The Upper East Side was slowly developing during the Civil War years. East 58th Street, between Second and Third Avenues saw the construction of modest row houses clad in brick or brownstone that coexisted with earlier more rural-type houses.
During the war the Wallack family lived at No. 246 East 58th Street, described by The New York Times as “a three-story brick” house, 20 feet wide. Young Joseph was attending New York City College in 1866.
The house, expectedly, would see the comings and goings of several owners. In 1905 Simon A Nies transferred the title to Babbette Brody. She paid $3,750 for the building. Shortly thereafter the it would become home to the Cohn family for decades. Michael and Amelia Cohn had four children in the house, Nathan, Rose, Bella and Isaac. Members of the family would occupy the house until the late 1930s. In 1941 it was divided into 15 furnished rented rooms.
By the late 1950s the vintage house sat empty and neglected. In September 1960 The New York Times (which once deemed the building brick) reported the “vacant brownstone house” was sold for $65,000 in cash. “The buyers plan to convert [it] to store and commercial space.”
The building would survive for nearly three more decades. It was variously home to Ellsworth& Goldie Galleries, dealers in modern paintings, sculpture and prints; Fabrications, an interior decorating store; and Mira-X International Furnishings.
In the meantime, architect Paul Marvin Rudolph had established himself on the cutting edge of Modernist design. In 1989 he and close friend Ernst Wagner purchased No. 246. Rudolph envisioned a transformation that would result in rental apartments—unlike any seen in New York City. In recent years Rudolph’s major commissions had been outside of the United States, primarily in Asia, due to consistent derision of his works by other American architects. The residential-retail structure at No. 246 East 58th Street would be his last New York work.
Paul Rudolph’s original concept called for a taller structure. Subsequent zoning changes resulted in the reduced size. courtesy PRF
The old house was dismantled and a new steel structure began rising. Brilliant in comprehending the play of light, shadow and shape, Rudolph reportedly worked on scores of studies for the façade of the little building. Interior as well as exterior details were honed to the smallest detail; resulting in a 14-year construction process.
Six years into the project, in December 1995 while in Mexico City, Rudolph first evidenced troubling symptoms. Within two months he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer resultant from exposure to asbestos. On August 8, 1997 Rudolph died before seeing the building completed.
Finally finished in 2003, the structure houses a two-story retail space below two duplex apartments. Today the residential areas are home to Ernst Wagner. The headquarters of the Paul Rudolph Foundation are housed in on a separate office level.
photo courtesy PRF
A ceiling beam disappears into a void rather than disrupt the visual motion of the space’s lines — photo courtesy PRF
Somewhat amazingly, the architectural gem—Paul Rudolph’s last Manhattan work—is little known by most New Yorkers. Hidden on a side street far from Midtown the mostly overlooked building deserve a detour.
THIS WONDERFUL BUILDING WAS JUST DESIGNATED A NEW YORK CITY LANDMARK BY THE LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION. JUST A BLOCK SOUTH OF THE TRAM, TAKE A LOOK AS YOU PASS BY.
New York circa 1903. “New York Times building under construction.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit … globbed around it. Though I have been there a few times, didn’t realize the building was that narrow. A famous unknown … building. [One side note — when it opened, 1 Times Square was the second tallest building in Manhattan (after the Park Row …
New York, 1937. “TimesSquare with Father Duffy statue still wrapped up.” Sculptor Charles Keck’s … Walker Evans for a time. Still there but boy has TimesSquare changed View Larger Map Storied character
… York, New York. Looking north south on Broadway at TimesSquare.” Acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. …
New York, March 1943. “TimesSquare on a rainy day.” Medium-format nitrate negative by John Vachon for the … not the Flatiron Building. Which is taller, and not on TimesSquare. –
New York’s 43rd Street, just off TimesSquare, circa 1950. “Hotel Dixie — 700 rooms, each with bath and radio.” Not … New York . Rooms with Radios New York Times, November 10, 1950. Furnished Rooms—West Side …
New York, June 6, 1944. ALLIED ARMIES LAND ON COAST OF FRANCE. GREAT INVASION OF CONTINENT BEGINS. “D-Day. Crowd watching the news line on the New York Times building at Times Square.” Photo by Howard Hollem or Edward Meyer for the Office of War Information.
June 1951. “Times Square street scene.” Now playing at the New York Theatre: Skipalong Rosenbloom. 35mm acetate negative by Angelo Rizzuto.
Taken in New York City on May 10, 1953 by Peter Jingeleski.
