Bringing a New York New Year here

At the Starbucks in Midtown Manhattan a few days ago, I saw a man order a hot drink with whipped cream, then mix in a packet of artificial sweetener.

I saw someone I guessed to be a New Yorker, that is, someone who is no stranger to revolving doors, try to exit a store by pushing the door clockwise, the reverse direction, which is a very strenuous task.

I saw a man walking down the street in the snow in a residential district, followed by his two small children. Every so often, he would reach up and shake a tree branch so the snow would fall on his kids.

They squealed with delight and in return, made tiny snowballs to throw at him.

In Chicago, it’s the pizza. In San Francisco, it’s the sour dough bread. In New York, it’s the bagels, although I did have the best pastrami ever at the Second Avenue Deli in Manhattan.

At Saks Fifth Avenue, the crowd of shoppers was so thick that I was carried along with them, unable to move sideways to get to an elevator. I wound up in the sleepwear department.

Outside Saks, Santas rang bells, Christmas lights flickered in trees and wreaths hung everywhere. There were carols, celebrations and snow.

This is my third trip to New York this year, the second when there was snow on the ground. But as many times as I have been to New York in my life -- and it has been many times -- I have never been here during the Christmas season.

All of the above observations, plus an upcoming special New Year’s Eve even in Orange County, have led me to wonder why we, Costa Mesa in particular, should not try to duplicate the magic that is New York during the holidays.

On Dec. 31, a private, for-profit group is organizing a massive celebration at the Orange County Fairgrounds. There will be bands, dancing, food and fun; and at midnight, there will be a countdown.

This is a single event that will shine a large spotlight on the city. What I’d like to see for next year, assuming that the New Year’s Eve celebration returns, is a couple of weeks of celebrating prior.

Costa Mesa has the potential to be a holiday tourist destination. With some planning, the city could attract people -- who want to go to a place that is fun, exciting, interesting, has excellent shopping and has the infrastructure to support them all -- from all over the western U.S.

Imagine festivals at various parks and campuses. Imagine Christmas, Hannukah, even Kwaanza and the Swedish Festival of Lights as part of planned, coordinated celebrations. Imagine South Coast Plaza, Metro Pointe and Crystal Court (it will always be Crystal Court, the same way that Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan will always be Seventh Avenue) as the ultimate West Coast holiday shopping destination.

All of this can be supported by the Performing Arts Center, South Coast Repertory, the new concert halls, the Robert B. Moore Theater at Orange Coast College and any place else that has the ability to put on a play or a pageant.

For lack of a better description at this time, call it “New York West.”

One of the challenges is that most readers and perhaps most of the city’s decision-makers, have never been to Manhattan at Christmastime. Without that experience, it’s hard to imagine the two weeks I am describing. With it, one becomes intoxicated.

Perhaps one year is not enough time to plan a two-week event of the scale I am describing. Still, the city already has some elements of this plan in place. At South Coast Repertory and the Performing Arts Center, we can see “A Christmas Carol,” “La Posada Magica” and “The Nutcracker.”

South Coast Plaza would not need much to break through a promotion as the best Christmas shopping location in the west.

And now we’ll have a grand New Year’s Eve celebration that may capture national attention.

The prosperity benefit is important, for many of the decision-makers and influencers will ask questions about the return on this investment. These are important questions.

Planning New York West will take some time, perhaps more than a year. It will take some vision, and as with any event of this type, there will be some risk. But it will also take the community to a new level of success and prosperity.

In this case, the fear of failure should not exceed our desire for success.

All that will be left is to figure out why we can’t make bagels like they do in New York.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].

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