Originally created 12/31/2001
"I hear the clock, it’s six am. I feel some thoughts of where I’ve been..."
It’s in fact almost 8 am. I’m lying in my bed wondering if this is the time I should get up. Listening to music, this Jewel’s 1997 song suddenly came to my mind.
I’ve lived in four different places around New York in the past 14 months. Now I finally moved into Manhattan. Because my new place is only 3 subway stops from my downtown office, I now have almost one extra hour saved from commuting every morning.
I should stay in bed for a little while. It is so comfy here. And this is the first real mattress I sleep on in the past 14 months.
I sort of feel that I have wasted 14 months of my life. Most of the time wasted is, of course, on the very inefficient and disordered subway system. Now I can say goodbye to R (rare) train, to (unlucky) 7 train, and enjoy F train (F means frequent?) on most of my trip around town.
My new apartment is in an old tenement building. It is very small and the heating system seems a little bit dysfunctional. However, it is completely furnished, with a queen size bed, two bed stands, two beautiful lamps, and a dining table. Even the utensils are included. And it is fully carpeted outside of the kitchen and bathroom area. Since I will only live here for about 4 months, I don’t have that much time to complain anyway.
Tenements are the dominant style in the Lower East Side neighborhood. Most of them were built in the late 19th century when a huge influx of Jewish immigrants from Central and East European moved to New York and settled in this neighborhood. Originally called "tenant houses" from the Latin tenere ("to hold"), tenements were built as multifamily housings for the poor. Often, as many as ten people lived packed into one tiny, dark, and airless apartment, sharing as little as 300 square feet of space. Because most of the new immigrants were poor and worked on unskilled and menial jobs, tenement housing was the only affordable choice for them. A typical tenement usually is five to six stories tall with four apartments to a floor (My building has five stories with four apartments on each floor). From outside, tenements are tall and narrow houses jammed next to each other. Inside, apartments are arranged symmetrically along a central hallway. There are usually only two windows in each apartment, either facing the front street or rear yard. I was smart to choose a unit in the front, so I can watch street activities unfolded outside my windows. After the first legislation governing tenements were enacted in 1867, fire escapes became required facilities. There is one right outside of my left window.
Sunlight now sifts through the window blinds, onto my bed. I can hear the traffic outside (Construction workers renovating the new café across street supposedly have start their day of work already). It’s time to get out of bed.
"I break the yolk and make a smiling face; I kind of like it in my brand new place..."
The kitchen is in fact, tiny (I guess that’s why they call it "kitchenette"). I don’t even have a place to put my bowls and plates when I cook. The refrigerator is about one third the size in a regular home. The closet space...you’d better forget it. However, just like Jewel singing in the song, I kind of like it.
Maybe it is because of its location. Walking out of my building, steps away, it is the famous Lotus Club (35 Clinton St.). It is a dark café/bar with bamboo curtains. At daytime, it serves as a coffeehouse, with nice coffee, tea, and numerous selections of bagels (though their sandwiches are not really that good). They also offer many copies of Time Out New York (a weekly publication about New York entertainment and activities) for customers to read. On the other side of the rooms, there are wall-to-wall bookshelves with some second-hand books. At night, it converts into a nightclub, sometimes with live music performances. I rarely visit there at night (it is much more smoky when it becomes a "bar"). Very often in the morning, I come here to have a cup of latte and a scone, reading New York Times, before I head to work. Somehow, I haven’t been able to live a life like this since I moved to New York.
After having coffee and light breakfast, I walk south along Clinton Street to Delancey Street. Before reaching Rivington Street, I pass by some new boutiques, a new age souvenir shop, a tattoo parlor, and several restaurants. Among them, 71 Clinton Fresh Food (at 71 Clinton Street as the name suggested) has become so famous that on weekends, I see many very well-dressed people taking cabs here and line up outside for a table. The menu is with limited selections and concentrated on seafood. I haven’t yet dined there since I moved to this neighborhood. As you can figure out, it is not cheap at all (most entrée are around $23 and appetizers around $10). I heard the same family owning this restaurant will open another restaurant with a more affordable price – on the same block.
