PLEASURES and TREASURES in NEW YORK CITY,

DURING the PANDEMIC

by David Christopher

(Part Five)

Chapter 25	The Bronx Zoo
Chapter 26	Plastic Bag Store
Chapter 27	Old Westbury Gardens
Chapter 28	Architecture
Chapter 29	Metropolitan Museum

Chapter Twenty-Five: Bronx Zoo

A long subway ride took us to the Bronx Zoo.
Last year when we went to the Bronx Zoo, we took a subway to the top of Manhattan, then an express bus across Fordham Road to the main entrance. This year, we remembered that the bus was very crowded, therefore unsafe, so we went a diffenent way. We took the #2 subway to East 180^th Street, and entered from the bottom of the Zoo. This is an enormous zoo, advertized: “A metropolitan zoo with 265 acres that harbors 4,000 animals in replicas of their native habitats.” This means that in order to see many animals, one must walk long distances. And often in their large habitats, they are hidden from view. When one does see the animals, they are terrific, but it makes for a long, exhausting day. It happened to be around Halloween, so adorable children in costumes were also on view. When we were too tired to do any more walking, we took the Bengali Express Monorail, which covers many acres, and many animals (though some very far away). But at least we were sitting. The most exciting viewing was of 2 baboons chasing and fighting each other, not easy to photograph, but I did get one pretty good shot.

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Plastic Bag Store

A few days before we left, we discovered this amazing, art project, right in Times Square.
“The Plastic Bag Store was a public art installation and immersive film, by artist and director Robin Frohardt. He used humor, craft, and a critical lens to view our culture of consumption and convenience, specifically, the enduring effects of our single-use plastics.” In the store, the shelves were stocked with thousands of original, hand-sculpted items, produce and meat, dry goods and toiletries, cakes and sushi rolls, all made from discarded, single-use plastics in an endless display of packaging. There were also witty signs and displays, with play-on-words logos, involving plastic bags. After we explored the store, it was transformed into an immersive, dynamic stage for a film in which inventive puppetry, shadow play, and intricate handmade sets told the darkly comedic, sometimes tender, story of how the overabundance of plastic waste we leave behind might be misinterpreted by future generations. After the movies (originally meant to be live performances), we were taken inside one of the display cases for a tour of a “museum of the future”. Unfortunately, the exhibit only ran from October 22 to November 7, so it’s no longer available. But it was truly an remarkable experience.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Old Westbury Gardens

A trip to Long Island to visit our friend Emily Bengels, brought us to this gorgeous place.
Because of Long Island Railroad track work, we couldn’t take the train to Westbury, but instead to Garden City. After a little extra breakfast in this nice downtown, we got a Lyft to the Old Westbury Gardens. It was so good to see Emily again after so long, and we walked around this beautiful place with her. Even though it was October when we were there, there were more flowers blooming than any other garden we’d visited. A lovely day.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Perhaps the city’s greatest treasure is this magnificent museum.
We found the easiest way to get from the Westside was take the C subway to 81^st St. and then the 79^th St. crosstown bus. The museum is on 5^th Avenue between 80^th and 82^nd St.
Over the years, we have been here many, many times, but it’s always a thrill. Of course, this museum is huge and one can’t see it all in one visit. So, we went twice this year, but still only saw a portion of the works on view. We began in the Greek, Roman, and Italian sculpture sections, and then to some “modern” painting. The next day we started in the fabulous Egyptian wing, followed, of course, with the period rooms, including many clocks. Need-less-to-say, I can only show a smattering of photos to give a general impression.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Architecture

To wrap up this photo essay, I wanted to reiterate one of the things that impressed me most.

I was quite amazed this year at the abundance of “modern” architecture in the city.
For many years, New York architecture was much more “simplistic” than other major cities like Chicago.
Most of the new buildings straight-up glass & steel structures.
But we observed so many more eclectic buildings this time, and I was very pleased with that.

I’ve shown these photos in previous chapters, but I wanted to bring home
how stunning our city skyline has become.

Public Art Interlude #5

At the end of each Part of this book, I will share photos of Public Art. Here are more examples of “Street” and “Public” Art that I’ve seen around the city.

Click Here for PART ONE	Click Here for PART TWO
Click Here for PART THREE	Click Here for PART FOUR