The NYC Nomad

Chelsea was on the books for a while.  Jennifer had read the article in the NY Times and decided hosting a stranger in her studio apartment would be fun.  Turned out she was right!  I’ve been pretty busy with my new job, but we went to Socarrat Paella bar for dinner one night and she [...]

Inwood is another one of those neighborhoods I felt like I just had to get to on the road to 52.  The very northern tip of the island always fascinated me and I only ever made it up to the Cloisters on bike rides in the past.  After spending a week with Bronwyn and Matt, [...]

I’ll admit I’m getting a liberal with my neighborhood definitions, but Turtle Bay is a distinct neighborhood from Midtown East where I stayed a few weeks ago.  Wikipedia says: It extends between 41st and 54th Streets, and eastward from Lexington Avenue to the East River, across from Roosevelt Island.[1] It is the site of the United Nations Headquarters [...]

I haven’t spent much time Downtown.  At one point or another I’ve called the Lower East Side, TriBeCa, NoHo, and the East Village home, but I have yet to stay in Chinatown, Battery Park, or the Financial District.  Until my week with Desmond, SoHo was also on that list of downtown neighborhoods I had yet [...]

“Midtown East?  What are you going to do in Midtown East?”  This was a familiar response I received from people who asked me where I was living a couple of weeks. Elena, my host for the week, seemed to share this feeling.  She was quick to apologize for the neighborhood, but then went on to [...]

Aramazt and I, with Nugget the cat There are some neighborhoods that I feel give me credibility as the NYC Nomad.  Neighborhoods like Tompkinsville and Midland Beach in Staten Island, Washington Heights and Hamilton Heights in Manhattan, Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, and kind of the South Bronx are often the most interesting because a lot of people [...]

9th Street Community Garden, Alphabet City I know, I know – I spend a week in each neighborhood that I live in.  But since I’ve spent so much time in Alphabet City I thought rather than a simple recap post, I’d do an NY Times style 36 hours piece – only in this case its [...]

Stayed In Stuytown with Soren and Kara.  Soren got the award for the worst host ever.  The accommodations were solid, however.  I actually had the largest room in the apartment with a bed and even a couch.  Their old roommate moved out the day before I left! I’m not sure I had ever set foot [...]

Stayed On 3rd, between B & C.  This address gets the award for the best backyard.  A huge space shared by the entire building but from what my hosts described to me, only really used by them.  There are flowers, patio furniture, and three or four grills.  You could daily have 100 people in the [...]

Salil taught a magic class at Tufts University.  I took his magic class.  7 years later we reunited for this ruse in Union Square.  (video is coming soon and i promise it is worth its own post). Salil is not only a magician, although he is pretty talented at that.  He is also an ER [...]