Amazon one-hour delivery lives in Manhattan!
I learned that my neighborhood qualified for Amazon Prime Now a few months ago, and downloaded the app on my phone.
But today I took it out for a test drive.
I placed my order at 3:35pm, with guaranteed delivery by 4:35pm. At 4:11pm, the items arrived at my door.
It is as fast as my local pizzeria!
There is a minimum order of $15, and a $7.99 delivery charge for Amazon Prime customers…but for things you need right this minute —
It’s a deal!
You know how little kids will cry and scream like they’re dying, and then suddenly turn the tears off like a faucet?
It is surprisingly effective in adulthood.
When I was walking Rory before dinner tonight, I heard shouting and crying from somewhere in my neighborhood. Soon I discovered the source — a woman walking on the other side of my street, having a fit on her cellphone.
Then suddenly her cellphone signal appeared to drop, and so did the tantrum.
She stopped crying. Her face went slack. She looked as calm and cool as a cucumber as she redialed the number. But as soon as the other party picked up —
Insanity.
I have no idea how successful she was pleading her case on the phone, but she certainly got everyone’s attention on my street.
Posted in Humor, Life, Relationships, Walking
Tagged adulthood, attention, cellphone, cool as a cucumber, crying, dropped signal, Humor, insanity, kids, life, neighborhood, New York City, no signal, redial, Relationships, shouting, tantrum, tears, Wah, walking
I love my Upper West Side neighborhood.
But today, I have a major beef.
Ditch Plains, a wonderful restaurant across the street from my apartment, has closed. And the rents in my neighborhood are to blame.
Owner Marc Murphy did everything right when they opened three years ago. Their ‘soft open’ lasted a month, offering the entire menu at half-price and free appetizers and desserts. By the time they officially opened their doors, the entire neighborhood was hooked. On the menu. The atmosphere. The friendly vibe.
During the past three years, I have been a loyal customer, and from my unique vantage point, I have seen them maintain a healthy business — far more popular with people of all ages than the two previous restaurants that occupied that same space for brief spans of time. But like their predecessors, Ditch Plains’ success still couldn’t scale the exorbitant rents in my neighborhood.
And they are no more.
If you visit my neighborhood, you will see several empty storefronts. They no doubt are victims, too.
This is just the first to hit so close to home.
Posted in Business, Commentary, Food, Life, Restaurants
Tagged appetizers, atmosphere, Business, commentary, desserts, Ditch Plains, empty storefronts, food, friendly vibe, life, loyal customer, major beef, Marc Murphy, menu, neighborhood, New York City, rents, restaurant, soft open, Upper West Side
It’s been almost 20 years since Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks put Manhattan’s Upper West Side on the map in the rom-com classic You’ve Got Mail.
Visit my neighborhood today and all the movie’s sights are still here — the local restaurants where they rendezvoused, the farmer’s market, Riverside Park. Everything but her little Shop Around the Corner.
Well, that’s changing.
Book Culture is opening their doors literally around the corner from my brownstone apartment and taking up the ‘small bookshop mantle’ that Meg’s character abandoned lo’ those many years ago.
Their window says it best:
Now, the modern version of the movie’s ‘big bad Fox Books’ exists today — Barnes & Noble is just a couple of blocks away. So it will be interesting to see how this small store will compete on selection and pricing.
But I for one am excited to see life imitate art just feet from my doorsteps.
Wonder if the proprietor will be as photogenic?
Posted in Advertising, Books, Business, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies, Shopping
Tagged advertising, Barnes & Noble, big bad Fox Books, Book Culture, books, bookshop, bookstore, brownstore, celebrities, competition, entertainment, farmer's market, Humor, life, life imitate art, Manhattan, Meg Ryan, Movies, neighborhood, New York City, price, rendezvous, restaurants, Riverside Park, rom com, romantic comedy, selection, Shop Around the Corner, shopgirl, shopping, Tom Hanks, Upper West Side, You've Got Mail
On an average day, New Yorkers like myself (non-car owners) are very earth-friendly as we run to work or do our errands around the neighborhood.
You will see us:
Or possibly:
Or, if our knees can handle it:
Even the subway is a very green choice (although there are things you need to know):
(Thanks, Nathan.)
