Guys on the corner

Scene on the corner of Madison Avenue and 72nd Street.

The Upper Room

Until the 1960s, this section of Lower Manhattan was the site of struggling small businesses, busy commuter ferry docks and dilapidated shipping piers. When the World Trade Center was being built, more than one million cubic yards of earth and rocks were excavated, moved across West Street and dumped here to create 92 acres of landfill. The newly-created area became a massive business and residential development known as Battery Park City.

The most attractive features of this prosperous planned community are the small harbor and 70 foot wide Esplanade along the Hudson River. The riverfront walkway contains rows of trees, beds of shrubbery, low iron fences, benches, lampposts and several significant pieces of public art.

If you were to walk south from the World Financial Center Plaza (about mid-point along the Esplanade), you’d soon come to the Upper Room. Created by Ned Smyth in 1987, the Upper Room stands at the corner where Albany Street meets the Esplanade.

In summer, when temperatures soar, the Upper Room will be shaded by nearby trees and filled with visitors. Early spring, before the branches burst into bloom, is the perfect time to see the Middle East-inspired details of this red-hued colonnaded court built of pebbled concrete, bluestone, brass and mosaic.

View from the Esplanade

The still-bare branches of the trees

The view from Albany Street

Looking toward the Hudson River

Detail of bench

Detail of mosaic

Battery Park City
The Upper Room
Battery Park City Parks Conservancy: Parks & Playgrounds
Culture Now: Battery Park City Map

Hi, do you wear a button?

This sign was posted at the top of a stairway inside the Clark Street subway station. I can’t help but wonder whether it worked.

Have you ever posted (or answered) an ad looking for love?

I Believe In Harvey Dent

The Greatest Show on Earth

It isn’t just another traveling show — for 138 years, this company has been America’s biggest, best and most popular circus. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey describe themselves as “the Greatest Show On Earth” and hundreds of thousands of devoted fans agree. This show took place in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The arena is packed

The show begins

The trumpets blare

Man on horseback

An explosion of motion and color

The cage is in the center of the ring

Motorcycles riding inside the cage

Centrifugal force prevents falling

The tigers and the trainer

The trainer and the tigers

He turns his back on the beasts

The acrobats

Elephants sitting up in a row

Elephant parade

Trapeze artist

The man on the flying trapeze

The finale!

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey History

Spring is here!

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils
— William Wordsworth

The trees are still bare, the grass is still brown, but the winter is officially over and the signs of spring have appeared. These, the year’s first blossoms, appeared “all at once,” bursting out of the cold, hard earth of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Tree peony bud

Tree peony buds

Snowdrops

Daffodil

Daffodils

Drift of crocuses

Crocuses

Crocus

Small yellow flowers

Blossom breaking through the winter cover

Vinca

Violet

Iris

Camellia

Camellia

Camellia bud

Empty benches and bare branches

Soon, these limbs will be covered with flowers

Ducks swimming in the spring sunshine

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

In New York City, St. Patrick’s Day is the day that everyone is — or wishes they were — Irish. Fifth Avenue is closed to traffic, the street’s center stripe is painted green, and thousands of marchers, dancers and celebrants make their way up the avenue in the world’s largest celebration of Irish heritage and culture.

Dancers heading up 5th Avenue

Pipers walk on the green striped roadway

Cheerleaders from Utrecht High School

Family with green hair

Dublin girl with green eyelashes

Woman with beer goggles

Uniformed officers salute the pipers

Marching band with shining brass

Friends with green hair

Mother & son celebrate

Sisters in faux leopard skin coats

Wearing a green tam o’ shanter

Smiling in festive hats

A band of pipers marching

Pipers in kilts near 82nd Street

Man with a drum

Fisherman’s knit sweater and tweed cap

Girl from Fordham in tartan plaid

Friends in green

Tiny leprauchan around his neck

Her tiara says “Irish Princess”

Today everybody is Irish

Carrying American flags

Man with green goatee and brows

Girl with shamrocks

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Welcoming a New Year in an Old Neighborhood

This old neighborhood in Lower Manhattan has been known as “Chinatown” since the mid-eighteenth century.

