New Yorkers Message Board

So, where is everyone located? I'm in Dobbs Ferry (for part of the year, Florida the rest - but the opposite of most snowbirds :P).

This group had given me a good laugh: after six days, 20 people had signed up and not one comment! Including me, of course.

Well, now that Dydo has broken the ice: after thirty years in Manhattan I just moved into the Outer Boroughs, hopefully not permanently -- couldn't afford the space for my books. Maybe in a few years, when the kids have moved out...

And I realize the group is still small, but I find the current 'shared' list an excellent cross-section of the New York Mind: sociology, philosophy, art, urban planning, poetry, absurdity, hedonism...

I'm not even in NY these days. But spent my first 22 years living in Manhattan, so there's a part of me that will always be a New Yorker.

One of my current reading books is The death and life of great American cities by Jane Jacobs, which also appears on our "shared" list. It's a fascinating book, describing the dynamics of various aspects of city life. It's largely based on the author's experience living in NYC.

Of course, the book was published about 1960, and a lot has changed since then. But people haven't changed. The dynamics of how they interact and construct shared (or private) living spaces still ring true for me, even if some of the neighborhoods and parks Jacobs describes are completely different now.

I live in Putnam County, but commute to NY every day.
This Librarything has turned out to be one of my favourite pastimes and, so it seems, not mine only!!!

I live in Putnam County, but commute to NY every day.
This Librarything has turned out to be one of my favourite pastimes and, so it seems, not mine only!!!

Well, I wondered why a group full of the 'residents of the most populous metropolitan area in the United States' was so inactive and seemingly quiet. It wasn't the thriving, cultural melting pot it should've been! :P

I'm Florida born and raised - wonder why *I* had to be the one to 'break the ice'? ;)

Dydo,
as almost everyone knows, New Yorkers are particularly shy.....eh eh eh eh.....;-)

Shy is *not* the term I would use. ;)

you are quite right there!!!

Although I didn't find New Yorkers as 'unfriendly' and 'standoffish' as they're made out to be. But then again, I blend well. :P

And my dad's from Long Island anyhow, so maybe I have it in me. ;)

Brooklyn here, don't be putting the "Outer Boroughs" down, we do keep the economy running...

Anyone else read the NY Times column "The Curious New Yorker" or "FYI" (or whatever they're calling it now)?

I'm representing "the 'hood" and hailing from West Harlem.

I haven't seen "The Curious New Yorker" -- you aren't thinking of the "Metropolitan Diary" feature, are you?

Hi Everyone,

Another Brooklynite--I was afraid to break the ice too--Thx Dydo!

I have to read The Curious NYer now...

Metropolitan Diary is a completely different thing. "FYI" is a Q&A thing with different factoids about NYC. It's cool, lots of little things like why so many streets in Brooklyn Heights are named after fruit.

Haha, sure, Fiso.

*Is still confused as to how a bunch of New Yorkers were afraid to say hello.* :P

Dydo, we NYers get a bad rap. On the subway, my nose is too deep in a book to really be into anything around me! Much less say hello to anyone!:)

Fiso: Oh, that was you I saw yesterday? :P

Yup that was me yesterday and this morning!:) Are you a NYCer?

Nope, I'm in Dobbs Ferry, but in the City fairly often (mostly on weekends). Though we probably didn't bump brains yesterday or today, as I'm in Florida at the moment. :P

A NY book question: what did you think of The Colossus of New York: A city in thirteen parts? I see several members own it. I remember being disappointed and suspecting that he rushed it out.

Dydo,

I'm such a disaster, everything outside the five boros seem like a foreign place to me! But I have heard of Dobbs Ferry--what do you like most about it?

What part of FL?

Oona,

What a novel idea--what did you not like about the The Colossus of New York: A city in thirteen parts?

Fiso,

Haha, Dobbs Ferry isn't *that* foreign. Just the least bit boring :P but not that far away. I love that it's got a good music store, a good (small) coffee shop owned by a 'real Italian' (uncle Vesuvio (his real name is Basilio, but I'm a bit deaf, so he goes by Vesuvio for me :P), and a good Asian market.

