The Cloisters – a slice of Europe in Upper Manhattan

The nature of the Hudson River as seen by the eponymous explorer Henry Hudson himself in 1609

Located in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Inwood, the Cloisters houses the vast medieval art collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  On display are extravagant tapestries, priceless stained glass windows and intricate stone carvings–flourishes that once adorned the walls of monks, knights and nobles.  The building itself is made up of stones from five different European abbeys which were partially disassembled in the 1930s.  Piece-by-piece, the structures were shipped to New York to be rebuilt and combined into a single building.

Arches incorporated form the French abbey Saint Michel de Cuxa

The Unicorn Defends Itself: In classic fashion, the humans in this tapestry find a unicorn and decide they need to kill it and take it home

Old sentinels in a new home

Fort Tryon Park, which surrounds the museum, stands on land donated by John D. Rockefeller Jr. The park was beautifully landscaped by the the sons of Central Park architect Fredrick Law Olmsted and offers magnificent views of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, and the New Jersey Palisades, also purchased and preserved by Rockefeller.

Walking around the grounds you’ll be charmed by rolling hills, vibrant flowers and New York City wildlife.  The Heather and Alpine Gardens offer two different walking paths for gorgeous year-round view.

The Heather Garden is part of the original Olmsted Brothers design for the park.

Excellent opportunities for nature photography…

With luck, you might see a rare sight, a real New York groundhog!

Whether you’re a New York native or a visitor don’t miss this chance to go back in time…take the A train up to Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters!

5Pointz, the seemingly doomed graffiti art mecca

Bordering a Long Island Railroad rail yard and partially shadowed by the elevated subway tracks is 5Pointz, a collection of warehouses that would seem nondescript, were the facades not covered entirely in spectacular murals.  This breathtaking display is the result of an ongoing collaboration with over 100 artists who come from far and wide to leave their mark on New York’s most famous graffiti destination.

Tourists too, flock to 5Pointz. On my bike tours, I have watched the delight of countless visitors as they unexpectedly find themselves in the middle of a colossal outdoor art gallery.

Part of the appeal of the site is its visibility–riders on the 7 train get an excellent bird’s-eye view of the complex. Mets fans on their way to Citi Field know to look out for 5Pointz soon after exiting the tunnel from Manhattan.

5Points is located directly across the street from PS1, the contemporary art and outdoor concert venue of the Museum of Modern Art. The presence of both have contributed to Long Island City’s rapidly rising trendiness and real estate values.

Artists contact the curator, MeresOne, well in advance before painting at 5Pointz. A friend of mine is a muralist in Ecuador and she planned an entire trip to New York around an invitation to paint here.

Each time I go with a bike group, the art at the ground-level has changed

This obscure piece resembles the work of Banksy, the world’s most famous street artist…is it his?

For over a decade the art community and the owners of the property have peacefully coexisted, the result of an agreement allowing free and legal painting to take place on the facade.  However, with the Long Island City real estate market booming, the owners have decided it is high-time to demolish the site in favor of luxury condos.  The City Council quickly gave the projects two thumbs up, eager to bring in construction jobs, a public park and 210 affordable units.

To their credit, the developers have offered up 10,000 square feet of surfaces for artists to graffiti on the new construction.  But this is miniscule compared to the space they use right now.  And whether the community and its curator even want to be part of the new project is a different question.  As of right now, the defenders of 5Pointz are on their last stand.  If their final round of litigation fails, the historic warehouses will see the wrecking ball in a matter of weeks.  Joni Mitchell might be the first to say: “I told you so.”

Citi Tower, Queens’ tallest building watches over the painted warehouses

Knowing that its days might be numbered, I took my family to 5Pointz recently. “Let’s take a photo,” my Dad said. “It’s now or never”

The Façade of the Eldridge Street Synagogue on Eldridge St. between Division and Canal

Completed 1887, this was the first synagogue in America built by an Eastern European Jewish congregation.  At this time, the Lower East side was a repository for hundreds of thousands of immigrants arriving each year to the New World.  German Jews were the first to arrive en masse in the mid-19^th century. But due to cultural similarities and a relatively high level of education, their assimilation was rapid and they gradually progressed uptown.  The Eastern European Jews, however, arriving from the early 1880s on, came from more rural, impoverished backgrounds.   By 1900, over 50% of the immigrants arriving in America were Jews from countries such as Russia, Poland, and modern Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Victorian chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling murals as seen from the balcony of the sanctuary

In contrast to the dismal tenements and sweatshops of the Lower East Side, the Eldridge Street Synagogue boasted lavish decorations, stained glass and vaulted ceilings.  Its worshipers represented a mixture of socio-economic backgrounds and its services on high holidays drew such crowds that policemen kept order on the streets outside.

Original leaded stained glass with Stars of David inside the synagogue

However, the Great Depression and changing demographics in the Lower East Side saw a dwindling congregation at Eldridge Street.  Furthermore, the Immigration Act of 1924 specifically excluded Eastern Europeans by using the 1890 census as the basis for entrance quotas, essentially making Jewish immigration impossible.  In the 30s, unable to pay the bills and maintain the building, the main sanctuary was closed off and the congregation began holding services in the unheated basement.

The west rose window, "pie-chart" stained glass and vaulted ceiling

Luckily, in the mid-80s, the synagogue was saved from disrepair.  The sanctuary was rediscovered and a non-profit organization was established to raise money for a restoration.  Part of the west roof had caved in and pigeons were roosting throughout the synagogue.  A 20-year, $18.5 million renovation was completed in 2007, and today the building serves as a museum, an active Orthodox synagogue and a National Historic Landmark.  To truly get a sense of the synagogue and the immigrants who once worshiped there, I highly recommend a visit and guided tour–free on Mondays! On a sunny day, the illumination of the sanctuary is spectacular.

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The intricate Moorish Revival front entrance. Only men would enter through these doors to worship on the main floor of the sanctuary. Women and children would enter through the basement and climb two floors to the segregated balcony so as to not distract the male worshipers.

For more information, visit the museum website

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the New York Transit Museum for the first time.  Well the first time since I was old enough to care about anything more than sitting in the driver’s seat of the buses.  Located in the old Court Street station of the little-used Independent subway system, this lesser-known Brooklyn museum is fascinating for kids and adults alike.  However, it doesn’t have the mass appeal of the Met or even the Museum of the City of New York.  This museum is best for anyone with an interest in New York’s public transit system or kids who find buses and trains fascinating—so basically all kids.  Having been a Geology major in college, one of the exhibits I enjoyed the most was about the bedrock of Manhattan and the various struggles encountered while tunneling through it.

Here are some interesting facts I learned:

• The subway cost a nickel from its opening in 1904 until 44 years later when that fare doubled to a dime.  This is somewhat amazing considering that the fares have increased an average of every 4 ½ years since then.
• The only place in Manhattan (other than the northernmost tip) where the subway goes above ground is on the IRT #1 train at 125^th St.  This is because of the Manhattan Valley, a topographical exception to the generally flat island of Manhattan.  The subway goes above ground for 13 blocks to avoid a steep decline followed by a rapid incline.
• The MTA sends more bills (number, not monetary value) to the Federal Reserve than any other organization  in the country.

Don’t miss their collection of old trains on display and the old ads and subway maps inside them.  And just because I’m older, doesn’t mean I can’t still drive the buses!