FDR's Four Freedoms Park

I went yesterday, it was the perfect weather for something outdoors. I took the subway, and walked down to the southern tip of Roosevelt Island. There were lots of cherry blossom trees along the way, and beautiful views of Manhattan the whole way down.

This is a picture taken between the pieces of marble.  It is about an inch apart, and behind it is the Pepsi~Cola sign, in Queens, seen in full below.

A view looking south, with the UN building on the right

The Silver Cup Studio sign

The 59th Street Bridge, which connects Manhattan and Queens.

It is a really nice memorial that has been 40 years in the making. The architect for this is Louis I. Kahn, and it was his last work before his death in 1974. After Kahn's death, his designs were continued by Mitchell Giurgola Architects, which kept the main design the same.

Brooklyn Botanical Garden

The cherry blossoms are close to blooming at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.  Tuesday's are as usual, free days, so you should take advantage and check them out.

I know I have talked about this before, but it is truly amazing to get to walk down the Cherry Esplanade when the trees are blooming. A check of the website shows that the esplanade itself is still at pre-bloom:

The map is updated every weekday, so check before going!!

Another place to see some of these beautiful trees is on Roosevelt Island, along the shoreline facing Manhattan. I plan to do both in the next few weeks, but wanted to post here before the bloom, so you could plan on going, if you are in town, or if you live here.

Roosevelt Island trees

Getting to Roosevelt Island is easy, you can take the tram across, at the corner of East 60th Street and 2nd Avenue, and it will drop you off in the middle of the island. Or, you can take the F train, and get off at Roosevelt Island.  There are escalators to bring you up from the subway station, since it is down pretty far.

25 Fun Free things to do in NYC

In no particular order:

1.  Any park in NYC.  Put in your hotel address and find the closest one here. A nice break for the kids to relax.  And you too...

2.  The Staten Island Ferry.  Great views of downtown Manhattan, and the Statue of Liberty.

3.  The Bronx Zoo:  Free on Wednesdays.

4.   Brooklyn Botanic Gardens:  Free on Tuesdays.

5.  Libraries.  The main library in Manhattan is amazing, as is the Central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, seen here.

from here

6.  Parades.  From Saint Patricks Day to Thanksgiving Day and all of the ones in between.  Some even in the other boroughs...

7.  The Brooklyn Brewery.  They give free tours on the weekends.

8.  African Burial Grounds.  They are currently renovating, but are scheduled to be open October 4.  Check back here to find out the status.

9.  City Hall.  Lots of history here.

10.  Coney Island.  The boardwalk and beach are amazing.

11.  Federal Reserve Bank.  Free, but you have to make reservations.

12. Forbes Collection.  I went years ago, and should really go back soon...

13.  Grand Central Tour with Justin Ferate.  About 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and amazing.

14.  Greenwood Cemetery.  A nice afternoon's walk in Brooklyn.  Events sometimes held here also.

15.  Walking the Brooklyn Bridge.  Here is a great guide with the ins and outs.  I recommend walking across to Brooklyn and checking out the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

16.  South Street Seaport.  Yes, it's shopping and restaurants, but still just going doesn't cost.

17.  High Line.  Really cool elevated park that used to be railroad tracks.

18.  See a baseball game... Staten Island Yankees.  So close to the SI Ferry you can walk.

19.  Governor's Island.  Weekends all summer.  Free ferry, and tons of events.

20.  Winter Windows.  See the display windows of Barney's, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor, and Macy's.

Macy's 2011

 21.  TV Audience tapings.  You'll need to have advance planning here, but so worth it.  Whether it's Live with Kelly or SNL, here is a list of shows that look for audiences.

22.  Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.  The Unisphere.  Worlds Fair 1964.  Big Park, surrounded by Queens Museum, Queens Zoo, NY Hall of Science. 

23.  MOMA.  Free from 4 to 8 on Friday's.

24.  American Museum of Natural History.  Free for the last hour (4:45 to 5:45)

25.  Brooklyn Museum.  Free every first Saturday.

Roosevelt Island Tram

So I lived on Roosevelt Island for 6 months.  I was at the hospital there, doing inpatient physical therapy, rehabbing from a accident in 2007.  In the time I was there, my husband would visit me sometimes by taking the subway, and sometimes by taking the tram over from Manhattan.  I figured it would make a good little trip for Unseen NYC.  We were going to go to the Southern end and check out the Renwick Ruins but we went in the afternoon, and it was a very breezy day, so I will have to dress a lot warmer next time and go a little earlier.  Definitely a nice afternoon trip, and a really nice time!

The tram heading to Manhattan...

The Queensboro Bridge

Looking north again, Manhattan on the left

The Northern 1/2 of Roosevelt Island

Right underneath the bridge

Looking North right as the tram was leaving...

A very short commute, maybe 3 minutes (if that) from the closing of the doors in Manhattan to the opening of the doors on Roosevelt Island.  We walked to Starbucks, had some hot chocolate, and went to Nonno's Focacceria for a slice since it was dinner time.  A very nice place to visit, away from the "hustle and bustle" of NYC.  It is it's own little town.  There is a Main Street, and besides the Starbucks and the Italian restaurant, there is a grocery store, a Duane Reade, a deli, a post office, one or two schools, a hair salon, and some churches.  I know there is more, but I was just going from memory.  A lot of apartment buildings, and Coler-Goldwater Hospital, too.

Life Underground by Tom Otterness

For this post, I decided to make my destination one a little unusual.  It's actually a place that many people pass every day without even realizing it.  It's the 14th Street/8th Avenue subway station.  Most people are in a rush to get to their destination, but this WAS my destination.  It was hard to get pictures since everyone else was bent on getting where they needed to be. There is so much more that I was not able to get a shot of.  There are more pics here though.

Tom Otterness is known for his sculptures.  He has one on the west side of Roosevelt Island, in the water, that I saw when I went there last April, and talked about about previously.  These are my pictures from last April:

It makes more sense if you see them the way they are in the river.  The sculpture with the 2 is in the middle, and the separate ones are on either side.

What we did on Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saturday, the last day in July. A perfect day to go to Roosevelt Island, to be a part of Conscious Cycle's art project. We spent 4 hours there, and the kids had the best time! They made art, and others made art, and all had such fun. After it was over, we hopped on the F train back to Manhattan, and to Bryant Park. We went to see A Grimm Reality, a week later than I blogged about, but we had a really good time, and it was a very cheap date. Free. The best kind of date in Manhattan. After the play we walked around Bryant Park and just hung out for a bit. A really great day was had by this blogger and her family.  Highly recommended.   A Grimm Reality will be playing August 7th and 14th from 6:30 to 7:30 in Bryant Park, look for the red and white umbrellas, and have fun!  Here are some pictures from the day at Roosevelt Island.