This is an entry I posted about a month ago on my old blog. For those who have already read it, sorry for the recycle. For those of you haven't, enjoy.
I was stunned and amazed
My childhood memories
Saw this world past
Like the wind thorugh the trees
Ay! Oh! Where did you go, Ohio?
-"My City Was Gone" by The Pretenders
I haven't posted anything for the last month and a half because my life has been, for lack of a better term, insane. My wife and I have decided to leave New York City and move upstate to Beacon, NY. Little by little, the number of reasons have increased but near the top of the list is my wife getting to spend more time with our daughter. The sacrifice is that I'll still be commuting five days a week but we'll have more space, a back yard, a man cave for me and a more affordable life.
Five years ago leaving Brooklyn was not even an option on the table. I grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and I have so many great memories of being a city kid. Sadly, though, the New York I once loved is no more. The Pretenders song My City Was Gone has been playing in my head for the past 5-10 years. CBGB's, in the words of my friend Brian, is now a f@cking John Varvatos. This is emblematic of the slowly eroding soul of a once cool city. Mayor Rudy 9/11 sold us out to Disney, Bruce Ratner and every scumbag developer he could shake his slimy hands with. My NY is barely recognizable. The Lincoln Center Tower Records where I once worked in my early 20's is gone. Just a memory. My Yankees even scammed themselves a new ballpark. My city is gone. Every store front is the same and Starbuck's is burning coffee every five blocks. Developers are cramming ugly assed condos into every nook and cranny and destroying a once beautiful landscape in the process. Mom & pop stores are no more. They've been replaced by these boutique-like shops that overcharge you because their overhead is so enormous.
I love clean streets as much as the next guy, but Mayor Rudy 'I had no idea I was marrying my second cousin' Giuliani watered down the city so much that it has now become a vacation spot overrun by Red Staters in tacky sweaters. They're the same folks who hate NY the other 51 weeks that they're not here gathering up knick knacks to bring back the land of bibles and guns. Even my neighborhood of Park Slope has changed. What was once a peaceful lesbian enclave is now how home to bankers & lawyers and their families. Don't get me wrong, I'm not "hatin'" on the bankers & lawyers (although some do deserve our scorn and derision). It's just that Park Slope is now home to mostly the haves and have mores. My wife and I could never sell and buy in present day Park Slope. We, like many others, have been either priced out or on the verge of it. There are many families in this economic meltdown that are faced with a very crucial decision. Do we stay and eek out our existence or do we take advantage of a down market, cash out and leave? We chose to leave.
After my daughter was born, I entered the world of play dates, playgrounds and meeting other adults who share the common bond of raising toddlers. I've met some really awesome people in my daughter's play group and I will miss everyone who has been a part of it. There is also a part of me that is looking forward to this wonderful journey my family is taking. What I will not miss is the "Lord of the Flies", "Dog Eat Dog" atmosphere that surrounds enrolling a child into pre-K. For you non New York folks, parents basically have to camp out as if they were waiting to get Yankee playoff tickets just to get a slot in certain schools. This is pre-K we're talking about. Insanity.
I don't know what awaits us in Beacon, but I think I can get used to the slower pace. I'll always have fond memories of my misspent youth in the city. Seeing Living Colour at CBGB's. Seeing The Police in a sold out Shea Stadium. Hearing a loud roar in streets when the Knicks were kicking ass in the 1994 playoffs. Watching the Tyson-Douglas fight in my local bar and seeing everyone turn on Tyson. These are my favorite NYC moments, but the one that sticks out for me is watching Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five pull up in a van, haul out their equipment and play an impromptu set in a playground on 103rd Street & Amsterdam. My friends and I were playing softball and we just stopped the game, stared in awe and asked each other "Is this really happening?".
The move to Beacon is bittersweet. I'll miss my friends and most of all my sisters-in-law and my nephew. I'll miss the city, but the NY I really miss vanished a long time ago.
My childhood memories
Saw this world past
Like the wind thorugh the trees
Ay! Oh! Where did you go, Ohio?
