It’s fitting to end this project with my parents, who, along with a lot of other people in my life have made the past 1.5 years possible.  I recharged my batteries more than a couple of times at their house in Bridgewater, and for an entire month at their house in Cape Cod.  I always knew if I had to get away for a weekend I had a place to call home, and even though I rarely did that I think it was a must psychologically.  They helped me move all of my stuff out of the apartment where this all started in Morningside Heights and have willingly kept my old bedroom as a storage area (although I have rid myself of a lot of the stuff I originally sent home).  They’ve been supportive when most parents would be frustrated and even taken me up on a couple of weeks to Nomad with me in New York. First was Clinton Hill, and this week was Brooklyn Heights.

It is also fitting to spend a week at this beautiful apartment in Brooklyn Heights with them.  It’s 2 bedroom place on the promenade, which I wouldn’t know about nor would I be able to afford if I hadn’t met Tim and Helen through this project.  Although I hope to do a better job of keeping in touch with most everyone I’ve stayed with over this 52 neighborhood journey, Tim and Helen are people I’ve actually stayed in touch with.   And they have a WONDERFUL apartment.

The week itself proved that a week is never enough in any one place.  We went to Jack the Horse Tavern (excellent), watched a movie at the Brooklyn Heights cinema and took in the Nutcracker at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.  We had Yemeni food on Atlantic Avenue, explored my favorite grocery store in all of NYC in Sahadi’s, and almost convinced my parents to smoke a hookah.

I did convince them to take some fun photos at the Transit Museum, which is one of my new favorite places.  The entrance alone is worth a trip.  We got dropped off and I thought that the driver was confused because we were at a Subway station!

Spending a week in Brooklyn Heights with family, I was able to do some of the things I never get to do like having a truly lazy Sunday and taking a nap.  Shutting off for a while with the holidays.  All of this made me excited to have my own place, and I’ve been enjoying it over the past month or so.  Look for a wrap up post coming sometime soon!

Queens is the borough I’ve always wanted to spend more time in.  Noticeably absent from my neighborhood travels are such places as Jackson Heights, Long Island City, Flushing and Jamaica.  I did have the chance to spend time in Astoria, Kew Gardens, and most recently Forest Hills.  Forest Hills is an upper class neighborhood and such people as Hank Azaria, Dale Carnegie, Donna Karan, Simon and Garfunkle, and the Ramones have at one point or another called Forest Hills home.

My host for the week was not famous, but he provided an excellent glimpse into this unique neighborhood. Michael is a law professor and recent transplant to New York City.  He is a nomad by way of living in 12 different US cities over the last 12 years.  It was interesting to hear about some of the places he’d lived and I think I’m more impressed by moving to a different city every year than I am by moving to a different neighborhood every week!  Michael also is well versed in urban planning and explained to me that Forest Hills was one of the first “streetcar suburbs.” It’s easy to see a lot of the homes were built with the expectation a family might have one car, but not one car for the entire family.  Check out the photo below.  Doesn’t exactly look like New York City does it?

Staying with Michael was a unique experience.  I think I finally have a good grasp of Kosher values after spending a week with Michael who keeps a Kosher home.  I basically just stayed out of the kitchen, but we did have a meal at a Bukharian restaurant which was technically Rego Park, another neighborhood which borders Forest Hills.  Austin street is the main street in Forest Hills and offers quite a few chains like Starbucks, but also some nice family run bakeries and restaurants.  Among them, a place called Brownies and Cream that does macaroons and brownies.

Forest Hills also marks neighborhood number 52.  I get tired just writing that, but look for some upcoming posts attempting to wrap up my project.  It’s not going to be an easy task.

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Chelsea is a great neighborhood, and it was a nice transition from Inwood (and an easier commute).  The building has a beautiful lobby and I’m a bit jealous of Jennifer’s apartment.  She started renting it shortly after 9/11 “when no one else wanted to.”  Even though she’s been in this place for 10 years, we share an affinity for having a lack of stuff.  Jennifer told me she regularly gets rid of things and it doesn’t look like someone has lived there for 10 years.  She had also just come back from Berlin, where I was for 10 days over the summer. It was fun to compare notes.

I ate a few home-cooked meals expertly prepared by Jennifer and it was really nice – eating at “home” is a rarity during these nomadic weeks.  I even made breakfast one morning.  We didn’t get a chance to play rock band, although I’m invited back for that.  Jen is also a belly dance performer, and I’ll be sure to catch one of her shows in the coming months

This was neighborhood number 51 of 52.  Last on the official docket is Forest Hills, Queens!

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, my instinct about Inwood proved correct.  The neighborhood plays host to some unique aspects of the island of Manhattan including the only “road” on the island (Indian Road), the only old growth (read: original forest) on the island, and the site of where Peter Minuit is said to have purchased Manhattan for the famed 60 guilders and some trinkets.