While it hasn’t been the center of New York’s Chinese life for decades, the area remains the city’s oldest and best-known Chinatown (New York’s other Chinatowns are located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens) and it is still the site of the region’s largest lunar New Year celebration.

Today, the narrow, twisting streets were filled beyond capacity as thousands of people squeezed in to buy souvenirs, cheer the dancers, drummers and marchers, and twist the cardboard tubes of confetti shooters ($5 each! Three for $10!) until their contents exploded, showering the crowd with shiny paper and foil.

This year, as the parade welcoming the Year of the Rat drew to a end, a sudden, fierce snowstorm erupted. The swirling white flakes mixed with the brightly-colored steamers, delighting the children, quickly clearing out the celebrants and creating a memorable close to this chilly, festive day.

New Year’s decorations for sale on Mott Street

The streets were packed

The star of the day, the New Year’s Rat

Getting a good view of the parade

Boy with a lion costume

Displaying white lion mask

Good thing Dad is tall

Some kids can’t see a thing

Wearing mouse ears to honor the Rat

Grown-ups wore mouse ears, too

Metallic streamers landed in her hair

Father & daughter try to trigger confetti shooter

Boy with confetti shooter

Girl with New Year’s sweets

Paper dragon in a storefront

Enthralled by the spectacle

A smile as big as the parade

Girl having a great time

The air was filled with confetti

That isn’t just paper falling!

It’s snowing!

The crowd starts to clear out

Soon only the police are left walking through the storm

Lunar New Year’s Parade

The day was rainy and cold, but spirits were still bright for the 13th annual Lunar New Year parade in Flushing, Queens.

Here, in the neighborhood that is home to New York’s largest Asian population, the Chinese and Korean communities marched down Main Street to welcome in the Year of the Rat. Happy New Year!

Mounted police officers lead the parade

NYPD Marching Band

The Chinese marchers begin

There’s a kid under that gigantic mask

Carrying flags

The mouse ears symbolize the Year of the Rat

A lion on parade

Carrying flags

A little lion dances

A dragon held aloft

Martial arts demonstration

Beating the drum

The kids are enthralled

A costumed dancer

Large dragon is held aloft

Korean-American Association

Marching band

Drummers and dancers

Banging the gong

Riding on a float

Beating a drum

Clanging the cymbals

Girls in Korean dress

Traditional Korean costume

Korean War veterans

Veterans marching on Main Street

WNYC: Lunar New Year Kicks Off in Flushing
Times-Ledger: Flushing Gears Up

Signs of Life in the Subway

The Metropolitan/Lorimer Street subway station features Signs of Life, a series of mosaics by Taiwan-born artist Jackie Chang. The project, completed in the year 2000, was commissioned by the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority. It brings a much-needed touch of wit and beauty to an otherwise dingy underground section of Brooklyn.

Faith – Fate

Same – Sane

History: Your Story

Use Less

MTA: Permanent Art
Dephography: Jackie Chang
NYC Subway: Artwork
Art in Context: Jackie Chang

Every Seat Tells a Story

Central Park, the first public park built in America, attracts over 25 million visitors each year. Within its 843 acres, the Park contains 50 fountains, monuments and sculptures, 36 bridges and arches and more than 9,000 benches.

In 1986, the Central Park Conservancy devised an innovative way to raise the money required to maintain the benches. The program, called Adopt-A-Bench, provides donors with a small touch of immortality via engraved plaques affixed to benches.

The donor selects both the inscription and the bench on which it will be placed, and the Conservancy promises to care for the bench and surrounding plantings for the life of the Park. Most benches can be adopted for $7,500, but hand-made rustic benches in select locations can be adopted for $25,000.

