Some people have the mistaken perception that I dont like New York City.

Nothing c
ould be further from the truth. I love it! Allow me to explain...
First of all, I feel like a New Yorker and New York feels like my city. My grandfa
ther was born and raised on the Lower East Side in the Jewish Tenements. My gran
dmother moved to New York from Pennsylvania at age 14 after she was orphaned and
worked at Schrafts as a waitress and met my grandfather in a dime a dance hall.
After they made it they bought a farm in Pennsylvania, which is where I was raise
d. But they always kept an apartment in the city, which is still in the family t
oday. (In fact, the same doorman has been working in the building for at least 5
0 years and the other day I saw him out of uniform in Chelsea and at first I tho
ught it was a celebrity sighting!).
Some of my earliest memories are coming to New York with them and staying in tha
t apartment. It is half a block from FAO Schwartz, Bergdorf Goodman and the Plaz
a Hotel and one block from Central Park. Whats not to love about that? I simply a
dore the Paris Theatre and have seen many movies there over the years. And my ch
ildren were raised reading Eloise. In fact one of my children who I will not nam
e here actually thought she WAS Eloise. She now lives in New York City, but defi
nitely not at the Plaza.
Ive been coming into the city for work for the past 25 years - 20 of them on the
bus, the Bieber Bus to be exact. And lately Ive been driving my Prius because I p
refer the freedom of it. Ive got my own apartment now, in Chelsea, by the Highlin
e and near Chelsea Piers where I sometimes go to hit golf balls. Theres even an o
rganic soft ice cream truck a block from my apartment! Our offices are still in
the same location and I love nothing more than to walk the two miles (yes WALK)
to and from the office (usually listening to music on my headphones). I cant do t
hat in Pennsylvania!
Yes there is culture, arts and all sorts of diversity in the city. And I love th
e creative energy and sense of freedom. I love walking by the Chelsea Hotel and
remembering what Patti Smith wrote about it in her book, Just Kids. But most of
all I love the food options. I get lots of ideas and inspirations from dining in
New York, and love to try to replicate some of the tastes when I get home to my
kitchen in Pennsylvania. I do not cook in my New York kitchen. Why would I when
there is so much interesting food right outside my door?
I also think New York offers unprecedented opportunities for craziness. When I w
as a kid, my gay brother, who died of AIDS in 1985, absolutely adored Bette Midl
er (no surprise there). I also fell in love with her singing and crazy personali
ty. So imagine now how weird and wonderful it is that Ive been on the board for t
he past 10 plus years of Bettes New York Restoration Project and helped to plant
trees all over the city and have gotten to know Bette a little bit! Crazy right?
Only in New York! I admire her and the kind of fame she has, but I dont crave it
for myself...and I think thats where New York has a hard time with me sometimes
- New York is a city of craving for fame and recognition and financial one-upman
ship. And I dont have that hunger. I dont mind people who do at all. I just dont ha
ve it.
Speaking of people, New York City is a great place to meet with people. Whether
its the book business, the magazine business or the digital business, if people a
rent already there, they are usually willing to come to New York. Its easy to meet
people for lunch or dinner, or have a meeting. There is an energy and intensity
around the gathering of people in Manhattan that is probably unprecedented in t
he world.
To me, every place has a dark side and New Yorks dark side is the thinking that i
ts the only best city in the world and more important than any other place. As a
person who runs a business....a GLOBAL business, and as a woman who has traveled
around the world, I just dont buy it. Yes, I love New York. But I love a lot of
other cities too. I love Philadelphia for its passion for music (and I prefer to
go there for concerts). I love Hamburg, Germany for the fact that people will s
it out in outdoor cafs even in freezing weather...with blankets! I love Tokyo for
the bright and colorful modernity and sense of fun. I love San Francisco for it
s determination to be different, even though its not that different. I love Seatt
le for the crazy wonderful food that is underappreciated. I love Sydney for its

sunshine and relaxed happiness. I love Melbourne for the smell of coffee and bri
lliant tension between business and art. Paris is amazing for the scent of art e
verywhere and London for its history everywhere. I will go back to Ryjkevic just
for that amazing brown sugar that tastes just like molasses! Dallas for its Chi
cken Fried Steak. Knoxville for its fried chicken. Nashville for its music, of co
urse. Miami for...the color of the water at the beach. Los Angeles for KROCK! Th
e world is a wonderful place. And New York is my second home.
But Pennsylvania is home. Im the kind of person who needs nature to survive. Thats
my hunger. And I love that Pennsylvania just knows that its not the center of th
e universe. Its just a place where people live normal lives with plenty of parkin
g for everyone. And the truth is, thats what Rodale Inc is built on - trying to h
elp people EVERYWHERE, live healthier happier lives no matter where they live. F
or me, living out in Pennsylvania keeps me more connected to our customers and h
ow they live. Our magazines and books are in over 40 countries. And Ive got a lon
g list of cities I have yet to visit. So New York, I love you, but you are not t
he only one. You are an important one, but not the only important one. I know th
at can be hard to hear, but Im one of those people who speaks the truth, even whe
n its not popular. I know you dont like that about me either. But thats ok. I love
you anyway.