Return to New York

by Eunice Kirby

A visit to New York in the aftermath of 911

After a protracted time checking in to our hotel, we eventually got settled and set off for a walk along Seventh Avenue, reaching Central Park and The Lincoln Centre, before coming back along Broadway, via Times Square and Manhattan Mall for something to eat before having an early night to try and get used to the five hour time difference.

Sunday morning we had arranged to meet in the hotel coffee shop - freshly squeezed orange juice - wonderful, then we all set off for a diner in Herald Square for breakfast and to plan our day. We decided that as it was a nice day weather wise, we would head for Central Park. Last time, we had taken a horse and carriage ride round some of the park and said that we would like to see more of it, so off we went. We soon realised that there is a lot more of Central Park than most people realise; we spent most of the day just wandering round and only saw half of it. Three of us (the female three) went on the old wooden carousel, which boasts the largest wooden horses still in use - and seat belts! We wandered through the park, via The Dairy - now an information centre, then on to watch the skaters.

We then went in the Zoo which was renovated in the 1980s and is now divided into three zones, polar, temperate and tropic. We arrived just in time to watch the seals being fed and put through their routine, which is as much to check their health and wellbeing as it is to entertain and educate the visitors. The highlight of the polar region for me was the polar bears; their enclosure includes a plunge pool with glass sides, so that the visitor can not only watch them swimming under water, but also stand next to the glass and marvel at their size! The tropical enclosure is all inside and when looking at the various plants you wonder just how much wildlife you are not seeing. So many things are well camouflaged and we were all pointing things out to each other that we had not spotted ourselves. After a quick lunch in The Leaping Frog Cafe, we then visited the Children's Zoo (well, we are all children at heart) and enjoyed the chance to feed and pat the various cuddly creatures on show. We carried on with our walk taking in many lakes and wonderful views - many of the trees were still in full autumn foliage and looked lovely reflected in the lakes.

We saw the statues of Hans Christian Anderson and Alice in Wonderland, before heading for Strawberry Fields, the memorial to the late John Lennon. It was only a couple of days after the death of George Harrison so the memorial could not be seen for all the flowers and tributes to George. There were hundreds of people there paying their respects and a group of singers singing old Beatles songs; all in all it was very moving and I am glad to have been part of it although it does mean that I have not yet seen the memorial, oh well, we shall just have to visit New York again sometime. We then left the park and crossed over the road to look at The Dakota Building - identified by the guard on duty by his sentry box, with Dakota on his uniform. By this time we were all quite tired so we got the subway back to Penn Station - opposite our hotel, to have a rest and freshen up before heading off to Times Square and 42nd Street for something to eat, then back to the hotel via a few shops including Macy's.

Monday morning and Steve's birthday! After he had opened the cards and few small presents that I had brought with us, we went off to the same diner for breakfast, then caught the subway to Wall Street. We came up the escalators from the subway into the station building and you would have thought that you were in the lobby of a very expensive hotel! We all just looked and admired before heading out onto the street and walking down to South Street Seaport. We saw the second biggest sailing ship ever built - The Peking, the floating lighthouse, Ambrose and took in the views of The Brooklyn Bridge before sitting outside in the sun to partake of a beer. By this time, it was so warm all coats had been abandoned and those who were not wearing short sleeves were regretting it and planning to buy T shirts at the first opportunity - we had packed jumpers and fleeces expecting it to be cold! We spent a happy hour or so wandering round the shopping mall that is located in Pier 17 Pavilion, an assortment of shops on three levels, all with charming wooden decks outside offering views across to Brooklyn and also of the Statue of Liberty.

We left Pier 17 and walked along the waterfront to the ferry terminal for the Staten Island Ferry and boarded the next ferry. This has to be the best bargain in NYC. The ferry gives wonderful views of the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and of course the city skyline and all for free. The best time to take the ferry is evening when you can see the city all lit up, but it is just as breathtaking on a sunny day. We did not spend much time on the island, just took a short walk from the ferry to look back across to the city, then we got another ferry back to the mainland and stopped in Starbucks for coffee and cakes.