To date about 2,000 benches have been adopted, and their plaques commemorate the joyous, humorous, tragic, puzzling, poignant and mundane moments that occur every day in this great park.

In Honor of Shirley Turtletaub, Who Just Loves This Park

A Bench for Book Lovers

In Loving Memory of Gregory Richards. Dec. 28, 1970 – Sept. 11, 2001

When There Is No Wind, Row. George Ames Plimpton

Granny’s Summer Home

In Loving Memory of Rocky

In Loving Memory of Nauka Kushitani (2.5.57 – 9.11.01)

Dick Gilder and Lois Chiles

M.L. Will You Marry Me?

In Memory of the Man Who Gave Me New York, My Prince Charming

For The Rescue Dogs Of 9/11, Loyalty And Duty Beyond Our Comprehension

“Aren’t We Lucky” – David Halberstam

In The Stars’ Soft Light We Will Say Good Night

What A Joy, This Park!

The Central Park Conservancy Adopt-A-Bench program
Adopt-A-Bench application form (pdf)

Doorway on Bleecker Street

This doorway is located at 194 Bleecker Street in the heart of old Greenwich Village.

NY Songlines: Bleecker Street

Suddenly, I feel very thirsty

I was on Manhattan’s Lower East Side when I noticed this building at the corner of Essex and Rivington Streets.

It is painted with enormous advertisements for Red Stripe beer from Jamaica and Schapiro’s Kosher Wine. This neighborhood must be a very tough place for a tea-totaler.

We protest!

The crowd gathered in front of the Federal Courthouse was loud and passionate. They carried signs, chanted and marched on Cadman Plaza in a small circle. Very small. In fact, the police and court officers on the scene almost outnumbered the protesters.

The demonstration took place at lunchtime. Organizers plugged in their sound system, cranked up the speakers and drew spectators from nearby homes and businesses. A group of students said that they’d come over to investigate because the noise had disrupted their classes (“Our school is a few blocks away but we heard it,” they said.).

The marchers seemed committed to their cause, but few of the observers understood what the group was protesting. The signs and speeches made it clear that the demonstration had something to do with Puerto Rico, but not the specific nature of the problem.

When asked what the protest was all about, the observers shrugged their shoulders and confessed that they didn’t have a clue, but they were enjoying the little show in the sunshine. I took a few photos, but didn’t learn the nature of their cause (they want Puerto Rico to be independent of the US) until I found a report online.

Women making a speech

The marchers

Anti-FBI sign

Protester with tape over his mouth

Jury resistance campaign

More marchers

Protesting the FBI

Newday: Pro-independence Puerto Ricans subpoenaed by NYC grand jury

Hats off, coats open!

Last week we shivered and froze, but today New Yorkers are basking in unseasonably warm weather. In fact, this temporary respite from frigid conditions (predictions are for snow within a week) has broken the city’s records for high temperatures in January.

Here are a few images of New Yorkers relaxing under the bare branches and enjoying a brief preview of spring.

A fine day for skating

Doing some work on a bench at City Hall Park

Coats open, riding a scooter down Broadway

Gossip and lunch al fresco

Who needs a coat in Zuccotti Park?

Roller blading on 5th Avenue

Spring fever strikes along the Brooklyn Promenade

WCBS TV: High Temps Set Records Across NYC
Newsday: Record warmth marks January thaw

How to Ensure a Happy New Year

Some people believe that the things they do on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day will influence or set a pattern for the rest of the year. Me, I’m not superstitious. But just in case you want to hedge your bets, here are some common (and uncommon) beliefs.

Before midnight

• Make sure your home contains plenty of food and money. Empty pockets or cupboards on New Year’s Eve may usher in a year of poverty.
• If the new year begins with debt, you will continue to owe for the rest of the year. Write and mail out checks for household bills and settle personal debts prior to midnight.

