts buildings ever built in New York, designed by McKim, Mead and White and finished in 1910. The collective trauma brought about by the actual demolition of Penn Station set in motion a new preservationist spirit in New York City and beyond.

Finally, I did go somewhere from the station. I followed the subway signs and took the A train home.

And in that balloon, my dear Dorothy, you and I will return to the land of E Pluribus Unum.

- THE WIZARD OF OZ

Update, June 2021. Walking Off the Big Apple will be taking a break, of uncertain length, to explore new trails. Will keep you posted, and I mean that quite literally.

Related on this website:

• Bye Bye Penn Station: Mad Men Takes on an Epic Battle. August 24, 2009

• George Bellows in New York:Rambles and Excavations. January 2, 2013

• Scenes in the Public Domain: New York City Views from the The New York Public Library. January 14, 2016

Images from Saturday, April 10, 2021.

Circling the Met: A Springtime Visit to Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art

2021-04-10T07:51:00.007-04:00

For a double feature of art and nature, the Metropolitan Museum of Art happens to be conveniently situated in Central Park. The front of the museum faces Fifth Avenue, its monumental wings stretching the blocks between E. 80th and E. 84th. The sides and the back of the museum are within easy walking distance of several prominent landmarks within the park.

Cedar Hill in Central Park

Before a visit to the Met, consider taking a walk around the museum beginning on the southern side. A walk in the park can serve as a good preparation for a museum visit, because looking at or noticing the shapes and colors of the built and natural environment can enhance the art experience.

Cedar Hill in Central Park

The path south of the 79 Street Transverse leads to a scene at Cedar Hill very much like a panorama, with a vast wide-angle expanse of green grass and hill. Take the first path that leads back over 79th Street to the southern side of the museum. This path brilliantly disguises the motor traffic below.

Greywacke Arch in Central Park

Follow the curve along the rear of the museum and look for the Greywacke Arch. An ornate arch of Moorish influence, with a notable decorative cast-eon railing, the arch links the museum with the Great Lawn.

Obelisk (Cleopatra’s Needle)

Go through the arch and bear right toward the Obelisk (Cleopatra’s Needle). Built circa 1450 BC, the obelisk is “the oldest manmade object in Central Park,” as noted on the Central Park Conservancy website.

A Red-Bellied Woodpecker investigates a tree near the Obelisk

For a full appreciation of the park surroundings, including any nearby birds, walk up the steps to the raised Obelisk platform and have a look around.

Spring blossoms near the East Drive, Central Park

Throughout this walk, frequent visitors to the museum may want to try a little game. While walking the exterior, match the architectural forms of the museum with the galleries inside, for example, the Robert Lehman Collection, the American Wing, and the Temple of Dendur. To study, a map is included here.

A path of the north side of the museum, looking toward Fifth Avenue

Now, look for a gentle way to trample across the grass to reach the East Drive and then the walkway on the rear of the museum. Continue along the walk and then curve back to the right again on the northern side of the museum. Proceed in the direction of Fifth Avenue and then turn right to walk through the museum’s plaza and esplanade and up the famous steps of the museum.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

We’ve almost come full circle, but it’s time to visit the museum. But first, a word of note to fans of magnolia trees: While the tulip magnolia (or saucer magnolia) trees, the common name for the Liriodendron tulipifera, are in bloom at this time of year, the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art are flanked by two wonderful Magnolia grandiflora, the Southern magnolia.

One of the two Southern Magnolias that flank the museum steps

For a long time, I never noticed them, but once during the summertime, as I was walking up the steps, I was suddenly hit with the lush smell of their giant blossoms and taken back to my Texas childhood.

The Great Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, like other museums, has enacted full safety measures due to the pandemic. After a temperature check at the entrance, visitors will notice many signs for safe distancing and dispensers for hand sanitizer.

The Carroll and Milton Petrie European Sculpture Court

For art lovers, the museums can provide an extraordinary opportunity to spend quality time alone with favorite paintings or galleries.

