Meeting Alexander in New York City for Dinner

My grandson, Alexander is currently living in New York City, and I recently went into the city to have dinner with him. He wasn’t available until after 5:00pm so I decided to go in early, walk around and take some pictures. My original plan was to have a walk around Central Park, but I changed my mind and instead decided to walk over to First Avenue, then up to about 54th Street where I would head towards the East River and then head north along the walkway by the river.

Once upon a time I used to spend a lot of time in this area, but I hadn’t been there for many years. After walking for a while I realized that some of the most significant events in my life happened along here. But that’s a story for another day – maybe?

The first thing that attracted my interest was this placard. It was standing outside a store. I didn’t think about the reason it was there, but that would soon become apparent.

Of course, it quickly became clear what was going on, when I encountered this demonstration heading towards Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. International Women’s Day would be only a few days later.

It was definitely an opportunity for some pictures.

Sorry. Couldn’t resist. The demonstration passed right by this advertisement. Of course, what attracted me were the bright colors.

I assume these two New York City Officers were there to keep an eye on the demonstration. However, the demonstration was orderly and very well behaved, so they didn’t have much to do other than watch.

I asked them if I could take their photograph, and they very kindly told me that I could. So, I took the picture and showed it to them on the rear screen. They seemed to be satisfied with it.

I liked the difference in their expressions. The officer on the left is smiling, while the one on the right seems to be trying to appear a little tougher.

This woman was watching the demonstration. I asked her permission to take a couple of photographs of her and her dog. Unfortunately, she didn’t speak English, but I was able to get across what I wanted and she agreed.

The dog was incredibly cute.

Not much of a photograph. A very ordinary picture of a not particularly picturesque building. But it has a particular significance for me.

I first came to New York in 1974 and started to work for the United Nations, specifically the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). At that time Unicef was in this building at 866 UN Plaza. As I recall the building was called the Alcoa Building in those days.

These two statues stand in the UN garden. I still have a UN retiree pass so I could have gone inside to take a picture. But I couldn’t be bothered. I rather like as seen from First Avenue.

The larger of the two is called Good Defeats Evil:

Good Defeats Evil is a bronze sculpture by Soviet/Russian painter and sculptor Zurab Tsereteli (1934 – ) who is well-known for large structures.
Seen here is a human defeating a dragon (you can’t see it in the picture), as in the story of Saint George and the Dragon. The tale tells of St. George slaying a dragon that demanded sacrifices from nearby villagers. Once the villagers ran out of livestock, they offered humans and when a well-loved princess was selected to be sacrificed, the saint rescues the lady. Here we have a new interpretation of the story.
An allegorical St. George, astride a rearing horse, drives his lance through a dragon. The dragon is not the mythological beast of early Christian tradition, but rather represents the vanquishing of nuclear war through the historic treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States. Created as a monument to peace, the sculpture is composed of parts of actual United States and Soviet missiles. Accordingly, the dragon is shown lying amid actual fragments of these weapons, the broken pieces of Soviet SS-20 and U.S. Pershing missiles.  
The sculpture was unveiled on the 5th of October 1990 in a ceremony attended by U.S. Secretary of State James Baker (1930 – ), Soviet Foreign Minister, Eduard Shevardnadze (1928 – 2014), UN Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar (1920 – 2020) and the artist, Zurab Tsereteli.
The sculpture commemorates the 1987 signing of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Nuclear Missiles (INF Treaty) and was given in celebration of the 45 Session of the General Assembly in 1990.

The other, the smaller looking one to the right in the first picture), is, I think the Peace Statue. IF so, it’s actually much larger than it appears in the picture. The Science Times had this to say about it:

