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Brooklyn, New York, Saturday, May 7, 2005, 11:00
am
Hello from New York City (5) - A Local
Expert Takes Us Through Queens
Yesterday was a pretty interesting day, the weather was cool and
overcast, with rain coming in during the latter part of the afternoon.
A few weeks ago I had booked a meeting with one of the Big Apple
Greeters, an organization of local NYC volunteers that takes out-of-town
visitors around the city and shows them local sights and shares
local information. The service is a great way to link up with a
local New Yorker, and best of all, it's free of charge.
We were supposed to meet Suzanne, our greeter, at 11:00 am at the
71st Street subway station, but we got a late start after breakfast
and there were some delays on the subway system, so we didn't meet
Suzanne until 11:50 am. Suzanne is a former highschool teacher,
in her sixties, and a very friendly and outgoing individual. We
felt bad about being late, but she said it wasn't a problem at all.
She was extremely gracious and helpful throughout our entire time
with her.
Forest Hill Gardens.
Suzanne started the tour by taking us through a very upscale Queens neighbourhood called Forest Hill Gardens, which is a neighbourhood
with private streets where local residents pay higher than normal
taxes for additional services, such as more frequent garbage pickup
etc. Suzanne indicated that these homes go from anywhere from US$
1 million and up. Everything was blooming and many local handymen,
gardners and maids were on the road. We also had a chance to visit
the old US Open Tennis Center which is located in an amphitheatre
right next to the Forest Hill Country Club.
Everything was in bloom.
On from there we took a bus to the Flushing neighbourhood, an area
with lots of Chinese and Korean stores, where Suzanne treated us
to same savory Chinese dumplings. All the time she explained to
us the multicultural character of Queens, and that one of the main
subway trains (the 7 train) is called "The International Express"
because it cuts through all sorts of ethnic neighbourhoods.
A quick jump onto this very subway later, which runs on elevated
tracks through a good chunk of Queens, so you can actually see the
neighbourhood, and we arrived in Jackson Heights, an area with a
lot of Latin American immigrants and further west we saw lots of
South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) stores. For a Torontonian
seeing all these ethnic stores is not all that unusual, since we
have a lot of that in Toronto too, but I am sure these ethnic neighbourhoods
must be quite unusual and unique for people who come from smaller
less international places.
Chinese stores in Flushing.
We then took the 47 and 19 Queens bus to a neighbourhood called
Astoria, where a lot of Greek immigrants congregate. We ended up
having dinner in a little quaint and cosy Greek restaurant called
Zygos Restaurant ("zygos" means "libra" or "balance")
where we continued our nice conversation with Suzanne, our local
expert. Suzanne has been a greeter for the last 12 years and has
studied all areas of New York City. She said she travels, by herself,
into all areas of NYC, including Harlem and the Bronx, and she loves
exploring and sharing the city that she loves with people from all
over the world.
When we left at about a quarter to 7 pm, Suzanne had spent more
than 7 hours with us and we had really gotten to know each other
quite well on a personal level. We also we ended up exchanging email
addresses and we extended mutual invitations to stay in touch and
I said I'd love to take her around whenever she comes to the Toronto
area.
The Greeter experience has been excellent, our personal local expert
really loves her city and she loves interacting with visitors and
we definitely enjoyed her enthusiasm. I am sure we have a new friend
to call up next time we come to New York City.
Useful books for travel to New York City:
Related articles:
"Hello from New York City (1) -
First Impressions of the Big Apple"
"Hello from New York City (2) - Exploring
Mid-Town Manhattan"
"Hello from New York City (3) - Brooklyn
Bridge, Ground Zero, Downtown"
"Hello from New York City (4) - Staten
Island and a Random Act of Violence"
"Hello from New York City (5) - A
Local Expert Takes Us Through Queens"
"Hello from New York City (6) - Checking
Out Coney Island and Harlem"
"Hello from New York City (7) - Prospect
Park & Washington Square Park"
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - small
hotels.
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - hostels.
Here is my New York City budget accommodation guide - bed
and breakfasts.
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