A City For The Feet

"Most New Yorkers, of course, while they profess to enjoy walking, usually do it no more than they have to. They walk to and from the train station, for example, en route to the office or a movie. But others adopt what might be called long walking, regularly walking 20, 40 or 60 blocks to work, school or appointments. And in recent years, as the city has grown cleaner, safer and more prosperous, their numbers are growing."

"Dedicated long walkers often discover the pleasures of walking by accident. It was insomnia, for example, that prompted Randy Swearer to begin walking to his offices at Parsons the New School for Design near Union Square from his home in Brooklyn Heights."

"'I couldn't sleep one night,' said Mr. Swearer, who was dean of the school until 2004, 'and once the dawn broke I just thought, ‘I've got to get out of this apartment.' So I walked to work, and I saw all of this amazing stuff: delivery trucks unloading weird junk, phenomenal light plays on the buildings, fabulous wall postings and graffiti, wonderfully eccentric people, etc.'"