E poi sono arrivata a Long Island City. Era un pomeriggio di aprile del 2007. Sapendo che cercavo casa, un collega mi aveva detto: ti porto in un posto a due passi dall’ufficio. Andiamo in pausa pranzo. Stupita al massimo, lo guardai e gli dissi: “ma come facciamo in un’ora ad andare, mangiare, e ritornare”? Ecco come mi conquisto’, inizialmente, LIC – Long Island City: era vicinissima a Manhattan. E poi il parco di fronte allo stkyline:  da perderci il fiato. La prima volta e’ stata emozionante da morire. Arrivavo da Vernon Boulevard, con passi lunghi e distesi avevo poi preso la 48ma Avenue in direzione Manhattan. Davanti a me avevo trovato una muraglia altissima di grattacieli: il grande rettangolo del palazzo delle Nazioni Unite con l’imponente Empire State Building sulla sinistra e l’elegantissimo Chrysler sulla destra.

Seduta, l’insegna della Pepsi Cola alle mie spalle guardavo Manhattan. Una scacchiera sul tavolino ed uno spettacolo davanti a me. In quel preciso momento avevo deciso: quella sarebbe stata casa mia. E da quel giorno non me ne sono più andata. LIC e’ dove ritorno puntualmente dopo ogni viaggio. E ogni volta e’ come la prima. Quando il taxi gira su Center Boulevard e mi fa percorrere parallela a Manhattan tutto lo skyline, mi dico: che spettacolo!

 And then I arrived in Long Island City. It was one afternoon in April of 2007. A colleague of mine who knew that I was looking for a new apartment had told me: I will bring you to a new neighborhood nearby the office. We can go during lunch break. I looked at him very skeptical: “how can we do it all in one hour, going there and back and have lunch too”? And that’s how I was conquered by LIC: it was super close to Manhattan. And then the park in front of the skyline: amazing. The first time I saw it, the experience was very emotional. I had arrived from Vernon Bldv, I  had walked along 48th Avenue facing Manhattan. In front of me there was a huge wall of skyscrapers: the big rectangular UN building, the Empire State Building to the left and the elegant Chrysler to the right.

I sat down, the Pepsi Cola Sign on my back. A chessboard on the table and an amazing view in front of me. That’s when I took the decision: this was going to be my home.  I never left since. LIC is the place where I feel at home most. When I am on a cab and it turns onto Center Blvd and we drive parallel to Manhattan along the skyline, I feel like it’s for the firs time and I think: this is amazing!