Bay Ridge's Gingerbread House

If you live in Brooklyn, especially in the Bensonhurst/Bay Ridge sections, you've probably visited the Gingerbread House more than once.

It looks like a home taken straight out of a fairy tale and plopped down in the southern tip of Brooklyn.

Built in 1917, this house is on the market for a mere $10.5 million. I wish I had that type of dough because I would buy it in a heartbeat. To see more pics and the inside, click here. It's a beautiful neighborhood to live in with the shore a mere block away.

For Halloween the house across the street has decorated, and based on their warped tastes I wouldn't mind having them as neighbors...

My cuz with the Verrazano Bridge in the background

After taking a couple of shots we jumped on the Belt Parkway and headed to Brighton Beach, passing under my second favorite bridge...the Verrazano.

The ever elusive "Stairway to Heaven" shot. I think every Brooklynite has attempted to capture it.

When I get a chance I'll post the Brighton Beach pics...bye bye Bridge!

The Views From Red Hook

The next thing I knew we were careening along the BQE.

On our quest to follow the sun, my friend seemed fine as she kept up with or dodged the trucks and cars, recovered from pothole slams, as she headed somewhere she wouldn't reveal to me. Me? I was getting nervous. As far as I was concerned, we were heading to the sketchy side of Brooklyn.

After we drove around the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the other side of Brooklyn where street names were foreign to me, she said we were in Red Hook. Red Hook? When my grandmother lived down there decades ago, we weren't allowed to visit. Now I'm told you cannot touch the rents, and worse, are the price of homes and co-ops. When did this happen?

Amazingly, she found a parking spot close to the area she wanted me to see. Behind a Fairway supermarket there is a spectacular view from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Fairway has outdoor tables where you can enjoy the view while having a cup of coffee, or more. Roanoke should have something like this near River's Edge. We've got the scenery, the space, and with Carillion & downtown Roanoke so close, the patron numbers to support a Fairway, Trader Joes, or any other marketplace that could supply an outdoor dining area. Oh, and we also have trolleys.

Here's an old trolley that sits to the side of Fairway's outdoor cafe.

The sun had already set over the Verrazano,

and lingered a little longer over the Statue of Liberty.

Looking further east I could see Freedom Tower.

The sky changed by second.

 

 

The Lady's torch and base got brighter as the sunset dimmed.

 

 

Night fell quick on Manhattan.

 

My friend still wasn't through with the tour so we drove to Downtown Brooklyn. I've always called it the armpit, an area to avoid at all costs, but she said it's changed. The area is called DUMBO now, and it's become another "can't touch" neighborhood. Of course, there was nowhere to park, so I couldn't witness the phenomenal view I briefly glanced from the open SUV window. We then passed the Barclay Center. If you're going to see a show, there's nowhere to park so you'd have to take mass transit. Yeah, no. I don't care how much you tell me the area is changed. The subway stations there still suck.

 

 

And here's one of the last remaining bowling alleys in Brooklyn in Sunset Park, another neighborhood I've always feared. Looks inviting, doesn't it?

 

The night had to end as my friend had work in the morning, and finding a parking spot by her Bay Ridge apartment could take some time...seriously.

My Favorite Gift

I started off the new year the best way...with a phone call from a high school friend. I haven't spoken to Irene in a while, but I knew who she was at the first hello. From that point on, it was like we had just hung out yesterday. That's the beauty of being a Brooklyn-bred girl, the passage of time has little do with the original friendship bond. No matter how many years pass between us, no time has passed at all.

It doesn't matter that we've both been divorced a couple of times, had some kids, moved from New York to different states -- she Jersey, me Virginia -- and lost our girlie figures. Once two friends from Brooklyn reconnect, it's like we've stood still in time. Irene and I are still the seniors in New Utrecht High School,  only now we have grown-up problems, not boy problems.

After we "tsked tsked" about our and our loved ones various poor medical conditions, we came to the "what are you doing now?" stage. When I told her I had published two books, she asked if one of them was my Shoe Story. "My Shoe Story? "Yea, the story you said you were going to write for a children's book. I loved that story. You used to tell me it all the time."