On Christmas Day 1934, just a year after ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment which repealed Prohibition, the refurbished Earl Carroll Theatre on 7th Avenue and 50th Street opened as the French Casino.
It was a glittering Art Deco showpiece with walls draped in black velvet and established a reputation as Manhattan’s most lavish nightclub.
Associated with the club was the name of Clifford Fischer, the producer of grand cabaret-restaurant revues with spectacular novelty acts. His Montmartre-styled shows were both fashionable at the time and a reflection of his background. Born in Belgium in 1882, he was the son of a purveyor of horses to the Belgian Army.
Having spent some time in London, he settled in Manhattan and began his career as a booking agent by joining the William Morris Agency (started in 1898 by the German-Jewish immigrant Zelman Moses). Fischer brought various European acts to America, including Charlie Chaplin, the Scottish singer Harry Lauder and the French actress Sarah Bernhardt.
In 1936 Fischer booked a Dutch Jewish multi-lingual singer who had made a name for himself in The Netherlands and in London to appear at the Casino. It would be the start of an astonishing career.
Yiddish New York
Yiddish is a language once spoken in an area spreading from Alsace to the Urals. The exodus of East European Jews to New York City put the language in the spotlight. At the turn of the twentieth century more than two million Jewish immigrants spoke Yiddish. Newspapers served as vehicles of social emancipation by publishing serialized novels, sketches and essays in the language.
The stage played a crucial role in that process. New York City’s Yiddish theatre began in The Bowery in the early 1880s and later flourished on Manhattan’s Second Avenue, the “Yiddish Broadway.”
As the last great wave of these arrivals landed at Ellis Island in the 1920s, radio was beginning its ascent in American culture. By the early 1930s, Yiddish radio flourished.
In New York City alone, 23 stations broadcast dramas, variety programs, music, interviews and political commentary. The process of Jewish acculturation in New York City was pushed forward through the institutions of the Yiddish language.
Yiddish culture was not confined to Jewish circles. It made an impact on a much wider circle of Anglo-American music lovers and concertgoers. The 1930s saw a rage for Jewish musicians and singers, both in London and New York City.
Such was the popularity of dance band leader Joe Loss that his 1938 wedding at London’s Central Synagogue was covered by Pathe News as crowds thronged the nearby streets to catch a glimpse of proceedings.
One of the world’s best-known Yiddish theatre song “Bei Mir Bist Du Schein” was originally composed by Ukrainian-born Sholem Secunda (with words by Romanian-born songwriter Jacob Jacobs) for a Yiddish musical comedy at the Parkway Theatre, Brooklyn, in 1932.
Broadway lyricist Sammy Cahn bought the rights and rewrote the words in English, whilst preserving the chorus in Yiddish. His version of the song was turned into a smash hit in 1937 by the Andrews Sisters.
When Clifford Fischer signed Leo Fuld to appear in the French Casino in 1936 he was acutely aware of the musical trends of the day. Yiddish was in vogue.
Rotterdam and London
Singer Lazarus “Leo” Fuld was born on October 29, 1912, in Rotterdam into a large and poor Jewish family. His father was a market trader; his mother a very religious person. In the synagogue young Leo stood out as a singer. Having learned the songs of the chazzan, he seemed destined to become a cantor.
After leaving high school he received a scholarship to study at Amsterdam’s Dutch-Israeli Seminary, but he did not complete his studies. He preferred secular dance music and started work as a singing waiter in café De Cool on the Kruiskade in the center of Rotterdam.
In September 1931 he moved to Amsterdam to take up a job at the Tip Top cinema in the city’s Jewish heartland where variety artists performed in between the showing of films. The audience loved his voice.
He made his Dutch radio debut being introduced by the Jewish revue star Louis Davids, Holland’s most famous performer at the time. For a year Fuld could be heard live on radio, sometimes several times a week.
In 1932 he traveled to London to audition for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Contracted for ten sessions, he became the first Dutch singer ever behind a BBC microphone.
He made his stage debut in the capital at the Mile End Empire, Mile End Road. His talent was spotted by bandleader Jack Hylton, the “British King of Jazz”, who has been credited for bringing Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and other jazz giants to Europe during the 1930s.
Hylton signed the nineteen-year-old Fuld to a three-year contract with his celebrated band which resulted in engagements in every important theater in the British Isles and the Continent. In September 1933, Fuld made his first recordings for the Odeon label in Berlin.
The song expressed a bittersweet nostalgic emotion that would have rung true to audiences of immigrant and second-generation Jews (its lyricist Jack Yellen had himself arrived as a child from Poland in the United States).
