I još... Nije da ne volim vijugave romantične sokake, ali ima nešto u tim njujorškim ulicama i avenijama koje se uvek seku pod pravim uglom Prvo, možete da idete uvek i sa- mo – pravo. Nema krivudanja. Dru- go, nalazite se u jednom od najve- ćih gradova na svetu, pa ipak, da biste se izgubili, morate biti baš antitalenat za mape. Jednostavno i nadasve praktično. Doduše, nije zvučalo tako kada je gradsko veće krajem 18. veka glatko odbilo pred- log urbanista za mrežni plan ulica. Ipak, nekoliko godina kasnije ideja je prihvaćena i oformljena je speci- jalna komisija koja je sprovela plan u delo ravnajući brda i prekrajaju- ći dvorišta, na opšte negodovanje stanovnika onoga što se danas zo- ve Downtown . Tako je Menhetn vi- zionarski išpartan uzduž i popreko. Mada su se svi pitali zašto bi neko živeo u tamo nekoj dalekoj 51. uli- ci, danas stanarina za garsonjeru u toj ulici iznosi minimum 3.500 dolara mesečno. Volim Njujork i zato što ima robne kuće Robna kuća! Kad ste poslednji put čuli da je neko nešto kupio u robnoj kući? Nisam kupoholičarka, ako izuzmemo buvljake, ali odlazak u ove robne kuće me je raznežio i podsetio na drage osamdesete, de- tinjstvo i na uzbuđenje jer „idemo u robnu kuću“. Eto, u Njujorku još ima pravih pravcatih robnih kuća, i to sa po osam spratova. I volim ga zato što izgleda kao grad u kom se lako nalazi sreća i nalazi budućnost, ako se makar malo potrudiš Gde ljudi dolete ili doplove, vi- de Kip slobode i veruju da će naći nešto bolje od onog što su ostavi- li za sobom. Ne liči na Evropu. Ne deluje pretenciozno kao Pariz ili London... Nije mi se tako činio. Či- nio mi se pre kao da prihvata sve i svakog, što je i moguće, jer više od polovine njegovih stanovnika i ni- su tu rođeni, nego ko zna gde. Ti ljudi koje vidimo u metrou i u koje nisam mogla da prestanem da gle- dam i da nagađam odakle su i za- što su tu, u tom metrou, zbog kog volim Njujork.
ones, which are called off-Broadway. And many more even smaller ones, which are called off-off-Broadway. And even some micro theatres that you enter directly from the street via steep stairs, which don’t even have a hallway. All in all, there are over 400 theatres. And then, in the big theatres, some peo- ple with at least five talents simulta- neously dance/sing/jump/act/play mu- sic/ride a tricycle, and much more, all live and even with perfection. They are paid 1,422 dollars a week, but I’d give them much more.
Because of the anthropological gallery called the Subway
Russian women wearing ushanka hats, with beautifully rosy cheeks and blue eyes, Japanese guys wearing masks like surgeons, Mexicans with black curls, Jews with little kippahs, African-Americans ... And so on. They speak around 44 languag- es (actually, 800!), so it’s understandable that America officially doesn’t have an of- ficial language. All sorts of things hap- pen in the subway, given that New York- ers spend an average of 40 minutes a day travelling to work, they have to use that time somehow. They fix their make-up, nap, chatter endlessly on their phones, play that game with the diamonds on their iP- hones, read comparative analyses of bis- cuits in health food journals, or - the Bi- ble. Also appearing are those who sing and then ask for a donation, but they are well-mannered, shake hands and high- five the passengers, apologising if anyone didn’t like their singing. And they sing, for example,“Stand by me”and similar songs. How can anyone not like that? I later heard that the subway“singers”must pass a rig- orous audition to sing in the metro and some have even performed in Carnegie Hall. And, yes, something else that’s won- derful about the New York Subway is that it works 24/7/365 (or 366) ... (Just like the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, which has only ever been closed for two days, due to Hurricane Sandy.) Because the few streets around Broadway have 40 theatres
Because at every instant you feel like you’re in a movie
Over the past hundred years, over 20,000 films have been shot in New York. It’s true that those aren’t necessarily some of my favourite films, but it’s still a some- how unique feeling to pass through mov-
ie scenes wherever you head. And then there’s Times Square
I don’t know if I’ve ever been mes- merised by luminous advertisements and rhinestone cowboys, but you can’t not raise your head and stare when you see a screen the size of a ten-storey build- ing and the huge legs of some model across an entire screen, for example. Or an M&M light candy the size of a flying saucer. Some 161 megawatts of electric- ity are necessary at all times in order to make it glisten as it does. I don’t under- stand electricity personally, but someone made the calculations and confirmed that there is enough electricity to light 161,000 average homes.
Big ones. And many more small
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