We did not set out to visit Ground Zero but, as we were so close, we went to pay our respects. It is in this area that the city is much quieter, there are prayer stations along the way, and people who are there just to talk and help in any way. We stood in silence as we viewed the remains of the Towers, and I am not ashamed to say that tears were shed. We did not linger, but caught the subway to Grand Central Station where we split up. Steve and I watched the Christmas laser show that lit up the ceiling of the station, then wandered round both the craft market and the food market before leaving the station building and making our way back to the hotel along 42nd Street, shopping along the way. We met up with the others for a meal at Broadway Joe's Steakhouse, steaks like you would not believe (fond memories of our last visit made us go again) We did not have room for dessert so we walked back towards our hotel and stopped for a couple of drinks before turning in.

Tuesday morning: after our usual large breakfast, we caught the subway to Grand Central Station and then went inside the Chrysler Building just to look and admire the marble and chrome lobby. From here we walked down to the United Nations Headquarters - you can tell from the buildings, the water features and landscaping that this is a very affluent area. We carried on along 11th Avenue to the Roosevelt Aerial Tramway, but it was being repaired/restored so was not running. We headed back inland and 'came across' Bloomingdales, where we stopped for coffee and to stock up on their wonderful chocolate dipped mint sticks.

We admired all the Christmas decorations both in the store and in the window displays before heading off for the Citicorp Building where a model railway took up most of the lower level, we lost two of the men for a while so the rest of us looked round the shops - mostly a Barnes and Noble Bookstore, then found seats to sit and rest with more fresh orange juice. Once we had managed to get them away from the trains, we made our way to The Rockefeller Centre to watch the skaters. This is another typical New York Christmas scene, but there was something missing this time - we arrived while they were polishing the ice so there were no skaters. By now, we were all getting hungry so we went to Jekyll and Hydes for an entertaining meal. Anyone who has ever been to one of the Jekyll and Hyde restaurants will know what I mean; the statues talk to you, the pictures have eyes that move, the staff are all in character and the entertainment is almost non-stop. It is an experience to enjoy - oh, and the food is not bad either.

On our way back to the hotel we took the ride up to the top of the Empire State Building, this is the best time of day to go up, as you can see the city in daylight and watch as night descends and the city lights up. One thing that was more obvious to us all this time was the number of planes that we could see at any one time, usually well over a dozen, of varying sizes - it made us feel very vulnerable. It was from here that the absence of the Twin Towers was most obvious; the work on the site is going on twenty four hours a day and you can see a large black area with a circle of lights around it that seems to send a ghostly glow into the sky. We spent the rest of evening just wandering round some of the shops and buying souvenirs and Christmas presents before finishing up in an Irish bar.

The next morning we caught the subway with my sister and her husband to Greenwich Village where the first stop was a diner for breakfast - it was called Tiffany's, so we can say that we had breakfast at Tiffany's! (My niece and her boyfriend went off to spend the day in The Natural History Museum.) We walked through Washington Square, then made our way through Soho to Chinatown and Little Italy. At one point, we were at a street corner and looking at our maps, deciding which way to go, when a lady asked if we were tourists. When we said "yes", she just said, "Thank you for coming to New York". Visitors are still wanted and made to feel very welcome.

Thursday morning and we all met up for our usual breakfast. The three men and my niece went off to spend the day at the Intrepid Museum; my sister and I did not fancy spending a day on an aircraft carrier so we went shopping. We spent most of the day in Macy's but managed a few other shops too and I finished off all my Christmas shopping, which I had hoped to do. I had been checking on the Internet what shows would be on while we were in New York and when we saw that A Christmas Carol was on at Madison Square Garden, we all said that we would like to see it, so I booked the tickets direct with The Garden ticket office and Veronica and I collected them that morning before we hit the shops. The entrance hall to the theatre was done out as an old village, complete with shops and stalls selling refreshments and souvenirs all to do with the show, with all the staff in costume and carol singers to entertain us - it was all lovely and really festive. The show itself was wonderful; it was not only on the stage but also along both sides of the auditorium, so at times you did not know where to look. All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening.