I'm in Ft Lauderdale. Pretty tropical (we never have power because of hurricanes :P), but because my dad plays banjo (he's a guitarist first, but he muddles around in other instruments like me :P) I'm as much of a hick as I am beach bum, haha. (Though I only do the beach at night - I can't sacrifice my lunar tan!)

For all of you interested, from the 19th of August on, at the Desmond Fish Library in Garrison, there will be a GIGANTIC book sale. I do not have the phone number with me, but I believe you can get it easily. They will give you all the necessary information (directions etc.). It is an occasion not to lose!!!
See you there.
Paola :-))

Dydo,

Sounds like you have got the best of both worlds between NY and FL!

Anywhere that has a good coffee shop and a reason to use the word Vesuvio...

A lunar tan?!;)

Fiso

Paola,

Uh this is really sad, but how far is Garrison from NYC?

As if I have not got enough books!:)

Fiso

Fiso,
there are trains for Garrison from Grand Central, you can check the schedules on line, on the Metro North website. Just remember that it is the Hudson Line. The library is not that far from the station, but I don't know if you would consider that walking distance.
Yes, I know, I have a lot of books too, but they seem to be never enough.....
Write if you think I can be of further help.

Paola :-))

Paola,

Oooh I never should have asked! But thanks for letting me know. I just might wander out there...

Fiso

I will be there on Friday evening, as they have a pre-sale for patrons of the library from 7 to 9, and hopefully I will not get lost in a book but will try to 'absorb' as much as I can.....;-))
The problem is that I cannot even think of focusing on just a genre, which makes things much more complicated....sigh sigh....

Fiso,

Yes, a lunar tan. It's either white or red for me, and one is less painful. (Though, that's not to say that the glare from the sun reflecting off of me when I go out *occasionally* is probably painful for those around me...) :P Anyways, yep. I'm pretty lucky. :)

And *someone* pick me up something good from the book sale! Haha :)

-Lucy

Lucy,
I suppose the *someone* might be VERY closely related to me....right? ;-))

Only if you feel so inclined... Haha :P

Lucy,
you live in Dobbs Ferry, so Garrison is not that far.....

I go to school in Dobbs, I live in Florida - I won't be back up in NY until September. Sadly. Haha :)

Dydo,

I was wondering about the FL connection. So you're a part time NYer...

Fiso

Fiso,

I'm a scholarly NYer, a lazy Floridian. :) (School in NY, home in FL.)

Lucy

Lucy,
where in Dobbs Ferry do you go to school?

Lucy,

What are you studying? Where in Florida? Hopefully Miami or at least near the water...

Fiso

Fiso,

Ft. Lauderdale, which is right near Miami. Most of my courses are in music, though I take core courses as well.

Lucy

Lucy,

A musician. What do you play? I'm glad you are near the water.

Fiso

Fiso,

Mainly I'm a classical vocalist (I suppose 'aspiring opera singer') and I play bass (guitar and upright). I also play mandolin and autoharp and mess around on guitar and piano. Me too :)

Lucy

Lucy,

I saw a biography on Maria Callas, and developed a crush on opera. I was never into it, but now I think it's magical...

You must have read Corelli's Mandolin just for the poetic justice of it!

I'm a little jealous of you, because I adore guitars but I do not know the first thing about playing one. I am a poet so I wrote a poem about a guitar--that was the closest I could get...

Fiso

Fiso,

Actually, I saw the movie before I read the book. I adore both (the movie mainly for Cage's rather awful Italian accent :P).

Truthfully, my papa played mandolin which was mainly why I picked it up (I took his when he passed away), but also, I really wanted to play 'Pelaggia's Song' from the movie. It was the first thing I learned. :P

Well, you don't have to be jealous of me, if it's just the guitar aspect. I'm pretty sure you can learn to play guitar to the extent that I can with none-too-much difficulty. I can play guitar because I memorize chords - it's really simple. I'm not a 'guitarist', I just mess around.

