says Brian Williams, anchor of “NBC Nightly News.”
“Because when I travel to other cities, I’m the only guy walking in the street. We all have that kind of GPS. If we sense trouble ahead on the sidewalk — tourists walking eight abreast in one of those slow-moving lines — I’m out in the street, and I’m perfectly comfortable there. Sidewalks are for visitors.” So where in New York does Williams like to go (preferably getting there by walking down the middle of the avenue)? This is his New York.
1) 1040 Fifth Ave., at 85th Street
“Every time I go past the building, I think of [covering Jackie Onassis’ final days]. I was in local news then at WCBS. I’ve yet to meet the reporter that likes covering those vigils. We all have families and we try to protect our own privacy, but when it’s our job, we’re one of those faceless reporters outside the building. I remember seeing John [Kennedy Jr.] come and go. You really wanted to avert your eyes so you wouldn’t be seen as part of a leering, voyeuristic pack.”
2) Engine 23, 215 W. 58th St., between Seventh Avenue and Broadway
“I used to be a firefighter in Jersey, and I love firehouses. This is my favorite. It’s the quintessential, single-bay, New York City firehouse. They have a great stone lion out front, which is, shall we say, of questionable derivation. It’s a stone lion that started life adorning some other building, and it just happened to end up in front of Engine 23. They’re very welcoming. It is a universal truth that once you’ve fought a fire, you are pretty much welcome in any firehouse across the country.”
3) Apple Store, 767 Fifth Ave., at 58th Street
“It’s a model UN. You can meet people from all over the world at 2 a.m. in there — some people who use the store as their e-mail repository, some people who are taking advantage of the current trading value of the dollar. It’s an unbelievable crossroads of the world, and that entire plaza has become an event. It’s just a part of New York’s DNA. Someone told me recently that it’s part of the welcome video when you stay at a hotel in Midtown. It’s right up there with out great monuments.”
4) Studio 8H, NBC Radio City Studios, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, at 50th Street
“It’s maybe my favorite space in New York. It was the home of [Arturo] Toscanini. [Now it’s home to “Saturday Night Live.”] Folklore has it that it was built suspended on springs. Toscanini was worried that subway trains passing 10 stories beneath the studio would affect his music. So the floor is said to be suspended to have some give to it. There’s a smell to the room, an ambience to the room, that’s all its own. It’s a great treat to work in the same building.”
5) Beefsteak Charlie’s, formerly 851 Eighth Ave., at 52nd Street
“We weren’t wealthy growing up. When I was a kid on the Jersey shore, if you had tickets to Elton John at the Garden and could
get dinner at Beefsteak Charlie’s, you were living the dream.”
6) Sacco Pizza, 819 Ninth Ave., at 54th Street “Where else can you walk into a place that has pictures of Richard Belzer, Tony Guida, yours truly and Jesus on the wall? When I worked at CBS in the early ’80s, that’s when I started going there. I think, without question, it’s the best thin-crust pizza in the city. The tables are dirty. Fountain beverages but no ice. Canned beverages but no cups. It’s just fantastic.”
7) Bus to Giants Stadium, Port Authority Bus Terminal,
625 Eighth Ave., at 42nd Street “I like modes of transportation to sporting events that get you out of the car and make better sense anyway. I am a big proponent of the Giants express bus from the Port Authority. There is no faster way to and from Giants Stadium. The bus has a number, but generally, you park your car, you go into the Port Authority and you follow the jerseys. Also, it’s all Giants fans. You really hear better post-game analysis on your bus than you will on WFAN.”
8) The High Line, Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street,
between 10th and 11th avenues “I was just there with my wife and daughter. On days when it’s not crowded, it’s a fascinating place. It’s very New York already in that it’s already instant outdoor urban life. People are using it and appreciating it. It’s already one of the great places for people watching. You have to grab a wooden chaise lounge early and lather up the SPF if it’s sunny.”