July 14 is Bastille Day- Sooo to honor the day that Parisians stormed the Bastille and the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 I decided to check out the French influences a la NYC.

What’s with NYC’s fascination with France? I guess the “French Connection” goes way back. It can be attributed to the role the French played in the American Revolution and the Marquis de Lafayette. He was George Washington’s “adopted” son and aide de camp. In 1824 he returned to NYC and toured the U.S. and was treated as a rock star. He was feted with parades wherever he went and Congress voted him a gift of $200,000 and a large tract of land. Marquis de Lafayette, the statesman and general, maintained the convictions of democracy, social equality, and religious freedom throughout the remainder of his life.

A larger-than-life-sized statue of Lafayette stands in Union Square – It was sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904), the designer of the Statue of Liberty (1886). The granite pedestal designed by H.W. DeStuckle was donated by French citizens living in New York. Lafayette appears in another Bartholdi sculpture at Lafayette Square in Upper Manhattan that depicts him shaking General George Washington’s hand. Lafayette is also honored in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park with a bas-relief on steel by Daniel Chester French. Lafayette has all sorts of places named for him in the US-Lafayette St-Lafayette H.S. in Brooklyn –Lafayette College and numerous towns throughout the US. Mid-nineteenth century New York had about 18,000 French immigrants. It was the largest French-speaking community in the United States. At that time the French immigrant populations of both Louisiana and Missouri were only 15,000 residents. These immigrants even fielded units for the Union Army during the Civil War. They lived in SoHo and it was home to small businesses, restaurants, charcuterie shops, bakeries, and cafes. By 1894 they moved uptown to Chelsea. 

Today, New York City is home to around 60,000 French ex-pats and more than 81,000 French speakers. French people and culture have long played an important role in the city. For many years E 60th St between Park and Madison Ave was a  hub of French Culture. It is home to the French Institute Alliance Francaise where you can take in a lecture, attend the Cinema, or take French lessons. In fact, the Le Temple du St Esprit, a church that was founded in 1687 for French Hugeonets, held services in their auditorium in 1926. They remained there until a former school was purchased by the congregation in 1941. Today the church is located at 109 East 60 St.

Bastille Day celebrations have traditionally been celebrated on 60th Street for many years.  This year on Sunday, July 10  the celebration will be on Madison Ave between 58 St and 63 St. It includes wine and cheese tastings, French food, arts and crafts, puppet shows, and other live performances.

5th Ave between 78 St and 79 St

Another “piece “ of France is located on 5th Ave between 78 St and 79 St. The French Embassy is located in the former Payne Whitney Mansion. Within the cultural Services of the French Embassy is the Albertine bookshop. The Albertine bookshop is the only bookshop in New York devoted solely to books in French and English with more than 14,000 contemporary and classic titles from 30 French-speaking countries.  In partnership with the Cultural Services, Albertine hosts lively debates and discussions exploring popular and classical culture through a modern and global lens. 

Little Paris ( Image by nypost )

In the past few years, another NYC neighborhood has been identified and dubbed Little Paris.”  “Little Paris'' is located on Center Street between Grand and Broome Streets not far from Lafayette Street. Its centerpiece is the former NYC Police Headquarters ( a building where my Dad worked in the late 1940s. It was built in the manner of a French hotel de Ville (town hall). It was converted to residential use in 1988. According to the AIA, it is ornate Renaissance Revival architecture and is laced with Baroque bits.

Little Paris is home to CouCou - a French-language school and more. It is a place where you can immerse yourself in French language classes as well as cultural events. Cousins Lea and Marianne Perret founded the school and are now supporting the “cause” to name the area Little Paris.

Another shop Posterati has a great selection of Movie Posters and it provides framing services.

Clic General Store and Gallery is a great place to visit- it has something for everyone-clothing, home decor, toys, and more.

Maman is a fabulous pastry shop that has a great garden and yummy pastries. The cornmeal waffles with vanilla mascarpone and the nutty chocolate chip cookies are highly recommended.

The La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels Wine Bar offers a great selection of wine and Mediterranean small plates.

Stay tuned- efforts are underway to “officially” name the area Little Paris. Signage is already there. French food has played a big role in familiarizing folks with French culture. So now let’s talk about French Food. 

French dining in NYC started with Delmonico’s – the first “restaurant” in NY- Although the brothers were Swiss the cuisine was French. It was very posh and gave us such things as the “Delmonico Steak” and the idea of a separate wine list

At the 1939 World’s Fair The Restaurant du Pavillon de France run by Henri Soule gave Americans a taste for French food. After the fair closed Soule and his chef Pierre Franey stayed in the U.S. as refugees and opened Le Pavillon at 5 E 55 St.  It was a big hit and operated from 1941-1971. New York’s love affair with French food continues and today Zagat’s Top 5 restaurants are French. They are all recognized by the Michelin Guide -Le Bernardin, Daniel, Per Se, Bouley, Jean GeorgesEach provides a fabulous dining experience although quite pricey.

In addition to these top-rated restaurants, NYC has a history of more modest French fare. Many years ago the West 50’s was an enclave of small French restaurants and I recall being very adventurous and ordering venison at Le Champlain- Larre’s was another go-to place when you wanted something sophisticated and delicious. But alas they are gone.

For a moderately priced French experience, today try:

I could go on and on but I won’t. As you can see you don’t have to fly off to Paris for a great French experience.

For inquiries and questions about tours ( In-person or Virtual ), you can send an email or call. Stay tuned for Susan's next new blog!

Our tour will visit 4 areas in NY that are little pieces of Ireland in NYC.

Irish Hunger Memorial (Image via Wikipedia)

The first stop is the Irish Hunger Memorial, located on a ½ acre site at the corner of Vesey Street and North End Avenue near Battery Park City. It is an authentic 19th-century Irish cottage set on a uniquely landscaped plot, which utilizes stones, soil and native vegetation brought in from the western coast of Ireland and contains stones from all of the different counties of Ireland. It’s dedicated to raising awareness of the Great Irish Famine – referred to by the Irish as "The Great Hunger" or An Gorta Mor in Irish Gaelic, which killed over a million people in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. The memorial was completed and dedicated on July 16, 2002. Many Irish families were forced to emigrate from the country. By 1854, between 1.5 and 2 million Irish had left their country. By 1850, the Irish made up a quarter of the population in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Baltimore. In the US today, there are 33.7 million residents who claim Irish ancestry with NYC having the largest number of Irish-Americans of any city in the United States.

I’ll bet you are expecting me to talk about Irish bars – I won’t disappoint, but before we start our traipse uptown let’s make a b-line for the oldest Irish bar in NYC – McSorley’s Old Ale House, generally known as ‘McSorley’s’. It is on East 7th Street in the East Village. Two of McSorley’s mottos are “Be Good or Be Gone,” and “We were here before you were born.”

McSorley's Old Ale House (Image via Wikipedia)

Prior to 1970, it was one of the last ‘Men-Only pubs.’ Another motto was “Good Ale, Raw Onions and No Ladies.” In fact, Dorothy O’Connell Kirwin, who inherited the bar in 1939 adhered to this rule and only entered the bar on Sundays.

In 1970 McSorely’s was legally forced to serve women but did not have to provide restrooms for them so restrooms at McSorely’s remain coed. Aside from the ladies not much has changed at McSorley's since it opened – sawdust floors, Irish waiters and bartenders, and lots of memorabilia scattered throughout. There are wishbones hanging above the bar; supposedly hung by boys going off to World War I. The plan was to remove them upon their return, therefore the wishbones remaining are from those that never returned.

Notable people who have visited McSorley’s include Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, Peter Cooper, Boss Tweed, and Woody Guthrie. So let’s have a pint of ale and the famous cheese platter with onions and we’ll add our names to this list.

Now that we have been fortified let’s head up to St Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue and 51st Street. The site was originally intended to be a burial ground but was too rocky and in 1850, John Hughes the first Archbishop of NYC (an Irish immigrant) announced the plan to build a new cathedral. The cornerstone is dated 1858 and it was consecrated in 1910. Designed by James Renwick and William Rodrigue in the decorated Gothic style of the 13 century. It’s considered a symbol of the success in New York of its immigrant Irish population – to get some sense of its majesty here are some statistics.

St. Patrick's Cathedral NYC (Image via Wikipedia)
  • Length: 332 ft.
  • Width: 174 ft.
  • Height from the street to the top of the spire: 330 ft.
  • Height of the Central Gable: 156 ft.
  • Length of nave and transept: 144 ft.
  • Width of the nave: 48 ft.
  • Height of nave: 108 ft.

It's a huge and fabulous building!

Ready for our next stop? This time we are heading north – just about as north as you can go to Woodlawn in the Bronx, known as “Little Ireland.” This neighborhood has been an Irish enclave since the Irish laborers made their way up north to build the Harlem Railroad, Woodlawn Cemetery, and subways in the mid-1800s. Not to mention the Croton Reservoir and Van Cortlandt Park’s aqueduct that delivers 90 million gallons of water to NYC every day. It’s a great place to shop for Irish specialties like jams, teas, and meats. You can also order up a traditional Irish breakfast or watch an Irish football game while sipping a Guinness stout.

Make sure to check out Katonah Ave, home to Rambling House – a great pub where you can have traditional fares like shepherd's pie or bangers and mash. Make sure to visit Prime Cut Butchers, which is home to fabulous Irish bacon and ham. Of course, you’ll also find delicious corned beef and cabbage in the nabe even though it isn’t authentic Irish fare. In fact, along with the St Patrick’s Day Parade, it is an Irish-American invention. The Irish immigrants ‘adopted’ corned beef and cabbage from their Jewish neighbors.

When the immigrants came to NY pork and the favored Irish bacon were expensive. So they tried the cured corned beef at the Jewish delis and food carts and found it to be a tasty alternative to the more expensive meats. The same with cabbage was much cheaper than potatoes…. sooooo folks started cooking them together same pot, the spiced, salty beef flavored the plain cabbage, creating a simple, hearty dish that couldn’t be easier to prepare. Potatoes were added at some point and it became the traditional St Patrick’s Day fare. We could go on and on probably for weeks bar hopping from Irish pub to Irish pub but let’s stop here.

Stay tuned for our next journey – who knows where we will end up.

For inquiries and questions about tours ( In-person or Virtual ), you can send us an email or call. Stay tuned for Susan's next new blog!

In honor of Black History Month - Elizabeth Jennings Graham - New York's "Own" Rosa Park. Years before Rosa Park's courageous stance a young woman in NYC had a similar story.

Elizabeth Jennings Graham ( Image by Educators of America )

On Sunday, July 16, 1854, Elizabeth Jennings Graham a school teacher and church organist boarded a trolley at Pearl St and today’s Park Row. Along with her friend Sarah Adams they were in a rush and did not wait for a trolley that stated “ Colored People Allowed on this Car.

In an article written for Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune in February 1855, he wrote;

"She got upon one of the company’s cars last summer, on the Sabbath, to ride to church. The conductor undertook to get her off, first alleging the car was full; when that was shown to be false, he pretended the other passengers were displeased at her presence: but(when) she insisted on her rights, he took hold of her by force to expel her. She resisted. The conductor got her down on the platform, jammed her bonnet, soiled her dress, and injured her person. Quite a crowd gathered, but she effectively resisted. Finally, after the car had gone on further, with the aid of a policeman they succeeded in removing her."

The incident led to an organized effort by black New Yorkers to desegregate NYC streetcars. Frederick Douglass published the incident in his newspaper and it received national attention. Jennings' family filed a lawsuit on behalf of their daughter against the driver, the conductor, and the 3rd Avenue Railroad Company. Elizabeth was represented by the law firm of Culver, Parker, and Arthur. Her case was handled by the firm’s 24-year-old junior partner Chester A. Arthur, future president of the United States.

In 1855 the court ruled in her favor. She was awarded $250 in damages ( equivalent to $6,900 today)  The Brooklyn Circuit Court Judge William Rockwell declared: “Colored persons if sober, well behaved and free from disease, had the same rights as others and could neither be excluded by any rules of the company nor by force of violence. The next day the Third Avenue Railroad Company ordered its cars desegregated.

Elizabeth Jenning went on to marry Charles Graham and to teach for 35 years. They had a son who died at age 1 of convulsions during the Draft Riots on July 16, 1863. With the help of a white undertaker, they were able to slip through the mob-filled streets and bury him in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn. After the Draft Riots, the family left NYC for Monmouth County New Jersey. After Charles’ death, Elizabeth and her mother and sister returned to NYC.

In 1895 she founded the first kindergarten for black children at her home on West 41 St. and dies on June 5, 1901.

Today- thanks to a campaign by children from P.S. 361 in Manhattan a block of Park Row has been “so-named” Elizabeth Jennings Place.  A statue of Elizabeth Jennings Graham is slated to be erected as part of the “She Built NYC” initiative. At the moment the location is being discussed.

For inquiries and questions about tours ( In-person or Virtual ), you can send an email or call. Stay tuned for Susan's next new blog!

It’s not too late to experience one of New York’s Holiday wonders – The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Gardens. It ends this Sunday, Jan 23!  Get tickets here.

This year I attended the Holiday Train Show with my 3-year-old granddaughter Maya Shayne.

To call the Holiday show a “train” show is really a misnomer. The Botanical Gardens has created an incredible collection with the help of the visionary artist Paul Busse and his fabulous team. The trains are interesting but for me, the real “hook” is the amazing replicas of New York City Landmarks. All the iconic “New York” buildings and sites are there- made of pine cones, twigs, berries, and all sorts of natural materials. 

The New York Botanical Garden (Image by Anthony22)

Each year it is updated and the 2021 addition is the New York Botanical Gardens own LuEsther T Metz Library. It was founded in 1899 and is the largest botanical library in the USA.

I believe we went to the first “train show” in 1991.  It consisted of a large table- just like a train board, you would set up in your living room.   It was outdoors in front of the administration building (the same building in which I won an “honorable” mention for my begonia dish garden in a competition for NYC school children when I was in the 6th grade at PS 91).

HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITES!

The Chrysler Building (Image by Wally Gobetz)

TWA Passenger Terminal (Image by Susan Birnbaum)

Maya with the Statue of Liberty (Image by Susan Birnbaum)

Yankee Stadium (Image by Susan Birnbaum)

Grand Central Terminal (Image by Wally Gobetz)

Macy's (Image by Susan Birnbaum)

Radio City Music Hall (Image by Susan Birnbaum)

Rockefeller Center (Image by Susan Birnbaum)

Brooklyn Bridge (Image by Wally Gobetz)

New York has so many interesting and festive activities during the Holiday Season sometimes it’s hard to choose, but I know The New York Botanical Gardens  Train Show never disappoints.

Let us know which interests you!

Around the World with SusanSez!

SusanSez has decided to explore the world without leaving NY!

In my blog I’ll be sharing ways you can join me through my explorations as we discover the food, culture and history from across the globe (all within these 5 boros). As the journey continues I encourage you to share your experiences and join me on an upcoming SusanSez Walkabout!

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