This was written in 2020 to honor the three New York Women on the U.S. Supreme Court- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. Sadly Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020. I am continuing to honor her for her invaluable contributions. 

Sandra Day O'Connor ( Image by PICRYL )

It will be missed If I will not mention Sandra Day O’Connor who was appointed by Ronald Reagan as the first woman to the Court. She was the trailblazer.

She was born in El Paso raised on a ranch where she branded cattle, shot coyotes, and jackrabbits, and lived 9 miles from her nearest neighbor.

Although her childhood was quite different, like the New Yorkers, she excelled academically. At 16 she attended Stanford University and at 22 graduated from its Law School.

Maybe like our NY bagels, it’s something in the water that “produced” these impressive women. Ruth Bader Ginsberg grew up in Brooklyn, Sonia Sotomayor in the Bronx, and Elena Kagan in Manhattan. Their families were recent arrivals.

They did not exactly arrive on the Mayflower. Ruth’s father was a Russian-Jewish immigrant and her mother was born in NYC to Austrian Jews. Sonia’s parents were from Puerto Rico. Elena’s grandparents were European Jewish immigrants.

They graduated from New York City High Schools with honors. Ruth from James Madison H.S. Where she was at the top of her class. Sonia was valedictorian at Cardinal Spellman and Elena was valedictorian at Hunter College H.S. They went to prestigious colleges - Ruth to Cornell, Sonia and Elene went to Princeton. They excelled and graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Ruth married right out of college and later attended Harvard and Columbia Law Schools. Sonia went directly to Yale Law School and Elena attended Oxford University where she received a Master's in Philosophy and then went on to Harvard.

The Painting of all four Justices hangs in the National Gallery
( Image by Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP )

Their mothers greatly influenced them. Ruth’s mother Celia often spoke of the value of education and regretted that she had to forego her own so that her brother could go to college.

Sonia credits her mother Celina as her “life’s inspiration” and vividly remembers the Britannica Encyclopedia set her mother purchased at great expense and much sacrifice.

Elena’s mother Ruth, a teacher at Hunter College Elementary School, also preached the power of education. Her father, Robert, an attorney and an activist specializing in tenant law were also very influential.

The importance of education in their lives is also reflected in that all three of them taught at prestigious Law schools.

Here are things you should know about Joan Ruth Ginsburg:

  • Born in Brooklyn on March 15, 1933.
  • An excellent student and had receive a scholarship to Cornell University. 
  • She met Martin Ginsburg while at Cornell.
  • Ruth graduated in ‘53 and was the highest-ranking female in her class. 
  • Married Martin 1 month after graduating. 
  • They moved to Oklahoma where Martin fulfilled his ROTC obligation. 
  • Ruth worked for the S.S. Administration.
  • Enrolled at Harvard Law School, became one of 9 women in a class of 500 men. 
  • She became the 1st woman member of the Harvard Law Review
  • Transferred to Columbia to earn her law degree in ‘59 and was the first woman to be on two major law reviews.
  • Rejected by Felix Frankfurter for clerkship due to her gender. Got clerkship under Judge Edward Palmieri from ‘62-63.
  • Became a professor at Rutgers University Law School in ‘63. Got paid less than her male counterparts.

As a result of these experiences, she became interested in gender equality and developed a law school case book on sex discrimination.

In ‘72 she co-founded the ACLU Women’s Rights Project. By ‘74 over 300 gender discrimination cases were submitted. Ruth argued 6 cases and won 5. Using a strategy suggested by her secretary the word “gender” was used to refer to the issue. It was felt that the word “sex” would distract the judge.

Aug. 10, 1993, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes the court oath from Chief Justice William Rehnquist, right, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Ginsburg's husband Martin holds the Bible and President Bill Clinton watches at the left. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander, File)

Sonia Sotomayor (left) is accompanied by her brother, Juan Luis Sotomayor, and her mother, Celina Sotomayor, as she takes the oath from Chief Justice John Roberts to become a Supreme Court justice Saturday in Washington.
( J. Scott Applewhite/AP )

Here are things you should know about Sonia Maria Sotomayor:

  • She was born in the Bronx on June 24, 1954.
  • At 7 she was diagnosed with childhood diabetes and then her father died when she was 8.
  • A big fan of Nancy Drew & TV’s Perry Mason. 
  • At Cardinal Spellman H.S. she was a “star”- active in public speaking and student government. 
  • Received a full scholarship to Princeton. There as a member of the University’s discipline committee she started to develop her legal skills.
  • A member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
  • Awarded the Pyne Prize - the highest undergraduate academic award.
  • Before heading to Yale Law School in ‘76 Sonia married her High School sweetheart Kevin Edward Noonan at St Patrick’s Cathedral. They amicably divorced 7 years later.
  • At Yale, she was Editor for the Law Review and received her degree in ‘79. 
  • Following her graduation, she worked as a prosecutor, a litigator & a judge in various jurisdictions for 18 years. 
  • In ‘91 she fulfilled a childhood dream when Daniel Patrick Moynihan recommended her for a federal judgeship. 
  • The youngest & the 1st Puerto Rican woman to serve as a judge in the U.S. Federal Court. 

