A New York State of Mind

On my first trip to New York, I was a bit busy leaving London and foolishly thought I’d be ok to organise accomodation upon landing at JFK. How wrong I was. The only place anywhere close to where I thought was central turned out to be the smelliest, dirtiest place I have ever slept in (excluding perhaps nights spent camping at Glastonbury & Roskilde).

As a result of my New York accommodation, I have formulated a simple litmus test to reveal how dodgy a hotel is. If the establishment’s rates include “short stays”, know that you will not be sleeping in the most savoury of places. Naively it took me a while before I figured out what people use these short stays for.

UPTOWN
A reoccurring theme of my time spent in Up Town New York was either just missing shows and exhibitions, or finding key sights I wanted to see undergoing maintenance.

I visited Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building - which in itself is beautiful - only to find the Alexander Calder sculpture out the front had been removed not long before my arrival.

Then walking on my way to the MoMA, I stumbled across Richard Serra’s huge COR-TEN Steel ‘Torqued Ellipse IV’ and ‘Intersection II’ sculptures being craned out of the backside of the building, have been un-installed just days before.

Even the Empire State Building was undergoing restorative work and was pretty scruffy. The view, as expected however, was fantastic.

And finally after walking half the length of Central Park, I arrived at the Guggenheim only to find it completely covered in scaffolding and tarpaulin undergoing a facade restoration.

LOWER MANHATTAN
Didn’t spend much time here, but did the mandatory visit to Ground Zero, complete with seeing the ranting conspiracy theorist from YouTube. I was surprised that six years on there is still rubble from the twin towers being tidied up.

I also followed Karen Walker’s advice and caught the free ferry to Staten Island, which was well worth the trip and the view.

LOWER EAST SIDE
I spent quite a bit of time wandering around this part of town.

Bleeker street is home to a great little organic restaurant called Quartino, with friendly service and likes of Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones and Arcade Fire playing in the background.

The same street is home to Bleeker Street Records with its fantastic collection of vinyl. This shop felt like the authentic New York record shop. Plus it was home to the fattest cat I have ever seen in real life.

Late one night I stumbled upon a great little stamp shop, run by a friendly Irish chap. He sells a huge range of rubber stamps off the shelf and can produces custom designs also. Had I more time I would have been bringing back stamps as souvenirs for friends and family.

I was also put in touch with Eric Orr, a graffiti artist most well known for his collaborations with Keith Haring. Eric gave me a tour off the beaten track of the Lower East Side, which included a number of street art galleries and some incredibly strong Spanish coffee.

BROOKLYN
Eric also gave me a tour around Brooklyn. We walked over the Williamsburg Bridge and across to DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). On the way a seemingly down and out black guy offered to “spit” for us. I only wish I had had the foresight to film him. “Spitting” I quickly established is rapping, and I thought this homeless guy was amazing. From Eric’s reaction I think this guy was unfortunately an all too common story in the city.

In Brooklyn I enjoyed the Power House Book Shop - an arts bookstore and performance venue. Halcyon Record Store was another cool New York style record store.

On the way home I caught up for dinner with another friend at the Roebling Tearooms in Williamsburg, which was delicious and located in the middle of an area that felt reminiscent of Shoreditch in East London.

SOHO
In Soho I shopped and undertook some serious window browsing in many of the high-end furniture showrooms and galleries. Moss was impressive, as was Phurniture which is home to a mix of vintage pieces and pieces from up and coming young designers, including my friend Max Lamb .

People in this part of town felt very tailored and well groomed, in whatever style it was they chose to pursue.

Being a keen cyclist I also enjoyed the many fine examples of fixed wheel bicycles in the city that spawned this recent phenomenon.

MEATPACKING DISTRICT & CHELSEA
I enjoyed the Meatpacking District for its independent galleries and its boutique fashion shops tucked in between industrial warehouses and cobble streets piled.

A friend pointed me in the direction of an Enzo Mari Exhibiton at the Demisch Danant Gallery which didn’t disappoint and ‘Future Systems’. Commes des Garçons store entrance was as cool and as weird as I had expected. Thomas Beale’s intricately assembled and often oversized creations from both reclaimed wood and unprocessed tree branches were fascinating too.

I also enjoyed a steak and a carafe of wine in the bustling atmosphere of Pastis at the end of one of my days on foot.

In conclusion, I guess the upside to come from my terrible accommodation was that it encouraged me to spend all of my waking hours away from the hotel room and out discovering the Big Apple. And I must add the crack dealers on my doorstep were actually very friendly and more than willing to give me directions. I was also surprised to learn how cheap crack is.