My hosts for the week were Bronwyn and Matt, who fall under the category of strangers.  Bronwyn and I couldn’t quite figure out how we had connected but we think it was originally through Tumblr and then through Project Hope, New York’s annual survey of the homeless population.  If you’re interested in participating, details can be found here.  I didn’t have any connection to Matt, but he was cool with having a random guy on the couch.  They have a nice two bedroom place where you can literally fall out of bed and into the A train.  This is uptown, uptown, uptown though, and you’re hopping on the subway at 211th street.  Didn’t realize that existed?  Well, it goes up to 218th street, but don’t confuse it for the Bronx.  One bartender in the neighborhood is known to say that Inwood is “not the f#@%*$# Bronx.” It’s not far though, and I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t get a chance to say hi to Leslie in Riverdale and revisit Wave Hill Park.

The weather was (is) pretty fantastic for the time of year and I ran through Inwood Hill Park, the highest natural elevation in Manhattan.  We had drinks at a great beer garden in the neighborhood, and amazing brunch at Indian Road Cafe.  As Matt said to me, Indian Road cafe is the only place that has figured out how to do coffee, beer, and a restaurant all at the same time.  This cafe and a walk in the park is worth jumping on the Express A train for an hour or so.

Inwood is one of those neighborhoods where you can feel the pride of its residents.  It’s quiet, people seem to look out for one another, and I felt like I was on an island more than I do in other parts of the city.  There ‘s also a great farmers market all year round – a plus for any NYC neighborhood.

I have a few posts to catch up on as I write from Brooklyn Heights.

Happy Holidays!

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While some say Astoria is ugly, there is a lot that is great about this neighborhood.  The Socrates Sculpture Park is an old landfill which has been made into a park and there is also Astoria park which makes for a great stroll.  The neighborhood definitely feels European with its many cafes.  The neighborhood has a huge Greek influence and the delicious desserts to go with it.  On the first night, I went to a meditation class (my first ever) at the neighborhood yoga studio.  After 48 neighborhoods of nomadding, I’m still experiencing new things.  I loved the class and actually went the following Sunday.  It’s a great way to start your week.

The nomad sponsored dinner was at an Italian restaurant called Vesta.  The food was superb, especially the brussel sprouts and the “baby Jesus” cake.  We sat at the bar and met a couple of locals.  My project came up and the people lit up at the prospect of the idea.  They have lived in Astoria for a long time, but loved the idea.  There are times I get tired of talking about nomadding, but not when you can see in people’s eyes how exciting it seems to them.  And I didn’t really get tired of talking about it with Tracy.  She had a lot of questions but many that I hadn’t thought about before.

We also went to a party put on by Boro Magazine, monthly magazine about Queens that launched a year ago.  It was at the Z Hotel, in kind of a bizarre location, but really a great space with incredible views of Manhattan. We met some other friends in the neighborhood and went to Queens Kickshaw for the famous grilled cheese.  It’s a place I’d become a regular at if I lived in Astoria.  There is often live music and on this night there was an Armenian guitarist playing.  Sweet!

One of my favorites stories of the week was going to a local pizza shop thats been around for 40 years.  An old Italian guy walked in, ordered a slice, and a shot of espresso.  You had the sense he’d probably doing this since the store opened.  The younger guy running the joint was clearly friendly with the guy.  He poured the shot of espresso into plastic up and asked, “Do you want some medicine?”  A bottle of Sambuca appeared and a shot went in the espresso (they definitely did not have a liquor license.”  I chuckled, and the young guy said “hey, i gotta keep my customers healthy.”

I like Queens and I like Astoria.  Spending a week in Astoria isn’t really enough, which Tracy reminded me of often.  It’s quite large geographically and I was pretty busy with my new job – my typical exploration and search for an interesting person to chat with wasn’t really possible.

I have to come back, and I will!

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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 and the Chrysler Building.

My hosts for the (shortened) week were Orestis and Amy, recent transplants from San Diego to New York City. Orestis and I have known each other since first grade and Amy and I have met a few times before.  They graciously agreed to have their apartment be the set for a photo shoot for an article that will be published in a large newspaper in Madrid, although Orestis had a hard time not being the center of attention.  The apartment itself is an amazing 1 bedroom in a a 50 story building called the Metropolis, steps from Grand Central.  50 stories is a long way down.

Here’s a view of the Chrysler building one morning from the roof:

and in the evening from the roof:

It’s always fun to stay with people who are new to New York City.  We did some exploring and Amy and Orestis pointed me to Ess-a-Bagel, which I’ve come to understand most people agree is the best bagel in NYC. We went to a neighborhood Japanese restaurant and Piccolo cafe, an Italian place on Madison that’s been around since the 1930′s.  Amazing place – try the truffled egg sandwich.  On Friday afternoon, we all had the day off and decided impromptu skating at Bryant park was in order.  Its a luxury to have a flexible schedule in NYC to do these sorts of things when tourists aren’t around.

