Rooftop bars

Posted on March 14, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

Inspired by my friend Amy’s forthcoming wedding celebration at the rooftop bar of  The Library Hotel, as well as the burst of fabulous Spring weather, I thought it was time to start investigating the lofty lounges around the city. New York is really starting to make the most of rooftops, with bars and bees being the foremost tenants. ( The Whitney has beehives on their roof but more of that later… )

The Ganesvoort in the Meatpacking district has been a popular spot for ages, with a prime vantage point above the ever busy Pastis Restaurant and the cool member’s-only club / hotel next door, Soho House. It’s perfect for people watching and ordering a second bottle of champagne on a hot summer’s night. Up in East midtown the Ganesvoort’s sister hotel recently opened without a view to compare, but instead with a pool to remember….

By absolute contrast, and if you thought the seventies were over, go to the rooftop of 230 Fifth Avenue, and you will find that as far as rooftops bars are concerned, there is something for everyone. Velour red coats are provided for the cooler days in an atmosphere of pure chintz – mirrors, light spangled animals and a touch of disco. But the view! Spectacular! It’s probably the best aspect of the Empire State in the whole city. So call in on your way home from Macys for a fluffy duck and you won’t be disappointed.

Over on the west side a new Kimpton Hotel, Ink48, has a rooftop bar called ‘Press’ with spectacular views up the Hudson river towards the George Washington Bridge, as well as over Hells Kitchen to Times Square. Even though you’re only on the 16th floor, it feels much higher because of the sweep of real estate rising up in the distance. Apart from the view, that part of town around 11th Avenue and 47th street always feels a bit isolated to me. Maybe things will change with hotels like this springing up, but for now there are only a few car showrooms and various ‘gentleman’s clubs, and I wasn’t too sure about leaving my bike on the street. ( I also discovered the ‘stable’ where horses from the Central Park Carriage Rides live, solving a mystery I should have known long ago – dreadful – I will have to get the Raging Grannies on to this…! ) But regardless, it’s worth seeking out the location just for the view, and maybe having a tipple or two.

Back at the Library Hotel, the terrace is small and intimate by comparison. You feel you are not so much looking at the city but being part of it. It will be a perfect place for the wedding party…

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Central Park gardeners and their tips

Posted on March 14, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

Garden lovers of all varieties – workers, volunteers and viewers ( like me ), were out in force at the weekend. Sunday especially was spectacular. The warm weather and the full moon – and maybe a good dose of global warming – meant that blossom and buds were shooting all over the city. In Central Park we diverted to the Conservatory Garden, one of my favorite places in the park, wondering what splendor was breaking ground. It was too early, but one of the gardeners set us straight about what to expect this year. In the French section alone there are 21,000 tulips planted, chosen for their complimentary colors and their ability to all bloom at the same time. ( If you’re around in May when the tulips are finished, the Park gives the bulbs away. ) The tulips are planted in sand mix to offset any disease developing, and weeds are sprayed with clove oil. How great is that? The success of the flush of tulips depends on their being plenty of rain during the Spring. If there’s not and the Park has to depend on city water, they are competing with everyone else which lowers the water pressure, and plants have to be watered by hand. True love. In any case, watch this space, the landscape is about to be transformed….

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Raging Grannies and songs for Japan

Posted on March 14, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

To mark the anniversary of the tsunami in Japan, the Raging Grannies were out in force at Union Square on Sunday. While their appearance was intentionally cliche, there was no mistaking their conviction to the cause. In fact I love their whole philosophy – “(we) see our work as the spreading green branches of a great tree, rising up to provide shelter and nourishment for those who will come after us.”

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New Spring Sculptures

Posted on March 12, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

The coming of Spring brings a flush of new sculptures around the city. On Park Avenue Rafael Barrios has created traffic stopping illusions of three dimensional sculptures in brilliant colors. You can hardly believe they are actually flat. But there is no mistaking the expanse of the joyful Woytuk shapes on the west side. One sits just outside Fairways, our supermarket, with the result of a much slimmer shop and much leaner groceries this week….