One of their former employees has already opened a chic café called aKa Café at 49 Clinton Street. Selling mostly Italian sandwiches and empanadas, food at aKa Café is more affordable. Just went to have my first taste last Friday and it is delicious and the way its food presented is very creative. But the portions are small, we ended up ordered two entrees, one appetizer, one soup, and one desert. adding up with two cocktails, it still cost us more than $20 per person. But we even saw the actress palying the mother in TV show "Gilmore Girls" dining next to us. She dressed just like us, black sweater and blue jeans. So TV stars are no different from ordinary people like us when they dine around New York. I think I will start to love New York again...
Crossing Rivinton Street, it becomes less trendy and slightly rundown. There are mostly Hispanic grocery stores (called “bodega”) and some discount shops. Several restaurants (much cheaper) selling Latin food can be found on this block of Clinton.
Reaching Delancey Street, I turn right to get to subway station for J, M, Z trains to downtown Manhattan. F (remember it’s my favorite line?) also makes stop here before it reaches Chinatown. There are a lot of discount shops along Delancey Street. Though this street has been famous for some Kosher (Jewish) restaurants and delis, now most residents in this neighborhood are either Hispanic or Asians. In fact, due to the large influx of new immigrants from China, Chinese population has spilled from Chinatown (at south) to Lower East Side. I can buy World Daily News (the largest Chinese newspaper in North America) right at the newsstand out of the subway station.
However, I don’t usually walk to Delancey when I want to do some shopping or eating. I usually walk north, reaching Houston Street. Crossing it, it is my favorite neighborhood in New York – East Village.
"Dreams last for so long, even after you’re gone...soon you will see, you were meant for me and I was meant for you."
Even after I no longer consider New York my favorite place on earth (Now the perennial No. 2 - Montreal- moves up to my top spot, just as default.), I found a neighborhood that is meant for me.
"I hear the clock, it’s six am. I feel some thoughts of where I’ve been..."
It’s in fact almost 8 am. I’m lying in my bed wondering if this is the time I should get up. Listening to music, this Jewel’s 1997 song suddenly came to my mind.
I’ve lived in four different places around New York in the past 14 months. Now I finally moved into Manhattan. Because my new place is only 3 subway stops from my downtown office, I now have almost one extra hour saved from commuting every morning.
I should stay in bed for a little while. It is so comfy here. And this is the first real mattress I sleep on in the past 14 months.
I sort of feel that I have wasted 14 months of my life. Most of the time wasted is, of course, on the very inefficient and disordered subway system. Now I can say goodbye to R (rare) train, to (unlucky) 7 train, and enjoy F train (F means frequent?) on most of my trip around town.
My new apartment is in an old tenement building. It is very small and the heating system seems a little bit dysfunctional. However, it is completely furnished, with a queen size bed, two bed stands, two beautiful lamps, and a dining table. Even the utensils are included. And it is fully carpeted outside of the kitchen and bathroom area. Since I will only live here for about 4 months, I don’t have that much time to complain anyway.
Tenements are the dominant style in the Lower East Side neighborhood. Most of them were built in the late 19th century when a huge influx of Jewish immigrants from Central and East European moved to New York and settled in this neighborhood. Originally called "tenant houses" from the Latin tenere ("to hold"), tenements were built as multifamily housings for the poor. Often, as many as ten people lived packed into one tiny, dark, and airless apartment, sharing as little as 300 square feet of space. Because most of the new immigrants were poor and worked on unskilled and menial jobs, tenement housing was the only affordable choice for them. A typical tenement usually is five to six stories tall with four apartments to a floor (My building has five stories with four apartments on each floor). From outside, tenements are tall and narrow houses jammed next to each other. Inside, apartments are arranged symmetrically along a central hallway. There are usually only two windows in each apartment, either facing the front street or rear yard. I was smart to choose a unit in the front, so I can watch street activities unfolded outside my windows. After the first legislation governing tenements were enacted in 1867, fire escapes became required facilities. There is one right outside of my left window.
