Reggie Watts!!! Magnificence at Highline Ballroom

I saw Reggie Watts on Friday, who was an absolutely incredible performer. Both a comedian and a musician, Watts's performaces are improvised acts that blend stream-of-conscious storytelling with incredible beats and comedy. He used a looping machine and a piano, very quickly veering from a musical performance to comedic storytelling to everything in between.

As reviewed by Brian Eno: ""Reggie Watts is a most unusual talent: a huge vocal range, a natural musicality, and a sidesplitting wit. Is he a comedian? A singer? A performance artist? I've seen him a few times since then and I still can't decide. Whatever, he ain't like nobody else."

And that is how Reggie Watts is. See him if you ever can.

Fun New York Christmas-Related Events

I want to go to both of these!!!! Who's in?

The House of Yes Christmas Spectacular in Williamsburg and The Hard Nut at BAM in Brooklyn!





December 16th, 17th and 18th

THE HOUSE OF YES CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR: Xmas Around the World

House of Yes is at it again, with the second annual House of Yes
Christmas Spectacular! This year, producer duo Anya Sapozhnikova and
Kae Burke are bringing audiences “Xmas Around the World”, a
delightfully offensive celebration showcasing different cultures and
their customs of Christmas joy.

Featuring more talent than that other “Christmas Spectacular”,
this show will be overflowing with festive theatrics including racist
reindeer, Chinese elves, holiday aerialists, and international Santas!

Performers from the Lady Circus, Dead Bunny Burlesque, Spazz Hands,
Desert Sin, extra special guest Miss Rosewood and many more will be
bringing Christmas cheer to the stage this year guaranteeing that this
will really be the Most Wonderful Show of the Year.

Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm

$20-$40 sliding scale. Limited number of $15 tickets will be available
for the Thursday show, first come first served basis.

Tickets will only be available at the door, cash only please.

(PG13: strong language, drug references, nudity(full frontal, male and
female), sex, racial profiling, strobes.)

House of Yes Theatre

342 Maujer Street (near Morgan Ave)

Grand St. L train

All proceeds go to benefit House of Yes theatre improvements for 2011!

www.houseofyes.org/events

and ...

The Hard Nut

Part of the 2010 Next Wave Festival

Dec 10, 11 & 15—18, 2010, 7:30pm
Dec 12 & 19, 2010, 3pm

The Hard Nut is the annual Richard B. Fisher Next Wave Presentation, which receives special support from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.

Presented by BAM and Mark Morris Dance Group

Featuring the MMDG Music Ensemble with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Conducted by Robert Cole
Choreography by Mark Morris

"Morris' choreography is formally dazzling, uproariously funny." —San Francisco Chronicle

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Mark Morris Dance Group reprises its irreverent and much loved The Hard Nut, a retro-modern take on the holiday favorite The Nutcracker. Morris’ rendition—which has won Ovation TV’s Battle of the Nutcrackers contest for three years running—transplants the story from the decorous 1890s to the swinging 1970s, a freewheeling era realized with panache and wit. Inspired by the E.T.A. Hoffmann story, Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous score, and the comic book art of Charles Burns, Morris captures the beauty and tenderness of this classic while infusing it with supreme musicality and raucous humor.

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
120min with intermission
Tickets: $25, 45, 60, 70

Appropriate for ages 4 & up

Set design by Adrianne Lobel
Costume design by Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting design by James F. Ingalls
Based on the novel by ETA Hoffman, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

This NY Love & Hate Relationship

I made my way, early this afternoon, to Manhattan to indulge in a facial at FineLiving New York, purchased weeks earlier from Lifebooker Loot. Enthused to redeem my deal and have my face soothed from winter's harsh effects -- especially at a place so focused on a holistic, all-natural approach -- I tried to block the cold from seeping into my thoughts and my fingertips as I briskly walked along 14th St. Then, literally out of nowhere, right by Union Square, a man kicked my leg, suddenly appeared by my side, glared at me and growled, "Don't you EVER walk up behind me like that again!"