The waiting line for Alice Neel

The exception to the relatively sparse crowds at the Met these days is the sensational show of work by Alice Neel (1900-1984). Born at the beginning of the twentieth century, during her life the longtime New York resident cast her gaze on the most central concerns of the century’s tumultuous decades, representing them mostly in vivid portraits of friends and strangers. Her urban landscapes of local scenes and the places where she lived are equally evocative of time and place. The waiting line to her exhibition may be deservedly long, but the line moves fast.

Images from Monday, April 5, 2021 by Walking Off the Big Apple.

Official websites:

• Central Park Conservancy

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Traversing Manhattan: An Afternoon Trip to the Battery and Back Again

2021-04-03T09:09:00.000-04:00

Wherein the vaccinated sightseer from Northern Manhattan travels to the southern end of the island by means of the express bus, the MTA subway, and the NYC ferry, with a little sauntering on foot

In Battery Park, during the first blushes of spring in New York.
View of One World Trade Center

Residents of the far north and far south of Manhattan are the ones most keenly aware that they live on an island. The north end of the borough tapers to a relatively small area of land, bounded by the confluence of the Harlem and Hudson Rivers and the waters of Spuyten Duyvil. The land is hilly and green, with an old growth forest. The Battery sits on the southern end, a land where the geography is defined by the meeting of the East River, the Hudson River, and the vast New York Harbor. Manhattan stretches a little over 13 miles on the long side and just 2.3, more or less, at its width.

On 42nd Street, approaching Grand Central Terminal.

A resident of the hilly northern terrain may sometimes long to see the watery southern end of the island and to gaze out on the harbor, the various boats, and its most famous structure, the Statue of Liberty. As it turns out, it doesn’t take forever to get there. The pandemic has kept many people close to home and away from accustomed jaunts, so the imagined ordeal does not take forever and a day.

Outside Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street

With increasing numbers of fellow residents getting vaccinated, engaging in some local sightseeing is now within the realm of possibility. Travel is especially welcome for these who long to see the seas again (links to the poem "Sea Fever" by John Mansfield at the Poetry Foundation).

"The Tomb of the Temporarily Closed Oyster Bar"

This post explains how to traverse the length of Manhattan from north to south and back again during the course of an afternoon, or specifically, from 12:40 pm to 4:50 pm on a weekend afternoon. With this knowledge, a visitor could easily take in the sights of the Met Cloisters in the morning and then enjoy the sights of the Battery a few hours later.

Outside the Bowling Green Station

For the first leg of the trip, starting north, take the BxM1 express bus (MTA pdf) from the intersection of Broadway and W. 207 to Lexington Ave and 42nd Street. The Bus Time app (there are several good ones out there) showed results for a 12:40 pm departure. The BxM1 express bus, with its northern terminus in the far north of the Bronx at 263rd Street, is indeed a magic bus. After just one more uptown stop at Dyckman and Sherman, the next stop is 96th Street and Lexington Avenue. The bus eventually goes all the way down to 34th Street, but get off near Grand Central Terminal. (Another possibility – go all the way to 34th and take to crosstown bus to the E. 34th ferry dock, and get on a ferry headed for Pier 11/Wall Street.)

Dancing with wild abandon, or just vigorous exercise, in Battery Park

After arriving at Grand Central, have a look around. While the foot traffic may appear slightly more active than in the past few months, the lower dining concourse still looks a bit forlorn, especially with the Oyster Bar temporarily closed.

A Statue Cruise boat is ready to sail to Liberty Island from the Battery.

From Grand Central Terminal, take a 4 or 5 train down to Bowling Green. These days, the visitor can enjoy an early springtime scene there with a hint of blossoms and green lawns. The Battery looked lively on this weekend day. A large group danced with abandon in the fountain area, swaying to inspirational music they could only hear. At the harbor, dozens of people, maybe a hundred or so, were lined up for the Statue Cruises for a trip to Liberty Island.

