Door

Tribeca camping

Roughing it on Vestry

Dude, where's my car?

No. Moore

I am legend

Folks spotting Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith and all I got was this lousy sign.

Pre-shift

Ordinarily I'd hate that blown out sky, but in this case I'm not minding it.
Greenwich St.
There were a bunch of restaurant workers hanging out. It wasn't quite dinner time.

Littering the streets

The real estate frenzy is such that the streets are literally paved with condo fliers.
(Actually, even though this is Nassau Ave in Greenpoint, the flier is for the Ariel Condos.)

That new one on Grand?

What's the deal with the new building on Broadway and Grand? It looks like some of the windows are colors and it looks like there are lights set in the face. Has it been lit up at night yet?

The Mill Building

The Mill Building on North 3rd never really impressed me much, though lately the setting sun has given it a nice glow. But the drawing of the roof deck complex looks pretty cool.
Below, early last month I took a shot of the back balconies. That turns out to be a pretty early before picture. We'll see what they end up looking like.

How it's done

I'll see your indistinct Williamsburg asbestos abatement sign and raise you a bright bold Williamsburg asbestos abatement sign plus red asbestos hazard tape. The kicker: The guy in the background is not wearing a mask.
North 5.

Stabilized

Police horse stables.

Mixer

They must still be pouring cement in DeNiro's place.

Throwback

I always thought the block of Laight Street next to the mouth of the Holland Tunnel would be a terrible place to live because of all the passing traffic. Remarkably, it's pretty quiet at street level. And what a remarkable restoration they did. If those cars weren't parked there you might be fooled into looking for horses and buggies.

Target shooting

I think the permit says "Target."

Beach St.

Bubby's kitchen

No. Moore

Disturbing on many levels

A personal shopper in a hearse
"Shop 'til you drop" on a hearse
making an appointment with a hearse
a hearse painted taxi cab yellow

Canal Street

I'm always struggling to get the camera to show what Canal Street looks like to my eyes. I think this is the closest I've come.

San Gennaro '06

Could there be anything less mob-like than an arrow shaped sign with the word "MOB" on it? Hysterical.


That's hand made.

Blocked in

The latest route home I've been trying is Houston to Bowery to Delancy and over the Williamsburg Bridge. It's been a while since I walked Bowery, but I did a double take when I recognized the green fire escape disappearing behind this new building.

I shot it last December.

It's probably silly to be sentimental about a fire escape, but it does seem a shame that it'll be lost to the inside of a block.
Prince St.
Speaking of construction on the Bowery, a block farther south A Loft Above Nolita is part of a cluster that appears ready to go on the market (hard to tell but doesn't look like anyone lives there yet).

Lucky's

At the time I thought the colors balanced well. Looking now, I'm not so sure.
Rivington Street.

Allen St. scraper

I can't keep up with what the latest project is that's outraging Lower East Siders, but this building on Allen near Houston is pretty striking. It's difficult to see, but in the lower photo, those first four floors are jutting out in a peculiar way.

From below

Changing from the G to the E at Court Square in Long Island City you pass under this skylight. It looks a little like the Citibank building but I'm not sure.

Training

I was in a hurry or a would have taken this in more context. Not only does it have training wheels but it's about half the size of a regular moped. It's parked outside a sports bar.
Nassau Ave., Greenpoint

Siller's run

Now that I know that this is a representation of Stephen Siller, I wish I'd taken the photo from the back as well with his name on it. I took this yesterday on Metropolitan Ave. Stephen Siller is the firefighter who ran through the Brooklyn Battery tunnel in full gear to the World Trade Center only to perish in its collapse. Today is the annual Tunnel To Tower run.

Significance aside, what a great sculpture. Amazing detail and a really remarkable sense of energy and motion.

Northside jamboree

Bedford Ave.

Laundromat

Berry St.

Victim

Washington St.

Bride crossing

Hudson St.

Out to dry

Williamsburg

Lying down on the job

West Village

All dressed up

Tubes

Gloomy day

Williamsburg

Back door break

Lorimer

The Lazy Catfish

The inside is as uninspired as the outside, but we enjoyed the food.
Lorimer St., past the BQE.

Old face

Photo shoot

You have to look close to see the model and crew.
Roebling St.

Boxed

Park Place

Boots 'n Heels

Hot Rods

Lattice

Winter Garden

Warsaw Bakery

Lorimer Street

Goya again

There's no significance to these, but since I keep running into them I figure I'll keep snapping them. (I'm talking about the middle piece on the building, it's another one fo those gotcha figures.)
Canal Street.
Possibly more interesting is the guy at the hat stand holding a bag in front of his face. I notice that the people on Canal Street don't like to be in photos. Funny that.

