ummer in New York City can be a real pain, and it's mostly because of the heat. While temperatures from June to August usually range from the high 70s to mid 80s °F (25-30°C), some days can come close to boiling point in particular locations. If you've ever gotten on the subway platform in the middle of July, you'd know pretty much how it feels working around a pizza oven all day. It's not anywhere near the New York state record high of 108°F (42°C) in Troy (1926), thankfully — definitely far from California state's 134°F (57°C) in Greenland Ranch (1913) — but it can feel torturous just the same.
It's not a surprise then that when friends or acquaintances broach the subject of coming to the northeastern coast of the United States for a visit, a kind of mental protocol always makes sure that I conjure the imagery of New York's cooler, more colorful season as the premise, if not the whole point of my friendly recommendation. The Empire State and the Big Apple are, without a doubt, a feast to the senses to locals and visitors alike no matter the time of year. Autumn in New York (not the insipid film shot entirely in Manhattan), however, just may be more than a sensory experience — it may well be a firework to the soul.
Central Park in the fall is especially enchanting. As the daylight hours lessen and the temperature drops (true in this minute speck of North America as it is in the whole of the Northern Hemisphere and everywhere else where deciduous forests thrive), the leaves stop making food, the green leaf pigments break down, their color changes from yellow to orange to red to brown — giving them their final bow in all of their autumn splendor before withering away as the winter nears.
The frequently photographed Bow Bridge glowing under the mid-afternoon sun Different stages of fall foliage on the lawns and lakesides of Central Park Approaching dusk at Turtle Pond (pic 3), Boat Lake (2), and Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir (1,4)
