Meet 92nd Street
Similar to several of the streets that I have walked recently, I found 92nd to be primarily residential, although the businesses that it does have represent a wide breadth of culture and history.
The Drunken Munkey is a restaurant and cocktail bar that embraces India’s Colonial period dishes. A few doors down, I stepped into Reif’s Tavern, which has been sitting on the same spot since 1942. This is where I met Rosie, an eighty-four-year-old woman who began working in the now defunct kitchen as a young girl, and continues to return every Wednesday to serve beer to the regulars. They will not allow her to retire. A few blocks over, I met the delightful chef and owner of Table d’Hote, Bill Knapp. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his storied past in the restaurant world and sampling some of the seasonal, local fare that he serves to the neighborhood in his rustic twenty-six-seat space.
Farther east, I encountered a cluster of businesses that represent Jewish history and identity in New York City. The first was the 92nd Street Y, a formidable institution on the corner of Lexington Avenue since 1900. The organization is even older, however, having been founded as the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in 1874. Just before Fifth Avenue, I stopped into Celebrations, one of the Jewish Museum’s gift shops. Celebrations specializes in high-quality Judaica and has been a favorite place for my family to shop since they opened in 2007. As for the Jewish Museum, it was founded in 1904, making it the oldest Jewish museum in the world. The permanent collection and associated special exhibitions provide an in-depth exploration of Jewish culture throughout the ages.
On the West Side, Strachman has been providing custom window treatments to its neighbors since 1911. The company’s services also include shower stalls, tub enclosures, and mirrors. My last stop, before continuing towards Riverside Park and the Hudson River, was at the warm and welcoming Central Baptist Church.