RIP ‘Civic Virtue’

Kim Barker, reporter, New York Times

CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine

KIM BARKER • reporter, New York Times • author, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Neighborhood you live in: Clinton Hill

It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I typically work from home on Fridays, unless I'm traveling for a story. If home, I'm usually trying to tie things up for the week on Friday afternoon — writing a short note for myself on where I'm at in my research, and where I should start on Monday morning (if I don't work over the weekend). And then I'm usually planning to meet friends for drinks after work — most recently, some friends and I did a dive bar tour in the East Village. (Tile Bar was too crowded, so we opted for International Bar.)

Where are you dining this weekend?
My typical go-to in the neighborhood is broccoli tacos at No. 7. I like the hot sauce and the vibe. 

How about a little leisure or culture?
I'm fascinated by graveyards and recently did a long walk through Green-Wood Cemetery, which is impossible to get through in one visit. My partner and I spent a lot of time ruminating near what’s hopefully the final resting place of a statue inexplicably called "Civic Virtue." It's basically a depiction of a naked man standing on top of two naked women who resemble Medusa-ish sea creatures. I immediately launched into a spiel about its obvious sexism, but upon further research, appreciated the backstory. Unveiled in 1922, the statue has been moved from the Bronx to Manhattan to Queens, encountering angry womens’ groups and equally mad art critics in every incarnation. In 2012, it was moved to this cemetery, where I declared it dead. 

Any weekend getaways?
Recently my boyfriend and I took a trip upstate — we stayed at the Deer Mountain Inn in Tannersville and also had a great burger there. (Great hotel, despite too many free-range children.) We had a good hike in which no one sprained an ankle and a productive visit to Hudson, where we bought some excellent used records at John Doe Records & Books.

What was your last great vacation?
Last summer we did a great trip to Croatia and the Czech Republic to see friends. Dubrovnik was way too hot — my only recommendation would be to stay inside, and venture out at night for a meal in the old city at a restaurant like Azur, which does a Croatian take on Asian food and also occasionally incorporates tacos. Česky Krumlov in the Czech Republic was pretty amazing — we went there to celebrate the birthdays of three friends I know from working in Kabul, Afghanistan. Great cobblestone streets, lovely medieval castle, and perhaps the strangest torture museum in Europe, which is saying a lot. If you do river rafting, make sure to take the rubber raft. We did the wooden ones and it didn't seem nearly as fun, although, they did give us beer.