A handy guide to some of New York’s hidden gems of public space that will delight tourists and natives alike.
Tiny oases of greenery in the concrete jungle are celebrated in this sprightly guidebook, the first of a planned series.
Recalling her salad days as an actress searching for that most precious of New York commodities—a place where you can sit down without paying—novelist O’Brien (First Saturday, 2012, etc.) offers this compendium of 56 “privately owned public spaces” and city parks in Manhattan, from Midtown on south. It doesn’t take much to make a park in those environs: Take a vacant lot or a recess bordering a sidewalk, add a few planters with shrubs, some chairs and furniture—you’ve got Gotham’s answer to Yellowstone. Some of these are little more than places to rest one’s feet during a shopping binge after grabbing a bite from a sidewalk vendor, but many manage to conjure a sheltering, distinctive space from cramped dimensions. O’Brien seeks out those that feature verdant foliage and clever landscaping, sculpture and artworks that add visual interest, dramatic views of the cityscape, a glimmer of a reflecting pool or a waterfall to mask the roar of city noise. Some will surprise even longtime New Yorkers: Abingdon Square, a twisty lane shaded by tall trees in Greenwich Village, designed by Calvert Vaux with his usual romanticism; Eighth Avenue’s One Worldwide Plaza, a broad yet intimate expanse centered on a fountain, recalling an Old World piazza; Christies’ Garden, an assemblage of ivy-covered walls, cafe tables and art from the auction house’s collection, with an air of Parisian urbanity; 60 Wall St., an enclosed atrium (why can’t a park be indoors?) that, with its palm trees, Oriental decor and food stalls, makes for an enchanting caravanserai; Park Avenue’s minute Ascot Plaza, sporting New York’s best historical inscription—“On this site in 1897, nothing happened.” O’Brien’s brief, breezy text is filled with snippets of intriguing lore, crucial info on restroom access and eating opportunities, and clear directions (alas, no maps). Vivid color photos by Mario Burger, Nicholas Alfonso and others add still more enticement.
A handy guide to some of New York’s hidden gems of public space that will delight tourists and natives alike.Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-615-92103-7
Page Count: 126
Publisher: Pocket Parks Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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