By Yvonne Vávra
One of the swings at Heckscher Playground in Central Park needs oiling. Clank, clank, it goes whenever a child takes flight. Funny enough, I was sitting on this very bench when that clank, clank sent my mind spinning into a story about New York that would later become my book. That was 12 years ago. And still the swing keeps going, making me smile. Clank, clank.
Time passes, but much stays the same—even in this city that loves to surprise you with a new face if you so much as glance aside. We give her attitude for it, shaking our heads at her refusal to ever be content with herself. But we’re no different. We’re always looking to improve this or that, especially at the end of the year, when suddenly we feel that spark to change. Next year, we’ll go higher, faster, further.
Nothing magical happens on January 1st; the minutes march on just as before. But our minds don’t care. A new year opens like a blank page, and suddenly change feels possible: That was then, this is now. We’re no longer the version that failed. This time, the real thing might finally begin.
Sitting on my bench—clank, clank—I’m watching the massive slabs of Manhattan schist slouching in Central Park. They’re older than the city, older than any idea of it. They’ve witnessed the Upper West Side begin—in fact, they helped shape our neighborhood. Central Park may have been man-made, but it let parts of the island’s original landscape shine, like the ancient bedrock. New Yorkers loved it, and the park’s success made city planners rethink their devotion to straight lines. Suddenly, everyone was into scenery, including Andrew Haswell Green, comptroller of the Central Park Commission.
He abhorred the ruthless logic of the street grid bulldozing its way north. In 1867, he was put in charge of redesigning the land west of the park. Imagine the blank canvas before him: rocky hills, overgrown farms, and muddy fields stretching toward the river. A place ready for a new chapter, waiting for someone with a vision.
Green wanted to work with the island’s natural drama, not against it. And even though the grid had already set some rigid lines, blocking many of his ideas, he still left his mark: Morningside Park with its steep ridges, Riverside Drive curving along the river, and a broad boulevard with a planted mall down the middle, just like in the much-envied grand European capitals—Broadway as we know it today.
Walking home from the park, I realize that the Upper West Side still has plenty of blank spaces. Of course, they feel less inspiring when you’re staring at them through a dusty storefront window. Vacant storefronts—just last month, the Rag counted 80 on Broadway alone—make us grumble. We see them as failures and worry about what the neighborhood is losing.
In the spirit of the new year, I wonder if they could be seen in a more hopeful way, as small blank canvases waiting to be reimagined. You’re right to roll your eyes. How naïve, even cruel, to say: Don’t be grumpy about the economic scars, see the possibilities instead. Most of us have no say in what’s happening behind those papered windows. With astronomical rents and razor-thin margins, opening a brick-and-mortar these days comes with a long list of reasons not to.
Still, to have a vision doesn’t require believing it will come true. It just means staying awake. Andrew Haswell Green wasn’t able to realize more than fragments of his ambition. But if he hadn’t dared to dream beyond the grid, the Upper West Side would have far less charm today.
It might seem silly to wish for galleries, indoor play spaces, or a store dedicated to double-choc fudge. But that wish for fudge, or anything else, is a form of citizenship. Imagining what you’d love to see in the neighborhood—even knowing you can’t make it happen—keeps you from giving up on it. So next year, let’s walk with our eyes open and fill in the blanks with our dreams. Because if we don’t, it will change us. Sneakily, it will rob us of our sense of belonging.
2026 will turn the page, and some things will change while others stubbornly stay the same. And at least with one thing, I won’t mind. Because that clank, clank that plays with my mind so nicely? I hope it keeps going.
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Time is ripe for the city to subsidize rents and bring back mom and pop shops.
Nice to see most people reading this article gave this comment a thumbs up and many fewer disagreed.
For the city to subsidize rents? You mean, for some citizens to pay rent, or part of it, for other citizens? Isn’t that happening already? There are NYCHA buildings all over.
thumb down
NYCHA is funded by a mix of funding sources such as federal, private, city, etc. Please google for more info before uncharitably pointing fingers at the most vulnerable among us.
Not to mention the fact that the majority of those reduced to relying on public funding come from generations of slaves who generated tremendous wealth for this country, for free. Something to ponder.
Literally noone will stop you if you want to pay more taxes, donate, or simply go to NYCHA buildings and throw money in the air. Anything you feel necessary to make up for the perceived transgressions of your ancestors against the residents of those buildings. My ancestors have none, so don’t try to ascribe this nonsense to anyone else.
