Showing posts with label Ferries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ferries. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

NYC Days 39 & 40: In Which Hollywood Comes to Town and I Go To New Jersey


My local neighborhood supermarket.
Click images to view full sized.
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Well, wouldn't you know it, a light rain is falling over the city as I write, and the temperature has once again dropped down into the very cool 70s. Not for the first time have I noticed that the temperature is always cooler in Washington Heights compared to that at Midtown, especially at night. Last night for example, when I left the AMC25 cinema, Midtown was its usual hot, steaming self, as were the subways of course. But when I left the 181st street station the temperature was at least 10-15 degrees cooler. I'm tempted to buy a thermometer just so I can check the temp above and below ground in various locations. A little bit of empirical data can go a long way.

By the time the rain had eased off and then stopped completely, it was well into the afternoon, and there didn't seem much point heading downtown, so another day inside seemed to be the order of the day. In the end, I did pop out to do some more grocery shopping, which accounts for my total expense for the day.

When I went out, I immediately saw numerous brightly colored notices taped to trees and other convenient places along West 187th Street, my neighborhood shopping strip. Hollywood is coming to Washington Heights, and tomorrow is the filming day.

Hollywood comes to Washington Heights.
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The Internet Movie Database has a listing for a thriller called Asher with a synopsis that reads: "When an ambitious college student infiltrates a militant religious cult for his thesis paper, he befriends a young devout member - who he comes to suspect is plotting a terrorist operation."

IMDb gives a release date of 2017, and only provides the names of four male actors, one of whom is Danny Glover, an actor that seems to have been missing from the silver screen since his peak years in the Lethal Weapon series of movies. No other information is provided but I'm wondering if this may be a series being made for Amazon. Time will tell.
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Tuesday, July 25, 2017: Hollywood Comes to Washington Heights


The lifting apparatus in the image above, is providing lighting for an indoor shot. Why this particular apartment in Washington Heights? How do decisions like this get made? Below are just some of the production trucks and units lining both sides of W 187th Street where filming was taking place. I would have liked to have hung around to catch more of the action, but I had places to go and things to do.

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I caught up with my cousin Steve for lunch, after which I headed down to the Apple Store at the Oculus to take another look at the new 10.5" iPad Pro.

I figured that buying the device using credit (which I would need to do), might seem okay, but if I can't pay the card off pretty much immediately -- and I can't -- then the interest for say, two months, along with the currency conversion fees I would be charged will pretty much eliminate any 'savings' I might have made. On the other hand, I will have had a new iPad to work with, and surely that is worth the extra expense. Isn't it? If the Aussie dollar continues to go higher, I will be very tempted to buy. I will keep an eye on the exchange rate over the next week before taking the final plunge.

A 256Gb model will cost me the equivalent of AUD$1,025.00 here, whereas in Adelaide it would cost me $1,129.00. The young man I was speaking to seemed uninterested in encouraging my purchase, so I said I'd go have a coffee and think about it, and think about it I did. And decided not to buy at this point. I went to Brookfield Place for coffee, and then decided it was time to pay a visit to New Jersey.



Above and below: The views of the Manhattan skyline are quite spectacular from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Also below, pier supports for one of several long gone shipping jetties still visible on this side of the river. 

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I went looking for the longest ferry trip I could find but due to my ignorance, didn't quite make the right choice from the numerous ferry routes available. So instead of going to Edgewater, NJ, which is opposite 138th Street on the Manhattan side of the Hudson. I ended up going to the Port Imperial ferry stop (roughly opposite West 54th St.). Having disembarked there I decided to explore further. Sadly, the main road was bereft of interest, so I walked along the river front for just over a mile to the Guttenberg/North Bergen Waterfront Park at North Bergen.



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The walk along the river passes block after block of very fine looking apartment complexes, and I have to say I was very impressed with what I saw. The apartments facing the Hudson River (seen above), have great views of the Manhattan skyline, and the new developments are surrounded by lush flowerbeds, beautiful trees and shrubs, large areas of lawn, water features, and at least one development had its own swimming pool. I had to admit the location was perfect, except for one major problem - the awful stench of sewage that wafted over the neighborhood.

The foul odor could be noticed all along the section of walk I undertook, and I thought if this smell is here all year round, that would be a real bummer (no pun intended). There had to be an answer to the stink somewhere, and of course. Dr. Google provided it. A search for 'sewage works near Port Imperial' turned up not one but two sewage plants both within about half a mile of each other, and Google Maps provided the evidence.

