Mixing Business & Family in NYC with a Touch of Tony Danza

I spent the better part of last week and the start of this week in New York City for my third business trip to Big Apple. 

My previous business trips to New York took place in April 2025 and in May 2026. Those previous business trips as well as my business trip to Wheeling, West Virginia in June 2025 took place between a Monday and a Wednesday. This business trip took place between a Wednesday and a Monday.

This meant that I took an Amtrak train down to NYC last Wednesday morning, arrived in NYC by 12:30 p.m., worked in the office for ½ day before spending all of Thursday and Friday in the office and another ½ day this morning before taking the train back to Boston.

While my previous NYC business trips had elements of family by virtue of staying with Dad, this time around my brother Ezra was also in town. I should add that the NY office is operating on summer hours which meant I could clock out a couple of hours early. This meant more time with the family in the evening as well as both Saturday and Sunday. Also going back to Boston on a Monday is considerably less expensive than doing so on a Sunday.

For those that don't know, Dad has a YouTube channel called Gugie Goldstein. Dad mainly shoots videos of various musical happenings around the city. Among his regular haunts is Manny's Bistro which is situated on Columbus Avenue near West 70th Street. On late Sunday afternoons & early evenings, there is a jazz band which plays right outside the premises led by former 20/20 producer Victor Neufeld. This band also regularly features guest appearances by actor Tony Danza who one might remember from Taxi and Who's The Boss?

I should mention that Danza, who turned 75 back in April, lives on the Upper West Side, and I saw him walking around the neighborhood on several occasions when I lived in NYC between 2018 and 2020. Dad has a bit of history with Danza. One night at a neighborhood restaurant, Dad gave Danza the "call me" sign. This did not amuse Danza one bit and he called him out on the carpet for it. 

However, over time, Danza has seen Dad videotaping the sessions at Manny's, has been appreciative of Dad's work and has accommodated his requests for several songs. Are they friends? Not by a long shot. But mutual respect will do just fine.

Ezra and I were on hand for Dad's latest session at Manny's yesterday. It was an overcast day, but Danza brought a lot of energy when he joined in the festivities especially by people who are walking by not expecting Tony Danza to be singing on the street in front of a restaurant. There were also a couple of tango dancers which also livened things up considerably. While this wasn't my first time viewing the proceedings, I had never been so delighted to be on hand for it.

Of course, all things must come to an end. While there were no issues on Amtrak this time around, no sooner had I arrived back in Boston there was power failure on the MBTA Red Line which forced the shutdown of the AC on the subway. After about five minutes of sitting on a sweltering train, I decided to take a cab in rush hour traffic back home. While this cost me some money, I will be reimbursed for it because in this particular circumstance, this cab ride is a business expense. Business travel does have its privileges. 

The only thing which would have made it better is if Tony Danza were driving the cab. Or maybe Marilu Henner who I met many, many moons ago. But that is another story for another day.