The United Nation’s symbol of peace can be seen at its headquarters in New York City. The massive monument features a woman riding a horse with an olive branch in one hand, symbolically leading the nations toward peace.
The Peace Monument is revered as a significant peace symbol at the UN’s main office. The sculpture’s 33-foot-high pedestal is built of marble from the Croatian island of Bra, and it was produced in bronze in Zagreb, Croatia, in 1954.
Antun Augustinčić, a well-known Croatian sculptor, produced the sculpture. The monument was created and erected in 1954 by Yugoslavia, a country then, in front of the UN building in New York. The nation tasked Augustini with carrying out this concept because it wished to present the UN with a gift highlighting its dedication to maintaining international peace.
He proposed a statue of an equestrian that represents world peace. Augustinčić added, “peace would be far better protected if the decision rested with women instead of men.” As for the use of the horse, a war animal, the artist said that he opted to use it because “We must fight for peace.”
The artist visited New York in 1952 to select the monument’s site. Architect Wallace K. Harrison, the Director of Planning for the UN Headquarters, and Augustinčić agreed that the memorial should be erected in front of the General Assembly building alongside the northern entrance, where hundreds of visitors pass daily. However, the newly elected UN Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld, reportedly disagreed and changed the monument’s location. Hammarskjöld wanted it to be installed at the end of the big lawn close to the East River, about 200 meters away from the place originally agreed, which the artist had in mind when he added the final touches to the monument.
Augustin was shocked by the decision, which he found to be exceedingly uncomfortable, but the monument was moved despite his objections. The memorial was eventually placed 40 meters away from the original place. However, even though the monument had greater space at the new location, Augustinčić’s concept of the monument’s organic relationship to the General Assembly building was lost.
The Peace Monument was unveiled on Dec. 2, 1954. UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, chairman of the Ninth UN General Assembly Eelco Van Klefens, and Head of the Yugoslav Permanent Mission to the UN, Dr. Jože Brilej, were present at the ceremony. Artist Augustinčić could not attend because he was working on a new project, Monument to the Victims of Fascism, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

I was now feeling a little hungry. I noticed that I was passing Parnell’s Pub on the corner of 53rd Street and First Avenue. I’d been there before, but not in a very long time. So, I decided to stop and have some lunch. I resisted the temptation to have something heavy because I would still be walking for a while. I also decide to pass on the beer (gasp!) for the same reason.

I ended up having an omelette, a small salad and some coleslaw. It really hit the spot.

As I started my journey up the walkway along the East River I turned around and looked south along the river. This is the view I encountered: pretty spectacular. I guess the East River is more impressive that I thought it was. And if you look at a map, you’ll find that the East River is much narrower than the Hudson River, which passes along the other side of Manhattan Island.

The pictures above are of the Queensboro bridge, known to New Yorkers as the 59th Street Bridge

Fifty Ninth Street Bridge Song

Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy
Ba da da da da da da, feelin’ groovy

Hello, lamppost, what’cha knowin’?
I’ve come to watch your flowers growin’
Ain’t’cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in doo-doo, feelin’ groovy
Ba da da da da da da, feelin’ groovy
I got no deeds to do
No promises to keep
I’m dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life, I love you
All is groovy

Simon and Garfunkel, 1967

These pictures above are of the Roosevelt Island Tramway:.

The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Roosevelt Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The tramway is the first commuter aerial tramway in the U.S., having opened on May 17, 1976, to serve residential developments on Roosevelt Island. The tram is operated by Leitner-Poma on behalf of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of the State of New York.
Before the tramway opened, Roosevelt Island had been accessed via the Roosevelt Island Bridge from Queens, which had opened in 1955. Starting in the late 1960s, the 63rd Street subway line was built to connect new developments on the island to Manhattan. Due to delays in the subway’s construction, the tramway was proposed in 1971 and approved in 1973, initially as a temporary mode of transport. The tramway carried 1.25 million riders in its first year and remained popular thereafter, despite intermittent closures. Ridership declined sharply after the subway opened in 1989, though the tramway remained in operation. Following two major breakdowns in the mid-2000s, the tramway was rebuilt from March to November 2010. The stations were renovated in the late 2010s.
Originally, the tram used two 125-person cabins that were hauled by the same cable. After the 2010 renovation, the cabins were replaced with 110-person vehicles that could operate independently. The cabins travel 3,140 feet (960 m) between an at-grade terminal on Roosevelt Island and an elevated terminal on Manhattan Island. The route operates at all times except late nights, with headways of 7.5 to 15 minutes. The tramway uses the same fare structure as the city’s bus and subway systems, and fares are paid with either MetroCard or OMNY. Over the years, the Roosevelt Island Tramway has been the subject of commentary and praised as an icon of New York City, and it has been depicted in several works of media.

The Roosevelt Island Tramway also played an incredibly important part in my life, but I think I’ll keep that to myself for now.

It is what it is: two men on a barge beside the East River. I thought it made an interesting photograph. I guess I liked the bright colors of the cables in the background and the graffiti.

Located in Manhattan on the shore of the East River at the base of the Queensboro Bridge, this pavilion and sculptural installation were designed to stand out amidst the high-density urban environment that surrounds them. The site was used for decades by the Sanitation Department as a waste transfer station until 1985 when the station was decommissioned and an eighteen-story hotel was proposed. A consortium of organizations including the Greenacre Foundation, the Parks Council, and the Municipal Arts Society protested the commercial development. Eventually the hotel project was abandoned and a public pavilion was commissioned. Funded by nearby Rockefeller University and the Hospital for Special Surgery, it was designed by landscape architect Nicholas Quennell, who had been involved in the protest, and sculptor Alice Aycock.

