Time in New York moves so fast and our time here is quickly ticking away. I’ve asked the Professors and staff here at AAP NYC to shed some light on the way that they see this fantastic city. Who better to start the series off with than our very own Executive Director Robert W. Balder.
This photo is from “one of my tours at Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan with the summer students (M. Arch IIs). This shot is from the little known, ‘Irish Hunger Memorial.’”
New York Theme Song:
“As a Yankee fan, it would have to be Frank Sinatra’s version of “New York, New York.”
Favorite place to ponder in the city:
“This is a new favorite choice for pondering the city, it’s call the “WNYC Transmitter Park” and it’s located along the Greenpoint Waterfront in North Brooklyn. It’s name is derived from the old radio transmitter that broadcast the sign for NYC’s most important radio station – WNYC (the broadcast studios where in the upper floors of the NYC Municipal Building (designed by McKim, Mead & White) in Lower Manhattan on Centre Street. My former pondering location was in the middle of New York Harbor riding in the bow of the Staten Island Ferry as she makes her way to Whitehall Ferry in Lower Manhattan. The view to the Manhattan skyline is stunning at sunset and is especially profound as you past the Statue of Liberty (on your Port or left side). “
Best kept secret in NYC:
“That Robert Moses is actually alive and well in NYC. He’s been last spotted working in the “bullpen” with Mayor Mike Bloomberg in City Hall.”
Best New & Historic Architecture in the city:
“The best new architecture in NYC is actually a three way tie between these unique districts in Manhattan:
i) Bond Street between the Bowery and Broadway;
ii) Canal Street District of Tribeca, especially north and south of the West Canal Street corridor from Hudson Street to West Street (be sure to walk around the block as new projects are underway); and
iii) High Line from West 30th Street to the Gansevoort Meat Market (be sure to begin your exploration at 9th Avenue and don’t stop until you get to the Hudson River Park at West Street). “