When I raised the window blinds in our living room this morning I was greeted by the sight of a large group of young men in athletic gear jogging north on the pavement across the street. The gradual gentrification of our neighbourhood and the fact that Highbridge Park faces our apartment has increased our sightings of family and recreational activities of the sort you would normally associate with a large urban green lung like Central or Prospect Park.

For a long time, the early morning activity was dominated by recyclers with modified shopping carts stacked skyhigh with empty cans and bottles hurrying to one of the local redemption centres (these independent hardworking individuals eke out a meagre living but contribute much to the environmental well-being of our city), and canines with bursting bladders and bowels dragging their drowsy-eyed companions by the leash to set traps for unsuspecting pedestrians in the least expected places.

So what was so unusual about this group of young men exercising in the cool of the early morning? They all wore yarmulkes firmly attached to the apex of their heads.

“Where were they from and where were they headed at this early hour?” I wondered out loud.

Patti quickly solved the mystery: “They must be from Yeshiva University”, she said.

Of course! I should have remembered that Yeshiva University has its main Wilf campus at West 185th Street and Amsterdam Avenue — about 30 blocks to the north of our apartment.