Down In Chinatown

Beneath the Manhattan Bridge in the heart of Chinatown in Lower Manhattan…

This shot is best if viewed large…

Hauling Ass

Taken under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, near the corner of Metropolitan and Union in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Shoeffiti // Snowffiti

More snow shots...Yay! Taken in Cooper Square, Manhattan...

Upper East Side Kaboom

No, not a product being verbosely obnoxiously pitched by by the late Billy Mays, but the ongoing construction of the 2nd Avenue Subway construction on the Upper East Side.  This shot was taken last year on, you guessed it, 2nd Avenue, but the street is in similar condition and will be for some time.

Snow Removal

"You can sit there and say, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' or you can get out and get a shovel and get to work." - Michael Bloomberg

New Yorkers hold a special hell for city officials that botch a winter storm.  Luckily for a parties involved, the public and officials, this storm was handled much better by the city than the December blizzard.  There were transit delays, public schools were closed (a rare event), but the job of snow removal can be considered a success.  If the culture of snow removal interests you, check out this post over at the blog: The Urbanophile.

This shot was taken in an area of Lower Manhattan known as Cooper Square, exact location is geotagged on the Flickr image page.

Your Guide to Parking a Boat

Parking an oversized guzzler in New York City can be difficult, but here’s your man!  This old timer effortlessly swayed his Caddy into a tight parking space with ease.  Taken near Fulton and Clinton Streets in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Clinton Hill…

Another Winter Storm

I’ve lost count as to the amount of winter storms in which have yielded significant amounts of accumulation.  This morning, I woke up to this scene; taken on Bedford Avenue, by the Bedford-Nostrand Subway station in my Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant.

Triplets

Taken at the corner of Washington and College on the near east side of downtown Indianapolis, along the Pennsylvania Railroad viaduct.  The area of Washington Street has seen recent reconstruction.

Scenes from Quiet, Snowy, Hollis

Hollis is a remote neighborhood in the outer lying region of Queens. The neighborhood is in close proximity to Nassau County, Long Island and has no direct subway access. These shots were taken from and near the platform of the Long Island Railroad station in Hollis.

Manhattan Bridge on the Horizon

Taken from Dumbo, Brooklyn last spring and posted as I fantasize about temperatures that are not 8 degrees.  The Lower Manhattan skyline can be see in the background; lets hope they don't try to rename this icon any time soon...

Eastern Tracks & Silhouette

The Indianapolis skyline from the area near State and Southeastern on the near east side.  The Pennsylvania Railroad heading west…

Skip-Stop Me...ASAP

Looking toward Manhattan from the BMT Jamaica Line, via the Williamsburg Bridge (pictured in the distance). This is one of the oldest remaining stretched of track in the system that's still in service. Its set up in a three track form as to allow a hybrid express / skip-stop service during peak rush travel times. I personally would like to see more utilization of this during peak times and not just during the morning and evening rush, but like many of the items from my MTA wish list, I won't hold my breath.

This shot is definitely best if viewed large and may do so by clicking on the image...

The Great Barrier Fence

The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway taken from the Red Hook area, looking toward Downtown Brooklyn. I-278 cuts a major swath through the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens; the Gowanus Expressway, south of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the north. Like many six lane urban limited access highways, the impact of the neighborhoods it separates can be seen by just walking the span of the expressway.

Many of the neighborhoods that were adversely affected by the expressway are beginning to see a resurgence as Brooklyn has been experiencing gentrification. Redhook and the Clinton Hill / Navy Yard area are good examples of this.

Van Brunt Street in Red Hook...

About two blocks from the Navy Yard in Clinton Hill...

NYC Subway, Rolling Stock Profile: The R160 Car

The R160 A/B cars were building by Alstom and Kawasaki and are currently the newest models operating in the New York City subway system. They are a 'B Division' car, which means they run on the old IND and BMT lines and are too large to run on the IRT lines. These cars contain many modern features such as LED information boards indicating stops and transfers, LCD monitors for information, an automated easy to understand public address system, and a smoother ride.

This post is part of a series, to view it in its entirety, click here.

Stop Ahead / Stop, Stop Ahead / Stop

On Mulberry Street in what is now known as the Columbus Park area of Chinatown, Manhattan. Historically, the notorious slum known as Five Points sat in this area throughout the 19th century.

Under (and Beside) the Bridge of 59th Street

The Queensboro (or 59th Street) Bridge is about to be renamed the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, after the former New York City mayor. The renaming sounds about as cluncky as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, née Triboro Bridge. It may be just me, but when you rename timeless icons after a politicians or a company, it takes a little away from its status of timeless. Maybe I should take my case to The People's Court ;) Rant is complete... You can also see the Roosevelt Island Tramway in the background, which was closed for construction at the time of this shot.

