71 SQUARE MILES

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Last summer we rode the bouncing Ikea ferry from Manhattan to Red Hook for dinner. It was the first time I had been to this area and instantly had visions of buying some giant house in which all of our friends could live. I’d also purchase a yellow school bus and drop everyone off at work in the morning. It’s in the flood zone so I’ve changed my mind but my love for this area remains. At times it feels colonial, far from the commerce of the city, with the air and light of the Hebrides in my dreams. Independent boutiques and cupcakes shops are scattered about artists’ studios and an occasional loathsome bus depot. And then you reach the bright blue and yellow glowing Ikea where, walking though the aisles of potential home, you can have that same exact anxiety attack you had in Oakland.