P Truong

Columbus Ave. and West 81st Street

This is not the scene in Canada. At home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Christmas trees are sold in big stores like Home Depot and Canadian Tire, not sidewalks.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, I stumbled upon a Christmas tree vendor on one of the busiest corners on the Upper West Side.

She braved the cold in a black newsboy cap, green cargo pants, a short blue coat, and a pair of heavy duty gloves.

She goes by a nickname, Gezaloo, because she doesn’t have proper documentation do work in the United States.

This is the fourth year in a row for the 29-year-old, who drove from her hometown of Montreal to New York City in late November. She told border services that she was camping, since she had a considerable amount of food, gear and heaters in the red van she travelled in.

Every year around this time, she and hundreds of other French Canadians make the trip across the border to sell Christmas trees on New York City sidewalks.

“I slept in a van last year with no heater and it was fine,” she said, “it’s about having the right clothes.”

At this particular stand, customers have the luxury of choosing from Fraser fir, Boston fir and Douglas fir. Trees also vary by height, width and fullness – the amount of space between branches. The fuller the tree, the more expensive it will be.

Gezaloo says she looks forward to this month-long gig every year, because it’s an adventure. She sleeps in the red van every night. She works with two other Canadians. Her shift starts at 8 a.m. and ends each night at around midnight, when the night shift person takes over. Bathroom breaks are rare, and weekends are the busiest. Patience is her strongest weapon.

“You’re never totally safe, but maybe it’s already known that we’re out here, and they’ve accepted it,” she said, after counting her money in French.

The U.S. Navy’s newest ship, the USS New York, docked in New York Harbor for 10 days in November. While New Yorkers and tourists flocked to Pier 88 to tour the ship, the Marines and sailors aboard were just as eager to tour Manhattan.

Gunnery Sgt. Bryce Piper said the Marines – most of them in their early 20s – are restricted to where they can go in the city. No one can leave Manhattan without special permission, for example, and no one can travel past the mid-90s uptown.

Seaman Apprentice John Carlson and Pfc. Justin Tullock, both 20, were interviewed for this slide show, along with Gunnery Sgt. Bryce Piper, 37.

57th Street and Seventh Ave.

The 83rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was lucky on Thursday. Lucky because it didn’t rain (unlike 1957, when a Popeye balloon overflowing with rain poured water on the crowd).

Several sidewalks were closed off to accommodate for the giant floats, balloons, marching bands and performers. The route was also changed this year, due to the new pedestrian space along Broadway. Tourists and locals packed the streets as early as 6 a.m. Some walked by the back of the crowd to catch the balloons above.

It was a crowded sight. People were told to step off giant planters. “You’ve already killed the shrubs, you don’t want to kill the rest of them, do you?” asked one doorman. Younger spectators found themselves on shoulders, on top of mailboxes and even the top of a bus (accompanied by adults).

Cheers of oooo’s and ahhh’s erupted from the crowd each time a giant balloon appeared. Shutters went off like it was a Hollywood event as people photographed Hello Kitty, Dora the Explorer and Spongebob SquarePants.

They were rare celebrities. How often do you see a giant Mickey Mouse cruising past buildings in midtown Manhattan?

345 Chambers St. / Stuyvesant High School

Newsletters, pamphlets and buttons were handed out. Blow up dinosaurs were shown to television cameras. Some people wore stickers that read “Hello My Name Is: State Wide Ban.”

Advocates, public officials and New Yorkers made plenty of noise Tuesday night at the intersection of Chambers Street and North End Ave. The noise began on the street, with chants of “Kill the Drill,” a campaign launched in October by Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer to ban gas drilling in the New York City watershed.

Photo Credit: Peggy Truong

The campaign is calling for the state to ban drilling near the city’s water source – which supplies 90% of drinking water to more than half of the state’s population. One newsletter that was being handed out read: “Would you like some poison with your water?”

Tuesday’s gathering asked for an extension of the comment period for the State Generic Environmental Impact Statement and to voice opposition to any hydraulic fracturing in the city’s upstate watershed, according to the borough president’s website. In English, the state wants to drill, and the public and some city officials are saying hang on.

