Taken a few years ago on an overcast October day.
Category Archives: NYC
Fire Hydrants across the U.S.
Seattle, Portland, NYC and Wyoming. Clockwise from upper left:
Red= Gowanus, Brooklyn
Silver w/orange ring: South Park, Seattle.
Tall, crusty one with white ring: Lower East Side, Manhattan.
Red and Yellow: Portland, OR.
Yellow with blue top: Rock Springs, WYO.
Tri-color: Portland, OR.
Have a hydracious day!!
Fall in Prospect Park
Taken a few of years ago. A view of Fall from Prospect Park in Brooklyn, a few blocks from where our son lives.
Bicycle Tourists
Bicycle tourists with cameras in DUMBO, Brooklyn. This cobblestone street provides a nice perspective on the Manhattan Bridge.
A quick note: I added a music bar to the blog. The song that is currently in the widget is a song written and played by our son, who lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Confused?
Spotted on a building in the Dumbo area of Brooklyn, NY.
I have no idea what this means. Curbing one’s enthusiasm I get….., but this?
F Train to Coney Island
Washington Cemetery can be seen from this elevated section of the F Train, as well as the yard where subway cars are parked and serviced. Coney Island is home to very large apartment complexes, something you don’t usually see in photos of the summer retreat.
Coney Island/Stillwell Ave. Station
This station is the end of the F and G lines. Subway trains pull inside the large covered area and then proceed to head out in the opposite direction. The station actually faces Surf Ave. but for whatever reason, it is named Stillwell Ave. Station. I think the station got a major facelift a few years ago. Stillwell Ave. may be the street on the left ( as you look at this image) of the Station. I have entered and exited from both sides and they both work just fine, however more shops can be seen if you enter via Surf Ave. You can imagine the throngs of people heading to the beach in the summer, cascading out of the two exits. In October it is deserted, aside from a few odd travelers such as myself :-).
In Distress
Gowanus Canal: Two ways of looking at the Superfund Site.
The Gowanus Canal can be a very picturesque place or, depending on the light and your vantage point, it can be a pretty sketchy place with an aroma you will never forget.
Gowanus Street Art
A few examples of street art seen while walking around Gowanus, between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens.
Shining a Light
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn. On a bright, sunny day the park lights were one, which made for an interesting glow. In the right, from the 3rd St. bridge in Gowanus Canal about three blocks from where our son and family live, is a view of the new, luxury apartments build right on the EPA Superfund site of Gowanus Canal. I’m not sure how the developer wrangled a green light to develop on this site, but since this is NYC, I would imagine some money exchanged hands and all was good. The Canal has been designated a Superfund site since 2007 and only the week I was visiting were they starting the first pilot debris removal from one section of the canal called “the turnaround ” adjacent to the Whole Foods store that just went in a few years ago ( that’s another story). What may look like an idyllic location in this image is actually a very toxic ( heavy metals, tar oil, etc) waterway which, on heavy rain days, raw, untreated sewage flows into. Then there is the smell, something you would never forget. On hot days the canal becomes this stagnant, heated cesspool that has an odor you would never forget. On this day it was pretty mild, but still can be shocking to non-residents walking through. I have read that the starting rents on the one bedroom apartments is $4500.00 per month! One more dynamic to consider: during Superstorm Sandy the area flooded. The water came up over the banks of the canal and ran uphill about one block, which would put the first floor apartments at risk in the event of another big storm. You can see some videos of Gowanus and the storm on YouTube. Very crazy.
