[Maryann Corbett]

My daughter is going to be spending three weeks in January--her winter term--taking an art criticism course in NYC, housed (as I understand it) in the dorms at Cornell-Weill Medical School. Apart from class time, I'm sure she'll be taking advantage of what the city has to offer.

What are your recommendations, oh New Yorkers, to a young person studying art who'll be spending three weeks in that part of New York? I hope this is a question you'll enjoy answering.

Maryann

[Quincy Lehr]

O Minnesotan, where are the dorms in question? I know where the Columbia and NYU housing is, but not the med school in question. Is it in Manhattan, or one of the outer boroughs? More to the point, which subway lines will your daughter be near? (Regardless of the answer, she'll want to get weekly unlimited Metrocards, which let you take public transport around the city as often as you like for a set weekly fee.) The East Village and Lower East Side, though increasingly yuppie-infested (the grandchildren of those who got out of the tenements at the first opportunity have returned and are pricing out the remaining bohemian types), is definitely worth a look. There's a bar called Doc Halliday's on Tompkins Square with an Oklahoma flag on the ceiling and bottles of Lone Star. (This if your daughter's of age, of course; though if she isn't, NYC bars rarely card except in the immediate vicinity of universities--not that you, the dear mother, want to know about any of that.) In the Columbia area, the West Side on Broadway is the traditional hangout, but I much prefer the Abbey, which is on roughly 108th between Broadway and Amsterdam--again, it's a bar. A nice cafe in the Columbia area is the Hungarian Pastry Shop, on Amsterdam roughly caddycorner from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine--which is on 110th and Amsterdam and is the main Episcopal cathedral (perhaps the only one; I'm not sure) in the city. For books, the Strand is a must-see (on Broadway, a few blocks south of Union Square), and Gotham Book Mart near Grand Central (I forget the streets; always found it by instinct) is also worth a look.

There are a bunch of really good Italian restaurants in the Village, but stay away from the Mexican food--it is deadly to those who know what the stuff is actually supposed to taste like. Stick to soul food and Caribbean food in Harlem (and Golden Krusts can be more or less trusted throughout the city) and Dominican food in Washington Heights and Inwood.

The independent movie theaters are mostly in the Village, roughly, but there are a couple near Lincoln Center as well--and Lincoln Center does periodic film series that can be interesting. Check the web site.

That's off the top of my head.

Quincy

[This message has been edited by Quincy Lehr (edited December 22, 2006).]

[Peter Chipman]

Of course, she should also spend at least two days at the Metropolitan Museum (and an additional afternoon way uptown at the Cloisters, if she shares any of her mother's medieval sensibilities).

If she wants modern, she should budget a day for MOMA and an afternoon at the Whitney.

She can skip the Guggenheim and the Frick, I'd say.

[Wendy Sloan]

O Minnesotan!

My daugher just gratuated from med school & her friend lived in the Cornell-Weill dorms which are actually on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (near New York Hospital) at 70th & York. A nice, safe, pleasant but relatively boring neighborhood. A dead neighborhood, as far as the youth-bar scene is concerned. It's a little out of the way & far from the subway, so she'll have to rely on cabs at night.

(Quincy's right; she'll have to go downtown for that. I feel confident she'll find her way. Take a cab home at night to be safe. Important not to get too drunk & be out alone ever. There have been several horrible murders ... so, have a buddy, at least until you're safely put into a cab. I don't mean to scare her off -- everybody goes -- but, hey, I'm a mother. The Lower East is packed with kids & the cabs run up & down all night on weekends ferrying them home. Just be sure to take one of them).

