The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center came to life in New York last week, an image that was brought to life in dens and family rooms across the country — one of the highlights of the holiday season.
As great as it is to experience this extraordinary event through the magic of television, there’s nothing like seeing it live in New York. Being in Manhattan at this time of year is an adventure as emotionally satisfying as one can experience during the Christmas season.
I made my first trip to New York in the mid-’50s. After intermittent trips in the ’60s, I began to find my way there frequently. Then in the mid-’70s, I started making an annual trip in December and in many years as many as a half dozen sojourns to one of the most exciting cities in the world.
London, Rome, and Paris are great, as are the other capitals of Europe. Then you experience Istanbul, Brussels, Vienna, Berlin, Lisbon, Athens, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Prague, and others — but there’s nothing like New York.
When the Yankees win a home game, the club rewards the departing attendees with the smooth, resonant voice of Frank Sinatra, singing “New York, New York.” That is one of the all-time great songs, sung by a sensational talent who could charm and delight us without vulgar, loud, and nonsensical verbiage that has often become a staple of today’s music.
Not sure how Sinatra, himself, ranked that song among his list of hits, but it had to be special to him in that he grew up in Hoboken, N. J., which is right across the Hudson River from the city. Growing up, he probably took the ferry over to New York, a place where he could walk down the street and not cause a stir, as he did when he became an everlasting icon in show business.
Despite the traffic jams, honking horns, and harried citizens, New York always seems to be upbeat. The cacophony and rushed atmosphere are just part of the fabric of this awe-inspiring metropolis.
The museums are terrific, and the dining options are unmatched — from a hamburger at (now defunct) Burger Heaven to The Grill, one of the top five-rated restaurants in New York.
Or you might want to book a reservation at Patsy’s Italian Restaurant at 256 West 56th St., which was Sinatra’s preferred restaurant in New York if you want to try Eli Manning’s favorite restaurant, 4 Charles Prime Rib, good luck.
Broadway is still a grand experience, though the cost of a theatre ticket is overwhelming. Then again, everything is costly everywhere these days — but it borders on the outrageous in New York.
I can remember learning to find my way around New York on the subways. When I had a tour of duty with the Coast Guard and spent time in Groton, Conn., I could take a train into New York and book a room at the old Century Hotel as a member of the Armed Forces for the military rate of $20. Subway tokens cost 15 cents. Then there was that cheap hamburger at Burger Heaven.
There weren’t many Broadway opportunities, even at $14 a ticket, but I learned that if you waited until the show started, you could get in for $5. And that is how my infatuation with Broadway began with deep and abiding affection.
Just walking the streets of New York was an excursion to appreciate in the ’50s and ’60s. In the ’80s, it cost $10 to rent ice skates at Rockefeller Center; today, it is almost $50. Getting the hang of ice skating at this iconic address while listening to Bing Crosby sing “White Christmas” and Mel Torme’s rendition of “The Christmas Song” was always a signature moment.
With the inexperienced and controversial Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor of the city, traditionalists hope that he will embrace the lyrics of New York’s unofficial anthem, so comfortingly sung by Sinatra, and keep the Big Apple everyone’s favorite city that never sleeps.