HERALD SQUARE HOTEL

Amidst the grime warehouses, freight forwarders and Cargo Service companies is the magnificent Herald Square Hotel. This hotel is one of several built at the turn of the 20th century in the midtown area to take advantage of proximity to the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

 
The first thing you see, as you enter this hotel, is the statue of WINGED LIFE which hovers protectively above the doorway on West 31st Street. The hotel says that “It seductively appeals to the artist, lover and child in each of us and beckons one and all to enter his temple and peruse the art, inhale the heady aroma of history and dance with the memories of all the joy that he has created within.”


What makes this hotel different from the rest of the area hotels is that it was the home of Life magazine. Once in the hotel you see reproductions of the art which appeared on the covers of the magazine including those of Charles Gibson.


One of the infamous tenants of the hotel was Ida Wood who moved in about 1910. Her husband, Benjamin, served three terms in Congress and was owner of the New York Daily News. When Benjamin died in 1900, Ida, her sister and daughter moved into suites 551 and 552 at the hotel. Ida was worried about the future of the newspaper which she sold for $340,000, converted it to cash which she hid in her suite. The women became recluses opening the door only to receive food deliveries. Ida paid her hotel bills in cash. When Ida’s sister died in 1928 they discovered that each sister has $175,000 worth of stock in Union Pacific. Ida died in 1932 leaving an estate of more that $1 million.

KNICKERBOCKER HOTEL

The Knickerbocker Hotel once located at the SE corner of 42nd Street and Broadway was one of the four “Elephant Legs” (landmarks) of the new 42nd street. It was build by the Astor family in 1902 and once home to the famed opera great Enrico Caruso. By 1965 the real estate values fell and the hotel was converted to commercial space, at one time accommodating Newsweek Magazine. Today the building still stands as with commercial and retail tenants. There is a Gap Store on the corner.


One of the legends about this building comes from the drink called the martini, which was said to have been invented by the house bartender in 1912. According to the story, one Martini di Arma di Taggia mixed dry vermouth and gin together and the mixture gained the favor of residents and visitors alike.

When the hotel first opened it advertised that it had all the modern conveniences such as underground transportation system.

The pictured sign, in the 42nd street subway near the end of the Shuttle closest to Grand Central, is a reminder of the fact that the hotel had direct access to the underground transportation system.

DOORMEN

Doormen are not unique to New York, I’ve seen them at Watergate in Washington DC and I suspect at other high profile buildings across the country. But no where are they as prolific as they are in New York. I say “Doormen” because I have never seen a female door keeper. I see that “Female Door Staff” have their own Facebook page. A Google search of “Female Door Staff” reveals that there are several opportunities in London, but none in New York.

So, what is it about an individual dressed like Sasha Baron Cohen’s character Admiral General Aladeen whose sole job seems to flatter the residents by opening doors and saying “Good Morning” or “Good evening” or “Do you want a cab?” It can’t be our egos, can it?

A couple of years ago, when the doormen in New York threatened to go on strike, comic Billiam Coronel said “What will they do, stand in front of your building?”

Professor Bearman, a sociology professor at Columbia University opined that doormen and apartment building fulfill a need in each other. “For tenants to have distinction they must have professional doorman and for the doorman to be a professional they must have distinctive tenants. It is that these quite discordant social classes figure out a way to relate to each other that elevates the status of both”


When I first moved to New York, I lived in the Upper East Side. The doormen there were nice, but not overly solicitous, that is, until the month of December arrived. In anticipation of holiday tips, they suddenly remembered my name and offered to help with the smallest of tasks. I will never forget one day I was walking home from the grocery store carrying three bags of groceries. The doorman saw me one-half block away and rushes to meet me and carry my groceries the rest of the way. That only happened during the month of December.

TRASH PART TWO

When you think about trash in New York City, it is easy to remember this famous Saul Steinberg tribute to trash.  We also think of the quote by famous photographer, Fran Lebowitz:  "When you leave New York you are astonished as how clean the rest of the world is.  Chean is not enough"  Amen

HATS

As many of you know I love wearing hats. I didn’t always wear a hat, but when my hair started thinning, I needed some protection from the sun. Baseball hats were too hot but a nice straw hat was both comfortable and cool. Alas, in the winter I needed a hat for warmth. A baseball hat just did not go with a suit and overcoat, so I found a fedora to keep me warm and shield my face from the snow and rain.