The busy scene at Pier 11/Wall Street

While the Staten Island Ferry is near, consider strolling up Water Street to the Wall Street/Pier 11. At the pier, purchase a ticket on the NYC Ferry app and wait for a ferry headed north to the E. 34th Street dock on the East River.

On the NYC Ferry headed to E. 34th Street

The ferry ride is a short but thrilling ride. With the cost the same as a subway ride – currently $2.75 for a one-way adult ticket, the NYC ferry is a more scenic alternative to underground travel. From the vantage point of the upper deck, the sights of the city from the East River - the Brooklyn Bridge, the UN Headquarters, and the rest - can help restore a sense of connection to the city, one that has often been lost during the pandemic.

Public plaza at 34th Street and 1st Avenue

The open sky and breezes on a boat can help not only with virus mitigation strategies, but also deliver a sense of freedom. I could amend Andy Warhol’s quote, “My favorite smell is the first smell of spring in New York,” with “My favorite smell is the first smell of spring in New York after the recommended two weeks have passed since the second shot of the Pfizer vaccine.”

On 34th Street headed west to 3rd Avenue.
You may recognize the Empire State Building in the distance.

Debarking from the ferry on E. 34th Street, walk over to 3rd Avenue and E. 33rd St. and catch an Inwood-bound express bus for the ride back north. If timing is good, the round trip can be accomplished between lunchtime and Happy Hour.

This scenic trip could easily be reversed, suitable for downtown Manhattan residents who long to visit the Met Cloisters again or take a stroll along the great promenade of Fort Tryon Park.

“And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.”

Images by Walking Off the Big Apple from Saturday, March 27, 2021.

Visiting New York City Again on the First Day of Spring

2021-03-24T07:46:00.003-04:00

The first weekend of spring in New York City coincided with bright and pleasing weather. Blue skies and Blue Jays, Bald Eagles and brightened crowds greeted the new season, at least in my world. It may be a cliché to say something like “Hope is in the air,” but contrast this spring of 2021 with the one a year ago, the new mood is palpable. Last year during early spring, the city shut down, in caution and crisis, but this season feels like a resurrection, albeit still cautious.

The Met Steps on Fifth Avenue

Last spring, when many of the city’s residents feared going outside, many are at least partially vaccinated now. The numbers rise every day. I have been fully vaccinated for a month now, so I used the occasion to revisit New York City. I have been out and about in my neighborhood, but in terms of the public New York City, the one celebrated in tourist books and on this website, I have not ventured there much at all.

A Bald Eagle grasps a fish in its talons outside the Met Cloisters.

It’s springtime in New York, and it was time to make plans, book doctor’s appointments and museum reservations. Making plans this spring was also something new, because for the past year, planning was almost of the question. Making plans is an act of hope, a thing we do when we believe we may have a future. Last year at this time, with whatever plans completely upended (I had thought about enrolling in art classes), the only strategic goal was to hang in there, to try to survive.

The Bald Eagle surveying the Hudson River landscape from a tree outside the Met Cloisters

The Cloisters sits at the south end of my Northern Manhattan neighborhood. The home of the Met’s collection of medieval art stands on the top of Fort Tryon Park, visible from my street. The medievalism of the structure also came to symbolize for me the medieval constrictions of the pandemic year. A few days a week, I travelled north by bus to my workplace, but in terms of everyday living, I have mostly stayed in the neighborhood to walk and shop and look at birds, day in and day out for a whole year.

The Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park

I had a case of spring fever this past weekend, and I felt the urge to fly. I made plans. I booked a Saturday morning reservation at The Cloisters, a place I had surveyed from the outside on many walks, but I wanted to see the inside again. The art, gardens, and the Unicorn Tapestries waited. This excursion would be the first time in a long time that I had made plans to see a museum from the inside.