Turtle Bay was a tough place to get a feel for in the four days I was there.  Its certainly a convenient area to live in, and since Amy commutes to Connecticut, it makes a lot of sense.  But after all these weeks of nomadding, I think I’ve learned I need a little more neighborhood than whats on offer in Turtle Bay.

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I think I was interested in Brighton Beach because of its proximity to the water and just how many Russians live there. There is something special about living close to the water in New York City. I found that in Red Hook, and I found it in Brighton Beach. The residents here really take advantage of the boardwalk and the water.  People exercise, swim, fish, search for things with metal detectors, but mostly they stroll and sit out.  Like most beaches, the time to visit Brighton Beach is early in the morning or as the sun is setting. Do as the locals do, grab a bag of (unsalted) sunflower seeds, and go sit on a bench looking out at the water.

The other highlight of this neighborhood was the food. There is Georgian, Russian, Mexican, Ukrainian.  I introduced myself to varaneki and pelmeni (Russian dumplings), green borscht and red borscht, khatchapouri (Georgian cheese bread) and various Russian pastries.  There is a bakery that sells cake by the pound and you slice the cake yourself. The place called Georgian Bread is worth the 45 minute trip on the B or Q.  The rest of my time was spent walking the beach and the neighborhood.  I explored Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, and ran down to Coney Island one morning.

There is certainly something lost in this experience when you don’t stay with someone, but it was a nice change of pace. I had a much harder time finding someone to interview for SoundCloud, but that was probably due to my lack of Russian language skills.  That, and I really wanted to find one of the Russian Dolls but had no luck.  Listen to my search below:

The Search for the Most Interesting Person in Brighton Beach by thenycnomad

I’m back home to Massachusetts for a week to help my mom who is recovering from knee surgery.  I’ll be back to nomadding in November where I’ll be visiting Turtle Bay in Manhattan and then off to Queens for a week in Astoria and Forest Hills.  Neighborhoods 50 – 52 will be Inwood, Chelsea, and hopefully Chinatown, Jackson Heights, or Long Island City.  If you know anyone in those neighborhoods, I’d really appreciate an introduction!  Or you can always sign up to host here.

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In the meantime, I thought I’d sample a week of national nomadding and check out a city I had never been to before. My friend Remy just moved to Baltimore for graduate school so I thought I’d help her explore.  We found a lot of interesting things in her neighborhood and in the city itself. I’m happy to say I was pleasantly surprised by Baltimore.

The neighborhood, which is called Middle East, is appropriate.  A lot of this neighborhood was featured in The Wire, a show I reacquainted myself with on a couple of rainy days while in Baltimore. I’m hooked again. The neighborhood, as portrayed in the show, is mostly boarded up houses. It’s striking to see what happens when a city loses 40% of its population.  There are still some vestiges of the old neighborhood, including the Northeast Market. It’s one of the 6 public markets in Baltimore, and the customers are a unique mix of students, employees of Johns Hopkins, and locals.  I had scrapple for breakfast, which I’m told I don’t want to know the ingredients of.  I also had the opportunity to interview Mary, whose family has had a presence in the Northeast Market for 100 years.

The Most Interesting Person in Middle East, Baltimore – Mary by thenycnomad

Outside of the neighborhood, there is plenty to do, eat and see. The nomad sponsored dinner was at an AMAZING restaurant called Woodbury Kitchen. Nearly everything is homemade and even the meat is butchered at the actual restaurant (there’s a section of the menu called nose to tail). In Federal Hill, The Visionary Arts Museum will make you smile with its eccentric art and things like collections of Pez Dispensers. I also feel a need to go back for a baseball game when the Orioles are playing.

It also happened to be Baltimore Beer week.  The Brewer’s Art is a great place in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, and we checked out the bar Alewife in West Baltimore.  My favorite brewery Dogfish Head took over 20 of the taps the night we visited Alewife. I’m a big fan of this beer I tasted for the first time called Sah’ Tea.

Other highlights included On the Hill cafe near the Maryland Institute College of Art (the 2nd oldest art school in the country) and this Captain Crunch French Toast at Blue Moon Cafe, which was featured on the Food Network. It tastes as good as it looks.

Have you been to Baltimore?  What did I miss?  If you might want to host, in NYC, or elsewhere, the form is here.  One neighborhood left to book in NYC on December 11th – 18th.

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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 to visit.

The neighborhood did not disappoint me, especially the part of the neighborhood Desmond lives in.  I spoke with quite a few locals during my time here in my search to find an interesting person to interview.  Ultimately, I found Julia who lived a few apartments down from Desmond.  She’s lived on Thompson street for 81 years and remembers when the neighborhood was rebranded SoHo in 1977 by Mayor Ed Koch.  Here’s a link to the SoundCloud piece I recorded with her.