Completely taken aback, my heart pounding from the realization that I had so suddenly and quickly been mildly accosted and assaulted, I literally froze. I saw the man cross the street and disappear. My instinct was to dial 911. After an aggravatingly long talk with the operator -- "You're where exactly? It happened where? You want to meet the police, where?" -- I stood in the exact spot where the man had so quickly appeared and then evaporated, waiting for police officers to show up. Then I saw a man with a "Union Square" work-related jacket, and I asked him if he had seen what had just happened. I wasn't hurt from the incident at all, but I was -- and am -- more shaken up from it than I had expected to be. He seemed mildly concerned for me but said he hadn't seen anything. There obviously were witnesses -- streams of people were walking all around me -- when the incident happened, but in characteristic New York fashion, not a single person stopped to offer their sympathy, ask if I was okay or offer to be a witness.

The only descriptors I have for the man are vague: he was black, about my height, of unidentifiable age, and wearing a leather jacket. How infuriatingly, maddeningly stereotypical. I realized that I should have opened up my phone and snapped a picture of him with it, if I would've even had time for that. At this point, my plan to stay relatively immune to the cold before I reached my destination had proven unsuccessful, and police were still nowhere to be seen, so I simply continued my walk, trying -- unsuccessfully -- to recompose myself.

Finally, once at my ayurvedic spa, I managed to fully calm down and sink into facial-inspired bliss maybe 10 or 20 minutes into the treatment. Poor, disempowered, possibly mentally ill and/or drug-addled man, and heck if I was going to let someone as desperate and angry as him make me not feel safe or become angry and vengeful because of one ignorant, angry act. And so I made myself forget about him for awhile and relax into my little afternoon pampering session.

Ironically enough, when I returned home, I found in my mailbox the newest issue of New York Magazine: "Reasons to Love New York". The last reason given, Reason #59, "Our Most Notable Recent Exile Can't Stop Thinking About Us," quotes author Jonathan Lethem. Here is an excerpt of what Lethem had to say: "I love and hate, disgorge and devour, exalt and revile my old-and-always home just as fiercely and the same way each time I've fled, only to find it stalking me around my mental corner."

Sigh. New York.

Christmas Cheer in Williamsburg!

So I missed the Santacon barcrawl/party this Saturday, but in honor of both having recovered from a cold and having an old friend in town, I went out this weekend and had my fair share of holiday cheer.

The weekend started off on Friday at Happy Ending, my favorite LES dance bar, which fully lived up to its reputation. And Saturday we kept it local, even though, as my friend remarked, as Brooklyn seems to be getting trendier, perhaps "Manhattan is the new Brooklyn" in terms of weekend parties.

But I ended up Saturday at Whiskey Town, which apparently started in the East Village but is now open right on Berry Street in Williamsburg. And we danced the night away with Santas.

'Tis the season!

Post T-Day Haze

Always nice to get away from NYC for a few days, and at the same time, returning makes me appreciate it all that much more. 

Post family-Thanksgiving fun, I am still in a bit of a food coma.

 I had my fair share of this turkey!

 Yet sometimes I just crave a good slice of pizza.

Thank you, Anna Maria's, the lovely pizza place right by the Bedford Ave. L stop.

I was even craving their pizza so badly one night that I made up a rhyme: "My name's Maria Rosaria, and all I really want is a slice of pizza from Anna Maria's pizzeria." If you haven't tried pizza from this place, I recommend it. The staff's humor is an added bonus.

372 Ten Eyck...

... was the location of the fabulous Thanksgiving-themed loft party I attended in last Friday!

Hmm, was my favorite part the potluck, the outside bonfires (and spelling like a campfire afterward), the incredible live music, the vibe...? I'd have to say, everything!

Here are a couple pics I took.

This incredible band was Amour Obscur. They call themselves "weimar punkaret" and truly gave a spirited, gypsy-worthy performance. That lead singer, Dee Dee Vega, can really belt out tunes in her wonderfully deep, sultry voice.

 According to Amour Obscur's Myspace site, "Half human, half magical being, Dee Dee Vega emerged from the ashes of the streets as a denizen of the glamorous nightlife and gilded stages of New York City and Berlin. She is the lead vocalist of Amour Obscur and also makes her mad visions into art as a creative writer. When not on stage, she can be found jaunting around the Lower East Side with her tiny (and insane) dog Marcel Duchamp. Her interests include the art of lockpicking, whiskey, Dada art pranks, Coney Island, mind control and generally behaving like Henry Miller." And it shows in her performance.

Amour Obscur teamed up with a burlesque singer for a full-on Cabaret-Luxe performance.

