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Y Is for Yorkville


When I first moved to New York in 1975 I lived around the corner from Two Little Red Hens. The space then was occupied by a very good German Deli, which I often frequented as I walked home from the subway. Yorkville, the neighborhood that I moved to had long been a German neighborhood, and there were still a number of German restaurants and food stores. There are now two left in the area, Schaller and Weber on the left of this picture and the Old Heidelberg, which is to the right of the bakery. If this were 1975 I would have gone to the long departed Viennese restaurant on East 86th Street to sample their coffee with whipped cream.

But it's 2016 and I chose Two Little Red Hens, and stopped in for a cup of coffee. I didn't sample the baked goods which looked fabulous, and in an effort to stay pastry abstinent, I didn't even photograph them. I had a cup of very good coffee, made by Irving Farms, our choice for "I."

I moved from this neighborhood twenty-five years ago this summer and haven't been back very much, although it's a bus ride across town. The window of Schaller & Weber has changed very little, but the neighborhood has changed a lot.   

After decades of discussion the Second Avenue Subway is finally scheduled to open at the end of this year. It will be several more decades -- in my opinion -- until it runs from the Upper East Side to Coney Island. When that glorious day arrives it will make traveling from this neighborhood and all sections closer to the East River in Manhattan much easier.
 
One of the things I've especially enjoyed about my coffee project is learning more about New York City. Two blocks east of Second Avenue is York Avenue, named for Sgt. Alvin York, one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War I. York Avenue led to the description of the neighborhood as Yorkville. Though fewer and fewer people remember Sgt. York and the wonderful movie with Gary Cooper, the name of the neighborhood stands as a reminder.   
 
We're off to "Z." So much coffee, so much enjoyment! Thanks for visiting.

2 comments

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Nothing remains the same and life goes on. It is somewhat sad to see what we remember to be no longer, but as long as things like new modes of transportation contribute to the common good, it will be all OK.

TARYTERRE said...

It's always nice to revisit where we've been. But nothing stays the same.