Day Eleven - Coming Home!

BYE-BYE NEW YORK CITY!

This morning I checked out of my hotel, said good-bye to all my friends at MSM, and headed for the Post Office. I have really enjoyed my adventures in NYC, but I am starting to get a little home sick. I will be happy to see all my friends in Mrs. Bower's Grade 5 class again!



ME AT THE NYC POST OFFICE

The United States Post Office in New York City is located at 33rd St. and 8th Avenue. I was fascinated to learn that the USPS handles more than 43% of the world's mail. Its nearest competitor is Japan with only 6%. The post office depends exclusively on postage and fees rather than tax payer revenue for its operations. It operates a $5.5 billion transportation network that includes more than 200,000 vehicles and contract space on approximately 15,000 commercial flights daily. The postal service is listed by Fortune Magazine as 29th on a list of the world's largest companies, working with an annual budget of nearly 1% of the United States economy. The post office delivers more in one day than FedEx does in a whole year, and more in three days than UPS does in a whole year!

 

Fun NYC Factoid:

Contrary to popular belief, the United States Post Office has no official motto. However, a number of postal buildings contain inscriptions, the most familiar of which appear on postal buildings in New York City and Washington D.C.:

"Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

This inscription was supplied by William Mitchell Kendall, of the firm of McKim, Mead & White -  the architects who designed the New York General Post Office. Kendall said the sentence appears in the works of Herodotus and describes the expeditions of the Greeks against the Persians under Cyrus, about 500 B.C. The Persians operated a system of mounted postal couriers, and the sentence describes the fidelity with which their work was done.

Day Ten - Queens!

PENNSYLVANIA STATION

This morning I walked over to Penn Station and took the Long Island Rail Road out to Queens.

I stopped in Kew Gardens to visit Queens Borough President, Helen Marshall. Ms Marshall gave me a tour of the Queens Borough Hall and told me a lot about the borough's history. She explained to me that this is her last term in office as Borough President, and she has made increasing Queen's tourism one of her top priorities. Queens has many interesting destinations for tourists to visit, but it still remains the NYC borough with the lowest annual tourism revenue. 

BOROUGH PRESIDENT MARSHALL AND ME!

One of the most significant changes that has occurred in Queens during Ms Marshall’s office, is the construction of the new stadium for the New York Mets. Up until April of 2009, the New York Mets played in Shea Stadium, which was constructed in 1964. In 2009, Citi Field was completed, and opened to Mets fans in April. The stadium has helped to increase tourism in Queens, drawing many more visitors than its predecessor. The stadium is especially filled during a subway series, when the Mets play the NY Yankees!

Borough President Marshall is a huge Mets fan, and guess what….she surprised me with tickets to today’s game! Today the Mets are playing the Philadelphia Phillies. I am so excited that I got to go to TWO baseball games while I was here!

ME AT CITI FIELD

At Citi Field there are so many fancy restaurants to choose from it’s hard to pick one. Ms Marshall told me that for a real Mets experience, we had to forsake all the fancy restaurants and have what New Yorkers call a “dirty water dog”. At first I thought it sounded like a terrible idea! However, I soon learned that a dirty water dog is a hot dog, but it isn’t dirty! 

Dirty water dogs are hot dogs that go for a swim, then a soak in boiling water to heat them up. It's kind of like a day at the spa for a hot dog! Sabrett's franks are the dog of choice, although some places serve Nathan’s franks, or Hebrew National. The dirty water dog is a long and thin natural skin cased frank, the bun is at air temperature and mildly soft to slightly firm. These dirty water dogs are served with Sabrett’s onions which looked to me like orange relish. Men and women walk around in the stands at Citi Field carrying big square metal boxes of these hot dogs to sell to the Mets fans. I ate two, and they were absolutely delicious!

MY DINNER!

Fun NYC Factoid:

How did Queens get its name? Queens was one of the original counties of New York, formed (and named) in 1683, by the British. It included the land that is now Queens and parts of Long Island called Nassau and Suffolk counties. Adjoining Brooklyn was named King County in honor of King Charles II.

Day Nine - Manhattan!