According to the band's website, "Emerging from the dark corners of New York City's underground, Cabaret Luxe brings to the stage acts of sinister hedonism inspired by the nightclubs of Weimar Berlin, the advent of American punk, Dada, decadence and art born from the liberating freefall of economic uncertainty."

Amen. The gypsy hippie ethos is alive and well in NYC, in the dark corners of Bushwick. 

This Week in North Brooklyn Wanderings...

And the week isn't even over yet!

So last night, after I finished working late tutoring, my friend called me and asked if I was going to Drink n' Draw at 3rd Ward. I'd forgotten he was planning on going, but as I didn't have any plans, there I was 20 minutes later, along with another mutual friend.

(some of my sketches from this Wednesday)

As always, it was a fun, pleasant time, with plenty of drawing and drinking PBR. Even the model partook in the beer-drinking.

After 3rd Ward, my two friends and I stopped for a drink at Tandem Bar, another Bushwick restaurant and bar I have just discovered.

(Tandem Bar, above. Photo credit: Melissa Hom)

I'll have to return here for both the food and the reputed dance parties...

Then this afternoon, I discovered that a little chic grocery in Greenpoint is also a wi-fi cafe. And serves breakfast all day. And doesn't get exceptionally crowded. I'm in love. Urban Rustic, I will be coming back to you!

After a delicious brunch, class prep and tutoring, I made it tonight to the City Reliquary's "Thurd THursday" Show n' Tell night of collectors' items. The evening featured such showcased items as border patrol dog trading cards, paperclip sculptures made by a dog, an old top hat box in remarkably good condition that originally belonged to James G. Gould, and a device specifically made to slice English muffins. I'd brought my NYC 70's Flashmaps book with me, but chickened out when I decided I didn't have enough of a story on it. Oh well, maybe next time: the evening will be curated once a month, so stay tuned!

And finally, tomorrow holds many more Brooklyn promises to come. Hello, Goods' Beer, Wine & Heat Party and a crazy, semi-private on-the-down-low Thanksgiving-themed E. Williamsburg/Bushwick party!

City Reliquary's "Thurd THursday": Show and Tell Open Mic

I may have to check this out this Thursday:

For November’s Thurd THursday, the City Reliquary is returning to its roots – to the central reason it exists and the core of its mission – sharing stories behind collections! Due to the overwhelming success of Return of Collector’s Night at the Knitting Factory on October 11th, with over 200 people admiring the collections of a dozen avid New Yorkers, the City Reliquary Museum and Civic Organization is dedicating its November’s Thurd THursday to a Show and Tell Open Mic. Every object tells a story.

Hosted by minutiae-centric journalist Paul Lukas (whose past showing and telling at the City Reliquary has included an exhibition of his vintage recipe booklets with the word "Meat" in the title,) the Show and Tell Open Mic will be an evening dedicated to YOU and YOUR favorite item. Not a collector? That’s okay! We’re more interested in the Showing and Telling of stuff than the collections they come from. Bring your favorite thing and Show and Tell its stories at the CR on Thursday November 18th. Show us why its your favorite; Tell us where you obtained it and whether or not it comes from a larger collection of items just like it. Share the provenance of your item and how many stories are contained within it. Just share all this info in 3 minutes or less – there are other Show and Tellers who want to take the stage right behind you!

(City Reliquary, on Metropolian Ave., Williamsburg)

Show and Tell Open Mic Night at the City Reliquary
Thurd THursday, November 18th, 2010
Doors at 7, Open Mic begins at 8pm.
$5 suggested donation much appreciated. Delicious beers from Brooklyn Brewery available
370 Metropolitan Avenue at Havemeyer, Williamsburgh, Brooklyn.

Girl Talk's All Day!

From a tip from a friend on Facebook, I found out that Girl Talk's new album, All Day, was available as of yesterday to download FREE. Of course, the site got so much traffic that I wasn't actually able to download the album until today, but the wait was well worth it. (According to MTV.com, "Girl Talk Apologizes For Breaking The Internet With All Day".)

Now, to listen to the album and do some school work...

Prospect Heights Bars: Weather Up and Soda

So I rode my bike to Prospect Heights last night and checked out a few bars on Vanderbilt Ave. I definitely want to come back to this hood and explore it more!!

