I’ve been having fun reading the text by Naomi Fertitta and enjoying the photography of Paul Aresu in the new guide book/coffee-table book, “New York: The Big City and Its Little Neighborhoods” (Universe).
The title says it all. Fertitta and Aresu take the intimidation factor out of New York by zeroing in on small neighborhoods and their charms. There are few better examples of the “melting pot” cliche of the great city than the book’s overview of nearly two dozen ethnic enclaves, from “Little Beirut” in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn to “Little Egypt” in the Astoria section of Queens.
The real core strength of New York lies in the steady influx of newcomers who bring their culture and their energy to the vast metropolis — they think enough of the city to uproot themselves and relocate there, and they bring with them food and entertainment and history that the rest of us can enjoy, too.
The size of New York City is its curse and its blessing — it’s sad that the city is too big to ever be completely absorbed, but it’s great that you can never get to the bottom of it, too. There is no excuse for being bored in New York — just get out of the comfort zone of the places you know well and go to a new block or a new section.
Coincidentally, I just happened to visit one of the nightspots Fertitta mentions in her section on “Little Mexico” in East Harlem within the past few weeks — the terrific Cuban restaurant/nightclub Amor Cubano (at Third Ave, and 111th St.). A friend who recently moved into the neighborhood — and who spent a year living in Cuba — wanted to check out the place. Authentic food, super mojitos and live Cuban music turned a blah rainy night in Manhattan into a memorable occasion.
There are hundreds of examples of similar off-the-reservation adventures in “New York: The Big City and Its Little Neighborhoods.” I can tell that this book will get quite a work out from me over the next few months. Who knew there was a “Little Sri Lanka” on Staten Island?
