newelty

I had a fabulous long-weekend trip to New York. Recently, I overheard some Seattleites discussing how they hated New York–the crowds, the noise, the general dirtiness you feel in your hair and on your shoes at the end of the day.

So here’s my passionate defense of the city as an awesome place for travelers to enjoy, and why I love it.

1. Because New Yorkers appreciate novelty.

I wanted to see the Whitney Biennial on this trip. Like most people who walk through the Biennial, I don’t love everything in it. But I can feel my novelty-meter being filled to the brim.

Of everything in the show, my favorites were:

• James Casebere, for his insane, hyperrealistic-but-staged photos of tract housing.
• The art collective The Bruce High Quality Foundation, for their installation that has a video about America, where it talks about the country as if it’s an actual person. (You can check out a shaky-cam home video of it here.)
• Babette Mangolte, for How to Look (surreptitiously photographed above), with people’s heads and singular skyscrapers repeated to almost become abstract forms.

2. Because New Yorkers don’t mess around.

I had literally only been in New York for a few minutes (and in Jersey, to be technical), when I heard the following exchange in front of me. It was so succinct, it was like they were talking in tweets.

Middle-aged man with a heavy New York accent: “So you saw ‘Crazy Heart’? How did you find it?”

Middle-aged woman with a heavy New York accent: “Drunk.”

If only most travel writers were so concise (myself included).

3. Because not only do you not need a rental car to get around, it’s a phenomenally bad idea.

It’s been over a year since I was last in New York, and I couldn’t believe how many bicyclists were on the streets. I love Amsterdam and its many bike-bedecked streets, and New Amsterdam is following in its footsteps. For pete’s sake–even the city’s gossip columnists are on bikes. (Well, one is anyway.)

I was able to get in and around New York using Newark’s AirTrain–a service I love for its European-style efficiency and design.

4. Because a restless energy pushes the city to become better.

I realize this wasn’t always the case, back in the 1970s, when bankruptcy loomed.

But this visit, I got to see the new, pedestrian-friendly Times Square for myself. I love that whole chunks of the city are reinvented between visits. Those tables below sit where taxis once pushed down the street.

5. Because New York inspires me to up my style game.

It’s easy to get complacent. But then I see this woman working the subway like it’s a runway.

I felt a little creepy taking a stalker-cam iPhone shot, but seriously–I wanted to own everything she had on, especially those shoes.

6. Because the second I leave, I immediately have something to add to my visit list for next time.

I haven’t made it to the High Line yet, and if Marc’s upcoming bookstore (yes, we’re on a first-name basis) had been open when I was there, it would have been a top priority. He has great books in his shop on Melrose in L.A., and I’d love to see his curated collection.

7. Central Park.

8. Because New Yorkers are in love with their city.

I kept thinking of these two songs while I was there, I think because I was staying at the Ace Hotel and using the Empire State Building as my landmark as I walked around. I love how the building is the guest star in both of these videos, separated by over a decade.