Farewell 2019!

Hello Friends -

I started off 2019 at a New Year's Eve party in Times Square, one of my favorite places on earth. It was my first time and it was an absolutely thrilling experience. Then on New Year's Day I leapt into the Atlantic Ocean, during the Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge, which got the year started on quite an exhilarating pace, and I have been rolling ever since.

Working in a hip and trendy neighborhood at the NoHo Business Improvement District means constantly being surrounded by new things: far out fashion, experiential retail, design, art... so #funfridays are a major component to my week. Our office goes out to see whatever the week’s excitement is, so we can keep up with the trends. Combine that with long nights at community board meetings and days working with government advocating for my local businesses, along with doing whatever I can to create a clean, safe and fun neighborhood, my job continues to be exciting. I feel especially lucky to have the network of other BID people, who are both super fun to play with and a great resource for discussing work issues. 

Meanwhile my new home, Jackson Heights, continues to thrill me. It’s got a vibrant welcoming community and I’m beginning to make local friends. We have wonderful parades, festivals and street fairs all the time. I love being surrounded by people from all over the world. There is truly never a dull moment. Come visit! I'd love to show you around and show you the what the American melting pot looks like when it's allowed to flourish.

Turning 50 was fun. The race to complete #50before50 meant embracing anything new that I came across. Rainbow bagels ✔️ A helicopter ride over Manhattan ✔️ Being offered a senior discount 😣✔️Then I topped it off with a wonderful party surrounded with friends from all parts of my life. As they say, it's not the years in your life, its the life in your years and I've been living a pretty full life so far.

Travel has been a little less of a focus in my life these days, since my job makes it hard to take the kind of long trips I love. I did manage a fantastic long weekend in Vegas and another musical trip to New Orleans for Jazz Fest. I spent a week with my family exploring and doing a lot of great eating in Portugal and on the way home, I was able to drop into Morocco to experience one unforgettable night watching locals break the Ramadan fast on a huge open beach. I returned to Iowa for some more political tourism and got to see 19!!! of the Democratic Presidential candidates speak, as well as, enjoying the Iowa State Fair excitement, including the Sesame Street 50th birthday butter sculptures and more delicious foods on sticks. This year the International Downtown Association conference was in Baltimore, which gave me a chance to dig much more deeply, with an urban planning perspective, into a city I have been to many times before. I also got to attend a wonderful family wedding in Washington, DC. and visit many of my old haunts.

And because I can’t totally leave politics out of this, looking forward, may each of us dedicate a little time to registering and encouraging people to vote or supporting a new candidate in an effort to build our democracy back. Vote Democrat 2020! 

In the coming year, may we all stay open to new ideas and new experiences and keep LIVING! 

Cheers!

Cordelia