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This is such a great idea! I wish more restaurants would do this...
- Thread starter meryl
- Start date
There's only one thing to do - we should all meet in NYC and hang out together! Although,
I'm not sure if I'm ready to accept all the inevitable changes that have occurred. I haven't been there in 8 years, and I probably won't be able to recognize my neighborhood. In all the years I lived there, the changes were astounding, some for the better, many for the worse. I liked it better before all the condos and co-ops took over, plus the touristy stores, such as the Disney Store, and the trendy restaurants - all image, no substance. Almost every one of my favorite restaurants have closed down - all had great food, great atmosphere. On the other hand, when I first moved there, Columbus Ave. was a street you avoided - now you can walk there without worrying about being mugged. Also, "Needle Park" on 72nd was a place you didn't want to go near at night - now it's cleaned up.
I used to miss the "Ma and Pa" stores that were still around when I moved there, but on their way out. They eventually disappeared after my first few years in that area. Also, the streets were never overly crowded, but slowly became so once the area turned into a real estate mecca. Other than the occasional druggie, it was always a warm, friendly area with a nice variety of people. But alas, the "neighborhood" seemed to stop being a neighborhood.
I guess it's the same story everywhere. I remember when I was on a plane to Paris in 1991, an elderly woman, about 80 years old, born and raised there, sat next to me. I was so excited to see Paris for the first time, and was asking her all kinds of questions. She had very good memories of the Paris of her time, but hated the changes that had taken place over the years. So sad how the soul of a place can be overrun by "progress." I lived in Paris for 6 months, and deeply felt the heart and soul of it, but of course I was experiencing it from a whole different perspective than she was. I'm afraid I might feel the same way about NYC today as this older woman felt about her Paris. It was one thing to watch the changes gradually over the years while I was living there, but to visit now after all this time, it would be even more of a shock. I don't know how I'd react. Yet, I still really want to go!
I'm not sure if I'm ready to accept all the inevitable changes that have occurred. I haven't been there in 8 years, and I probably won't be able to recognize my neighborhood. In all the years I lived there, the changes were astounding, some for the better, many for the worse. I liked it better before all the condos and co-ops took over, plus the touristy stores, such as the Disney Store, and the trendy restaurants - all image, no substance. Almost every one of my favorite restaurants have closed down - all had great food, great atmosphere. On the other hand, when I first moved there, Columbus Ave. was a street you avoided - now you can walk there without worrying about being mugged. Also, "Needle Park" on 72nd was a place you didn't want to go near at night - now it's cleaned up.
I used to miss the "Ma and Pa" stores that were still around when I moved there, but on their way out. They eventually disappeared after my first few years in that area. Also, the streets were never overly crowded, but slowly became so once the area turned into a real estate mecca. Other than the occasional druggie, it was always a warm, friendly area with a nice variety of people. But alas, the "neighborhood" seemed to stop being a neighborhood.
I guess it's the same story everywhere. I remember when I was on a plane to Paris in 1991, an elderly woman, about 80 years old, born and raised there, sat next to me. I was so excited to see Paris for the first time, and was asking her all kinds of questions. She had very good memories of the Paris of her time, but hated the changes that had taken place over the years. So sad how the soul of a place can be overrun by "progress." I lived in Paris for 6 months, and deeply felt the heart and soul of it, but of course I was experiencing it from a whole different perspective than she was. I'm afraid I might feel the same way about NYC today as this older woman felt about her Paris. It was one thing to watch the changes gradually over the years while I was living there, but to visit now after all this time, it would be even more of a shock. I don't know how I'd react. Yet, I still really want to go!