off the map
Central Park is easy to love. It draws residents and tourists in with its vast green lawns, overgrown trees, pools of water and reliable people watching. But sometimes, it gathers too many people, and the city’s peaceful hideaway starts to feel like a spring break frat party.
If it’s solitude you seek, walk five blocks west to Riverside Park, which stretches like a long, green tendril along Manhattan’s west side. It kisses the docks of the Hudson River, and it hosts local soccer and rugby leagues. Whereas in Central Park, you’re likely to hear several languages and the click of camera shutters, Riverside Park feels like a neighborhood hangout. Locals and savvy tourists only.
I took a walk there recently, and was struck by the beauty of spring unfolding. It’s pathways are long and wind through tunnels below the Henry Hudson Parkway. This arch, near 79th Street and Riverside Drive, is particularly enchanting.
Peering at springtime through a tunnel….
And on the other side….
Spy Springtime Through a Tunnel April 28, 2010
Watch ‘Sex’ in the Park August 18, 2009
One of many great things about summer in New York is art in the parks. You can find dancers in Prospect Park, classic films in Bryant Park, and this week, modern movies in Central Park.
Tonight, reels start rolling at the Central Park Film Festival and the first movie up is Sex and the City. I’ve already seen it, but who can resist the chance to watch an homage to NYC on an outdoor screen in the heart of Manhattan? The only thing better would be Annie Hall (note to organizers).
Bloomberg L.P. is sponsoring a movie every night this week, 8 p.m. at Rumsey Playfield near Fifth Avenue and 69th Street. The gates open at 6 p.m. so you can stake out the perfect picnic spot. Pack a dinner, bring a blanket and the rest is free.
Today’s the last day to vote on the viewer’s choice movie, which organizers will show on Saturday. The options aren’t spectacular, but I’m pulling for Desperately Seeking Susan starring Madonna, or the James Bond classic Goldfinger.
Other films showing this week are:
Wednesday, August 19: Shaft (1971), 100 minutes
Thursday, August 20: Ocean’s 11 (2001), 116 minutes
Friday, August 21: Twilight (2008), 122 minutes
Saturday, August 22: it’s up to you!
Get Your Money’s Worth in Central Park June 16, 2009
As Manhattan’s weather warms up, I’m realizing the advantage of living one block from Central Park. In winter it was an icy tangle of trees with no activity. Now it’s the center of city life.
Because I like surprises and saving money, strolling through the park can be the most fruitful way to spend an afternoon. Say you accompanied me last Sunday, your adventure would look like this:
1:30 p.m.
Buy an Americano and toasted chicken chipotle wrap at New World Coffee.
1:40
Pass classically trained cellist as you enter the park at 79th Street and Central Park West.
1:45
Check out what’s playing at Shakespeare in the Park. Twelfth Night, featuring Anne Hathaway, is sold out today. Plan to go another time.
1:49
Find an outcropping of smooth rocks beneath a canopy of trees near the Great Lawn. Flat-backed, study the clouds. Listen to banjo player pick away on a nearby bench. Observe old gentleman pick a bag of edible grass in a field beside you.
2:20
Notice the roar of a crowd. Investigate.
2:30
Near the Met, get swept up in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. Admire flag-waving patriots dressed in red, white and blue.
2:33
Though you are Dutch, imagine you are Puerto Rican. Drink the fervor. Push your way through crowds and dance to Latin music. Chant any Spanish phrase you know, even if it’s “Donde esta el bano!”
2:40
Calm down. Ask a mounted park ranger to open the barricade. Exit parade.
2:45
Take the 72nd Street path west and find tap dancers doing time steps on sheets of wood. Old school. Gene Kelly style. Give them a dollar and say “you’ve got talent!”
2:50
Stop at Bethesda Terrace to watch “Lenny Hoops,” who plays loud music and teaches kids to hula hoop. Marvel at the 2-year-old drummer in Lenny’s house band. Walk on. You only brought one dollar today.
2:55
Happen upon a New Orleans-style zydeco band and remember your last visit to the French Quarter. Note the man with the miniature trumpet; the skinny white guy who could sing a Zatarain’s commercial; the park employees congregating, quietly applauding.
3:12
Arrive home. Don’t mind the small square-footage so much. Thank the gods for location. For summer.
In the stream of Puerto Rican Day Paraders.
Tap dancers earn their tips.
Lenny Hoops shows you how it's done.
Future Larry Mullen Jr.
New Orleans-style jazz.