One of her rulings ended the 232-day Baseball Strike in ‘94. Contrary to sexual stereotypes she said, “I hope none of you assumed I was not a baseball fan. You don’t grow up in the South Bronx without knowing baseball.” 

In May of 2009, President Obama nominated her to David Souter’s seat making Sonia the third woman and the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.  I guess Daniel Patrick Moynihan called it.

Here are things you should know about Elena Kagan:

  • She was born in the Bronx on June 24, 1954.
  • At 7 she was diagnosed with childhood diabetes and then her father died when she was 8.
  • A big fan of Nancy Drew & TV’s Perry Mason. 
  • At Cardinal Spellman H.S. she was a “star”- active in public speaking and student government. 
  • Received a full scholarship to Princeton. There as a member of the University’s discipline committee she started to develop her legal skills.
  • A member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
  • Awarded the Pyne Prize - the highest undergraduate academic award.
  • Before heading to Yale Law School in ‘76 Sonia married her High School sweetheart Kevin Edward Noonan at St Patrick’s Cathedral. They amicably divorced 7 years later.
  • At Yale, she was Editor for the Law Review and received her degree in ‘79. 
  • Following her graduation, she worked as a prosecutor, a litigator & a judge in various jurisdictions for 18 years. 
  • In ‘91 she fulfilled a childhood dream when Daniel Patrick Moynihan recommended her for a federal judgeship. 
  • The youngest & the 1st Puerto Rican woman to serve as a judge in the U.S. Federal Court. 

One of her rulings ended the 232-day Baseball Strike in ‘94. Contrary to sexual stereotypes she said, “I hope none of you assumed I was not a baseball fan. You don’t grow up in the South Bronx without knowing baseball.” 

In May of 2009, President Obama nominated her to David Souter’s seat making Sonia the third woman and the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.  I guess Daniel Patrick Moynihan called it.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., administers the Constitutional Oath to Elena Kagan in the Justices' Conference Room on Saturday, August 7, 2010. Jeffrey P. Minear, Counselor to the Chief Justice, holds the Bible. Witnesses included Marc and Irving Kagan (brothers) and Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg & Sonia Sotomayor.
( Image by Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the US )

In conclusion, as I said, maybe it is the water but New York is certainly proud of these amazing and awesome women. I hope that Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan will follow their colleague Ruth Bader Ginsburg and be honored with statues in the future.

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!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! We wish you a rocking Year. ????

Times Square has been having New Year’s celebrations since 1904 when the New York Times moved uptown and opened its headquarters at what is now 1 Times Square. The original celebrations were lavish firework displays from the top of the building from 1904-1906 but stopped by city officials because of the danger of fire.  Fireworks are dirty and dangerous soooo the ball was substituted in 1907.  Jacob Starr designed it and it was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds and was decorated with 100 light bulbs.  On that night in 1907, hundreds of thousands of people congregated to watch the ball being lowered on a pole atop the building, marking the start of the new year. 

The long tradition continues today. Since 1908, and for more than one hundred years thereafter, Times Square sign maker Artkraft Strauss has been responsible for the ball-lowering. FYI they were also responsible for the iconic “Camel” Man sign which had smoke coming out of his mouth and many others throughout Times Square. They were the kings of neon. (Fun SusanSez Fact: My Mom worked for them for many years!)

First New Years Ball in 1907 via Vintage Culture

The first ball, dropped on December 31, 1907, was made of wood and iron but it is now the famous Waterford Crystal 2014 NYE Ball to be feature new elements via Times Square you see today.  On that night in 1907, hundreds of thousands of people congregate to watch the ball being lowered on a pole atop the building, marking the start of the new year.

Over the years the ball was tweaked and changed for various reasons. To celebrate the centennial of the ball drop, a new energy-efficient LED ball debuted to bring in 2008. Just one year later to bring in 2009 a larger ball was used and has become the permanent installation as a year-round attraction, used for celebrations such as Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

NYE Ball 2008 which became shown to the public year-round via Times Square

On average, about one million revelers crowd Times Square for the New Year’s Eve celebrations. However, for the millennium celebration on December 31, 1999, published reports stated approximately two million people overflowed Times Square, flowing from 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue and all the way back on Broadway and Seventh Avenues to 59th Street.

2007 celebrated 100 years since the first ball dropped and a new ball was designed by Waterford Crystal and Phillips Lighting. LEDs enabled the lights to change color. It became known as the centennial ball.

