Writes of Passage

45 E 42nd St.
New York, NY 10017

New York’s newest attraction since the autumn of 2021.

Next to Grand Central station, SOV takes you up 1,400 feet above the City that never sleeps.

Tickets from $39+ for day and $49+ for the night that gives access to three level. The lower two have glass floors, the top one has a small lounge with outdoor space. Cocktails are served in plastics. The enclosed elevator is very steady, I could hardly feel the motion. Coming down my eardrums did feel some pressure. The Ascent has an additional fee that goes up outside of the building.

Entrance located on the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal. Waiting to go up is smooth and pretty quick, include checking for vaccination. Flat heels probably work better since they hand you a pair of shoe covers. Bag this size seems ok. One of the bathrooms painted in orange has a great view. Not sure the hand soap bottle on the counter means the two built-in soap dispenser don’t work? I didn’t try. The dryer works fine tho.

The view of the city is great, given the cloudy weather. I would prefer a clear day but tickets are sold out days ahead. Luck is the only thing going for me, and I didn’t have any: I got 4:00 pm ticket, hoping for a sunset view but it was a cloudy day. I ended up went up with a group of friends with 5:00pm tickets. One hour window flexibility seems allowed. A friend went during a sunny morning, and the photos were better.

Clouds (2019; stainless steel with patina and wax in nifty parts), by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (1929-) who is known for immersive installation. This piece signifies the “reflective cloud like forms that envelope the viewer creating an impression of floating and infinity.”

Other time in the neighborhood

47th Street @ 6th Avenue, New York

Uncut Gems (2019) with Adam Sandler portrays the life on 47th Street, which is the heart of the jewelry district. I had high hope for it but couldn’t finish the movie. The movie did ok, in terms of box office: spent $19m to make and collected $50m.

The diamond district includes half blocks of 48th-50th streets toward 5th Avenue side. But full block of 47th St between 5th and 6th avenue is best known, GIA is on this block.

The Christmas market at the station is gone or closed. The next door SOV Summit One Vanderbilt is open since last autumn.

After the Christmas, the omicron is surging. (Is covid-19 still around or extinct?) Last time in the city (Dec 17), every testing tent I passed by, had no patrons. Today, there are lines.

^{Yesterday, Sunday, Dec 26, 12:45pm @ Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care}

Yesterday, we went to a local testing site. Two people were waiting. The front desk lady is rude. She ignored us and went away … then came back, self talking … went away … then back again. I repeat my reason to be there, she said they’re fully booked for the day. “What about tomorrow?” I asked.
“Schedule on line.” She pointed to the sign.

I got on my phone to book: only today (12.26) and tomorrow are clickable BUT both days have NO openings. Customer service replied on my Yelp review.

^{Today: Monday, Dec 27, 9am @ CityMD}

We then, went to CityMD. They were fully booked for the day and don’t take reservation. This morning, we went a little before 9, thinking we were early. But NO. The long line is winding into Merrivale Road, from their Northern Blvd location.

In the afternoon, New York City, 34th Street, opposite from Macy’s, there are multiple tents for Antigen, some are rapid (I got my result in a hour; they ask for your saliva too.), while the other takes a day or two. Waiting time: rapid test take a little longer, about half an hour; the day-long one is very quick, as soon as one finished form, you’re being tested.