Now classical vocals, bass, and mandolin, you'd have to work a bit to play like I do. :P

Lucy

just an "ahem" from up here in the boonies.

new york's got trees too, you know.

just sayin.

and across from the Sears up here in Albany, we actually have a bookstore!

who'da thunk it?

and, in the boonies, do you also have used bookstores?
;-))

Lucy,

That's really a cool way to honor your papa by playing his mandolin...

I can completely be jealous of you! I probably could learn to "mess around" withe the guitar, but I would choose to write or read over doing it always!

I'm not so sad about it either. I kind of like being a bookhead! I have begun taking up a bit of knitting. Wish me luck!

Fiso

I am not a New Yorker by birth but by choice. I just can't seem to re-locate my body there, yet. I went for the first time after 9/11 and fell in love with the place. My wife and I go every year. We are going back in about a month. What an amazing city! Try Low Life, The Power Broker (of course), Subwayland, Boss Tweed, and Ric Burns' epic PBS documentary and companion book. How does so much history and life fit into one city. Incredible. Every other city I have ever visited pales by comparison. See you at Grimaldi's.

Fiso,

Hey, who says you can't be a bookhead and a...musicianhead(?) at the same time! I don't play his mandolin much anymore (it's quite a bit damaged), though still at times - I have another mandolin that I play, though.

And have fun with your yarn! Haha :)

Lucy

markmobley,

I think it's cool that you are a NYer by choice. As a native NYer, I love it because it is where I come from and who I am. On the reverse side, you love it because you came and conquered! I have never been to Grimaldi's--is it worth the hype?

Where are you from originally?

Fiso

Lucy,

I am a Gemini--I have too many heads! I am much too infatuated with the idea of your mandolin—I love the word. I am a writer if I have not mentioned that, I get crushes on words and ideas like mad. I went into a shop called The Sensuous Bean, which grinds fresh coffee simply for the name!

Thx for your good wishes with the knitting. I am still suffering with cast ons and offs, and have not learned how to purl...

Fiso

Lucy,

I am a Gemini--I have too many heads! I am much too infatuated with the idea of your mandolin—I love the word. I am a writer if I have not mentioned that, I get crushes on words and ideas like mad. I went into a shop called The Sensuous Bean, which grinds fresh coffee simply for the name!

Thx for your good wishes with the knitting. I am still suffering with cast ons and offs, and have not learned how to purl...

Fiso

Fiso,

Grimaldi's is cool. We took the kids last summer and waited in line at 9:30 at night. Most of the folk seem to be locals, with a few tourists mixed in. You are crammed in to a tiny room and eat under your pizza (really), but its a great pie and atmosphere.

We are heading back in about a month. Any suggestions?

markmobley

Hi there. I've just discovered LibraryThing, what a resource! Anyway I'm the author of a book that New Yorkers, real or virtual, might want to check out. It's Queens: What to Do, Where to Go (and how not to get lost) in New York's Undiscovered Borough. Although I am a dyed in the wool Park Slope variety of Brooklynite I discovered a ton of cool history and neighborhoods in that other outer borough. Cheers, Ellen F. PS. The Queens book was reviewed in this week's Time Out NY, pg. 60--the first week Dec 06 issue.

Thanks Ellen, and welcome to the LT community!
:-))

Ellen, don't forget to sign up as an LT author once you have enough books catalogued!

Hi. The name i go under at LT is smellthecoffee (it's not my name but the name of one of my websites). My name is Malik. I live in Atlanta right now, but NYC is home i (my first conscious memories in childhood are of Flushing Queens). I am in NYC usually every couple of months or so. My mom and pop (now deceased) were respectively natives of Brooklyn (Bed-Stuy) and Queens (Ridgewood). My current NYC base of operations is Brooklyn.

