Neighborhood Watch

Most people who read The Beat on Ruby's Street or Fool's Errand assume my favorite part of New York is Greenwich Village. Is is one of my favorites, yes. I'll always love it there--having had too many wonderful times there (with my first breakthrough at Circle Rep there, too).

There are also a few other neighborhoods where I always wanted to live (and btw I never lived in Greenwich Village). 

One is Roosevelt Island, which had less expensive apartments (and a very long waiting list) and water all around it (which is why I wanted to be there). Unfortunately, I had to give up due to said waiting list.) There's a great movie set on the island called Dark Water, but after seeing it, you may not want to go to Roosevelt Island, even for a visit. (Of course, I hope you'll ignore the movie and go).

Another is Riverdale, where a dear friend lives now. I admit, I was initially attracted to it because of the Archie/Riverdale comics, but the pictures my friend posts on Instagram and or sends to me have tempted me sorely, and I can see why she loves living there.

Last but not least is the Upper East Side, which has long been known as a snooty enclave but which I liked anyway, because it was always a much quieter part of town. You won't find all the clockin' and bangin' of the West Side and Midtown or Downtown there. When I worked at The Dramatists Guild, they used to send me on errands on the East Side and that's when I first got to know it a little.

The row houses are beautiful, with small trees outside and pretty shops lining the streets. I am positive you have to be super rich to live there, though there is a famous hotel called The Barbizon that was originally built as a young women's hotel. Famous writers, actors and others lived there, including Sylvia Plath, who included it in her novel The Bell Jar.

Now, the hotel has been converted to expensive condos, but I read there are still a few holdouts from earlier days paying $150 a month. I think there are places like that all over the city, which has had rent controlled apartments for decades. It's the only way people with regular incomes could even hope to afford to living in New York.

The Village itself became unaffordable decades ago, too, though my sister had some kind of rent control when she lived there. In fact, her apartment on Perry Street is where my character Ruby lived with her family in book one of the Beat Street Series. 

At this point, my sister and her husband live in a rent-controlled place on the Upper West Side. It's a great place (how could you go wrong being a block away from Zabar's)? My fantasy neighborhood will always be on the East Side, though -- tied pretty tightly with Riverdale.

What this tells me is that I love the city but really want to live in the country--which must be why I liked the quieter neighborhoods? I haven't quite got that all figured out yet--and New York is way out of my price range anyway--BUT.

It's fun to write about Ruby living in the Village because she and her family were bohemians and most of the time, scrounging around for food and whatever else they could find., because that's how the Village was until they chased the artists out.

I want us to remember the artists and a time when the Village was really cool--not where you lived for status reasons. And if you ever go, I really hope you'll see the ghosts of the artists who lived and worked there--in a city so much greater than the sum of its parts.

Greenwich Village street: Robert Huffstutter