This weather makes me grouchy. The heat feels inescapable! “I’m baking like a toasted cheese-it!” And I swear by whatever’s holy, the northwest corner of 14th and Second is the hottest swath of sidewalk in the city. There isn’t a tree for thirty yards. And it’s no coincidence that there are fry-houses (KFC and Arthur Treachers) on either side of the street. I walk toward our apartment like someone left behind in desert all day thinking they were just going out for a sunrise camel ride. I see the cobblestones they installed in the tree beds. Cobblestones in the West Village are quaint. Cobblestones in the East Village are where the dogs pee. I appreciate the work of the men who hammered those things into the dirt, but today those cobblestones, the oppressive heat outside the fish and chips place, and the no fewer than three shirtless men I passed lying on the sidewalk contributing nothing more than a stench, made me hate my neighborhood.
So to flip that, I’m dedicated to listing things about the neighborhood that I love.
Good parking (on the QUAINT side streets!)
The sushi place that offers raw fish at half price seven-days a week for every meal
The Basile Family dining options
Pedicures for $13
The fact that our neighbors include a “confirmed bachelor” who works at Barnes & Noble, an acclaimed jazz musician from Finland, an 80-year-old man who is tattooed from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes, and an A-list celebrity
The vagrants (adds character, I’m told)
The shady deli where, when you’re only trying to buy the Post, they offer you loose cigarettes instead of your 50 cents change
Union Square Green Market, St. Marks Green Market, Tompkins Square Green Market
The Stuyvesant oval
We’re 30 minutes from anywhere
Most eateries per capita than any other ‘hood
Chikalicious, Momofuku Milk Bar, Led Zeppole, and 16 Handles are dessert options within a four-block-radius.
The fact that we live here makes us sound hipper than we are
…among others.
Okay, I feel better now.
