Open House New York (OHNY) - Tag der Offenen Tür

We planned our visit with OHNY (Open House NY) in mind, a super opportunity to visit places/private homes/collections/museums/gardens, etc., which are usually not open to the public. 

On Saturday - our first cloudy, cool day during this trip - we walked over to CUNY (City University of New York City) to see their architectural faculty in Spitzer Hall. Besides an exhibition they showed us around a bit and let us go to the rooftop with a good view.

We took the subway to the Central Park's northwestern end and walked through the park (above) - with beautifully colored trees, a cardinal sitting on one of them, and through the Conservatory Garden (photos above) - to East Harlem and the Museo del Barrio, presenting the art and culture of Puerto Ricans and all Latin Americans in the United States. 

On this OHNY weekend, they had their big Dia de Muertos celebration, first of all, a family event with lots of children's activities going on. Two interesting changing exhibitions for us: about the gay artist Teddy Sandoval (below) and another one called "Octopus". 

 

 

Through East Harlem (right pic) we walked back to the subway to get to Union Square, where on Saturdays the farmers market is the best. It was packed with people, but we "needed" to buy Peter's favorite (hard) Pretzels, apple juice and provisions (bread & cheese) for dinner. What a wonderful market (though,,, not inexpensive, but what is in NYC?)!

 Below: info booth of fans of the new mayor of NYC:

On to the Jackie Robinson Museum in SoHo. Jack Robinson (1919-1972) was the first African American professional baseball player. After having played in the "Negro League", he broke the color line and started playing in MLB for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. 

Robinson was born in the Deep South, in Cairo/Georgia, but grew up in Pasadena/CA and was a top athlete from the very beginning, played football, basketball and baseball. He challenged segregation and contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. He founded enterprises - among them, he established a bank to help black people - and together with his wife Rachel he was not only a great player but a great advocat of nonviolence and equality.

We joined a tour with the curator of the museum:

Next: Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, home of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Lower Manhattan. The Collector’s Office was open to the public on this day, a gorgeous hall in Beaux-Arts-Style with Tiffany lamps and lush decor. 

 

Cass Gilbert was the architect of the building which opened in 1907. The lobby, is worth being seen as well, as is the George Gustav Heye Center, with its Native American collection.

 

 

 

It was close to 5 pm at the time we left and we decided to call it a day in Bushwick/Brooklyn (right photo) at KCBC, our favorite brewery in NYC (besides Strong Rope in Red Hook).

The subway brought us in another world of fantastic murals of the Bushwick Collective, of clubs, foodtrucks and cannabis stores. Had a drink - in the usual very loud atmosphere - and took the subway back to Harlem, a route of almost 20 km.

Exploring Brooklyn

Thursday - sunny and warm -, we took the subway to the South Street Seaport (below) - on the southern tip of Manhattan - to catch a ferry to Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood.

We met with our friend Dom, a professional tour guide and owner of "Made in Brooklyn Tours". Topic of our tour today was Red Hook, Brooklyn’s waterfront, with working docks, cranes and warehouses, but, also, with old "institutions", stores, workshops and production sites. Red Hook was badly hurt during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and, a lot changed since then. 

 First stop on our tour was a local blacksmith and artist, Tony, 80+ years old and of Italian descendancy: Tony. He loves to tell stories and was delighted to have company. Some of his artwork (which he doesn't sell) below:

 

 

Another stop at Flickinger Glassworks below, a glass-bending (not blowing!) operation.

,,, and on to the latest addition in a huge warehouse: Red Hook Barrel Yard - a conglomeration of distillery, brewery, cidery and winery with a beautifull open-air area to sit and enjoy the views towards Manhattan:

Cider tasting with a view on top, distillery next, winery below:

,,, and, best: the Strong Rope Brewery, where we met the brewmaster/owner Jason Sahler and had a tour and tasting with him.

There was a light rail planned in the past, connecting Red Hook with downtown Brooklyn, but it unfortunately never worked out. Still: one train car left! 

Below our tourguide Dom in front of the warehouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Battle of Brooklyn (left) was our topic on Friday. It was a fight fought end of August 1776 and was the first major military engagement of the American Revolutionary War. George Washington's efforts to fortify NYC from a British attack led to this battle. The British cornered Washington and 9,000 of his men in Brooklyn Heights. He was surrounded, but, instead of surrendering, Washington retreated to Manhattan, a decision that saved the Continental Army. The Britain to hold the valuable port until the end of the war. 

More about this battle on www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/brooklyn

We started the day with a great breakfast/lunch at Lioni Heroes in Bensonhurst. This old-fashioned deli-restaurant is famous for its 150+ different varieties of "heroes" (lush sandwiches).

 

 

 

On the right one of the little gardens in the Italian neighborhood of Bensonhurst, on the left an interesting exhibition about the battle in the Center for Brooklyn History.

 

 

Above the endpoint of the 3-hour tour: The Old Stone House in Brooklyn's Washington Park, where a main part of the Battle of Brooklyn took place. Below: resting after the tour with our friend.

 

Back in the "city" (Manhattan) by subway, we walked over to the Daredevil Tattoo Studio Museum (right photo) in nowaday's Chinatown (formerly part of the Bowery), where in 1859 the German immigrant Martin Hildebrandt founded the first tattoo place. Numerous other ones followed, many of them in operation until 1961 when tattoing was banned and only was legalized again in 1997. 

Interesting, but small. Home we went afterwards, tired, and not at all enticed by the lights and hustling and bustling of Manhattan.