April 1, 2024 • 28 mins
Randall Lane, Forbes magazine's editor (who also happens to be my son), takes you from the skyscrapers of Manhattan to the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. Our footsteps echo across Manhattan's revitalized South Street Seaport, and ascend the innovative High Line. We wander through the cultural richness of Brooklyn and Queens, sharing stories and insights that capture each borough's uniqueness, from Brooklyn's Coney Island and the Russian-influenced Brighton Beach, to Queens' international food and cultural pleasures.
We describe the lush Bronx Botanical Garden and the maritime charm of City Island, enjoying the culinary Italian authenticity of Arthur Avenue. And there's a free ride on the Staten Island ferry!
The World Trade Center Memorial reminds us of the city's ability to rise from adversity, through Rand's special final memory. Join us for a journey not just through New York's five boroughs, but through the city that never sleeps, always dreams, and forever stands tall.
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Randall Lane lives and works in Manhattan. He is Editor of Forbes magazine and Chief Content Officer of Forbes media.
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Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to many guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles.
_____
Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has produced over 100 travel episodes! New podcast episodes drop on the first of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen. Check them out.
Travel videos of each 2024 podcast -- with creative, added graphics -- now drop on YouTube the 15th of every month!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lea Lane (00:00):
New York, New York, a hell of a town.
The Bronx is up but theBattery's down.
The people ride in a hole inthe ground.
New York, New York, it's a hellof a town.
Those lyrics are from theBroadway classic On the Town,
which emphasizes that when wetalk about New York City, we're
talking from the southernmosttip, called the Battery, to the
northernmost section, which isin another borough besides
(00:22):
Manhattan.
On this episode, we'refeaturing what's best and new
and surprising, what to do, seeand eat in all five of New York
City's boroughs Manhattan,Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and
Staten Island.
Our guest is a quintessentialNew Yorker who's lived in
various boroughs for many years.
Randall Lane is the editor ofForbes magazine and the
(00:43):
company's chief content officer.
He also happens to be my son.
Welcome, Rand to Places.
That's my favorite title.
Me too.
Randall Lane (00:53):
Can't get fired from that one.
Lea Lane (00:54):
Nope, w never Plus you come on here all the time.
Okay, we're going to discussthe city.
We both love the city.
I was born in New York City.
Perhaps the most iconic symboli s Manhattan the most densely
populated of New York City'sfive boroughs.
It's mostly made up ofManhattan Island, bounded by the
(01:15):
Hudson, East and Harlem rivers.
It's among the world's majorcommercial, financial and
cultural centers.
It's the heart of the Big Apple.
What are some of thenot-to-miss sites for tourists,
Rand?
Randall Lane (01:26):
It's the place where the Dutch first landed.
Manhattan is the Indian andNative American word Manahatta,
but that's the origin of t NewYork City or Manhattan.
I've spent 30 years I don'tknow there.
You could spend a month, twomonths as a tourist and not get
bored.
It's one of the true jewels ofthe world.
Obviously.
Everyone knows that, but I like, if I was looking to organize
(01:49):
myself and try to get my armsaround something that you could
literally spend infinite timearound.
I think to think about it inthe same way that those first
Europeans when they first sawManhattan, they came by water
and if you really look atManhattan, Manhattan is an
island.
Every single thing that is inManhattan gets trucked in over a
bridge.
There's nothing native to itanymore.
It could go all the way fromthe battery which you mentioned,
(02:11):
which, of course, is called thebattery because that's where
the port used to be and that'sthe tip and that's the beginning
of New York.
But if you down near theBattery, South Street Seaport,
which is one of the great oldseaports of America, in the last
five years it's been renovatedseveral times, but now there's
something new called the TinBuilding, with th a famous shift
, John George.
There's a new development there.
(02:31):
It's been reborn yet again soyou can see the old tall ships,
but there's also amazing foodand something called the Tin
Building.
So that's one way to get yourstart at the bottom of the city,
looking out over the watertowards the East River On the
West side.
They've developed the entireWest side of the Hudson River
into a park, and so you can walkall the way from the tip to the
top through a park with allsorts of unbelievable executions
(02:53):
.
here's a new one that justhappened in the last couple of
years that was funded by themogul Barry Dillard, called
Little Island.
They built an artificial islandthat basically, you can spend
two hours.
It's got hills, it's got art,it's got views, it's got food.
That's one of many things.
You've got Chelsea Piers.
You've got, you know, CityWinery.
You've got all sorts of Piersand Executions.
(03:14):
That's an entire day where youget a whole scoop of the whole
Hudson River and the whole Westside of Manhattan.
There's also and this issomething that's better known
but still relatively new NewYork and modern Manhattan.
You've got the High Line, whichis an elevated train track that
runs not far from the, and itparallels the Hudson River and
(03:34):
it's only about a block from theHudson and you can walk on an
elevated track for about 40blocks that's about two miles
and again, views birds-eye viewsor pigeons-eye views, because
you're not that up but you'rekind of a two or three stories
tall and you're kind of seeingManhattan without having to
cross any streets.
From a different vantage point.
(03:55):
Again, they're all sorts of tart installations, there's food
there, but you really can seeManhattan.
So I like to think aboutManhattan in terms of how you
traverse it.
You know which museums youchoose, which restaurants you
choose.
That, of course, you could pickyour own adventure and they try
to cite any is folly becausethere are literally hundreds you
could choose from.
It depends on you know whatneighborhood you're in and what
cuisine you're interested in andwhat your price point is.
(04:17):
But I really like to thinkabout Manhattan in terms of how
you get around it, how you seeas much of it as possible.
And if you think about kind ofthe east side with the East
River and going on downtown now,and you think about the West
Side with the park and the HighLine and then of course Central
Park gets you the center, youwill have seen a huge chunk of
Manhattan, and Central Park goesall the way again.
110th Street goes up to Harlem,the Morningside Heights, so
(04:39):
you're really seeing a hugeswath of Manhattan if you take
those thoroughfares and focusyour visit on that.
Lea Lane (04:45):
Yeah, I would add that you can get around by walking.
It's an easy city to walk allover.
Randall Lane (04:50):
Okay, I couldn't agree more.
The wonder in New York is thatyou never know what you're going
to see on any block.
It is the number one walkingcity in America it's not even
close, and one of the greatwalking cities of the world.
So Manhattan, because of thatdensity, is uniquely about
walking.
Now, if you're trying to maketime, the subway is great.
It's a great adventure.
(05:10):
Don't be afraid of it.
It's not dangerous relative topretty much any other method of
transportation.
But people don't appreciate thesubway because it's almost
always crowded, so you could goon any time and you're not going
to be alone.
It's a city of 8 million people.
I've never had any incidents onthe New York subway.
It's a very efficient way.
It's a very local way to getaround the city.
But to your point, mom, it'sabout walking and everything we
(05:33):
just talked about, whether it'sthe High Line, whether it's the
park up and down the Hudson now,or whether you're walking
downtown towards South StreetSeaport from the Battery, I'm
seeing a lot of historic Old NewYork sites there.
You're seeing and you'reexperiencing.
Lea Lane (05:47):
Okay, I think I would say, if you only have a very
short time, I might suggest atour, a double-decker bus tour,
because you would see thehighlights passing by the Empire
State Building, the ChryslerBuilding, the Statue of Liberty,
also the museums I have tomention.
There are so many more than theMetropolitan.
There are hundreds of museums,small ones, big ones.
To go to one or two is awonderful classic thing to do,
(06:10):
and a Broadway show oroff-Broadway show, of course,
walking around the Village, anyinteresting little neighborhood,
is something.
I want to say that you getwonderful deli food there.
What's your favorite deli toget a corned beef sandwich or
pastrami, Rand.