Sunlight now sifts through the window blinds, onto my bed. I can hear the traffic outside (Construction workers renovating the new café across street supposedly have start their day of work already). It’s time to get out of bed.
"I break the yolk and make a smiling face; I kind of like it in my brand new place..."
The kitchen is in fact, tiny (I guess that’s why they call it "kitchenette"). I don’t even have a place to put my bowls and plates when I cook. The refrigerator is about one third the size in a regular home. The closet space...you’d better forget it. However, just like Jewel singing in the song, I kind of like it.
Maybe it is because of its location. Walking out of my building, steps away, it is the famous Lotus Club (35 Clinton St.). It is a dark café/bar with bamboo curtains. At daytime, it serves as a coffeehouse, with nice coffee, tea, and numerous selections of bagels (though their sandwiches are not really that good). They also offer many copies of Time Out New York (a weekly publication about New York entertainment and activities) for customers to read. On the other side of the rooms, there are wall-to-wall bookshelves with some second-hand books. At night, it converts into a nightclub, sometimes with live music performances. I rarely visit there at night (it is much more smoky when it becomes a "bar"). Very often in the morning, I come here to have a cup of latte and a scone, reading New York Times, before I head to work. Somehow, I haven’t been able to live a life like this since I moved to New York.
After having coffee and light breakfast, I walk south along Clinton Street to Delancey Street. Before reaching Rivington Street, I pass by some new boutiques, a new age souvenir shop, a tattoo parlor, and several restaurants. Among them, 71 Clinton Fresh Food (at 71 Clinton Street as the name suggested) has become so famous that on weekends, I see many very well-dressed people taking cabs here and line up outside for a table. The menu is with limited selections and concentrated on seafood. I haven’t yet dined there since I moved to this neighborhood. As you can figure out, it is not cheap at all (most entrée are around $23 and appetizers around $10). I heard the same family owning this restaurant will open another restaurant with a more affordable price – on the same block.
One of their former employees has already opened a chic café called aKa Café at 49 Clinton Street. Selling mostly Italian sandwiches and empanadas, food at aKa Café is more affordable. Just went to have my first taste last Friday and it is delicious and the way its food presented is very creative. But the portions are small, we ended up ordered two entrees, one appetizer, one soup, and one desert. adding up with two cocktails, it still cost us more than $20 per person. But we even saw the actress palying the mother in TV show "Gilmore Girls" dining next to us. She dressed just like us, black sweater and blue jeans. So TV stars are no different from ordinary people like us when they dine around New York. I think I will start to love New York again...
Crossing Rivinton Street, it becomes less trendy and slightly rundown. There are mostly Hispanic grocery stores (called “bodega”) and some discount shops. Several restaurants (much cheaper) selling Latin food can be found on this block of Clinton.
Reaching Delancey Street, I turn right to get to subway station for J, M, Z trains to downtown Manhattan. F (remember it’s my favorite line?) also makes stop here before it reaches Chinatown. There are a lot of discount shops along Delancey Street. Though this street has been famous for some Kosher (Jewish) restaurants and delis, now most residents in this neighborhood are either Hispanic or Asians. In fact, due to the large influx of new immigrants from China, Chinese population has spilled from Chinatown (at south) to Lower East Side. I can buy World Daily News (the largest Chinese newspaper in North America) right at the newsstand out of the subway station.
However, I don’t usually walk to Delancey when I want to do some shopping or eating. I usually walk north, reaching Houston Street. Crossing it, it is my favorite neighborhood in New York – East Village.
"Dreams last for so long, even after you’re gone...soon you will see, you were meant for me and I was meant for you."
Even after I no longer consider New York my favorite place on earth (Now the perennial No. 2 - Montreal- moves up to my top spot, just as default.), I found a neighborhood that is meant for me.
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