# Some Writer's Thoughts on New York



## SeaBreeze

Some thoughts about New York...http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferschaffer/new-york-is-always-hopeful#.ovWAdK6LzM


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## SeaBreeze




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## AprilT

NY will always have a place in my heart no matter where I live.


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## SeaBreeze

It's a special place for sure, one can't really appreciate it without having lived there for awhile and being surrounded by all that makes it the Big Apple.


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## SifuPhil

SeaBreeze said:


> It's a special place for sure, one can't really appreciate it without having lived there for awhile and being surrounded by all that makes it the Big Apple.



The good _as well as_ the bad, don't forget ... but yes, I'm glad I had the chance to live there.


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## SeaBreeze

Nice place to be from, but wouldn't wanna live there, huh Phil? layful:


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## SifuPhil

SeaBreeze said:


> Nice place to be from, but wouldn't wanna live there, huh Phil? layful:



Well, looking back at it now, I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time with the right amount of money, doing the right kind of work and knowing the right kind of people. If any of those factors would have been missing I don't think I'd be recalling that time with such affection. 

Besides, to a kid from Yonkers, the Big City was the top of the hill.


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## AprilT

SifuPhil said:


> Well, looking back at it now, I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time with the right amount of money, doing the right kind of work and knowing the right kind of people. If any of those factors would have been missing I don't think I'd be recalling that time with such affection.
> 
> Besides, to a kid from Yonkers, the Big City was the top of the hill.



You should see what they've done with the Yonkers downtown area near the train station, like a mini soho, lots of loft apts.


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## SifuPhil

AprilT said:


> You should see what they've down with the Yonkers downtown area near the train station, like a mini soho, lots of loft apts.



I can imagine, but as Thomas Wolfe said "_You can't go home again_". 

The last time I was in Yonkers, I think it was 15 years or so ago, it was a foreign land to me. My landmarks were either changed to the point of non-recognition or they were completely gone. 

There was nothing there for me anymore.


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## AprilT

SifuPhil said:


> I can imagine, but as Thomas Wolfe said "_You can't go home again_".
> 
> The last time I was in Yonkers, I think it was 15 years or so ago, it was a foreign land to me. My landmarks were either changed to the point of non-recognition or they were completely gone.
> 
> There was nothing there for me anymore.




I haven't been back in NY in nearly as long as you, I haven't any interest in living there either, but I do find some of the changes that took place interesting.  Some of the those changes actually began to take place some 15 years ago when the first lofts started popping up just up the street from the station. Last area I lived in when in NY was New Rochelle, don't miss it so much, but still have love for some things Westchester NY and NYC, might not have left if not for a need for a change in temps; felt I just couldn't tolerate another winter.


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## SifuPhil

It IS pretty depressing there in the winter, isn't it? 

I wonder what businesses they made the lofts out of? Yonkers, like many other towns, used to be a huge manufacturing center - after the closure of so many of those businesses I imagine they'd have their pick of raw loft space.

... and they probably charge NYC prices for them, too, especially with that prime view of the Hudson.


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## AprilT

SifuPhil said:


> It IS pretty depressing there in the winter, isn't it?
> 
> I wonder what businesses they made the lofts out of? Yonkers, like many other towns, used to be a huge manufacturing center - after the closure of so many of those businesses I imagine they'd have their pick of raw loft space.
> 
> ... *and they probably charge NYC prices for them, too, especially with that prime view of the Hudson*.



You better believe it, they were building up that entire waterfront area last time my daughter lived there, she moved to NC, but she lived there for a short while with her humbby they for some reason keep abreast of some of what's going on there so, I get to hear the latest updates whether I want to or not, I did do a short stint there before dashing off to live in New Rochelle though, Yonkers wasn't the best, but when I saw those lofts going up, I almost reconsidered, that was a prime section considering what it was starting to look like, but I was in a prime section of New Rochelle, right around the corner 
from the metro and right across the street from New Rock City in New Rochelle, most people thought I was crazy to move to FL from there.  but, four years in NR and after the third fall on ice in that last year, wasn't anything crazy about it.

But I can honestly understand your not wanting to move back to Yonkers, I never had any love for that area.


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## SifuPhil

I had good and bad times in New Rochelle. The good times were when we used to go to Glen Island (I doubt the casino is still standing) and play Frisbee all day long - we'd come home stoned and with sunburns and bee stings on our feet, but it was the '70's hippie thing to do. 

The bad times? The worst when was I stood in for a fellow bouncer at one of the clubs for the night and got a nice knife scar on my wrist as a memory.


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## AprilT

There wasn't any real club scene when I lived in New Rochelle, I do recall there being such a thing when I was in my teens to early twenties, back in the mid 70s to mid 80's, by the time I moved there, not much of a club scene that I know of.  I was strictly work and home and NYC for real fun by the time I moved to NR.


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## SifuPhil

Yeah, unfortunately it was the Age of Disco. :woohoo1:


I was even wearing a black three-piece suit when I was bouncing there - all I remember is that it was a club that was in a big former bank - big columns outside and marble all over the place ... think it was on Main Street ... but I've forgotten the name of the club.


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## AprilT

From ages 11 to 13 I lived up in Bedford Hills, some of the best and worst times, but the best times were really great living among all those hills lots of places to get lost on the grounds I lived on, some great memories of makeshift sleds and losing track of time. 13-16 Money earning Mt Vernon, (just so you know, I hate that phrase, first time using it,) on what was consider a good part of town, for fun we used to sit and count the cars going by the street.  Best of both worlds, lived not too far from Dyer Ave Subway station and could hop on the bus and get to the station ride to 42 St when it was still a bit seedy and go see two or more movies for one fare every weekend. Also Dire Ave had one of the best pizza shops, so that place often got a lot of my allowance.  Some very fun memories.


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## AprilT

Oh, I remember the area you are talking about quite well.  They also did some illegal drag racing in NR;  I had a boyfriend take me over there one time, I didn't even know what we were going over there for, it was after we had gone out to eat at city island.  Next thing you know their racing, police sirens are going off, I'm pissed off, I wanted to kill him, I was in my early twenties and he had to be near 30.  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  Fun times.  Some of my best times were living in NY, most of them actually.  I've good ones since, but nothing close the NY memories. up till my 40's as well.  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  LOL


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