I am amazed by how empty it is in New York City this weekend. I just got back from a run in the East River park, and aside from the families having barbecues, the place was a ghost town. There were no little league games, there actually were open tennis courts and the running and bike paths were deserted -- and I was there at 3:00 in the afternoon.
A few years ago I was living on the Upper East Side and one Labor Day weekend my mom came in and we went to see a movie. It was Sunday evening and afterward we had to walk down to a Fleet Bank branch so I could get some cash. The stretch on Lexington Avenue between 86th and 79th Street was completely empty. Almost every single window in all those big high rises were dark. The lights that were on, I'm convinced, were on automatic timers.
Back when I worked at the AP I used to have to work on Labor Day all the time and it pissed me off, even if it was one day of the weekend. There's something unnerving about working when everyone else in the world is off. It feels like you're getting short changed in the Game of Life. I didn't have to be in the Hamptons or in the Berkshires. I just didn't want to be in an office. In fact, the more I think about it, the more working in finance makes sense -- if the markets won't be open, there's no reason for you to be there.
My point to all this is that in New York, a city that is in constant motion, I'm surprised to see it when things empty out. On Tuesday night I'm sure the gym will be full and the nail places will be at capacity again. But for now, everyone seems to be taking a few days off, and I think it's great.
Stanley Bing has a great post about Labor Day on the Fortune magazine web site.
