Plenty of people love New York in June. This list includes but is not limited to Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and probably even a few people after 1959. But who, I ask you, still loves New York in July . . . to say nothing of August?
New York in fall serves as the backdrop for romantic comedies. New York in summer serves as the backdrop for a different kind of film. Dog Day Afternoon. Summer of Sam. Do The Right Thing.
To quote another old song, to everything there is a season, and New York’s season is fall, possibly spring, maybe even winter. Never summer. Summer is when anyone who can flees the city and heads to other places. Places that smell like jasmine rather than rotting refuse. Places with fireflies instead of cockroaches.
I get it. I’d summer somewhere idyllic too, if I could. But since I’m stuck here for most of the season along with my three kids, I figure I’ll find some silver linings. Behold, one mother’s attempt to make lemonade out of lemons. And on that note . . .
Reasons to Love NYC in Summer
1. Lemonade! Kids can move a lot of units.
Country Time lemonade might be iconic and all, but let’s get real. There are no customers on a dusty country road, or in front of a sweet-smelling, pristine suburban lawn. Smart city kids who pick even a halfway decent location will make bank. Save up those pennies and they’ll have enough for a MetroNorth ticket out of here.
2. Eating Italian ices on stoops
While we’re on the subject of refreshing treats, there is no experience more pleasurable, anywhere, than taking the first lick of a lemon Italian icey while sitting on a Brooklyn stoop on a sweltering day. I’m sure there’s data to support this somewhere. Check the Journal of Geographical Gastronomy. It’s science.
3. Cold subways are the best subways
New York City subways get a lot wrong. Maybe they even get more wrong than they get right. But let’s pause here to commend the MTA for their top-notch air-conditioning. I concede that much of the enjoyment I feel when stepping into a cool subway car may be relief from escaping the unbearably hot platform, but what’s the difference really? Cold subways are the best subways. Which comes in handy when your subway gets held in between stations for 45 minutes.
4. The island of Coney
Sure, I could go to Turks and Caicos and find silky beaches with oceans as warm and unpolluted as baths. Yes, I could go to Hawaii and hike a volcano, frolicking through waterfalls (I’m speaking figuratively here. I can’t go to those places, or I would, posthaste). But can you play Shoot the Freak in Hawaii? Can you ride the Cyclone and eat a Nathan’s hot dog in Turks and Caicos? Does anywhere else in the world have a Mermaid Day parade where a stranger will hang their freakishly huge and incontrovertibly menacing boa constrictor around your two-year-old’s shoulders? I didn’t think so.
5. Shakespeare in the Park
Okay, fine, I admit it. I haven’t been to a Shakespeare in the Park performance since 2002, well before I had kids. But by Jove, I’m going to get those tickets this year, and I’m taking my son, no matter how much he protests Shakespeare is boring, and it’s going to be world-class theater served up free. And if I don’t make it, then I’ll take my children to an equally free, more kid-friendly and zero-hassle Piper production in the Astroturf.
6. Fire Hydrant Sprinklers
Nuff said.
7. No one’s here
This, right here, is the real reason to love New York City in the summer. It is, possibly, a misanthropic perspective, but it’s valid. No one is here. That means you get to enjoy all the offerings of New York City which you typically can’t partake in, because of crowds. No one’s here so you can park your car, which is to say, you can use your car. No one’s here so you can eat at restaurants, without having to wait for two hours, or eat at 4:45. No one’s here. Yes, of course, the denizens of NYC are what make it so special, but sometimes you need a break from those denizens. A nice two-month-long break. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s like how you feel such pure, unadulterated love for your children when they’re sleeping. Since ours is the city that never sleeps, this is how you achieve that feeling about New Yorkers.
And there you have it—all the reasons to love New York in the summer. I tried to stretch this list to ten, I really did. But there are only and exactly seven reasons to love New York City in summer. If that’s not enough for you, well go ahead and book a flight to the Bahamas. Just don’t blame me when the Italian ices are lousy.
Heather Heckel is an artist and educator living in New York City. In addition to the Park Slope Reader, her clients include Whole Foods Market, Kids Footlocker, Juice Pharma Worldwide, and The Renwick Hotel. Her artwork and children’s book has won international awards, and she has been published numerous times in the 3×3 Professional Illustration Magazine. Recently she has completed artist-in-residencies through the National Park Service in Arkansas, Connecticut, Washington, and California. Heather is passionate about social and environmental justice, and is an advocate for human rights and animal rights.
https://www.instagram.com/heatherheckelart/?hl=en
Nicole Kear
Nicole C. Kear is the author of the memoir Now I See You (St. Martin’s), and many books for children, including a new middle-grade novel, Foreverland (Macmillan Kids).