When Hitler came to power in 1933, the lyric was banned by the Nazis (and sung in concentration camps by victims of the Holocaust).
Manhattan
Fuld added a several Yiddish and Hebrew lyrics to his repertoire that attracted a wide audience, including “Rosinkes mit Mandeln” (Raisins and Almonds), a traditional Jewish lullaby arranged by Ukraine-borm Abraham Goldfaden for his 1880 Yiddish musical Shulamis (Al Jolson attended the Casino every night at “five to ten” just to catch Fuld’s rendition of the song).
Fuld’s performances at the French Casino were followed by engagements at the prestigious Paramount Theatre, Broadway (famous for the largest theater organ ever built by the Wurlitzer Company), which turned the singer into a star with a growing number of celebrity admirers.
In 1938 his temporary visa ran out and he had to return from Manhattan to Rotterdam where he re-applied for an immigration visa. After a series of concerts in the Netherlands, Fuld left the country in February 1940 on the last boat back to New York before the Nazi invasion on May 10, 1940.
Four days later the Luftwaffe destroyed large parts of Rotterdam. Most of the city’s Jews were deported and perished in Nazi death camps.
Staying at the Mayflower Hotel overlooking Central Park, Fuld teamed up with Dutch-American writer and historian Hendrik Willem van Loon (also born in Rotterdam) and the exiled Jewish orchestra leader Max Tak, providing radio broadcasts from Manhattan intended for the Netherlands and the then East Indies.
News of what was happening to Jews in Europe gradually reached the United States. When Leo learned that almost his entire family had been murdered (only one sister survived the Holocaust), he was no longer able to face an audience and stopped performing.
He used his talent for writing and quickly became a sought-after writer on Broadway. He also produced a musical comedy called Fun for Your Money with which he toured all over the country. For a while he ran an Israeli nightclub and restaurant named Café Sahbra at 253 West 72d Street.
Fuld experienced both the height of Yiddish culture in New York City and its imminent decline. The flow of Yiddish speakers to America had stemmed, while many earlier arrivals turned away from its reach as they assimilated in society. UNESCO has recently put Yiddish on the list of definitely endangered languages.
Amsterdam and Paris
Fuld returned to the Netherlands in 1948, by then an American citizen. His Jewish audience there had almost entirely disappeared, but upon arrival thousands of people greeted him with acclaim. He was offered a contract to sing again.
He had not performed for five years, but his daily performances in Amsterdam’s stylish Tuschinski theatre (with its iconic Wurlitzer organ) were sold out weeks in advance. Reinvigorated, he went on to work at the London Casino and London Palladium.
Invitations to sing arrived from all over the world. Performing in Paris, he visited a small cabaret club where he heard a survivor from the Warsaw ghetto singing a Yiddish tango that moved him deeply: “Wo Ahin Soll Ich Geh’n.”
Composed by the Latvian composer Oskar Strock with words by the Polish poet Igor Korntayer (who was murdered in Auschwitz), Fuld adapted the lyric in English and recorded it under the title “Where Can I Go?” for the Decca label.
The song took America by storm. Fuld sang it on television shows hosted by Milton Berle, Perry Como and Frank Sinatra. The lyric was also recorded by great singers such as Ray Charles and Steve Lawrence. Billy Holiday was one of Fuld’s loyal fans.
Having resumed his professional career, the circle of admirers widened. He performed in New York, Hollywood, Chicago, Miami, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago.
Having shared the stage for ten weeks with Edith Piaf at the famous Théâtre de l’ABC on Boulevard Poissonnière, Paris, Fuld attracted a substantial French following. He encouraged young Charles Aznavour to persist in chasing his dream as a performer.
The chansonnier repaid his debt of gratitude by writing “l’Émigrant” for Fuld, a song for which he was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque in 1954.
The Arab World
Fuld’s presence was paradoxical. Although his work was strongly Jewish and related to the diaspora, his performances appealed to broad audiences in Europe and the United States.
From a present-day perspective, it is – to put it mildly – surprising that a leading exponent of Yiddish song found an enthusiastic audience in the Arab world. Fuld sang for packed concert halls in Alexandria, Beirut, Casablanca, Algiers and Tunis.
When performing at the Auberge des Pyramides in Cairo (the club was a favorite with British officers and the city’s cosmopolitan elite during the war), his concert was attended by Egypt’s legendary singer and actress Umm Kulthum (also: Oum Kalthoum) who was dubbed as “Egypt’s Fourth Pyramid” and “Star of the East.” The daughter of an imam, she was astonished to hear Fuld sing in Arabic but preferred listening to his Yiddish songs.
