Escaping New York City

For the last 431 days, I have been an NYU student living in New York City. Aside from the occasional trips back home to California, I’ve officially been residing in this city for almost a year and a half. It has been a beautiful 431 days: exploring Manhattan, venturing into Brooklyn, eating at unbeatable restaurants, seeing Broadway shows, shopping in SoHo, Citi biking around town. It has been 431 days of essentially anything a young person could dream up, and more. But it has also been a challenging 431 days -adjusting to an urban environment, constant safety concerns that come with living in a big city, busy lifestyle, incessant street noise, impatient New Yorkers never paying any attention to the people around them. In this city, something is happening at every moment of every day and all we can do is keep up. 

The weariness that comes with living in this city has been apparent to me since about day 83– Thanksgiving time of 2021. I had spent my first Thanksgiving break of college in Texas for a Bar Mitzvah with my giant, complicated but loveable Houstonian Jewish family. While this may sound like a hectic trip for most people, for a child of the suburbs who had just spent 83 days alone in the middle of New York City, this Thanksgiving-Bar Mitzvah extravaganza felt like the most tranquil, rejuvenating trip of my life. That Belaire suburb that we spent the week in had houses, and pools, and big trees, and large, overgrown lawns, and family-sized cars on the roads, and empty cul-de-sacs to hang out in. It was glorious. I had missed the leisurely pace and the ease of being in a suburban town. I had missed the quiet and the calm. 

I am now 62 days into my sophomore year and can assuredly say that most of that longing for the still suburban lifestyle has subsided. This semester has been fast, fun and not for the faint of heart. The days have been jam-packed with classes, long hours of studying, and the adventures of a19-year-old’s New York City experience. What has not completely subsided, however, are the spurts of mental and physical exhaustion that arise every so often as a result of this lifestyle. Day 42 of sophomore year was when I began to see this exhaustion in people other than myself. One Friday night in October after agreeing to go out with some friends, I decided it was not a good idea for me given the mental and physical state I was in from the long week. I texted a friend, suggesting that we stay at my place for a game night instead. Thinking she was going to be gung-ho for a Friday night out in the city, I ended the text by saying: “but if you feel strongly about going out, I could maybe be convinced.” The overwhelming relief that my text had brought her was evident in her response back that read: “NO. NO. IT’S PERFECT. THAT SOUNDS PERFECT.” Woah, I thought. It said a lot that just the suggestion of a night in sounded that desirable to her. So we stayed in playing games, hanging out, charging our drained urban batteries. 

One morning a few days later, I was ripped out of a restful sleep at 7am. The sound that woke me had initially seeped its way into my dream, but my mind quickly registered that those irksome sounds of jack hammering, concrete being thrown against more concrete, and what sounded like the sirens of every fire truck belonging to the New York Fire Department were coming from outside my bedroom window. The sound, which could only really be described as a fake television sound effect of city streets, had also managed to wake my roommate. Across the room from one another, we both shot up in bed, looked towards the window in disbelief, then looked at each other, breaking out in the only appropriate reaction for this moment: pure laughter at the absurdity of the moment. We were so worn out that this New York City-style wake up call was comical to us. Once the laughter dwindled but the sounds persisted, my roommate groaned, flopped her body against the bed, and concealed her head under a pillow to block out the world around her. As amusing as it was, it was another moment that made me think Woah, she’s really exhausted. It began to dawn on me that it really can be a challenge to live in this beloved New York City sometimes. The realities of living here are radically different from how the media portrays the glitzy, glamorous lifestyle of New York City this “concrete jungle dreams are made of.”  I decided on that loud, aggravating morning that it was time to figure out how to make this life the most rich, tranquil and sustainable I can while living in this beautiful mess of a city. For the next week, I decided to investigate the best, least expensive, and most accessible remedies for de-stressing and escaping in New York City. Here is what I discovered: 

Roosevelt Island, a small island under 2 miles long sandwiched in between midtown Manhattan and southern Queens, is a wildly underappreciated relaxation destination. Roosevelt Island felt most like an “escape” from the city out of all of my destinations. As a separated island that is detached from Manhattan, Roosevelt Island visitors can either take the F train, the Roosevelt Island Ferry, or the Roosevelt Island Tram. During my visit I, of course, had to check out the tram. The tram ride, which takes an astonishingly short four minutes, was a whimsical and stunning form of transportation with incredible views of Manhattan on one side, and the Roosevelt Island Bridge on the other. Upon my arrival, I headed straight for the island’s Abandoned Smallpox Hospital that I had heard so much about. Now open to the public for exploration, this abandoned hospital is a “naturified” restoration of America’s very first Smallpox hospital. Although slightly eerie, the abandoned building has been turned into an astonishing, open-roof, castle-like structure that is filled with trees inside and out, and dripping with ivy from the outside. It was unlike anything I have seen around New York City, and is a great and relaxing place to explore for anyone who is seeking an escape from the typical concrete and brick that we see all around us. 