Randall Lane (06:24):
Probably Katz's, which is the classic, you know
the famous Harry Met S A Myfavorite food probably Second
Avenue deli, which is located onThird Avenue.
Of course, If you had to do onedeli, do Katz's.
It's one of the greatrestaurant experiences in
America.
Lea Lane (06:37):
And how about bagels?
If you want to just have abagel?
Randall Lane (06:39):
Oh, there's so many, there's so many.
Lea Lane (06:41):
Essa a bagel.
Randall Lane (06:42):
Essa a bagel's, great, there's so many.
Okay.
That's what's great about NewYork.
It's not like, okay, I'm goingto the city and here are the
three I must.
There are literally 300 inManhattan you can choose from.
That's what's fun, and youdon't have to spend a lot of
money.
And I think, mom, you'rebringing up like a deli.
Katz's deli is a very expensivedeli, but it's still just a
sandwich.
It's not going to break thebank.
A bagel's, two bucks, the pizza, of course.
Lea Lane (07:04):
And there's street food.
There's those hot dogs, thosedirty water hot dogs.
Randall Lane (07:07):
Dirty water hot dogs.
But h Chinatown or Koreatownor areas Little I India.
There are two of them inManhattan, so you can eat
amazingly.
You don't have to go to,.
ou know, the big, expenseaccount restaurants and you can
still have a culinary experienceyou can't get pretty much
(07:28):
anywhere else in America.
Lea Lane (07:29):
A lot to do and a lot to see, but whatever time you
have, try to get the feel of itI think your idea of a
double-decker bus is smartyou've never been there?
Randall Lane (07:38):
because then you could check the boxes and then
you could start acting more likea local as opposed to kind of
going point to point.
I mean, a lot of these thingsare iconic and so, yeah, you
want to see them.
But on the flip side, to trulyexperience it is to just kind of
be one with it.
It's not like some other citieswhich are great, but you know
there are five things you got tosee and otherwise you know it's
(07:58):
not that different than a lotof other cities.
This is a place that thedifference is that in the
nuances and yes, there's stillthose tourist sites and you
should see them.
But if you take the bus and yougo down Fifth Avenue and you
pass St Patrick's andRockefeller Center and you go
right past the Empire StateBuilding, you know that's a
45-minute walk to see that wholestretch to go from.
Lea Lane (08:19):
Right, right.
Randall Lane (08:21):
To Park South and the Plaza Hotel.
Lea Lane (08:23):
So the Empire State Building is about 20, 25 blocks,
if you were going to go up atthe ge with the Empire State
Building in it.
Where would you go?
Just one place.
Randall Lane (08:32):
There's a new place called One Vanderbilt and
this has become a new thing inNew York, where it's almost the
same Empire State Building andthey built the entire top floor.
It's not cheap it's like 40, 50bucks to go in ,but you get
unbelievable views and they'vedesigned the entire roof.
It's only about five years oldthe top floors to be kind of an
Instagram worthy.
There's even one part where yougo up on a glass ledge and you
(08:54):
can look down down like 90stories, nothing between you and
90 stories.
The other thing that's becomevery popular also in the last
five years, Hudson Yards, whichis a brand new development.
I'm not sure it would be myfirst stop.
It's kind of cool newdevelopment on the West Side in
the 30s.
It's on the High Line, so youwill wind up there at the end if
you take the High Line, butthere's something called the
Edge, the Edge at Hudson Yards.
It's also kind of made for anInstagram era, but it's a
(09:18):
outdoor platform that's about100 stories high.
There's a restaurant on top too.
That's quite beautiful.
Food's not that good, but it'sbeautiful.
But you can actually walk outand, especially at sunset,
you're like an airplane andyou're sitting there.
They also feature a glasscutout where you can stand in
glass and look down and (scary,very) 1, it's quite.
We've come a long way from justviewing platforms.
Lea Lane (09:40):
Yeah, not for me.
Perhaps.
Randall Lane (09:42):
The Vanderbilt has one room that's full of mirrors
, so you see a hall of mirrorsat 1,000 feet above sea level
Cool.
Lea Lane (09:49):
Let's move over to the borough of Brooklyn, where
you've also lived.
It's located on the westernmostedge of Long Island.
The first settlement in thearea was by Dutch farmers in
1636.
The area is very trendy anddefinitely worth discovering for
tourists.
What are some of theattractions there that you would
say not to miss?
Randall Lane (10:07):
Brooklyn's become as popular, especially for
younger adults, as Manhattan.
In terms of where people livenow.
The prices there about the sameas Manhattan.
In terms of the restaurant andthe food scene it rivals a lot
of the best restaurants in NewYork are now in Brooklyn.
If you're going for the firsttime and it's neighborhood by
neighborhood now, unlikeManhattan, you could walk each
neighborhood, but theneighborhoods are further apart.
(10:30):
It's got one of the great parksin America, Prospect Park.
Lea Lane (10:34):
Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed
Central Park.
Randall Lane (10:37):
There you go.
Lea Lane (10:38):
Many people say it's more beautiful.
Randall Lane (10:40):
It's gorgeous In Prospect Park.
There's also the BrooklynBotanical Garden, also gorgeous.
There's a Brooklyn Museum whichis next to the Botanical Garden
, which is free on one Friday amonth, but also a terrific
museum.
Lea Lane (10:52):
Known for Egyptology, one of the greatest ones in the
world.
Randall Lane (10:55):
Brooklyn.
Go figure.
If you want to be cool, youwant to be i the hipster capital
of the world is Williamsburg,Brooklyn, which is by subway
about five minutes fromManhattan.
On the L train.
One stop.
Get the Manhattan skyline fromBrooklyn.
It's ridiculously cool.
So cool actually, it's almostuncool, to be honest.
Lea Lane (11:16):
Right Wow.
Randall Lane (11:18):
It's become one of the most desirable
neighborhoods in America.
Lea Lane (11:20):
Well, I think each of the neighborhoods in Brooklyn
has a very specific feel to it.
Brooklyn Heights, panoramicviews, beautiful promenades,
perfect views and the promenadesee the whole (brownstones and
Park Slope).
Randall Lane (11:32):
Outland and the park Slope and Cobble Hill,
which are very close to eachother.
You could walk through thatarea of Brooklyn and see that
stoop culture.
T Slope's near the park.
Obviously that's where it getsname t
Lea Lane (11:46):
Then you have Dumbo down under the Manhattan Bridge
Overpass, which has emerged asone of the city's best known art
districts and t Instagrammable,because you see all kinds of
views there.
Randall Lane (11:56):
There's that one block, that's Cobblestone
Streets, with the view of theBrooklyn Bridge, that's probably
the most Instagrammed andphotographed spot in New York.
Now we have to mention theBrooklyn Bridge.
Lea Lane (12:08):
You can walk over it.
It's a magnificent view of bothManhattan and Brooklyn.
At the time when it was built,in the late 1800s, it was the
highest point in Manhattan.
It has this wonderful historyto it.
Randall Lane (12:20):
In the years along the suspension bridge there's a
book called the Great Bridgethat you can get a history of
that.
It's a architectural marvel.
Absolutely, you can walk acrossit.
You can take a city bike andbike across it, but it's a great
way if you are Manhattan based,as most people listening to
this probably will be.
You could also then walk fromDumbo towards Brooklyn Heights.
Lea Lane (12:42):
We have to mention one of my favorites from my
childhood at Coney Island.
Tell us about that.
It's on the ocean.
People don't think of beachesin Brooklyn and beaches in the
city, but every borough has abeach.
Actually, in New York, theConey Island area is famous for
its boardwalk and its amusementrides, including the famous
Wonder Wheel from 1920 and theCyclone Roller Coaster from the
20s.
