I’d never been to New York City and then suddenly I saw it all at once. I saw it from the plane coming in. The landing pattern turned over the city, and the view from my window skimmed the buildings for a moment. Only the moment grew longer and longer, and the view turned into something I almost recognized (I’d been studying the map); and then I saw the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings from above. We were flying straight up Manhattan and over Central Park. I didn’t even think to take a picture because it didn’t feel like I was there yet.
I liked Brooklyn. No, I loved Brooklyn. I realize I was in almost all the boroughs on this trip–I went through Queens to get to and from the airport; I went through The Bronx on the drive from Connecticut. People keep telling me I don’t ever need to go to Staten Island.
But as for Brooklyn: I saw the cutesy parts and some of the crazy parts, and also the Welcome Back, Kotter high school and the neighborhood where the opening scenes for Saturday Night Fever were shot. And Coney Island, though it was closed at the time. The time was 4 am. Brooklyn!
Manhattan was good, too. Manhattan itself smacked the hell out of the bottoms of my feet. But I expected that to happen.
