vip in the city

On the B61

We rounded out our day with some museum-sponsored art at the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, where my MoMA dual membership came in handy. Out front, the museum’s annual architectural installation, designed by the winner of the annual P.S.1 and MoMA-organized Young Architects Program, was being constructed for this summer’s Warm Up series to run ten Saturdays — June 30 through September 1, 2007.

B was sad to miss out on the photography exhibition by Vik Muniz which closed May 7, though the sign outside still promoted it. But since we were there, we explored the other exhibits on view inside the converted brick and stone public school building. Much of the original structure was left intact, making it easy to envision the space’s early function as the first school in Long Island City; it was shuttered in 1960 due to low attendance, a victim of an improved railroad and subway system that detracted from the area’s appeal as a residential district.

Afterwards, we hopped the air-conditioned B61, not to its Red Hook terminus, but to Williamsburg for lunch at Sea Thai. The city was emptied of many locals this Memorial Day weekend, so we managed to avoid the usually painful waits for tasty, reasonably-priced Thai in this sleek, hipster haven.

Our post-meal trip to the waterfront was thwarted by graphic-printed barriers erected around a huge construction site, soon to be the 892-unit Williamsburg Edge — “Sexy on the Outside + Beautiful on the Inside,” “The Hippest Dress Code + The Coolest Zip Code.”

And finally: once more unto the breach, dear friends. Our trio wound down the day at Spike Hill, a cozy tavern from which we could watch the parade of scornful “hipper-than-thou rockers” on Bedford. It didn’t sting nearly as much as my shoulders did that night.

There are 2 Comments ... On the B61

Qsoz
June 13, 2007

That all looks so tasty; I’ve never actually been to a restaurant in W’burg. We should go sometime.

vipnyc
June 13, 2007

It was tasty! And those are just the appetizers.
I like Dumont, especially in the summer, when the garden is open. Which reminds me: its spin-off, Dumont Burger, opened on Bedford last year.

Go for it ...