In the image below at bottom left on Port Imperial Blvd (look for three circles that look like pearls), is one facility which seems to be nameless. At top right of the image you will find another three smaller pearl colored circles where the Woodcliff Treatment Plant is located at 7117, River Road, North Bergen, New Jersey. No wonder the air reeks with foul odors. And it was just my luck to have chosen the smelliest part of this lovely section of the New Jersey shoreline to take my walk! Some luck. I can only hope that these two facilities, and others like them are not pumping effluent (even treated effluent) into the Hudson River.

Above, a Google Maps screen shot of the offending facilities polluting the air along this section of the Hudson River. As for looking for places to eat - no thanks! 
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After a short rest at North Bergen, I walked back to the Port Imperial stop and caught what I thought would be the ferry back to the World Trade Center stop near Brookfield Place. Instead the ferry bypassed that stop and continued around to the ferry terminal at the South Street Seaport, which was a nice bonus.

This area seems to have become a very popular over the past couple of years, with new fashion outlets, restaurants, and cafes springing up close to the waterfront. There is much new development still taking place in the proximity of the old Fulton Fish Market and I expect within another year or two this area will have been transformed into a very hip part of Lower Manhattan.

I found somewhere to eat in the area, then headed back to the apartment. And that dear reader is how I spent my 40th day in New York City.


The South Street Seaport is going off! 

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Monday 24, July | Expenses $79.46 ($100.25)
Tuesday 25, July | Expenses $61.35 ($77.55)
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Any questions, comments or suggestions? How about complaints or compliments? Let me know via the comments box below.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

NYC Round-Up #6: Northside Fest, NYC Stories, New Ferries, 'Manahatta'

 
 Northside Festival 2017
One week every June, over 100,000 creative and cultural trendsetters converge in Brooklyn to uncover the future of music, innovation, and content with over 300 bands, 150 speakers, and 100 content creators.

The Northside Festival encompasses a constellation of venues – small clubs, outdoor spaces, boutique hotels, and more. A single day might include discovering your favorite band, the next big startup, or the best visual content you’ve experienced all year.

On June 10-11, Williamsburg’s main drag Bedford Avenue will transform into a public park (from Metropolitan Avenue to N 12th Street). Temporary wall units, interactive installations, and eye-popping sculptures will be staggered throughout the blocks.

Bedford Avenue is always rocking in the summertime, but never before like this! Jameson Music is proud to be showcasing promising artists on the Sine Metu Stage, bringing new sounds from across the U.S. to Northside Festival. Swing by between 2-6PM on Saturday and Sunday for performances by Jameson Music artists including Eve & The Exiles, Julia Haltigan, J-Council, HONEYHONEY, Cha Wa and Kristin Diable, plus other Northside favorites.

In addition to the installations there will be a variety of related activities to engage in and pop up parks! Artists currently participating include Nyssa Frank, Occupy Art, Chinon Maria & Maven Murals, Stickymonger & Andrea Tang, El Museo de Los Sures, Hiromi Niizeki, Peter Kato, Taezoo Park, J.H.S. 291 Roland Hayes & TalkingWalls Collaborative, Brooklyn Draw Jam, and Shoe String Press.

More information
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New York Stories
New York City is teeming with tales! In every window, around every corner, in every dark alley or sun-filled park or dusty corner store, something is happening. I loved the way the latest New York Times Magazine has taken ten news articles from the paper’s extensive archives into turned them into illustrated stories, or comics.

The magazine partnered with The Times's Metro desk to tell these stories in an innovative way: Through a series of comics drawn by some of the best illustrators in the business. Dive into this year's New York issue here…
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New Ferries Take to New York Harbor
New York City’s new NYCFerry service which has now begun transporting passengers around the city’s great harbor. The service, with six lines, will eventually link Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx along the East River.

Ferries on two of those lines — the Rockaway, Queens, route and the existing East River route — are up and running, with the South Brooklyn and Astoria routes expected to follow in August, and the Lower East Side and the Bronx routes in the summer of 2018.
A one-way trip will cost $2.75, the same as a subway ride. For $1 more, you can bring your bicycle onboard. (You can also purchase a 30-day pass.)

All routes have battery-charging stations and concession stands, and Wi-Fi is on its way, too.

The Rockaway route:
• This ferry will make three stops: Rockaway, Sunset Park and Wall Street/Pier 11.
• On weekday mornings, the earliest boat will depart Rockaway at 5:30 a.m. and Sunset Park at 6:15 to arrive at the Wall Street pier by 6:28.
• Commuting the other way? The earliest boat will depart Wall Street at 6:30 a.m. and Sunset Park at 6:45 to arrive in Rockaway by 7:27.

