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New York has always been a city of superlatives: biggest,
brashest, best - at least that's the opinion of its
proud inhabitants - and with over 30 million visitors
a year it seems that there are  plenty of others who
agree! Ian Wright and Megan
McCormick return to New York to seek out a
city that is now known as much for its resilience in
the face of tragedy as its economic power, cultural
dominance and ethnic diversity.
Their tour of the metropolis's five boroughs (Staten
Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan) begins
with Manhattan Island, the 20 square
mile, two million strong powerhouse of the city. Starting
downtown, Ian takes the Staten Island ferry
to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol
of freedom that became a beacon of hope for European
immigrants arriving in America in the early twentieth
century. Megan seeks out the motor of American economic
development, Wall Street's New York Stock Exchange.
It's an energising experience - this place trades a
billion shares per day and its constant oscillations
make it seem alive. Around the corner at its younger
brother, the American Stock Exchange,
she talks to a man who's really been around the block
a few times. Michael Peskuma, who at 94 is the world's
oldest trader, recalls the day of the 1929 market crash.
Manhattan is also home to two of the city's most colourful
communities. Ian tries some top-notch pickles at Guss's
in Lower East Side, home to the Eastern
European Jewish community. Meanwhile Megan visits the
largest Chinatown in the Western Hemisphere
and meets Jamie Gong, owner of its oldest store, which
dates back to 1891.
There's no doubt that trying to get around New York
is overwhelming - even if you come from a big city yourself.
Megan tries to take a bus but finds that walking is
a much better option. Ian manages to get through the
subway but takes a taxi for his next journey. Even that's
not plain sailing however - as he soon finds out from
a gruff driver who gives him a crash course in taxi
etiquette.
If you're looking for a bit of pop culture kudos from
your accommodation, look no further than the Chelsea  Hotel where the literati and glitterati have
rubbed shoulders for decades. Megan meets the owner
and some current residents and discovers that its influence
runs so deep that even the Clintons' daughter takes
her name from the place!
In a land of burgeoning fat, New Yorkers remain the
leaders of leanness. Ian finds himself in a land of
giants at a local basketball game on Sixth Avenue while Megan swings into action at the Trapeze school
in the Hudson River Park.
After all that activity, our team sample a dash of
the Big Apple's ubercool, ultra varied nightlife. Megan
drops in at a gallery opening, a popular past time for
trendy New Yorkers and then heads off to the Lower East
Side's dive bars for cheap drinks and a brush with some
seamy characters at Rudy's.
With the dawn of another day Ian and Megan go off in
search of the city's African American neighbourhoods.
The Bronx was integral to the Black
struggle for equality; Malcolm X spent his youth here
and his ministry still practises on Lennox Avenue. It's also synonymous with hip hop culture so Ian takes
a dazzling detour to Home Boy 2000 where he tries on the chunky gold jewellery beloved
of rappers and wannabes everywhere. Meanwhile Megan
finds that Harlem is shedding its bad
reputation as she's guided round the area. She makes
a quick stop at the AfroCentric Shopping Mall where you can buy anything from Caribbean kitsch to
Islamic tomes.
Perhaps the best thing about New York is that the unexpected
is always just around the corner. North of the Bronx,
Megan is catapulted into a world far removed from the
vigour of city life with a fishing trip from City
Island. Then she dabbles in a spot of sea kayaking
around the west side of Manhattan following in the wake
of the Native Americans who used to call the harbour
"great waters constantly in motion".
The Brooklyn Bridge straddles this
magnificent stretch of water and connects Manhattan
with Brooklyn, a borough of colourful ethnic groups.
Ian visits Williamsberg, home to roughly
the same amount of Puerto Ricans as live on their native
Caribbean island. Megan mingles with the Cuban community
on their national day and parties at the colourful parade.
As befits a city of such multi-culturalism, the United
Nations, set up in 1945 to avert a repetition of the
tragedies of World War II, has its headquarters here
in Midtown. Megan takes a quick look
around.
The Big Apple's enduring image is its high-rise architecture.
Ian and Megan take a tour of its most attractive buildings.
They take in the triangular Flat Iron Building,
the Woolworth Building (a cathedral-like
gothic skyscraper), 40 Wall Street which became New York's tallest building for the blink
of an eye and was superseded by the Chrysler
Building just a week later. Then it's off to
the Empire State Building, standing
at 1250 feet high. It remained the tallest building
here until the completion of the World Trade
Center in 1972.
Following the destruction of the Twin Towers and the tragic loss of life on 11 September 2001, Ground
Zero - where the buildings stood - has become
something of a tourist attraction for people trying
to make sense of that fateful day. Megan visits the Fire Museum on Spring Avenue with its
moving monument to the 328 men who lost their lives
during the disaster. Many people ran for cover in nearby Trinity Church; here she speaks to
a survivor who relates the horror of the moment his
office was hit by one of the airliners. Despite this
terrible trauma, New Yorkers have refused to be phased. Daniel Libeskind, the architect charged
with redesigning the site, says his plans are all about
bringing "optimism" to this scene of great
sadness.
Central Park is the city's oasis -
although calm it isn't! Ian joins a professional roller
blader for a shuffle around while Megan joins up with
"wildman" Steve Brill who
demonstrates how to find sustenance from the plants
growing here, in case she finds herself short of cash!
No trip to New York would be complete without a serious
shopping spree. By all means window shop on Fifth
Avenue (the haunt of the rich Upper Eastsiders)
but it's unlikely that you'll be able to afford more
than a Chanel pencil! Thrift shops are great places
for picking up bargains and Out of the Closest is an absolute gem. Megan meets the owner of this shop
that's supported by donations of cast-off antiques and
clothes from rich locals looking for tax write-offs.
This means it's a treasure trove of wonderful finds
- and a donation is made to charity with each purchase
- so everyone wins!
With nine world-class museums, you could be in danger
of spending your whole trip in Museum Mile. Megan visits
the Metropolitan Museum of Art and
discovers breathtaking pieces from every era from ancient
Mesopotamia to the European Renaissance.
Feeling more than a little worn out by all the attractions
New York has to offer, the team turn their sights to
daytrips out of the manic Metropolis. Ian revels in
the tackiness of Coney Island south
of Brooklyn and dances a jig in the neighbouring Russian
Jewish enclave of Brighton Beach, also
known as Little Odessa. Megan finds her journey end
on the idyll of Fire Island, ringed
by golden beaches, where she visits the gay retreat
of Cherry Grove. |
