Manhattan. That venerable strip land between the East River and the Hudson where once Native Americans hunted and paddled through narrow canals is now a concentration of spiking concrete and steel. It’s got history and modernity; glass buildings and brick; factories and rooftop bars; brownstones and penthouses; slums and shadow worlds. It’s got winners and whiners; outcasts and strivers; the lost and the ambitious; cold calculating businessmen and holy diviners.
Nature, however, has taken a backseat to the humans in the hive and their relentless push into the sky and up north over the island during the last several hundred years. Thank goodness we had enough sense to leave something intact. From 59th to 110th runs 778 acres of lush green where 8 million city dwellers can cycle, rollerblade, stroll or dance or otherwise (and believe me, there are all kinds of otherwise) pass the time. It’s an oasis in a desert of concrete. And it’s cool. Yes, it is cool as in it is a great place, but I also mean the temperature is cooler than the surrounding city. Much cooler. Call it the green island effect, helping to offset the man-made heat island effect of ever swelling cities. (Just think of the green island effect if most buildings in Manhattan were converted into some kind of green roof).
This effect was quite obvious the other day when going for an early morning jog. Walking along 70th street toward the park the air was relatively cool since it was morning but still breathed off some heat. Upon crossing Central Park West, however, the air turned noticeably cooler. Before even entering the park it felt like someone had clicked on air conditioning above the sidewalk. Even a slight chill passed over me as I entered the park before starting to run. Remarkable. I’ll have to try measuring the air temperatures at several locations to see if the data backs up what my sense tell me, but as for now I am just happy I have a place a few degrees cooler in which to run. Central Park is truly a gem in this city’s crown and keeps its citizens from over heating. That said, it still might be necessary to escape the concrete jungle (no matter which city) every once in a while.
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