(13:02):
What do you think of ConeyIsland?
Randall Lane (13:04):
Today.
Cyclone is the best.
It's almost 100 years old.
I love Coney Island and yourgranddaughters love Coney Island
.
It hasn't changed that much.
If you want that 1930s, 1920sit still has that kind of carny,
wooden feel.
It's quite a great experienceon a nice day.
Lea Lane (13:22):
Does it still have the place where you go in and it
airs your skirt and it goes up.
Randall Lane (13:26):
Fun, that one I have not seen.
Lea Lane (13:29):
I don't know.
Randall Lane (13:30):
I got sued out of existence.
The Cyclone Roller Coaster forroller coaster buffs is a 1927
wooden roller coaster and it'squite amazing because t t hell
of a ride you can only imaginewhen it was like 100 years ago a
you didn't have all thesemodern thrill rides.
It's still thrilling, butwhat's great about it is it goes
up and it just drops.
You're not on a string, itsgravity takes you all the way.
(13:52):
It's an out of control car.
Lea Lane (13:55):
The New York kind of ride.
Randall Lane (13:57):
It's so fun.
Lea Lane (13:58):
I think that's a wonderful thing with family If
it's a nice summer day.
Randall Lane (14:03):
You can walk on the beach, on the boardwalk.
There's a minor league baseballstadium there.
It has a view of the ocean.
You're right near the originalNathan's Hot Dogs where they
have the annual hot dog eatingcontest in July 4th and you get
a hot dog.
There's a great pizzarestaurant there called Totonos.
It's a little bit off thebeaten path, like a 5-minute
walk.
It's walking on the boardwalk,riding the Cyclone, playing
(14:24):
games of chance and losing yourmoney trying to win stuff t
animals.
There's a whole little miniamusement park there If you have
kids.
It's not just amusement parks,it's a piece of history.
It's got this raw feel.
If you keep walking, if you'readventurous, you can go up to
Brighton Beach, which is about a10-minute walk up the boardwalk
, and that's the big Russianneighborhood of New York.
You can get Borscht and see allthe signs in Russian and
(14:46):
pro-Ukrainian.
This is the crowd that got outof Russia because they're quite
an interesting neighborhood.
Lea Lane (14:51):
Well, that's pretty fun.
I just love hearing about it.
Randall Lane (14:54):
Every Friday night they have fireworks in the
summer too.
That's a nice day where you go.
Maybe if there's a baseballgame you take a couple endings.
It's minor league ball, so youdon't take it so seriously.
My daughter, Sabrina, who'sbeen on this show, your
granddaughter she had somefriends who'd never been in New
York for last summer and Iactually took them to Coney
Island on a Friday night forthat exact regimen.
(15:14):
I took them to a baseball gamewhich they'd never seen before.
Again, you don't have to savefive or ten bucks to get in.
You see a couple endings, theocean's in the background.
Lea Lane (15:23):
Got everything.
Randall Lane (15:24):
It's just great.
Then you go have a hot dog inNathan's.
You walk on the boardwalk, yousee the fireworks, you ride the
cyclone.
The New York Aquarium is there.
Lea Lane (15:31):
Okay, let's go on to Queens.
It's a New York City borough onLong Island, across the East
River from Manhattan.
Randall Lane (15:37):
It's basically t
Lea Lane (15:40):
Brooklyn.
Randall Lane (15:42):
There's no physical.
Lea Lane (15:44):
There's a little tidal arm of the East River which
forms the boundary betweenBrooklyn and Queens.
Randall Lane (15:49):
You're going on from there.
Do you know why it was namedQueens?
Lea Lane (15:52):
Well, the borough of Brooklyn is called.
Randall Lane (15:55):
Kings.
That's one way.
Lea Lane (15:58):
They're twins, I always assumed there was either
from British royal time.
Yes, it was named in honor ofQueen Catherine of Braganza,
wife of King Charles II Queenswas the first city to be
established in New York.
N It's just a little bit lessthan all of Chicago, so it's a
(16:18):
big, big area.
It has 91 distinctneighborhoods.
Randall Lane (16:22):
Brooklyn's probably fifth, Brooklyn's
probably fifth, yeah, yeah we'retalking big -91 distinct
neighborhoods.
Lea Lane (16:27):
there.
The residents are said to speak130 languages and represent
over 120 countries.
The number seven subway line,which runs between Queens and
Manhattan, is referred to as theInternational Express.
Now many travelers only see abit of the borough because
they're traveling into Manhattan, because both LaGuardia and
Kennedy airports are locatedthere.
(16:48):
But there's much to enjoy.
What do you like when you go toQueens?
Randall Lane (16:51):
I like to eat my way through Queens.
It's the most diverse borough,it's the most diverse place in
America and that's not debatable.
The way to explore it isthrough your stomach, because
it's less the sites there, it'sa living place.
There are, of course, moretouristy things and you can go
see the US Open if you're therein September.
When I go to Queens for theQueens Museum, I only see the.
(17:11):
Well, I go to see the panorama.
I agree there are lots of thingsto do but, realistically, if
you go into Queens, you shouldbe eating.
You should be looking at itthrough a culinary lens.
You should be looking neighborby neighborhood.
If you're in Flushing, youshould be eating Chinese food.
You might as well be in HongKong You're in Flushing.
It feels like that.
If you're in Jackson Heights,you get as good or better Indian
(17:34):
food as you can find in India.
You're in Astoria, some of thebest Greek food in the world.
If you're in Woodside, some ofthe best Thai food.
And it's not just finding onerestaurant.
You can have your multipleoptions, ethnic clusters where
immigrants gravitateneighborhood by neighborhood,
and you can get reallyunbelievable food, as good as
anything you get in the world,because, having been in most of
(17:55):
those countries, you have theknowledge and the culture.
But you also have greatingredients.
Of course, with New York beingone of the great food cities in
the world, taking a global foodtour without having to leave a
single borough, Queens has thatanywhere in America, I agree.
Lea Lane (18:09):
I agree.
Two things I like very much.
One is having a tour of theKaufman Astoria Studios.
There's Silver Cup Studios iKaufman Astoria and the Kaufman
Astoria has been going on since1920.
Over 100 films were producedthere during the 1920s and many
TV shows like Sesame Street arestill produced there.
That's lots of fun to go visit.
I want to just mention, becauseof my son Cary there's the
(18:32):
Harriet and Kenneth KupferbergHolocaust Center, which is a
learning laboratory.
The current exhibit isConcentration Camps and, I think
it's important to note again,beaches are there.
You have lots of things to doif you want in terms of the
outdoors, but I do agree withyou that if I were going to
Queens, it would be foodcentered.
Let's talk about thenorthernmost borough of New York
(18:53):
City.
Randall Lane (18:54):
It's the oldest borough in New York City.
That's on the US mainland.
Lea Lane (18:57):
That's right, it was named after Jonas Bronk, a
European settler in the 1600s.
We may think of it as filledwith high-rise apartment
buildings, but there are somewonderful surprises there, Tell
us.
Randall Lane (19:10):
There are some of the great natural wonders or
natural tourist destinations inNew York.
The big three, I would say,would be the Bronx Botanical
Garden, which is one of thebiggest and best in America, the
Bronx Zoo, also one of thebiggest and best in America.
Then, if you want to go off thebeaten path, there's a place
called Wave Hill, which is alsoa wonderful arboretum of sorts
(19:32):
with beautiful views.
Lea Lane (19:34):
Right on the Hudson River with the New Jersey
Palisades.
Randall Lane (19:37):
You've got Hudson views.
The Bronx has great places towalk on lovely days and see.
things that are going toBotanical Gardens are
spectacular.
There's always a show and anexhibit.
The Bronx Zoo, if you havelittle kids, is super fun.
