By Gary Martin
I love seeing both of these things as I sit on my Riverside Park bench. The little kids on leashes are all over my neighborhood. And dogs in strollers as well. They’re my favorite park denizens lately. The ingenuity and care makes my head spin.
Gary B. Martin is an illustrator and animator who has lived on the Upper West Side for more than three decades. His Sunday illustrations for West Side Rag chronicle life in the neighborhood, New York City, and the Universe.
Watch for Gary’s illustrations on Sundays in the Rag and see them all here. For a broader range of Gary’s work, including animations and other motion graphics, please visit www.martoons.com
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And if you like what we do, click on the Support button below.
Thanks to Adrienne for help on this one.
haha!☺️ So sweet and funny! Familiar sights in the park, and I love all the details–the matching plaid and smiles of the cute dog and its person, the genial teacher leading the adorable high-vis kids (one having a word with another!)–and the swiveling head for a double take! Once again, let’s hear it for Martoonerville!😀👏
Dogs in strollers, children on leashes, what’s next? Love it
Gotta love the upper west side bucking traditional roles! Not everyone in the city gets to see the incredibly adorable toddlers, looking like tiny construction workers, walking to pre-school on a leash! And especially love the dog’s stroller matching his owner’s jacket. Perfectly captured scene, as always!
Kids on leashes and dogs in strollers! Is it a brave new world or just a new world! Love seeing the UWS through your eyes, Gary!
City life depicted by Gary always a delight. Glad he is on the “lookout”.
Gary and “A” – what a team!! Perfect.
we unbeatable!
Sweet reminder that though our world keeps changing, it’s still pretty wonderful.
That’s is a wonderful capture of everyday life along Riverside Drive. People with dogs in strollers are proud to have a photo taken by a stranger. But, for reasons of safety, you dare not try to take a photo of the toddlers!
But cartoons are always permitted! 🙂
As common as they are, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing either of these on the UWS! I always love checking out your work on Sunday mornings and I’m honored to have a very small role in this cartoon!!
Very sweet.
For a while I had to take my dog out in a stroller. It got many funny reactions. My favorite was a guy who asked me, “First child?”
So sweet.! The wheel is the greatest invention ever. Love seeing more and more of them, rolling around without engines, transporting creatures and things cleanly and quietly. My friend Tom calls the toddlers in their little green vests Brussel Sprouts.
Clever! And VERY UWS!
Haha!
This one hits close to home, Gary.
That is hysterical! Not sure who is embarrassed more, the kids or the dogs🤨
When I see the preschoolers marching along together, what pops into my head is the Wizard of Oz song about “The Lollipop Guild!”
This is why I don’t venture out early in the morning, too many things to track. Later it’s just eBikes, cars, trucks, busses, snowplows (yes for some reason they are moving about) etc. Safer to stay inside.
I put my 12 year-old lab in a stroller. Not because it’s cute but necessary. She has arthritis. Some said to us that she has the best life. Others simply laughed at us. Hope people understand better.
Thanks, Gary. So true, so weird, so amusing.
Gosh, I love the Upper West Side….glad to know I am not the only person who’s been curious about these two seemingly common daily situations….