Tuesday, October 13, 2020. The rains came late on Sunday night, running through yesterday and into today. They dropped the temps into the low 50s which brought us apartment dwellers a gift — some heat for the first time this season. By heat I mean the kind that warms our apartments. Yesterday’s temp mid-afternoon was 51 degrees with a Real Feel at 40 degrees.
Many readers and friends outside New York have the impression that the city is quiet and feels almost deserted. There was a period during the warmer months and lockdown that it felt like that. But that’s over. The roads and the sidewalks are jammed daily, even on weekends (unless it’s raining).
There are a lot of New Yorkers who are still staying close to home (or even self-housebound for “safety’s” sake). But thanks to the restaurants who’ve moved their tables out onto the sidewalks and roadways, lots of New Yorkers are back out on the town, and very grateful to be here.
Three weeks into the Autumn season and there’s almost no sign of changing foliage yet. The trees up and down the streets and avenues and in the parks are all still green-green. Most alluring though are the flowers planted around the trees and in the medians. They are thriving thanks to the slightly cooler weather and, of course, the rains.
Then there’s the Halloween decorations that are starting to appear in the nabes of the Upper East Side. Some people go all out making them fun to discover — like this townhouse on the East 90s off Park Avenue. This is what I call high creativity. I like to imagine this is a family house (children) who could only be filled with wonder and delight at the sight of it. Of course it could also be simply occupied by a very creative and witty neighbor enjoying the “holiday” and passing on their delight with it.
There’s been a lot of talk of people moving out of the city whatwith the pandemic. And I hear from my real estate broker friends of a lot of selling (and buying out of town). But moving trucks are a common sight in the city and always have been. New York is a city of mobility, and of people coming and going. It’s the city of creativity and ambition. It’s still the city where dreams are made to come true. And dreams don’t die (or leave town).