Blinded

Pressed for time, but one quick photo. What's that blinding light burning out my retinas as I crest the Williamsburg Bridge? Is it the second coming? Is it a fire at a magnesium factory? No, it turns out the funky angle in the face of the Blue building is perfect for blinding every morning driver on the bridge.
(This is around 9:30 a.m. yesterday.)

Bagelsmith

Bedford Ave.

More painted ads

N6th

Coarse

Berry St.

BlueGreen

Looks like the autofocus caught the car instead of the building. I still like it.
North 9th?
Williamsburg.

74 Degrees

N7th. Across the street is one of those time/temp signs. That's what the backward 74 is in the window.

Backyards?

I'm wandering around Canal and I see across the street some of the prettiest construction fencing ever on Renwick Street (Hudson Square). I cross over to find that it's not construction fence, but wooden dividers separating three big back yards to the new big glass building (whose face is probably on Varick). Because it's not one big yard, it looks like the bottom apartments get big grassy back yards. I had a hard time finding a place to stand that really showed it, too many cars in the way.

Hot color dogs

Whoa! Old Burrito Bar

I know I have a "before" picture around here somewhere, but surely you remember the old Burrito Bar with the VW bus and flowers in bright colors all over the facade? It's an Asian food place now. Province.

Hell's Angel

I'm not sure why, but after handing me a flier for a bike rally on Staten Island, this Hell's Angels mama blurted out, "Do you want to take a picture of me on the bike?" Maybe because I had a bigger camera and an Oxford University t-shirt on, I possibly looked like I was working the event instead of attending. Anyway, when a Hell's Angels mama asks if you want to take her picture on a bike, I'm thinking it's a bad idea to say no, even if you don't. Even when others in the brotherhood come flying in to park and you have to wait for them, I think you wait nicely and take the pictures of the lady. And as I said, "Um," big daddy was shouting "I'll move it, I'll move it," as though my hesitation was rooted in the bike's poor angle to the light.



That's the bike owner and presumably mama's daddy there on the right. Once I started taking pictures, her attention appeared to wander. A group had formed behind me with outstretched hands holding cell phone cameras.


I don't remember what I meant to snap in these shots. Maybe I was just bending down to tie my shoe, but she came hustling back to the bike to pose from the other side. "Thank you," I said after a few clicks.

UPDATE: Given the skepticism of the fine commenter, I looked more closely to see that in fact these folks are from the Low Riders MC of Staten Island. They are standing in front of the Big Red Machine tent and intermingling, so my confusion is legitimate.

Also, since I've just re-read my little story, if you're not a regular reader of this blog, the unmentioned punchline is that I almost never take posed photos of models, so the fact that I found myself doing so with this lady is what made the whole thing awkward. Obviously people take pictures of women on bikes at bike events all the time.

This is one of the bikes I waited to park next to the one in the above photos.

Indian Larry Tribute, 2006

I'll post some wider shot photos tomorrow, but for today, here are a few choice bikes from yesterday's events in front of Larry's.

Nice set of Triumphs.

I think this is a NYC Choppers bike. That NYC schools door knob on the shifter rocks.


OK, so where's the gas tank?? I think that's it under the seat on the bottom. What must this be like to ride with nothing but a bar in front?


These are Indian Larry Legacy bikes, obviously. I love that they stash the oil filter on the frame behind the plate like that. I also love the oil tank hidden in the gas tank in the shot below. Nice paint too.

Baci & Abbracci

These are the back garden.

Grand between Bedfor and Driggs.

Sign my car

Crowd shots

Art Parade '06

Beach at night

Another colorful truck

Williamsburg

Parisol guy

6th Ave.

Bubble people

Big head people

I like how the heads throw off the proportions with the people in the background and foreground.

Dancing girls

Cashout

I was aiming for a person in each window, but two out of three isn't bad for a walk-by.
Broadway around 11th.

Vacant

This is the building next to the lot next to Tower Records on Broadway.

Lure

At the bar.

Petrosino Square

There are signs all over Soho for a food market in Petrosino Square. I finally figured out that it's the triangle formed by Lafayette, Center, and Kenmare. At night there are tables with candles. Also apparently a good place to stash a bedroll.

The Corner

I find that sometimes it better to just take the color out of night shots. I'm still getting a fee for when it's best used.

Emergency

At first I thought there was a fire, then maybe a car accident because there was a car parked all crooked and someone in the ambulance. But when I got to the other side of the flashing lights, there was a bent-up bicycle in the gutter.
Interesting twist on the tribute in light to get first responders in the foreground.
Berry St., Brooklyn

Diva

hip shot
West Broadway, Soho

Zombies!