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park occupies the entire southern tip of Roosevelt Island. This park is considered a nature conservancy, and according to the conservancy’s website, it is a “four-acre memorial to FDR that celebrates the Four Freedoms (religion, speech, press, and assembly) that he articulated in his 1941 State of the Union address.” The colossal concrete staircase leading up to the eye-catching FDR statue that sits on the long field looks like something you might see in Washington D.C., not New York City. The lawn, stretching down to the most southern part of the island, has up-close, beachy-looking views of the Roosevelt Island Reef in the East River. The Four Freedoms State Park makes for an incomparable spot for wandering and restoration in the city. 

Prospect Park is an easily accessible park in Brooklyn, specifically in the Park Slope area. Designed by Central Park architect Frederick Olmstead, it is Brooklyn’s miniature version of Central Park, and is an unbeatable spot for relaxation and escaping the city. Intended to get lost in, just like Central Park, Prospect Park has many unique spots along its walking paths like The Ravine– a waterfall that sits in the heart of one of Prospect Park’s many dense forests. The sounds of the Ravine can be heard from afar, and part of its therapeutic nature is in the journey visitors take following the sounds of the rushing water to the source itself. I found the Ravine to be the perfect place for quiet meditation, reading, sketching, or just one beautiful stop on a walk through Prospect Park.

Long Meadow in Prospect Park mimics the Great Lawn at Central Park. A giant, green, open field, Long Meadow is a wonderful spot for all types of outdoor activities. When I visited, many people on the lawn were strolling around the perimeter, stopping to sit on the benches sprinkled around and resting underneath some of the many gigantic trees along the lawn’s border. With the vast and expansive open land, the lawn has a much different feel to it than the urban neighborhood that surrounds it. Visitors of Long Meadow do not have to come within 30 feet of one another, allowing for a much needed escape from the crammed New York City street that we grow so used to. If you go between 6am - 9am, or 9pm - 1am, you may be able to witness Long Meadow’s dog off-leash hours. There’s nothing more restorative than nature, open space and frolicking puppies! 

Having a fairly hidden street entrance, The Elevated Acre is a quiet and secluded raised green space atop a building in the heart of the Financial District. The lawn is surrounded by tall buildings on three sides, blocking out the sounds from below. All that can be heard from this verdant hideout is the light hum of cars on the FDR Drive, and the breeze blowing from the River brushing through the foliage that lines the lawn. The fourth side, open and facing east, provides striking views of the River and the Brooklyn skyline. Beside myself and the small groups of business people taking their lunch breaks and soaking up the sun, the Acre remained nearly empty during my trip there and I was able to find sunny and shaded spots on the lawn, as well as at tables and benches hidden in the surrounding shrubbery. Being a 40 minute walk, or 20 minute subway ride from campus, the Acre feels removed from the chaos of the Village and has free wifi, food trucks and coffee shops all around, making it a great place for working, reading, stretching, or socializing. 

The Cop Cot, which sits in the center of the southern border of Central Park, is a lush gazebo-like structure made from wood that emulates New York’s upstate mountain ranges. Rich in leaves and branches, the Cop Cot blends in with its surroundings, almost appearing camouflaged and unrecognizable to passersby that do not know about the structure. Two large semi-circles of benches have been placed inside the Cop Cot making it a conducive space for reading, working, or meditating. The thick coat of shrubbery on top, and even dropping down the sides of the structure, gives it a shady and concealed feeling from within. Its location in Central Park– a park designed by Frederick Olmstead with the intention of making city people get lost in nature– makes The Cop Cot a wonderful space for a moment of mindfulness on your aimless, wandering trip through Central Park. 

The Pond at Central Park flows from the south-east corner of the park, up the eastern border, providing quick and easy access from the 59th Street subway station at Grand Army Plaza. Measuring 1,826 feet long, there are a plethora of seating options, as well as a walking path, along the entire border of The Pond. Although The Pond attracts a lot of Central Park visitors, the very non-urban, naturey feeling that The Pond and its surrounding area provides makes up for the crowds. The Pond is one of the best spots in Central Park for a short stroll with gorgeous sights including the Gapstow Bridge above, as pictured, or a sitting spot for reading and relaxation. 

The Hallett Nature Sanctuary, also located at the south-east corner of Central Park, is a four-acre green space that overlooks The Pond. The sanctuary is much more hidden and secluded than the other landmark locations in Central Park, and it offers visitors a winding walking path through a wide variety of native nature. When I visited, it was just me and the plants stretching as far into the sanctuary as I could see. Being so closed in and surrounded by giant trees and shrubbery, the sanctuary is extremely quiet. This is the perfect spot of a refreshing stroll or necessary one-on-one time with nature. 

St. Marks Yoga is the spot for anyone in the Village area looking for a time and a place to practice mindfulness and reconnect. The quaint, Vinyasa-style yoga studio is in the heart of the East Village at 12 St. Marks Place. The location is extraordinarily convenient, the space is charming in a New York City studio type of way, and the best part of this place is that classes cost $10. They hold basic yoga classes, as well as some pilates classes throughout the day starting from 8am and running until 8pm. It is a great relaxation option for busy students in the area. Next time you are feeling physically or mentally disjointed from the demanding New York City lifestyle, try out a class at St. Marks Yoga.