Waverly Place – Birdhouses, Three Lives, Port Salud

It is another amazingly perfect weather day in NYC, so get out and take a little stroll down Waverly Place. Start at McCarthy Square, a beautifully maintained little traffic island at the intersection of Waverly, Charles and 7^th Ave South. It is dedicated to Private First Class Bernard Joseph McCarthy, killed for his country in World War II, and it features a prominent flagpole that was originally on the grounds of the 1939 World’s Fair in Queens. It also features a neighborhood of extraordinary houses, little birdhouses that is, which were crafted by “local handyman” Vincent Mele. I mean, how cute is this mini-15-Charles-St with mini-Morandi on the ground floor?!

Next, stop in Three Lives & Company. Their selection of tomes is meticulously gathered, and their staff is ridiculously knowledgeable. Walk in, chat up a sale person, and you will walk out with a new book that will change your life. It’s guaranteed to happen.

Crack the spine on that new book while you grab lunch at Jeffrey’s Grocery. Sitting by their huge picture window, sipping delicious coffee and looking out on this charmingly quiet pocket of the Village you almost forget 7^th Ave is roaring just one block away. Order the insanely good egg & cheese sandwich, which is made with port salud (cheese) and espelette (chili pepper), and is served on a toasted baguette with a side salad. After lunch cut through Christopher Park to see George Segal’s powerful Gay Liberation Memorial. From afar it looks like a group of street performers painted like Roman statues. Up close it is simply and poignantly a pair of couples who are casually, comfortably enjoying a neighborhood park. Incidentally, that park, across from Stonewall Inn, has been witness to some of the highest highs and lowest lows of the gay rights movement. Today the dressed-in-white memorial seems like a tribute to all the blissfully happy couples that finally have the right to marry here. It is about damn time! 

Ingredients:

Venues: McCarthy Square; Three Lives & Company; Christopher Park

Artists: Vincent Mele; George Segal

Streets: Waverly Place, Charles to Christopher Sts

Eats: Jeffrey’s Grocery

Map: