Tag: maria gorshin

By Maria Gorshin The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Balloon Inflation wasn’t always an event that drew tens of thousands of visitors

Editor's note: Here at West Side Rag, we pride ourselves on telling the truth. But we're trying a new experiment today -- fiction! Inspired by the strange story of the Upper West Side glasses-cruncher we published last week, West Side Rag columnist Maria Gorshin wrote a short piece of fiction ...

You’ve walked past it a million times but you might have been too busy with Upper West Side concerns like maneuvering a stroller, poop-scooping or hurrying to sunset yoga at Riverside Park to notice. It’s “Manhattan’s most mystical and intriguing building,” yet it’s familiar to hardly anyone in New York ...

It’s another dirty and gritty August in the city, the right time for obscure facts about NYC H2O and our city’s iconic water towers. The towers hold a special place in the hearts of many New Yorkers. Maybe it's a fetish for industrial architecture, or a longing for a time ...

By Maria Gorshin The economy is rallying, plunging, rebounding or in freefall. The news changes moment to moment and each statistic is analyzed to the edge of confusion, madness or maybe just comedy. All the news is good on the one hand yet bad on another but could be worse ...

By Maria Gorshin Is Riverside Park Manhattan’s best park, or is it forever second to New York’s fabled Central Park? The answer depends on whom you ask. But what is certain is that there always seems to be something more to discover about Riverside. It seems everyone has a certain ...

By Maria Gorshin Living in a boredom-free zone is one of the perks of city living that I’m especially grateful for when friends and relatives come to visit. In a quieter setting I have to rely on my iffy skills as a hostess and activity planner to keep my guests ...

By Maria Gorshin What was it like yesterday at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, where a highly-anticipated public hearing was held for the West End Avenue historic district extension? It could have come down to a long day of Us vs. Them; corporate greed mongers vs. local sentimentalists; The Man in ...

By Maria Gorshin When was the last time you heard the words, "bridge and tunnel"? I’m guessing the term began fading into New York City history at least 10 or 20 years ago. But think back to the days before Manhattan moved to Brooklyn, long before Hoboken was cool, before ...

By Maria Gorshin Ask a neighbor to list the benefits of living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and you are likely to find Central Park, Riverside Park, Zabar’s and Fairway among the Top 10. Look further and you might discover West End Avenue somewhere on that list. While most of ...

By Maria Gorshin Did you know that New York is the birthplace of the bike path? Brooklyn was the first city in the country where citizens could enjoy a sliver of public road for the purpose and pleasure of getting around on two wheels. That was back in 1894. I ...