After the Compass Games Expo, I travelled to New York for a few days to do a bit of shopping and incidental sightseeing. My immediate impressions, apart from the biting cold, were that the city looked a little more seedy and there were more homeless people and beggars on the street than on my last visit in 2019. I lost count of the times I was directly approached by people asking for money. Given how little cash is used today, I wonder how they survive.
One of the aspects of visiting places like Hong Kong and Shanghai that I did not like was the ‘in-your-face’ display of opulence and unimaginable wealth alongside terrible poverty, homelessness, and deprivation. For some unknown reason, previously I did not have that sensation in New York, but this time around it was very much in evidence. In such circumstances, maybe it’s more understandable from this perspective why the locals would vote in a mayor whose focus and slogans are firmly directed towards these and other social issues, regardless of his views about Zionism (and America?) and his inexperience.
My main shopping was done in Target (good value clothes for the grandchildren), Macy’s (good time browsing, but high prices), The Lego Store (one kit bought for a grandchild), Compleat Strategist (one game bought – such restraint!), Barnes & Noble (half-a-dozen books bought), and B&H Photo (the world’s largest independent electronics store, where I traded in and upgraded a lens for my camera).
Most of my time was spent walking around, soaking in the city, then retiring to my hotel to recover before the next outing. Apart from the shopping destinations, there was no plan to the walks; I just headed in whatever direction I fancied. The weather wasn’t great for photography, but I managed to get some decent shots. Like Berlin, the architecture is interesting.
During the day, I never felt unsafe, but as night fell and the streets emptied, I holed up in my room and watched sports on the TV. I’ve come to appreciate basketball and ice hockey a bit more. I still don’t enjoy the constant commercialization where each chunk of the program is “brought to you by our sponsor…” Also, there was a near constant stream of adverts for medicines. On the screen, alongside the product name, there would habitually be some happy, beautiful people doing all kinds of wonderful activities despite their medical condition. Simultaneously, in small text and rushed narrative you would be told that “side effects may include blindness, heart attacks, or sudden death.” Oh joy.
New York remains one of my favorite cities to visit – I could never live there, though – and I’m sure I’ll be back. It will be interesting to see how it changes between now and then.
Click on the following images to enlarge them.
