Impressions after returning to New York for the first time in a few years

[pj3000]

First time back to NYC in 5 years, which wasn't just a quick overnight trip for work and in which I actually had the chance to walk around a lot, ride the trains, and take it all in.

Observations:

• Unreal number of new and u/c 500'+ buildings.
  
• Hudson Yards has achieved its goal of bringing Midtown blandness to the far westside.
  
• There are now fat bike messengers... seems like everyone has e-bikes now.
  
• Seems like Spanish or Spanglish is heard 90% of the time.
  
• Always used to smell like piss everywhere... now it smells like piss and weed everywhere.

So yeah, not that much has really changed I guess

[iheartthed]

[*]There are now fat bike messengers... seems like everyone has e-bikes now.

I haven't seen an old school bike messenger in like over a decade. Do you mean the food delivery guys?

[*]Always used to smell like piss everywhere... now it smells like piss and weed everywhere.

Piss or hot garbage? It smells like hot garbage a lot, but piss is more rare. Also, were you only in Manhattan? For some reason it seems like weed smells are more prevalent in Manhattan than outer boroughs.

[Crawford]

Yeah, I smell weed in the busier parts of Manhattan, but not really in Brooklyn. Don't smell it at all in our neighborhood, but it's full of professionals with kids and older affluent folks, so probably not the best demographic for public usage.

How is that odorless weed research going? Will be nice to not smell skunk in crowded urban settings. I know there are already a few odorless brands, but it's a long way from the norm.

And, yeah, I don't think there are bike messengers anymore. But biking in NYC has exploded, and ebikes, especially, are everywhere. The delivery dudes everywhere are usually on ebikes, and mostly delivering food, groceries, and retail items.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I haven't seen an old school bike messenger in like over a decade. Do you mean the food delivery guys?

Yeah, that's what I meant... delivery guys in general.

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Piss or hot garbage? It smells like hot garbage a lot, but piss is more rare. Also, were you only in Manhattan? For some reason it seems like weed smells are more prevalent in Manhattan than outer boroughs.

I guess it's both piss and hot garbage, really. The odor of urine is probably more concentrated around Penn Station/Times Square and environs area of Manhattan.

I was in Brooklyn and the Bronx too. And yeah, piss and weed odors were there as well, but yeah, definitely more noticeable in Manhattan.

My post is a bit tongue-in-cheek hyperbole too

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Crawford

But biking in NYC has exploded, and ebikes, especially, are everywhere. The delivery dudes everywhere are usually on ebikes, and mostly delivering food, groceries, and retail items.

They fly around like crazy on those things. Witnessed two of them crash into each other at a pretty good speed at an intersection on the bike lane running down 9th Ave. I was expecting a fight to ensue, but I think once they jumped up off the ground they were both in a bit of shock and didn't know what was going on.

[pj3000]

Also, the Little Island park thing on the Hudson and Domino Park riverfront are pretty cool. Good spots to get next to the water and take in the skyline vistas.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Crawford

And, yeah, I don't think there are bike messengers anymore. But biking in NYC has exploded, and ebikes, especially, are everywhere.

It was crazy to me how those bike messengers would whip in and out of traffic on Manhattan's avenues back in the day. I didn't bike in the city back then because it seemed to dangerous, and it was also pre-bike lanes. Now my bike is my primary mode of transportation in the warm months.

[pj3000]

I used to ride around Manhattan like a wild man back in the day. It was scary… head on a swivel, massive amount of info processing every second necessary in order to find your line and anticipate everything coming at you/crossing your path constantly. Almost like a live version of a video game. I’m lucky I never got hit.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by pj3000

• Unreal number of new and u/c 500'+ buildings.
  
• Hudson Yards has achieved its goal of bringing Midtown blandness to the far westside.
  .

So yeah, not that much has really changed I guess

Yeah I think NYC is at 421 now? I think I saw that. Still insane number of skyscrapers being built and planned. It seems to be one of the few cities in the US that hasn't stopped or stagnated when it comes to building them.

As for HY, it's fine really. Quite nice. And besides, it was literally a pit in the ground before

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by MAC123

Yeah I think NYC is at 421 now? I think I saw that. Still insane number of skyscrapers being built and planned. It seems to be one of the few cities in the US that hasn't stopped or stagnated when it comes to building them.

As for HY, it's fine really. Quite nice. And besides, it was literally a pit in the ground before

Yes, agree- Hudson Yards is fine… good even. It’s really pretty amazing… poof! Instant skyline!

Just kinda weird when you’re deep in the shit of Hells Kitchen, and then all of a sudden it’s a corporate, kinda preppy, almost Atlanta-ish scene.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by MAC123

As for HY, it's fine really. Quite nice. And besides, it was literally a pit in the ground before

Yeah... A lot of NYers turn their nose up at it, but the place was pretty much just junk yards and car dealerships before. They built the equivalent of a large city's downtown without displacing people, and also made a much better use of the land.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Yes, agree- Hudson Yards is fine… good even. It’s really pretty amazing… poof! Instant skyline!

Just kinda weird when you’re deep in the shit of Hells Kitchen, and then all of a sudden it’s a corporate, kinda preppy, almost Atlanta-ish scene.

Yeah the cleany sterile corporate kind of feeling isn't for everyone. But maybe that'll change with Phase 2

[dave8721]

I'll be in NYC in August for the first time in over 10 years. I used to go all the time as a kid in the 80s and 90s visiting family and a few times in the early 2000s but the last time I went was around 2010. I haven't been in NY in the summer in forever, probably since the 90s. I'm sure its changed a lot.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by dave8721

I'll be in NYC in August for the first time in over 10 years. I used to go all the time as a kid in the 80s and 90s visiting family and a few times in the early 2000s but the last time I went was around 2010. I haven't been in NY in the summer in forever, probably since the 90s. I'm sure its changed a lot.

It’s totally different and exactly the same.

In a way only NY can be.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Yeah, I smell weed in the busier parts of Manhattan, but not really in Brooklyn. Don't smell it at all in our neighborhood, but it's full of professionals with kids and older affluent folks, so probably not the best demographic for public usage.

How is that odorless weed research going? Will be nice to not smell skunk in crowded urban settings. I know there are already a few odorless brands, but it's a long way from the norm.

And, yeah, I don't think there are bike messengers anymore. But biking in NYC has exploded, and ebikes, especially, are everywhere. The delivery dudes everywhere are usually on ebikes, and mostly delivering food, groceries, and retail items.

i mean, i have a nice higher end vaporizer for flower that i cant imagine smells much more than the flower itself. also i only use it after the kids go to bed after dark…

[pj3000]

For the record… I don’t care about the smell of weed in the city one bit. I welcome it. It is just an observation about the omnipresent odor in many parts of Manhattan.

I’d much rather catch a constant whiff of it rather than a blast of urine-soaked air shooting up through sidewalk grates.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by pj3000

For the record… I don’t care about the smell of weed in the city one bit. I welcome it. It is just an observation about the omnipresent odor in many parts of Manhattan.

I’d much rather catch a constant whiff of it rather than a blast of urine-soaked air shooting up through sidewalk grates.

i don’t get public smoking myself - just means its low end weed i guess…i couldnt find my way out of a paper bag after the good stuff..

[pj3000]

True. It totally smells like schwag most of the time.

[JManc]

• Video Link

[mrnyc]

peeple dont call out the karen’s anymore.

it seems the new thing to do is call out weed smokers.

“smells like failure!”

i’ve actually heard that heckled at weedies a few times.



but yeah, everywhere in nyc smells like los angeles nowadays.