New York State of Mine

Having lived away from New York now for 8 years (5 in Milan and 3 in Melbourne), there have been massive and notable changes to the landscape of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Some of the more noteworthy additions to my city have been the completion of the new Freedom Tower, the building of the High Line, the new Whitney Museum in the Meat Packing district, and the official and thorough gentrification of Brooklyn – which is almost completely unrecognizable with new luxury buildings shooting up on every corner. I remember when the sheer mention of Brooklyn gave most Manhattanites hives, and now those same people are elbowing their way onto the L train faster than you can say ‘Hipster’.

One of the great losses since my departure includes my old home The Chelsea Hotel – once a bohemian enclave for artists and musicians alike (some former noteable residents include Sid Vicious, Dee Dee Ramone, Blondie, and Andy Warhol. The hotel was sold to the trendy Ian Schrager Group and is being converted to a boutique hotel. Although ‘The Chelsea’ as it was known still stands and still houses a few die hard residents of the past, it will never again be the place of broke artists about to make their indelible mark on the world of the arts, and is a sad reminder that New York’s ground zero of crazy, bohemian, rock and roll history is a thing of the past.

What I did notice during my trip to NY, is that even though there is bit of a ‘Mayor Giuliani era’ Time Squareification going on from Harlem to Wall Street (mega brands, bike lanes, manicured public mini parks), there is at the same time also a sense of nostalgia for times past. New Yorkers have always loved a Parisian style bistro, but it appeared that every other bar, café or restaurant oozed a cozy, homey warmth that one would not immediately associate with the hustle and bustle of the city. From prohibition era like bars, to rustic Italian ennotecca’s to West Bank style eateries, to cowboy chic watering holes – both Brooklyn and Manhattan were filled with the type of décor that makes you want to curl up with a book, a bottle of red and pack of unfiltered smokes and while away the day. There were distressed leather sofas and smoky mirrors, deer heads and snowshoes on the walls – there were southwestern prints, dream catchers and rustic wood paneling. It was in a way, the antithesis of the Mega City – a throwback to NY’s bohemian roots finished off with a $25 cocktail.

Don’t get me wrong – these are not criticisms but simply observations. I love New York and I will always love it. If I seem critical or judgmental, perhaps it’s because New York has gone on without me and I feel a little hurt by that even though it was inevitable. It has continued and grown and changed (as I have too, I know), even without me there, and that makes me kind of sad. It’s like I imagine breaking up with someone you have been with for a long time would be, only to find out later that they have marred, had 3 children and bought a dog. It just seems odd that something I knew so well could have changed so much with out me. Silly I know, but what can I say? I want to be everywhere at once. I want to have my cake and to eat it too.

New York, I love you. Goodbye for now, and until next time. I will miss you. Don’t change too much on me. I like you the way you are in my memories.