The exterior of the transfer station was removed, exposing its steel superstructure. A fence resembling a ship’s railings was installed along the section of the pavilion overlooking the river. Light blue benches and decorative paving were inserted in the 12,000-square-foot open-air pavilion. In 1995 Aycock’s 80-foot-long aluminum helix was dedicated, funded by public donations and maintained by the Municipal Art Society. Spiraling through the pavilion’s superstructure and reminiscent of a rollercoaster, East River Roundabout includes a curving roof that resembles a folded fan. Accessible from 60th Street via a pedestrian ramp to the elevated Bobby Wagner Walk, the park is adjacent to the 24 Sycamores Playground and the Andrew Haswell Green Park.

For more information see here.

I was up by the sculpture in the previous picture, when I looked down and spotted people walking along the walkway that I’d just taken. While I often get down low to take a picture, I don’t often take pictures from on high. So, this was a bit of a change for me. I just wish that the woman with the dog had been a little more to the left. I don’t like the way that she intersects with the pole. Otherwise, I quite like the composition.

A lot different from the other pictures I took of the bridge. Here I was more or less under it. I like the way the stonework framed the cars and the tree and the buildings in the background. It’s not easy to see, but the woman standing in front of the silver car is looking through either a camera lens, or binoculars – right at me.

I struggled find a title for this.

It’s actually a metal tank floating between the edge of the walkway and a boat with some bright yellow ropes and a metal cable dangling down. I thought it would make an interesting (almost) abstract photograph.

I was now starting my walk back, first stop “Sutton Place”.

According to CityNeighborhoods.nyc:

Sutton Place is nestled between East 53rd Street and the 59th Street (Queensboro) Bridge, 3rd Avenue and the East River. The neighborhood sports iconic views of midtown and a curious mixture of old, classic New York buildings and new, shimmering high rises.
Nestled along the East River in Manhattan, Sutton Place is a neighborhood known for its elegance, exclusivity, and stunning waterfront views. This upscale enclave is characterized by its tree-lined streets, pre-war buildings, and a tranquil atmosphere that sets it apart from the bustling energy of Midtown Manhattan. Sutton Place is named after Effingham B. Sutton, an early settler and property owner in the area. Over the years, the neighborhood has attracted a mix of affluent residents, including business tycoons, diplomats, and celebrities, drawn to its quiet charm and proximity to amenities. The neighborhood is home to luxurious residential buildings, private townhouses, and upscale co-ops, providing a coveted address for those seeking refined city living. Sutton Place is also known for its lush parks and public spaces, such as Sutton Place Park, where residents can enjoy picturesque views of the river and the iconic Roosevelt Island. With its blend of prestige, serenity, and beautiful surroundings, Sutton Place stands as a coveted residential destination in the heart of Manhattan.
The neighborhood of Sutton Place in Manhattan derives its name from Effingham B. Sutton, a wealthy landowner and businessman who owned property in the area during the late 19th century. The land where Sutton Place now stands was once part of the estate owned by the Astor family, one of New York City’s most prominent families at the time. Effingham B. Sutton, a descendant of the Sutton family, purchased a portion of the Astor estate and developed it into a residential area. The neighborhood gradually took on his name, becoming known as Sutton Place. Today, Sutton Place is renowned for its prestigious addresses, upscale residential buildings, and its reputation as a desirable enclave for affluent residents.
The history of the neighborhood of Sutton Place in Manhattan can be traced back to the 19th century. Originally, the area was part of the larger estate owned by the Astor family, one of New York City’s most prominent families of the time. The land remained relatively undeveloped until Effingham B. Sutton, a wealthy landowner and businessman, purchased a portion of the Astor estate in the late 19th century. Sutton envisioned creating an upscale residential enclave in this prime location along the East River. He developed the area with stately townhouses and elegant buildings, attracting affluent residents seeking a refined and exclusive neighborhood. Over the years, Sutton Place has continued to maintain its reputation as a prestigious address, known for its upscale residential buildings, tranquil atmosphere, and beautiful views of the East River. The neighborhood’s history reflects the vision of Effingham B. Sutton and the transformation of the once rural landscape into a sought-after residential enclave in Manhattan.
Sutton Place, located in Manhattan, is home to several major landmarks and attractions that contribute to its allure and appeal. One prominent landmark is the Sutton Place Park, which runs along the East River and offers stunning panoramic views of the water and the iconic Roosevelt Island. The park provides a serene oasis where residents and visitors can relax, take a leisurely stroll, or enjoy a picnic while soaking in the picturesque surroundings. Another notable attraction in the neighborhood is the River House, an iconic Art Deco building that has been a symbol of elegance and exclusivity since its construction in 1931. With its distinctive architecture and luxurious apartments, the River House has long been associated with the epitome of sophistication and refined living. Additionally, Sutton Place is renowned for its beautiful townhouses and residential buildings, many of which boast architectural splendor and historical significance. These elegant structures contribute to the neighborhood’s charm and appeal, attracting those seeking a blend of prestige, tranquility, and upscale living.
Sutton Place, Manhattan has been home to numerous famous individuals over the years. One notable resident of Sutton Place was actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn. She resided in the neighborhood during the height of her career and brought her elegance and charm to the area. The renowned artist Georgia O’Keeffe also called Sutton Place her home, where she created many of her iconic paintings. Another prominent figure associated with the neighborhood is architect Philip Johnson, known for his contributions to modernist architecture. His innovative designs have left a lasting impact on the architectural landscape of Sutton Place. Additionally, the neighborhood has been favored by notable figures from various fields, including business tycoons, politicians, and influential socialites, all adding to the rich tapestry of history and glamour associated with Sutton Place.

