Don't go in the basement, pt. 2

I've written about the creepy similarities between my building and The Bramford, the  sinister building that's the setting for Ira Levin's modern day horror thriller "Rosemary's Baby" here and here.  Well there's one more thing that always reminds me of the movie version starring Mia Farrow and directed by Roman Polanski. In the opening scene a young Manhattan couple (Farrow and John Cassavetes) are being shown an apartment to rent in The Bramford by a realtor (Elisha Cook Jr.). He takes them up to the apartment in the elevator and it's one of those old fashioned kind that are hand operated by a doorman. He works the handle and the sliding gate that you can see through as you ascend and descend the floors of the building.
Here are some stills of that scene:

The doorman working the elevator

A shot of his feet as they floors appear through the gate

The couple and the realtor in the elevator going up to the apartment

To gain access to the basement in my building where the laundry room and the gym are, you need to be taken downstairs by the service elevator, not the main passenger elevator. The service elevator is in a back hallway on each floor. That's where the garbage chute and recycling bins are. Well, you can't access this service elevator by yourself, you have to be taken down by a doorman, handyman, or porter. AND IT'S JUST LIKE THE ONE IN THE MOVIE. It's got the hand crank and the brass folding gate and you see the floors pass in front of you as you ride it. SPOOKY. 

Here are some actual pictures of me riding inside it with one of the porters...you be the judge:

Am I crazy??

Gentleman gym

One of the best things about my building is that there's a full scale gym in the basement. For a nominal yearly fee I have full access to a top-notch place to work out any time I want. It's got treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary bikes, rowing machine, a strength training unit, and plenty of floorspace for stretching and freeweights. There's even a large screen flatscreen TV with cable access to watch when you're doing your workout. There's rarely anyone else there when I workout (usually in the afternoons or early evenings and weekends), so it's like having your own private gym sometimes. It's a definite plus to my apartment.
Here are a few pictures of the well-lighted place:

The port cocheré: urn your keep

The urns that flank the entrance to the port cocheré were refurbished this week. They were also outfitted with some conifers, a bit of greenery to make things a little more inviting. It's nice to see the finishing touches added to this long project.

Pasta puttanesca

I tend not to cook elaborate meals in the city, my kitchen is good sized but not huge. So I'm always on the lookout for quick easy recipes that require a minimum of fuss...like this recipe for Past Puttanesca that I spotted on the NYTimesFood Instagram feed a while back.

They describe the dish thusly:
"There are almost as many explanations for the origins of pasta puttanesca as there are ways to make it. Ostensibly a sauce invented and made by prostitutes, it was designed to lure customers with it's powerful aroma. Whatever the origin, no better cold-weather pasta sauce has come down to us. Puttanesca an be made completely with ingredients from the larder: in fact, it can be prepared entirely without ingredients that require refrigeration, though a bit of fresh herb at the end does help. The basis is a garlicky tomato sauce; canned tomatoes are preferable here. This brought to a high level of flavor by the addition of anchovies, capers, and olives. Red pepper flakes make things even better. The whole process is ridiculously easy."

I've prepared it a few times this winter, it's super easy. I like that I can keep the ingredients on hand and can whip it up in a moment's notice when I don't feel like grocery shopping.



Here's the photo from the Times...and you can find the recipe here.