Revisiting New York in challenging times

Filipino lawyer John Laylo was shot and killed in Philadelphia. I'm in the Big Apple State of New York, some 97.6 miles away. They said that there are hate criminals in the city looking for Asians to mutilate, and that New York is facing a financial crisis. What the heck, I sneaked out of the country before the swearing-in time of trapos and family dynasties, and I escaped to the land of milk and honey, the land of the brave and the home of the free. America is where all my seven siblings reside, and I am in New York because most of my legal work is here. Besides, I have dual citizenship. This is my second home too.

After seeing the highly-successful Broadway musical “Hamilton” for the third time at Richard Rodgers Theater along 46th Street, my host, an American lawyer and his wife, a lovely Puerto Rican stunner, brought me around in their flaming red 2022 Lexus LX, and we just drove around the five boroughs in the city that never sleeps. I am feeling guilty with this 100-day getaway combining work and pleasure, 30 days in the Americas, 30 days in Europe, 30 days in the Middle East and 10 days in Asia-Pacific. But I just want to rewind and finish this work for an Arab client. Executing the last will of a multi-billionaire oil tycoon who died with four wives (three of them Pinays) all bickering for money, properties, and all. I had been appointed executor of the will.

First, we drove around Manhattan where our hotel is and saw that there was no sign of financial problems here in New York. Maybe the people I am seeing here are not really locals but transient Europeans and rich Orientals. Although the smallest in area among the five boroughs (the others are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island), Manhattan is the most densely populated. This is the locus of the global financial center, Wall Street. I learned from my host that Manhattan is the location of three out of 10 world's most-visited tourist attractions, Times Square, Central Park, and Grand Central Terminal. It is also where we can find the Empire State Building, the Trump Tower, the Chrysler Building, and the World Trade Center where the 9/11 tragedy happened.

We also drove east to the Bronx, the poorest borough where the "hoi polloi" live and eke out a living. More than 60% of the population there are Hispanics. It hosts the Pelham Bay Park, bigger than the Central Park and the biggest in area in the whole New York. We just circled the borough and proceeded immediately to Brooklyn located at the western end of Long Island. This is where many African Americans are residing, but there are a few Jewish communities too. It has a dynamic ethnic composition. There are few whites and many of the folks here are from other states and cities coming to the Big Apple for better opportunities.

Many of the Filipinos are in Queens and Staten Island. My relatives are doctors and nurses and they reside in these two boroughs. The JFK International Airport and La Guardia are located here. This is also the home of the New York Mets Baseball Team and the Jean King National Tennis Center. I will visit my cousins in Ozone Park and another former classmate in Jackson Heights. Then we proceeded to Staten Island. From this borough, we can take the Outerbridge Crossing to cross the channel to New Jersey, where a big Filipino community is residing. In fact, one of the four wives of my late client is currently staying in Jersey City.

Tomorrow, after seeing the Broadway show “Chicago” at Ambassador Theater, at 49th Street, my host will send me off to a midnight luxury coach ride to the nation's capital, Washington, DC. I am excited to visit the museums again, especially my favorite, the Smithsonian. I will have a quick look again at the eternal flame in the Arlington grave of my favorite US president, John F. Kennedy and see the Jefferson and Washington memorials. I miss the Philippines but this is work and a respite from toxic politics. I'm flying away soon.