NYC Subway, Rolling Stock Profile: The R32 Car

The R32 car is the oldest model currently in revenue based operation. They were constructed in 1964 by the Budd Corporation and underwent refurbishment in the late 1980's. They used to run many routes on the old IND and BMT lines, but much of them have been phased out and now only serve the role of C trains. The R32 provides a rough, loud, and stiff ride as well as bearing the scars of years of graffiti (and its subsequent removal) and various operational mishaps. Being that they are completely constructed of stainless steel, they have resisted rust and corrosion more so than some of their younger brethren.

This is the beginning entry of a new series, to view subsequent posts of NYC Subway Rolling Stock, click here.

Corporate Modernism Canyon

The Seagram building is about a block away, but from this perspective, its a needle in a needle stack. Taken on Lexington Avenue, near 53rd in Midtown.

Euclidean to the Max

Axioms and theorems are always on my mind when waiting for the train. Actually, they're not, but what you may not realize is that they tend to come into our lives in ways we are not concious of. At any rate, I just want to continue my theme of featuring subway stations that immortalize important historic figures that have participated in shaping the world as we know it. This station is located on the IND Fulton Line (A and C Trains) in East New York, Brooklyn.

The Baron's Station

Taken at the De Kalb Avenue subway station in Downtown Brooklyn. De Kalb avenue was named after Baron Johann De Kalb. A Bavarian General who served in the American Revolutionary War.

Another Snow Storm / Manhattan Snow Globe

Snow storms have hit all over the United States in the past few days. Just as New York City has been recovering from the 12/26/10 blizzard, another 8-9 inches of snow was delivered to the region. I was at a friends apartment in Manhattan during the storm, and just as predictably as Mayor Bloomberg would recite the words "rest assured", I took my camera to the roof.

Rusted Shopping Cart by the Sea

Graffiti'd rocks, rusted shopping carts, and other assorted refuse add to the charm that can only be accomplished by the backside of a strip mall that ends in the New York Bay. Shot behind a shopping center near Bay and Belt Parkways in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

Dirty Dozen Value Addition : Sexy Broadway

Sexy in a way that an aggressive course of antibiotics is required. A slightly different perspective of the Broadway Subway Station that was featured in The Dirty Dozen.

As the New York City area braces for another dumping of snow, let take a moment to remember the last one and my the city formulate a better response. Taken during a sunrise from my Brooklyn street where the only thing that underwent snow removal were the renters and homeowners who were good enough to shovel their stretch of sidewalks.

Its...Another Alleyway

Alleyways, always ready for a photo op...Taken near the corner of Washington and Pennsylvania in downtown Indianapolis.

Columbus Sighting in Astoria

Christopher Columbus never set foot in Astoria or Queens or New York City or North America...That is, until now! Taken from under the elevated Astoria Blvd subway station along the BMT Astoria Line in...you guessed it, Astoria, Queens.

Purple Haze

Just heard the Jimmy Hendrix song not too long ago and now everything I see that's purple reminds me of the song; songs have a tendency to get stuck in my mind. Taken Atlantic Avenue, near Bond in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Boerum Hill, which is on the outer fringes of downtown.

High 150

It took me a few times to get this shot the way I wanted it. For those of you who are acquainted with photography know that metering light and dark areas within the same shot can be difficult. Taken near the corner of 51st and Lexington in Midtown Manhattan...

Posting has been a little weak this week for my internet connection has been out and I've been waiting for the cable company to get around to fixing it.

Post Snowmageddon Limp

The fallout from the performance (or lack their of) of snow removal by the Department of Sanitation is still in full force. Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Goldsmith, and Sanitation Commissioner Doherty have all caught heat. Frustrations over the matter quickly turned to rumors of intentional work slowdowns by the Department of Sanitation, in retribution of budget cuts. A week later and the snow has all but melted; the mounds of snow have been supplanted by mounds of trash.

I was in Indianapolis when the blizzard struck, due to fly back on December 26, but that didn't end up happening until December 29th. I was much luckier than those who got stuck in the airports all over the county for I was staying with family. These shots were taken on December 30th, and at this time, Brooklyn and Queens were still crippled with many streets still unplowed. All of the photos you see here were shot within a few blocks of where I live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with the exception of the last one, which was shot in Bensonhurst.

Another view of the previous post

While the Department of Sanitation has been focusing on snow, the garbage has been piling on top of the garbage that was there initially covered, by snow. Could be worse, rats and flies could be the beneficiaries of a sanitation strike in the middle of July.

Nice Little Slice of Hell

It was a loud night on my street for this New Years Evening. Not because of celebrations, but because multiple electrical transformers decided to explode around 2am. There was acrid smoke, fire, and exploding arcs emanating from several manholes. This resulted in brownouts for most of the night that made my lights flicker and the use of electronic equipment impossible.

**On a side note, fire fighters are much more comfortable with photographers around than the NYPD...