Touching the River

My beautiful boat at entirely accessible and regular rowing destination Maxwell House Beach in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The view from Roosevelt Island is gorgeous—midtown Manhattan just across the way, the 59th Street Bridge, the tram and the rushing East River. This is New York City at its finest. Sitting on the steps before this panaroma is awe-striking, the juxtaposition of the urban with the natural. But there is more to this scene than just pretty pictures. Dividing the city and the river are railings, lots and lots of railings. There is a sense of detachment. You can look, but you can't touch and all I want to do is feel the water beneath my feet.

There are no railings up in Selkirk, Poughkeepsie and Ossining. I could walk over to the Hudson, sit on some rocks and feel the waves lap on my legs. The coolness of the water touching my skin was soothing.

Where are these places in New York City? Thinking about it, there are barely any. Rob has a website (not sure if he updates it now) all about New York City beaches. There are a few, such as Valentino Pier in Red Hook and Hallets Cove in Long Island City, but it feels like there should be more.

There are pushes for more access, though.

According to New York Construction (which I stumbled upon by way of goingcoastal), the city, working with other agencies, is building an extension of Harlem River Park, from 139th to 142 Street. Wonderfully enough, this is one of the few, if only, parks in New York City that allow for actual water contact:

"...offer[s] visitors...water access-points that will allow people to dip their feet in the water and load canoes and kayaks."

Rowing in the Harlem River is completely different from rowing in the Hudson and East Rivers. Up there, you're less susceptible to currents and, at least for me, it's an area I don't know too well, so the views are gorgeous.

And then you have plans like for the East River Esplanade where there is no interaction with the water; the same goes for most of the proposed plans for my beloved Pier 40.

We don't need more retail space—New York is already filled with that. We don't need another Seaport. Forget all the barriers. What we need is a return to simplier, natural things, like accessible shores.

Queens Night Sky

Despite the chilly weather, there is something about autumn/winter skies that differs from summer skies. Without a cloud in sight, the past two nights presented dark, clear skies and my favorite: the plentiful array of stars that New York City can offer (though it's meager compared to the stars in Ossining and Jim Thorpe). These I couldn't even count with my two hands. Searching above, I found Orion's Belt and I remembered looking for it every time I took the 4 train home from Bronx Science after yearbook at night. Soon enough, the Little Dipper will greet me before I enter my apartment building.

[In other news, after a lingerie party (ooh la la) tomorrow night, I'm going on a camping trip with some friends and while I'm excited about it, I'm a bit worried because I'm in charge—I've figured out where we're going (Denning's Point near Cold Spring, New York), made out the lists of supplies, I'm borrowing a stove and fuel from Rob and buying water and food and all that good stuff. It's been a while since I've planned something (my newspaper craziness doesn't count) and it does feel good. We'll see how it goes...]

Ossining Wanderin'

Ossining (a.k.a. Ossining-on-the-Hudson).

Train up the Hudson where we rowed down to the city, the cliffs of the Palisades, New Jersey/New York, past Sing Sing Prison, the sort-of-Alcatraz of these parts with its layers of walls adorned with wires and bars, right by Louis Engel playground right by that Hudson where we discovered the SuperNova and gaggles of geese, this walkable, hilly suburban village-on-the-Hudson (named for appeal) where cars aren't out of place, coconut/lemon/raspberry talian ices at Vinnie's and talking about Mel Gibson taking over the world, Sabbath dinner outside, watching Scrabble games and reading the Times, looking for "On Language" and "The Ethicist," basement escapades, too-much-ice cream and lime sherbet, waterfront protection and Alaskan adventures with a second viewing of The Simpsons, chocolate milkshakes, dried mangoes, split personalities with Fight Club, fruit smoothies, a reintroduction to China via Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, squeezing in Arrested Development, the most stars I've seen all year long, my introduction to the band of the Milky Way, night walk to triangle park, strolling around Maryknoll where we walked with deer and a bunny and walked through his elementary school days, early morning train rides home until next, next time...