This weekend we decided to visit some of the shiny new parks now available to us on either side of the Hudson river. The exploration started Friday evening, when we took a stroll just down the waterfront from our building to J. Owen Grundy Park, which reopened this past July. The park, set on the pier next to the Exchange Place PATH station, has been completely renovated, and looks really nice now. From the hardwood boards underfoot, to the metal benches and tables, to the well-lit canopies, everything has a lot of thought put into it. It is a really pleasant place to take an evening stroll, or catch lunch to the sounds of live music at the performance pavilion down by the end of the pier. I have to say, I am really impressed, not expecting much from the Jersey City government.

Saturday, we tried to check out the Jersey City Reservoir. But the gates were closed, so that plan had to be aborted. Looking in through the closed gate, it seemed more like a nature trail than a park, by which I mean that it seems it will be hard to take a stroller in. So I don’t know if we will be able to check it out.

On Sunday, we took Arav on his first PATH train ride to the city to check out the newly opened section of the Hudson Waterfront Park by Tribeca. With a nice boardwalk, lovely gardens and some interesting sculpture pieces scattered throughout, it has potential. But it still feels a little underwhelming. Shady spots are few and far between, and when compared to nearby Battery Park, there is little for people to do except sit on the grass or fly by on their bikes/rollerblades. There are a couple of tennis courts, but thats about it. Still, any park in the concrete jungle of Manhattan is to be treasured, and we could already see that there were plenty of folks out to enjoy their new park.

Lets see what else we can find in the weeks left this summer (can’t believe it’s going to be over soon).

None of these by themselves would have been that extraordinary, but I happened to come across all of these within the space of 48 hours. And that is definitely an “Only in New York” thing.

Ranjeet sent us an email about “Frozen Grand Central at Improv Everywhere“. Apparently, more than 200 people (called “Agents”) descended on Grand Central Station one Saturday morning recently, and just froze in place at the exact same time for 5 long minutes (just imagine the strength and control needed to do that!). The poses weren’t dramatic by any means, giving the impression that normal people doing everyday things – dropping a briefcase full of papers, eating or drinking, rushing to catch a train, even kissing – had just frozen in place as if shot by Mr. Freeze. Watch the video below, shot with hidden camera, which shows the whole thing, including all the reactions from the hundreds of commuters not in the know, and then read the story. It is pretty amazing.

Walking up Broadway today, I passed by Lincoln Center, only to be stopped in my tracks by what I saw. Hanging on the front of the Metropolitan Opera House was a huge banner showing two feet along with the word “Satyagraha” in huge type. The word refers to the philosophy and practice of non-violent resistance that Mahatma Gandhi used to help lead India to independence from British rule.

Intrigued, I found out that the Met will be putting on a 1980 opera by Philip Glass that describes Gandhi’s formative experiences in South Africa that transformed him from a young lawyer into a world leader like few the world has seen. The opera is set to text from the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism’s holiest books, and the version at the Met uses adventurous, improvisational puppetry, achieved by the Skills Ensemble, a team of aerialists. It sounds really interesting, and I am dying to go. Hopefully Tanu will be able to hold out long enough to be able to catch this.

Last, on the same walk up Broadway I passed by a nail salon called “Trevi Nails”. The name is clearly Italian, and the decor inside recreates a classic Italian scene. Yet every employee in the store was an Asian woman, with no Italians in sight. Just like American waiters in Indian restaurants, this is a unique scene from the cultural milieu of New York that you can occasionally find elsewhere, but rarely as frequently as you see it here.

There you go. 3 things that together form a unique slice of life in New York.

If you go to Rockefeller Center this holiday season, you might be able to find out.

Stretched out on one of the pedestrian plazas is a giant steel tub containing millions and millions of penny’s. Penny Lane or Penny Harvest Field is an innovative idea from Common Cents, a nonprofit organization. The tub is filled with penny’s collected by school children from hundreds of schools all across the country. They expect to collect many more from visitors that will add to the field, and then distribute the money to charities all across the country. Even better, the money that the school children collected will be returned back to them so that they can figure out how to donate the money to charities of their choosing.

It is really cool, so check it out if you can. Especially, at night, when the coins gleam in the night, against the backdrop of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. It is on the small pedestrian plaza between 50th street to the south, 51st street to the north, 5th avenue to the east, and 6th avenue to the west.

You can read more about the project and the people who came up with this crazy idea here.

You know the holidays are here in New York when the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is up. And when it takes more than 10 minutes to walk from 5th or 6th Ave to see it because of the crushing crowd of holiday visitors to the Big Apple.

This years tree actually looks a lot nicer than in previous years. Must be something to do with the transition to energy-saving LED lights. Wonder if the lights on the surrounding trees in the plaza are also the same LED lights.

Walking around Rockefeller Center at this time of the year is one of the quintessential New York experiences. Everyone should see it in person at least once. If you can tolerate the crowds, you will see something that is truly iconic. Every year Tanu and I go check out the tree, and every year we are amazed by it.

Well, next week I’ll be in California again, for a week of work at HQ. Hopefully it will be a week of good weather, and hopefully I’ll get the chance to meet up with some friends and family.