I have seen many famous black and white photos of NYC in the 40’s showing all the men on the streets wearing a fedora. (A fedora is basically a brimmed hat with a lengthwise crease pinched at the front.) My father wore a fedora to work in the 50’s and all the men in my old family pictures are wearing hats: however, men stopped wearing hats in the early 1960’s when John Kennedy was sworn into office wearing no hat at all. That event caused men everywhere to jettison their hats.

Perhaps to grieve the passing of a refined tradition, Billy Collins, Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003, wrote Death of the Hat. He describes the poem as “Looking nostalgically at that period of time in the past century, in the twentieth century, when men all wore hats, in cities at least.”

The Death of the Hat

Once every man wore a hat.

In the ashen newsreels,
the avenues of cities

are broad rivers flowing with hats.

The ball parks swelled
with thousands of strawhats,
brims and bands,

rows of men smoking

and cheering in shirtsleeves.

Hats were the law.

They went without saying.

You noticed a man without a hat in a crowd.

You bought them from Adams or Dobbs

who branded your initials in gold

on the inside band.

Trolleys crisscrossed the city.

Steamships sailed in and out of the harbor.

Men with hats gathered on the docks.


There was a person to block your hat

and a hatcheck girl to mind it

while you had a drink
or ate a steak with peas and a baked potato.

In your office stood a hat rack.

The day war was declared

everyone in the street was wearing a hat.

And they were wearing hats

when a ship loaded with men sank in the icy sea.

My father wore one to work every day

and returned home

carrying the evening paper,

the winter chill radiating from his overcoat.

But today we go bareheaded

into the winter streets,

stand hatless on frozen platforms.

Today the mailboxes on the roadside
and the spruce trees behind the house

wear cold white hats of snow.

Mice scurry from the stone walls at night
in their thin fur hats
to eat the birdseed that has spilled.

And now my father, after a life of work,

wears a hat of earth,

and on top of that,

a lighter one of cloud and sky--a hat of wind.

NEW YORK CITY TRASH

With an absence of alleys in New York the only place to put the garbage is on the side of the street. As the old saying goes, “You can’t live with it and you can’t live without it” When my sister visited me from Michigan she saw the garbage outside our building (At Madison and 37th Streets) and declared the neighborhood unsafe.


The Department of Sanitation reports that each week, the city collects at least 64,000 tons of household and institutional waste. We don’t necessarily like the look of garbage on the street but as resilient New Yorkers we found way to make lemonade out of lemons. For example, we eat and drink at the “Trash Bar” http://www.thetrashbar.com/ , and our artists have turned trash into “Sculpture” http://nycgarbage.com/.


Even Broadway uses :”NYC Trash“ as a comic script in the Neil Simon’s play “A Prisoner in Second Avenue.” Mel Edison, the protagonist, while standing on his balcony leaning over proclaims to his wife Edna “What a stink. Will you look at that? Fourteen stories up and you can smell the garbage from here. Why do they put garbage out in 84* heat? Hey Edna (His wife): Do you want to smell the garbage? “Edna walks to the balcony, leans over and says” you’re right; if you really want to smell it you have to stand right here.” Mel says: “The whole country is being buried by garbage. It keeps being piling up higher and higher. In three years this (14th floor) apartment will be on the second floor. “Edna replies” What do you want them to do, save it up and throw it out in the winter. They got to throw it out sometimes, that’s why they call it garbage

STREET FAIRS

I keep trying to imagine street fairs in heaven. For New Yorkers, the street fair is a hallmark of summer and a powerful means of inviting people to share the city’s most ubiquitous public space. We average about 375 street fairs each year.


Street fairs certainly tap into a deep-seated desire on behalf of many residents and visitors to be outside during the hot days of summer, to stroll along city streets that would normally be closed to pedestrians, to people watch and maybe even indulge on a massively over-buttered cob of corn. Although I have only indulged in the sausage sandwich once, I love the smell of those links cooking.

But for many New Yorkers, the sight of fried dough and Italian sausage carts inspire little more than an eye-roll and a step in the opposite direction. Once vibrant gathering places that reflected the rich diversity of New York’s neighborhoods, many people think the street fairs are mass-produced affairs that offer little variety and even less opportunity for local vendors to participate.

