I Still ♥ New York
I love New York. Even in the wake of all the recent misery, I still love New York. As trumpeted across the airwaves coast to coast, to prove to others and mostly to ourselves, there’s been lots of talk about New Yorkers being hearty people, not easily broken. It’s true. You can’t be soft here. Day-to-day life is harder than in most places in the United States. We’re on top of each other, it’s frenetic, temperatures are extreme, as are the attitudes. We live in cramped spaces and pay too much for most things. And that’s just the beginning.
I’ve lived here six years and I’ve met an abundance of interesting people and crossed paths with ones I don’t know personally, but certainly know of.
I’ve walked into my local Starbucks as Lady Gaga was walking out, passed Paul Giamatti on the street more times than I can count, ate next to Paul Dano at Hanco’s during many lunches, sat across from Cynthia Nixon in a waiting room, stretched my legs next to Bette Midler during intermission, done Pilates with Mary Stuart Masterson on a regular basis, taken a subway with Michelle Williams, and watched Mike D of the Beastie Boys coach a bunch of boys in my son’s basketball league. New York is filled with these kinds of people. But it’s also filled with lots of others.
As life gets back to normal here, the news is filled with faces I don’t know—the strong ones who continue to live without heat or electricity or their gone-forever-life-long-home, washed away by water.
Quickly after the Hurricane Sandy altered many areas of New York, The New York Times had a little story in the Thursday Style Section about another face in New York, artist Sebastian Errazuriz, and a t-shirt he created to benefit Sandy relief programs. It’s a thing a beauty and it was born out of heartbreak.
I bought one immediately, and you should, too. 100% of the $40 purchase price goes directly to Hurricane Sandy relief programs. Available at Grey Area. Here’s more on Sebastian Errazuriz and his tragically beautiful t-shirt.
Sebastian Errazuriz’s studio was paralyzed after the hurricane. Unable to work and tired of watching the horrible disaster unfold on the news, Errazuriz decided to design something to help raise much-needed relief funds. This idea occurred to him after seeing the water line marked on the walls of the flooded galleries in New York’s Chelsea art district.
Thanks for sharing this Jen. I don’t think a lot of West Coasters realize the amount of devastation that was caused by Hurricane Sandy. I’m often awed with people’s resilience and creative output in times of tragedy. And we’re talking about New Yorkers here, not just anyone.