The East River route:
The ferry will still make stops at East 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan; Hunters Point South, Greenpoint, North and South Williamsburg and Dumbo in Brooklyn; Governors Island; and Wall Street/Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan. So what's new? There will be an additional vessel, which means more frequent service.

Check out all the routes and schedules here…
Download the NYC Ferry app to check schedules, purchase tickets, and learn more.
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Video available in online article here...
The Sounds of ‘Mannahatta’

At Left: Collect Pond Park in 1609. Collect Pond Park at Lafayette and Franklin Streets was once a five-acre basin in the 1600s, as shown in “Calling Thunder: The Unsung History of Manhattan.” By DAVID AL-IBRAHIM and BILL MCQUAY. Publish Date: April 25, 2017. 

Photo by LEFT: Markley Boyer/The Mannahatta Project/Wildlife Conservation Society; RIGHT: Stephen Amiaga/Wildlife Conservation Society.

It seems that visitors to New York have been complaining about the level of noise for a long time. Writing for the New York Times, JIM DWYER  notes that in 1748, a Swedish-Finnish naturalist, Peter Kalm, complained about the nightly chorus of the Manhattan’s frogs, writing, “They frequently make such a noise that it is difficult for a person to make himself heard.” 

So vibrant was natural life in New York before European settlement, the city could have become “the crowning glory of American national parks,” Eric W. Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society wrote in “Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City.”

Even today, Dr. Sanderson said in an interview, our modern eyes can glimpse remnants of the landscape of 1609, when Henry Hudson sailed into the harbor, at places like Jamaica Bay, Inwood Hill Park and Pelham Bay Park.

“What you can’t ever find is the sound of what it was like,” Dr. Sanderson said.
Until, perhaps, now.



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Summer In The City
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The official New York City visitors site, NYCgo should be at the top of everyone’s list of websites when researching things to do—not just over the summer, but all year round. Here is a sampling of some of the summer concerts, movies and theatre events on offer, the vast majority of which are completely free:

Free Summer Movies…
The free summer film series have already begun, but be quick, you might miss out on La La Land, Life of Pi, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Lego Batman Movie, The Big Lebowski, Blazing Saddles, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Muppet Movie, Logan, The Secret Life of Pets, Finding Dory, Selma, and Hidden Figures, just to name a baker’s dozen from the extensive smorgasbord on offer.


Free Summer Concerts…
You can hear live music of all kinds across the City without spending a dime. From punk on Staten Island, to indie rock on the Manhattan waterfront; from classy nights outdoors with the Metropolitan Opera, to a diverse lineup of jazz and world music at SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn!, there is surely something for everyone.

Free Concert Seasons

Brookfield Place Events

Not Only, But Also…

Monday, April 17, 2017

New York City Round-Up #4


SummerStage 2017
SummerStage is New York City's largest free performing arts festival, bringing more than 100 free performances to Central Park and neighborhood parks throughout the city. Since its inception, more than six million people from New York City and around the world have enjoyed SummerStage, turning parks into vibrant destinations for the arts.

Programs like SummerStage, and other similar events such as the Lincoln Center Out Of Doors series, are why I love to visit New York over the hot summer months. There is a huge smorgasbord of free or low-cost events to select from, and to enjoy and participate in.

As in previous years, the 2017 SummerStage season features more than 100 free performances across 16 neighborhood parks. The first major free event of the summer takes place in Central Park on Saturday, June 3, with a performance from gospel legend Mavis Staples. I was delighted to see Mavis and her brilliant musicians perform as the support act for Bob Dylan last year in New York, and I would love to be at the June 3 show. Unfortunately, I don’t arrive in New York until later in the month.

Coming up later through June and the summer are alternative hip-hop trio Digable Planets, the 25th anniversary of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in August, featuring an expanded four days of performances including the Joshua Redman Quartet, the Anat Cohen Tentet, and many more. 

Visit the SummerStage website to get full program details & watch the official SummerStage season announce trailer below. While you are there, don't forget to become a SummerStage Member!


More Information
SummerStage is produced by City Parks Foundation

Connect with SummerStage
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Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Open Studios
{Lower Manhattan Cultural Council}Open Studios inspire local residents and workers in the neighborhood by connecting them to artists, new ideas and perspectives, and other art-lovers to demonstrate the role that artists play in creating vibrant, sustainable communities.