Lea Lane (19:51):
I think it's known as the best gorillas outside of
nature.
I went to Rwanda, as you know,but you can go to the Bronx Zoo
and see mountain gorillas andlowland gorillas.
Randall Lane (20:01):
Great with kids when I go there.
If I didn't have kids, I wouldno .
With kids terrific.
(I would, I would, I'm saying Iwould too, as someone who lives
in New York.
But if I only had a week, I'mnot sure I would Okay, well,
we're giving the full.
Yeah, maybe there for a month,You know where I would go.
Lea Lane (20:16):
I'd go to City Island because that's a surprise.
Most people don't realize thatthere's an island that looks
like a town in New England.
That's part of the Bronx, it'sa extreme extreme extreme
western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay Park and
east of Eastchester Bay.
Once you drive over the CityIsland Bridge, which is the only
way to get on and off theIsland unless you have a boat,
you hit a strip called CityIsland Avenue, which is lined
(20:39):
with restaurants known forseafood.
Randall Lane (20:41):
You could take a taxi.
But City Island is fun.
It's a New England town forabout 10 blocks.
It's super cool.
If you want that kind oftransporting experience you also
have.
The best little Italy in NewYork is not in Manhattan.
That's very touristy, onlymarginally worth If you're
walking through there.
The real Little Italy is onArthur Avenue in the Bronx.
(21:03):
That is a truly transportingexperience.
It's not that big.
You could do the whole thing inan hour or two and have dinner
or lunch, but that's truly alike out of a movie.
Lea Lane (21:14):
Oh yeah, I remember Marios.
Randall Lane (21:16):
Marios is great, Dominick's is great.
Roberto's.
If you want to go a littlehigher in Dominick's they don't
even have a menu, they justbring you food.
Really, can't go wrong there.
Lea Lane (21:27):
Yep.
We have to mention YankeeStadium.
Home of the New York Yankees isin the Bronx.
Randall Lane (21:34):
The Bronx , b.
Lea Lane (21:35):
Yep what their name is , so you can always go there too
.
There's lots to discover in theBronx.
The southernmost borough is theone most of us know the least
about.
It's Staten Island.
Randall Lane (21:47):
Is t that that that island of borough.
Lea Lane (21:49):
It is, it's considered a borough.
Yes, one of the five boroughs.
Randall Lane (21:53):
Yeah, they always feel neglected.
If you look at a map, it reallyshouldn't be part of New York.
It's really part of New Jersey,with a few estuaries.
Lea Lane (22:02):
Well, that's what a New Yorker would say.
Randall Lane (22:04):
Oh, it's true, I mean a Manhattan .
Lea Lane (22:06):
New Yorker.
Randall Lane (22:06):
No, it's not true.
It's what a geographer wouldsay.
Lea Lane (22:09):
They would say well it's a really good thing.
It's Bayonne
t.
It's in the middle of the city.
Randall Lane (22:15):
And it's totally different and there's lots to do
, and I've been in Staten Islanda lot.
I probably go there at leastonce a year because it's fun,
and the most fun you could haveis from Manhattan you could take
the Staten Island ferry, whichis one of the most famous
ferries in America.
One of the great parts aboutStaten Island ferry is it's free
, so free boat tour of New YorkHarbor 20 minutes.
(22:38):
Then you go right past theStatue of Liberty.
So and I got to be honest,having been to Statue of Liberty
a couple of times to see theStatue of Liberty from water
it's not that much differentthan getting there and being at
the base.
You get the vibe and again, ifyou're stretched for time, you
could go to Staten Island andsee the Statue of Liberty for
free in one shot.
And some people just like it somuch on a nice day, they'll
(23:00):
take the ferry, hit StatenIsland and come back.
I think it's worth getting off.
I don't think you have toexplore deep into Staten Island.
There are things to do.
There are restaurants that arefurther in, but there's a lot of
really good stuff.
Right off the ferry there's a lly ly baseball stadium.
That's another fun eveningbecause the stadium is built
with the Manhattan skyline inthe background.
(23:20):
So it's just a beautiful littlestadium.
There's an independent baseballteam that plays there schedule,
the Ferry Hawks ferry hawks.
But just walking around thatneighborhood of Staten Island
called St George there's abrewery called the Flexi Brewery
.
There's a 9-11 memorial.
Lea Lane (23:34):
There's a yes, that's a beautiful memorial.
It's called Post Cards and ifyou look through it you see the
skyline where the towers fell.
It commemorates those who diedfrom Staten Island.
Very beautiful sculpture.
Randall Lane (23:44):
If you go over there, you have a beer, a pizza.
Go to the 9-11 memorial.
Maybe if there's a ballgame andthere's usually fireworks there
, that could be fun too.
It's the journey, and then whenyou get there, it feels
different.
It's less hustle and bustle,still part of the city, it's
still somewhat dense, it feelsmore like a Midwest city, but
there are a lot of things to dowithin walking distance.
Lea Lane (24:04):
There's a zoo, there's a cultural center and botanical
garden and there's a historicRichmond town area which has
more than 100,000 artifacts,photographs and archives.
So very interesting.
Randall Lane (24:15):
I will say the ferry ride is spectacular.
Lea Lane (24:18):
I think now we know more about how each of the five
boroughs makes New York one ofthe world's greatest cities.
The name of the podcast isPlaces I Remember.
So, Rand, could you please giveus one of your many, many
thousands and thousands ofmemories of New York City?
Randall Lane (24:34):
That's a tough one , because every day a new memory
is made and just walking aroundis half the fun and half the
adventure.
There's never a dull day.
You cannot ,it's impossible ifyou're just walking around
observing to have a dull day inNew York.
But I'll actually think aboutmaybe the first time I can
remember being in New York, momwas with you and I think it was
(24:56):
from my what my seventh oreighth birthday.
Lea Lane (24:59):
It was your 10th.
Randall Lane (25:00):
It's an early memory so I think it might be
.
e .
we went to the top of theWorld Trade Center.
Lea Lane (25:05):
Yeah.
Randall Lane (25:05):
Memory else I always treasure it.
And then we went to Chinatownand I love still my favorite
birthday party ever.
I didn't know the geography, Ididn't know you could do both
those things on the same day,much less the same afternoon.
But that's what's great aboutNew York is you could have that
modern skyline skyscraperexperience and then you could go
and have a transportingculinary experience in a place
(25:27):
that feels totally different.
But that's what makes New Yorkauthentic is that it's the
melting pot to do both thosethings in two hours,
encapsulates
.
When New York it's about what'snew.
It's not a super nostalgic cityI mean the skyscraper's up
there for a reason.
It's about progress and it'sabout that skyline and the
strength and the idea of thecity and that
sleeps.
(25:48):
I mean Ellis Island is in NewYork, it's where a huge
percentage entered America andyou can feel it.
Lunch in Chinatown that's asNew York experience as it gets.
Lea Lane (25:58):
And also when you say nostalgia.
Of course, when we went to theWorld Trade Center we had no
idea that years later therewould be the Great Memorial
there, which is another thing totry to see, if you can.
Randall Lane (26:10):
Yes, 9-11.
Lea Lane (26:10):
9-11.
It's a wonderful, wonderfulmemorial.
Randall Lane (26:13):
You know, I was in New York that day.
Something like that just becamea way for New York to get
stronger, rebuild in a differentway, and that's the history of
New York.
It's a city that welcomespeople, has ups and downs, but
always comes back stronger,builds higher, taller, with
endless ambition.
And I think if you visit there,if you have that attitude that
you're going to come in thereand you're going to explore and
(26:35):
not leave anything on the table,you'll have a great time.
Lea Lane (26:38):
New York.
New York is the hell of a town,that's for sure.
