Easter Baskets - NYC Style!

Christopher Street shop, West Village, NYC

Form and Function ~ the Fire Escape

When I walk around the city, there are a few things that always grab my eye...children, dogs, stained glass windows and fire escapes. Yes, fire escapes. They come in interesting shapes and colors. They can be large or small, simple or ornate, victorian or deco. They hold bicycles, hibachis, beach chairs and clothes lines. They harbor potted plants, flowers and even small trees. Before air conditioning, New Yorkers put mattresses on their fire escapes and slept outdoors to "escape" the heat.

Thank goodness for fire escapes or I might never look up!

The Grass is NOT Always Greener...

I live in one of those ubiquitous white brick, post WWII, apartment buildings that appear all over the East Side of Manhattan. The buildings on the West Side are either much older or much newer and not, therefore, made of white brick.

Architects of these buildings had differing priorities. Some made sure every kitchen had a window, some made sure every kitchen and bathroom had a window, some made sure the lobby was large and elegant, some made sure the laundry rooms were not located in the dreary sub-basement.

The designer of our building made sure we had access to our own pocket of greenery.....a sitting area next to the lobby in between our building and the one next door (insuring privacy) with flowering trees, shrubs and flowers that change throughout the Spring and Summer. I wouldn't call it a child-friendly or pet-friendly space. And it's true that the only people usually sitting on the weather-beaten wooden benches are men smoking cigars that have obviously been told by their wife, girlfriend or partner that "those stinky" things can not be smoked indoors, but at least it's there.

This is what the garden looked like today.