Those who don’t like the street fairs claim the worst part is that they are uniformly bland. Though the five boroughs are filled with an incredible diversity of businesses and artists yet, the overwhelming majority of street fairs seem to have the same few items for sale, such as tube socks, knock-off purses and gyros. This is true.


I believe the street fairs have two constituencies:


1) Tourists who buy tube socks, knock-off purses and the over priced street food.

2) New Yorkers who love to people watch. That’s me. I could stroll the streets all day people watching. Isn’t that part of what living in NYC is all about: Being around people?

ROLLS ROYCE SILVER WRATH TOURING LIMO

Imagine owning or even driving this 1956 Rolls Royce Limousine. Well, I tried to imagine owning it. Can’t you see the smugness in my face as I stand guard over this car in 2009 as it was parked on Madison Avenue?


It was in NYC in 2009 for the filming of the movie Arthur staring Russell Brand. It is the same car used by Dudley Moore in the original Arthur filmed in 1981. Because Arthur was drunk all the time, he preferred to be chauffeured through Central Park rather than drive his Packard One-Twenty.

The role of chauffer and butler, Hobson, was played by Sir Arthur John Gielged who won an academy award for this role.

According to Google, This car was delivered new to Ms. A.W. Frink at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris on July 10, 1956. It would arrive in America in 1980, just in time for the 1981 movie. Although the vehicle no longer bears Arthur Bach’s crest on the doors, the cream and maroon paintwork looks the same. The 4.9-liter engine makes 135 hp. This seems like a bit much to carry around 4,620 lbs worth of car, but in true Rolls-Royce fashion, the car can carry its weight with dignity. The car was recently sold for $96,800.

Today, the limo has a novelty plate from New York that reads “Arthur” on the front to mimic the one from the movie. The rear Florida “Arthur” plate is a real one that it has had because this Rolls-Royce limo retired to Boca Raton nearly thirty years ago.

HARD WORKING YET FRIENDLY NEW YORKERS

I moved to New York about ten ears ago from Washington DC. I lived in DC for 25 years and loved every minute of it. The City is clean, has beautiful foliage, spectacular architecture, a low svelte profile to the buildings, first-class restaurants world class (and free) museums, and of course, an astounding history and sense of importance. But it is sterile, and antiseptic. The city if often euphemistically referred to as “Ten square miles surrounded by reality.”

I moved to New York to experience a real city. A place where people have a assortment of interests, (not just politics) a place where they actually make things, a place to experience the gustiness of life while living amongst a most diverse population.

Probably my biggest surprise when I arrived was how hard working New Yorkers are. In DC so many people follow the Governments 9-5 mentality. The woman pictured is on the corner of 40th and Madison every morning from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM selling newspapers. Her name is Mashid. She is on location every day no matter the weather. But Mashid is different, she remembers what paper her customers buy. When she sees a customer down the block, she immediately pulls a paper for you out of the middle of the stack, roll it like a jelly roll and hand it to you when you walk up. She always has a gracious smile.

Cee Cee who runs “36 Cleaners” on 36th street between Madison and 5th Avenues works from 7:00 A.M to 7:00 PM five days a week and from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Saturday. In the ten years that I have been going to her, I have never seen her absent for a sick day or vacation day. Never! When I ask her about taking time off, she replies “I think God for the strength to keep working.”

As I look around the City I see many other examples of hard workers, the push cart vendors, the delivery guys who bring us dinner when it is too cold or rainy to go out, my barber who works six days a week. On the corner of 36th Street and 5th Avenue is a push cart operator. He is there from early morning to just after lunch. Then he goes to he second job at Quick Books where he works until late evening.

Hats off to Mashid, Cee Cee and all hard working New Yorkers.

TOUR GROUPS

I find them everywhere. They block the sidewalk when I am trying to get to work or get home or get to a meeting. They wonder along the sidewalk four abreast as if they are strolling in a suburban shopping mall or deciding what rides to take at Disney World. They wait patiently at an intersection for the “Walk” sign to appear. They are always snapping pictures of anything that moves or doesn’t move. I believe that I am in more pictures than Tom Cruise.

They are always looking up. If you see one approaching, be aware, they will definitely run into you spilling their latte on your suit.   They say "whoops" and then laugh.

In this picture, this group is standing on 42nd Street across from Grand Central Terminal listening closely to their tour guide as he points out the statue of Commander Vanderbilt, the famous clock, the Park Avenue auto cut and the looming Met Life Building.

