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Take a walk through New York's Lower East side and the East Village, including a major dog park.
It's a part of the city that most visitors don't get to, and yet you'll find it's one of the most interesting places in New York.
But first a look at this kind of industrial semi-downbeat neighborhood called NoHo, that's north of Houston. It's an in-between place that doesn't get a lot of attention, but that makes it fascinating to explore a little bit.
So much of lower Manhattan has been gentrified with new buildings going in and old buildings demolished. It's really quite delightful to see this more authentic presence in the city.
This sharp angle at Bleecker, Mulberry, and Lafayette brings us to Houston Street, and the flagship store in New York of REI, a great sporting goods shop.
Two levels and a large floor area have all sorts of clothing and shoes, hiking gear, hardware and tents - everything you could need for the outdoor life.
Continuing south of Houston on Lafayette Street, we are heading for Little Italy and then on into the lower East side.
Continuing now along Hester, passing a park and busy street, walking along Ludlow, Orchard, and Stanton and Rivington deeper into the Lower East Side.
These blocks around the north end of Orchard Street have an authentic urban charm with a lot of character. You don't see many chain stores here, they're individual, idiosyncratic, they've got grocery delivery on electric mopeds, for example. There's a real feeling of neighborhood here.
We've traveled north of Houston Street, which means we have arrived in the East Village, walking north a few blocks along First Avenue and then meandering down 7th Street and St. Mark's Place, ending up at Tompkins Square Park. It features the usual park attractions and something very special.
This place has gone to the dogs. Yes, it features the largest and oldest dog run park in the city, opened in 1990, and recently renovated and expanded. You can see this is an extremely popular spot. The dog run is managed and funded by the community. They set up a foundation called Friends of First Run, and they secured funding for renovations and ongoing maintenance.
While it's primarily a place for the dogs to run around and have some fun and get some exercise, you can see that the people are benefiting just as much, if not more, than the dogs. It really brings the community together – a place to make new friendships and renew old acquaintances, catch up on the neighborhood news.
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