The first place I went to was Weather Up, a speak-easy type bar with fancy cocktails and a beautiful outdoor patio. Little did we know that the bar was closed for a private event; but with the tip from the doorman, all we had to do was go across the street to Brooklyn Bike and Board and get stamped. Apparently this was the after party of the opening reception of the Re: Cycles show for Martinez Gallery. Pretty awesome. So we crashed a little biking & boarding party, but at least I did actually bike there!

(Weather Up, above)

Then, after we finished our drinks, a Planter's Punch and a Gentleman's Companion, both as deliciously head-spinning as they sound, we strolled to Soda Bar. Soda Bar is one of those bars where you feel like you are in your living room, or perhaps an adult version of the dorm room... Literally, you feel right at home there, with its comfy couches and chill vibe, this is a perfect neighborhood bar to unwind at with drinks and good company.

Oh Brooklyn.

Dr Sketchy's "does The Factory" Art Event

If I didn't have plans tonight already, I'd be here! Maybe next week...

Sat, November 13, 2010 • 6:00pm - Dr. Sketchy’s does The Factory!

Dr. Sketchy’s is hosting another huge blow-out event at the Red Lotus Room.

This session will feature a tribute to Andy Warhol’s Factory, taking place in our beloved Brooklyn speakeasy, the Red Lotus Room!

Expect hordes of models in a Sketchy’s extravaganza, dressed up as your favourite 1960s icons. From Edie Sedgwick to Ultraviolet, this session will prove to be our most outrageous session yet.

with music by Kim Boekbinder
models including Dante Posh, Madame Rosebud, Miss Southern Comfort, and Miss Vivian
aerial by Lauren Goldberg
treats by Kate Black

Free, hardcover watercolour moleskines to the first twenty artists who show up.

Session runs from 6-10 pm. $15 in advance, $20 at the door in costume, $25 at the door in street clothes.
Bring your own art supplies.

The Red Lotus Room (unmarked door)
893 Bergen Street (google map here)
Brooklyn, NY

5171541

Unfettered Creativity: Kids!

I wish I could return to the youthful naïvete I had as a kid. How simple life was... and how inherently creative!

Some pics my 2nd-grade student drew:

The pics are of a dog and a cat. Obvi.

Halo Air Salt Rooms: Amen!

It's exactly what it sounds like. Halo Air Salt Rooms. Eh? What's that mean? Literally, the place is a spa where you go into your private salt-enmeshed chambers, with purified dry salt aerosol blowing out into the room. It is a futuristic, minimalist salt cave where you lie back and relax, with optional cable to watch while you let the salt work its cleansing magic.


I booked 50 minutes of the Halo Air Salt Rooms from Lifebooker, at only $26. Really, less than I would spend on a night out, and much more purifying and relaxing. Yelpers generally give the place positive reviews as well.

I tried the place out of, well, curiosity, but specifically because I suffer from dry skin and am willing to try most treatments to help my skin at least once. While I am not sure yet how effective this is as a dermatological treatment (and reviews seem to suggest that ongoing visits are required to truly notice effects), I would say that besides being relaxing, I did breathe a lot easier while in my salt cavern. For anyone who needs a bit of relaxation and has $30 and an hour to spare, and especially for anyone with respiratory issues, I recommend this place as an experience you need to try!

(Located at 133 W. 22nd St, between 6th and 7th Ave., Halo Air Salt Rooms is conveniently located in Chelsea.)

On Romance, Lust and Life: Miss Abigail's Guide, Cheek'd and Woody Allen

This weekend I saw both Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating & Marriage and Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. On opposite sides of the romantic spectrum, the off-Broadway play and Allen's movie both get you thinking about dating, intimacy and even the notion of fate.

Miss Abigail's Guide stars Eve Plumb, the actress who played Jan Brady in The Brady Bunch, as Miss Abigail, and Manuel Herrera as Abigail's sexy sidekick, Paco. Plumb and Herrera brilliantly and hilariously play off of each other to dispense advice on "dating, mating and marriage," reviewing tidbits from antiquated books and play-acting recommended techniques on flirting. Several audience members are called up on stage during the act, and my friend was one of the lucky ones to go on stage. The interaction with the audience was a nice little touch to the show, making it feel especially intimate in an already quaint setting. (The play takes place at Sofia's Downstairs Theater and the set design made it appear as though we were simply in an extended living room.)