The federal portion that you mention is also funded by citizens’ taxes.
If you are going to propose a form of reparations, that’s a whole other contentious issue beyond subsidizing rents. And how to apply? Many lower income people are not descendents of slaves.
Vera,
My family was from the north and dirt poor. There are many like me that do not want to pay others rents. Folks that can not afford to live in the city should not live in the city period.
Whatever further rent subsidies come about, let’s hope we do not further the NYCHA paradigm.
NYCHA rents are heavily subsidized.as pointed out.
Also reserved outdoor parking for a NYCHA resident is $182.50 a year.
NYCHA residents make up a small percentage of the city’s population (around 4%), an estimated 20% of the city’s violent crime, especially shootings, occurs within or near public housing developments.
No one has mentioned rent control and stabilization. Even out the privilege by establishing vacancy decontrol. And $182.50 a year for parking is ridiculous when most garages cost $700 per month plus. Both of these lead to under-the-table deals, which do not add to the legitimacy of our system.
The time is ripe for the city to subsidize rents and bring back the mom and pop shops. Fond memories of Urban Cottage, Pondicherri, Liberty House and so many others. Would be a great thing to bring back the mom and pop shops.
Um, no.
I just love reading your column . Happy New Year.
What a lovely article to herald hope in the
New Year. Thank you!
What’s happening to Harry’s table space
I live in Oklahoma, but in May 2025 I lived in the UWS. I tried to look and act like I belonged there, but I know you could tell I did not. Still I bought medicine at the CVS on the corner, visited the emergency clinic twice, and took my clothes to the cleaners two blocks from my apartment. I know it is very different living in a place versus visiting a place, but I loved every minute of it. Thank you for sharing your fabulous neighborhood with me! I read the West Side Rag as soon as I receive it.
Hope you can come back and stay for a longer period of time. You should have the NY experience.
As far as I’m concerned, you belonged! As much a resident as anyone else. Hope you come back one day!
Thank you for a lovely and hopeful article.
Beautiful, as usual–thank you!
Neighbors, imagine any store concept under the stars. We have previously supported an exclusively exclusive-mustard store , a neo-olde-time shaving -supply emporium, and, my favorite , a shop dedicated to both cheese and antiques. Let your imaginations roam free.
I remember the interesting Cheese & Antiques!
I just spoke with someone today, lived in Morningside Hts all her life, who now buys drugstore stuff from Amazon and does not go to a physical drug store. There are thousands like her. I don’t know how store selling non-food goods can survive if rents remain as they are.
The thing is, we did not support those stores enough for them to survive. Now it seems that the majority of street-level business opening up on the UWS are services. Nail salons on every block, with a smattering of facial, tanning and eyebrow emporia. I’m sure there are plenty of retailers like Maya Schaper (of the late cheese and antiques shop) who would love to bring back stores based on imagination, individuality and charm. But can they afford the rent?
Imagining what could be produces more sadness than its opposite, for me at least. Because conditions are such that new business that might fill these spaces cannot find a footing. Seems like the only new stores that survive cater to the super rich. The flavor of the UWS has changed drastically, and not for the better for those not super rich. I can barely afford to shop in my ‘hood. Even Housing Works is becoming unaffordable. Happy new year!
” Even Housing works is becoming unaffordable”… Are you kidding? … The best and most fabulous items of all sorts for great prices at Housing Works” Used to be my favorite place to buy everything including great clothing.. as well as stunning furniture etc etc.. Could be the reason they’re putting so many stores out of business !!
Cheers!
What a dreary view of the new year. I am sure there are some positive things in your life that you might share with your neighbors. Take a lesson from this column.
It is dreary when you realize that you can no longer afford things and the neighborhood will never be the same. It’s also odd that everyone is expected to remain positive, and when someone shares that they’re having a hard time mentally or financially, they’re just told to cheer up and move on. It doesn’t help.
Well, if being negative and sharing that in connection with a very positive column makes one feel better, then I encourage you to continue to see the glass half empty. How is that going for you?
The column didn’t come across as very positive to me.
Please don’t invalidate other people’s feelings with your false bravado.
as a 60 year UWSer, i sorely miss the local shops like Cheese and Antiques, The Lobster Place, the antqiue shops here and there, Lichtmans, The Eclair, The G spot, the original Jackson Hole, so many more that added character, personality and humanity to the community. Bless Barney Greengrass, Zabars and Murrays. Chain stores are faceless, soulless places. We seem to be having a bit of a renaissance of ethnic restaurants–Georgian, Cantonese, Greek, Israeli, I love that WSR keeps tabs and offers well written and quality evaluations of these places. Happy new year.