 Undoubtedly, group received the “tourist comfortable dress” email in advance as they are all wearing the official day-tripper uniform, sensitive shoes, slacks for the women, satchels for carrying maps, cameras, water, folding umbrella, scarf or light jacket in case it gets windy, aspirin, and band aids for blisters.

In this group everyone is looking up except the one woman in the front. Instead, she is examining her smart phone. She seems disinterested in what the tour guide is saying. Clearly, she is a tourist, with sun glasses perched on head in case sun comes out so, I can only imagine that she is texting someone in Canton Ohio “Guess where I am standing?”

ESPOSITO’S PORK SHOP

This would be a perfect location for the “Soprano’s” TV series, complete with hanging sides of meet and men in white coats. They have everything including a place to hang the fur coats until they “cool off.”

In 1933 that Giovanni Esposito started a fresh meat and poultry butcher shop at 550 – 9TH Avenue at 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen where it remains today. It is a classic family-run butcher shop outfitted with traditional meat showcases and celebrity photos on the walls of Brenda Vaccaro and Pat Cooper.

As Giovanni's sons grew up, they too came to work in the family business. The next generation of Esposito’s split the business into two separate entities, a retail butcher shop and a wholesale manufacturer. Esposito’s sausages are now available from Florida to Nantucket.

Don't go home without some home-made links, like the hot Italian varieties or meat, broccoli, and mozzarella-stuffed tubes with the selection of fresh-baked breads brought in from Valente Bakery of Fairview, New Jersey.

BRYANT PARK RMEMBERS 9/11

One year ago, Bryant Park remembered the victims of the World Trade Center Bombing by arranging  2606 chairs in perfect formation all facing South.  This was an incredibly solemn tribute seeing all those empty seats.

As I ponder the event eleven years ago I am reminded of what Samuel Johnson once said:  "If Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, it is not merely because evil deeds may be performed in the name of Patriotism, because Patriotic fervor can obliterate moral distinction all together" 

LONESOME PHONE BANK

Imagine, amongst the hustle and bustle of Grand Central Terminal, a quiet spot, a lone solitary location where no one bothers you. With over two million visitors per year, GCT is one of the busiest places in NYC. Before the advent of cell phones there would have been constant lines at these pay phones. If these pay phones could only talk, imagine the stories they could tell of people patiently awaiting their turn to call home to report a missed train, to call the office to report a late train, or to arrange a secret rendezvous.
One can only imagine how many sweethearts were called during WWII as returning troops arrived New York return safely from the war in Europe. Imagine the star struck tourist from Idaho upon arriving in Grand Central placing a call to a friend back in Boise proclaiming the presence of Mercury, Hercules and Minerva overhead in New York’s magnificent palace.

In the 1930’s at 5:55 p.m. there may have been a last minute call home before boarding the famed Twentieth Century Limited scheduled to leave for Chicago at 6:00 p.m.


The sadness of the ignored phone booths remind me of the song:
Send in the Clowns from a Little Night Music. .... This is a theater reference meaning if the show isn't going well, "let's send in the clowns"; in other words, "let's do jokes, anything to get people’s attention."  But alas, the clowns don’t come and the pay phones sit abandoned.

DINTY MOORE'S RESTAURANT

    A favorite hangout for the theater crowd in 1946 was Dinty Moore's on West 46th Street. It was an Irish pub/steak and chop house with high prices that had been named by its owner, James Moore, after the saloon where Jiggs hung out in the popular comic strip "Bringing Up Father." The comic strip about a stereotypical Irish-American, who becomes rich by winning the Irish Sweepstakes, and his social-climbing wife started in 1913 and was so popular that many Irish men at the time named Moore were nicknamed Dinty.


James Moore, who began to call himself Dinty after opening the restaurant, was notorious in the 1920s for his flagrant disregard of Prohibition which endeared him with the hard-drinking celebrity set. The restaurant also served an Irish stew made from kosher beef and lamb

"The Grasshoppers and the Aunt," collected in the anthology Beacon Light of Literature, the heroine is taken to Dinty Moore's to experience sophisticated Manhattan life and is astonished to discover linoleum on the floor and the only decoration "a lot of black-and-gold signs hung around with a portrait of an oyster on them." The menu seemed mundane but to her astonishment the place actually was full of celebrities.

