It’s been a stressful past week in the Northeast. The Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end of summer beckons. You want to get away but with widespread damage from Irene, most beaches are closed and many of the usual area getaways are under water.
Can you still find affordable last minute getaways? Sure can.
Continue reading “Last Minute Getaways for the Labor Day Weekend”
I woke up to glorious sunshine this morning. All that’s left of Irene, the latest hurricane to hit the east coast of the U.S., is the damage and the cleanup.
For a storm that massive that was predicted to pass over the New York area on Saturday evening as a Category 1 hurricane, we were very fortunate that Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached us. As a result, we had far less damage that what was anticipated.
There have been flooding, mostly in flood-prone areas, trees uprooted trees, power lines brought down and cut off electricity in some areas. There has also been some loss of life but thankfully, not as many as could have occurred if the storm had remained as strong as was forecasted.
Continue reading “Goodbye, Irene”
Born on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C., Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was a musician, bandleader and a prolific composer who has more than a thousand compositions to his credit.
His parents, James Edward and Daisy Kennedy Ellington, both pianists, nurtured his artistic abilities. Duke, who got his name from one of his friends, began taking piano lessons at age seven. In high school, he studied art and was awarded a scholarship to the Pratt Institute but turned it down.
Influenced by ragtime musicians, Duke began performing professionally at age 17. In 1923, he moved to New York City where he began playing in clubs. From 1927-32 and 1937-8, he played at Harlem’s Cotton Club.
Continue reading “Soulful Sundays – Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington”
A few days ago, I posted a list of ten things I love about Harlem and promised to share a few more. Here they are:
Located on the east side of Grand Army Plaza at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, the Plaza is a luxury hotel in New York City. After extensive renovations, the Plaza reopened in 2008 with 282 hotel rooms and 152 private condominium units. In 1986, it was designated a National Landmark building.
I was sitting at my desk checking messages on my phone when my chair started shaking. At first, I thought my chair was wobbly but the shaking was rhythmic. It was a side to side movement that was gentle and definitely perceptibly.
Something caused me to look in the direction of the table lamp. Without a doubt, the shade was shaking. No mistake about it.
Maybe the breeze is stronger than I think it is, I say to myself. But no, the leaves on the trees aren’t moving. Not as much as my chair is.
I looked at my watch. How long has this been? Could this be an earthquake?
Continue reading “Shaking in New York City”
According to news reports, Nicholas Ashford of Ashford and Simpson passed away yesterday here in New York.
Ashford, who was born in South Carolina grew up in Michigan. He moved to New York City in the early 1960s and met his future wife, Valerie Simpson in Harlem’s White Rock Baptist Church. They began collaborating musically with Ashford writing most of the lyrics, Simpson composing. They also recorded together. But it’s their work as songwriters for performers such as Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and others that made them legendary. They also received writing credit on Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry On Their Own.”
They also co-owned the Sugar Bar where live performances are a big part of the menu.
Continue reading “RIP Nicholas Ashford”
When I moved to Harlem more than 10 years ago, you could count on one hand the number of restaurants and banks on 125th Street and surroundings and still have fingers left over. Now, I can sample Senegalese, Jamaican, Cuban, French, American, Italian, Ethiopian, Chinese, and some new fusion foods without having to take a subway downtown.
Oh, and now I have my pick of several branches of the major banks just on 125th Street alone.
Here are a few of my favorite restaurants, the same ones I recommend to friends who come from out of town.
Last week, the buzz was about Cedric, a new French bistro that had its grand opening on Monday night. Named after Cedric Lecendre, the general manager at Le Bilboquet, an eatery on the Upper East Side, Cedric is the latest chef to open an outpost in Harlem. Word is that on opening night, uptown and downtown, including Chris Noth of Law and Order, and Sex in the City fame met at Cedric.
If you ever come uptown, make sure to check out one of these restaurants. I’ll share more in another post later this week.
Bon Appetit!
My new favorite place to spend an afternoon by the water, West Harlem Piers Park.
Today, August 17th is the birthday of black nationalist, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr. He was born in Jamaica on this day in 1887.
In 1973, Mount Morris Park was renamed Marcus Garvey Park. More on Garvey later.
