Photographs by Yvonne Vavra.
By Yvonne Vávra
It’s over. We’ve lost the light, and now we’re running out of everything—energy, emotional stability, and the time between dinner and pajamas. Wednesday gave us our last post-7 p.m. sunset. The sun is turning a cold shoulder: showing up late, leaving early, barely making eye contact. She’s ghosting us, obviously. Fine. Be that way. Keep those banking hours.
On the bright side, this mid-whine you caught me in was just an innocent reflex—the drama of change getting to me for a moment. Actually, everything’s amazing. Fall begins on Monday, and that’s when we really shine. It’s the season when the Upper West Side becomes most itself.
Sure, we’ve got the pink blooms and hopeful smiles of spring, the endless summer picnics in one of the world’s most famous parks, and then there’s winter… I’m sure there’s something nice to say about snow, but I’d rather not think about that now.
The point is, we can wear any season and look fabulous. But autumn? That’s when the Upper West Side slips into its favorite, most flattering sweater. This is our season. And now, it’s showtime.
Our brownstones and prewars, with their earthy hues, were clearly made for this. A genius prop master couldn’t have set the scene more perfectly for a fall film shoot. Good thing the sun sets earlier now—less waiting for that soft golden light to bounce off the warm stone. It might be cooler, but everything looks warmer against the flame-colored trees. The whole neighborhood seems tinted in sepia, classic and calm, inviting us to slow down and step out of the rush for a moment.
It’s cinematic. Every stoop seems to be waiting for a rom-com character to show up in a cardigan, groceries in hand, nursing a small heartbreak. Nothing serious—just the right amount of bittersweet melancholia to match the mood. It’ll be okay, we know, because we’re safe and cozy in the arms of Riverside and Central Parks, gently holding us in the four-and-a-half-block space between them. Best hug ever.
Meanwhile, our own arms and legs are disappearing under clothing. Outfits are back. Summer’s too hot for thoughtful combinations and accessories—there’s only so much you can do when half your look is bare skin. But fall? Welcome back, texture, depth, and effort. Rejoice the return of corduroy!
The scene is set, the lighting’s perfect, the wardrobe’s fixed. Now all that’s left is to step into it. I want to walk on crunching leaves and have big thoughts. I want to get lost in the Ramble while already looking forward to coming home. I want to peek into brownstone windows and imagine Upper West Siders rummaging through closets, head-deep in storage boxes, searching for pumpkins, hay bales, and copper florals. I can’t wait to see it all land on their stoops. I want to watch the dogs walk with a spring in their step again, see people at sidewalk cafés wrapping both hands around hot mugs—and I’m fairly close to wanting to bake something. But I don’t have an oven. And that’s probably for the best.
For now, everything’s still green. The trees are full, the parks are lush. But we know it won’t last. The leaves will crisp, fall, disappear—because that’s what they’re meant to do. No drama. Nature lets go, and looks amazing on the way out. We forget we’re part of the same cycle, and the shrinking days are an invitation to get in sync. The sun backs off so we can do the same—pull in a little, slow down without guilt. We don’t have to hold on so tightly to plans and pressures. It’s the season to take stock and maybe make some space.
But before we let go, we get to glow: golden walks on golden sidewalks under golden trees. And golden windows! I’ll happily trade some daylight for lamps clicking on a little earlier, lighting the Upper West Side up from the inside out.
The sun isn’t ghosting us. It’s just dimming the house lights, setting a mood to fall for. And no one does mood like the Upper West Side.
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Yvonne Vávra is a magazine writer and author of the German book 111 Gründe New York zu lieben (111 Reasons to Love New York). Born a Berliner but an aspiring Upper West Sider since the 1990s (thanks, Nora Ephron), she came to New York in 2010 and seven years later made her Upper West Side dreams come true. She’s been obsessively walking the neighborhood ever since.
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