 On the other hand, in Ghost Light: A Memoir, Frank Rich remembers the place on his first visit some decades later as "exotic as everything else I'd seen in my few hours in the city. The warm glow of brass gleamed from every nook; a long wooden bar with bottles and gold spigots aligned behind it ran the length of a wall." Crisp white clothes covered the tables and the attentive waiter wore a black suit, starched white shirt and bow tie. But Rich was just a kid and easily impressed.

IT’S SEW NEW YORK

New York City is arguably the fashion capital of the United States and the entire world because the industry based here generates over $14 billion in annual sales and sets design trends which are mirrored worldwide.


Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, the majority of Americans either made their own clothing, or if they were wealthy, purchased "tailor-made" customized clothing. By the 1820s, however, an increasing number of ready-made garments of a higher quality were being produced for a broader market.

New York first assumed its role as the center of the nation's garment industry by producing clothes for slaves working on Southern plantations. It was more efficient for their masters to buy clothes from producers in New York than to have the slaves spend time and labor making the clothing themselves. In addition to supplying clothing for slaves, tailors produced other ready-made garments for sailors and western prospectors during slack periods in their regular business.

The need for thousands of ready-made soldiers' uniforms during the American Civil War helped the garment industry to expand further. By the end of the 1860s, Americans bought most of their clothing rather than making it themselves.

ELEVATORS

New Yorkers ride elevators, many times a day, at work, at home, at stores, at concert halls, at subway stations, and many other places, making them a daily part of our urban commute.  After last December's elevator tragedy we, or I should say, I have not necessarily taken elevator safety for granted.  As many of you know, Toni Reiffe and I hosted a BCP Legal Forum earlier this year on elevator safety which included NY OEM and the General Counsel of Otis Elevators.

In doing my due dilligence, I reviewed the elevator inspection certificate in my building at 220 Madison Avenue and found that it is declared safe up and to a total weight of 2006 pounds.  I checked both elevators and the both read the same - 2006 pounds.  It is not a sloppy "0" but clearly a "6"  after the "200" 

Now the mystery begins as to how they arrived at that number.  This reminds me on an old Calvin and Hobbs cartoon strip where Calvin asks his dad how do they know that the weight limit on a bridge is 20,000 pounds.  The dad replies "They keep driving heavier loads across the bridge until it falls down.  Then they know what the weight limit is for that bridge."  The mother looks to the dad and says "If you don't know the answer just say so." I wonder if there is just a speck of truth in dad's reply to Calvin about how they determine the evevator capacity at 220 Madison Avenue

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TOUGH NEW YORKERS

This is a subway air duct at the corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, one of the busiest intersections, across from the Port Authority. Imagine the thousands if not millions of feet that tramp on this grate every day and the hundreds of cigarette butts tossed carelessly into the grate. There is no dirt here except from the grime of the city. The only water it receives is from the rain and exists with very little sunlight. No plant food, no Miracle-Grow, no fertilizer except from an occasional dog. There is no gardener to provide tender loving care, talk with it and encourage it. It is entirely on its own in the New York jungle and survives.

Despite the disgusting and appalling conditions, this vegetation is not only surviving but thriving. It never quits despite the most loathsome and appalling challenges. It WILL survive.

This typifies many New Yorkers who have a dream and work hard to make that dream come true. When New Yorkers set their mind on an achievement, they succeed despite some of the highest hurdles or, in this case lowest humiliating conditions.

Perhaps a new logo for the city should be: “New Yorkers are as strong as subway air shaft plants” Perhaps not, Dave Letterman’s writers would be working overtime with that material.
Nevertheless this made me stop in my tracks and ponder the tenacity against all odds.

DELIS AND DRESSES

Imagine walking on W 36th street one day and seeing this store front with “New York Lunch Box” on the awning displaying dresses in the windows.


I went inside and asked if they served food. Moishe, the owner of the store named Evita, quickly handed me a menu for a deli down the street. I told him that I wasn’t actually looking for food but for an explanation about the confusion between the words on the awning and the image of his window displays.


He explained that when he moved to the space over a year ago the building was encased with scaffolding; hence he was unable to remove the awning. The scaffolding was removed a couple of months ago but he said he “Kept it (the old awning) up for luck.” “Has it brought you any luck” I asked. “Who knows” was his reply. “Are you going to change it?” I asked. “I don’t know, what do you think?” he replied. “I told him that it really made him stand out from the rest of the shops on 36th street.”