NYE Ball 2008 (photo by Times Square Ball)

2021 NYE Ball (photo by Times Square ball)

Last year sadly Times Square was closed to the public due to CoVID. The ball received a facelift It was covered in 2,6888 Waterford crystals and 32,256 LED lights in 16 million vibrant colors. It weighs 11, 875 pounds. 

This year the ball will be updated-it as part of Waterford’s Gift of Wisdom design for 2022.

As of this writing, a press release indicates that due to the Omnicron surges in NYC the crowd will be greatly reduced. Instead of 58,000 people, it will be scaled back to 15,000. Proof of vaccination will be required for everyone over 5 years old and Masks will be required.

2022 NYE Ball (photo by Waterford)

I made it down there once – mostly as a result of a  dull party with a dull date. I organized a group and we made our way downtown to Times Square. It was fun and exciting and at 11:59 p.m., the Ball began its descent as thousands of voices united to countdown the final seconds of the old year. The most amazing part of it was how quickly the crowd scattered and within a few minutes, there was no sign of the festivities.

If you’re interested Times Square Association has pulled together some fun facts about the ball, click here to see them!

I hope to see you this year of 2022! Subscribe to our mailing list and Share. ????

Christmas in NYC wouldn’t be the same without all of the amazing trees surrounding the city and becoming a backdrop for photos seen across the world.  It started as a German tradition but has evolved NYC into a winter wonderland.

It might be late but still, Happy Holidays everyone! Join us in our Little Christmas Tree tour experience here in NYC! ????

To get started, let’s share a bit of the history of the trees in NY:

Now let’s start a Christmas Tree tour around NYC! We will start the walk on Park Ave at 42 St. and end it at 5st St and 5th Ave.

Bryant Park Christmas Tree (Image by Shinya Suzuki Flickr.com)

Stand at the corner of 42nd St & Park Ave looking north. You will see the Park Avenue Trees which started as a tradition in 1945 when a small group of Park Ave families, led by Mrs. Stephen C. Clark, the wife of an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, lit trees to honor her son and all the men and women who died in WWII. 

Enjoy the trees all the way from 42nd St to 96th St.
Walk along 42nd St to Bryant Park’s Winter Village, at 42nd between 5th and 6th Avenue, you will see a 55 foot Norway Spruce decorated with 30,000 red and white LED lights. Among the lights, you can see 3,500 star-bursts, balls, snowflakes, and icicle ornaments in wintry silver, pearly white, and iridescent red and blue. Check out the shops, put on your ice skates, and take a free twirl on the ice skating rink.

Walk up 5th Ave to see the Rockefeller Center Tree at 47th street. This year it hails from Elkton Maryland. It is a 79 foot Norway Spruce with 50,000 multi-colored dazzlings LED lights and a 900 pound Swarovski crystal star that tops the 12-ton tree.

From Rockefeller Center take the M5 or M7 bus from 6th Ave up to Lincoln Center.  Once you get off at 63rd St and Broadway you can see the Lincoln Center Tree which is decorated with star-shaped ornaments designed by community members in partnership with a local pottery studio Color Me Mine.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (Image by Susan Birnbaum)

Origami Christmas Tree (Image by AMNH)

Walk north on Broadway to 72nd St, turning right until you get to Central Park West, and walk north the rest of the way to the Museum of Natural History at 81st St and Central Park West to see the 50-year tradition of decorating the tree with origami. This year 1000 ornaments reflect models from the new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of gems and Minerals as well as the iconic blue whale, Titansaurus Rex.  In addition, there are pieces related to the exhibit Sharks.

Back to 5th Ave and 82 St. and The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 82 St., This tree has a long-standing tradition with its 18th Century Neapolitan Nativity Scene. The scene is embellished with a profuse array of diminutive, lifelike attendant figures that reflect the multicultural population of the Mediterranean town. Silk-robed angels hover above the 20-foot candle-lit blue spruce. Recorded music adds to the enjoyment of this holiday display.

Walk down to the Plaza Hotel at 59th St and 5th Ave to see the 6-foot tree take center stage in the foyer featuring a fabulous collection of beautiful snowflakes curated by Saks 5th Ave.

Saks 5th Avenue Christmas Tree (Image by Fine Art America)

UNICEF Snowflake (Image by Ralph Daily Flickr.com)

As you end your walk going south on 5th Ave, I want to mention another of NYC’s iconic Christmas decorations although it is not a tree. In the heart of the city at 57th st and 5th ave is the UNICEF Snowflake, which is a special symbol for the world’s most vulnerable children.  The snowflake contains 16,000 crystal prisms, is 23 feet wide, over 28 feet tall, and weighs more than 3,300 pounds. It hangs each year as a reminder of UNICEF’s commitment to reach a day when zero children die from preventable causes.

Stay tuned to see what happens next week as we explore the history of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop.  COVID, COVID, COVID has certainly turned many traditions upside down. Join us in our Virtual and In-Person Tour!

Enjoy the holiday stroll and let me know which ones you like the most! Leave your comments below ????

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