Metro - City Room Blog - The New York Times

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</script> </div>  <div class="story-meta"> <h6 class="kicker"> <span class="kicker-label"> <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/"> City Room </a> </span> </h6> </div>   </div>  <div class="search-flyout-panel flyout-panel"> <button class="button close-button" type="button"><i class="icon"></i><span class="visually-hidden">Close search</span></button> <nav class="search-form-control form-control layout-horizontal"> <h2 class="visually-hidden">Site Search Navigation</h2> <form class="search-form" role="search"> <div class="control"> <div class="label-container visually-hidden"> <label for="search-input">Search NYTimes.com</label> </div> <div class="field-container"> <input id="search-input" name="search-input" type="text" class="search-input text" autocomplete="off" placeholder="Search NYTimes.com"> <button type="button" class="button clear-button" tabindex="-1" aria-describedby="clear-search-input"><i class="icon"></i><span id="clear-search-input" class="visually-hidden">Clear this text input</span></button> <div class="auto-suggest" style="display: none;"> <ol></ol> </div> <button class="button submit-button" type="submit">Go</button> </div> </div>  </form> </nav> </div>  <div id="notification-modals" class="notification-modals"></div> </header> <nav id="navigation" class="navigation"> <h2 class="visually-hidden">Site Navigation</h2> </nav>  <nav id="mobile-navigation" class="mobile-navigation hidden"> <h2 class="visually-hidden">Site Mobile Navigation</h2> </nav>  <div id="navigation-edge" class="navigation-edge"></div> <main id="main" class="main" role="main"> <div id="story" class="story theme-main"> <div id="cityroom" class="spanAC blog"> <header id="blogs-masthead" class="wrap"> <div class="ad sponsortile-ad hidden nocontent robots-nocontent"> <div class="caption">Supported by</div> </div> <div class="element1"> <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/?module=BlogMain&action=Click&region=Header&pgtype=Blogs&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=N.Y./Region"> <div id="logo" class="archived-blog-home"> <div class="w75 left site-header-logo"><img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/blogs_v3/cityroom/cityroom75.gif" alt="City Room"></div> <div class="site-title">City Room</div> <div class="site-description">Blogging From the Five Boroughs</div> </div> </a> </div> <div class="element2"> <div class="inlineSearchControl"> <form method="get" id="searchform" action="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/"> <input type="text" value="" name="s" id="s" class="text" placeholder="Search City Room"> <button type="submit" class="searchsubmit">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> <div class="clear"></div> </header> <div class="a-column "> <div id="content" class="hfeed"> <section class="posts posts-no-stickies"> <div class="content"> <article class="entry hentry nyt-first-post post-499939 post type-post status-publish category-from-the-city-room category-_top_story" id="post-499939"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/from-the-city-room/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=From%20the%20City%20Room&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">From the City Room</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-27T15:33:35+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 27, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 27, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/please-note-the-nytoday-column-is-not-going-away/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/please-note-the-nytoday-column-is-not-going-away/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=From%20the%20City%20Room&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to Please Note: The N.Y. Today and Metropolitan Diary Columns Are Not Going Away">Please Note: The N.Y. Today and Metropolitan Diary Columns Are Not Going Away</a></h3> <address class="byline author vcard">By The New York Times</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/please-note-the-nytoday-column-is-not-going-away/" data-title="Please Note: The N.Y. Today and Metropolitan Diary Columns Are Not Going Away" data-description="The City Room blog is going dark, but the features that appeared on it, like New York Today and Metropolitan Diary, are continuing as ever."> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Our announcement yesterday that <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/city-room-a-blog-with-a-broad-mandate-is-retiring/">City Room is retiring</a> may have confused some readers.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Many of you seem to think that New York Today, the morning roundup column, is going away.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">It is not. As it has since its inception, New York Today appears every weekday morning in Top Stories on the app, on the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/">nytimes.com</a> home page, and at <a href="https://www.nytoday.com">nytoday.com</a>. You can <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/nyregion/new-york-today-more-ways-to-meet-the-mets.html">read this morning’s column here</a>.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">The only regular features that were still running on City Room, Metropolitan Diary and Big City Book Club, are not going away either. They are continuing on the main nytimes.com site. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/metropolitan-diary">Metropolitan Diary can be read here</a> each weekday, with a week’s worth running in print, as usual, every Monday. And the next Big City Book Club is Nov. 10 — watch <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/pages/nyregion/index.html">this space</a> for details.