This morning I took the A Train downtown to Centre St., to meet Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

BOROUGH PRESIDENT STRINGER AND ME

Mr. Stringer explained to me that he believes the foundation for much of his work is the change he’s brought to Manhattan’s community boards. Energizing these formal institutions of neighborhood democracy was a top priority of Mr. Stringer’s when he ran for office. A new merit selection process, combined with an addition of badly needed resources – such as dedicating to each board a graduate student from the city’s architecture and planning schools – has served to strengthen the voice of Manhattan’s neighborhoods in debates over city planning. Since taking office at the start of 2006, he has dedicated himself to making Manhattan more affordable, livable, and breathable. He told me that he is committed to preserving the sense of neighborhood for the 1.6 million residents of Manhattan, which is best known throughout the world as a capital of culture and commerce.

After my tour of the Manhattan Borough Hall, Mr. Stringer took me to the world-famous Bleeker St. for John’s Pizza!

I learned that NYC is famous for making two things better than any place else in the world: bagels and pizza! Everyone has their own opinion about who makes the best pizza in NYC, but Borough President Stringer told me he thinks John’s is the best.

John’s Pizza was started in 1929 by John Sasso. It is still in its original location and serves coal-fired, brick oven pizza. Mr. Stringer told me that John’s is one of the oldest pizzerias in NYC. John’s really captures the essence of NYC pizza, by serving thin-crust pizza, made to order (fast!), and using only fresh toppings. I ate FOUR slices it was so yummy!

After my very big lunch, Borough President Stringer took me to see the Empire State Building! As Borough President, Mr. Stringer is very committed to maintaining Manhattan’s tourism industry, and the Empire State Building is one of its biggest attractions.

ME AT THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

 

Our tour guide told us so many interesting things about the building, it is hard to remember all of them! Several decades ago it became the fashion to start building very tall buildings, which came to be known as skyscrapers. By 1930, it seemed as though the 1,046-foot Chrysler Building had won the skyscraper war. However, in October of that year, construction began on the Empire State Building, at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street.

The Empire State Building was finished on May 1, 1931 -- 45 days ahead of schedule and about 5 million dollars under budget! During the opening ceremonies, President Hoover pressed a button to light up the building. Unfortunately, due to the Depression, nearly half of the building remained unused, giving it the nickname the "Empty State Building."

The original plan for the Empire State Building called for the top stories to be used as a "mooring mast" to help secure blimps while passengers disembarked. Although two blimps did successfully make contact with the mast, this idea was soon abandoned. Instead, the 86th and 102nd stories became observatory decks. On a clear day, tourists on these floors can see distances as far as 80 miles away.

The Empire State Building remained the tallest building in the world until the 1970s, when the World Trade Towers were built. Soon after, even taller skyscrapers claimed the title of tallest building in the world. Although the Empire State Building is no longer the world's tallest building, it is still visited by millions of tourists each year, and has been featured in over 90 movies, the most famous of which is King Kong.

MEMORIAL DAY COLORS! 

(Americans spell colour it without the "u")

Today the Empire State Building is lit up Red, White and Blue, in honor of Memorial Day. Americans do not celebrate Victoria Day like we do. Instead, they have a holiday one week later called Memorial Day, which is just like our Remembrance Day.  Many fleets of Navy ships dock in the ports of Manhattan during the days leading up to the Memorial Day weekend, so that period of time has become known in NYC as “Fleet Week”.

Fun NYC Factoid:

The Empire State Building changes the colors of its lights to reflect holidays and other important events in New York City.

You can learn all about on the Empire State Building’s Official Website:

http://www.esbnyc.com 
This website explains not only what color the Empire State Building is today, but also why those colors have been chosen!

Day Eight - Staten Island!

This Morning I took the 1 Train downtown to the South Street Seaport. There I got on the Staten Island Ferry, to visit Borough President James Molinaro.