The main advantage of her neighborhood is its proximity to the art museums & auction houses. The Metropolitan Museum (which takes many days to explore)(82nd & 5th), the Guggenheim (a bit further up 5th -- on what is called "Museum Mile"), the Whitney (Madison Ave. in the '70's) and a very interesting small museum, The Neue Gallery (early 20th Century Viennese/German art; expensive outrageous $20 admission fee/maybe there's some break for students, with a lovely Viennese cafe with Central Park views). These will all be in walking distance of her "dorm" (more like a large apt. bldg.). Sothyby's Auction House is practically across the street (72nd & York, I think); Doyles is nearby; Christies is at Rockefeller Center (49th St., between 5th & 6th, as I recall). Auction house sales/viewings are listed in the NYTimes -- (I forget which day of the week has the listings offhand, but they're in there). Once in a while they have some important art on sale & up for viewing. Anyone can go to the viewings, of course, or the auctions, for that matter, which are sometimes interesting to watch. The New Yorker Magazine has most museum listings (also plays, movies, etc.).

The most interesting movie theaters are also downtown in the Village (as she'll see from the listings in The New Yorker or the NYTimes): the Film Forum, Quad,Cinema Village, Sunshine, and Angelika, except for the Paris theater just off 5th Ave. next to the Plaza Hotel,which often gets interesting foreign films.

As for real theater -- it's way expensive, except that they're redoing all of August Wilson's plays and charging very little for the tickets. If you're not familiar with his work, I think he's right up there with the greats of the 20th Century. Check out the Times/New Yorker. If she'd like to splurge once, Tom Stoppard currently has a "trilogy" (3 separate plays; $100 bucks each) playing at the lovely Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center called "Coast of Utopia" (Pts I & II, "The Voyage" & "The Shipwreck" will be playing in January, I think). She might want to catch one of them (or both, if flush) -- they both got rave reviews.

There's great food all over town, of course, some of which may not be available in Minnesota. Chinatown is fun; last Sunday's Times had an article about Dim Sum parlors you can probably still view online (www.nytimes.com). Dum Sum is a kind of brunch featuring a great variety of little dishes circulated from carts (lots of fun). Great every kind of food here: Japanese (good & hip place at lst Ave. at 10th St., I think, on the NE corner of lst Ave); Italian everywhere, of course, lots of nice little inexpensive French places, actually; plus zen/veg; for Caribbean -- "Island Spice" (somewhere in midtown) is a good one. Then there's always the Sunday jazz brunch at Copeland's uptown in Harlem (full disclosure: a friend plays with the band). Whatever -- you could eat all day here in NYC.

Walking around the streets is the best part. Don't miss Central Park, of course. I'm sure she'll love it. Wendy

[Janet Kenny]

Originally posted by Peter Chipman:

She can skip the Guggenheim and the Frick, I'd say.

Peter,
I'd be interested to hear your reasons. Perhaps on another thread? I have some thoughts about the Guggenheim which I haven't seen for the last two decades.
Janet

There used to be a terrific little folk art museum. Does it still exist?

[This message has been edited by Janet Kenny (edited December 22, 2006).]

[Gregory Dowling]

No, don't skip the Frick, whatever else you do. It has a Bellini "San Francesco" which the museum catalogue describes, quite justifiably I would say, as the most beautiful Renaissance painting in America. And it is a manageable museum, unlike the Metropolitan - which of course is a must but like all such huge museums can just be overwhelming.

Don't skip the Frick.

[Quincy Lehr]

Janet--

The folk art museum (the one near the MoMA, right?) is still around.

Quincy

[Maryann Corbett]

Thanks Quincy, Peter, Wendy, Janet, and Greg. I was sure I could count on this group as a source of information.

Wendy, your cab pointers and the info about the distance of those dorms from the subway are especially valuable, because I think she's been assuming the subway was nearby.

I'm printing this out to stick in the copy of Fodor's Exploring New York that she's getting for Christmas.

Thanks again,
Maryann

[Terese Coe]

Mary Ann,

Traffic is often lighter in January with intersessions and Caribbean vacations, so buses are fine for Manhattan travel in the daytime and until midnight or so in most neighborhoods. I know Wendy didn't mean she shouldn't travel alone around Manhattan in the daytime or even into the evening. It's safer in Manhattan than most places in the world, but late at night of course one needs to take more precaution, and certainly if she's going to clubs or coming home late. Anyplace there are a lot of people drinking is a place to be careful.