Fuentidueña Chapel, Met Cloisters

While waiting for the museum to open its doors, I witnessed a group of college students dressed in medieval costumes rehearsing and filming some sort of Everyman play. Simultaneously, I observed a startling large bird landing on a nearby tree. I knew immediately it was a Bald Eagle. On closer observation, thanks to the camera I brought along, I saw that it was enjoying a meal. The eagle had just scooped up a fish in its mighty talons from the nearby Hudson River and was making quick work of it. Nearby, a pair of Blue Jays also shared some snacks.

View of the Bonnefont Cloister Herb Garden, Met Cloisters

Visiting a museum after being away for a while proved to be a heightened pleasure. Combined with the blue skies and the spring light, the experience felt like new, like what they call in meditation practices “the beginner’s mind.”

Outside the Frick Madison, Madison Avenue and E. 75th Street

On Sunday of this first day in spring, I had the occasion to truly leave the neighborhood and revisit old haunting grounds. I had booked an eye exam on the Upper East Side for Sunday afternoon, and before the scheduled appointment, I visited the steps of the Met Museum. It was like old times. I didn’t go inside but plan to return soon.

lobby, Frick Madison

For a fresh experience, I had also renewed my membership to the Frick Collection and made plans for that day to visit the Frick Madison, the museum’s temporary home in the Marcel Breuer building on Madison. The longtime home of the Whitney (now downtown in a spiffy new home), the modernist building was recently occupied by the Met and known as the Met Breuer. Now it’s the province for the Frick Collection, with its famous masterpieces installed in pleasing sparse ways on gray walls. The context is austere, even Cistercian, but the works truly sing outside of their normal Fifth Avenue mansion.

a pair of Blue Jays outside the Met Cloisters

I had made one personal mistake in my planning this past Sunday. I visited the Frick Madison after my eye exam, and I cannot say I recommend visiting an art museum after getting your eyes dilated. The experience is still rather vague and weird to me in retrospect, but I saw the Rembrandts, Vermeers, Van Dycks, and Goyas with fresh new eyes. The colors were vivid, and Rembrandt’s self-portrait appeared in 3-D. I had to resort to wearing sunglasses throughout my late afternoon visit.

Bald Eagle, on the first weekend of spring

In sum, I plan to return to the museum after I get new prescription lenses. I may not see like an eagle, but I like to walk around with some clarity. It’s a new spring and the time to make more plans.

Images from March 20 and 21, 2021.

Walking on Snow

2021-02-15T13:15:00.012-05:00

❄ ❄ ❄ ❄

For the better part of this new year, snow has been either on the ground or in the forecast. In the city landscape, the streets look enchanting for a day or so and then devolve into a dirty mess. This sort of snow is unappealing for an invigorating walk.

A snowy path in Inwood Hill Park

The forest, on the other hand, has managed to stay enchanting throughout each bout of winter weather. The presence of owls and hawks, bright red cardinals and sweet chickadees, and brown squirrels and black squirrels transform the woodlands into a fairy tale.

An Eastern Screech-Owl at home in the winter forest

I've spent much of the whole pandemic year, going back to March 2020, in the woods of Inwood Hill Park in Northern Manhattan. While I have been accustomed to walking through the park in spring, summer, and autumn, I've never managed to engage with the deepest parts of the forest when a lot of snow was on the ground. Last winter there wasn't much snow anyway.

Eastern Screech-Owl, a better view of the camouflage

This winter, the presence of a Barred Owl and recently an Eastern Screech-Owl made me want to venture into the snowy woods for a little adventure. Beyond the birds, I have found in the winter forest a thrilling escape from the slushy piles of discarded snow on Broadway.

A Black-capped Chickadee lands on a favorite log.

When I first ventured into the woods, I found the atmosphere refreshing - light and clear, and it smelled good. The more I walked, the more acclimated I became to the brilliance of the light. On a sunny and cold day, the brightness of the snow made me wish for sun glasses or those blue-tinted ones for skiing. I have thought about skis and snowshoes, too, and hiking poles, but I find that I enjoy practicing my own balance along the uneven snowy paths.

