4 HOURS IN NEW YORK CITY

from Business Traveller Middle East - January 2023

by Motivate Media Group

L’Apero, Dubai

WORDS MELANIE SWAN 1

40 NEW YORK CITY

From art and culture to nature and architecture, New York’s eclectic o erings will keep you thoroughly entertained

In New York’s Downtown, a stroll around its trendy neighbourhoods blends art, food and culture. I was guided around the city by Bob Gelber, one of over 300 professional volunteers known as e Big Apple Greeters, a group founded in 1992 allowing visitors to see New York through the eyes of locals, hearing the stories rst-hand of what brings this metropolis to life, and getting the chance to see some hidden gems along the way. A er 17 years of guiding tours,

Bob is full of stories of the people and places we visit while strolling around the streets of this giant city.

1 CHELSEA MARKET We started the morning at this iconic culinary destination, Chelsea Market, located in the heart of New York City’s Meatpacking District. Once a biscuit factory, the market now hosts a diverse collection of merchants selling everything from jewellery to clothes and cra s as well as foods from artisanal cheeses and local honey to authentic Italian gelato. It is also home to some of the city’s most famous bakeries. Amy’s Bread is one of those, so start your trip with a co ee and a scone or a pistachio twist, before hitting the shops. Sarabeth’s, named a er its owner who even in her 80s is still found in the bakery, is another must-visit for baked items and homemade fruit preserves. e industrial feel of the market’s stripped-down brick building gives it charm and character. Original features such as the gear-controlled windows and the original ooring o er visitors the chance to step back in time to the late 19th century when the factory gave birth to the likes of Oreo cookies. Reopened in the Nineties under the vision of New Yorker Irwin Cohen, it was designed to give small businesses a place to continue working as increasingly high rents were pushing them out of the city. It continues to be a hub for upcoming artists and artisans, drawing around six million visitors each year at the venue which also hosts an array of arts and cultural events throughout the year.

chelseamarket.com

2 THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT is area is named a er the very industry in which it has its roots, the wholesale meat market. Just a few steps around the corner from Chelsea Market, over the last 20 years, fashion and graphic designers, architects, artists, restaurateurs, world-renowned stylists and corporate headquarters have moved in alongside existing meatpacking plants. It is New York’s quintessentially old-meetsnew area, the dynamic and diverse neighbourhood characterised by its quaint cobblestone streets, historical architecture with contemporary structures being built above, and the gritty industrial feel alongside some of the most chic boutiques and dining destinations. e Standard Grill is a great spot to people-watch and grab a bite. Running o the main streets are tree-lined avenues with the former homes of the wealthy traders who

came in the 1800s to work at the Hudson River which is just steps away. Today, residents include Sarah Jessica Parker as well as designer Diane von Furstenberg. e Whitney Museum of American Art meanwhile attracts the art crowd. Plenty of artists are out in the street selling their work, dotted in between wholesale food markets in this eclectic and vibrant part of town.

meatpacking-district.com

3 THE HIGH LINE Directly above the Meatpacking District is e High Line which merges nature, art and design. e elevated park, the only one of its kind in the city, stretches 2.3km through the Meatpacking District and Chelsea along the west side of Manhattan. e rst stage opened in 2009, with the nal one opening in 2019, and it is the only park in NYC which closes overnight. Built along a now-defunct 10m high railway line with the original tracks still visible along the path, e High Line weaves between buildings, apartment blocks such as the Zaha Hadid spectacle at 520 West 28th Street, churches, a school, and o ers vistas as far as the Statue of Liberty across the Hudson River. e park boasts constantly changing art exhibits each season, food and gi vendors, year-round gardens inspired by the plants and grasses that once grew wild on the abandoned tracks and even spots to sunbathe in the Diane Von Furstenberg garden. Dotted with quiet hideaways, the park o ers a respite from the city, while giving visitors a bird’s-eye view at the same time. ere are even high-powered telescopes to stargaze while you’re up there. e High Line stretches from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street in Chelsea along Tenth Avenue, curving west to Twel h Avenue around the Hudson Yards development at its northern end. Entrances every few blocks along its length lead up to the park. With li s throughout the route, the whole park is wheelchair and buggy accessible too.

thehighline.org

4 HUDSON YARDS More than a corporate HQ, Hudson Yards is one of the largest collaborative engineering and architecture projects in the US, as well as a vibrant community space where you can nd everything from cocktail-making classes to spinning sessions. Still an active train yard, it was a no-go area for over 40 years before it was completely redeveloped and now ows right into e High Line. e complex is a mixed space which includes a shopping mall with plenty of dining options, as well as e Shed, an art collaborative where exhibits by emerging artist showcase local talent, music, live performance, and experimental theatre which is either free or accessible for a nominal fee.

A must-see is Little Spain, the Spanish food market where you can get olives, cheese and meats from the European country. e plaza is used as a public screening space during the likes of the Tribeca Film Festival and the US Open. e Vessel is a jaw-dropping piece of art that meets architecture and o ers 360-degree views from the top. e seven line on the subway – which itself boast beautifully decorated stations – arrives in the Hudson Yards area and connects travellers to the likes of Long Island all the way across Manhattan or to Times Square which is just minutes away.