I love Riverside Park – and Riverside Drive. I love the broad swath of green that serves as my lush and lovely front yard, the glorious view of the Hudson beyond it, the hawks that soar high and mighty past my window. My book, Heaven on the Hudson: Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park, is a love letter to the neighborhood I call my own.

I’ve lived on the Drive for decades, and nearly every day, I stroll its streets or wander down into the park that borders it. On the Drive, I stare at buildings that have graced this elegant strip of New York City’s Upper West Side for more than a century. In the Park, I walk away the worries of the day or settle onto a bench to read or people watch. It’s quiet here, not so far from the middle of Manhattan. It’s peaceful. I love that, too.

There are stories here, and secrets – in the details of buildings, in the way people have lived their lives, in how the area came to be. My book reveals them all. I hope that you will read it and find its tales intriguing.

On these blog pages, in the future, I hope to serve up a taste of life along Riverside, as well as other treats that make the Upper West Side so delicious.

Looking forward to sharing this feast with you.