The red plaque on the building above reads:

Ieoh Ming (I.M.) Pei
April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019
11 Sutton Place, Manhattan
Ieoh Ming Pei, born in Guangzhou, China to Lian Jun Zhuang and Tsuyee Pei (a key figure in the creation of China’s modern banking system), came to the U.S. to attend MIT, where he received his B. Arch (1940), and met Wellesley student Eileen Loo; they married in 1942. He received an M.Arch (1946) from Harvard. Two years later, developer William Zeckendorf, Sr. invited him to lead his new in-house architectural design team; early projects include Kips Bay Plaza in NYC (1957-62). By 1960, I.M. Pei & Associates was an independent firm. His selection to design the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library was followed by other prestigious commissions, including government and office buildings, hotels, museums, and a concert hall. His works include the National Gallery, East Building, Washington, DC (1968-78); Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong (1982-89); The Grand Louvre, Paris (1983-93), and the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar (2003-08). Pei, the consummate architect/diplomat, received the 1979 AIA Gold Medal, the 1983 Pritzker Prize in Architecture, and the 1992 U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. The family lived here for almost 50 years, until his death in 2019.

I remember that shortly after I started my career with Unicef I visited Sutton Place. The then Executive Director, Henry Labouisse lived there. I took the elevator up and was surprised to find that it opened directly onto the apartment (i.e. not onto a corridor). This was the first time I’d ever seen anything like that.

At the end of 57th Street there’s a tiny park called the “Sutton Place Park”. It’s a nice place to sit for a while and has a great view of the East River and the Queensboro (59th) Street Bridge.

It also has a fascinating statue of a Wild Boar. It’s cast in bronze and sits on a granite pedestal decorated with snakes, crabs, salamanders, and other creatures and it looked very familiar. Once upon a time, when I was working in Geneva, Switzerland I had to periodically go down to our office in Florence, Italy – I know its I hard life, but someone has to do it. I’d often walked past Pietro Tacca’s bronze Porcellino (“piglet”) statue, located in the heart of the city and more precisely near the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, not far from Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria. Based on an ancient Greek marble original discovered in Rome in the 16th century, tourists like to rub its snout – it’s supposed to bring good luck.

The boar in Sutton Place Park is a copy of that replica, installed in 1972 was a gift from neighborhood philanthropist, Hugh Trumbull Adams, a descendent of the colonial governor of Connecticut Jonathan Trumbull. Mr. Adams donated many public works of art to the city including the Armillary Sphere located at the pocket park further south on 54th Street and the bronze Peter Pan statue at Carl Schurz Park, about 30 blocks north along the East River.

If you follow the link above, you’ll see that there’s startling wrinkle to this story:

In August 1999, Peter Pan disappeared. In a widely reported act of vandalism, the statue was dislodged from its base, to be subsequently recovered by the New York Police Department from the bottom of the East River. There were no suspects, indeed, as Parks Commissioner Stern said at the time, “We thought his only enemy was Captain Hook.” Celia Lipton Farris, a British actress who had played Peter Pan on the stage, contributed funds toward the restoration and more secure reinstallation of the sculpture in 1999.