Friday morning, our last full day. We all had breakfast then set off on the subway to Brooklyn Bridge and spent a very pleasant hour strolling over the bridge which has wonderful views of the city skyline, and is a marvellous sight in its own right with its twin gothic towers and many miles of cable. The walkway is along the centre of the bridge, above the traffic which thunders along beneath your feet. We spent some time wandering along Brooklyn Heights Promenade, at one point there is a framed photograph of the city skyline taken from that spot pre-September 11, showing the twin towers. The photograph is surrounded by flowers. It makes you wonder what the people who were standing there at the time of the attack saw and felt. I found myself looking at people's faces, and wondering just what they had been through and what stories they could tell. I felt very emotional standing there because it was so much more obvious here just what was missing.

We left the shoreline and headed into Brooklyn itself - a lovely place that I would like to spend more time in on another visit but we were on our way to Coney Island. This involved a long subway ride, a short ride on a bus then back onto the subway and when we got there it was shut! There was a notice to say that it had shut down early as a mark of respect to those who had lost their lives. It was nice just to look at the place - it probably looks better when it is open and there are hundreds of people there, and walk along the boardwalk and even venture onto the beach. We went into Nathan's for one of their 'world famous' hot dogs, this is the place where they were supposed to have been invented. We then caught the subway back to Times Square where we split up again, after some more shopping we returned to the hotel where I managed to pack everything ready to come home. We met up with the others for a meal in TGI Fridays in Time Square - the largest one in the USA Then we walked back via The Blarney Stone for a night-cap - you can rely on finding a good Irish pub almost anywhere these days.

Saturday morning and I popped down to the hotel coffee shop for two fresh orange juices and two Danish pastries, I could not face another enormous breakfast and we were not due to meet up with the others until lunchtime, so we could all finish our packing and have a couple of hours doing our own thing. Steve and I wandered down 5th Avenue to admire the windows again. I had not realised that all the Christmas windows in the big stores are done by the same company. I had supposed that each store did their own but no, one company does them all and the planning, designing and constructing takes them all year.

As we were walking back to the hotel, I noticed people going in and out of Trump Tower and saw a list of shops - very discreetly displayed on the wall. I asked the doorman if we could go in, and after checking our bags we entered the lobby and our chins hit the floor! The entire place was built of pink marble, glass and brass, with real trees lining the entrance hall which leads down to the atrium, the end wall of which, consists of a three storey waterfall cascading into a lower courtyard. We did not go in any of the shops (Cartier, Galeries Lafayette and such like) but we did go up to the fifth floor where there is a restaurant and roof gardens, unfortunately shut in winter. We had seen the trees growing on the terraces from the third to the eighth floors from the other side of 5th Avenue, but did not realise that they were open to the public, another reason to return to this city.

We are all glad that we went to this wonderful city and I for one shall return. Maybe we would not have gone had it not been booked well before 11 September, who knows, but I am very glad that we did not cancel like most people expected us to. The city welcomes visitors, yes there is a lot of sadness, all the fire stations that you pass have black and purple drapes and photographs of their lost colleagues on show. Our hotel was full of State Troopers and other volunteer workers; in the lobby there was a large Christmas Tree and an empty cot when we arrived, with a sign asking for toys for the children of NYPD and FDNY who had lost their fathers. By the time we left, there were four full cots, and yes, we had added to them. New York is not going to forget what has happened to it, postcards showing the destruction are on sale, as well as some with before and after photographs. There are books on the history of the twin towers, showing how they were built and how they were destroyed - all proceeds from sales going to charity. The stars and stripes fly from every available building and car aerial; the dreadful events have united the people of New York. They care more now and are not so self-orientated.

So, my advice to anyone who was thinking of going to New York, is GO. It is still a wonderful city, there is so much to see and do, buy a week long subway ticket and get around as much as you can and see everything. There are still lots of things that I would like to go back and see so we shall return again in a few years time, perhaps one Spring, to see the city at a different time of year. While we were there, both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were still closed, but I think everything else has now reopened, including the helicopter trips. We were lucky enough to go up the Statue of Liberty and take a helicopter trip last time we came, but we had hoped to visit Ellis Island this trip - one day perhaps. A week may seem a long time for a city break, but this is a city that needs at least a week to get to know it. This was my second visit and I still have not seen and done everything that I would like to.

First published in VISA issue 45 (Spring 2002)