This was written many months ago and forgotten as a draft. Likely, much of it has changed or it is no longer news. But since I just returned from NY, it’s time to post it.
The day I picked up my passport from the Swiss consulate office on the east side, I decided to walk through midtown Manhattan. A cloudy January day.
Walking from east to west on 42nd street.
This giant inflatable rat was planted on 5th Avenue in front of a business that has a labor dispute. It is routinely seen around the city whenever publicity is needed by the unions.
I used to work in the building on the corner of 6th Avenue and 44th Street. The ex-Russian tea room chef who opened a lunch cart on my street corner was still there.
He apparently owns several food cart (‘Kwik Meal”) around the city but he still works at the original.
Lamb over rice was his specialty and I was a regular. I bought a portion and walked towards Times Square.
This kind of chimney is an unusual-elsewhere but regular NYC sighting: steam from underground – and emerging right in the middle of 45th between 6th Avenue and Broadway.
The biggest change since we left our apartment at 48th Street was the creation of the pedestrian zone and addition of tables and chairs. It was a long overdue and much appreciated change made by the city, reclaiming street space for pedestrian from cars is a no-brainer.
It was a bit cold, and with traffic flowing by me, I ate my lunch.
I passed through Times Square every morning either on foot when we lived on 48th, or by public transport when we moved to Edgewater. See the billboards – Times Square still had the 2010 new year greetings and the crystal ball was visible (just barely) in the picture.
After we revived this draft post, we discovered this NY Times article (June 4, 2012) about American food truck invading Paris successfully against the belief that “The French will never eat on the street. The French will never eat with their hands. They will never pay good money for food from a truck.” It is apparently Très Brooklyn !