The noise continued inside the auditorium of Stuyvesant High School, where more than 160 individuals signed up to speak before the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Governor David Paterson is being urged to extend the comment period to at least 120 days, instead of the proposed 60.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Batya Lewton, Coalition For A Livable West Side

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Chuck Schroeder, Drowning On The Delaware

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Heidi Gogins

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Outside Stuyvesant High School

1st Avenue, between 75th and 76th streets

For the first time this semester, I decided to go to school on a Sunday. My Internet went out on the weekend. I had to file a story. I felt incomplete without this connection to the outside world.

But some part of my brain forgot that the 40th annual New York City Marathon was going on (I probably had a fracture in my memory because the story I had to file was about the marathon). Streets were blocked. Crosswalks, blocked. Spectators were kept in place by railings, to stay where they cheered from – the sidewalk.

Photo Credit: Peggy Truong

On Sunday, more than 26 miles of New York City sidewalks were filled with marathon cheers – people, posters, cowbells, cameras and cell phones. “C’mon Jane! You can do it! You’re so close to the water station! C’mon Henry! Go Barb!” yelled the deejay from the Z100 tent. After walking one block west of my apartment, I arrived at the marathon’s 17-mile mark – 1st Avenue and 76th Street.

Photo Credit: Peggy Truong

Oranges and bananas were handed out. Runners picked up bottles of water. Moments later, I found myself being one of the cheering machines. I gave high fives to random runners. I shouted, “Go!” to whatever name was on the bib of the next person on the other side of the railing. I screamed “Go Canada!” when I saw a couple of Canadian flags on a couple of runners.

The energy was bone chilling. The noise was incredible. The people were spectacular. This engagement on the sidewalk lasted for about an hour. My nose froze. My cheeks started to hurt from all the smiling at those whizzing by. I clapped so much that my palms turned into a dark shade of pink.

I never made it to school. Midtown is too far away when you’ve spent a good couple of hours trapped in marathon cheer. I decided to trek across to the Upper West Side to a café with free Internet. During my brisk walk in Central Park, I came across more marathon action. The last of the pack was crossing the finish line. Those who finished earlier were just walking out of the park to the designated reunion area. People were greeted with hugs, flowers and fresh clothes. Another spectacular sight.

Photo Credit: Peggy Truong

History was made today. An American won the race for the first time since 1982. (GO MEB!) Meb Keflezighi crossed the finish line in just over two hours. Marathon favorite Paula Radcliffe, from the UK, failed to make the top three in the women’s category. And I, journalism school student, traded in a couple of academic hours for an afternoon of inspiration.

Nov. 1, 2009 — NYC Marathon from Peggy Truong on Vimeo.

West 89th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues

A school block in the Upper West Side was closed off on Sunday for all things green and Halloween. Public School 166 held its first annual Big Green Halloween festival-fundraiser, complete with stilt walkers, a seed planting station and even an appearance by a life-sized Chewbacca.

Festival organizer and PTA member Emily Fano said parent involvement is key, especially in eco-friendly fundraisers. “When you have this type of commitment to environmental causes, it takes off on its own,” said Fano, who has two children at the Upper West Side school. Fano said the school’s green initiatives have been going on for quite some time. Every grade is involved in environmentally friendly projects. This past summer, third graders planted evergreen trees at the school’s reading garden while the kindergarten yard was renovated with rain bells and a composting bin.

While Superman, pirate and fair costumes were popular choices of the afternoon, students kept parent volunteers busy at every craft station. At the paper lantern making stop, Prachi Dalal gave lessons on how to use scrap yarn, scrap paper and environmentally friendly glue to create a colorful decoration for the October holiday. “It’s amazing. I like that Halloween is green for the children. The school is doing a great outreach with this,” said Dalal, a family programs coordinator at the Rubin Museum of Art.

Volunteering at the seed planting station, fellow Upper West Sider Sharon Kimmelman said it’s important to set good examples for the younger audience. “Green education is the key to our survival. It’s heartwarming to see the school taking initiative,” said Sharon, who has been working with the West Side Community Garden across from P.S. 166 for more than 30 years.