This past weekend was a really fun weekend. On Saturday, after brunch, we spent the whole afternoon napping. What luxury. And then in the evening we met up with our friends Ranjeet and Sanjeevanee for a New York City evening – an early dinner at Zanzibar followed by the new Mel Brooks Broadway extravaganza Young Frankenstein.

And what an extravaganza. Like The Producers. this is a comedy musical adaptation of a classic Mel Brooks movie. And while it doesn’t quite reach the comedic heights that The Producers reached, it had us rolling in the aisles with laughter. Roger Bart (the murderous pharmacist from Desperate Housewives) played the Gene Wilder character (from the movie) with great aplomb, doing a great job with all the singing and dancing, and showing great comedic timing. Megan Mullally had a small part that she carried off decently well. The other parts were played really well by Broadway veterans.

But the real star of the production are the sets. I have never seen such lavish and well designed sets. They are by far the most sophisticated that have ever been put together. Remember when the big helicopter scene in Miss Saigon was such a big deal? Well, this is that kind of a jump in set production, with almost every single one being a leap forward, and the overall effect is dazzling. It never takes away from the actors, but really manages to become it’s own character in the story. Absolutely amazing.

The show is definitely worth checking out. Thanks to some pre-planning, we managed to catch this while it is still in previews. Check it out if you can with the original cast.

Sunday was football day, and while I don’t like the Patriots, it was fun watching them completely dismantle the hated Cowboys. Now on to Monday Night Football and my beloved Giants.

Today was the kind of day that makes us feel happy to be living in New York City. Fall is here, but it was a warm day, with a hint of clouds. And even after so many years here, we managed to find a brand new way to spend a day in the city, doing something we had never done before.

After taking advantage of Saturday by waking up late, we headed out for a great brunch at the Brownstone diner here in Jersey City. From there, we headed up the Hudson River to Fort Tryon Park, where we visited the Cloisters. The Cloisters is a museum (associated with the Met) devoted to the art and architecture of Medieval Europe. It gets its name from the exquisite cloistered gardens that exist within the building, itself constructed using rescued and recovered architectural elements from churches and monastaries across 12th to 15th century Europe.

While the building itself is a piece of art, it also houses a number of interesting artifacts from that time period. There are a number of religious sculptures, altars and tapestries, with a decided emphasis on sculptures of the Virgin Mary and Christ. The columns in the cloisters (like the one in the picture) are beautiful. And the gardens themselves are lovely, sun-filled places to sit, relax and enjoy the chants of monks playing over the speakers.

We also spent some time walking along the pathways around the Cloisters, which go through Fort Tryon Park and overlook the Hudson river. After that, we headed back home, throwing in a drive down Riverside Drive in as a bonus. It was a great way to spend a lovely New York day.

Like any good host in [tag]New York City[/tag], we took my cousin Shivir for the mandatory [tag]Times Square[/tag] tour on his first night in town. We had a lot of fun, including a visit to the [tag]Stardust Diner[/tag]. If you are ever in Times Square looking for a funky New York experience, this might be worth checking out. While the diner is nothing special, it takes full advantage of being on the [tag]Great White Way[/tag]. The waiters and waitresses are struggling theater actors and actresses that put on great performances while serving you. They are amazingly good singers and can really put on a show.

Another really cool thing we saw while in Times Square was this ad by HP featuring Serena Williams that played across 10 different screens across two different buildings. You have to see it to believe it.

Saturday was a gorgeous day, all the better since the days before had been horrid. So I decided that we had to take advantage of the weather, and headed out for a day in the city. The agenda this time – Governor’s Island in New York Bay.

Ever since the island was opened to the public a few years ago, I have been meaning to go there. Getting there was easy, just a short 5 minute ride on a free ferry from the old ferry building in Battery Park (next to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal). I was impressed by the renovation work done on the ferry building. It looks very nice now, retaining its old world look.

Once there, we discovered a part of New York City that felt a world away. Governor’s Island is over 200 years old, and has served as a military base and, most recently, as a base for the US Coast Guard. On it are the remains of a whole township, with old brick buildings and houses. It has the look of an old college campus, a lot like the kinds you find in New England. There is even a beautiful stone chapel, perfectly preserved and looking like something out of a tour book. There are even two fortresses, that have served as military posts, training facilities and even a prison. As you walk about the island looking at the now unoccupied houses, you get the feeling of walking through a ghost town. But on weekends the place is bustling with people having a picnic on the shaded lawns, and folks riding their bikes on the road that circles the island (the accessible part anyway, part of it is still not open to visitors).

One of the interesting things about the island is the unique views it offers of the surrounding areas, from the incredible views of Downtown Manhattan, to the close up look at the docks in Brooklyn, the sight of the BMW bridges (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburgh), the Statue of Liberty and even the emerging skyline of Jersey City. The place is far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, especially for a summer weekend, and is the perfect place to spend a few hours. Keep in mind that the last ferry leaves the island at 5pm, so come earlier in the day. They even have concerts during the weekends. It was a nice little find in the city, and I look forward to the improvements that the Park Service will continue to make to it.