-"My City Was Gone" by The Pretenders
I haven't posted anything for the last month and a half because my life has been, for lack of a better term, insane. My wife and I have decided to leave New York City and move upstate to Beacon, NY. Little by little, the number of reasons have increased but near the top of the list is my wife getting to spend more time with our daughter. The sacrifice is that I'll still be commuting five days a week but we'll have more space, a back yard, a man cave for me and a more affordable life.
Five years ago leaving Brooklyn was not even an option on the table. I grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and I have so many great memories of being a city kid. Sadly, though, the New York I once loved is no more. The Pretenders song My City Was Gone has been playing in my head for the past 5-10 years. CBGB's, in the words of my friend Brian, is now a f@cking John Varvatos. This is emblematic of the slowly eroding soul of a once cool city. Mayor Rudy 9/11 sold us out to Disney, Bruce Ratner and every scumbag developer he could shake his slimy hands with. My NY is barely recognizable. The Lincoln Center Tower Records where I once worked in my early 20's is gone. Just a memory. My Yankees even scammed themselves a new ballpark. My city is gone. Every store front is the same and Starbuck's is burning coffee every five blocks. Developers are cramming ugly assed condos into every nook and cranny and destroying a once beautiful landscape in the process. Mom & pop stores are no more. They've been replaced by these boutique-like shops that overcharge you because their overhead is so enormous.
I love clean streets as much as the next guy, but Mayor Rudy 'I had no idea I was marrying my second cousin' Giuliani watered down the city so much that it has now become a vacation spot overrun by Red Staters in tacky sweaters. They're the same folks who hate NY the other 51 weeks that they're not here gathering up knick knacks to bring back the land of bibles and guns. Even my neighborhood of Park Slope has changed. What was once a peaceful lesbian enclave is now how home to bankers & lawyers and their families. Don't get me wrong, I'm not "hatin'" on the bankers & lawyers (although some do deserve our scorn and derision). It's just that Park Slope is now home to mostly the haves and have mores. My wife and I could never sell and buy in present day Park Slope. We, like many others, have been either priced out or on the verge of it. There are many families in this economic meltdown that are faced with a very crucial decision. Do we stay and eek out our existence or do we take advantage of a down market, cash out and leave? We chose to leave.
After my daughter was born, I entered the world of play dates, playgrounds and meeting other adults who share the common bond of raising toddlers. I've met some really awesome people in my daughter's play group and I will miss everyone who has been a part of it. There is also a part of me that is looking forward to this wonderful journey my family is taking. What I will not miss is the "Lord of the Flies", "Dog Eat Dog" atmosphere that surrounds enrolling a child into pre-K. For you non New York folks, parents basically have to camp out as if they were waiting to get Yankee playoff tickets just to get a slot in certain schools. This is pre-K we're talking about. Insanity.
I don't know what awaits us in Beacon, but I think I can get used to the slower pace. I'll always have fond memories of my misspent youth in the city. Seeing Living Colour at CBGB's. Seeing The Police in a sold out Shea Stadium. Hearing a loud roar in streets when the Knicks were kicking ass in the 1994 playoffs. Watching the Tyson-Douglas fight in my local bar and seeing everyone turn on Tyson. These are my favorite NYC moments, but the one that sticks out for me is watching Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five pull up in a van, haul out their equipment and play an impromptu set in a playground on 103rd Street & Amsterdam. My friends and I were playing softball and we just stopped the game, stared in awe and asked each other "Is this really happening?".
The move to Beacon is bittersweet. I'll miss my friends and most of all my sisters-in-law and my nephew. I'll miss the city, but the NY I really miss vanished a long time ago.
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Comments
Good luck in your new town, and I'm sorry that the New York you love is gone. I miss it, too.
When I lived in Brooklyn in the 70's I rented a railroad flat over an ice cream store on 7th Ave. in Park Slope that was a block away from the park and could actually afford the rent without a roomie. There were independent restaurants, coffee shops, butcher shops, bakeries, etc. up and down 7th. I worked in "the city" in a building next to Rockefeller Center.
