New York Stories: The Best of the City Section of the New York Times
Constance Rosenblum, Editor
New York University Press (2005)

The “glories, frustrations, and peculiar appeal” of New York

On occasion, I read two books at about the same time which are an “odd couple” indeed. For example, this book and Dale Maharidge’s Denison, Iowa. As editor, Constance Rosenblum focuses on the “glories, frustrations, and peculiar appeal” of New York City and the same can be said of Maharidge’s perspectives on Denison. Although there are many stunning differences between the two cultures, both exemplify the best and worst of what is often referred to as the “American Experience.”

With regard to this book, Rosenblum has assembled a selection of articles which first appeared in the Best of the City section in the Sunday edition of the New York Times. In quite different ways, they reveal what she calls “the essence of one of the world’s extraordinary places.” The material is organized within four Parts: A Sense of Place, Moods and Mores, New Yorkers, and City Lore. Articles are grouped accordingly although several could be included in several of the four. The variety of subjects and points-of-view seem especially appropriate to New York. For example:

In “The House on 11th Street,” Mel Gussow reflects back three decades to when young radicals blew up an elegant brownstone house in Greenwich Village, sharing “echoes of the past” which continue to linger.

In “Nothing But Net,” Thomas Beller describes “a patch of asphalt” in a West Village playground which seems like an “empty page in the urban landscape” because it needs players “to give it meaning.”

In “The Allure of the Ledge,” Ivor Hanson explains why the window washer is “the ultimate risk taker, the ultimate voyeur” while “working close to the clouds.”

In “The Ballad of Sonny Payne,” Steven Kurutz explains why one panhandler on the F Train, “the man with the white beard and gentle eyes,” is so popular, indeed loved.

In “My Neighborhood, Its Fall and Rise,” Vivian Gornick discusses the West Farms area of the Bronx, “dreary” in the 1950s and “desolate” in the 1970s, which is beginning to recover.

In my opinion, it would be a mistake to assume that only New Yorkers or those who once lived in New York will fully understand and appreciate the material in articles such as these. On the contrary. To be sure, New Yorkers (i.e. residents of any of the five boroughs) have a distinctive style and personality. At least in Manhattan, the pace of most human activities is often frantic. Yes, some people can seem competitive and perhaps confrontational. Throughout almost 50 years, my own experiences suggest that most New Yorkers can be — and often are — friendly and helpful when treated with courtesy and respect. That said, they are far more diverse and complicated than facile stereotypes presume to suggest. Nor can any single volume such as this one do full justice to the nature and extent of their shared culture. Credit Rosenblum on her skillful selection of articles. Credit, also, their authors who explore the “glories, frustrations, and peculiar appeal” of a city unlike any other.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Writing New York: A Literary Anthology, edited by Phillip Lopate and available in a paperbound edition. Also the aforementioned 110 Stories: New York Writes After September 11 edited by Ulrich Baer, also available in a paperbound edition.