The Met asks for a $20 contribution now but that shouldn't stop anyone; you may enter for any amount at all. Don't feel sheepish about giving them a dollar if that's all you can afford.

One of the best boat rides is the Hoboken ferry; more fun than the free Staten Island ferry I think, though you get a better view of the Statue of Liberty from the S.I. ferry.

It leaves from the Hudson River Park, which is the most peaceful and beautiful park downtown, bar none. Go to Chambers Street and walk west to the Hudson River. Or take the M20 bus to Battery Park City and ask. Also, from the Broadway (M7) bus going downtown past 34th St. you can see the window displays in Macy's quite well—better than standing in line (especially if you're in one of the hybrid buses and you sit in the back, which is higher).

Tell her to find the Castle in Central Park; the path up to it from the Delacorte Theater is especially fine.

If Ray Pospisil is able to find a new venue for the Modern Metrics series very soon (Downeast Arts finally closed down for one year and he's actively looking; there are some places on tap), Wendy Sloan will be reading toward the end of January, but more later on that.

[Michael Cantor]

Maryann -

Additional advice on both the art scene and tourism.

Art - New York has one of the world's most vibrant art gallery scenes, comparable to Paris and London, and unique to some extent because of the massive size of some of the galleries, and consequently the size of the works and installations they can display. The museums are fine, but if her interests are contemporary art, rather than classical, I would urge your daughter to spend as much time or more visiting the galleries. Gallery showings and schedules, plus mini-reviews, are in the Sunday New York Times (longer reviews of openings are on Fridays), and the New Yorker.

There are three main gallery neighborhoods, listed below in ascending order.

- <u>Uptown.</u>: Madison Avenue, from the low 60's to the low 80's, plus 57th Street between Park and Sixth. Historically, the center of this Universe, but has lost leading galleries and panache to the downtown areas in the past twenty or thirty years. Now more given to boutique galleries, more traditional and conservative art. Madison is lined with foreign-owned designer clothing boutiques where the galleries once reigned, and many galleries have fled to larger, less expensive and more exciting space elsewhere.

- <u>SoHo</u> - the downtown area south of Houston Street, north of Canal, and stretching for several blocks on either side of West Broadway. Many galleries, and many in huge spaces on the upper floors of converted loft buildings. Soho was the hub of the New York art world until recently, but escalating real estate costs (this former factory district is now an ultra-chic fashion and residential neighborhood) have driven many galleries to Chelsea.

- <u>Chelsea</u> - far West on 21st to 27th St. (25th and 26th are particularly good), between 9th Avenue and the river. See The New Yorker for shows and addresses. This neighborhood is where I now head first for art when I'm in New York. Edgier, more installations as well as paintings and sculpture, fantastic spaces.

Roaming and Sightseeing - January is not the best time for it, but if the weather permits, and your daughter is a walker-and-smeller-of-cities type, I would suggest a walking/ethnic neighborhood tour on foot of lower Manhattan - great shopping and great food, as well as a true sense of the old part of the city, the immigrant heritage. Start in Soho for contemporary glitz, and then walk East on Broome Street (or a parallel street, if that looks more interesting) to Mulberry. You're now in Little Italy, one of the cultural centers of the City. Crazy Joey Gallo, who inspired the James Caan character in Godfather, was shot to death right near here, in Umberto's Clam Bar (or maybe it was Vincent's - I always confuse them - but, anyway, he ended up with his brains in his Clams Oreganata.) Stroll Broome to Grand, left on Grand and walk East to Orchard, and you are in the heart of the old Jewish section - the Lower East Side - and (if it's Sunday), on one of the great discount shopping/bargaining streets of New York. Continue down Orchard to Canal, turn right on Canal, and you will find yourself walking into Chinatown (most of it South of Canal - follow the Chinese signs.) If your daughter is a food and ethnicity and old buildings and city-as-history freak, she may find all of this fascinating. If not - if she's a mall rat - she will not be enchanted.

I hope that some of this proves helpful, and that she enjoys her stay.

Michael