He said that both he and his wife were designers are clothing a designers. I asked about the name “Evita”. “It has nothing to do with the Argentine politician, but just a name he has used for years. He specializes is using appliqués to create original designs.  He showed me his workroom where he has six machined for use in applying the designs. The intricacy and uniformity of the detail work is absolutely stunning.


So what do you think, readers, Should Moishe change the awning?

390 Fifth Avenue

Gorham Silver was headquartered at 390 Fifth Avenue at 36th street from 1905 until 1967 when it was purchased by Textron. This is a picture of the famous bronze balconies with the letter “G” for Gorham in the ironwork from that building.
Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island 1831 by Jabez Gorham, a master craftsman. The firm's chief product was spoons of coin silver.

In 1884, the company opened a store in the Ladies' Mile shopping district in Manhattan, New York City, but moved to the Fifth Avenue building which was designed for the by Stanford White

The White House used Gorham silver services many times. Mary Todd Lincoln purchased an impressive tea and flatware service for use in the White House in 1859. The tea service was presented to the National Museum of American History in 1957. Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant asked Gorham to commemorate the country's one-hundredth anniversary with a spectacular Century Vase that contained over 2,000 ounces of sterling silver. The White House later commissioned a "loving cup" composed of 70,000 dimes was designed for Admiral George Dewey in 1899.

Gorham artisans also sculpted the famous monument of George Washington in the Capitol's Rotunda, the statue of Theodore Roosevelt that overlooks the Museum of Natural History in New York. Gorham designed a number of elaborate trophies for sporting events, including the Borg-Warner Trophy for the Indianapolis 500.

WHAT IS A PETTICOAT?

“Hop aboard the Hooterville Cannonball and visit with the folks at the Shady Rest Hotel in Petticoat Junction” was the introductory song to a 1960’s TV show about four buxom beauties in a fictional town who all wore flouncey square dance type skirts.

This sign would not have been necessary at the Shady Rest Hotel. Fortunately; the proprietor of this store on W 37th street in the Garment District realized that this make-believe town and garment had long ago faded into obscurity. If they wanted to market these outfits he needed to explain their use to a new generation.

My immediate reaction upon seeing the sign was, “Where else would you wear a petticoat?” But, given the couturiere creativity of the day, there must be several ways to wear petticoats, so this retailer felt complied to supply instructions. . Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence” would blush at the thought that some lady would follow today’s trends and display any underwear.

The dictionary explains that in both historical and modern contexts, petticoat refers to skirt-like undergarments worn for warmth or to give the skirt or dress the desired fashionable shape. I can only surmise that the owner of this store designed them for “fashionable shape” not “warmth”.

BUILDING ADVERTISEMENTS

Magid Handbags developed from the millinery business of Mrs. Anna I. Magid (born Poland/Russia 1870, died Brooklyn 1934) at 38 W. 116th St. in 1901." By 1912 Anna was involved with the Hygrade Ornament Co. at 640 Broadway. By 1915 Anna Magid was president of the Hygrade Ornament Co. A year later she branched out on her own as "A. I. Magid Co., Millinery Ornaments" at 4 W. 37th St. This business became A. I. Magid, Co. "novelties", "leather goods", and "handbags" at several locations around the East 30s from 1918 to 1936.

A. I. Magid Co. moved to 30 E. 33 St. in 1937 and became Magid Handbags around 1938/39. The sign says, Over 50 Years of Continuous Service, which should mean that it was painted in the 1950s. Some time in the 1980s the business was sold to outside interests. As of 2003 Magid Handbags still survived as a trade name (registered by Y & S Handbags, 320 5th Ave.) but had no connection with the Magid family.

Coblentz Bag Co. moved to 30 E. 33rd in 1938, where they remained until going out of business around 1980. Louis J. Coblentz, born France 1896, was the founder.

Alan Miller was a short-lived company located in 30 E. 33 St. no more than 4 or 5 years from 1951 until their demise around 1955. They manufactured handbags for a period of no more than 10 years (approx. 1947 to mid 1950s) but left behind Alan's elegant signature on this wall.

WHAT IS THE ADDRESS?

Street addresses in New York City are no help in locating a building.

