CityWalks #2 - LES to TriBeCa

I started in the lower east side (LES) at Houston and Forsythe. Walking up and down, and east to west, I was shocked at how deserted the area is. Maybe because it's a Monday? I would still expect some bustle. There were some people, of course. Sitting in cafes reading a paper or just relaxing. Obviously locals in their daily routine. But I only passed a handfull of other visitors to the neighborhood. And even they seemed lost without a crowd.

There were these two awesome wall arts on Rivington - words about the LES and what it is.

What the LES was not lacking was closed shops. I counted 13 in just 14 very short blocks. Plus 4 more buildings that seemed newer and had maybe never had shops in them, and still don't now. It's so weird, and something I never would have imagined.

I stopped by the Tenement Museum, but a school group was going in and the tours they had open didn't start for hours. I'll have to plan ahead next time :)

After that I stumbled across BridgeGallery on Orchard. They were exhibiting a guy named Sydney Cash, who is doing light installations with just pieces of glass and lighting. They were kind of awesome.

It's amazing to find yourself moving from the LES into a part of Chinatown that actually feels like China, without even realizing it. My walk today took me to the part of Chinatown that tourists rarely, if ever, see. I was the only white person for blocks. I didn't hear English, and the signs were all printed in large Chinese characters, only sometimes followed by a small English translation. It was a great glimpse into what Chinatown really is.

From there I found myself in front of the courthouses, sharing a bench in the park with an old woman who just seemed to enjoy the day.

The next area I went to was TriBeCa. It was so sterile. Maybe it comes alive at night, but during the day it's just a bunch of people with two-level strollers and business guys walking around. It seemed incredibly clean for NYC (really, where's the trash?) and even though it's called "historic TriBeCa" all I saw were new restaurants, huge grocery stores and wide sidewalks. Maybe the buildings are historic, but that's about all.

It's so weird, because usually I hate the crowds of tourists on Prince, the unruly mobs on Broadway. But I welcomed Canal when I came back to it after TriBeCa, because it just felt more NY than most of the areas I had visited on my walk. So that's a good day - when I finally appreciate the crazy disaster that is Canal!