The streets had yellow puddles with garbage floating in them. There were still funky little bookstores next to the Broadway Theatres and it was a big deal when McDonald's finally opened a franchise near Broadway. You could easily get in for tapings of Saturday Night Live and the Letterman Show.
I was there for the 9-day Con Ed meltdown that kept us out on the stoops waiting for the power to come back on. I was there for the newspaper strike, the garbage strike, Son of Sam, the King Tut exhibit and the "I Love New York" campaign. I loved every minute of it.
Things started going sour in the early 80's, which is when I finally left and returned to the flyover area of the country. Don't get me wrong. I have no regrets for my decision since I raised my family here and have pretty deep roots.
However, I understand the bittersweetness you speak of, Mr. Nelson. Things change, sometimes not for the better. With any luck, some of the good comes back again.
Things change.
If you want to think the changes are for the worse...they will be for the worse.
If you want to think they are for the better...they will be for the better.
New York is a great town. GREAT!!!
You will have PLENTY of city folk to become friends with when you get to Beacon, which, of course is heavily restricted zoning-wise compared to a lot of other Hudson River towns. What's poignant to me is that Beacon is incredibly expensive for anyone who has a job in the Beacon area. The area's wages haven't kept up with the rising costs.
I wish you good luck in the move. I have enjoyed my moves since leaving the valley and I have no desire to move back. The city crowd brought major development, big box stores and lots of traffic to this once beautiful and natural region.
My valley is gone.
The number of Beacon residents still vastly outnumbers the people who have moved in to town. You're not going to see box stores popping up in town because there is a strong community there that will just not let that happen. I will become part of the chorus that will oppose it.
DeliaBlack
Developers are already gobbling up land. The prime example is Bruce Ratner's plan for an arena in the heart of Brooklyn. Here's a link for you folks outside of New York. http://www.developdontdestroy.org/php/latestnews_ArchiveDate.php
The economic downturn has hurt everyone but when you're a developer who has billions, losing a million won't shut down business. If you google Atlantic Yards, Bruce Ratner and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn you'll the gist of what has been happening all over NYC for the past 15 years.
dcvdickens
The bike path is great. I wish it was there when I was a kid. Not everything is awful in NYC. There are plenty of great things about the city.
Oh, by the way, when are you Yankees going to stop blaming everything and anything on some sort of mythical Bible Belt? And who exactly do you think is foisting bibles and guns? I'm so sick and tired of reading outright or veiled references to the Bible Belt. I think I live in the so-called bible belt but my city is very progressive; I live in liberal Austin. Yes, in Texas. Shows you what you know about the so-called Bible Belt. The New York Times voted the Austin Hill Country (wine country similiar to Northern California) the #1 Vacation spot for 2008, green hilly and liberal. But you Yankees mouthing off about the Bible Belt make me sick. You Yankees are ruining downtown Austin and every place else; with your presence AND your words.
I, REPUBLICAN Sayeth ... so it must be 21% true
"You Yankees are ruining downtown Austin and every place else; with your presence AND your words."
LindaInAus
I'm sorry you feel that way. It is a shame that you have such animosity towards so-called Yankees. People who live north of the Mason Dixon and east of the Mississippi are not all inherently evil.
The same can be said for folks who live in the south.
I don't think I've disparaged Austin or the Bible Belt in any way. You truly cannot believe that so-called Yankees are ruining everything with their presence and words. That is just not a fair assessment of whatever is going on.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion...and Terry certainly stated his in a professional way.
I think the "glass is half full/glass is half empty" thingy was working on me...and I was also under the influence of knowing that in just a few hours of writing those comments...I was gonna be in one of my favorite places on the planet...Central Park in the Big Apple...and from there I was going to my favorite place on the planet...the Frying Pan in Chelsea to sit and drink beer and chase conversation with great friends.
Peace to everyone.
Like you and so many others, I fled to Westchester. Enjoy!
Now I'm in California. It's a fine resource if you ever get the urge to change coasts.