Thank you, Randall Lane.
Randall Lane (26:43):
Anytime the best podcast.
It's only only podcast travelpodcasts I listen to.
Well, and congrats on the 100th.
Lea Lane (26:51):
Yes, we have over 100 episodes and I would remind
people that you are on episodes14 and 15, telling more of your
travel tales around the world,because you've traveled all over
and had some very excitingincidents happening to you, so
check those out.
Randall Lane (27:05):
If you can't travel around the world.
New York, you could travelaround the world in one city.
Lea Lane (27:10):
Absolutely.
We'll end on that.
Thank you very much, love you.
Randall Lane (27:13):
Love you.
New York, New York, a hell of a town.
The Bronx is up but theBattery's down.
The people ride in a hole inthe ground.
New York, New York, it's a hellof a town.
Those lyrics are from theBroadway classic On the Town,
which emphasizes that when wetalk about New York City, we're
talking from the southernmosttip, called the Battery, to the
northernmost section, which isin another borough besides
(00:22):
Manhattan.
On this episode, we'refeaturing what's best and new
and surprising, what to do, seeand eat in all five of New York
City's boroughs Manhattan,Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and
Staten Island.
Our guest is a quintessentialNew Yorker who's lived in
various boroughs for many years.
Randall Lane is the editor ofForbes magazine and the
(00:43):
company's chief content officer.
He also happens to be my son.
Welcome, Rand to Places.
That's my favorite title.
Me too.
Randall Lane (00:53):
Can't get fired from that one.
Lea Lane (00:54):
Nope, w never Plus you come on here all the time.
Okay, we're going to discussthe city.
We both love the city.
I was born in New York City.
Perhaps the most iconic symboli s Manhattan the most densely
populated of New York City'sfive boroughs.
It's mostly made up ofManhattan Island, bounded by the
(01:15):
Hudson, East and Harlem rivers.
It's among the world's majorcommercial, financial and
cultural centers.
It's the heart of the Big Apple.
What are some of thenot-to-miss sites for tourists,
Rand?
Randall Lane (01:26):
It's the place where the Dutch first landed.
Manhattan is the Indian andNative American word Manahatta,
but that's the origin of t NewYork City or Manhattan.
I've spent 30 years I don'tknow there.
You could spend a month, twomonths as a tourist and not get
bored.
It's one of the true jewels ofthe world.
Obviously.
Everyone knows that, but I like, if I was looking to organize
(01:49):
myself and try to get my armsaround something that you could
literally spend infinite timearound.
I think to think about it inthe same way that those first
Europeans when they first sawManhattan, they came by water
and if you really look atManhattan, Manhattan is an
island.
Every single thing that is inManhattan gets trucked in over a
bridge.
There's nothing native to itanymore.
It could go all the way fromthe battery which you mentioned,
(02:11):
which, of course, is called thebattery because that's where
the port used to be and that'sthe tip and that's the beginning
of New York.
But if you down near theBattery, South Street Seaport,
which is one of the great oldseaports of America, in the last
five years it's been renovatedseveral times, but now there's
something new called the TinBuilding, with th a famous shift
, John George.
There's a new development there.
(02:31):
It's been reborn yet again soyou can see the old tall ships,
but there's also amazing foodand something called the Tin
Building.
So that's one way to get yourstart at the bottom of the city,
looking out over the watertowards the East River On the
West side.
They've developed the entireWest side of the Hudson River
into a park, and so you can walkall the way from the tip to the
top through a park with allsorts of unbelievable executions
(02:53):
.
here's a new one that justhappened in the last couple of
years that was funded by themogul Barry Dillard, called
Little Island.
They built an artificial islandthat basically, you can spend
two hours.
It's got hills, it's got art,it's got views, it's got food.
That's one of many things.
You've got Chelsea Piers.
You've got, you know, CityWinery.
You've got all sorts of Piersand Executions.
(03:14):
That's an entire day where youget a whole scoop of the whole
Hudson River and the whole Westside of Manhattan.
There's also and this issomething that's better known
but still relatively new NewYork and modern Manhattan.
You've got the High Line, whichis an elevated train track that
runs not far from the, and itparallels the Hudson River and
(03:34):
it's only about a block from theHudson and you can walk on an
elevated track for about 40blocks that's about two miles
and again, views birds-eye viewsor pigeons-eye views, because
you're not that up but you'rekind of a two or three stories
tall and you're kind of seeingManhattan without having to
cross any streets.
From a different vantage point.
(03:55):
Again, they're all sorts of tart installations, there's food
there, but you really can seeManhattan.
So I like to think aboutManhattan in terms of how you
traverse it.
You know which museums youchoose, which restaurants you
choose.
That, of course, you could pickyour own adventure and they try
to cite any is folly becausethere are literally hundreds you
could choose from.
It depends on you know whatneighborhood you're in and what
cuisine you're interested in andwhat your price point is.
(04:17):
But I really like to thinkabout Manhattan in terms of how
you get around it, how you seeas much of it as possible.
And if you think about kind ofthe east side with the East
River and going on downtown now,and you think about the West
Side with the park and the HighLine and then of course Central
Park gets you the center, youwill have seen a huge chunk of
Manhattan, and Central Park goesall the way again.
110th Street goes up to Harlem,the Morningside Heights, so
(04:39):
you're really seeing a hugeswath of Manhattan if you take
those thoroughfares and focusyour visit on that.
Lea Lane (04:45):
Yeah, I would add that you can get around by walking.
It's an easy city to walk allover.
Randall Lane (04:50):
Okay, I couldn't agree more.
The wonder in New York is thatyou never know what you're going
to see on any block.
It is the number one walkingcity in America it's not even
close, and one of the greatwalking cities of the world.
So Manhattan, because of thatdensity, is uniquely about
walking.
Now, if you're trying to maketime, the subway is great.
It's a great adventure.
(05:10):
Don't be afraid of it.
It's not dangerous relative topretty much any other method of
transportation.
But people don't appreciate thesubway because it's almost
always crowded, so you could goon any time and you're not going
to be alone.
It's a city of 8 million people.
I've never had any incidents onthe New York subway.
It's a very efficient way.
It's a very local way to getaround the city.
But to your point, mom, it'sabout walking and everything we
(05:33):
just talked about, whether it'sthe High Line, whether it's the
park up and down the Hudson now,or whether you're walking
downtown towards South StreetSeaport from the Battery, I'm
seeing a lot of historic Old NewYork sites there.
You're seeing and you'reexperiencing.
Lea Lane (05:47):
Okay, I think I would say, if you only have a very
short time, I might suggest atour, a double-decker bus tour,
because you would see thehighlights passing by the Empire
State Building, the ChryslerBuilding, the Statue of Liberty,
also the museums I have tomention.
There are so many more than theMetropolitan.
There are hundreds of museums,small ones, big ones.
To go to one or two is awonderful classic thing to do,
(06:10):
and a Broadway show oroff-Broadway show, of course,
walking around the Village, anyinteresting little neighborhood,
is something.
I want to say that you getwonderful deli food there.
What's your favorite deli toget a corned beef sandwich or
pastrami, Rand.
Randall Lane (06:24):
Probably Katz's, which is the classic, you know
the famous Harry Met S A Myfavorite food probably Second
Avenue deli, which is located onThird Avenue.
Of course, If you had to do onedeli, do Katz's.
It's one of the greatrestaurant experiences in
America.
Lea Lane (06:37):
And how about bagels?
If you want to just have abagel?
Randall Lane (06:39):
Oh, there's so many, there's so many.
Lea Lane (06:41):
Essa a bagel.
Randall Lane (06:42):
Essa a bagel's, great, there's so many.
Okay.
That's what's great about NewYork.
It's not like, okay, I'm goingto the city and here are the
three I must.