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Preparing for St Pat’s

Posted on March 12, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

You know Saint Patrick’s Day is going to be a big event in New York City when even the German butcher is making Irish sausages….

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First signs of Spring

Posted on March 6, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

The crocuses were absolutely spectacular at the markets on the weekend. In their classic yellow, white and purple colors, they herald the first hurrah of Spring. Not that we had such a bad winter in New York this year, but after months of bare trees and empty gardens there is something very special about all that color and energy – and the promise of more to come….

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The road to Port Lincoln

Posted on March 1, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

Going back to Australia is always a much anticipated journey, with the patient people at Qantas revising my itinery time and time again to accommodate my greedy juggle to see special people all over the place. My schedule was to have a few days in Sydney, then fly north to Coffs and Brisbane, south to Adelaide and then on to Port Lincoln.

I touched down in Sydney on the first day of sunshine after 21 days of rain – unfortunately the sun didn’t last, but by then the celebrations were in full swing and ice was more important. The seaweed and swell stymied a swim at Coogee Beach so we packed a picnic and headed for the harbour. With a view to the Bridge and sail boats sharing the breeze, what more could you ask for, it was the perfect background for bubbles.

If New Zealand is the land of the long white cloud, then the other side of the Tasman Sea has to be the land of the strong flat white. Perfect coffee, one after the other. After coming from NYC  where ‘flat whites’ are simply code words between Australians, I was totally wired from day one. And that was before breakfast arrived. Speaking of which, the most spectacular spot for breakfast on the east coast has to be on the Bellingen River just outside of Coffs. Fortunately I was at the Old Butter Factory when the floods had subsided, but they are coming with such regularity these days, the cafe has started to incorporate their imact into the menu. If you order a 2004 breakfast, you know you are getting a huge portion with the lot. Whoa. I settled for a 2012 special which was awash with deliciousness, but I remained on dry ground throughout. If you look at the picture below, the trees in the background provide a handy measure for the water rising from the river and indicating the time to evacuate. The tree at the top of the rise is ‘now’, after that it’s ‘too late’!

I was expecting to see a lot more water damage in Brisbane, but the city is fresh and flourishing with a hive of activity on the river. The Matisse exhibition at GOMA is worth a trip to the sunshine state just for the viewing, and even though the farmer’s markets on the South Bank are long gone, the tree walk through the rainforest to the Nepal Peace Pagoda is absolutely magnificent.

The last and most precious part of my journey was to Port Lincoln where my family and the glorious peninsular weather made for a sunny combination. It was an inspirational time, not least because of a special community event at the Port Lincoln Library where I was invited to share a conversation about living in America. The genuine interest and curiosity of the participants was heartwarming, and I thank the library manager Louise Mrdjen for her irrepressible energy. It was fantastic to receive so much feedback about my radio reports, and to know there are listeners with expectations of more. So with my jetlag receding and frequent flier points reclaimed, let’s get out into Manhattan and see what adventures we can find!

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Boogie on Bleeker

Posted on January 29, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

Most of my early memories of New York center around around Bleeker Street. It cuts right through the middle of the West Village, and I remember my fascination of the look and romance of the area. Small French restaurants, understated trendiness, and with all the history of writers and actors and cool people, who wouldn’t want to soak up a little local atmosphere. Unfortunately the open topped tourist buses moved in ( mainly to accommodate Sex & the City’s Magnolia Bakery ) soaking up more than their fair share, and the street became commercial rather than captivating. But even though we found alternatives to the historic and good Johns, I still went back regularly to buy tea and recently noticed things starting to change. Amy’s Bread moved in, as did Murray’s Cheese and gradually hat shops and designers and new restaurants started to appear.

