Who could have imagined that a spring break trip that was in the making for close to eight years would put us at the forefront of what has become the story of 2020?
Back when my daughter Abby was about eight, she asked to go to the big city. I promised her I’d take her when she turned 16, and she never let me forget.
The day finally came to pay up, and off we went. The novel coronavirus had only recently come to our shores, so we were confident in our safety, but we still made sure to take added precautions—plenty of hand sanitizer, making sure we washed our hands frequently, keeping our hands away from our faces and getting plenty of rest.
My friend Rachel Peace, senior manager for communications at NYC & Company, gave us advice on how to maximize our short time in the city. We used the New York CityPASS to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The 9/11 Memorial & Museum was profoundly moving for all of us, especially for my wife and Abby’s mom, Sandy.
A spring break trip that was in the making for close to eight years put us at the forefront of what has become the story of 2020.
We went to the Empire State Building, where my daughter, wearing her Camp Half-Blood orange t-shirt, went to the “600th” floor—a reference for all you Percy Jackson followers.
We climbed about 2,500 steps to the top of the Vessel, a honeycomb-like structure that is part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project; discovered tasty grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken at the Melt Shop; savored New York City pizza, cheesecake (Junior’s) and Italian food (Carmine’s); and saw Mean Girls on Broadway—way better than the movie—at the August Wilson Theatre.
We ventured through Times Square and traveled to Brooklyn for a night of food and bowling at the original Brooklyn Bowl. We explored a very unique sustainability-focused venue, Arcadia.
We shopped—ouch—and had fun singing with all the other tourists at Ellen’s Stardust Diner.
We tried not to dwell so much on the evolving story, but there was no getting around the whirlwind of news and the impact it was going to take on our lives.
I did mix a little business with pleasure to get a sense of how the New York meeting and event industry was coping with the onset of what has now led to a virtual shutdown of our business. This I will tell you: the New York meeting industry community is going to weather this storm.
Just ask Kathleen Duffy, NYC market director of public relations for Marriott International, who gave me a tour of the Marriott Marquis with its 124,755 square feet of total event space, or Sylvia Bielska at the Hotel Indigo Williamsburg-Brooklyn, which has about 20,000 square feet of meeting space. They were already feeling the effect of the coronavirus cancellations and postponements.
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Over at the Javits Center, Alan Steel, president and CEO, expressed optimism as the facility is going through a US$1.5 billion expansion that will add 1.2 million square feet of much-needed space to an already outstanding and functional meeting and event facility. Tony Sclafani, Lisa Lopez (MPI Minnesota Chapter) and Doreen Guerin gave me a tour showing progress of the rooftop farm, which will supply 40,000 pounds of produce annually; the green roof; a rooftop pavilion for 1,500; and 27 new loading docks.
The optimism was the same at a couple of smaller event venues with Emma SanFilippo at Convene at Brookfield Place, which has 73,000 square feet of space; Kristina Camia at CNVS, which has 10,000 square feet of space; or with Emma Tietze and Peri Halprin (MPI Greater New York Chapter) at Brooklyn Bowl, a venue for group fun.
It was an emotional four days in New York City. I was thankful for all the kindness of New Yorkers, who made sure we were on the right subway and getting off at the right exit, although, as Abby kept telling me, “it’s a grid system,” quoting comedian John Mulaney. I had an extra appreciation for all the service workers, who were professional throughout.
At the airport on our way back to Dallas, my MPI colleague from the global office, Katy Baker, director of membership analytics and strategy, was on the same flight with her two children and we swapped tales of our eerily similar adventures and worries about our trip.
I wasn’t sure what Abby would feel about her trip to New York until I saw her Instagram post: “Oh how I wish 8 year old me could see me now. When I asked for this trip so many years ago I could never imagine how my life would change as I reached 16. As I flew towards my absolute dream destination, I could see myself asking ‘would 8 year old me be proud of me?’ I’m sure she would be super excited that I still wanna study science, that I can eat candy whenever I want, that I get to compete gymnastics, and most of all, that I have a huge group of amazing people in my life who inspire me daily. So yeah, I think 8 year old me would think I’m a pretty cool (almost) 16 year old.”
Thank you New York and we know we will see you again soon.