There are literally 300 inManhattan you can choose from.
That's what's fun, and youdon't have to spend a lot of
money.
And I think, mom, you'rebringing up like a deli.
Katz's deli is a very expensivedeli, but it's still just a
sandwich.
It's not going to break thebank.
A bagel's, two bucks, the pizza, of course.
Lea Lane (07:04):
And there's street food.
There's those hot dogs, thosedirty water hot dogs.
Randall Lane (07:07):
Dirty water hot dogs.
But h Chinatown or Koreatownor areas Little I India.
There are two of them inManhattan, so you can eat
amazingly.
You don't have to go to,.
ou know, the big, expenseaccount restaurants and you can
still have a culinary experienceyou can't get pretty much
(07:28):
anywhere else in America.
Lea Lane (07:29):
A lot to do and a lot to see, but whatever time you
have, try to get the feel of itI think your idea of a
double-decker bus is smartyou've never been there?
Randall Lane (07:38):
because then you could check the boxes and then
you could start acting more likea local as opposed to kind of
going point to point.
I mean, a lot of these thingsare iconic and so, yeah, you
want to see them.
But on the flip side, to trulyexperience it is to just kind of
be one with it.
It's not like some other citieswhich are great, but you know
there are five things you got tosee and otherwise you know it's
(07:58):
not that different than a lotof other cities.
This is a place that thedifference is that in the
nuances and yes, there's stillthose tourist sites and you
should see them.
But if you take the bus and yougo down Fifth Avenue and you
pass St Patrick's andRockefeller Center and you go
right past the Empire StateBuilding, you know that's a
45-minute walk to see that wholestretch to go from.
Lea Lane (08:19):
Right, right.
Randall Lane (08:21):
To Park South and the Plaza Hotel.
Lea Lane (08:23):
So the Empire State Building is about 20, 25 blocks,
if you were going to go up atthe ge with the Empire State
Building in it.
Where would you go?
Just one place.
Randall Lane (08:32):
There's a new place called One Vanderbilt and
this has become a new thing inNew York, where it's almost the
same Empire State Building andthey built the entire top floor.
It's not cheap it's like 40, 50bucks to go in ,but you get
unbelievable views and they'vedesigned the entire roof.
It's only about five years oldthe top floors to be kind of an
Instagram worthy.
There's even one part where yougo up on a glass ledge and you
(08:54):
can look down down like 90stories, nothing between you and
90 stories.
The other thing that's becomevery popular also in the last
five years, Hudson Yards, whichis a brand new development.
I'm not sure it would be myfirst stop.
It's kind of cool newdevelopment on the West Side in
the 30s.
It's on the High Line, so youwill wind up there at the end if
you take the High Line, butthere's something called the
Edge, the Edge at Hudson Yards.
It's also kind of made for anInstagram era, but it's a
(09:18):
outdoor platform that's about100 stories high.
There's a restaurant on top too.
That's quite beautiful.
Food's not that good, but it'sbeautiful.
But you can actually walk outand, especially at sunset,
you're like an airplane andyou're sitting there.
They also feature a glasscutout where you can stand in
glass and look down and (scary,very) 1, it's quite.
We've come a long way from justviewing platforms.
Lea Lane (09:40):
Yeah, not for me.
Perhaps.
Randall Lane (09:42):
The Vanderbilt has one room that's full of mirrors
, so you see a hall of mirrorsat 1,000 feet above sea level
Cool.
Lea Lane (09:49):
Let's move over to the borough of Brooklyn, where
you've also lived.
It's located on the westernmostedge of Long Island.
The first settlement in thearea was by Dutch farmers in
1636.
The area is very trendy anddefinitely worth discovering for
tourists.
What are some of theattractions there that you would
say not to miss?
Randall Lane (10:07):
Brooklyn's become as popular, especially for
younger adults, as Manhattan.
In terms of where people livenow.
The prices there about the sameas Manhattan.
In terms of the restaurant andthe food scene it rivals a lot
of the best restaurants in NewYork are now in Brooklyn.
If you're going for the firsttime and it's neighborhood by
neighborhood now, unlikeManhattan, you could walk each
neighborhood, but theneighborhoods are further apart.
(10:30):
It's got one of the great parksin America, Prospect Park.
Lea Lane (10:34):
Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed
Central Park.
Randall Lane (10:37):
There you go.
Lea Lane (10:38):
Many people say it's more beautiful.
Randall Lane (10:40):
It's gorgeous In Prospect Park.
There's also the BrooklynBotanical Garden, also gorgeous.
There's a Brooklyn Museum whichis next to the Botanical Garden
, which is free on one Friday amonth, but also a terrific
museum.
Lea Lane (10:52):
Known for Egyptology, one of the greatest ones in the
world.
Randall Lane (10:55):
Brooklyn.
Go figure.
If you want to be cool, youwant to be i the hipster capital
of the world is Williamsburg,Brooklyn, which is by subway
about five minutes fromManhattan.
On the L train.
One stop.
Get the Manhattan skyline fromBrooklyn.
It's ridiculously cool.
So cool actually, it's almostuncool, to be honest.
Lea Lane (11:16):
Right Wow.
Randall Lane (11:18):
It's become one of the most desirable
neighborhoods in America.
Lea Lane (11:20):
Well, I think each of the neighborhoods in Brooklyn
has a very specific feel to it.
Brooklyn Heights, panoramicviews, beautiful promenades,
perfect views and the promenadesee the whole (brownstones and
Park Slope).
Randall Lane (11:32):
Outland and the park Slope and Cobble Hill,
which are very close to eachother.
You could walk through thatarea of Brooklyn and see that
stoop culture.
T Slope's near the park.
Obviously that's where it getsname t
Lea Lane (11:46):
Then you have Dumbo down under the Manhattan Bridge
Overpass, which has emerged asone of the city's best known art
districts and t Instagrammable,because you see all kinds of
views there.
Randall Lane (11:56):
There's that one block, that's Cobblestone
Streets, with the view of theBrooklyn Bridge, that's probably
the most Instagrammed andphotographed spot in New York.
Now we have to mention theBrooklyn Bridge.
Lea Lane (12:08):
You can walk over it.
It's a magnificent view of bothManhattan and Brooklyn.
At the time when it was built,in the late 1800s, it was the
highest point in Manhattan.
It has this wonderful historyto it.
Randall Lane (12:20):
In the years along the suspension bridge there's a
book called the Great Bridgethat you can get a history of
that.
It's a architectural marvel.
Absolutely, you can walk acrossit.
You can take a city bike andbike across it, but it's a great
way if you are Manhattan based,as most people listening to
this probably will be.
You could also then walk fromDumbo towards Brooklyn Heights.
Lea Lane (12:42):
We have to mention one of my favorites from my
childhood at Coney Island.
Tell us about that.
It's on the ocean.
People don't think of beachesin Brooklyn and beaches in the
city, but every borough has abeach.
Actually, in New York, theConey Island area is famous for
its boardwalk and its amusementrides, including the famous
Wonder Wheel from 1920 and theCyclone Roller Coaster from the
20s.
(13:02):
What do you think of ConeyIsland?
Randall Lane (13:04):
Today.
Cyclone is the best.
It's almost 100 years old.
I love Coney Island and yourgranddaughters love Coney Island
.
It hasn't changed that much.
If you want that 1930s, 1920sit still has that kind of carny,
wooden feel.
It's quite a great experienceon a nice day.
Lea Lane (13:22):
Does it still have the place where you go in and it
airs your skirt and it goes up.
Randall Lane (13:26):
Fun, that one I have not seen.
Lea Lane (13:29):
I don't know.
Randall Lane (13:30):
I got sued out of existence.