As I was walking down Sutton Place, I came across this impressive building. The building seemed to have its own police box! It seemed to me that people of significance must live there.

However, I didn’t know what it was until I was able to get home and do some searching.

Apparently, it’s One Sutton Place South. Wikipedia describes it as follows:

One Sutton Place South is a 14-story, 42-unit cooperative apartment house in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, overlooking the East River on Sutton Place between 56th and 57th Streets. One Sutton Place South contains the residences of diplomats, titans of industry, and media executives.
The building was designed and completed in 1927 by Rosario Candela and Cross and Cross for the Phipps family.
The building is topped by a penthouse, a 17-room unit that has 5,000 square feet (460 m2) of interior space and 6,000 square feet (560 m2) of terraces that wrap entirely around it; the penthouse was created originally for Amy Phipps as a duplex. When her son, Winston Guest, the polo player and husband of garden columnist C. Z. Guest, took the apartment over, the lower floor was subdivided into three separate apartments, one of which was occupied by designer Bill Blass. The Guests lived on one side of the penthouse and one of their sons, Alexander, lived on the other side for several years. The Guests sold the apartment in 1963 about the time that their daughter, socialite Cornelia Guest, was born. The apartment was then acquired by Janet Annenberg Hooker, the philanthropist who died in late 1997 and was a sister of Walter Annenberg, the communications magnate and art collector. The apartment was put on the market in early 1998.
A portion of the property behind One Sutton Place South was the subject of a dispute between the building’s owners and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Like the adjacent park, part of the rear garden at One Sutton Place South is cantilevered over the FDR Drive, a busy expressway at Manhattan’s eastern edge that is not visible from most of Sutton Place. In 1939, city authorities took ownership of the property behind One Sutton Place South by condemnation in connection with the construction of the FDR Drive, then leased it back to the building. The building’s lease for its backyard expired in 1990. The co-op tried unsuccessfully to extend the lease, and later made prospective apartment-buyers review the legal status of the backyard and sign a confidentiality agreement. The question of ownership came to a head in 2003 when the state’s Department of Transportation began rehabilitation of FDR Drive between 54th and 63rd Streets and threatened to tear up the garden to fix the deck. In June 2007, the co-op sued the city in an attempt the keep the land, and on November 1, 2011, the co-op and the city reached an agreement in which the co-op ended its ownership claim to a smaller section of land sitting atop the deck only, with each side contributing $1 million toward the creation of a public park on the disputed portion.

This colorful design was painted on the side a building (I don’t remember exactly where it was). It’s pretty impressive. I have a mask that’s very like it, but I don’t remember where I got it. Maybe Sri Lanka?

Located at 224 E 47th St (between 2nd and 3rd), its website describes its history as follows:

Bearing the name of one of the YMCA of Greater New York’s most benevolent families, the Vanderbilt YMCA Branch opened in its current location in 1932 and was then known as the “Railroad YMCA.” Now focused on meeting the needs of nearby residents, office workers, and members of the United Nations community, the branch was originally established in 1875 to provide housing for the nation’s railroad men. One of many “Railroad YMCAs” throughout New York City and across the country, the forerunner of the Vanderbilt YMCA was housed in the basement of the New York Rail Station on the site of today’s Grand Central Terminal. These railroad workers found clean overnight accommodations, affordable meals, and an array of programs to occupy and enrich their time between journeys. The branch and its extensions moved multiple times over the decades, and once occupied sites where today’s Roosevelt and Waldorf-Astoria hotels now stand.
The “Railroad YMCA” was renamed the “Vanderbilt YMCA” in 1972 in recognition of the significant role that railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, and his heirs played in its history. Today, the Vanderbilt YMCA serves its neighbors in many ways, including through extensive youth programs, a health and wellness facility, guest rooms, and more than 125 different classes per week for adults, seniors, families, teens, children, and tourists. The branch also opened a fully equipped early childhood center in 1990.

I stayed there for a couple of nights way back in 1974. I can’t say I cared for it very much. It’s also associated with a significant period in my life. But, once again I’m not inclined to talk about it here.

And that was about it. I met Alexander at the Wheeltapper Pub in the Fitzpatrick Hotel where we had an early dinner and a few beers. I didn’t take any pictures because: I already had some from previous visits; it was a bit dark; and I was more focused on eating and drinking than I was taking pictures.

After that we walked to Grand Central Terminal where I took this picture. Then we went our separate ways.

All in all, a very pleasant day.

Meeting Alexander in New York City for Dinner

To Halsey Pond Park and Back