Lovely article. Such amazing talent living right next door. We are lucky. Happy New Year’s everyone!
How many packages did you get delivered this year? Which translates into how many times did you not shop, physically, in a local store? Mom-and-pop stores — or national chains, for that matter — don’t magically stay in business if no one patronizes them. What we’re seeing in the big city is what happened to small towns years ago: giant mall moves in down the road and there goes Main St. Now the internet’s the giant mall, and we’re all feeling the effects, for better and worse. There are other factors in play, of course, but it’s not just “greedy landlords” or “those rich people” who are the cause of empty storefronts: we all should be asking ourselves what part do we play in the problem — and what can we do to be part of a solution?
You’re overlooking the pandemic which is hard to overlook! People are still afraid to go into crowded public places, and even small stores with little to no air circulation. Right now with four viruses going around the city, people tend to shop online, rather than increase the risk of getting laid-up..
I miss the small stores as well. There used to be an excitement and a charm shopping on the Upper West Side.
I wish they would open a comfy food restaurant (think chicken ala king, chicken pot pie, beef stew), a Carvel ice cream store,,
and some affordable linen stores.
I also wish they’d open up another 5 and 10 cent store — you could go to Lamston’s or Woolworths for just about anything and find it!
(Though I think lamson’s was East Side). At least those old treasures that ran along Broadway north and south still have a place in our minds.
It has nothing to do with the pandemic.
Why is the immediate answer subsidies. Seriously, solve the problem by giving money to landlords? It’s basic economics, lower the rents and renters will show up.
Isn’t it true that another factor is requirements set by the lenders who provide mortgages to landlords? I.e. the terms of the mortgage require rents to be set at a certain level?
A simple incentive for filling vacancies would be for the City to consider a property tax refund for a specified period for qualifying small business tenants. Similar to property tax abatements for large real estate projects, the incremental sales, employee and income taxes gained would more than offset lost revenue. Key to implementing would need to be a process where landlords could not suddenly jack up rents to capture this benefit.
Enjoyed reading this article! Well said.
Thanks for the inspiration! I’m off to the new year and its possibilities.
I am with you in the hope to see potential in the vacancies, even as we know that not all fantasy can be made real – for even if some of it can come true, it will be more than if we did not dream it at all. That said, the dream for me also includes a return – or at least an effort – to make more use of our individual shopping power, to support whatever businesses we want to see take space in the vacancies. Book stores, art spaces, multigenerational meeting places, a babka shop (I mean, why not?…) 🙂 Here’s to potential and fulfillment.
Thank you Yvonne, I always enjoy your writing!
I’m using my husband’s email because, for some unknown reason, and you have my email in your system, it’s not being sent to me. I count on it as an addiction and I’m waiting for my WSR fix.
I’d settle for one great or near-great bookstore. (A few examples from among NYC’s bookselling necropolis: the B&N Sale Annex at 18th & Fifth, Coliseum Books south of Columbus Circle, the B. Dalton in the Tischman Building, the Strand Annex on Fulton Street, the McGraw-Hill Technical Bookstore, the Borders at various locations before the plague of inventory reduction … or, speaking of vacant storefronts at Broadway & 66th, the B&N flagship store. Gone, all gone, in sync with trends in American publishing and literacy.)
I’d say we’re also still running low on decent Chinese restaurants — and will be until there’s one every block or so.
These, along with phone booths and affordable food, are my fantasy-filled UWS blanks.
Brava to Vávra,
Our cherished Yvonne,
Who celebrates all
That she comes upon.
She sees what we miss
And gives us great pride
To live where we do:
The Upper West Side.
Wait —- nobody brought up evil cars yet? Is this longer the WSR comment section?
I’m dying to open a new toy store that also sells balloons 🙂 With West side kids and party city gone it’s such a loss.
Balloon City, Balloon Kings, and Paper House, all on the UWS. Just Google it and it shows you a map, from the 80’s – 90’s. I think Stationary and Toy World on 72nd & Columbus also has balloons.
Someone needs to open a Zoom Room in one of these spaces since they seem big enough to accommondate something like that – and the UWS needs one!