Also present at the concert were Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Ambassador of Ethiopia. At the latter’s suggestion, Emperor Haile Selassie booked Fuld for his daughter’s wedding on April 26, 1942, at the Imperial Palace in Addis Ababa.
ad ever made.
Shortly after the album’s release Fuld died in Amsterdam, leaving a legacy of 500 recordings for 23 different labels, selling more than 250 million records. His extraordinary career is significant.
Overcoming linguistic barriers, Fuld’s musical language of emotion spoke to millions of listeners across all borders. It built bridges by connecting people and acknowledging cultural diversity. His music spread a message of shared humanity.
At one time an Arab version of “My Yiddishe Momme” served as a reminder that over history there had been many Jewish victims of persecution (forced conversions and pogroms) in Muslim countries too.
Illustrations, from above: Poster of the Yiddish Theatre exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, 2016 (detail); poster for the 1932 musical comedy that included the hit song “Bei Mir Bistu Shein” at Brooklyn’s Parkway Theatre; view of the cocktail lounge at the French Casino; and a young Salim Halali wearing a fez.
MAYA LEVANON-PHOTOS TIK TOK & INSTAGRAM
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THE RIHS VISITOR KIOSK WILL BE OPEN THIS WEEKEND FOR LAST MINUTE SHOPPING 12 TO 5 P.M.
Island friends gathered on Friday evening to celebrate the holiday in the warm, comfortable ambiance of Blackwell House.
The RIHS is happy to resume our use of Blackwell House as a site for programming and public events.
AFTER YEARS OF BEING DENIED ENTRY INTO BLACKWELL HOUSE, THE R.I.H.S. SPONSORED A POP-UP-SALE AND LIGHT REFRESHMENTS ON FRIDAY EVENING. MANY NEIGHBORS JOINED US, MOST OF WHOM HAD NEVER BEEN IN THE HOUSE. WHAT A WONDERFUL SURPRISE~!!
A STOCKING WAS HUNG BY THE FIREPLACE WITH CARE
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS WERE SERVED
A SELECTION OF MERCHANDISE WAS AVAILABLE
OUR TAPESTRY THROWS ARE SELLING FAST. TIME TO GET YOURS AT THE VISITOR CENTER KIOSK THIS WEEKEND.
OUR YOUNGEST VISITOR SURELY STILL BELIEVES IN SANTA CLAUS
PAUL AND CATHERINE RELAX ON THE SOFA, JUST LIKE A HOME LIVING ROOM
PER JUDY BERDY, JUST REQUEST A PERMIT FROM RIOC AND YOUR GROUP CAN USE THE HOUSE!!! THE RIHS USED THE HOUSE FOR MANY CELEBRATIONS YEARS AGO AND WE ARE THRILLED TO BE BACK.
WHAT A SURPRISE, WAS THE RESPONSE TO ENTERING THE HOUSE.
ELLEN AND LYDIA ENJOYED THE AMBIANCE
FRIDAYPHOTO OF THE DAY
EAST VIEW OF BLACKWELL HOUSE ABOUT 1915 ON A SNOWY DAY. ED LITCHER AND GLORIA HERMAN GOT IT RIGHT! EFFLER COLLECTION, RIHS
CREDITS
JUDITH BERDY
MAYA LEVANON-PHOTOS TIK TOK & INSTAGRAM
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
AFTER WATCHING ANDREW HASWELL GREEN PARK BE FINISHED, TODAY WAS THE DAY FOR THE GRAND OPENING OF THE PARK AND THE EAST MIDTOWN GREENWAY. THESE PHOTOS ARE FROM RECENT TRAM RIDES.
THE ALYCE AYCOCK SCULPTURE PAVILION HAS BEEN CLEANED AND REPLANTED
THE GREENWAY IS WIDE ENOUGH FOR A PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY AND A LANE FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES.
THE FINISHES ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM NYC PARKS USUAL DESIGNS
AS YOU WALK UNDER THE STRUCTURE FROM THE PARK TO THE PROMENADE, THE VASTNESS OF THE STRUCTURE IS EVIDENT.
THE GUESTS STARTED WALKING SOUTH AND ADMIRING THE VIEW OF A CERTAIN ISLAND.