Don't worry Terry--if I keep getting driven farther from Austin, and you from New York, we'll meet in Tennessee some day.
Then I was in Peekskill for four years and it was 55 - 57 minutes to Grand Central (you will find yourself saying things like that, that minutely.... I would say, to people like family in Kansas, "Oh, it's an hour", re: the commute. But door-to-door, it was more like an hour and 40 minutes) on Metro North, a pretty dependable train line, and cheaper than Amtrak. Unfortunately, if this is your thing, the only "bar cars" left on Metro North, though, are to Connecticut. Damn bluebloods.
And nothing can beat Dia Beacon - a wonderful old warehouse-cum-gallery/museum. Just awe inspiring. http://www.diabeacon.org/
And toddle via train down to Croton father's day weekend- it's the Clearwater Festival. So much fun, out of doors, music x 12, spirituality, fun. http://www.clearwater.org/festival/
Ossining, too, believe it or not, is kinda cool.
Sometimes you'll go to a small town "thing" - 4th of July Festival, Memorial Day parade, and you'll be confronted with those Red State things that can so annoy one "from the City"; but then you'll be comforted by those homey, dare I say homely, "family" things that seem so missing in the city world - homemade pies, quilts, jams, grandma's with their owly glasses perched on their noses, gold chain affixing same around their neck, classic car and truck shows, Soap Box Derby's. Folks coming up and calling you by name, shaking your hand, introducing you around.
You'll be just fine.
I live in the reddest of red states. Take a look on the election map for 2008. It's not so bad. We have our little town of Knoxville, TN, which hasn't fared too badly and is moving on up the culture scale with a revitalized downtown, a fabulous music scene ( the man who does Bonarroo lives here), many arts organizations and festivals, and a vibrant and creative writers' scene. Come for a visit. Stay a while. New York may even cycle back to life like we did.
I grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Then it was a gritty neighborhood,populated by Irish, Italian and Jewish families. We had a local candy store just about every block, and small mom and pop stores. The only one I remember that was a chain, was Womraths, a bookstore. That was a British chain for some weird reason. Right there on Seventh Avenue, caddy corner to Bohacks grocery store.
I often miss that time, but I know it is long gone. Back in the 70's the yuppies started moving in. The mom and pops, turned into chic little shops and cafes. All that I remembered, began to disappear. Funny, that you should lament what has disappeared from NYC. I don't really mean to point fingers, but it was those young upwardly mobiles who started the ball rolling. Beacon likewise in my childhood memories, was a sleepy sort of run down town on the Hudson. We used to pass thru it on our way to my uncles farm in Cobleskill. That whole area has changed, just as much as NYC. Unfortunately, that seems to be the trend. Beacon is a nice place, if you can afford to live there. Obviously you can, but many of the natives pulled up and left long ago. Not to put the blame on you, it's just that money seems to do that. I find it somewhat ironic, when I hear someone of the upper middle class, say they can no longer afford to live somewhere. I once considered moving to Key West. It has become a town where the locals can now only work, they can't afford to live there anymore.
Money unfortunately, changes everything! When I do leave this armpit of the universe, I will choose a place that is poor. It may not have chic shops, but just perhaps I will be able to afford to live there. Somewhere where they still have mom and pops and neighborhood grocers.
Rose Ramblin
May 23, 2009 10:55 AM
Ahhhh!! But New York just wouldn't be the same without the ramdom crime, the hookers, the corner open-market drug dealing, the clutter, the smell, and the garbage.
I live in Arkansas. If things keep going the way they are- someday you may wind up here.
In Northwest Arkansas, we have more trees than people. We have more churches than Starbucks.
However, I do not own a weapon.
I supose if I needed a gun I would have to borrow one from a deer -hunting relative.
The traffic is nothing in comparison. I can hear birds chirping when I step outside in the morning.
Don't come here until you retire, because the pay isn't much.
I am sorry about your city. It is a great loss for all of us.
My thing was that I wanted to leave before I hated it, as many do. It's a magical place, that you can always go back to...someday.