{Last night on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade}
Living in New York is like living with a handsome, brilliant and charismatic brute: it dazzles you, then it beats you up, and then, when you're really fed up, it makes it impossible for you to hate it. New York knows - like a manipulative boyfriend you just can't quit - that its got you. Where else would you go? What on earth would you do? Who else would accept you?
And so you live for those beautiful, rare moments - the dazzling sunlight of a summer evening on the Promenade, the roller boogie rink in Central Park, the kinetic energy of a pick-up game on the West 4th courts. They're what make all the heartbreak and the hassle and the minescule square footage worth bearing.
I've been down on New York lately (no A/C in blazing heat and dripping humidity will do that), but this video made my heart say, "New York, I take it all back! I love you, you crazy bastard!"
Sing for Hope, a non-profit that makes art accessible for all, put pianos in public spaces all over New York City. Tony DeSare played one song on as many pianos as he could over the course of one day and recorded the results.
Four minutes and 59 seconds of pure joy.
