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Published: January 3rd 2015
Today's mission was to get on back down to B&H and purchase some equipment for the camera.
First up we visited the local bakery "make my cake" as recommended by our Innkeeper Rick. as a thank you gift for Rick we purchased him a large sweet potato pie (his favourite and only $10 for a large pie). I tried out a strawberry shortcake (no added sugar) and Geoff chose a red velvet cup cake...all so yummy and very cheap (by Australian standards).
Made it to B&H by 10am - the staff here have so much knowledge on photography gear it is totally unbelievable. We spent more than we intended but we were so impressed with the professional knowledge we received we figured we should go with it. There is nowhere else we are ever going to to get this service.
I was fascinated by the elevator system they use to move your purchases through the store down to the checkouts. It was like something from the Jetsons Cartoon days. Here is some information about the store:
B&H photo and video, was founded in 1973 and is located at 420 9th Ave on the corner of West 34th
Street, Manhattan, it is the largest non-chain photo and video equipment store in the USA.
The store targets professional photographers and Videographers. Although it is visited by more than 5,000 customers each day, most of the company's business comes from internet and corporate sales. It also runs a warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard located in Williamson Brooklyn. The store carries a wide range of electronics products, with emphasis on professional and specialty photographic equipment.
The business is owned by Herman Schreiber. Schreiber and many of the store's employees are observant Satmar Hasidic Jews who close the store on Shabbat and Jewish Holidays except for Hanukkah (Jewish law does not prohibit work during that holiday, except during Shabbat itself). The Web site remains open, but orders are not taken or shipped between Friday evening and Saturday evening and on Jewish holidays. The store employs hundreds of Orthodox Jews and has been accused of discriminating in their favour. An Orthodox Jewish bus company provides daily service to and from Kiryas Joel a Satmar village in Orange County, New York.
In 2007, B&H began making sales through Google Check and is noted for having an extensive conveyor belt system
that runs along the ceiling.
We had intended to go to a Weight Watchers meeting here in NYC, but unfortunately we got off the subway at the wrong stop and couldn't get another train that connected to where we needed to go..ended up walking miles and miles until we finally found the place - a pokey locked door in a corner apartment building and it was closed. Never mind we got to see more of Central Park and the streets surrounding Broadway on our walk.
One helpful tip we learnt from Rick is - 20 blocks = 1 mile. Handy to know so you can decide whether it's worth catching a train or not.
Manhattan is easy to walk - it's basically flat. You can walk for miles no problem.
Our afternoon trek took us back on the subway down to Brooklyn - DUMBO specifically - (down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass). We needed to try out the new camera gear and theres no better place to see the Manhattan skyline at sunset than here. We had a quick icecream break at the Brooklyn Icecream factory.
The original location, in a landmark fireboat house on the
Fulton Ferry Pier, features one of most sweeping views in America, the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan skyline & Statue of Liberty.
At sunset we jumped onboard the east river ferry for a trip back over to Manhattan. The ferry costs $4 each and is a twenty minute ride used daily by local commuters travelling back and forth over the river. Another local tip we learnt - the tourist ferry will cost you a heap more for the same sights!
Our last subway ride for this visit to NYC was back up to Harlem Central where we went for dinner at a local-restaurant - Yatengo. Here we organised to meet with a Brisbane lady, Hollie and her two gorgeous boys - Roman and Hunter. We met on our "LAX to Chicago" leg of travel. Hollie is on a 5 week holiday with the boys aged 9 and 5 (what a brave lady she is). Hollie lives in Enoggera, Brisbane Northside. Our stops in NYC coincided with ours so we met up and compared a few travel adventures. Hollie has been to Ohio, Florida, a cruise to Jamaica and is now is NYC. She still has Vegas to go before heading
home to Australia. What a small world it is to be having dinner with a fellow Brissy girl!
Home tonight to start packing our bags as tomorrow morning we fly out to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
We are sad to be leaving this "one of a Kind" city but we are looking forward to seeing some warmer weather.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Cameras, W.W. and Cakes
You've had another perfect day. I've purchased from B & H via the phone but I've never been to the store. I'd love to go in there. The customer service on the phone is just as top notch. I'm a weight watchers lifetime member so I giggled when you missed the meeting, not your fault and was forced on to ice cream and cakes. Another weigh in another day. Anyway you've got me interested in making a trip to that store. Loving the photos.