The Most Interesting Person in SoHo – Julia by thenycnomad

Desmond has a studio, making that two weeks of studio living in a row for me.  The apartment feels much bigger, though, because there is a nice loft. Also, there is a working fireplace which I think is a first for my travels around NYC. I’m back to using the sleeping bag again for the first time since last spring, but it wasn’t quite cold enough to build a fire. In fact, the weekend was incredibly warm and some of the best fall weather you can have in New York City.  I enjoyed the days by working from the numerous cafes in the area.  There is Local, Rabbits, Ground Support and Porto Rico.  I think I liked Porto Rico coffee the best, but you’ll be well caffeinated wherever you go.

Staying with Desmond put me in a reflective mood about traveling, and this project.  The apartment has a certain vibe to it thats difficult to capture in words, but it feels like an escape from the city.  It helps that its up on the 6th floor (a walkup), and that its quiet.  On Saturday night, I strongly considered staying in and relaxing. I didn’t, but I considered it! We cooked some food from one of my favorite places in New York, Raffetto’s, which makes homemade pastas and raviolis. I learned about the store from former host and co-worker “Fifty.” Try the pumpkin ravioli with sage butter sauce.  It’s only $6.50 for 48 fresh homemade ravioli.

SoHo’s architecture consists of cast iron buildings and the apartment buildings aren’t huge. From Desmond’s roof, we saw a great view of the neighborhood and its interesting to think about how much it has changed. Butchers have given way to boutiques and I wonder what will become of this neighborhood when the last of the old timers like Julia are gone. It will lose something, without question. But for now, there are still people “sitting out” and keeping an eye on the neighborhood.

I like SoHo, and Desmond hooked me up with some good ideas for exploring.  We had the nomad sponsored meal at Dutch which is one of the best meals I’ve had in recent memory. I would definitely go back, to the restaurant and to the neighborhood.

I have 2 weeks left to be booked for my 51st and 52nd neighborhoods.  Email me to host!

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Elena, my host for the week, seemed to share this feeling.  She was quick to apologize for the neighborhood, but then went on to list all of the things I could do there. And there is a lot to do.  It’s lost a lot of a its neighborhood feel to be sure, but there is something to find in every New York City neighborhood.  Midtown East is convenient to trains – you have the 4, 5, 6 and its easy to get West with the E train if necessary. Elena’s place is a studio, but there was enough room for the two of us and the layout of the apartment is good for having a guest. I ditched the Aerobed for the pullout couch. It’s really a nice apartment with a lot of light.

So what did I find in Midtown East?  The cheapest ice coffee and the only place that serves Peet’s is located at the ING Direct Cafe. It became my office for the week.  I went to the ridiculously overpriced Serendipity for a frozen hot chocolate and Cheesecake the size of my head.  I was interviewed there for a Spanish newspaper so I’m hoping for some offers from Madrid!  If I get a month’s worth, I think I’m going.

In Bloomingdale’s, on the 7th floor, there is a frozen yogurt store called Forty Carrots. Perhaps my favorite place was Mimi’s Cafe, where you can see a guy named Chicken Delicious put on one of the more entertaining and creative piano bar performances in New York City.  Don’t forget baklava at Gulluoglu on 52nd and 2nd – the awning now simply says Turkish baklava, but this place has the reputation for having the best baklava in Istanbul and they opened an NYC branch a couple of years ago.  In fact, there are a ton of Turkish restaurants in Midtown East.  I took Elena and her boyfriend, along with two of my friends who just moved to the neighborhood to a new place called Bi Lokma.  It’s BYO and the food is superb.  The owner is also crazy.  When we arrived, he said “don’t worry, I’ll start kicking people out.”  Before I could explain that we were waiting on two more, he was already at the table telling the party it was time to go. At the end of the meal, he brought out a tome of Turkish recipes and told me the Turkish cookbook I have (which I love) is “shit”.  The book I have is called the Sultan’s Kitchen and I stand by the fact that its a solid Turkish cookbook.  Finally, I was introduced to trivia with Elena’s co-workers at the Pig N’ Whistle which happens every Monday night.

I also did some jogging around the neighborhood.  Sutton Place is right along the water but from 51st street to 57th street or 58th street there are all individual parks.  It’s not until you get to 61st street that you can connect and run continuously along the East river.  There is also a bizzare park called Peter Detmold Park that doesn’t really connect to anything.

I can’t say that Midtown East is high on my list of places to live, but like every neighborhood, I’m glad I checked it out for a week. And there are certainly less convenient places to live in this city. And the neighborhood is worth a trip just to meet Chicken Delicious at Mimi’s.