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Thank you all for your kind words about City Room, and for joining us over the years. </p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-499851 post type-post status-publish category-from-the-city-room category-_top_story" id="post-499851"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/from-the-city-room/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=From%20the%20City%20Room&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">From the City Room</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-26T18:26:02+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 26, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 26, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/city-room-a-blog-with-a-broad-mandate-is-retiring/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/city-room-a-blog-with-a-broad-mandate-is-retiring/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=From%20the%20City%20Room&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to City Room, a Blog With a Broad Mandate, Is Retiring">City Room, a Blog With a Broad Mandate, Is Retiring</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Andy Newman</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="w592"> <figure class="media photo promo" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/10/26/nyregion/00typewriter/00typewriter-tmagArticle-v3.png" itemtype="//schema.org/ImageObject" role="group"><span class="visually-hidden">Photo</span> <div class="image"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/city-room-a-blog-with-a-broad-mandate-is-retiring/"><img itemprop="url" itemid="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/10/26/nyregion/00typewriter/00typewriter-tmagArticle-v3.png" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/10/26/nyregion/00typewriter/00typewriter-tmagArticle-v3.png" id="100000003999481" width="592" height="392" alt="We shall spend the rest of our days lounging and cracking open mollusks."></a> <meta itemprop="height" content="392"> <meta itemprop="width" content="592"> </div> <figcaption class="caption" itemprop="description"><span class="caption-text">We shall spend the rest of our days lounging and cracking open mollusks.</span><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder"><span class="visually-hidden">Credit</span> Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/city-room-a-blog-with-a-broad-mandate-is-retiring/" data-title="City Room, a Blog With a Broad Mandate, Is Retiring" data-description="Eight years, 20,000 posts and perhaps 100 million clicks later, City Room sails off into the sunset."> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">In the distant clamor of another decade, a group of wise men and women put their heads together and decided that what the New York Times website needed was a blog about New York City.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Focus groups were convened. Committees were formed. “We need a tone and mindset that are hip but NOT trendy,” one memo read.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">The result was <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/">City Room</a>. It debuted on June 14, 2007, “a news blog of live reporting, features and reader conversations about New York City.” </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Now, eight years, 20,000 posts, 425,000 reader comments and perhaps 100 million clicks later, City Room has an announcement to make: <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/city-room-a-blog-with-a-broad-mandate-is-retiring/?module=BlogPost-ReadMore&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=From%20the%20City%20Room&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body#more-499851" class="more-link">Read more…</a></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-499862 post type-post status-publish category-metropolitan-diary tag-cheating tag-delicatessens tag-manhattan-nyc des-cheating des-delicatessens geo-manhattan-nyc news_keywords-cheating news_keywords-delicatessen news_keywords-manhattan" id="post-499862"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">Metropolitan Diary</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-25T23:47:32+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 25, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 25, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/no-cheating-at-zabars/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/no-cheating-at-zabars/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to No Cheating at Zabar’s">No Cheating at Zabar’s</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Heidi Olson</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/no-cheating-at-zabars/" data-title="No Cheating at Zabar’s" data-description="Metropolitan Diary: An old hand at the delicatessen's waiting line caught a newly arrived customer trying to use someone's discarded ticket. "> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"></p> <div class="inlineModule"> <div class="entry"> <h6 class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">Metropolitan Diary</a></h6> <p class="summary"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">More Reader Tales From the City »</a></p> </div> </div> Dear Diary: <p></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Zabar’s deli counter has its rules: Get your number by the roasting chickens and take your turn.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Last night there were no tickets. Fearing a pending crisis, I opened the number machine and refed the pink numbers into the tongue groove. That solved, I went back to the counter with No. 19 in hand. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">There stood a tall man in an Army green jacket with a prominent mole on his cheek. He had arrived after me but before I fixed the machine. Then he turned and said, “Where are we with these numbers?” showing me No. 17. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Did he think I wouldn’t notice that he picked No. 17 off the counter after another customer had finished? Really! Every New Yorker knows there are some things you just don’t do. </p> <hr> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em> Read <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">all recent entries</a> and our <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/metropolitan-diary-submissions-guidelines/">updated submissions guidelines</a>. Reach us via email <a href="mailto:diary@nytimes.com">diary@nytimes.com</a> or follow <a href="https://www.twitter.com/#!