There is a morsel of uniformity in cross streets with 5th Avenue being the dividing line between East and West. The street addresses start from 5th Avenue and working their way higher as you reach either river.

The Avenue streets addresses are another story. There seems to be no consistency from Avenue to Avenue as to numbering sequence or whether even or odd numbers are consistently on the same side of the street.

We even change the names of the streets, such as 8th Avenue becomes Central Park West and 9th Avenue becomes Columbus Avenue on the Upper East Side. And to further confuse tourists, we call 6th Avenue, Avenue of the Americas and the East River Drive we call the FDR. Broadway retains the same name all through the Borough of Manhattan staking claim to its own numbering system separate from either the Streets or Avenues. Broadway is a simple street to follow unless you are looking for West Broadway.

The building in the picture is at the site of the old New York Opera House. One side of the building fronts Broadway and the other fronts Seventh Avenue. So, where do they send the mail?

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY LIONS

Patience and Fortitude turn 101 this year. They recently had a face lift, hence the much younger look. They received their names by Mayor LaGuardia during the depression as a symbol of virtue to lead New Yorkers during the tough times of the 1930s. Thus they were placed amongst the most beloved New York City icons such as the Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty and Rockefeller Center. They helped define a generation and a attitude.

They are the subject of many New Yorker cartoons amongst one of my favorite which shows two lion cubs roaming the side walk with Patience and Fortitude looking at each other in surprise at their origin.

Generally the tourists photograph the Lions often with a friend or family member at paw. This lady is so brave as to provide world wide exposure to her artistic skills as she demonstrates them for the summer crowds as if they were rushing to an opening day game at Yankee Stadium.

BRYANT PARK CAROUSEL

“Summertime, and the livin’ is ….leisurely” especially in Bryant Park as the trees provide relief from the hot sun and allow for soft summer breezes. I sat on a green slatted lawn chair sipping iced coffee and web surfing when I heard “How are you going to keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?” drifting across the open spaces. My mind was in the 21st century as I was doing internet research for an article on finances but my heart was being tugged by the romantic music. I packed up my computer and followed the sentimental tune to a 19th century Victorian carousel with ornate carvings and massive sculptures. The animals were horses, frogs, and cats, with exaggerated details; the cat’s saddle had the wings of Mercury.

I saw children’s dancing knees and faces of expectation as they waited impatiently waited for their turn. As soon as the ride stopped, and before the children who just finish riding departed, the new group descended on the carousel in an effort to secure their cherished animal.

The bell rang and the ride began. The platform began to rotate, slowly at first and then faster, and the critters began to rise and fall on their shiny brass poles. Younger children held on to the poles with both hands; but the older ones used only one. Once the younger brood and saw the bigger kids riding with only one hand they decided to do likewise. There were babies sitting on horses with their mothers firmly holding the toddlers in place. The mother’s knees went up and down in unison with the movements of the stallion.


I placed my laptop on a table and sat down to continue to research mutual fund prospectus when I notice Lenny, the carousel operator, take a sip of water and stare off into space for two minutes and forty seconds, between rides. (Being an accountant I just had to know how long the ride was.) I decided to talk with Lenny between rides and he told me he is a retired fork lift operator from the General Motors. He runs the carousel on Saturdays and Sundays during the warmer months. He also said that at least one child per ride screams and cries at the end of the ride because he or she doesn’t want it to end. The parent usually relents and pays for an additional ride.

I returned to my computer to study stock risk analysis when I saw two girls wearing off white frilly party dresses, black patent leather shoes, white tights, and a pink ribbon slowly loosening its grip on their hair. They ran toward the horses, jumping their right feet in the stirrup and in one motion throw their left leg over the back of the mare. They totally abandoned their lady like persona and became tom boys in taffeta. Their mothers’ jaws dropped, they shook their heads and rolled their eyes at their daughter’s behavior.

At the end of this ride there was an angry shouting match between another mother and Lenny. The mother refused to take her daughter off the frog. She screamed something about a free ride and shoved a small piece of paper in Lenny’s face. Lenny calmly shook his head and tried to tell her that they can’t stay. All the fun stopped as the children and parents watched the commotion. The music stopped. My research stopped. The atmosphere became eerily silent. Finally, Lenny shook his head, walked away, and pushed the button to start the ride. The bell rang and “Daisy, Daisy, give my your answer true…” began to fill the air. The girl was still on the frog with her mother at her side. Lenny was so cool about this woman’s behavior.