(photo credit: Carol Rosegg)

Miss Abigail and Paco even provided cute little wallet-sized cards of advice, "Miss Abigail's 10 Commandments for Couples" and "Miss Abigail's 'Am I ready for School today'?". The former card features such advice as "Women, remember a man is only a grown up boy. He needs mothering and enjoys it if not piled on too thick" and "Men, don't take love for granted. Remember your wife wants to be treated as your sweetheart always. She wants you to woo her." And there's also: "Men, remember, marriage is a fifty-fifty proposition and you are not the majority stockholder" and "Women, don't try to boss him around. Let him think he wears the pants". Compromise, appreciation, respect and humor are all nicely intertwined as key features in these 10 commandments. The latter card, meanwhile, stressed the importance of dressing neatly and maintaining one's appearance. Personally, I take this as a given, especially in NYC, but then again, Miss Abigail did have a point when she had Paco display photos of people improperly dressed, with a "muffin-top" showing through and a "plumber's crack" on display.

All in all, while I wouldn't say that Miss Abigail's Guide was particularly revelatory, it was a nice hour and a half of old-fashioned dating advice that reminds us why old-timey values can be so important and helpful to not only remember but to practice.

Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," meanwhile, examines the lives of several family members and how their love lives seem to gradually go askew. As one of the leading characters states, yes, "You will meet a tall dark stranger" but it might be that stranger that we are all fated to meet one day: death, that is. The movie reminds us of how we all yearn to find that special someone and to have our lives neatly fall into place, while also reminding us of how unrealistic such romanticism often is. Starring such actors as Antonio Banderas and Naomi Watts, the movie is definitely well-cast and captivating, even if you may feel it's a bit dark and your strings are pulled a bit too concertedly.

After these two extremes, I would be inclined to see something like Cheek'd tonight, "a panel of single New Yorkers as they share their secret sexual behavior and and personal sex stories". As the website reads: "Cheek'd (noun): 1) a fun and non-intimidating way to meet that intriguing stranger who just sparked your interest 2) a deck of 50 cards, each bearing a flirtatious comment to pique the curiosity of your intended and a unique code linked to a private online profile that you create. With card in hand, the object of your affection can enter your code at cheek'd.com, learn more about you and send you a message. Privacy protected. Missed connection averted." It sounds like a fun, intimate evening.... but sadly I have class tonight.

And so I continue with my reality, somewhere in between Miss Abigail's fun little universe and Woody Allen's absurdist, cynical one.

Early November NYC Adventures

I would say my fun last week began on Wednesday, November 3, when I met up with my friend to eat dinner at DuMont in Williamsburg. With a heated backyard garden and a pan-seared scallops special, my dining experience at DuMont was truly exquisite.

(The heated backyard garden at DuMont, open and airy,
and even more romantic and alluring by night.)

Then on Thursday, November 4 was Yelle at Highline Ballroom. Although I understood only a handful of the words in Yelle's lyrics, the songs are truly infectious, with high-energy rhythms and the lilting sounds of Yelle's titillating French.



And on Friday, I had yet another lovely Williamsburg dining experience: at Dressler's, located in South Williamsburg incredibly close to me. Dressler's is easily the most upscale place I have yet dined at in Williamsburg, with its charmingly decorated interior accentuated with classy chandeliers. Although my date was unable to secure reservations (unless we wanted to eat close to 10 pm), we enjoyed dinner and drinks at the bar, accompanied by a seemingly unending stream of fresh rolls. And topped off with a fresh apple tart. I do have to warn, it's not the most vegetarian-friendly place for dinner. This just means I'll have to return soon to Dressler's to try their brunch...

(Dressler's, above)

Yum. It has been a delicious week.

And speaking of delicious, I also finally redeemed a LivingSocial special for a box of handcrafted chocolates at Bespoke Chocolates, a simple, elegant chocolaterie in the East Village. Bespoke's profile on their website reads:

"Bespoke Chocolates is an award-winning artisanal chocolaterie established in New York City in 2008. Bespoke Chocolates specializes in the production of luxury handcrafted chocolates created with the freshest ingredients. Our chocolates are of the finest quality on the market, marrying classic European techniques with modern flavor profiles. Our Bespoke Chocolate shop, located in New York City’s East Village, features an open kitchen, allowing our guests to watch and interact with our chocolatier. It also serves as a unique destination for experiencing chocolate through regular in-store classes, tastings open to the public, and private sessions with our chocolatier for groups or corporations."

