Category: New York City

charity, community, New York City

Inspired: What I learned about hunger in New York City from Total cereal and a baby stroller

Christa Avampato

“Do you think you could help us get a few things to eat at that grocery store until our food stamps for the month come in?” An elderly man pushing a baby in a stroller whispered this question to me two blocks from my apartment. After so many years in New York, I’ve grown used to people asking for help on the streets. So used to it that I can now *almost* get out a “sorry” with a smile and be on my way without feeling nauseous. Almost.

But this man was different. I’m not sure if it was his phrasing, tone of voice, simple request, or the baby carriage that did it. I just couldn’t walk away from him without helping. I was carrying two boxes of Total cereal that I had just bought and I handed one to him. “Does this help?” I asked. “It sure does,” he said with a smile. His cracked gold tooth gleamed in the late morning sun.

He’s haunting me now, even though I did help him. A box of cereal wasn’t enough. I know that. What he really needs is a job, a source of income that eliminates his need to beg at all, gets him off of food stamps, and helps him contribute whatever talents he has to the world. That’s a dignity we all deserve. I don’t have that job for him so all I could do in that moment was hand him a box of cereal. It feels woefully inadequate to look into another person’s eyes, see their need, and realize we can’t meet it. It leaves a hole, a crack in my well-crafted New York City armor, and perhaps that is the crack where the light will enter. Thanks, Leonard Cohen. I’m beginning to hear your Anthem.

New York City, time

Inspired: Enjoy Your Rest This Summer

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the blue sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ~ Sir John Lubbock, The Use of Life

I recently returned from vacation and this quote ran through my mind every day as I wondered if I was taking too much time away from my work. I got back to New York City refreshed, rejuvenated, and raring to go. Rest gave me confidence, courage, and perspective. Have you taken a break this summer? I whole-heartedly recommend it. It does a body, mind, and heart good.

action, art, change, New York City

Inspired: Time for a Fresh Start

Christa Avampato

We don’t have to wait for a new year or even a new day to make a change. We’re afforded the opportunity at every moment to turn it all around. Thanks for the reminder, New York City street art.

art, New York City

Inspired: Artist Kara Walker Gives the Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn a Proper Farewell

Christa Avampato

My friend, Ria, and I trekked to Williamsburg to see artist Kara Walker’s insanely cool installation at the abandoned Domino Sugar Refinery. With the rich scent of molasses hanging in the air and thickly caked on the walls, we stood in awe of Walker’s sphinx made of styrofoam and 80 tons (!) of sugar.

There’s something eerie about abandoned spaces. At one time, it was the largest sugar refinery in the world. We could hear and feel the souls of people who toiled long, exhausting hours in that space from 1882 until 2004, when it was shuttered.

Walker is known for her provocative work that reflects her deep contemplation about gender, race, and the horrors of slavery. Her emotions are raw and her judgements swift. She never sugarcoats her opinions, which makes this exhibit all the more ironic. It runs through July 6th when it will be demolished as most of site is leveled to make way for a new multi-use development. For those who can’t get to Brooklyn to see it, here’s the exhibit through my lens:

change, home, New York City

Inspired: Movin’ On Up to the East Side

Christa Avampato
A typical block on the Upper East Side
A typical block on the Upper East Side

Today Phin and I will be movin’ on up in the true style of the Jeffersons. We’ll trek across the park to the Upper East Side to sublet from our lovely, kind, and incredibly generous friend, AraBella. After reading about our heinous apartment search via Facebook, she took pity on us after one hell of a crazy experience that showed me just how brutal the New York City real estate market has become. We’re so incredibly grateful to her!

New York City is changing a lot; I’m changing a lot. I never thought I’d want to own real estate. Now I know being a homeowner of some kind, somewhere, is in my future. Being at the mercy of a landlord every year is just not the way I want to live anymore. So now the question is where will this home be, and when will I get there. I have no idea what the answer is but at least I am clear on the question, and that’s half the battle, right?

In the meantime, Phin and I have a lot of exploring to do. We’re going to have to find our way around and develop some new routines. He’ll come through it like a champ; he always does. Me? Well, that remains to be seen. I’m going to let him lead. He’s got a better (and bigger) nose than I do. Luckily, we have a number of friends in our new neck of the woods and we’re hoping they will give us the inside scoop on everything wonderful around our new digs.