Happy Earth Day everybody!
Posted in Environment, Green, Holiday, Humor, Life
Tagged bike riding, cars, dog walking, Earth Day, earth-friendly, environment, errands, green, grounded, Happy Earth Day, Holiday, Humor, life, NathanPyle.com, neighborhood, New York City, New Yorkers, non-car owners, running, subway, Upper West Side
My neighborhood streets were so quiet this morning. Rory and I only saw two delivery men and another man walking his dog. The hustle and bustle of New York City?
Not on Labor Day.
So I noticed little things I normally miss.
This little guy guards the entrance to an apartment building near my post office. I’ve walked this path for five years, and this is the first time he has caught my eye.
(As a Kentucky native, I am especially embarrassed to admit this.)
My friend Dick sits on this stoop most afternoons. Rory and I stop by and catch up on the neighborhood gossip during our walks.
Apparently Tyler chatted with Dick yesterday, too.
And these blooms were hanging on a tree on my street.
A nice end to a lovely morning walk.
I returned to New York City today.
I couldn’t wait to get home, but was frightened of what I would see.
The aerial view of the city, half blacked out and silent, haunted me. The news cameras had focused on flood, fires, that precarious shifting crane. My airport cab driver told similar tales.
But then he dropped me off at my door. Businesses are open. People wander the street, friends gather, dogs bark. My neighborhood looks much like I left it three days ago.
And just 50 blocks south lies destruction.
Tonight I am a very, very lucky girl.
Posted in Commentary, Friends, Life, Love, News, Weather
Tagged aerial view of New York City, airport, blackout, cab driver, destruction, Dogs, fires, flood, Hurricane Sandy, life, love, neighborhood, New York City, news, news cameras, shifting crane, trick or treat, weather
Earlier this week, Lauren Graham of NBC’s Parenthood paid a visit to the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Between tales of the family drama’s new season and a strip club visit, Lauren displayed a habit of sticking her tongue out of one corner of her mouth.
Of course, Craig just had to point out her nervous tick to the audience. Lauren didn’t seem upset at being exposed; she was more worried that the gesture was a sign of her impending age.
Which got me thinking — do I have a geezer habit?
I’ve been trying to be more self-aware this week. And I’ve noticed when I walk the dog, I tend to roll and pop my neck while I’m waiting for Rory to do his business.
I wonder if my neighbors — who see me pass four times or more each day — noticed this habit years ago. Heck, I may even have a neck-related nickname that I don’t even know about.
“Cracky” definitely needs to start watching that.
Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Humor, Television, TV
Tagged celebrities, comedy, cracking neck, Craig Ferguson, Dogs, entertainment, fall television premiere, geezer gesture, Humor, Lauren Graham, life, neighborhood, neighbors, nervous gesture, nervous tick, nicknames, Parenthood tv show, popping neck, Relationships, sticking out tongue, strip club, Television, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, tongue in corner of mouth, walking dog
A rant on ‘rants’
Does tennis great John McEnroe have a history of histrionics?
Absolutely.
But I take issue with media outlets like Page Six calling his recent comments about New York City cyclists a ‘rant.’
McEnroe was speaking with ABC correspondent Lynn Sherr at a Central Park Conservancy Women’s Committee luncheon when he made the remarks, citing his experience as a cyclist himself.
I didn’t attend the luncheon, but his remarks in the article give an accurate account of the majority of cyclists’ behavior in Central Park. They travel at dangerous speeds, don’t break for pedestrians, and have caused numerous injuries and even a few deaths.
I personally appreciate someone of McEnroe’s stature bringing attention to this situation.
Remember when we had unbiased media who filed the stories?
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Posted in Blog, Commentary, Humor, Life, News, Sports, Walking
Tagged ABC News, accidents, bias in media, blog, celebrities, Central Park, Central Park Conservancy, commentary, cyclist, dangerous speed, death, histrionics, Humor, injuries, John McEnroe, life, luncheon, Lynn Sherr, media outlets, neighbor, neighborhood, New York City, news, Page Six, pedestrians, rant, tennis, Upper West Side