More Art Parade '06.

Be on the lookout for...

West Broadway, Soho

Tough guy

I like the composition of the top one, but the tighter crop makes the scene a little more tangible I think.
Manhattan Ave, Greenpoint.

'Live from Williamsburg'

If you live near a tourist attraction you see these mobile news vans all the time. This is the first I've seen in Williamsburg. I don't know what they were shooting, it was around 8:30 a.m.

Tribute in light, 2006

As you can see, I'm struggling a little with how long to leave the shutter open.



It's an odd thing to see right outside your window.


I'm not sure why there's a little blip in the beams. It's visible with the naked eye too. I think the air changes

Portraits from Art Parade '06

(first time I ever did a double take while sighting through the camera)



I don't know this gal, I was aiming for the blue face guy.

The condo tower at Barclay and Church

Since it looks like the TV coverage of the 9/11 anniversary is going to be panning to this building from Ground Zero to demonstrate the area's revitalization I thought I'd post what I have so far in terms of the before/after lifespan.

The big lesson from watching this building is to choose a spot for the "before" picture that'll work for the "after" picture. In this case, the building got too big. These composites (September above, July below) are done with the free demo version of a software called Autostitch.

Comparing the bases. September, July, and February (from this post)



Comparing relative heigh (sorry, perspective change) September '06 top, May '06 bottom

Art parade '06

I took a lot of pictures of this event. Hopefully I'll get the bulk of them up tonight.

Assorted Williamsburg street art

Williamsburg is wall to wall street art, but here are a few bits and pieces that have accumulated in my photo folder.

Artvertising??

It may be that at some point in the distant future, tour guides will point out the quaint hand painted advertisements in the Williamsburg neighborhood. But with this Dewars ad appearing maybe 50 feet from the much acclaimed Banksy piece, I have a hard time believing this will go unmolested for very long.

Skyline silhouettes

Bodega nights

Street music

Union Square

Stripes

Church St.

Malatesta

That's Christopher Street.

Puffy clouds

Churrascaria

The scaffolding is finally off the West Broadway side of Churrascaria.

Set up

West Broadway in Soho

West Street Love

Cart before the horse

No sooner have I remarked on the slow progress of North 8 than they open a sales office.
Meanwhile, it looks like the new Battery Park City building is going to be called Riverhouse. The building itself is still a hole in the ground, but it too has a sales office (in the world financial center). Don't people need to see at least a model of the apartment they're buying? Will people really spend millions based on sketches and written lists of features?

Coffee Bar

Bedford Ave.

Check the fit

Spring Street

A life

Spring Street

Liquor Store loses

I guess they never managed to get that liquor license past the neighbors.

'Here'

The "Here" exhibit of 9/11 photos at Ground Zero drew a big crowd. I wouldn't say it's a must-see. Nothing you haven't seen in other slide shows and magazines. It is nice that they have something like this to look at down there now though.

7 WTC from Vesey

The removal of the scaffolding on the Vesey Street side of Ground Zero allows for some new views of 7 WTC.

Weeks 529

Building the new Pier 25

We sell your stuff on eBay

I took the picture above in mid August wonder what an eBay drop off store was. Then I saw the 40-year-old Virgin movie and one of the characters sells other people's stuff on eBay for them. Walking by the store front the other day, the place looked full of junk, so I'm guessing that's exactly what they do there.

Roebling and... um. N6? Over there somewhere.

Gray's bummer

Soon you'll be able to tell the age of a New Yorker by how much they remember a Gray's dog costing.

Uploader broken

The photo uploader I use is not working. If they don't fix it by the time I get home from work today I'm going to find a new way.

Pink on pink

Ernesto's toll

The only casualty of today's weather that I saw.

Dining cheap

...in case you can't read the menu...

Are you meant to serve yourself?

Zip

ZamZam

Three bridges

I don't know this lady, she was just there reading.

Jimmie's answer

Hi Jimmie, This photo you took is the south east corner of North 11th and Roebling. I ran out there in the rain this evening thinking I'd get a shot of the street sign with the bent call box, but there are actually no signs for the street or the avenue on any of the corners at this intersection, so it makes sense that you didn't note where you were.

Limb from limb

Even as the person who took this picture I have a hard time seeing the two guys in the tree.

Jack hammer

I actually had a beautifully square shot of these two guys framed in the window, but the guy with the shovel kept looking at me look at them and I didn't want to freak him out. This is North 1st and way west like River St.

Yard Dog

Meble Z Polski

Wait

I don't know if the chair was put there on purpose, but it seems appropriate to the writing on the wall.