Here’s to change and everything that it has to teach us!

home, New York City

Inspired: Goodbye to the Upper West Side of Manhattan

Christa Avampato
Our favorite blocks on the Upper West Side look like this

The Upper West Side of Manhattan has been my home for almost 7 years and I have loved it here. The community, the peace, the people. It was always my dream to live in this neighborhood. This was always my New York. I learned so much here, about myself and about the world. This is a time that I will always be grateful for, a time that I will always remember with a lot of affection. It wasn’t always easy, though I wouldn’t trade a day of it for anything. As my friend, Moya, recently said, “This is the end of an era.” She’s right.

Of course, I’ll be back. I still teach my yoga class for seniors over here every week. I have a feeling Phin might continue to want to trot over here on our walks now and then to say hi to our old building’s staff with whom he shares a close bond—mostly because they adore him and he loves the treats they always have for him! However, it won’t ever be the same. I’m closing the book on this chapter, and there’s some sadness in that. I’m comfortable here. I love my life here. If I could, I’d stay. But I can’t, so I won’t. I’ll miss it, a lot. I miss it already.

To be honest, I’m not ready. And to be even more honest, the universe doesn’t care that I’m not ready. It’s decided that I will start a new journey now and it won’t tell me exactly where I’m going. Just that I’m taking a trip.

Alright, universe. I hear you. I’ll go. Show me what it is you have to show me. Teach me what it is you have to teach me. In your own twisted way, you’ll lead me to exactly the place I’m meant to be. Just let Phin and I take one more spin around this afternoon. Let us walk by all our favorite haunts and greet all our neighbors as we’ve done so many times for so many years.

Thanks for the memories, Upper West Side. We’ve loved playing our part in your history, and we’ve loved having you as a part of ours. It’s a place we will not soon forget.

apartment, finance, housing, money, New York, New York City, real estate

Inspired: My New York State of Mind

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

I love New York, right down to my bones. However, housing prices are out of control. It is time to completely disrupt real estate here to spur creativity, innovation, and a rebirth of art and culture. New York is losing its edge because the people with edge can’t afford sky-high rents and the ridiculous hurdles to getting an apartment. That’s why my latest projects, still in the very preliminary stages, are two tiny drops in what I hope will be a sea change for this city that I love so much. They’re ideas to encourage and support the boldest, most creative people in their pursuits to do well and do good right here in the Big Apple by making housing much more affordable and easier to attain. More details soon…

apartment, home, New York City, real estate

Inspired: Transforming the New York City Residential Real Estate Market

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“Are you willing to give up your dog?” This is just one of the hideous comments a real estate broker recently asked me during my search for a new apartment. That’s all the motivation I needed to take action. New York City real estate market, your days as an inhumane, cold-hearted beast are numbered so enjoy them while they last. I’m changing you, like it or not, and New Yorkers are going to be so much better off for it. I’m on a mission, and you really don’t want to mess with me when I’m on a mission. You may get me down but you are never going to count me out. You may be tough, but I am tougher.

change, home, moving, New York City

Inspired: A New Home Will Give Me New Eyes

Christa Avampato
Likely to be my new view of NYC from my new neighborhood. Not bad, eh?
Likely to be my new view of NYC from my new neighborhood. Not bad, eh?

“In the choice to let go of your known way of being, the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.” ~ Danna Faulds, Go In and In: Poems from the Heart of Yoga

No one ever said that letting go was easy. In a little more than a month I’ll be in a new apartment, probably in a new neighborhood in a different borough, and all my patterns will be turned upside down after spending almost 7 years on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

There will be plenty of good things about this change, and there will be plenty of things that make it feel uncomfortable and foreign. I’ll be a stranger in my own life for a while and there’s no getting around that. I’ll see my beloved city from a new vantage point, literally and figuratively.

I’m a bit in denial and also very excited for the newness, the adventure, and the exploration. I’ve decided that I’ll find some way to celebrate all of it – the good, the bad, and the confusing. I’ll laugh and smile and marvel at the fact that I’m still just as capable of turning my life upside down as I was 20 years ago, letting the chips fall where they may, and reveling in it all.

We all need a good shake-up now and then. Perhaps I’ve had more than my fair share, though I wouldn’t change any of them. I’ve never regretted change; the changes are what have made my life what it is and for that I am very grateful.

nature, New York City, season, Spring

Inspired: Spring, You’re Here!

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

We have been waiting for you, Spring, with open arms. Welcome. Please stay as long as you’d like. I can’t wait until you’ve decorated Central Park to look like this picture. Ah…..the beauty.