Business as Usual

New York has had Sandy. A horrific storm causing US$50B of damage. In some places it will take years to fix. In other areas, just months. Restaurants and retailers in some locations will be out of business for some months, perhaps not ever opening again.

Somehow the city just keeps going. Winter is coming, in fact it has arrived. Sandy was followed by a blizzard and the commencement of winter. The morning starts at 3 degrees and, on a good day, gets to 8/9 degrees.

I am sure that other cities are the same as New York. Perhaps we've had an opportunity to slow down and observe. It just keeps going. Testament to that is this weekend.

Friday morning a couple of meetings. The afternoon allowed some time for exercise before the evening in Greenwich Village. We found a restaurant in MacDougal street, Rouge et Blanc. What a find. It was fantastic. We had walked passed it many times but never ventured over the door step. A French Asian influence with amazing ambiance and wonderful tapas. Fried brussels sprouts, crispy pork belly, salmon, rabbit stew and wild mushrooms. Of course the odd glass of red wine to help.

This was followed by a play, Falling, in the Minetta Theatre which is off Broadway and through Club Free Time the princely sum of $5 a seat. This was a true story about the impact of Autisim on a family. It was very confronting but allowed us to discuss the issues as we called into the local wine bar for a glass of wine and cheese before finally heading home.

Saturday morning commenced with a bike ride down by the Hudson River, through Battery Park, the Seaport Historic District then over the Williamsburg Bridge to Brooklyn.  Bedford Street is very similar  to King St,Newtown so we were right at home in lycra and sunnies. The return ride through the centre of New York was rewarded with the excitement of Xmas and lunchtime crowds filling the street.


Late afternoon saw us at the pictures to see "Lincoln" the newest movie to hit the theaters. A great show  and well recommended. It portrays a major part of American history and further confirms that politics, irrespective of the era, is a dirty game. Fortunately just nearby there was a little restaurant with more tapas, spinach, mushrooms, meatballs and cauliflower.

Sunday morning has seen a walk around Central Park followed by coffee with friends. This evening presents us with another play, a comedy, from Club Free Time at $4 a seat.

New York City just keeps on going. There are always options. We just need to maintain the energy to embrace what is on offer.

New York Post Sandy

We were fortunate to be in Australia when Sandy struck. Arriving back on the Friday, 3 days after Sandy had done her stuff. New York was a ghost town. Lower New York was still without power. People had moved out of town to stay with relatives and friends. Those restaurants and pubs that were open had only just got their  power back. It was a great opportunity to get diner at those restaurants that normally have a  long que.

                                         
                                               Work equipment out the front of our building

                                                              Our Building


One of the great disappointments of Sandy was the cancelation of the New York Marathon. A decision that was made on the Friday evening before the race was to commence. New york was full of many gaunt looking people wondering what to do. Nevertheless many ran 2/4 times around Central Park as a substitute. Somehow Damien didn't think it was the same so declined the excitement.

                                                    A cold start in the morning
             

                                             The drinks will definitely be cold.

A damage bill of $50b. So that Sandy was not the only game in town the weather gods brought a snow blizzard to town. It lasted two days. Since then the sun has shone and beautiful weather has prevailed.

A bike ride downtown around the South Ferry piers revealed significant water damage. Those of you that have ridden with us will remember "Jacks"one of the few great coffee stops in town.  The entrance to the shop is 2/3 feet above the footpath. Talking to the girls that work there they indicated that the water had got to 3ft above the floor of the shop. This is a total of 5/6 feet above the footpath.

Many of the shops are boarded up and it will take months before they are fixed. Part of the seawall for the East River is closed until further notice. Trees, lamp posts have been knocked over by the strength of the water and wind. Central Park is coming back together, slowly. There are piles of rubbish waiting for collection. Some of the streets are still waiting to haver their garbage collected.

The one constants in New York is that people just keep on keeping on. That's exactly what has happened. People have just got up and carried on regardless.