When I was a boy, my mother visited NYC two or three times and ever since then it has been a mysterious mecca for me. I finally went to NYC in the fall of 1957 to study at the Biblical Seminary of New York. For the first two years I commuted on the Long Island Railroad. We lived and worked at the Stoney Brook Preparatory School in Stony Brook Long Island. Learning about the Long Island Railroad system first hand was a rather tricky and initially a somewhat scary experience. The train ride took one and half hours each way, and the subway added another half hour. I caught the 6:20 train in the morning and barely made my 8:30 class.
Several times I got confused about which way I was supposed to go, but other travelers quickly set me straight. The signing system was often abbreviated and the doorways and ticket systems were not always clearly marked. The first time through the turnstile I put the coin in the lefthand side rather than the righthand side, and really hurt my leg trying to force my way through the turnstile. The man behind me, fortunately, put another coin in for me and showed me what I done wrong. There were several levels of platforms and you had to be sure to get the right one.
I studied on the way into the City, but was usually too tired to study much on the return trip. When the weather changed toward winter, the trip was much colder and the walking was slippery. The first real snow storm forced me to stay home for a couple of days. We were doing this adventure on a shoestring, so I never had any money to spare. I brought a sack lunch and ate it on the subway going home. People starred at me as I ate. Everyone stayed to themselves as we rode and it was too noisy for any conversation. I never saw anyone picking on anyone else, but everyone was always in a great hurry.
For my last year of Seminary we obtained an apartment on the six-floor walk-up building the seminary had recently acquired. It had several rooms in addition to the bathroom, and something of a view of the Chrysler Building and the nearby United Nations Buildings. We had little money, but found that in the summer we could sit through two showings of a double feature at the nearby air-conditioned movie theater. We also found a YMCA which had a free swimming pool. There was a supermarket just two blocks away. It was nice there.
We visited the United Nations a few times, and went skating at Rockefeller Plaza twice. We even went to see the Rockettes at Radio Center Music Hall. Most of the time however, I went to classes next door during the day and studied at home in the evening. For me the biggest “extra” thrill was the chance to see the New York Knicks play basketball against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Sometimes the Broadway Theaters would drop off free tickets at the front desk for their current shows. We got to see Sidney Poitier in “Raisin in the Sun.”
Katherine Hepburn had a home directly across from the Seminary and one day as I walked out of the Seminary, there she was putting things into her car. I took a chance and walked across the street to tell her how we very much enjoyed her work. She looked directly at me and said: “Thank you very much.” Then she went back to packing her car. When she drove away, I saw that her Connecticut License plate read KH1.
In some ways my biggest thrill about that last year in NYC was that I got a chance to broad jump in the famous Milrose games in Madison Square Garden. I had been something of a track star in college and a friend of mine at the Stony Brook School had been a real star on the NYU track team, and since his club, The New York Athletic Club did not have a long jumper he arranged for me to jump in the Milrose Games for the New York Athletic Club. I did not do much but I was not last. It was a great experience walking around on the Garden’s indoor track before 8,000 people and watching the real stars do their stuff.
I have always held a special place in my heart for NYC because of those years, we spent living in New York, especially for the last one which we spent in the City. During my last year of seminary, I served as Interim Pastor for a church which was located just ten blocks from the seminary. It was a Swedish Covenant congregation and the people were extremely kind to me and my young family. I preached my way through the Bible for that year and like to think I was of some real help to some of the folks. It was a wonderful year that we spent living and working in NYC
6 responses to “MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH NEW YORK CITY”
Fascinating experiences, Jerry. I lived for two years in NYC 2020-2022. Quite the time with the virus! The subways were almost empty, Times Square was dark, and there was no indoor dining for a while so restaurants built outdoor patios to solve that issue but created a new parking problem (as if parking in NYC were not a problem enough). It was an adventure for me to see the city slowly return to speed. I met many interesting people, all in a hurry like you say. One coworker was a NY native and said he never visited Central Park. “No business there,” he said. Living there, I found a need for quiet contemplative spaces in NYC and, oppositely, a need for louder and active places in smaller cities like Tucson. Maybe both are necessary to find balance.
Popular culture and some New York friends of mine say the city will always be the same—but it will get more expensive! Last I heard NYC was looking to implement a congestion fee for anybody driving into Manhattan below 59th St. This did not sit well with the state of New Jersey. I am curious to see how this will play out.
Fascinating Cole – I can relate – was back frequently when I lived in Philly (ballgames mostly) did drive a friend’s car out to Stonybrook once and had a lot of trouble with the tunnel, etc. but fun :O) Nice to hear from you – where are you and what are you doing these days? Paz, Jerry
Hi Jerry—I am back in Tucson after the east coast adventure! I hope to return to community theater and currently work as a medical driver. Very best to you— Cole
I have always wanted to spend more time in NYC, having visited a number of times. I won a scholarship to the ground floor of the new program in Criminal Science at NYU in 1970, while at Eckerd; but the money was not enough to allow me to live anywhere in the area. I fantasize living in Greenwich Village and attending NYU, but fantasy is fantasy.
That was beautiful! New York was a magical place for me in the first days there. The scale of it is mesmerizing, the rhythms, the smells; all those people navigating around each other at high speed, getting things done. Maybe NYC is/should be a metaphor for America, and a creative/productive social order that encourages creative thinking and requires tolerance to differences. There is no class system on the subway.
I loved it there and always wanted to return. I’m afraid it isn’t the same place as it once was. I tracked all expenses in calendar year, 1979. I spent $3000 and had a great time. Granted I had free housing but still I was living large.
Thanks for the memories!
I well remember our times there together :O) Thanks for writing – and for setting up this blog account for me :O) Paz, jerry