SEPTEMBER 11 – NEVER FORGET

I’M TIRED OF ASKING WHY

I’ve  asked  this question  far too many  times  now.

I asked  why when people  were killed  in  Nice, Belgium ,  Berlin ,  Barcelona  and Paris . 

I asked why when it happened  twice in London . 

I didn’t  think  that  I  would  need to ask why in New York  City .

But it seems  as though  I  have  to .

On Halloween  afternoon ,  that’s  October  31st  to the rest of the world ,  a rented truck with a logo from the lumber and other goods store, Home Depot, drove down a street  on the city’s  very busy West Side Highway . 

The street he drove down, West Street ,  is mainly a bike and pedestrian  only street.

According  to  witnesses, he was going the wrong way from Houston  to  Chambers Street . 

If you know New York  City ,  you know this is about 20 or so long blocks.

This was NO accident  that the driver  was going the wrong  way  and very fast.

He was going out of  his way to cause as much damage as possible.

In the end, eight people  were killed and as of now 15 people were taken  to  hospitals .

Ironically ,  this bike path is in the shadow  of  the  Freedom  Tower, also know as One Observatory  Tower.

It replaced the fallen Twin  Towers of the World  Trade Center . 

As with the other cities, a truck has suddenly  become  “The weapon  of  choice” to create as much death and destruction  as possible . 

The people  who  were killed were from Argentina  and  Belgium  just biking on a path that a lot of New Yorkers use every day.

Among the injured were two children  on a school bus.

Besides ramming the truck into pedestrians and bicyclists ,  he also hit a school  bus.

Unlike the others who carried out these attacks in the name of “religion  “, the person who did this is in a New York  City  hospital.

As of right now, they don’t  have a reason why he chose  this particular  street  in New York  City  or why the city was a target again . 

I don’t  care what his reason was or why this seems  to  keep happening  everywhere  now.

I’ve gotten tired of  asking why.

START SPREADING THE NEWS – NEW YORK CITY , NEW YORK – A VISIT TO GOVERNOR’S ISLAND .

 

 

It’s  a  cloudy  day  here  in  New  York  City  as I  leave  my house  in Queens  for  a  30  Plus  Teams  Tour  of  New York  City .

I’m  taking  a  day trip  to  Governor’s  Island .

People  do work  here until  October  or so ,  but the majority  of  us can only  get there  by  ferry  from  Lower Manhattan  , also  until October .

I was born  in  and raised  in  the  city ,  but I  never really  knew anything  about this  island  that  sits in  the  East  River.

When I  returned  to  New York  City  in 2010 ,  I  still  had no desire  to  see Governor’s  Island .

After  all ,  if you’ve  seen  one  island ,  you’ve  seen  them  all.

Sort  of .

Now that  I’m  back in New York  City  with  oh  so  much  time  on  my hands, I  figured  why not  visit  Governor’s  Island ?

They make  it  oh so very  easy  to  get  there .

There’s  two  ferries  that  can get you  there .

One is the  New York  Waterways  Ferry  where you  can  either  purchase  your  tickets  online  or at  the  Governor’s  Island  Ferry  Terminal ,  which  is  next  to  the  Staten  Island  Ferry  Terminal .

For  some  strange  reason ,  if you  buy  your  tickets  online ,  that doesn’t  guarantee  you  a seat  on the  ferry .

For the  New  York  Waterways  Ferry ,  the prices  are   $2 for  adults ,  $1  for  seniors ,  and it’s  free for children  under 13 as well as those  who hold a  card that’s  called  the  NYC ID ,  which is  only  available  to  those  of  us  who live  in  the  five boroughs .

(  Thank  you  for  thinking  about  us, Mayor  DiBlasio ! )

There’s  also  another  Governor’s  Island  Ferry, which  happens  to  cost zilch, nada, that’s  right ,  free.

This  particular  ferry runs a little more often than  the  New York  Waterways  Ferry .

Guess  which  one I’m  getting  on at 9am ?

The  ride  is very calming ,  even though  I’m  not at all  a ferry  person .

On the  ride back, though ,  I was brave  enough  to  sit  on  the  top and watch the waves ripple ,  along with  a  couple  of  other  passengers .

When you  get off the  ferry ,  which  is only  a  seven  minute  ride, by the  way ,  there it is .

No, not  just  Governor’s  Island ,  but part of  the  skyline  of Lower Manhattan  is right  behind  you  across  the  water .

Most prominently  in the  skyline  is  One  World  Observatory .

It’s  beginning  to  rain ,  but  now  that  I’m  here ,  there’s  no  turning  back  now .

I’ve  never  seen  Governor’s  Island  before  and I’m  not  going  to  blow my chance now because  of  a few raindrops .

Do  you  remember  in high  school  reading  about  how the  Indians  sold the Island  of  Manhattan  to the  Dutch to what  basically  would  be   $24  now?

This  is  the place where they did  it, although  it wasn’t  known  as  Governor’s  Island  then.

It became  that name  when the  British  took  over  New  York  and  established  this  area  for  the  royal  governors  of New York .

Walking  around  some  of  the  buildings  reminded  me  of  some  of  the  colonial  style  houses  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia .

Looking  at  two  of  the  buildings ,  Fort  Jay  and  Castle  Williams  confuse  me just  a  little  bit .

Am  I  doing  a 30  Plus  Teams  Tour  of  New  York  City  or Baltimore ?

Both  of  these  forts  look  so  similar  to  Fort  McHenry  in  Baltimore  that  it’s  really  hard  to  tell  them  apart .

If you  happen  to  go  to  either  place ,  you’ll  see  what  I  mean .

All three  of  these  places  were  built  to  defend  the  United  States  from  the  British  and  their  allies  during  the  War  of  1812 .

Even  though  it’s  now  a steadier  rain ,  I’m  really  getting  my exercise  here .

There’s  not  that  many  cars or bikes  around ,  but  just  like  me ,  people  are walking ,  admiring  the  view .

Wait  a minute ! !

What is  that  in the  distance ?

It’s  Lady  Liberty  and far  off to  the  right  it’s  Ellis  Island .

I  didn’t  realize  how  close  it is  to Liberty  Island  either .

(  Liberty  Island  is going  to  be  another  stop  on my  30  Plus  Teams  Tour  of  New  York  City ,  but  not  today . )

Governor’s  Island  is  technically  considered  part of  Manhattan  and while  it’s  just  a  small  part of the  borough  of  Manhattan ,  visiting  Governor’s  Island  is a great  way  to  pass an  hour  or  two  right  in  the  shadow  of  Lower  Manhattan .