I was born in New York City and lived in the East Village for most of my life, including through all of the extremes of the 1960’s. To me, though, New York is all about the performing arts. All types – from Opera at the Met to the bars on Avenue A. It’s why young people all over the world arrive every day to study and perform there.
New York is quite literally alive. It is in constant motion – back in the 60’s if you happened to be on St. Marks Place at 4 AM in the summer, there were still crowds of people hanging out. It’s also in motion because the people are always moving – it’s a great place to walk from one neighborhood to another and experience the differences.
Restaurants were open 24 hours a day in the 60s. One of my favorites was Ratner’s which was also a bakery. No one baked onion rolls like theirs. It was a huge place that was known for it’s dairy meals and wise-cracking waiters. It was right next door to the Fillmore East so it was always mobbed after the shows. I saw the Grateful Dead perform there early in their career.
If you walked west a few blocks, you’d be at Washington Square Park, another place that, whenever you’d walk by, always had groups of young people hanging out. This was where all of the folk singers met and played. And a little west of that is Bleeker Street where many of the coffee houses and folk cafes were located.
It’s how we spent our time – each weekend walking to a different area of the city to hear a new artist perform. It was the best time to live there.
