It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Photo by myself in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side, around 69th Street.

This structure, with its winches and chains, must have been used to load ships. Now it looks about to topple over. The Hudson River and New Jersey are in the background.

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We've had some beautiful days here in New York.

Yesterday for the move, it was gloriously sunny. Mark and I were walking to his apartment in Greenpoint when we encountered two of his neighborhood buddies. One is an artist who works as a creative director by day. The other escaped a tough life in LA and will soon be a Greenpoint restauranteur.

We all stood on the sidewalk, reminiscing about how empty the neighborhood had been just three years ago. Now it's hopping.

'It's become Williamsburg,' one of the fellas said, referring to the trendy neighborhood next door.

'You get out of the subway and there's a ton of people,' said the other, holding his hands out wide.

I said goodbye to the cat who lives in the corner bodega. He was asleep on a box of detergent but was good enough to crack open a yellowy eye. At the cashier, I ran into one of the women who had helped rescue the homeless cats with me last fall. The grey cat in her care has been adjusting well.

Small world. Saying goodbye to Greenpoint was bittersweet. We had our frustrations with finding consistent restaurants, and how sleepy it was at times. But the people were great. Despite what you might think about big cities, you can get to know your neighbors.

Finally, we said our farewells to Mark's downstairs neighbors, his landlord and another neighbor down the street. Then we packed up the fish and motored off.

'Well that's the last pizza we'll have in old Greenpoint,' Mark said.

I assured him he was wrong. No, we'd be back for pizza and a beer soon enough. I can't imagine never going back.