Sometimes you come across a book that speaks to your heart and this new beauty did that in full! Dearest New York by Deidre Gartner was like a postcard I would have written to the NYC I lived and loved before 9/11. My heart sang with the pages.

I am thrilled that Ms. Gartner was willing to share her thoughts with me.

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It is my Universe, after all.

What drew me to share my love of NYC and a bit of my history with the city.

I LOVE New York and am proud to have been born and raised in this quirky, quizzical, magical, messy, yet always triumphant city. I was also fortunate to have parents that never missed an opportunity to introduce all nine of their children to the wonders of New York. Most weekends growing up my parents would pile us all into two station wagons and head out for an adventure. Uptown, downtown and everywhere in-between, from the ballet to street fairs, gallery openings to long nature walks in Central Park and we were always on the hunt for the newest Dim Sum spot in Chinatown. That sense of curiosity and appreciation only got stronger as I got older and started my own adventures throughout New York. I worked in the fashion industry for many years and traveled all over the world, but no matter what stunning city I was in there was nothing better than returning to my hometown.

Thoughts from a Yellow Taxi

A couple of years ago I started an Instagram account named Girl in the Yellow Taxi NYC, where I photograph and document my daily wanderings around New York. As my account got a broader audience, I started hearing from followers around the world expressing how my photos and stories sparked a memory of life celebrations, favorite eateries and shops, and a fervent desire to plan an adventure to the Big Apple. This gave me so much joy and sparked the idea to put everything together in a book, my love letter to NYC. 

How did I choose the photos?

As you can imagine I have thousands and thousands of photos, so it was so hard narrowing down to only a little more than a handful for each chapter. I really wanted the photos to represent and tell the story of the neighborhood. For example, the East Village has a colorful, gritty, artistic spirit and sensibility which I tried to capture in the street murals and old-time shops and buildings, whereas the Upper East Side is a neighborhood of tree-lined streets, cute cafes, designer shopping, and some of the best museums in the world so my photos highlighted the elegance of the architecture and quiet feel of this area.

What spot sends my heart a flutter?

Yes, that really is like asking me to choose a favorite child (btw, it’s my daughter lol). There is something I love about every neighborhood but the West Village with its quaint 19th-century architecture, cobblestoned streets, public squares, cozy restaurants, and specialty shops always makes me feel like I’m on a movie set of a bygone New York City. I love wandering around, peeking into the gorgeous townhouses and wandering in and out of the local bookstores, cafes and never leave without grabbing a slice of my favorite pizza on Bleecker Street. Another one of my favorite spots is the New York Flower District. It’s not only the best place to find beautiful flowers but with its labyrinth of wholesale shops where potted plants, trees, and flowers of every color vie for the attention of the discerning eyes of designers, decorators, and event planners, it is also the perfect location to photograph not just a beautiful area, but a historic one dating back to the late 19th century.  

Did I work directly with the illustrators, what was the process?

When I was putting the book proposal together, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look, and the illustrations would be an important part of that. I was fortunate to work with three amazing New York artists and would commission the pieces to show off each of their different styles. Tracey Berglund is a cartoonist who has done work with the New Yorker and the New York Times, her work is very whimsical, she created the taxi, and all the loose hand art. Katie Woodward painted all the watercolor illustrations that started each chapter from photos I would send her and artist Arielle Pearl has a very romantic style which lent itself to the coffee shop, Central Park and Jefferson Market art. Three different artist that together created unique and flawless interpretations of NYC.

A huge thank you to Deidre Gartner for sharing her time and book with me. You can find Dearest New York: A Love Letter to the Big Apple on Amazon and at any other favorite booksellers. I highly recommend considering it for your holiday gift-giving.

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