The "New" New-York Historical Society Library

Today, I used the "new" library for the first time since it closed for renovations in June. The carpets are new, the reference desk is new, the chairs are new. The lamps all have curly-fries bulbs installed.

Something else is new, too. You cannot bring paper into the library. It is not possible to bring a sheet of paper or index card into the reading room. Users may only bring in laptops, cell phones, and digital cameras.

Read this; click on the image to enlarge it.



















I cannot imagine why a library would not welcome people who use their notes for research. Not everyone owns a laptop (me!), can afford to buy one, or cares to work on one in a library. Nor can anyone remember every detail they want to research: names, dates, places. Obviously, I am not a technological Luddite (here I am blogging), but I am amazed. When I asked why I couldn't bring a single sheet of paper into the Library, I was told that it was a new policy. But why? No one could tell me. Perhaps the head librarian will answer my email, eventually.

What is going on here? Does this strike anyone else as strange and perhaps a trifle Draconian? I'd love to know your thoughts.

Be prepared!

Red Hots

Thinking about my birthday, and it's a Chicago night. In the 1960s, there were three main shopping streets within a few blocks of our house: 55th St., 59th St., and 63rd St.

55th Street was the best: a secret library sub-branch on Mozart (pronounced MO-zar) stood next to the donut shop where a very thin lady ate two frosted every morning. Nearby was Red Hots: corned beef, fresh steaming fries, and all-beef hot dogs. Sausages. On buns with fries. For $1.00 -- the best lunch in the world. Counter talk:

"Yeah, lemme have corned beef on rye. Is it lean? Show me. Cut the fat off. You call that lean? Don't gimme the leftovers from the end, cut it from the new piece, there, that one."

"Did you just make those French fries? I want the fresh ones. No, don't give me those from the side. Gimme the fresh ones. With the corned beef. And two Red Hots. With fries. I don't want the soda. You got coffee?"

"I'm going to sit over there. I don't want to sit in that draft. Call me when you got the Red Hots ready."

Noisy, hot, wonderful Red Hots.

Christmas to Easter

So much has happened since I last posted! (I've been over on my heraldry blog.) Trader Joe opened a huge new store on the corner of 72nd and Broadway. At first, the stock was thin and there wasn't much variety. The fruit looked old and the vegetables were lumpy and pale. Last Thursday, I went back to buy some 99 cent greeting cards and saw that the shelves were full, interesting, and lots of people were buying things like chicken pizza, bananas, and cake. The store was buzzing, everyone seemed happy, and it was a bright spot in a dull day.

Trader Joe was joined by a new 24-hour, 2-story Duane Reade a little over month ago. It's like a mall anchor store -- big, bright, all glass, lots of stuff. They ran out of Easter candy a week early; "seasonal" is now baseball. I still have my $5 off a $15 purchase -- last coupon, so I'm hanging onto it until I need to buy something big or a lot of little things.

Rain today -- sunshine for Easter?

6:36 New Year's Day

You'd hardly believe it's January. The weatherman says it will hit near 50; all the snow has turned into a slush fest. The skylights on the roof -- buried in snow a week ago -- are clear but streaked with soot. I wonder if the tenant below had a flood.

All of these stores were open on 12/26/10.

The light on the apartment house across the way is yellow, like an old-fashioned street lamp. For some reason, it seems particularly bright as the sun starts to rise. I cracked the blinds so that I could see it, a beacon to the neighborhood, a constant.

I'm debating whether to start my day and the new year, or listen to the news, or just doze in the big maroon chair. I wonder if what I do now will set the tone for the year. I wonder if I'm being too categorical.

Happy New Year!

Almost Midnight!

Back in the summer, I resolved to post every day. Here it is, almost midnight on Dec. 31, 2010. Where have I been? Where did the time go?

Time to get back to writing. I've been photographing my neighborhood for months, but have few stories to go with the pictures. Here are three from our snowstorm the day after Christmas.

Now everything is a slushy mess. But a few days ago, we were engulfed in snow, snow, blowing snow, and the fine powdery stuff that djins stir up.

Crossing Amsterdam Avenue

Apple Bank, 73rd and Broadway

Subway Station, 72nd & Broadway

Happy new year, everyone!

Leafy with a Touch of Loud

This is what my street looks like today: cool and shady


but getting busier by the minute.


In come the tanks, chatting with each other and ready for work ...

... in the shadow of an ancient tower


We are all waiting for fall.

Up in the Sky in Manhattan

On a walk around the neighborhood today, I found these two images splitting the sky. My vantage point was the corner of 74th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, looking west.

Photos by Maria A. Dering

I stayed outside, hoping the rains would come. Not yet -- still a sticky afternoon.