Hey everyone:

I'm currently located in the neighborhood of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. I lived here roughly about 6 months from another Brooklyn neighborhood--Bushwick (in, my opinion, a terrible neighborhood.) But all in all, I am from Manhattan (namely, Harlem) and lived there from the gritty years: 1979-1991. Moved to Kissimmee, Florida in June of 1991, then attended college in Louisiana from 1997-2004, returned to Florida later that summer of 2004, and returned to New York City as of winter 2005.

Welcome back, seemingmeaning!!! :-)))

Oooh, Ellen, I just bought your book on Queens for my partner for Christmas. It looks fabulous. We live in Queens & are v. proud of it, & are always interested in finding new things.

I was born and raised in Manhattan. I now live in the Tarrytown area.

Hi, all!

I lived in Manhattan from 1997-2002, on the Upper East Side. I favoured small independent ones all over the city, so it was with great unhappiness that I saw quite a few close down... Tompkins Square books, Posman books, Coliseum etc. (Somebody told me the Coliseum is back in business... anyone confirm this?)

I loved Gotham Book Mart (indestructible, I hope, if any bookshop ever was!), St. Mark's Books, Kinokuniya, Shakespeare & Co. on Broadway, Argosy, Academy bookstore (for music too!), Oscar Wilde, Three Lives and Bluestocking's, and of course the Strand.

I know I'm forgetting lots more...

I grew up in Scarsdale but my parents moved back to the city when I graduated college. My mother was born on the lower east side and my father in Brooklyn. Although I have lived in the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio, since 1971, I will always be a Nuu Yawker.

#62, Lola, Coliseum Books went back into business on 42nd Street across from the Public Library, but then went out of business for good at the end of last year. The new store was never as good as the original store, but I miss it greatly.

Posman Books still exists in Grand Central Station, maybe elsewhere.

St. Marks Books moved around the corner to 9th Street and is a great store.

Labyrinth Books, near Columbia, is a new addition, with great selections of academic and scholarly books and literature.

Labyrinth Books, near Columbia

Oh, they were there in my time, although I used to go maybe once, twice a year, when they had their 25-50% off sale--great books, especially academic titles, as you say, but expensive!

Posman Books in Grand Central? Wonder how big it is... I used to visit the one near NYU and the other in Parsons New School of Design--at least I think that was Posman too...

St. Mark's moved?! Goodness, in 2004 it was still there, kitty corner on 9th/3rd... Next to that great Japanese supermarket...

Thanks for the info on Coliseum, Rebecca! I loved that place too.

I'm mourning the passing of Tower Records in Lincoln Centre too--that was my favourite "free" ticket in the city (all-year, in the summer nothing beat opera and Shakespeare in the Park). I used to walk over through the park after work, head for the classical section, pick up some musical magazines, and curl in the huge leather armchairs in front of the music consoles for hours, listening to the newest issues. There never was a crowd, but there were some "regulars"... I made some friends there too.

Oh, which reminds me--I never understood the cliche of the "rude New Yorkers", IME people were extraordinarily, notably polite and nice. And not just nice--friendly, talkative, open to chat and joke. In five years I haven't had ONE nasty encounter with New Yorkers (the only unpleasant one I can remember was with a homophobic immigrant cabbie).

Though, maybe it's a bit different if all one can do is spend three days jamming the sidewalks in Midtown... that part is usually hellish.

Lola.

Posman in Grand Central isn't that big, but it has some interesting books even though it's mostly catering to commuters and business types.

St. Marks -- I was referring to an earlier move; it used to actually be on St. Mark's Place on the south side in the middle of the 2nd-3rd block.

Tower, a great loss, especially for jazz and classical music.

Cab drivers: I've heard many fascinating stories from them and only got into an argument with one who insisted on telling me racist stories about immigrant cab drivers. I tried to point out that his ancestors weren't born here either . . . but he didn't seem to get the point.

And, thanks, about NYC people. Although I may be prejudiced (as a native New Yorker), I have always found people not just friendly, but even helpful (e.g., when I had a stupid accident on the subway). Most of the people jamming the sidewalks in midtown are the tourists, not the people who live here -- but I guess we're grateful for their $.