While the festival was postponed by one day due to the weekend rain, students, parents and Upper West Side residents continued to paint a large banner with the number “350.” The banner was meant to be presented to 350.org, an organization that celebrated the International Day of Climate Action on Saturday with similar awareness events around the world. Emily Fano and P.S. 166 students still posed for a photograph that would later be sent to the international organization.

“With the climate change and people noticing the crazy weather, people are scared. Everyone’s become more passionate about the environment,” said Fano.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Columbus Square Crane Crash Keeps Local on Edge: Westside Independent

by Peggy Truong

With autumn in full force in the city and winter just waiting in the wings, many New York City restaurants have already pulled in their patio chairs, giant umbrellas and summer tables.

Sidewalk cafés are one of the many characteristics that define New York City. They’ve appeared in numerous films and television shows, like Gossip Girl and Sex and the City (0:32 – 0:57). There’s even a restaurant named Sidewalk Café in the East Village.

In New York City there are more than 900 licensed eateries that extend to the sidewalks. Whether you enjoy people watching, being close to the street noise or love the city air, there’s a space for everyone. Sidewalk cafés go through a lengthy and intricate application process. Here’s how it works.

An official “Sidewalk Café License Application” is required to be filed well before ordering outdoor chairs, railings and other furniture. The application includes submitting a scale drawing by a licensed engineer, an agreement on an 8-foot path between the outer limit of the café and any object near the curb and an annual consent fee.

A 285 square feet café under the category “unenclosed and small unenclosed” would cost $9,201.59 for the street space in Manhattan from 96^th Street south to Canal Street. In comparison, the same space would cost $6,902.26 for street space in the other four boroughs. Complying with sidewalk etiquette, the application also reminds restaurant owners that “tables and chairs must be quietly taken in for the night.”

Sidewalk cafés cannot magically appear anywhere. The city has designated specific areas where these cafes can operate. The entire length of Canal, Bayard and Doyers streets, for example, are sidewalk café-free, while all of Greenwich Avenue, Mulberry Street Mall and Nassau Street Mall are full of these extensions.

There is no official date for restaurants to put away their outdoor furniture for the colder months. In fact, restaurants are trying to hold off the cold air for as long as possible. In 2007, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs issued a new rule that allowed the installation of portable natural gas heaters in licensed sidewalk cafés.

So before the sidewalks fully open up to more space in the coming months, take advantage of the restaurants that have decided to toughen it up for the last stretch of sidewalk café weather.

Southern Hospitality, 1460 Second Ave.

Cafeteria, 119 7 Ave.

http://isnapny.com/2009/10/12/handmade-jewelry/

14th Street – Union Square

Throughout the year, New York City sidewalks are transformed into temporary sites of fresh produce goodness. Some of these farmers markets – or Greenmarkets – are seasonal while others, like the gigantic setup at Union Square, operate all twelve months of the year.

Four days a week, the sidewalks of Union Square play host to more than 140 producers of fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, dairy, seafood, flowers, jam and other edible treats.

Operating under the giant umbrella of CENYC – the Council on the Environment of New York City – farmers markets are good for farms, good for city neighborhoods and good for the environment.

New Yorkers have more choice now than ever when it comes to shopping for groceries. Large chain stores like Whole Foods have received mixed reviews, while smaller stores and neighborhood stands have adjusted prices according to season and pedestrian traffic. October is the height of harvest season, according to Laurel Halter of CENYC, and most markets are running at full steam.

Last Saturday, I had my first farmers market experience. At first glance, the fruit and vegetable stands were intimidating. With so much choice, the produce stands started looking alike as I got into the thick of the two-acre site. The smell of cheese became increasingly tempting. The assortment of pumpkins was mesmerizing.

Consumers from every direction were also intimidating, as everyone seemed to know what they were doing (or faked it really well).

“This type of apple is only available for a short time in the early fall season,” said one fruit enthusiast, “go ahead, try a slice.”

Items were weighed. Deals were made. Boxes and trays were restocked in a seamless, orchestrated fashion.

Two hours later, I victoriously ended up with the following treasures:

six honeycrisp apples
two green bell peppers
two bunches of scallions
two onions
a bunch of carrots
a head of lettuce
one cucumber
one tomato

There really is nothing quite like choosing your own fruits and vegetables at a farmers market.