Next, the tax exempt bond analysis tables were interrupted by a dad teaching his son to do the Indian war whoop by making an extended “who” sound and them quickly placing his hand over his mouth and releasing it creating “whoop whoop” sound. The boy quickly caught on, was grinning at his accomplishment, and had that mischievous look on his face which seemed to say “Wait ‘till mom hears this.”

Later, there was only one passenger on the carousel, a boy about three years old.

The horses, frogs and cats chased each other in a circle almost all by themselves without the other children to give them life. The boy’s face was expressionless and he looked to be in deep thought to the sounds of “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee” It is almost as if the livestock comes to life in the movie “Toy Story.”

I decided to put the computer away and talk with Lenny some more. He was obviously more interesting than standard deviation tables. Lenny says that things are not always rosy at the carousel. “This is New York after all and the parents can be pushy at times often complaining that they didn’t get their money’s worth or that they are due a free ride.” I asked what happened with that lady a few minutes ago and the girl on the frog. He said that she was just trying to pull a fast one; she was there yesterday for a birthday party hosted by someone who rented the carousel for an hour. Because she arrived late for the party she thought she was entitled to free rides at a later date. He let her get away with it because it wasn’t fair to the other children to hold up their fun. Lenny said he wonders what kind of example she was setting for her children.

This carousel reminds me of the image of small town America a hundred years ago not sophisticated New York City. The setting for the carousel is in such contrast with the surrounding skyscrapers and office buildings, providing the writer with many examples of the contrasts with this 19th century carousel in 21st Century New York. My favorite contrast is that as I sat not more than ten feet from the carousel, I could research mutual fund prospectus on the web in the 21st century and slip into 19th century America at the same time because Bryant Park is completely wired for internet access.

SEARCHING FOR SUZY PERETTE

I love to say the name, SOO-zee Pair-ETTE. It melts like ice cream on my tongue.
Every morning, on the way to work, I see her name 10 stories up on an old faded advertisement on the side of an office building at 134 W. 37th Street in the Garment District. Each letter takes up a full floor as the name descends the side of the building like a banner unfurling.

“Who is Suzy and why does she have her name painted on the side of an office building?” I ask myself. I just want to meet Suzy.

I stopped by the building and scanned the lobby directory but did not see her name. I saw the building manager and asked:


“Do you know Suzy Perette, the person whose name is on the side of your building?”


“Yes, I think she works on the 10th floor as a designer.”


“What does she look like?”


“I don’t remember.”


“When did you last see her?”


“I don’t know. Why don’t you just go to the 10th floor and ask for her?”


Kazu is on the 10th floor. I called them and ask for Suzy Perette but they do not know her. I have a sneaking suspicion the building manager doesn’t have the slightest clue about Suzy. I interviewed several people as they left the building one evening. None of them knew about the sign or ever heard of Suzy and most thought I was an escapee from Belleview stalking this poor girl. I began to realize Suzy may not work there.

Next, I checked the New York telephone book – no Suzy Perette. I checked the AT&T “Who Where” web site for telephone numbers anywhere in the country. They are no listings for any Suzy Perette in the United States. I bet she has an unlisted number I thought I did a Google search and found her clothes for sale on e-bay and on antique clothing web sites. But there was no mention of Suzy. No obituary, no address, no nothing.

Suzy must like the Doris Day style dresses of the 1950’s, because that is for sale on e-bay. Another web site reports that Audrey Hepburn wore one of Suzy’s dresses in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I bet Suzy and Audrey were friends, maybe even best friends. But Audrey is no longer alive so I can’t check with her to see if she knows where I can find Suzy. Now, I wonder is Suzy is still alive. I next discover that in the Soap Opera The Edge of Night one of the characters wore some of Suzy’s dresses. Suzy must have a lot of dresses or a lot of friends in the entertainment industry, or both.

Then I discovered the truth. Suzy Perette is not an actual person but a registered trademark of the Lombardy Dress Company from 1949 until 1970, which was located at 134 W 37th Street before they went out of business.

However, my search for Suzy comes to a happy end. When I show this article to my wife, she points across the room and said, “If you are looking for Suzy Perette, who not look in my closet?”

Thanks to Molly Woodward for the picture.