New York City, 2011. By Paul Goldfinger. New York Street Series ©
By Paul Goldfinger
We lived in New York City for five years from 1966-1971. One of the things I always liked was to observe the New York kids. They become so worldly and confident at an early age there. Our part of town was the upper east side at the border with “Spanish Harlem” at 97th Street and Park Avenue.
We loved to take long walks in Central Park, Yorkville (in the ‘80’s,) and on the avenues (especially Madison, Lexington, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st). In the fancier neighborhoods, the kids would wear their private school uniforms, while the kids from the Puerto Rican neighborhoods would wear Catholic school uniforms or a variety of other clothes, but they all shared their comfort level in the big city.
When our son Stephen was about three year old, he ran away from Eileen on Madison Avenue. Then he disappeared. When she finally caught up with him, she found him in a shop having a snack. The proprietor said to Eileen, “He said he was hungry.” He, like other New York kids, was not intimidated by adults. (see photo of him below, taken at Park and 96th Street). Today, as an adult, he still talks to anybody.
Conversations on Madison Avenue. Paul Goldfinger photo. Originally published in the Morristown Daily Record. ©
The photograph on top was made a couple of years ago on 5th Avenue, a few blocks off Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. I saw these siblings hanging around while their Mom was fiddling with her camera. Her shot was more posed. Street scenes have to be candid if they are to have any life.
KEVIN KLINE AND CAST FROM THE MOVIE “DE-LOVELY” This is some advice for kids:
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This article was posted 3 years ago. It’s fun to revisit posts; we always pick up new readers who are seeing these re-blogs for the first time. Consider it like an “I Love Lucy” re-run, but not as funny.