/nytmetro">@NYTMetro</a> on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary. </em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-499806 post type-post status-publish category-metropolitan-diary tag-brooklyn-nyc tag-dating-and-relationships tag-subways des-dating-and-relationships des-subways geo-brooklyn-nyc news_keywords-brooklyn news_keywords-dating-2 news_keywords-subway" id="post-499806"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">Metropolitan Diary</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-23T12:30:00+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 23, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 23, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/discovering-new-york-together/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/discovering-new-york-together/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to Discovering New York Together">Discovering New York Together</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Adele P.</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/discovering-new-york-together/" data-title="Discovering New York Together" data-description="Metropolitan Diary: An autumn romance, including meeting on the F train platform in Brooklyn, hitting the greenmarket and the zoo, and letting a tourist take their picture. "> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"></p> <div class="inlineModule"> <div class="entry"> <h6 class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">Metropolitan Diary</a></h6> <p class="summary"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">More Reader Tales From the City »</a></p> </div> </div> Dear Diary: <p></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">We met on the F train platform at Jay Street, both new arrivals to Brooklyn. (I asked him for directions, though I knew the way.)</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">On our first date, a couple of weeks later, a vendor at the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket looked at us together and told him to “put a ring on it.” Somehow it became a joke between us that we were already married.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">We discovered the city together: carrying my Craigslist find (a shoe rack) on our trip to the Bronx Zoo, devising a private rating system for every hot chocolate at every cafe, letting a Chinese tourist photograph us on a swing set after a jazz concert.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Now, four years later and 3,000 miles away, everything I miss most about New York is tied up in the autumn we spent together. </p> <hr> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em> Read <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">all recent entries</a> and our <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/metropolitan-diary-submissions-guidelines/">updated submissions guidelines</a>. Reach us via email <a href="mailto:diary@nytimes.com">diary@nytimes.com</a> or follow <a href="https://www.twitter.com/#!/nytmetro">@NYTMetro</a> on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary. </em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-498628 post type-post status-publish category-metropolitan-diary tag-drivers-licenses tag-elderly tag-manhattan-nyc tag-st-paul-minn des-drivers-licenses des-elderly geo-manhattan-nyc geo-st-paul-minn news_keywords-drivers-license news_keywords-manhattan news_keywords-old-age news_keywords-st-paul-mn" id="post-498628"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">Metropolitan Diary</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-22T12:30:52+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 22, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 22, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/after-82-years-no-more-driving/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/after-82-years-no-more-driving/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to After 82 Years, No More Driving">After 82 Years, No More Driving</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Dawes Potter</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/after-82-years-no-more-driving/" data-title="After 82 Years, No More Driving" data-description="Metropolitan Diary: The day he sold his final car and gave up his keys, a 93-year-old was flooded with memories, starting with Pop's lessons behind the wheel."> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"></p> <div class="inlineModule"> <div class="entry"> <h6 class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">Metropolitan Diary</a></h6> <p class="summary"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">More Reader Tales From the City »</a></p> </div> </div> Dear Diary: <p></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I’m 93, a World War II Navy vet and all that stuff. Today I sold my final car. Tomorrow, as we prepare to move into our West Side co-op, I’ll turn in my New York vanity plates and get rid of my E-ZPass. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Strangely it’s been mostly a very happy day, flooded with great car memories. Like sitting in Pop’s lap at 7 and proudly steering our used Willys-Knight. Yes, I know. It’s now against the law, but it was so much fun I did the same for my own two and for my much younger stepsons. And if nobody was looking, I’d do it for my great-grandchildren.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Once, when I was 11, and Pop and I were, as usual, fiddling with our little cruiser down at the St. Paul Boat Club on the Mississippi, he discovered he’d forgotten something at home, a couple of miles away. He looked straight at me. “Have you driven by yourself?” “Yes I have!” I don’t know if he knew I was lying, but he tossed me the keys and off I drove, proud as a king. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">In 1936 I turned 14, the legal driving age in Minnesota back then. I went to the local license bureau to apply. They gave me an application to fill out. At the very end came the Yes or No question: Can you drive a car? You can guess my answer. And that was it! I walked out with my license. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I’ve been driving for 82 years. It’s probably best for me to stop, especially with all those people and cars and bikes and buses in Manhattan. It’s kind of happy/sad for me, but probably safer for the rest of New York City.