The Cyclone Roller Coaster forroller coaster buffs is a 1927
wooden roller coaster and it'squite amazing because t t hell
of a ride you can only imaginewhen it was like 100 years ago a
you didn't have all thesemodern thrill rides.
It's still thrilling, butwhat's great about it is it goes
up and it just drops.
You're not on a string, itsgravity takes you all the way.
(13:52):
It's an out of control car.
Lea Lane (13:55):
The New York kind of ride.
Randall Lane (13:57):
It's so fun.
Lea Lane (13:58):
I think that's a wonderful thing with family If
it's a nice summer day.
Randall Lane (14:03):
You can walk on the beach, on the boardwalk.
There's a minor league baseballstadium there.
It has a view of the ocean.
You're right near the originalNathan's Hot Dogs where they
have the annual hot dog eatingcontest in July 4th and you get
a hot dog.
There's a great pizzarestaurant there called Totonos.
It's a little bit off thebeaten path, like a 5-minute
walk.
It's walking on the boardwalk,riding the Cyclone, playing
(14:24):
games of chance and losing yourmoney trying to win stuff t
animals.
There's a whole little miniamusement park there If you have
kids.
It's not just amusement parks,it's a piece of history.
It's got this raw feel.
If you keep walking, if you'readventurous, you can go up to
Brighton Beach, which is about a10-minute walk up the boardwalk
, and that's the big Russianneighborhood of New York.
You can get Borscht and see allthe signs in Russian and
(14:46):
pro-Ukrainian.
This is the crowd that got outof Russia because they're quite
an interesting neighborhood.
Lea Lane (14:51):
Well, that's pretty fun.
I just love hearing about it.
Randall Lane (14:54):
Every Friday night they have fireworks in the
summer too.
That's a nice day where you go.
Maybe if there's a baseballgame you take a couple endings.
It's minor league ball, so youdon't take it so seriously.
My daughter, Sabrina, who'sbeen on this show, your
granddaughter she had somefriends who'd never been in New
York for last summer and Iactually took them to Coney
Island on a Friday night forthat exact regimen.
(15:14):
I took them to a baseball gamewhich they'd never seen before.
Again, you don't have to savefive or ten bucks to get in.
You see a couple endings, theocean's in the background.
Lea Lane (15:23):
Got everything.
Randall Lane (15:24):
It's just great.
Then you go have a hot dog inNathan's.
You walk on the boardwalk, yousee the fireworks, you ride the
cyclone.
The New York Aquarium is there.
Lea Lane (15:31):
Okay, let's go on to Queens.
It's a New York City borough onLong Island, across the East
River from Manhattan.
Randall Lane (15:37):
It's basically t
Lea Lane (15:40):
Brooklyn.
Randall Lane (15:42):
There's no physical.
Lea Lane (15:44):
There's a little tidal arm of the East River which
forms the boundary betweenBrooklyn and Queens.
Randall Lane (15:49):
You're going on from there.
Do you know why it was namedQueens?
Lea Lane (15:52):
Well, the borough of Brooklyn is called.
Randall Lane (15:55):
Kings.
That's one way.
Lea Lane (15:58):
They're twins, I always assumed there was either
from British royal time.
Yes, it was named in honor ofQueen Catherine of Braganza,
wife of King Charles II Queenswas the first city to be
established in New York.
N It's just a little bit lessthan all of Chicago, so it's a
(16:18):
big, big area.
It has 91 distinctneighborhoods.
Randall Lane (16:22):
Brooklyn's probably fifth, Brooklyn's
probably fifth, yeah, yeah we'retalking big -91 distinct
neighborhoods.
Lea Lane (16:27):
there.
The residents are said to speak130 languages and represent
over 120 countries.
The number seven subway line,which runs between Queens and
Manhattan, is referred to as theInternational Express.
Now many travelers only see abit of the borough because
they're traveling into Manhattan, because both LaGuardia and
Kennedy airports are locatedthere.
(16:48):
But there's much to enjoy.
What do you like when you go toQueens?
Randall Lane (16:51):
I like to eat my way through Queens.
It's the most diverse borough,it's the most diverse place in
America and that's not debatable.
The way to explore it isthrough your stomach, because
it's less the sites there, it'sa living place.
There are, of course, moretouristy things and you can go
see the US Open if you're therein September.
When I go to Queens for theQueens Museum, I only see the.
(17:11):
Well, I go to see the panorama.
I agree there are lots of thingsto do but, realistically, if
you go into Queens, you shouldbe eating.
You should be looking at itthrough a culinary lens.
You should be looking neighborby neighborhood.
If you're in Flushing, youshould be eating Chinese food.
You might as well be in HongKong You're in Flushing.
It feels like that.
If you're in Jackson Heights,you get as good or better Indian
(17:34):
food as you can find in India.
You're in Astoria, some of thebest Greek food in the world.
If you're in Woodside, some ofthe best Thai food.
And it's not just finding onerestaurant.
You can have your multipleoptions, ethnic clusters where
immigrants gravitateneighborhood by neighborhood,
and you can get reallyunbelievable food, as good as
anything you get in the world,because, having been in most of
(17:55):
those countries, you have theknowledge and the culture.
But you also have greatingredients.
Of course, with New York beingone of the great food cities in
the world, taking a global foodtour without having to leave a
single borough, Queens has thatanywhere in America, I agree.
Lea Lane (18:09):
I agree.
Two things I like very much.
One is having a tour of theKaufman Astoria Studios.
There's Silver Cup Studios iKaufman Astoria and the Kaufman
Astoria has been going on since1920.
Over 100 films were producedthere during the 1920s and many
TV shows like Sesame Street arestill produced there.
That's lots of fun to go visit.
I want to just mention, becauseof my son Cary there's the
(18:32):
Harriet and Kenneth KupferbergHolocaust Center, which is a
learning laboratory.
The current exhibit isConcentration Camps and, I think
it's important to note again,beaches are there.
You have lots of things to doif you want in terms of the
outdoors, but I do agree withyou that if I were going to
Queens, it would be foodcentered.
Let's talk about thenorthernmost borough of New York
(18:53):
City.
Randall Lane (18:54):
It's the oldest borough in New York City.
That's on the US mainland.
Lea Lane (18:57):
That's right, it was named after Jonas Bronk, a
European settler in the 1600s.
We may think of it as filledwith high-rise apartment
buildings, but there are somewonderful surprises there, Tell
us.
Randall Lane (19:10):
There are some of the great natural wonders or
natural tourist destinations inNew York.
The big three, I would say,would be the Bronx Botanical
Garden, which is one of thebiggest and best in America, the
Bronx Zoo, also one of thebiggest and best in America.
Then, if you want to go off thebeaten path, there's a place
called Wave Hill, which is alsoa wonderful arboretum of sorts
(19:32):
with beautiful views.
Lea Lane (19:34):
Right on the Hudson River with the New Jersey
Palisades.
Randall Lane (19:37):
You've got Hudson views.
The Bronx has great places towalk on lovely days and see.
things that are going toBotanical Gardens are
spectacular.
There's always a show and anexhibit.
The Bronx Zoo, if you havelittle kids, is super fun.
Lea Lane (19:51):
I think it's known as the best gorillas outside of
nature.
I went to Rwanda, as you know,but you can go to the Bronx Zoo
and see mountain gorillas andlowland gorillas.
Randall Lane (20:01):
Great with kids when I go there.
If I didn't have kids, I wouldno .
With kids terrific.
(I would, I would, I'm saying Iwould too, as someone who lives
in New York.
But if I only had a week, I'mnot sure I would Okay, well,
we're giving the full.
Yeah, maybe there for a month,You know where I would go.
Lea Lane (20:16):
I'd go to City Island because that's a surprise.