A FIREBOAT JOINED IN THE CELEBRATION
PLUMES OF WATER SPRAYED HIGH INTO THE SKY
BOBBIE SLONEVSKY JOINED ME ON THIS OPENING DAY, WITH ITS FRIGID TEMPERATURES.
THE PAVING HAS AREAS OF DECORATIVE TILES INTERSPERSED ALONG WITH MARKERS FOR EACH STREET YOU ARE PASSING.
THE FDR DRIVE PASSES BELOW
YOU MUST STILL CONTEND WITH BIKES, RUNNERS AND DOGS. WE NOTICED THE BIKERS HAVE A CHALLENGE DOWN THE WINDING PATH AT THE END OF THE BRIDGE.
EDITORIAL The walkway is so much better than Parks Department projects. Luckily, NYC EDC is more creative and imaginative. The views are spectacular and the materials used are bright and the whites add a reflection to the river views.
Unfortunately there are no restrooms or facilities on either the Walkway or on the northern portion. There may be facilities in the future, but what other city in the world would permit a park with no facilities.
Also, with our City budget cuts, the Parks Department would have to expand vast sums to maintain the Walkway. Who will fund, police and install cameras here? Will the walkway be open 24/7 or be a giant homeless shelter? These questions have been asked and not answered.
Let’s hope for the best and walk down 60th Street from the tram and up the Park entrance by the Tram Tower on 60th and York!!!!
SHOP LOCALLY!!!
STOP BY THE RIHS KIOSK TO
SMALL BUSINESS.
THE R.I.H.S.
SUPPORT
OPEN 12 NOON TO 5P.M
CREDITS
NYC PARKS DEPARTMENT, NYC EDC JUDITH BERDY
MAYA LEVANON-PHOTOS TIK TOK & INSTAGRAM
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
Despite officials telling Community Board 8 a month ago that the opening would be closer to January or February of next year, the opening date is now back on track for its long-held December deadline. (Peter Senzamici/Patch)
UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Under promise and over deliver.
While a classic maxim for guaranteeing customer satisfaction, it could have been also been the motivation behind a decision to tell a Community Board 8 Parks Committee last month that the wait for the much anticipated opening of the $100 million East Midtown Greenway would be suddenly extend until early next year.
Now, an official from the New York City Economic Development Corporation tells Patch that the opening is back on its long-held December opening date, with a confirmed grand opening on Dec. 19.
“We’re getting a really beautiful park and greenway and I think the community is going to love it,” said Community Board 8 Park Committee co-chair Judith Schneider at the meeting.
But when pressed by committee members about an opening date, EDC officials were reluctant to commit to one, except to say that they would most likely blow past their December estimated opening, a deadline long listed on the project’s timeline, and anticipate the opening to be sometime after the new year.
“It could be earlier,” said NYC Parks project administrator Michael Bradley at the meeting, “but we can’t promise it today.”
A tram’s-eye view of the Alice Aycock Pavilion in July — the final phase of the project. (Peter Senzamici/Patch)
Work on the $100 million project began in 2019 and it extends the East River Esplanade 1.1 miles from Andrew Haswell Green to Clara Coffey Park on East 54th Street in Sutton Place began in 2019.
In 2020, the pandemic put the project on pause for several months, and in 2022, NYCEDC first announced their December 2023 opening date, a delay from a previously announce fall 2023 opening.
And after Dec. 19, more work will be on the way — once the project can find about $38 million.
That’s how much it’s going to cost to enact any of the ideas Community Board 8 had for the space under Andrew Haswell Green Park, according to Bradley.
Those ideas pitched in 2018 included a bathroom or a cafe as well as a new ADA compliant ramp.
1070’S VIEW OF TRAM WITH ORIGINAL LONG STAIRCASE AND ALEXANDER’S DEPARTMENT STORE IN BACKGROUND. GLORIA HERMAN, NINA LUBLIN AND SHARON BERMON GOT IT RIGHT!
CREDITS
UPPER EAST SIDE PATCH
MAYA LEVANON-PHOTOS TIK TOK & INSTAGRAM
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
One was planted on Park Avenue. Another bloomed on the grounds of the magnificent Schwab mansion on Riverside Drive. A third sprouted in Midtown in the shadow of the Chrysler Building.
Others were tended to in empty lots on Ludlow Street (above), on Upper East Side apartment terraces, and in the open spaces of Brooklyn and Queens.
These victory gardens, as they were called, grew out of a national push during World War II to help ease food shortages in the states, as so much food from America was going to soldiers abroad and our allies.
New Yorkers answered the call. After the program began in 1943, the city had approximately 400,000 victory gardens, which sprouted up on 600 acres of private land.