Every now and then I get bits and flashes of past ideas, but my memory is pretty much fried. I have to depend on the kindness of others to fill in the gaping holes of my past. Sometimes, it's not pretty. Anyway, as my friend filled me in on the details of My Shoe Story, I suddenly remembered it. Holy shit, how could I have forgotten it? It is a great story.

Maybe I'll see Irene the next time I'm in Brooklyn when she's also there looking in on her mom. I hope so. We could reminisce about the time we were on the bike path near the Verrazano Bridge and stumbled upon the Saturday Night Fever shoot. How silly we acted as we tried to get into the shot. Whose idea was it to jump the benches? Probably mine.

And, I really want to thank and hug her for remembering My Shoe Story. What a great gift. No offense to anyone who reads this, and who gave me a gift, but, this was my favorite one.

Two Views

The view from my friend's apartment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn...love the Verrazano Bridge.



The view from my house in Roanoke, Virginia...love the mountains.



So different, both beautiful. I'm fortunate I can straddle both...

Carnevale at The Shadowbox

Saturday evening the place to be was The Shadowbox in Roanoke, Virginia. Thanks to Roanoke's very own PT Barnum, sans the "sucker born every minute" part, River Laker



urban guerrilla artist, Joseph Carnevale, his girlfriend, Jo, and a riveting slide show, "TRESPASSING: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM RESTRICTED AREAS; JOSEPH CARNEVALE" rolled into town.



What's Carnevale's gig? According to his website, "No Promise of Safety," -- "We trespass for fun. We like to spend our time hanging out on rooftops, climbing to the tops of high rise construction sites, creeping around in storm drains, exploring abandoned buildings, riding freight trains, and just generally using the urban environment as our own playground."

As Carnevale interpreted each photo or video, the audience found themselves perched in locations none of us most likely would ever find ourselves, especially if one suffers from agoraphobia. Another title for the presentation could easily have been "Fisheye is Your Friend" as many of the shots were taken through a fisheye lens. I happen to love that look, and Carnevale uses it superbly, enhancing the already impressive urban landscapes.

I don't know if it's the New Yorker in me or not, but some of my favorite shots were taken atop a couple of New York bridges. Besides the phenomenal view I was impressed, and scared, by the ability of the crew to arrive atop without detection post 9-11. Those 24-hour NYPD surveillance signs are clearly more "feel good" than anything else. I did ask Carnavele if they ever attempted to scale and shoot from my favorite bridge, The Verazzano. He said it was impossible.



On my way out I couldn't help letting him know it wasn't impossible at one time. In the middle of the night, in 1976, my one-day-to-be-husband # 1 and I drove through the bottom "closed" level. In the middle of the bridge, or about there, he stopped the car, got out, reached for my hand, and led me up a slanted concrete slab -- my feet sweating and slipping out of my plastic gladiator one-shoe-laced flats. We perched ourselves on the thin ledge and gazed towards Manhattan, with the black water pulsating below. That's when I developed my fear of heights, and realized I was way too much in love to have done something that stupid, without even having a camera with me.

Not that it was legal then, but now it would be most impossible to even stop on the bridge without someone fearing you're planting a bomb. They even prohibit taking photos from the bridge, as my kids remind me every time I sneak out my camera to shoot the city skyline.



Seeing the shots from the other bridges Carnavele's taken, now I question the validity of those signs. We've never been arrested. And neither has Carnavele. Let's hope it stays that way -- he's young, talented, clearly fearless, hopefully not reckless, and his possibilities are endless. I would be more worried about getting hurt than caught, but that's just me. As long as he's willing to take risks, capturing the world through his distinctive eyes from unconventional heights, I'll be thrilled to gaze from my seat, planted safely on the ground.



Check out his site to see some of his work...you won't be disappointed.

One more thing...this was the first time I visited The Shadowbox, but I don't think it will be the last. I understand last night's show was sold out. Good. Roanoke is lucky to have a venue such as this and I hope the people continue to support it, and they continue to bring unique programs to town. Good job guys.

*****UPDATE*****AFTER THE SHOW*****

As my daughter and I suspected, the crew went exploring in Roanoke. What could they possibly find in Roanoke you may ask. Well, River Laker was kind enough to forward and Joe Carnevale was cool enough to allow me to post this great photo he took last night in Roanoke's Vacropolis Drain. See what you miss when you stay home on a Saturday night...



