9th March 2024

This is New York: St. Paul's Chapel

"St. Paul's is eighteenth-century New York, as good an example as remains in this city in which late nineteenth-century structures are so often looked upon as remnants from the Middle Ages. St. Paul's really is a remnant, but a distinguished one."

This is New York • 9th March 2024

This is New York: Tribeca

"The ebb and flow of the city is ceaseless; this is the shore upon which the wave is now breaking."

18th February 2018

Sketchbook: Malcom Gladwell at Grounded cafe

25th January 2018

Sketchbook: Strand Book Store Owner Fred Bass

This is New York • 10th November 2017

The pleasures of the harbor

In the thick of the city, among the mountainous skyscrapers and valleys of avenues, it's easy to forget that New York is, in fact, an island flanked by two major rivers with its southernmost tip hemmed in by one of the most important ports on the East Coast.

This is New York • 8th October 2007

Around Washington Square

Every spring the sidewalks, stoops, fence posts and fire escapes surrounding Washington Square blossom with eye-catching canvases, wild watercolors, still lifes and sculptures.

This is New York • 21st August 2001

Only history changes at Chumley's

There is no music so that conversation is possible. The room is square, absolutely simple, with little tables set against walls that are decorated with old book jackets.

This is New York • 9th May 2001

Hidden streets of New York: Grove Court

Dusting off the bookshelf, you might come across a dog-eared copy of O. Henry’s short stories. In it you’re bound to find “The Last Leaf,” a charming story about a lovely young woman who is lying in her sickbed waiting out the days until the last leaf on the vine outside her window falls to the ground.

The Villager • 4th September 1994

Ginsberg is back to read in a Village bar

Poet Allen Ginsberg stood waiting in the wings on the downstairs stage at the Village Gate--one of a handful of city night spots that has an historic link to the oral tradition.

This is New York • 15th February 1991

Celebrating the Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year starts on the eve with the release of silken lions to ward off evil spirits. This is the prelude to the longer sustained greeting and dancing of the lions on New Year’s Day when, at about noon, a first high spattering of firecrackers is heard on Mott Street.

This is New York • 11th August 1990

Inside an iconic old deli

Walking down Houston Street, it's hard to miss the big, lit-up sign above Katz's Delicatessen, one of New York's most historic delis.

This is New York • 27th January 1990

4 a.m. at the old fish market

You turn eastward now, toward the East River, and continue south toward Fulton and South Streets. The streets will seem empty and waiting as the early dawn slowly brings dimensions to the black cardboard buildings, but you will never be quite alone.