ME AT A STATEN ISLAND BOROUGH HALL MEETING

During my tour, Mr. Molinaro explained to me that as borough President, his thinks the most important part of his job is to continue development of the Parks system, as well as to increase the amount of new business that comes to Staten Island. Mr.
Molinaro has led the campaign to revamp Staten Island Beaches, reconstructing the Boardwalks, adding a new fishing pier at Ocean Breeze, spray fountains, a snack bar, and new boardwalk amenities such as lighting, signage, and benches. Mr.
Molinaro has also helped to keep Staten Island the “Greenest Borough,” adding new parks to its already impressive collection, bringing the total amount of Staten Island parkland to 33% of the total land area.

STATEN ISLAND FERRY

After learning about the things that Borough President Molinaro has accomplished in office, I also wanted to learn more about the Staten Island ferry. So, after our Council meeting, I asked some questions. Mr. Molinaro explained to me that the ferry runs between Manhattan and Staten Island and is used mostly by New Yorkers going to and from work because it is much faster than driving.  I also learned that the Staten Island ferry has been FREE to ride since 1997, when fees were eliminated by the DOT. The ferry departs Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry terminal, at the southernmost tip of Manhattan. On Staten Island, the ferry arrives and departs from St. George Ferry Terminal near Borough Hall. Service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Staten Island Ferry is the most reliable form of mass transit, with an on-time performance of over 96 percent. The Staten Island Ferry has been a municipal service since 1905, and currently carries over 21 million passengers annually on the 5.2-mile run.

After my tour of his office, Mr. Molinaro also took me to see the Statue of Liberty! We took the Ellis Island/Liberty Island Ferry to Liberty Island.

ME AND MR. MOLINARO ON THE LIBERTY ISLAND FERRY

At Liberty Island, we got to take a tour of the Statue of Liberty. People are no longer allowed to climb all the way to the top, but luckily for me, they made an exception and gave us a private tour. The tour guide said it was because I am a special visitor all the way from Canada, but I think it was actually because Mr. Molinaro is such an important person in Staten Island!

CAN YOU SEE ME???

Borough President Molinaro explained to me that The Statue of Liberty is known officially as “Liberty Enlightening the World,”  and was designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and funded completely through donations from the French people as a gift to the newly formed United States.

After Bartholdi finalized the design in miniature, the statue itself was created using wooden molds, a copper shell, and an iron structure designed by Gustave Eiffel, who later built the Eiffel Tower.

On July 4, 1884, the 151-foot-tall, 225-ton Statue of Liberty was delivered to the American Ambassador in Paris. In order to transport Lady Liberty to New York, the statue was dismantled into 300 pieces and packed into 214 wooden crates.

Fun NYC Factoid:

Staten Island played a significant role in the Revolutionary War. On March 17, 1776, the British forces under General Howe, evacuated Boston and sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia. From Halifax, they prepared to attack New York City, which then consisted entirely of the southern end of Manhattan. General George Washington led his army to New York City in anticipation of the British attack. Britain's General Howe used the strategic location of Staten Island as a staging ground for the invasion. Over 140 British ships arrived over the summer of 1776 and anchored off the shores of Staten Island at the entrance to New York Harbor, which was the largest armada to set sail until World War II. The British troops  numbered at about 30,000. Howe established his headquarters at the historic Rose and Crown Tavern. It is here that the representatives of the British government reportedly received their first notification of the Declaration of Independence, which is the document signed by the American leaders at the time, declaring their intent to be free from British rule.

Day Seven - Brooklyn!

This morning I took the F Train a LONG way downtown, to meet Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. Mr. Markowitz is really, really friendly and he insisted that I call him Marty.

MARTY AND ME

Marty has been elected to his position three consecutive times. He told me that while he has been serving the people of Brooklyn, he has accomplished many things. I learned that he has enacted programs to boost civic pride, improve health, promote tourism and empower young Brooklynites. As a longtime advocate for seniors, he told me that he has also fought vigorously to keep Brooklyn senior centers open when they were threatened with closures due to budget cuts. Marty’s efforts to save Brooklyn’s financially troubled medical institutions resulted in the preservation of maternity and pediatric units at Long Island College Hospital as well as the critical services provided by school medical clinics. Marty has also called for increased parental and community engagement in schools and has supported policies that improve graduation rates and prepare Brooklyn students to compete and succeed in the global economy. He was also instrumental in creating two new schools in Brooklyn: the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media and the Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance.

