Exploring NYC at Age 9
“I think that George was a big help with navigating the big city and he showed me and my parents a lot that we would not have known about if we were on our own. ”
Here are some of the things that were really fun.
He took us to the Staten Island Ferry, which was unique because of the amazing views and awesome pictures that we got to take.
He showed us around Chinatown, which was cool because of all the great food and places to shop.
We all went to a place called Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles, which was delicious.
While we were walking I saw a ton of cool gift shops with T-shirts to keychains.
Cormac and his parents, Aaron and Sara, had traveled to NYC from their home in a small town on California’s Central Coast.
Aaron explained that he and Sara wanted Cormac to experience an urban environment very different from where he is growing up. Big Apple Greeter volunteer George Lopez was delighted to have the chance to introduce New York to a child, and suggested starting the Greet with a ride on the Staten Island Ferry.
After the hour-long round trip to Staten Island, George and his visitors planned to spend a few hours exploring Lower Manhattan.
As with many Greets, plans changed when the city had something else in mind. The group stopped to watch several men putting on a show outside the ferry terminal. A big crowd gathered to take in incredible acrobatics and break-dancing moves. Within a few minutes, one of the performers had pulled Cormac from the onlookers and invited him to become part of the show. After some whispered instructions, Cormac mirrored a few of the performers’ moves before demonstrating his cartwheeling skills and earning $20 from the bag of tips that the performers had accumulated during their shows.
The Greet resumed with a walk up Broadway and a quick visit to Wall Street and the Financial District, where they saw the New York Stock Exchange; the Charging Bull sculpture, representing financial optimism and prosperity; and the Fearless Girl statue, erected to celebrate and promote gender diversity in the finance industry.
From there it wasn’t far to lunch at Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles on Doyers Street in Chinatown. A short, curved street, Doyers Street was once known as the “Bloody Angle” or “Murder Alley” because of the number of gang-related killings that took place there in the early 20th century. In addition to restaurants and tea rooms, the street now offers barber shops, hair stylists, and the Chinatown branch of the US Postal Service.
After lunch, George accompanied the family to their next stop in Midtown, leaving Cormac with a memorable first day in the Big Apple.
“I really liked how George shared his love of the city, which helped me love the city more too! He was not just like a tour guide; he was like a new friend! Now I really want to come back and see him again. Hopefully next time he can show me and my parents a different part of the city. Thank you, George! ”