Most people don't realize thatthere's an island that looks
like a town in New England.
That's part of the Bronx, it'sa extreme extreme extreme
western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay Park and
east of Eastchester Bay.
Once you drive over the CityIsland Bridge, which is the only
way to get on and off theIsland unless you have a boat,
you hit a strip called CityIsland Avenue, which is lined
(20:39):
with restaurants known forseafood.
Randall Lane (20:41):
You could take a taxi.
But City Island is fun.
It's a New England town forabout 10 blocks.
It's super cool.
If you want that kind oftransporting experience you also
have.
The best little Italy in NewYork is not in Manhattan.
That's very touristy, onlymarginally worth If you're
walking through there.
The real Little Italy is onArthur Avenue in the Bronx.
(21:03):
That is a truly transportingexperience.
It's not that big.
You could do the whole thing inan hour or two and have dinner
or lunch, but that's truly alike out of a movie.
Lea Lane (21:14):
Oh yeah, I remember Marios.
Randall Lane (21:16):
Marios is great, Dominick's is great.
Roberto's.
If you want to go a littlehigher in Dominick's they don't
even have a menu, they justbring you food.
Really, can't go wrong there.
Lea Lane (21:27):
Yep.
We have to mention YankeeStadium.
Home of the New York Yankees isin the Bronx.
Randall Lane (21:34):
The Bronx , b.
Lea Lane (21:35):
Yep what their name is , so you can always go there too
.
There's lots to discover in theBronx.
The southernmost borough is theone most of us know the least
about.
It's Staten Island.
Randall Lane (21:47):
Is t that that that island of borough.
Lea Lane (21:49):
It is, it's considered a borough.
Yes, one of the five boroughs.
Randall Lane (21:53):
Yeah, they always feel neglected.
If you look at a map, it reallyshouldn't be part of New York.
It's really part of New Jersey,with a few estuaries.
Lea Lane (22:02):
Well, that's what a New Yorker would say.
Randall Lane (22:04):
Oh, it's true, I mean a Manhattan .
Lea Lane (22:06):
New Yorker.
Randall Lane (22:06):
No, it's not true.
It's what a geographer wouldsay.
Lea Lane (22:09):
They would say well it's a really good thing.
It's Bayonne
t.
It's in the middle of the city.
Randall Lane (22:15):
And it's totally different and there's lots to do
, and I've been in Staten Islanda lot.
I probably go there at leastonce a year because it's fun,
and the most fun you could haveis from Manhattan you could take
the Staten Island ferry, whichis one of the most famous
ferries in America.
One of the great parts aboutStaten Island ferry is it's free
, so free boat tour of New YorkHarbor 20 minutes.
(22:38):
Then you go right past theStatue of Liberty.
So and I got to be honest,having been to Statue of Liberty
a couple of times to see theStatue of Liberty from water
it's not that much differentthan getting there and being at
the base.
You get the vibe and again, ifyou're stretched for time, you
could go to Staten Island andsee the Statue of Liberty for
free in one shot.
And some people just like it somuch on a nice day, they'll
(23:00):
take the ferry, hit StatenIsland and come back.
I think it's worth getting off.
I don't think you have toexplore deep into Staten Island.
There are things to do.
There are restaurants that arefurther in, but there's a lot of
really good stuff.
Right off the ferry there's a lly ly baseball stadium.
That's another fun eveningbecause the stadium is built
with the Manhattan skyline inthe background.
(23:20):
So it's just a beautiful littlestadium.
There's an independent baseballteam that plays there schedule,
the Ferry Hawks ferry hawks.
But just walking around thatneighborhood of Staten Island
called St George there's abrewery called the Flexi Brewery
.
There's a 9-11 memorial.
Lea Lane (23:34):
There's a yes, that's a beautiful memorial.
It's called Post Cards and ifyou look through it you see the
skyline where the towers fell.
It commemorates those who diedfrom Staten Island.
Very beautiful sculpture.
Randall Lane (23:44):
If you go over there, you have a beer, a pizza.
Go to the 9-11 memorial.
Maybe if there's a ballgame andthere's usually fireworks there
, that could be fun too.
It's the journey, and then whenyou get there, it feels
different.
It's less hustle and bustle,still part of the city, it's
still somewhat dense, it feelsmore like a Midwest city, but
there are a lot of things to dowithin walking distance.
Lea Lane (24:04):
There's a zoo, there's a cultural center and botanical
garden and there's a historicRichmond town area which has
more than 100,000 artifacts,photographs and archives.
So very interesting.
Randall Lane (24:15):
I will say the ferry ride is spectacular.
Lea Lane (24:18):
I think now we know more about how each of the five
boroughs makes New York one ofthe world's greatest cities.
The name of the podcast isPlaces I Remember.
So, Rand, could you please giveus one of your many, many
thousands and thousands ofmemories of New York City?
Randall Lane (24:34):
That's a tough one , because every day a new memory
is made and just walking aroundis half the fun and half the
adventure.
There's never a dull day.
You cannot ,it's impossible ifyou're just walking around
observing to have a dull day inNew York.
But I'll actually think aboutmaybe the first time I can
remember being in New York, momwas with you and I think it was
(24:56):
from my what my seventh oreighth birthday.
Lea Lane (24:59):
It was your 10th.
Randall Lane (25:00):
It's an early memory so I think it might be
.
e .
we went to the top of theWorld Trade Center.
Lea Lane (25:05):
Yeah.
Randall Lane (25:05):
Memory else I always treasure it.
And then we went to Chinatownand I love still my favorite
birthday party ever.
I didn't know the geography, Ididn't know you could do both
those things on the same day,much less the same afternoon.
But that's what's great aboutNew York is you could have that
modern skyline skyscraperexperience and then you could go
and have a transportingculinary experience in a place
(25:27):
that feels totally different.
But that's what makes New Yorkauthentic is that it's the
melting pot to do both thosethings in two hours,
encapsulates
.
When New York it's about what'snew.
It's not a super nostalgic cityI mean the skyscraper's up
there for a reason.
It's about progress and it'sabout that skyline and the
strength and the idea of thecity and that
sleeps.
(25:48):
I mean Ellis Island is in NewYork, it's where a huge
percentage entered America andyou can feel it.
Lunch in Chinatown that's asNew York experience as it gets.
Lea Lane (25:58):
And also when you say nostalgia.
Of course, when we went to theWorld Trade Center we had no
idea that years later therewould be the Great Memorial
there, which is another thing totry to see, if you can.
Randall Lane (26:10):
Yes, 9-11.
Lea Lane (26:10):
9-11.
It's a wonderful, wonderfulmemorial.
Randall Lane (26:13):
You know, I was in New York that day.
Something like that just becamea way for New York to get
stronger, rebuild in a differentway, and that's the history of
New York.
It's a city that welcomespeople, has ups and downs, but
always comes back stronger,builds higher, taller, with
endless ambition.
And I think if you visit there,if you have that attitude that
you're going to come in thereand you're going to explore and
(26:35):
not leave anything on the table,you'll have a great time.
Lea Lane (26:38):
New York.
New York is the hell of a town,that's for sure.
Thank you, Randall Lane.
Randall Lane (26:43):
Anytime the best podcast.
It's only only podcast travelpodcasts I listen to.
Well, and congrats on the 100th.
Lea Lane (26:51):
Yes, we have over 100 episodes and I would remind
people that you are on episodes14 and 15, telling more of your
travel tales around the world,because you've traveled all over
and had some very excitingincidents happening to you, so
check those out.
Randall Lane (27:05):
If you can't travel around the world.
New York, you could travelaround the world in one city.
Lea Lane (27:10):
Absolutely.
We'll end on that.
Thank you very much, love you.
Randall Lane (27:13):
Love you.
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