This month Natural Selections interviews Catherine Bernstein, Comparative Bioscience Center.
Country of Origin: USA

How long have you been living in New York?
Pretty much all my life! I was born at Mount Sinai Hospital and grew up in the northeast Bronx near Montefiore Hospital. I went to Boston College for a year and a half and worked at Harvard Medical School for about a year but always ended up back in NYC. My dream was to live in Manhattan.

Where do you live?
East 84th Street between York and East End Avenues.

Which is your favorite neighborhood?
I lived in midtown, the East Village (in the early nineties) and the West Village (nine years on Bedford Street). I’d have to say the West Village.

What do you think is the most overrated thing in the city? And underrated?
Overrated: Entertainment, because I’ve always found that if you actually live in the heart of the city, you can’t afford the big concerts, clubs, going out for drinks, etc. If you can, it’s usually too crowded and ends up being more trouble than it’s worth. Underrated: The opportunities for health and exercise here. Many for free or very cheap. There’s yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, running, swimming, miles and miles of new biking trails, groups all over the city to inspire you. And the healthy food supermarkets like Trader Joe’s, Fairway, Whole Foods (look for the bargains) and the smaller neighborhood markets like HealthNuts and Elm Health.

What do you miss most when you are out of town?
The New York attitude particular to people here…that witty self-deprecating sarcasm/cynicism unique to people who live here.

If you could change one thing about NYC, what would that be?
The population explosion. There are over one million more people in NYC than there were fifteen years ago. You really feel it on the subways, buses, walking the streets. It’s harder to do activities and just relax. If you watch movies of NYC from the seventies and eighties, it was a lot less crowded.

Describe a perfect weekend in NYC.
This would be for summer: Running in Central Park in the early morning. Pilates class at Asphalt Green. Brunch at Peter’s Restaurant (outdoor dining!) on 1st and 83rd. Hanging out in Carl Schurz Park near the small dog run with a blanket, sunscreen, a good book, and the Daily News. A picnic dinner in the park with a bottle of chilled white wine and a large pizza from Pintaile’s. Watching the boats go by on the East River as the sun sets. Back home to watch Dexter.

What is the most memorable experience you have had in the NYC?
Back in high school, my friends and I were huge fans of Late Night with David Letterman (this is going back to 1986). We had a sleepover one summer weekend and set our alarms for 2 a.m. We took the D train from the Bronx to Rockefeller Center and waited for stand-by tickets all night long. We had to go to a McDonald’s in Times Square for a bathroom! We got into the show that day and waited around for Dave and his band. We met him, Paul Schaeffer, and Chris Elliott and got everyone’s autograph. I’ll never forget it.

If you could live anywhere else, where would that be?
Santa Monica, California.

Do you think of yourself as a New Yorker? Why?
Yes! It’s all I know. My grandparents settled in the Upper East Side in the forties and moved to the Bronx where my Mom grew up. She met my Dad right on the same block (DeKalb Ave) that I grew up on. NYC is in my blood! I grew up thinking Sesame Street was every kid’s life.