(Above) From high in the sky, travelers are able to see all across the city. Though most likely only recognize famous landmarks such as the Empire State Building, and Freedom Tower, the bright shining lights are simply a ghastly sight to see. Though these shining lights aren’t just any random buildings, they represent many neighborhoods yet to be explored and visited that local New Yorkers call home. As mentioned before, Chelsea is one of those prominent neighborhoods. With an amazing community, excellent shopping center, entertaining markets, and mouth-wateringly good food, Chelsea is a great place to spend time. The Chelsea community would best be described as creative, originally made from factories, and now modern-day living spaces, Chelsea’s character is artistically unmatched. The neighborhood’s most popular shopping district is Chelsea’s Market located on Ninth Avenue and West 16th Street. The building stands tall made from classic brick with its large sign standing tall for all to see. Throughout the market, people will find restaurants, bakeries, clothing stores, and much more.
New York City is known across the world by many names. The names vary from “The Big Apple,” “The Empire State,” “The City That Never Sleeps,” and many more. People know New York for its famous landmarks and amazing culture; although, it’s also known for some of its drawbacks. Like any city, New York is a place where people have to be smart, and to be smart they need to understand their surroundings. Even so, the city has its amazing reputation for a reason. It offers many opportunities as well as inspiration. Its reputation is known to help people chase their dreams, but do they really know who New York is? New York is more than just a what and a place. It’s a who, a personality, made from the people within it. Getting to know the real New York, and seeing if it’s the right place for each person to spend his or her time is a key factor when it comes to visiting the city. The city has a place for everyone. The city has so many places filled with so many different people, that they could fill this whole page. There are various neighborhoods including Chelsea, The West Side, Soho, Williamsburg, and more. New York is far and wide filled to the brim with spirit and home to anyone who may want it.
(Above) Times Square is an iconic part of the city known for its shining billboards and massive shopping area. It’s definitely not for everyone. Even so, it’s a place everyone needs to visit. That is precisely the drawback. Tourists from all over the world can be found, making it a loud place, that locals sometimes avoid. (Emily Cypher)(Above) The Burrows. New York has five burrows in total: Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Statin Island, and lastly, Manhattan more commonly known as New York City. Each neighborhood has its own reputation and is different in its own way. Queens is highly residential with lots of small neighborhoods of all stature for each family. Commonly families live there and commute to the city or Manhattan for their jobs, typically because of cheaper cost and more room for what each family pays. The burrows are something that most travelers neglect, but even so, they offer a great deal of a local’s perspective. (Emily Cypher)(Above) Transportation is something that can become very expensive in the city, so it’s important for travelers to figure out the best ways to get around the city. The city’s traffic varies during the time of day, and with that how fast it is to get around in a cab or car service. This also affects the prices, a more efficient way to travel is the subway. The train service, Grand Central Station, is a great mode of transportation, and allows travelers to the full “New York Experience,” it also allows them to get from place to place a lot faster than most other cases and at lower prices. (Emily Cypher)(Above) Bryant Park is a staple piece of New York City, but it wasn’t always. The park has a history starting notably in the 70s. It’s hard to believe, but at one point the now renowned and beloved park was a place people purposefully went out of their way to avoid. The park’s illegal activity was so bad that even tourists knew to avoid it. While the city had made many attempts to revamp the park, its original design, along with the crime, made it problematic to do so. Originally the park was surrounded by large hedges which made it a popular place to conduct illegal activities. Even so, the BPRC (Bryant Park Restoration Corporation) had a final plan that helped restore the park to what is today. They did the first steps of the renovation but also added security that primarily helped in the success of the park. This doubled the park’s visitors and reduced its crime by 92%, according to the park’s website. They continued with a later four-year renovation of the park. (Emily Cypher)(Above) Bryant Park is now completely reformed and has over 12,000,000 visitors a year. According to Bryant Parks’ website, the park offers free daily amenities for all its visitors which only gratifies the appeal. The park offers all its information on its official website bryantpark.org. The website also gives a short history of the park. Bryant Park has a long history and a great future determined to make it the best community for its visitors. (Emily Cypher)(Above) New York City is famous for many things, and one of its strengths is its food. With such a diverse community there are endless options. One popular restaruant is Serendipty 3. The restaurant is known for its frozen hot chocolates and famous desserts. The restaurant makes any customer feel like he or she is living their childhood dreams, with famous sundaes that transport him or her back in time. Some of their famous sundaes include the Unicorn Bliss Sundae topped with a rainbow-striped cake, confetti sprinkles, sugar cones, a cherry, whipped cream, and cream cheese icing. This mouthwatering dessert is only the tip of the iceberg as the restaurant offers so much more. The store also sells merchandise for any customer who may want a keepsake. New York City has such a large amount of restaurants throughout that there’s no wrong choice. Whether it’s a five-course meal or one one-dollar slice, it will be memorable. (Emily Cypher)(Above) Many people’s favorite part of New York City is its architecture. The city has a long history with many buildings that have been standing for years. Popular districts like Soho are loved for their rustic aesthetic. Holding the largest cast-iron architecture in the world, Soho has around 250 cast-iron buildings still standing today. New York City’s architecture is what gives it character and appeal. (Emily Cypher)(Above) Before leaving any amazing place, let alone New York City, every traveler always wants to bring souvenirs back home to enjoy for a lifetime. If visitors are frequent readers, the best stop is the Strand bookstore. The store became a reality in 1927, growing up on Fourth Avenue, which was popularly known as Book Row. Book Row covered six city blocks and is what 48 bookstores called home. Strand is the only bookstore to have made it out today. The Strand bookstore now carries more than 2.5 million books waiting to be bought by customers. According to the bookstore’s website, it has the biggest variety of books in the country. The store, like many things in the city, has a long and interesting history of hard work. No matter where visitors go in the city they leave with memories for a lifetime. (Emily Cypher)
Emily Cypher, grade 11, is the Director of Photography on Lake Highland Preparatory School’s Upper School newspaper Twice-Told Tale. She found her passion for writing for the newspaper because of the hit TV series Gilmore Girls. Getting the chance to design layouts, and the opportunities the class offers, are her favorite things that come with being on the newspaper staff. Emily wants to continue finding and exploring new passions and writing. Beyond school, she loves to travel, be with friends, write, and frequently visit New York.