</p> <hr> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em> Read <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">all recent entries</a> and our <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/metropolitan-diary-submissions-guidelines/">updated submissions guidelines</a>. Reach us via email <a href="mailto:diary@nytimes.com">diary@nytimes.com</a> or follow <a href="https://www.twitter.com/#!/nytmetro">@NYTMetro</a> on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary. </em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-499842 post type-post status-publish category-metropolitan-diary tag-chinatown-manhattan-ny tag-dating-and-relationships tag-nineteen-hundred-sixties tag-staten-island-nyc des-dating-and-relationships des-nineteen-hundred-sixties geo-chinatown-manhattan-ny geo-staten-island-nyc news_keywords-1960s news_keywords-chinatown-manhattan news_keywords-dating-2 news_keywords-staten-island" id="post-499842"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">Metropolitan Diary</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-21T12:30:44+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 21, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 21, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/dating-on-a-budget-in-the-1960s/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/dating-on-a-budget-in-the-1960s/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to Dating on a Budget in the 1960s">Dating on a Budget in the 1960s</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Ivan Berger</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/dating-on-a-budget-in-the-1960s/" data-title="Dating on a Budget in the 1960s" data-description="Metropolitan Diary: Dinner, a cruise and ground transportation, courtesy of the subway system, Chinatown and the Staten Island Ferry, could add up to very little 50 years ago."> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"></p> <div class="inlineModule"> <div class="entry"> <h6 class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">Metropolitan Diary</a></h6> <p class="summary"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">More Reader Tales From the City »</a></p> </div> </div> Dear Diary: <p></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Back in the ’60s, when my gross salary was $75 a week, I could still afford to take a date for dinner and a cruise:<br> Two subway fares to Mott Street in Chinatown: $0.30.<br> Two noodle dishes washed down with water or free tea: $1.50.<br> Two subway fares to South Ferry: $0.30.<br> Two Staten Island Ferry fares outbound $0.10.<br> Two Staten Island Ferry fares inbound: $0.10.<br> Two subway fares back home: $0.30.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Total, $2.60.</p> <hr> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em> Read <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">all recent entries</a> and our <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/metropolitan-diary-submissions-guidelines/">updated submissions guidelines</a>. Reach us via email <a href="mailto:diary@nytimes.com">diary@nytimes.com</a> or follow <a href="https://www.twitter.com/#!/nytmetro">@NYTMetro</a> on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary. </em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-499772 post type-post status-publish category-metropolitan-diary tag-fires-and-firefighters tag-september-11-2001 tag-subways des-fires-and-firefighters des-september-11-2001 des-subways news_keywords-911sept-11 news_keywords-fires-2 news_keywords-subway" id="post-499772"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">Metropolitan Diary</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-20T12:30:53+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 20, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 20, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/grieving-with-a-firefighter/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/grieving-with-a-firefighter/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to Grieving With a Firefighter">Grieving With a Firefighter</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Helen Malmgren</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/grieving-with-a-firefighter/" data-title="Grieving With a Firefighter" data-description="Metropolitan Diary: A remembrance of a somber commute downtown nine days after the 9/11 attacks, when a firefighter boarded the subway in full dress uniform. "> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"></p> <div class="inlineModule"> <div class="entry"> <h6 class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">Metropolitan Diary</a></h6> <p class="summary"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">More Reader Tales From the City »</a></p> </div> </div> Dear Diary: <p></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">It’s Sept. 20. I’m thinking about my morning commute, 14 years ago today. It’s Sept. 20, 2001. I am riding the A train downtown. A New York City fireman gets on at 125th Street, and everyone in the car looks up. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">He is heartbreaking in his dress blues, with his broad shoulders. We all know where he’s going. He’s going to a funeral. Every fireman is going to funerals this week.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">“Was it someone from your station?” asks a woman in black heels and a pencil skirt. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">The fireman says yes, then asks, “Do you want to hear about him?” </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em>Yes, we want to hear every detail about him, and about you, and about the towers, and the flying ashes, and the bodies hitting the ground, shoeless. We want you to open up and let all the stories out; we love your stories and we love you.</em></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">The woman says yes, she’d like to hear. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Several women around the car leave their seats and approach the fireman. I do, too.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">The A train starts its express run to Columbus Circle. The tunnel is roaring around us as we lean toward one another to hear the story of how our heroes fought for us, who lived and who died. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Then it’s quiet again. The bell dings, the subway doors open and we, women of New York City, snap open pairs of sunglasses and slide them over our teary eyes as we march up out of the station and into Columbus Circle. A blonde on my left nods at me and I nod back, and then we both head off to work. </p> <hr> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em> Read <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">all recent entries</a> and our <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/metropolitan-diary-submissions-guidelines/">updated submissions guidelines</a>. Reach us via email <a href="mailto:diary@nytimes.com">diary@nytimes.com</a> or follow <a href="https://www.twitter.com/#!/nytmetro">@NYTMetro</a> on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary. </em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-499859 post type-post status-publish category-metropolitan-diary tag-canoes-and-canoeing tag-east-river-nyc tag-harlem-river-bronx-manhattan-ny tag-hudson-river tag-manhattan-nyc des-canoes-and-canoeing geo-east-river-nyc geo-harlem-river-bronx-manhattan-ny geo-hudson-river geo-manhattan-nyc news_keywords-canoe news_keywords-east-river news_keywords-harlem-river news_keywords-hudson-river news_keywords-manhattan" id="post-499859"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">Metropolitan Diary</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-18T23:38:59+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 18, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 18, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/the-river-watchers/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/the-river-watchers/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to The River Watchers">The River Watchers</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Peter Tiso</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/the-river-watchers/" data-title="The River Watchers" data-description="Metropolitan Diary: Canoeing around Manhattan at night, a man discovered eyes on the water from every available viewing spot, no matter how decrepit the pier or how late the hour. "> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"></p> <div class="inlineModule"> <div class="entry"> <h6 class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">Metropolitan Diary</a></h6> <p class="summary"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">More Reader Tales From the City »</a></p> </div> </div> Dear Diary: <p></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I spent Saturday night to Sunday morning slowly making my way around Manhattan island in a canoe, and one thing struck me among the varied scenery and changeable waters:</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">On every pier, dock, spit, peninsula, jetty, and wharf, no matter what fences block them or how near to completely falling into the water they are, there is a backlit person (or persons) watching the water. Some call to you as you pass, some wave, but most just follow you with their eyes. They sit or stand, they cuddle and huddle, they drink and smoke and absently flick in stones. They were there at 9 in the evening, at midnight and at 3 in the morning. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I would love to know two things: how many eyes watch the water at this moment I write just before the dawn, and if a drop of water has ever passed from Spuyten Duyvil to the Battery unobserved since the land bore those names.</p> <hr> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em> Read <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">all recent entries</a> and our <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/metropolitan-diary-submissions-guidelines/">updated submissions guidelines</a>. Reach us via email <a href="mailto:diary@nytimes.com">diary@nytimes.com</a> or follow <a href="https://www.twitter.com/#!/nytmetro">@NYTMetro</a> on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary. </em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-499799 post type-post status-publish category-metropolitan-diary tag-brooklyn-nyc tag-counterfeit-money-and-financial-instruments tag-hoaxes-and-pranks tag-queens-nyc tag-subways des-counterfeit-money-and-financial-instruments des-hoaxes-and-pranks des-subways geo-brooklyn-nyc geo-queens-nyc news_keywords-brooklyn news_keywords-counterfeit-money news_keywords-hoaxes-and-pranks news_keywords-queens news_keywords-subway" id="post-499799"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">Metropolitan Diary</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-16T12:55:00+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 16, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 16, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/is-that-your-money/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/is-that-your-money/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to ‘Is That Your Money?’">‘Is That Your Money?’</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Phoebe Chao</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/is-that-your-money/" data-title="‘Is That Your Money?’" data-description="Metropolitan Diary: A sleepy-looking commuter on the G train seemed strangely unconcerned about a folded $100 bill lying in front of him."> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"></p> <div class="inlineModule"> <div class="entry"> <h6 class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">Metropolitan Diary</a></h6> <p class="summary"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">More Reader Tales From the City »</a></p> </div> </div> Dear Diary: <p></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Every morning, I make the same commute. On this October day, it was no different: the G train from Court Square in Queens to Nassau Avenue in Brooklyn.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I got on the train, picked a seat, and found myself next to a sluggish, tired middle-aged man. All black-clad, baseball hat, one eye closed and falling asleep. More people start boarding and crowding around us, and the train starts going. All of a sudden, a lady approaches us and asks, in a shrill voice: “Sir? Is that your money?” </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I look down. Right at our feet, it’s a folded $100 bill. Maybe there’s more than one in there. I can feel my face flush as I look over at the man. He seems to have just woken as he peers up at her and says, “No.” </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">The train keeps on going. At the next stop, more people come on, and at this point, everyone within our vicinity is staring at this $100 bill. A teenage boy approaches and says, “Whoa!” before backing away. I can feel the tension in the car. One woman, who has just boarded, sits across from us. I see her eyes travel down to the money. She quickly jumps up, waving people out of her way, and comes to snatch it off the ground. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I watch her as she unfolds it. It’s a fake. </p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">By this time, I’m at my stop and I look over at the man before I get off. Suddenly energized and appearing to be wide awake, he smiles at me. </p> <hr> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em> Read <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">all recent entries</a> and our <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/metropolitan-diary-submissions-guidelines/">updated submissions guidelines</a>. Reach us via email <a href="mailto:diary@nytimes.com">diary@nytimes.com</a> or follow <a href="https://www.twitter.com/#!/nytmetro">@NYTMetro</a> on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary. </em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> <article class="entry hentry post-499804 post type-post status-publish category-metropolitan-diary tag-autumn-season tag-new-york-city tag-summer-season des-autumn-season des-summer-season geo-new-york-city news_keywords-autumn-2 news_keywords-nyc news_keywords-summer-2" id="post-499804"> <header class="postHeader"> <div class="story-meta-footer"> <span class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body">Metropolitan Diary</a></span> <time class="dateline " datetime="2015-10-15T12:30:16+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">Oct 15, 2015</time> <span class="visually-hidden updated">Oct 15, 2015</span><span class="postMetaHeaderCommentCount commentCount hidden"> <i class="icon"></i> <a class="commentCountLink commentCountNumberOnly" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/almost-missing-summer/"></a> </span> </div> <h3 itemprop="headline" class="entry-title"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/almost-missing-summer/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Metropolitan%20Diary&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body" rel="bookmark" class="entry-title-link " title="Permanent link to Almost Missing Summer">Almost Missing Summer</a></h3><address class="byline author vcard">By Jessica Fu</address> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shareTools shareToolsThemeClassic shareToolsThemeClassicHorizontal articleShareToolsBottom" data-shares="email|,facebook|,twitter|" data-url="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/almost-missing-summer/" data-title="Almost Missing Summer" data-description="Metropolitan Diary: As the writer awoke in the October chill, she began to romanticize summer, then remembered what it had been really like. "> </div> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"></p> <div class="inlineModule"> <div class="entry"> <h6 class="kicker"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">Metropolitan Diary</a></h6> <p class="summary"><a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">More Reader Tales From the City »</a></p> </div> </div> Dear Diary: <p></p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">Today I woke up cocooned in my comforter, yet still chilly. I looked out of my window at the stale October gloom and almost began to miss summer. Almost. I caught myself in time to remember what we often forget when we romanticize seasons, forgetting their hidden wraths because we do not endure them in the present time.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I remembered consecutive weeks so sweltering that I was endlessly caught between the lesser of two hells: a stickily hot night or slightly less hot one throughout which my free-off-of-Craigslist fan would propel warm air around my room at the volume of a tractor.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I recalled ice-cold morning showers that still weren’t enough to bring my internal temperature down. I reminisced about afternoons laying about, icing last night’s mosquito bites with a tub of ice cream, a bag of frozen peas. I recollected dusks descending, finally, after I had loitered with my journal in cool (literally) coffee shops for hours, and the mercy of baristas who hadn’t kicked me out.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">I remembered my unlucky penchant for always stepping into that single No. 1 train carriage that lacked air-conditioning.</p> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody">So this morning, when the autumnal chill impelled me to draw my bare legs closer to my chest and pull an extra blanket around my shoulders, I almost — almost — longed for summer. But then I remembered, and I thanked goodness that I had caught myself just in time.</p> <hr> <p class="story-body-text" itemprop="articleBody"><em> Read <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/category/metropolitan-diary/">all recent entries</a> and our <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/metropolitan-diary-submissions-guidelines/">updated submissions guidelines</a>. Reach us via email <a href="mailto:diary@nytimes.com">diary@nytimes.com</a> or follow <a href="https://www.twitter.com/#!/nytmetro">@NYTMetro</a> on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary. </em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer> </article> </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="cColumn nocontent robots-nocontent"> <aside> <div id="nyt_promo_widget-6" class="module nocontent widget_nyt_promo_widget"> <h4 class="moduleHeader">Looking for New York Today?</h4> <div class="entry"> <h5><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/nytoday">New York Today</a></h5> <p class="summary">New York Today is still going strong! Though no longer on City Room, New York Today continues to appear every weekday morning, offering a roundup of news and events for the city. 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