With chocolate morsels such as pretzel-covered sea-salted caramels, Turkish coffee bonbons and orange-infused dark chocolate, Bespoke Chocolate's diverse array more than compensates for is small size. I may just have to find out when the next chocolate tasting is.

(Above, the Turkish coffee bonbon.
As described on BeSpoke Chocolate's website:
"Soft Caribbean dark chocolate ganache, delicately infused with cardamom and coffee.
Not exactly a trip to Istanbul, but close enough for a Tuesday afternoon.")

And last night I discovered an East Village staple, Heather's, a very inconspicuous "dive" bar on East 13th St. (Personally, I see this place as more lounge than dive bar; it is simple and clean without being pretentious.) It was so refreshingly free of 22-year-olds and loud frat-party types that I felt like I was back in Williamsburg, that is, before Williamsburg also became flooded with people from outside hoods and boroughs. Yelpers also rave about their happy hour and DJ's.

So many places to try and so many places to try again.

YELLE - Music Video, La Musique

Pretty sweet music video! Can't wait for the show tonight at Highline.

Motor City Bar

Remind you of something a la Sesame Street?

NYC Quirky Party Lists

As I am taking it easy post-Halloween for a bit, I have time on my hands to write. So of course I end up writing about PARTY LISTS. Take a look.

Shaw Promotion, GBH, Ohmyrockness, Myopenbar, Nonsense NYC, 3rd Ward, Highline Ballroom and others are all mentioned.

Oh the constant temptation... ! But Yelle, I will see you soon!

The contagious energy of NYC...

Post-Halloween NYC

I have to say, post-Halloween is a little sad to me.

Yes, I went out and voted today, and advertising and product placement make me all-too-aware that Thanksgiving and even Christmas (and my birthday, and the new year... ) are all around the corner. With daylight savings time ending next week, we will all get that little jolt that yes, winter is right around the corner, and the days are only getting shorter.

I don't mean to sound so dismal. Maybe my zombie-inspired costume somehow seeped into my thinking...

(me, above, as a zombie dancer, with my friend Dracula)

At least I have a show to look forward to: Yelle at Highline Ballroom this Thursday, with French Horn Rebellion.

(Yelle, above)

As was so succinctly said on a t-shirt I purchased at the last Yelle show I saw: Dance or die. (Apparently Dance or Die is a popular European techno group. And in some American versions, they are re-named Do or Die.)

So, Do or Die... life goes on!

Union Square L Train Platform Dance Party!

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeen.

Waiting for the L train last night at Union Square, I stood back to watch and capture the evolution of a mini-dance party, with blaring horns, mimes and other assorted Friday night revelers in various degrees of costume. This was all well before midnight, mind you. More pictures and video below.

Enjoy!

(The band, Moon Hooch, has a single, Take the L Train, that you can download for free)

Bike Basket Find: NYC 70's Flash Map

The other day I rode my bike into Manhattan to go to Yoga to the People. Located on St. Mark's Place in the East Village, it's a relatively quick bike ride for me from Williamsburg; and Yoga to the People is a donation-based studio that accepts any amount you wish to pay for the class, if any. (Yes, I paid; it is well worth it!) The typical class runs an hour long and you feel the workout. Nothing like a bike ride to wind down after some serious yoga stretches...

So I am generally unconcerned about my bike; as long as it's locked up, it's safe enough, though the deteriorating state of my bike seat seems to encourage people to mess with it more these days. And this time, returning to my bike after yoga, which was locked up on 3rd Ave by the Stomp theater, I found that my basket was overflowing with books. Okay, garbage in my bike basket I've seen, but books? What was going on?

A closer look revealed that they were all maps, from all over the world. My automatic response was to be annoyed that someone saw my bike basket as a place to discard their unwanted maps, but a closer look revealed that the maps were actually intriguing. I decided to keep only one: a New York in Flash Maps book from the 70's. Hopefully someone else picked up the other discarded treasures... Here are some pictures of the fantastically dated book. Note that it was only 98¢!




(Above: How many of these shops still exist? Note some of the classics, Like Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Ave and Tiffany's)

Interesting, there was the West Side, and Lower West Side, all above Chelsea. And so continues the constant evolution of NYC.