A Red-tailed Hawk surveys the scene

Let's talk about motivation. Why should anyone want to venture out into a snow-covered forest? My list began with a yearning to see owls and a general enjoyment of a good winter landscape. What followed was a sense of renewed vigor in winter walking that I had not experienced before this year. I never felt unsafe in any way, I might add, because the birds attract birders, and several recreational walkers like myself provided some camaraderie. When I first arrived at the place of the Eastern Screech-Owl, I ran into five or six birders with tripods as well as four NYC park rangers out explaining the forest and birds to anyone that asked.

Red-tailed Hawk, showing a movie-star profile

I would now like to discuss footwear for walking winter trails. For my earliest snow walks, I wore a pair of well-worn snow boots. These boots were fine in terms of traction, but they were too loose around the ankles. This caused two problems. First, I sank into some deep snow, allowing the snow to spill into the boots. I had to sit down on a log and shake to snow out. Second, the boots didn't have enough (any) ankle support, so a careless slip could have sent me to an emergency clinic. Fortunately, I didn't experience a sprained ankle.

A fluffy male Northern Cardinal

I've owned a pair of fancy hiking boots sitting in the closet for a few years (aspirational thinking), and they've never been properly broken in. So, I dusted them up and laced them to get this process started again. If you don't know, lacing up hiking boots benefits from a few adjustments. Go on the Internet and look for videos about lacing, noting the ones about surgical lacing. If you are already wearing surgical masks, you may as well make these sorts of ties on your boots. A well-fitted boot means less slippage, less visits to an orthopedic specialist. Also, I recommend wearing some merino wool socks with extra padding.

Northern Cardinal. Look at that red!

So, now I enjoy walking the winter forest in proper hiking boots. Yes, they are a bit heavy, but the weight adds to the overall sense of vigor as well as a more sure footing. Yesterday, while walking uphill, I was startled by the high whistle of a nearby soaring hawk, and I was glad I didn't fall down.

A snowy path leading to higher terrain

Walking uphill on the snowy stepped trails of the forest is easier than the downhills. Taking a step up, I can pull my body up and forward, testing my footing. Going downhill is more nerve-wracking, because of the danger of slipping and the pull of gravity. Walking up and down snowy terrain does involves careful concentration and balance. In this way, a walk in the snow-covered landscape necessarily becomes intentional and focused. This is good.

Watch those downhill steps!

A walk in the winter forest reveals that there's nothing "dead" about the dead of winter. If anything, the snow shows off the life that finds a home in the winter woods. I'm glad I don't feel the need to wait until spring.

Images by Walking Off the Big Apple from February 6, 8, and 14, 2021.

The Season of Owls

2021-01-11T15:09:00.003-05:00

A walk in Inwood Hill Park.

The days following the holidays and the first of the year make a good time to check in on life in the winter forest. I have a forest just down the street from me in Inwood Hill Park in Northern Manhattan. There, a vast old growth forest still stands.

A Barred Owl faces the setting sun in Inwood Hill Park in Northern Manhattan.

A few weeks ago, someone on a local Facebook page posted a snapshot of a Barred Owl, and I was keen to go looking for it in the park. I didn't find the owl on the first day, but the next day I saw it. A handful of birder enthusiasts were already on the scene and kindly pointed it out high up in the pines. What a beautiful creature!

A stand of White Pines provides the habitat for the Barred Owl.
The owl is in this picture.
I know, hard to see.

Since my first owl visit, everyday life during the otherwise dreary post-holiday doldrums has taken on a finer aura. I have returned several times, each taking a different path up to the owl’s habitat in the park. The area is remote and rather hidden. I’ve come across not more than a handful of onlookers each visit, a situation unlike the crowded scenes assembled for another Barred Owl in Central Park. I found my local situation to my liking. I am a solitary creature by nature, not unlike my new friend high in the pines.

The Barred Owl is nocturnal, sleeping in the day and hunting at night.

