The NYC Nomad

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, [...]

Queens has long eluded me.  I’ve only stayed in Kew Gardens before this week, and such neighborhoods as Jackson Heights, Flushing, and Long Island City are neighborhoods that I’ve wanted to get to, but won’t be on the list of 52.  I do have a week in Forest Hills schedule, and my very last week [...]

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 [...]

I’m interested in staying in unique neighborhoods, with unique people, and in unique environments.  My week of camping in Carroll Gardens satisfied all three of these criteria.  Though I had been to Carroll Gardens once before, it was only for four days and I was left wanting to return.  It’s an historically Italian neighborhood (though [...]

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 [...]

I love this project.  I moved from Midland Beach to Tompkinsville in Staten Island on Sunday.  Thanks for the ride, Laura!  I went from living with a couple in their 20′s to a couple in their 70′s (well, Alan actually just became a UFO – more on this later).  My new room was the Verazanno [...]