The biggest crop: tomatoes, followed by beans, beets, carrots, lettuce, and Swiss chard.
Victory gardens were mostly about food. But they had a civic function as well, rallying communities to work together to aid the war effort.
Mayor Fiorello La Guardia even announcing that one would be started on Rikers Island.
“We have a lot of space there and a lot of guests too, and we won’t need machinery, because we can make them work,” he cheekily told the New York Times.
Experienced gardeners lent a hand showing urban green thumbs the ropes. “New York University, Columbia University, and the New School all offered courses on Victory Gardening, wrote Bentley and Simon.
Department stores like Macy’s opened gardening centers that held lectures, sold seeds, and even offered war bonds to gardeners who produced bumper crops.
When the war ended, the mini-farms appeared to have been left untended. Of course, they weren’t the last urban gardens to pop up in the city.
But with real estate values sky-high, it might be a long time before we ever see vegetables growing on Manhattan avenues again.
Javier Sanchez, manager of the Continental Towers parking garage on East 79th Street, stands next to this year’s hand-crafted holiday display, which he calls “Frosty’s Village.” (John Seley)
Sanchez’s co-workers help fund his trips to Home Depot, where he stocks up on supplies for the display. (John Seley)
It took him at least 100 hours to build, dealing with setbacks like hot-glue burns to his fingers and an ankle sprain that sidelined him for two months. As in past years, Sanchez and his half dozen coworkers paid for the display out of their own pockets, with each man contributing around $20 to cover Sanchez’s frequent trips to Home Depot.
Find out what’s happening in Upper East Sidewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The tradition began in Sanchez’s first year at Continental, when a coworker suggested building “a little train around the garage,” he recalled. Snaking the tracks around the garage lobby proved infeasible, but Sanchez managed to set up a battery-operated train and run it along a sheet of plywood, feeling pleased with the result.
“We said, ‘Wow, this looks great,'” he said.
The following year, inspired by the wintry Alps, Sanchez built a mountain with a tunnel for the train to pass through. Visits to the animatronic displays at the New York Botanical Garden, Stew Leonard’s supermarkets and Yankee Candle shops influenced other aspects, he said.
Sanchez has worked for 12 years at the Continental Towers parking garage, on East 79th Street between First and Second avenues. (Google Maps)
“We like to try to make it different every year so it doesn’t look the same,” Sanchez said. This year’s display is both taller and deeper than ever before, with “100-percent new” elements inside, he said.
Also new this year is a special challenge: kids age 12 or under can search for a sasquatch hidden somewhere within the display, and will receive a lollipop if they win.
“I had a kid here for 40 minutes looking for it,” he laughed. “Just to see those guys’ faces — it has no price to see the happiness and joy of those kids.”
Sanchez takes pride in the fact that the display is interactive, allowing kids to push its toy cars and manipulate the human figurines.
“I have no restrictions,” he said. “Nothing has ever been broken there.”
Sanchez’s fans include State Sen. Liz Krueger, who lives nearby. (John Seley)
The garage at 301 East 79th St. is open 24-7, but Sanchez keeps the display lit up from around 7:30 a.m to 9 p.m. each day. It will be on view until Dec. 31 — and “ideas are always welcome,” he says.
To reach the display, visitors must walk down a ramp from the garage entrance between First and Second avenues. But Sanchez wants to give people a taste of what’s to come: before reaching the Christmas array, you’ll encounter a menorah display for Hanukkah, a mini fireplace, and a nativity village that Sanchez hand-crafted.
Sanchez’s fans include State Sen. Liz Krueger, who lives nearby and praised the “incredible work” that goes into his annual displays.
“The kids go crazy for it – just like the windows on 5th Avenue,” Krueger told Patch. “It’s a wonderful holiday tradition, and I definitely encourage families to go over and take a look. Thank you to Mr. Sanchez for working so hard to bring this bit of holiday cheer to the Upper East Side.”
Sanchez was born in Los Angeles but raised mostly in Colombia, then returned to the U.S. as a young man, serving for years in the Army Reserves.
Kids who find the sasquatch in this year’s display will be rewarded with lollipops. (John Seley)
Kids may be his primary audience, but adults benefit from the displays too, he said — by regaining a bit of childlike wonder, and breaking up the monotony of their daily routines.
“Life is not just work, work, and work, to be like a little machine every day,” he said. “There’s things out there that make a difference.”
To visit the display, stop by the Continental Towers garage at 301 East 79th St.