On the weekend Sean & I were on the hunt for a new coffee spot on the lower west side, and were not having a lot of luck until we heard the harmonizing of an archipelago group in front of Amy’s. We’ve seen these guys before in Soho – they just pick a spot, start singing, and the traffic stops. Just as well, as otherwise we might have missed Roma’s. While we were having a James Brown moment, we suddenly saw the square pizza in the window. Yes, square! The pizza counter at the front opens up to restaurant tables and a small garden at the back, and we were soon ensconced with a couple of glasses of pinot grigio and the special of the day – margherita and buffalo mozzarella. Having come to appreciate pizza late in life and then exclusively the thin New York style, I was totally impressed with the rustic, real tomato deliciousness of this pizza. Is that a word? How also do you describe the crust? It wasn’t so much a crust, for me it was somewhere between a really good foccacia bread and a croissant – light, chewy and wholesome. Good grief, what have I been missing? And that’s without talking about the tiramisu…

The great thing is that New York is constantly evolving, and whether you are looking for music or mangiare, the good things in life are undeniably linked.

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Happy Australia Day!

Posted on January 28, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

Google turned up some interesting Australia Day activities in NYC this week, including a reunion of Adelaide University Alumni at the Yale Club, a BBQ at the Sunburnt Cow downtown ( or the Sunburnt Calf uptown ), a sidewalk sausage sizzle at Betel in the West Village, and a black tie G’Day USA dinner on Wall Street hosted by Jamie Durie and with entertainment by Guy Sebastian and the Qantas choir. I wonder what the Greek inspired Cipriani looks like now!

Meanwhile the Times announced the opening of ‘the first American outpost of a down-under takeout chain’ in time for Australia Day. With some excellent Aussie pies already available locally, this could be the beginning of a pie war in New York. Bring your own tomato sauce. Pie Face may have a prime spot on Broadway, but The Tuckshop has the east Village and Chelsea Markets covered.

In the end Sean & I decided to go local for our celebrations, and joined the crowd at The Australian on West 38th Street for a Coopers and pie. Green and yellow balloons were in abundance and BMX Bandits with a young curly haired Nicole Kidman replaced the usual sports reportage on the bar flatscreens. This encouraged me to go modern, so when fish & chips were off the menu I went for a couple of lamb chops with a delicious glass of wine from WA. The Australian is a very friendly pub. We rarely go there but on every occasion the owner has been there to greet us, and the waiting service is cheerful. Only thing is that the beer and cider was a bit flat, which makes me wonder if they strangely mistook us for pommies…. In this case it is definitely time for me to head home and polish up my accent. See you there soon!

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Weegee photographic exhibition

Posted on January 26, 2012 by TheFitzyreport

An excellent exhibition has just opened at the International Center for Photography on 43rd and 6th called Weegee: Murder is my business. This isn’t the first time Weegee’s work has been shown at the ICP, the first was in the 80’s when a film director saw the exhibition and was so impressed that he made a film called The Public Eye, with Joe Pesci playing the lead role. That’s how I learnt about Weegee.

Weegee was a photographer who became famous in the 30’s and 40’s for capturing street life in New York. He operated out of his car with a police radio, chasing murders and crimes and taking dramatic shots with a quirky perspective – like a photo of a crumpled murder victim surrounded by cops in front of a cinema advertising a film called ‘Joy of Living’.  Or a shot of a woman in the drivers seat of her car in shock after just hitting and killing a pedestrian. There are just so many shots that are full of emotion. I wasn’t too fussed about the dead body shots, but the work that caught people right in the middle of a thought, they were brilliant. Weegee took pictures of lost children at Coney Island, of families sleeping on the fire escape during a heat wave, and of men in the back of a police van, covering their faces with their top hats so they wouldn’t be recognised. But the reason he took pictures of dead bodies was because he said it was easy, they didn’t move…

Weegee has been called the father of tabloid journalism, but I think he was more like Bill Cunningham is today. Instead of chasing fashion, Weegee chased murder.

 

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