This initiative is a year-round series of events that brings audiences closer to the creative process and can take several forms, ranging from visits to visual artists’ studios to open rehearsals with performing artists and talks that engage artists and other creative practitioners in conversation about their work. LMCC encourages audiences of all ages and backgrounds to engage with creative work and the individuals who make it, on a personal level, leading to a deeper appreciation for the process of creativity and an understanding of the role artists play in their communities.

More Information

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NYC Ferry a Month Ahead of Schedule
New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio announced recently that the first route in New York's eagerly-awaited and much expanded ferry system will be launching on May 1, one month ahead of its initial scheduled date. The announcement also noted that the system will be donning a new name. Rather than the Citywide Ferry Service, the network will be named "NYC Ferry," which rolls off the tongue a bit easier. The city even put together a cute new video that features the ferry's new logo and projected opening dates for each of the system's routes (give it a watch below).

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What’s On, Watson?
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Who Pays The Ferryman?

Image: Newly built and extended Evthilos harbor

There is something very reassuring about watching the arrival of the daily ferry from Piraeus. Depending on the direction of the wind, you can often hear – and even feel – the steady pulse of its motors long before it appears around the headland that obscures the ferry’s approach into Evthilos harbour (one of two ferry stops on the Aegean island of Ikaria).


This feeling of reassurance, and the sense of security the ferry engenders has to do with the dependence islanders have on this vital link to mainland Greece. Not just because it is the most efficient and cost effective way of transporting large numbers of people between Athens and Ikaria (and the other islands along its route), but also because of the other benefits the ferry brings.


Greek island ferries don’t just transport people, they carry all the daily essentials that modern societies take for granted. From fresh fruit and vegetables, to all manner of groceries; from building materials and feed for livestock to white goods and computer systems. All these and much more depend on a vast ferry system to reach their destinations on far flung islands across the Aegean, the Cyclades, Dodecanese, Saronic and Ionian islands, and other regions.


Some three dozen companies, large and small, provided thousands of ferry sailings each month. Not only are all the major Greek islands and dozens of smaller islands serviced by these companies, but some ferries will even get you as far as Venice, Italy; Port Said, Egypt; Haifa, Israel; Limassol, Cyprus; and Bodrum, Marmaris and other ports along the Turkish coast.


Image: Loading ramp of the Blue Star Line’s Ithaki about to berth in Mykonos

The main ferry servicing Ikaria is the Nissos Mykonos, a 28 knot vessel capable of carrying 1,900 passengers and up to 418 vehicles. The seven hour journey to Evthilos also includes stops at the islands of Syros and Mykonos. From Evthilos the ferry continues around to Agios Kyrikos, the capital of Ikaria, and from there on to the island of Samos before making a night trip back to Piraeus. Travellers who like a bit of luxury on their overnight journeys can relax and sleep in one of 31 cabins provided for the purpose.

Built in Greece in 2005, the Nissos Mykonos is a far cry from the old ferries that Greece was known for 20 or 30 years ago. Owned and operated by Hellenic Seaways, this award winning vessel, like many other modern ferries provides passengers with a level of comfort, speed and regular itineraries that comes as a something of a shock to those of us who sailed on the old rust buckets that masqueraded as Greek ferries in the past. The Nissos Mykonos, even provides free WiFi for the plugged in traveler to make use of on long voyages.
Gone too, are the days when passengers and baggage had to be off-loaded from the decks of ferries into pitching rowing boats, for the final hundred yard ‘splash and dash’ to the safety of the harbor-side. Now ferries moor inside fine harbors, and reverse up against wharves which allow passengers and vehicles to pour off (and on) them quickly, efficiently, and safely.

Image: The EKO 1 fuel transporter in Evthilos harbor. Note the No Smoking sign on superstructure

Some types of vehicles seem to be absent from the decks of the Nissos Mykonos, and presumably similar vessels. These are fuel laden trucks and trailers that clearly pose a major hazard on the pitching decks of an island bound ferry. To prevent this type of accident, small, specially designed ships visit the islands on a regular basis to off-load fuel into trucks which carry their precious (and dangerous) loads to service stations across each island.


While Ikaria is reachable via a regular ferry service, the island is also large enough – and busy enough – to have its own airport. Those visitors not wishing to spend seven or eight hours on a ferry, can fly between Athens and the island in a couple of hours or so. But for me, one of the joys of travel, is the pleasure I get from journeying on waterborne craft of any size (see previous entries: Up A Lazy River…, and Brooklyn Hidden Harbor Tour…).


One of the best online sites to begin your research on Greek ferries is Matt Barrett’s Athens Guide, where you will find a wealth of information about ferry services, and a mass of information about Athens and other parts of Greece.
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