Concierge Dwight Owsley on New York City

The essence of New York is that we are a brassy Dutch town that hinges on mercantilism. People here are accustomed to it; they’re not shocked or embarrassed by it. For example, on the day that Lincoln’s funeral cortege was paraded up Fifth Avenue, ticket brokers bought windowsill seats on the houses there and sold them. That’s so New York. And the day after 9/11, they ran out of US flags, but the next day they were everywhere for sale again! You wondered, where did these flags come from? It’s shameless, but that’s New York. And I’m the luckiest man in the world to know this city and its people.

My favourite time of year in the city is autumn. It’s when I first came to New York from Texas, and the autumn air is just magical. It’s so sensuous. You take a deep breath and it gives you the energy to walk. It also signals the opening of the opera season, the symphony, the ballet, Carnegie Hall … It doesn’t matter if you can’t get to all of them, it’s enough just to recite them like a mantra: it is “Autumn in New York”, as the song says!

As a concierge, the first thing to understand is what will make the guest happy. You have to stand outside of yourself. And occasionally you see that you can introduce the guest to things they may not have thought of themselves. For example, they may think they want to go to Harry Cipriani, but you can very carefully suggest a wonderful alternative, such as Paola’s. Paola is Roman and has an innate sense of style and taste, which is reflected in her restaurant, her menu and her staff.

My perfect New York day would start with a walk on the High Line. The meatpacking warehouses – site of such misery in the 19th century – are no longer there, but the old rails have been turned into a wonderful park. I would stop at the Ear Inn, which is housed in a late 18th-century townhouse built by James Brown, an African-American and an aide to George Washington during the American revolution. It’s perhaps the oldest tavern in New York, now surrounded by skyscrapers. They play jazz there sometimes. It makes me feel warm and cosseted to be so near the docks where people came off the boats, seeking a new life in the promised land. We are a nation of immigrants – they are our greatest strength.

I’d have to go to Brooklyn too, near Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park. It has such a neighbourhood feeling – with the townhouses and row houses – it’s like an America that’s long gone. The cultural institutions, like the Brooklyn Museum, are great too. After walking in the park, I like to wander along President Street in Prospect Heights… it’s just beautiful. When you’re at Grand Army Plaza you could swear you’re in Paris.

The greatest walk is across the Brooklyn Bridge, particularly going from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan – the view is stunning.

The place I cannot stay away from is the Lincoln Center. That is my home away from home. In fact, my favourite ever New York weekend was when I saw four operas in two days – only in New York! In between, I went to (200 West 70th Street) and to the Gotham Bar and Grill downtown. This is one of my favourite places – I fell in love with the way they grilled octopus when it first opened.

Ernest Hemingway would pick a place to eat for its staff. I love Cafe Fiorello for that exact reason. Everyone there is working to get somewhere else in the future – to become an opera singer, an actor, a painter or a conceptual artist. I love hanging out there.

For a drink, my heart is at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle. I sing there occasionally – I once sang with the legendary Bobby Short. I love the Bar Pleiades in the Surrey Hotel – it is fabulous! Another favourite is JG Melon, a famous, old-fashioned Irish pub with tiny little hamburgers that everyone loves to gorge their faces on. It hasn’t changed since the Mad Men era.

I had a memorable night some years back, singing with Billy Joel at the old restaurant at the St Regis Hotel. He was randomly playing the piano and someone told him I could sing. He invited me to join him, but I told him: “I don’t know any of your songs well enough to sing them!” So instead we sang some Gershwin and Cole Porter.

If I need to get away from the city, I visit friends on the North Shore of Long Island, in a tiny village called Greenport. It’s a place where people still leave their doors open, where there’s a community merry-go-round and a general store, and where everyone knows each other by name. Families have lived there for generations. They have their own private oyster beds and they’ll trade oysters for tomatoes. I’d love to retire there.