After my tour of his office, Marty invited me to Coney Island! I learned from Marty, that Coney Island is a New York City neighborhood that features an amusement park area that includes about 50 separate rides and attractions. It is not a centrally managed amusement park like Disneyland or Six Flags, but rather a group of independent attractions, all together in the same area.

ME AT THE CYCLONE - LOOKS SCARY!

While we were in Coney Island, I got to ride the world famous Cyclone! The cyclone is considered to be the father of America’s roller-coaster revolution and it is the most popular attraction at Coney Island! The Cyclone made its debut on June 26, 1927. This wooden roller coaster starts with an 85 foot tall, 60 degree drop and then shakes, rattles and rolls through 6 turn-arounds and 8 more drops! I thought it was WAY scarier than the coasters at Canada’s Wonderland because there are no shoulder harnesses, so it feels like you are going to fly right out!

The other most famous place at Coney Island is "Nathan’s Famous Frankfurters". Marty took me there for lunch! Nathan’s is famous all over the world for its hot dogs, which still only cost 99 cents!

Nathan’s Famous was founded by a Polish immigrant, Nathan Handwerker, and his is truly an authentic “only in America story.” He started his business in 1916 with a small hot dog stand in Coney Island, New York. He sold hot dogs that were manufactured based on a recipe developed by his wife, Ida. Today the Handwerker family are multi-millionaires!

  

After eating two of the yummiest hot dogs I have ever tasted, Marty gave me another surprise and took me to the Brooklyn Aquarium!

ME AND A SEA TURTLE

Marty explained to me that the Brooklyn, or New York Aquarium opened in 1896, and stands as the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States. Now located on the boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, this 14-acre New York institution houses over 350 species of aquatic wildlife and attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Fun NYC Factoid:

Every 4^th of July, Nathan’s hosts an annual hot dog eating contest. Contestants eat as many hot dogs as they can in 10 minutes. Last year the winner ate 68 hot dogs (including the buns)! I learned that as a trick to eating more hot dogs in less time, the contestants take the frankfurters out of the buns and eat each part separately. They also dip the buns in water so they can virtually swallow them whole and waste little time on chewing!

2010 Winner, 68 Hot Dogs!

Day Six - Da Bronx!

In my travels I have learned that New York City is divided into 5 parts called Boroughs. The five Boroughs are: Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

Each Borough has a borough President, who is part of the local government of the city. I learned that he role of the Borough Presidents has changed greatly over the years. Today the borough President has a small budget to use on improvement projects in his or her borough, and also has the authority to appoint some members to the City Council.

This morning I took the 2 Train uptown, to the Bronx Borough Hall, to meet Borough President Ruben Diaz.

BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ AND ME

Borough President Diaz told me that he believes one of his most important roles as Borough President is to be a defender of the environment. One of his proudest accomplishments is that he helped lead the fight to restore the Bronx River. Due to the media attention surrounding many of his causes, Mr. Diaz has also became known around the world for his advocacy for civil and human rights.

After showing me around his office, Mr. Diaz took me to visit the Bronx Zoo! Mr. Diaz told me that when the Bronx Zoo first opened its gates to the public in 1899, the first city subway line was just starting to be dug, and the paperclip had just been invented! So much has changed since, but the Bronx Zoo remains a very important part of New York City's character.

ME AT THE BRONX ZOO

Fun NYC Factoid:

In March of this year, an Egyptian Cobra earned the named MIA, short for “Missing In Action", when she escaped from the Bronx Zoo. MIA gained instant fame and popularity when someone created a Twitter page for her, documenting her travels around New York City (just like me!). One week later MIA was found safe and sound in a remote corner of the Zoo. Since her “great escape” tourism at the Bronx Zoo has increased, with many tourists wanting to see this clever little reptile.

MIA BY HERSELF

(I didn't want to get too close!)

Day 5 - Blogging Date Correction

I just noticed that my post for today somehow got posted to my blog as May 19th. I am not sure why, because I went to Central Park today (Sunday). Oh well, I guess I am still learning how this blogging thing works!

If you want to see where I went and what I did today, check out the post dated Thursday, May 19th,  called "Day 5 - Sandwiches and Central Park".