By Michael Baginski/ I recently spent a minute (several, in fact) in New York – a visit that transpired during the nascent times of tariffs and the 51st state. Perhaps not surprisingly, I was asked by some why I went, and what my experience was like. Simply put, it was New York – no more, no less. Frenetic, mesmerizing, limitless, a world unto itself. And utterly unconcerned, even oblivious, of my Canadianness and critical gaze.
As Julie Coker, CEO and president of New York City Tourism + Conventions told me, “Nothing has changed (in NYC) … since Jan. 20 (Trump inauguration). We are still the city that welcomes everyone. We are still the city where the Statue of Liberty represents everything that New Yorkers believe, feel, say, touch, and do everyday.”
I was travelling on business – to the NYC Tourism + Conventions U.S. and Canadian Marketplace – and upon arrival on my Porter flight to Newark, I was asked a few more questions than usual by an otherwise totally friendly customs agent who notably did want to see my travel docs, including hotel reservation, return flight ticket, and a letter of invitation to the event I was attending. The latter I didn’t readily have, but a quick peek at my printed itinerary for the week on NYCT+C letterhead easily sufficed.
I was, as U.S. Travel has recommended, “prepared” (except for the letter of invitation).
At the event, which included both Canadian and American travel trade types, I was offered my fair share of professional and personal apologies from the latter for what we were being put through politically by their government.
One travel advisor from Massachusetts offered hopefully, “But Canadians don’t actually hold the people responsible?” Only in so far as they made a collective political choice that has ultimately yielded threats to our very sovereignty, I explained.
“But what can I do?” he lamented, as much to himself as me.
Indeed, what could anybody I encountered do? Everybody I met around town was noticeably good-natured – from the deli guy who made me a sandwich for lunch to a random doorman who eagerly directed me to the MoMa gallery I was trying to find. In New York, of course, many residents also hail from other countries altogether.
Such as the two Broadway actors from Canada our group met who hoped Canadians would continue to visit the city (and attend shows) to support them as they lived their dream of making it in New York, as Sinatra sang.
So, the city!
During non-conference time, my week in the Big Apple was purposefully spent making new discoveries beyond what I already knew of the great city. I subwayed to Brooklyn for the first time for a terrific walking excursion conducted by Like A Local Tours, which included a stroll on the Brooklyn Bridge, and bits and bites in the lively DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighbourhood.
We also stopped in the excellent Brooklyn Museum and wandered through the adjacent Brooklyn Botanic Garden (awash in cherry blossoms), both serene locations that offered a break from bustling Manhattan.
Similarly, a hike through lovely Central Park (a requisite activity on any NY visit) was paired with another first-time foray by Uber up to Harlem (at the far end of the massive green space) for a look-see and pilgrimage to the famed Apollo Theatre, though it is now closed for renovations; then, grabbing another ride-share (we could also have utilized the subway), we continued on to the Bronx.
Both neighbourhoods revealed a different side of New York that seemed a world away from the city – even if in the case of Harlem, the skyscrapers of Manhattan were visible on the horizon across the length of the park.
In the Bronx, we made a quick stop at the New York Botanical Garden before hoofing it to nearby Little Italy, a cozy enclave of restaurants and pizzerias dotted on and around Arthur Avenue, including the colourful Arthur Avenue Retail Market, which includes food and produce stalls, a deli, cafés, and yes, a craft beer bar extravagantly dubbed the Bronx Beer Hall.
And, of course, what would a trip to the Bronx be without seeing the Bronx Bombers play at Yankee Stadium, which ticked a box in my ongoing quest to see all of America’s great ball parks (if not great teams, says the Jays fan!).
Notably, our sojourns to Brooklyn and the Bronx (which comprise two of New York’s five boroughs – the others being Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan), fulfilled a key plank of New York Tourism’s mandate to encourage visitors to discover the many opportunities and charms of the city beyond its familiar Manhattan core.
Manhattan
Still, the heart of any New York visit will be downtown, with its 17,619 restaurants, 41 theatres (we saw the excellent Broadway production of “Hell’s Kitchen,” based on the life of Alicia Keys, while others in the group enjoyed “Aladdin” and “The Lion King”), museums, galleries, and a million things more in city that is just so startlingly big – made evident from any of the city’s five observation platforms.
I literally hit new heights in ascending SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, which since 2021 has made aerial observation an artistic experience, not least with its glass floors and its amazing “balloon room,” and also the Edge observation deck on the 100th floor of a skyscraper at Hudson Yards (since 2020), which also boasts the architecturally mind-boggling and climbable Vessel structure.
None of those attractions even existed the last time I was in the city not so many years ago, demonstrating that New York is always changing and introducing new things to see and do.
My third observation deck of the week was the excellent Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center, which has been around longer, since 2005, but again, illustrates the city’s “been there (but haven’t) done that” nature.
If pressed, I would probably say One Vanderbilt was my favourite of the three (at least, the most unique), but TOTR has multiple levels and the best views, encompassing both Central Park on one side and the Empire State Building on the other; not to mention the new Beam Experience, a not-as-scary-as-it-sounds interactive activity that recreates for visitors the famous 1932 photo where ironworkers were seen having lunch on a steel beam high above the city.
(Note: The Empire State Building has its own excellent viewing area, but notably you can’t see the city’s most iconic building when you’re standing on top of it; and the One World Observatory offers the best view of the harbour and Statue of Liberty.)
After visiting the Edge (having used my mobile New York CITYPASS discount attraction pass), I knew enough to return to the familiar and free High Line (a former rail line converted to an urban park, which winds its way through the city’s west side) and also partook of a favourite New Yorker experience brunching at the iconic Grand Brasserie in Grand Central Station (don’t miss the fabulous bar in the back, though maybe not for breakfast).
(I’ll note that all the aforementioned attractions I visited were within walking distance of my hotel, the elegant 236-room Aliz Times Square, 310 W. 40th St. at 8th Ave., which makes claim to boasting the highest two-storey open-air bar and lounge in the city.)
Postscript
My trip to New York was a typically busy, crazy, intense, enjoyable experience and while I wouldn’t want to live there, I do want to visit. Often.
Even at a time where Canadians’ elbows are up.
After all, while I’m not entirely immune to moral indignation, I would observe that there are many places in the world besides the current iteration of the United States where I could choose not to travel to based on overt social and political factors – for example, Turkey, a destination I otherwise adore, but which arrests journalists for simply being critical, or Thailand where anyone badmouthing the monarchy faces up to 15 years in prison (per perceived insult).
I’ll never forget a hotelier from Myanmar once telling me that tourists boycotting his country did not hurt/affect the despotic government in any way, only its innocent people, like tuk tuk drivers who depended on visitors for their livelihoods; moreover, “we need you to come to remind us of what the world should be like,” he implored.
Even this country has its own issues (environment, residential schools, threats of separation, to name a few), and I no more feel I should be held personally accountable for the actions of fellow Canadians I disagree with or governments here I didn’t vote for than I think those living in most other countries should.
To that end, it might be pointed out that many states in the U.S. – not least New York – in fact voted against and are now actively disavowing and/or opposing their federal administration’s stance on Canada. And notably continuing to welcome visitors from this country – and all visitors – with open arms, maintaining that, for them, “nothing has changed.”
Should that be ignored? Rewarded? Or be a factor at all?
After all, travel isn’t about politics, it’s about discovery, learning, understanding, and fun. And bringing people together – something I was recently reminded of in a mere New York minute.