LOVE AT FIRST BITE
On her first visit to the Big Apple, MARIE KELLY savours the flavours of Manhattan’s boisterous glamour and Staten Island’s gentle grittiness.
Marie Kelly makes her maiden journey to the Big Apple
As a first-timer in New York (yes, at age 44), I was expecting a lot. I’ve travelled to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney, which are exciting cities, but nothing beats the hype you hear whenever anyone visits the fashion capital of the US. Suffice to say, I had expectations. Sluggish traffic and high humidity levels made the taxi ride from Newark Airport to Fitzpatrick’s Hotel on Lexington Avenue balmy and slow. But what did I care? I was enthralled by, well, everything; the diversity and density of ethnicities, style personalities and shop fronts on every short stretch of street; the sheer scale of buildings and billboards; the cacophony of sounds – a street corner saxophonist, a siren, honking horns. It was a sensory explosion. The scene was an utter cliché, but nothing about it felt jaded or predictable.
Checking into Fitzpatrick’s was like switching off a high definition TV and putting on your favourite vinyl record – instantly relaxing. The hotel is a popular base for Irish tourists (I unexpectedly ran into an old friend and her husband at breakfast the next morning) and offers the three things I value most when staying away from home: an incredibly comfortable bed, a powerful hot shower, and a breakfast that I dream about waking up to. Boxes ticked. It was no harm that for my first visit to New York, I was part of a group working off a travel itinerary. Otherwise, I may have just wandered the streets for the entire weekend soaking up all the strangeness, spectacle and wonderment. That’s my plan for next time.
Instead, Hudson Yards, the $25 billion neighbourhood of offices, towering apartment buildings and public plaza in west Manhattan, was our destination that first day, beginning with a visit to newlyopened visual and performing arts centre The Shed, which is housed in The Bloomberg Building. A cavernous space at 17,000 square feet, the cultural centre boasts a 500-seat theatre, 40,000 square
feet of uninterrupted exhibition space (no columns or obscuring structures) and a 16,000 square foot shell that can expand and contract to accommodate events and audiences. The breadth of it is incredible. The exhibitions we visited were an intriguing mix of performance and stills watched by a motley crew of individuals, who at times made for equally compelling viewing.
After The Shed, we embarked on a much more commonplace Saturday afternoon pursuit − department store shopping at the 188,000 square foot Neiman Marcus. In the Big Apple, size really does seem to matter. The store is intended to offer “physical and digital experiences not seen in other stores,” according to the company CEO. A beauty salon, spa, pop-up florist, cooking demonstrations, tastings, mixology classes and 40 digital screens live streaming other events happening throughout the three-floor store are intended to create a more experiential shopping space. I didn’t see any of these elements during my couple of hours there, but what did impress me was the original artwork hung throughout the store, and the installation from the Parsons School of Design, which greeted us on the womenswear floor. It’s fair to say the department store had something for everyone.
Hudson Yards is a little like Dundrum Town Centre, but on a gigantean scale. It reveals little about its locale and feels akin to a concrete cocoon, which you may love or loath depending on your point of view. A review of the Neiman Marcus restaurant, The Zodiac Room (where we had a truly lovely meal that first evening), was described by The New Yorker as “the one place in Hudson Yards that feels like New York”. As a New York newbie, I was eager to get back to the enthralling commotion on Manhattan’s criss-crossing streets and avenues and to explore its independent boutiques, family-run restaurants and local bars. What I craved was character rather than custom-built.
The following day delivered, with a ride on the Staten Island Ferry (another cliché, but not when you’re on it). I couldn’t help thinking of that great scene from Sex and the City in which Charlotte is swinging drunkenly out of a pole on the ferry after a night out on the island, or of Melanie Griffith staring across the harbour in Working Girl and dreaming of making it big in
Manhattan. Steadfastly staring out onto the lower side of this
“The new Neiman Marcus is 188,000 square feet; in the Big Apple, size really does seem to matter.”
fascinating city, with Lady Liberty in full view, I wondered could this iconic scene ever get old?
The 25-minute ferry ride is free for passengers and it took us to an under-construction-but-almostcomplete shopping outlet called Empire Outlets. With only 30 per cent of stores open when we visited, it was difficult to get a gauge on the kind of shopping experience it will offer, although when fully opened, it will feature 100 stores. Sports shops ( always a big hit in retail outlets) and high street brands such as Gap and H&M were the measure of it that weekend. But if you’re one of the thousands of women who travel to New York specifically for outlet shopping each year, then I’d suggest that you watch this space.
Outside of the outlet, there is plenty of authentic America to observe on Staten Island. Often referred to as “the forgotten borough”, the island could be characterised as Disney’s Tramp to Manhattan’s Lady; there’s a lot to love there, but it looks a little rough around the edges. Colonial revival houses, yard sales, proudly hoisted Star-Spangled Banners, leafy walkways, gritty side streets and run-down locals gave an intriguing snapshot of an off-the-beaten-track America.
If you can, pay a visit to Liedy’s pub on the north shore of the island. The owner, a former member of the NYPD, looks as worn out as the leather on his bar stools, but he’ll mesmerise you with stories; from the day Madonna recorded a scene for the video for “Papa Don’t Preach” in the telephone box at the back of the pub to the morning he stood at the front door and looked across the water as the Twin Towers met their devastating fate 18 years ago, while events played out on the television over his shoulder. It doesn’t get more characterful than this.
Back in Manhattan the following day, our final morning in the city involved a visit to Essex Market on the Lower East Side, and this really was the cherry on top of the Big Apple cake. More than 100 years old, it began as an outdoor market where items – herring, pickle, plants – were sold from wooden pushcarts. It’s had several reincarnations since, but earlier this year, it was housed in a modern (and very beautiful) space on the ground floor of 88 Essex Street, and although from the outside the building looks like any other slightly soulless skyscraper, inside it is overflowing with charm and personality as locals shop and serve each other. Just like Borough Market in London and the Temple Bar Food Market in Dublin, it is filled with local specialities, resourceful retailers who have built businesses from their kitchen tables, and dedicated foodies.
I left with a bag of Roni-Sue’s Buttercrunch candy, a nutty mix of sweet and salty clusters that, with each bite, left me wanting more; a little like my first visit to the Big Apple.
Marie flew from Dublin to Newark Airport as a guest of United Airlines Premium Plus (prices start at €1,036 including taxes) and returned with United Airlines Business Class (prices start at €1,615 including taxes).