New York, Day 4...One Festive Bathroom

 Day 4

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

      This morning, I was headed to Queens on a family related adventure.  For that, I picked up the subway at the new Hudson Yards station.  It was great to see so many holiday lights still up.

    Next stop, 52nd Street, Queens...

     I still had a little time, so I ducked into Cafe 52 for breakfast.  

      One rule you learn visiting New York, never pass up a restroom.  And in the Cafe 52, they were even decorated for the holidays.

      Just a few blocks from the cafe is the entrance to Calvary Cemetary.

    

     All I had was a section number, range and row number.  Section 33, like the rest, was pretty large.  With no indication how the range number worked into it, I simply found myself walking up and down rows looking for Smiths.  There are plenty, but I did have a sketch of the stone. It took quite a few back and forths to find it.

     

      These are three of my granddad's siblings, all who died as kids.  The fact the plot was unmarked had bothered Mom for a long time.  Twenty years ago, she started the process of adding the headstone.  No one knew where to find the original deed to the plot.  So, this involved getting legal approval from six of her cousins.  From Mom's initial inquiry with the cemetery this took close to three years.

      After paying my respects, it was time to head back to Manhattan.  Sure, I could have caught the subway.  I chose the slow way.  There was a certain bridge I wanted to walk across.  

     The cemetery borders on Queens Blvd.  From there is was an easy walk west through the neighborhood of Sunnyside.  Yes, the elevated subways are a fascination to me.

      After being out in the cold cemetery, I was looking for coffee.  I only mention this because of something I hadn't seen before.   To avoid the hassle of bathroom keys or punch codes, the staff has a remote control that unlocks the door.  So yes, I had to get buzzed into the bathroom.  

      They also had all the electrical outlets in the seating area covered.  My guess is to avoid people lingering too long.  

      Another thing I don't remember seeing much of in the past are doorways flowing with flowers, even if they're fake.  Personally, I like it.  

     

          The first bridge I would cross took me over the Sunnyside rail yard.

     It's currently owned by Amtrak, but used by NJ Transit and the Long Island Railroad.  The Pennsylvania Railroad originally build the site in 1910 and it would become the largest passenger rail yard in the world.   

     In 2020, Amtrak and the city published a master plan to cover the site and build 12,000 housing units above.  While a nice bonus, this isn't the bridge I was looking for.

    The one I wanted is the Queensboro Bridge.  Originally completed in 1909, it crosses over the East River and Roosevelt Island.

   The view through the fence...

   Frame right is the Rooosevelt Island Tram...

     It makes perfectly logical sense that maintenance would need to be done on the tram system from time to time.  It's not every day you see the tram car stop at one of the two towers, and watch the maintenance crew climb down on the roof for the ride back.

    

        The Kosher Pizza sign is what originally caught my eye. 

     Then I noticed the old advertisement up high and on the left...  

      Lombardy Frocks was founded in that building in 1930.  Suzy Perrette Dresses was another division of the company relaced here in 1949. 

      After a stop back at the room to recharge the phone, I took a walk down to Hudson Yards.  I had an hour or so until I was meeting my friend Brad for dinner.  I was also hoping for a break in the clouds for sunset.  

     

    I got a text from Brad.  He had left work and was fifteen minutes out.  We were meeting at the Molly Wee Pub for dinner.  We've done this a few times and it's always a blast.  We pick a place near Penn Station, then he takes the train home.  We shared old stories and discussed my imminent retirement.  Brad's been through his own corporate mergers and restructuring.  So we compared and contrasted.

     When it was time to catch the train, we walked to Penn Station and said our good-byes.