For city dwellers, summertime brings lots to do and see around New York. These three free-and-easy options are thoroughly enjoyable.
This summer, many of the city’s activities are back in full swing, such as Shakespeare in the Park, SummerStage and Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City, to name a few. They’re great, but usually overcrowded. Now that we are all on the move again, it’s fun to find places in the city that are unique, but with room to move around and enjoy them.
Over the past month, I went back to three favorite places that I haven’t visited in years, and even decades. I was happy to see that they are all still wonderful and great places to spend a warm summer day.
Roosevelt Island: Island Hopping in New York II
My go-to island hop, Governor’s Island (which is now open year round!), has been transformed into a magnificent greenspace and more, with spectacular views. In the past month, I’ve rediscovered Roosevelt Island after many decades. What a huge surprise! The last time I’d visited the island, it was a bit dingy and lifeless. The roughly 2 mile by .8 of a mile has new life – and it’s a great oasis to laze, picnic, or just walk since it’s so small. The walking path around the island is varied and there are gorgeous views from every vantage point.
I took the tram over on a picture-perfect day and relaxed for a bit in one of the comfy lounge chairs sprinkled around the path. On the north end, I explored the historic lighthouse and art exhibits including the excellent The Girl Puzzle. On the south end, I visited architect Louis Khan’s powerful and minimalist memorial to FDR. Somewhere in the middle was a real surprise to me: The Cornell Tech campus – a stunningly innovative complex that serves as a hub for NYC’s tech community.
There are tons of nooks to settle in, or eat and chat at tables situated along the river’s edge to enjoy the views. It’s a quick and easy respite from the day-to-day that feels like a getaway.
Museum @FIT: A Fashion Favorite
So thrilled to see that this museum is open again. With its huge archive of collections, the Museum@FIT never disappoints. There's only one exhibit at this writing: Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies. It’s in the smaller gallery, but well worth a trip if you’re near the Fashion Institute of Technology. The exhibit juxtaposes work by two of the 20th century's most influential couturiers, Christian Dior and Cristóbal Balenciaga. It features more than 60 garments displayed side by side. The focus is on the construction and exquisite workmanship of the pieces from each house, and emphasizes the elegance and luxurious style they each created.
I admire Dior’s work, but I’ve always been a big fan of Balenciaga. His modernist shapes and silhouettes are simply gorgeous. His red ribbed coat is stunning (watch the slideshow below). Designer Claude Montana’s (The House of Montana) work, an 80s-90s favorite of mine, felt rooted in Balenciaga, with the same love for construction and high quality. But Montana clothes were far more radical and exaggerated, and typical of their eras.
Here are some highlights from the exhibit.
Top: Pale beige ribbed silk evening dresses | B: 1961 and D: 1957
Slideshow:
1: Exhibit signage
2: Wool day suits | B: 1950 and D: 1952
3: Balenciaga cocktail dress, velvet evening jacket and coat, circa 1950
4: Balenciaga purple mohair coat | 1960 and Dior olive wool bouclé coat | 1958, on the right
5: Balenciaga red ribbed cotton coat | 1958
6: Balenciaga silk organza ostrich feathers | 1967 and Hubert de Givenchy coral silk and coq feathers | 1968 (Dior died in 1957.)
Green-Wood Cemetery: A National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn
Boasting nearly 500 acres of hills, valleys, ponds, paths, tree species, and one of the largest collections of 19th and 20th century mausoleums, Green-Wood Cemetery is a dream for walkers, artists, and history and nature lovers. In addition, it has nearly 600,000 permanent residents – some of them quite famous: Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Louis Comfort Tiffany, to name a few.
The last time I visited Green-Wood was for a jazz concert more than 20 years ago, when the cemetery had yet to receive its landmark status. That definitely was first – I had never sat on a hill among headstones and statues of angels while bebopping.
On this visit, on a coolish and clear mid-summer day, there were few visitors in sight, and I was left to hear the sounds of nature (well, traffic too, it is in central Brooklyn) and my own thoughts, and roam among the old and the new builds within the grounds.
In addition to the fantastic architecture of the main and secondary gates, the many statues and the overall lovely landscaping, I quickly became fascinated with the beautiful, intricate doors – with various patinas, to the many mausoleums.
Here's a collection of the doors that I found.
How do you spend a summer day in the city? Where's your go-to place?
All photos: © 2022 Janet Giampietro.