Of the conversations I've had about the owl, all have been friendly, spoken in that quiet way of nature lovers who keep their vocals low in respect for the bird. A young woman invited me to join a feminist birding group. I have conversed with young men who expressed a gentle yet exuberant passion for capturing the birds on large cameras. I now eagerly show the owl to new arrivals in the forest.

Red-tailed Hawks are common in Inwood Hill Park.

On the forays into the forest I'm also noticing other common small birds along with an array of extraordinary hawks. I now have a poster of Common Backyard Hawks affixed with magnets to my refrigerator. Recently, on my way to the owl, I came across a hawk in flight. Simultaneously, I encountered a young man who told me he came across the hawk while he was running in the forest. He said the hawk had caught something, a squirrel perhaps. While we were chatting, I asked him if he would like to see an owl.

Another common bird here - the adorable Downy Woodpecker.

Beyond the owl and the birds, I've been finding the forest to hold some mystery. Staying longer than an hour the forest seems to grow in power, as if the woodland ecosystem emanates its own vibe. The more still, the more alive and busy the forest becomes. Research has shown that trees communicate with one another, and listening and staying in the present may open up a frequency that humans are not quite equipped to hear.

The Barred Owl is a master of the side-eye glance.

As I work in the workaday world, I try to stay aware of the traumatic events of life beyond the woodlands. I consider speaking out on national affairs to be a civic and moral responsibility. At the same time, I feel an increasing need to return to the forest and listen there for other news, the kind broadcast by 200-year-old trees and their wise citizens, a parliament of owls.

Images by Walking Off the Big Apple from January 2021. Photos taken with a Nikon Cool Pix B700.

Walking It Off: Coping with Holiday Stress During the Pandemic

2020-11-23T11:39:00.001-05:00

When I began this series, “Pandemic Posts from the Pause: New York City in the Age of Coronavirus” in March of 2020, I could see the first young greens of spring from my window. New Yorkers were told to stay home then and away from others. As someone who enjoys walking in the city, I knew that I would need to sacrifice many things this year. I was not going to give up walking.

I quickly figured out that I could safely go to Inwood Hill Park near my house and wander the trails in the old forest. In March, I could breathe in the spring air away from others. There was little else to do during those early days of the “pause.” New Yorkers suffered greatly at the beginning. In a few months we were able to get the numbers down and to manage some semblance of human interaction, at a distance and masked.

Now, with the beginning of the holidays, the city and nation faces the existential threat of the virus’s return, the political assault on democratic norms, and the ongoing threat of the climate crisis. It’s all too much. So, for those who are able, consider a walk.

Several news articles have been published this year about the benefits of walking during the pandemic. Beyond the physical benefits, walking is a good way to restore mental health.

Here are three recent articles to consider:

• “Thanksgiving 2020: How to protect mental health,” Medical News Today. Nov. 21, 2020.

“A study from 2000 found that short, 10–15-minute walks boosted mood and increased calmness.”

The holidays can be stressful, and stress is hard on the mind and body. To cope with the pressures, this article recommends adequate sleep, exercise, maintaining contact with friends (including a safe distance walk), moderation in food and drink, and calculating your own risk.

• “Sedentary Pandemic Life Is Bad for Our Happiness,” Arthur C. Brooks. The Atlantic. Nov. 19, 2020

“When your mind tells you to numb yourself, come to life, instead: Exercise precisely when you most want to cocoon; eat nutrient-dense foods when you most crave junk. A simple way to start practicing this is to go outside for a walk at the moments when you feel the urge to curl up.”

The essay examines the onset of sedentary life with the arrival of the pandemic and the relationship between activity and happiness.

• “When Covid hit, I started walking 20,000 steps a day. It's changed my life,” The Guardian. Nov. 6, 2020.

“It felt good to move my body. And accomplishing something gave me a jolt of mood-lifting dopamine. In the middle of an achingly difficult year, here was a simple task I could complete – something good for me.”