Photo by Joe Carnevale
In the photo: Joanna Magner, Joe Carnevale, River Laker & John W. Johnson
http://nopromiseofsafety.com

PS. - The Verrazano Bridge shots were taken by me

Brooklyn Boids, I Mean Birds

Although I actually have even more pics from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens I thought I would show you some pictures of some birds I captured in Brooklyn. Now when you think of Brooklyn birds you're probably thinking, "dirty stinking boids" like the rats with wings, pigeons. At our Brooklyn house we have a huge pine tree in the back yard that the neighbors have been bugging me to cut down since my father died. I refuse to cut that one and the other pine that I have in the front of the house. Both trees house some songbirds including one that wakes me every morning singing, "Sweet Marie, Sweet Marie." I imagine that's my dad saying good morning to his granddaughter.

For the most part the birds are the usual ones that you would see here in Roanoke -- cardinals, bluejays, bluebirds, sparrows, wrens, pigeons along with many seagulls. This trip I saw two more types of birds I had never seen before in Brooklyn.

On our way back from the Botanic Gardens we stopped at Greenwood Cemetery to see my folks...



The place is huge and even though they issue maps it's easy to get lost. We know we finally found the gravesite when we stumble upon this gargoyle-filled monument.



My parents are located near one of the two huge ponds. We usually get lost trying to leave as well even though we follow the pond. This time we saw a beautiful bird that we've never seen there before.







Later on I took my daughter to Shore Parkway to go shopping. As usual we walked to the shore to take pictures of my favorite bridge, the Verrazano...



I had to look twice after taking the picture because I thought I saw some birds in the ocean which were too large to be ducks or geese...



We walked closer to the shore and saw that there were two swans diving for fish in the ocean...







My daughter said she didn't know swans swam in the ocean. Neither did I! You never know what you're going to find in Brooklyn.



Wouldn't this shot make a nice postcard? "Greetings from Brooklyn!"

My New York "Must Do's"

I love New York, but by the time I get back home I always feel like I need a vacation. There's never enough time to do all the fun things I have scheduled, nor see all the people I want to. Being a responsible homeowner who lives 500 miles away and partnered with an irresponsible homeowner who lives in the house with his Godawful cats, steals too much of my limited hours.



Rather than visiting Manhattan, this time we spent all our time in Brooklyn. Unfortunately a lot of that time was also spent holding gardening shears, twine, razors, sandpaper, paint brushes, shellac, wrenches, broken tiles, dirt, a machete, blah blah blah...you get the drift. I long for the time when I can say our vacation in New York really was one. Until that miraculous event happens, I am resigned to fitting as many of the "must do's" as I can in until I, or more likely my husband, reaches the breaking point of "I gotta get the hell outta here, now!" and we escape from the city immediately. I've learned to make sure to not put off something I really want to do until "tomorrow" because that day may never come.

This time I knew I needed to get my hair fixed after the recent antique store/barbershop debacle, as well as get my eyebrows waxed after the threading in the mall debacle. I love being able to walk right down the block. I love being taken immediately with no appointment. I love that my eyebrow techie is a Chinese man who knows what looks best, gets right to it, and causes no pain. I love that he then massages my head as he washes it, although by the third go-around I was starting to get a little dizzy. I love that the Chinese hairdresser needs just one or two words to understand what cut I want. The style is another matter. I love that she only small talks in her native language to the stylist next to her and doesn't bother me with useless chitchat. I am amazed how she can blow dry my hair with two hairdryers in one hand and a curling brush in the other and make it look so silky and smooth without any product whatsoever.



Yes, I do have other shirts, and no, I will never get my hair to look like that again. I love that the waxing, wash, cut, and style costs $18.00. I crossed the first "must do" off the list.

My other "must do's" involve the usual...food, friends, family and cemetery, not necessarily in that order. This trip I also wanted to include the Brooklyn Museum and Botanical Garden on my list. Did anyone say pictures??? Besides the usual mandatory shopping spree, my daughter wanted to include going to the East Village on hers. We got to do most of mine, but not all of the girl's...just not enough time. She still enjoyed herself though.



After all, there's plenty of shopping to do in Brooklyn, but she'll definitely be skipping this store...