One World Observatory

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 .
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