The author Isaac Fitzgerald takes morning and evening walks in Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

There are many more articles. Search the phrase “walking and pandemic.”

With the stress of life at this critical juncture, I often turn to the phrase, “Walk it off.” This blog began in 2007 when I often thought New York City was too stressful. I was also going through some personal things, and the natural hobo within looked to escape into the city on foot. And I fell in love with the city and all that was there.

I began this blog also as a weight loss companion, because I fell in love with the city’s pastry shops, pizza slices, and pastrami sandwiches.

The most frustrating aspect of life in New York City right now for me personally is the inability of go see the city again without taking health risks.

Still, there’s the forest nearby and the small pleasures of seeing neighbors and friendly shopkeepers on my street. My New York right now is not the large metropolis set in a vast archipelago with many things to see and do, but the city and its natural environment within a few short city blocks. For now, it must be enough.

As a walker, I saw the spring, the summer, and autumn in New York. My plan is to bundle up and walk through winter, even if most of my walks are confined to my little neck of the woods.

Images of Inwood Hill Park and the Inwood neighborhood by Walking Off the Big Apple from November 4-19, 2020.

Early Voting in Washington Heights, and A Walk

2020-10-26T17:19:00.008-04:00

Early voting for the 2020 federal election in New York began on Saturday, October 24 and continues through Sunday, November 1. The weekend was overcast and autumnal, with the bright yellows of fall on display. In New York City, thousands of New Yorkers turned out at the 88 early voting locations and waited in long lines, many stretching around the block.

A line to vote in Washington Heights. The line stretched around the block multiple times.

Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn were two of the well-known sites, but most voting places were typical neighborhood places such as schools, churches, and hospitals.

The scene outside the entrance to the Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion, one of the early voting locations in Washington Heights.

In Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, two early voting locations were within a short walk of one another, causing some confusion for voters emerging from the 168th Street subway station. The Columbia University Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion, at 1150 St. Nicholas Avenue, was the closest to the train stop. The Fort Washington Avenue Armory at 216 Ft. Washington Avenue is located a couple of blocks to the west.

The Columbia University Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion was one of the early voting sites in Washington Heights.

On Saturday, I dropped off my absentee ballot at the medical science pavilion around noon. As the rules allow bypassing the line to drop off absentee ballots in a box just inside the building entrance, I made my way around and around the block. At the beginning of the line, poll workers directed traffic and led cheers for those emerging from the building, many with the “I Voted Early” stickers on their lapels.

The Columbia Mailman School of Public Health

The medical science building lies within the sprawling campus of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Irving Medical Center at 168th Street. The hospital campus stretches over 20 acres, with specialty departments and teaching facilities. The Columbia Mailman School of Public Health is located here. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped the election and how we vote this year, standing in a long line at one of New York’s largest hospitals brought the issue home.

Voters wait in line at the Fort Washington Armory

At the Fort Washington Armory, the line also wrapped around the block. The Armory itself is worth seeing. Built in the early 20th century for the 22nd Regiment of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Armory now houses the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and New Balance Track and Field Center along with other organizations.

At The Armory

The Armory is a mighty looking structure, especially for an election characterized by voter insecurity.

Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center

The streets on the west side near the hospital are worth exploring on foot. Take a stroll north on Haven Avenue to look at the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center (104 Haven Ave). An unmistakable signature building from the architecture firm of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the 15-story tower was designed to function as a center for interactive learning.

Autumn in J. Hood Wright Park

The walks ends in J. Hood Wright Park. Named for the former owner of the site, the park includes courts and play facilities but is best known for its exceptional view of the George Washington Bridge.

View of the George Washington Bridge

And the bridge is named for George Washington, the general who led the defense of New York from this very area during the American Revolution in 1776. After the first presidential election in 1789, Washington took his oath of office on April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City.

Images from Saturday, October 24, 2020.