At the stroke of midnight

• Open all the doors so the old year can escape and the new year may enter.
• Make loud noises to scare away evil spirits.
• Kiss those dearest to you to ensure their affection will continue another 12 months.
• Jumping up and down at midnight will cause you to grow taller.
• Eating 12 grapes (one for each month) will ensure a good year.
• If you live alone, you can ensure a lucky year by putting a coin in a basket that has a string tied to it, then placing the basket just outside your front door. After midnight, pull the string to bring the basket inside (don’t just reach out to retrieve it; that would cancel the luck).

After midnight

• Good fortune will be yours if the first person to cross your threshold in the new year is a tall, dark haired, good looking man (if the first to enter is blond, redheaded or female, bad luck will follow). A man with a high instep, or one riding a horse, is considered particularly lucky. He should be carrying gifts including a silver coin, a sprig of evergreen, a lump of coal, a chunk of bread and a bit of salt.
• The first person to enter must not be cross-eyed, flat footed or have eyebrows that meet in the middle.
• Drink the last dregs of a bottle used to celebrate the new year and good fortune will be yours.
• Wind up all the clocks and you will endow the house with good fortune.

On New Year’s Day

• Absolutely nothing, not even garbage, can be taken out of your home on the first day of the year. Don’t sweep as much as a speck of dust or you might sweep good luck from the house.
• Washing dishes and doing laundry on this day will lead to a death in the family during the year.
• Eating black-eyed peas will bring both good luck and money.
• Dancing in the open air (especially around a tree) will ensure luck in love, prosperity and health throughout the year.
• Wear something new to increase the likelihood of more new garments during the year. If you wear something red, you’ll have happiness all the year round.
• Do not pay back loans or lend money or other precious items on New Year’s Day. To do so is to guarantee you’ll be paying out all year.
• A token amount of work on first day of the year means advancement in your career but starting a serious work project is very unlucky.
• Handle things with care; if you break anything on the first day, you’ll face a year of wreckage.
• Be of good cheer. Crying on the first day ensures a year filled with sadness.

Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008. Happy New Year!

Photo from Oriental Trading Company

Snopes: New Year’s Superstitions
IndoBase: New Year’s Superstitions
Old Superstitions: New Year’s Customs
Oriental Trading Company: New Year’s 2008 Rubber Duckies

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air there’s a feeling of Christmas
Children laughing, people passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you’ll hear
Silver bells, silver bells
Its Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas Day
– Ray Evans & Jay Livingston

This is Christmas Day in the city, and here are some scenes of New York’s 2007 holiday style.

Lord & Taylor department store

Lord & Taylor window

Saks Fifth Avenue window

Saks Fifth Avenue window

Caramel Apple booth at Bryant Park

Temporary shop at Bryant Park Holiday Market

Temporary shops at Bryant Park Holiday Market

Straw angels at Rockefeller Center

Straw angels, Christmas Tree in background

Buon Natale from Little Italy

Hollywood.Com: Ray Evans
Hollywood.Com: Jay Livingston

Grand Central Kaleidoscope Light Show

Today, Grand Central Terminal will be packed with those travelling home for the holidays. Although the train station will be crowded, the travellers’ waiting time will be made less painful by a spectacular, free holiday sound and light show called Kaleidoscope.

Every half hour, from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., tourists and commuters watch as the marble walls and painted ceiling of the main concourse are washed with choreographed audiovisual effects. If you want to see the show in person, you’ll have to hurry; it ends on New Year’s day.

Here are a few images from the show, along with happy holiday wishes from Blather in Brooklyn.

The main entrance to the station

Suddenly, the music starts and the walls begin to change color

A traveller stops in his tracks to watch the show

Patterns cover the pale marble walls

The music swells and images of fireworks appear

The lights cover every surface

Twinkling stars are projected onto the ceiling

Grand Central Terminal

We Want Wii!

They’ve been on the market for more than a year, but rave reviews and manufacturer’s shortages have combined to make the Nintendo Wii the “I’ll do absolutely anything to buy one” item this holiday season.