A Daytime Walk on Broadway and the Theater in the Dark

2020-10-11T13:56:00.003-04:00

On October 9, the Broadway League announced that the theater season has been postponed through May 2021, leaving Broadway dark for the winter and into the spring of next year. According to the press release, “Broadway performances were initially suspended due to COVID 19 on March 12, 2020. At that time, 31 productions were running, including 8 new shows in previews. Additionally, 8 productions were in rehearsals preparing to open in the spring.”

John Lennon would have been 80 this year.

It’s hard to imagine New York without the theater. Even a daytime walk along the way in the Theater District near Times Square will reveal that the theater, in terms of live performances with an audience, has gone dark. Without Broadway, that leaves visitors to Times Square with few options for general amusement. Many stores and restaurants have closed as well. The lights are still up and blazing. When the Empire State Building was left nearly empty during the Great Depression, just a few years after it opened, the building crew kept the lights on. With the closure of businesses and performance venues in this major tourist site due to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout, a similar sense of unreality emerges.

Brad Pitt, looking a little stiff, at Madame Tussaud's on 42nd Street.

On an ordinary Friday afternoon, I walked from the subway stop on 42nd Street to Broadway and then north to the Ed Sullivan Theatre. On 42nd Street, the security man for Madame Tussaud’s invited me to stop and snap pictures of Brad Pitt, Tayler Swift, and Jimmy Fallon.

Time out for the costume characters

A few of the ubiquitous street performers were out and about. The Naked Cowboy was out in his usual strumming cowboy outfit, mask down. A handful of costumed Cookie Monsters and Spidermen lolled about, lifting the heads off their costumes as if the pretense of staying in character was not worth the pressure of staying inside them.

The Naked Cowboy

Thanks to the pleasant fall weather, several groups of friends and families took advantage of the plentiful seating in the pedestrian friendly areas of Broadway for an informal lunch. Those present hardly constituted a crowd.

Lunch in the sun in a pedestrian section of Broadway

That Friday, October 9, happened to be John Lennon’s birthday. The famous Beatle and New York resident would have turned 80 this year. A sign with his profile dominated the scene at the “tkts” seating area.

Krispy Kreme Flagship Times Square

One attraction along the Great White Way is the new Krispy Kreme Doughnut store on Broadway at W. 48th Street. On Friday, a friendly staff maintained the socially distanced line of visitors that stretched modestly out the door.

Glazed doughnuts in the Big Apple

The flagship Times Square store was designed with theater in mind, featuring a conveyor belt of doughnuts entering a glazed waterfall.

The Big Apple Doughnut at Krispy Kreme

The store’s exclusive product at this location is the bright red Big Apple Doughnut.

The Winter Garden Theatre

Walking toward the intersection of Broadway and W. 50th Street, the dark Winter Garden Theatre serves as a reminder of the things we can’t have right now. In this case, it’s a revival of The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. Opening night is now scheduled for Thursday, February 10, 2022.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tapes at the Ed Sullivan Theatre

In happier entertainment news, The Tonight Show, The Late Show, The Late Late Show, Late Night and Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to their studios in September. At the Ed Sullivan Theatre, The Late Show marquee lights were turned on. Since Friday is not a taping day, the scene would be livelier here on earlier days of the week.

On Wednesday October 7, NYC Next organized “A Moment for Broadway,” the kickoff event of pop-up concerts to bring back some joy to the city and to raise awareness of the role of the theater community in city life. These events will be spontaneous and not publicized in keeping with social distance protocols.

At the kickoff event, Broadway musical actors led by Bernadette Peters assembled on the TKTS red platform in Times Square (seen in the first image) to perform “Sunday” from Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. I’m sorry now that I didn’t take this walk on an ordinary Wednesday. See a video of the moving performance on NYCNext’s website at https://nycnext.org/events.

We’ll leave the walk here, with best wishes and good luck to come upon such pop-up events in the near future and for much longer ones in the long run.

Images from Friday, October 9, 2020.

• From earlier this summer - A Morning Walk from Pandemic Station (Penn Station) to Pandemic Square (Times Square) July 8, 2020.