That “anything for a Wii” mentality means that those anxious to score one for Christmas are paying several times the $249 list price (thus creating a new job category: professional Wii reseller). But … even if they are willing to pay top dollar, how do they find a Wii to buy?

In addition to bidding on eBay, many have resorted to bribing local shop owners, following delivery trucks, subscribing to services that alert them to the toy’s availability (“Toys R Us just got a shipment!”), and, of course, camping out in front of stores.

A few weeks ago, I heard a National Public Radio reporter say that the Nintendo World Store in New York is one of the best places in the country to buy the machine because it receives a shipment every day. Those regular deliveries mean that, rain or shine, potential buyers are massed outside, patiently waiting for the store to open.

Of course, purchasing such a desirable item isn’t a simple as strolling in and whipping out a credit card. The Nintendo World Store employs a strict system that maintains order:

1. Since the Wii is sold on a first-come-first-served basis, buyers line up in front of the door. Many come as part of a “buying team” — one member can go for a hot chocolate or take a bathroom break while the other team members maintain their position in the queue.
2. Security guards (sometimes aided by police officers) stand at several points, preventing line cutting and jumping.
3. A hour or two before the store’s official opening time, numbered bracelets — one per machine in stock — are distributed to the crowd, front to back. Each person is limited to one bracelet, which gives them the right to buy one Wii.
4. Simply obtaining a bracelet is not enough; the potential buyer must continue to stay in the line until their number is called. Sometimes the doors open a bit before 9:00 a.m.; if your number is called and you aren’t present to enter the store, you lose your chance and the guards simply go on to the next person.

Tonight I stopped by the queue and spoke the woman at the front, who lay on the ground bundled up in a sleeping bag. She was waiting to enter the Valhalla-like shop and buy a Wii, she said, for her 12-year-old sister and had set up her little camp at 5:00 p.m. By the time the store opens at 9:00 tomorrow, she will have logged 16 hours in her frigid spot on the New York City sidewalk.

Secure in the #1 spot

Linewaiters, settled in for the night

This is his sixth time on the queue

Buddies ready for the long haul

Cleaners working inside the closed store

Nintendo World Store
National Public Radio: Finding a Wii
SF Gate: How I Scored a Wii
PC World: Wii Shortage Blame Game: Don’t Just Blame Nintendo
Consumerist: Confessions of a Wii Reseller
Gizmodo: Nintendo Not Going to Have Enough Wiis This Holiday Season

Chinatown Dragon Fighters

Yes, I know. More than a month has passed since this blog was updated.

The reason? I’ll spare you the details, but my faithful, trusty old PC finally died, trapping my files and photos inside. In response, I maxed out my credit card and replaced the dead machine with a shiny new iMac.

Some of the resident geniuses at the Apple Store were able to extract the photos from the old computer (free of charge!), and I’m finally getting (or at least, I’m starting to get) the hang of the built-in software, so the blog is back in business.

These photos were taken on the Lower East Side, at the corner of Allen & Canal Streets, during a wintery rainstorm. They show New York City Fire Engine Company 9, Ladder Company 6, also known as the Chinatown Dragon Fighters. Founded in 1731, the Dragon Fighters are the oldest company in the Fire Department of New York.

View from Canal Street

The dragon emblem painted on the door

Official Web Site: Dragon Fighters

Decorating the Tree at Columbus Park

I was walking along Court Street when the white aerial lift atop a bright orange bucket truck caught my eye. As I drew closer, I saw two workmen were using the vehicle to lift them as they decorated the Christmas tree at the steps of Borough Hall, in Columbus Park.

Although the sky was gray and the air was chill, the men were having a wonderful time, hanging ornaments on the bucket, the tree and themselves, swooping through the air, mugging for the camera and helping all of Downtown Brooklyn get into a holiday spirit.

The orange bucket truck

Bill, a workman, secures the star at the top

The men switch positions

The second worker, Brandon, attaches ornaments

High in the air, posing for the camera