In a Fog

I have done numerous stories featuring nature's impact on the city. In some cases, more prominent, in some, less. But always that the city is juxtaposed against nature. How the manmade contrasts the natural, but rarely mother nature on her own. On July 20, 2010, I wrote Back to Our Main Feature with a lucky capture of a spectacular thunderstorm and lightning bolt. In it, I said:

Please understand that I, like most New Yorkers, do love Mother Nature, but the gifts nature bestows and the power she wields often feel secondary in a city like New York.

Last night there was a brief lightning storm dramatic enough to make many of us look up and say wow. But unlike our country brethren, who may spend a pleasant evening watching shooting stars, we rarely indulge these natural phenomenon for very long. Glancing up to the sky, seeing a spectacular display of lightning complemented by a waxing moon, we acknowledge when nature has spoken. Yes, like any great commercial, we hear you, but now, Back to Our Main Feature.

Even on a foggy night, a spectacular fog is often more obstacle or at best backdrop to the city's structures. Today's photos were taken in Union Square during the ongoing Occupy Wall Street, now a daily social phenomenon. As I marveled at the beautiful effect of the various illuminated buildings filtered by the misty air, I surveyed the hundreds of park occupants and could see no eyes drawn to nature's show. Surprising, because heavy fogs are rare and spectacular, the delight of many a filmmaker.

However, this is New York City, and from time to time, without knowing it, the average New Yorker will find himself or herself In a Fog...

More nature: Come Back for Jupiter, The Tide Pool, This Is Not New Mexico, We've Got Skiing Too, White Birch Canoe, Trapped in Paradise, Conflicted, Mother Nature, Brooding, Risk Not Living

Broadway is Broadway

I often take calls in the course of business from non-residents of the city, who, unfamiliar with the details of Manhattan, question me about my Broadway address. Is it THE Broadway? they ask. Yes, I reply, it is THE Broadway. However, Broadway, which spans the entire length of Manhattan, varies considerably depending on where you are. At one time, not long ago, Broadway in SoHo was only a quiet commercial/industrial thoroughfare. But it has changed.

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A Narrow Path

Many years ago, I became entangled in an argument regarding aspects of Christianity with a cousin and his wife in my family's home in Connecticut. It was Christmas time, and I felt particularly bad to have gotten into a heated debate with family about their faith. I learned that they were born-again Christians. At one point, I expressed my dismay and told them that I was very sorry. However, they said that they were not upset at all but that, to the contrary, they valued the opportunity to defend their faith and that debates of this nature only made them more resolute in their beliefs.

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Intelligent Design

Creationists often use one of the three classic arguments for the existence of God: that of Intelligent Design, going back centuries. In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas argued that natural things act to achieve the best result, and as they cannot do this without intelligence, an intelligent being must exist. William Paley in 1802 used the watchmaker analogy to argue that complexity and adaptation in nature demonstrated God's benevolent and perfect design for the good of humans.

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Dyker Heights, 2011

As this website has evolved, I have added more video. I have created a YouTube channel for New York Daily Photo where all the videos can be seen in one place. Looking into the future, I intend to create more videos and short documentary films of New York City.
Recently, I took another excursion to Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, with a friend. Although the displays are relatively the same from year to year, I enjoy the ritual, as I do the Christmas window displays on Fifth Avenue.
This year, I shot and compiled a short video of my tour of 84th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues - see below. This block is literally the show stopper, with bumper-to-bumper car traffic during the holiday season. Recommended to all who have not toured the area. Enjoy Dyker Heights 2011 !



Related Post: Simple, But Effective

The Magic Hour

I grew up in New England, and even for residents, fall foliage was loved by all. The beauty in sparsely populated states, such as Vermont with large stands of deciduous trees, is such that many travel to and tour the area during "leaf peeping" season. When the conditions were right, my family would sometimes take a country drive. If the leaves and light were right, we were sometimes treated to jaw-dropping scenery.

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Last Resort

Growing up at the time and place that I did, there was not much to do as a teenager and very little that was approved by adults. No Starbucks for us. One of the few activities that was considered "good, clean fun" was bowling. Of course, to bring a girlfriend meant no privacy, which is what made it good and clean, but not much fun.

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Sorry About That

On September 21, 2011, I wrote Not Under the Gowanus about a church which had nagged me as an enigma for years. Or so I thought. Our Lady Of Czestochowa / St Casimir, located at 183 25th Street in Brooklyn, can be seen from the Gowanus Expressway.
However, on a recent excursion through Brooklyn, I realized that a much more imposing structure closer to a highway is what I had seen so many times on this stretch of highway and that this was the image that was stored in the recesses of my mind: the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary – St. Stephen Church, located at Summit Street and Hicks Street, fronting the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway before the Gowanus Expressway.

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Come Back For Jupiter

If you spend enough time on the streets of New York City and mingle, you are going to experience a depth and breadth of humanity that boggles the mind. Not only will you find an absolutely astonishing number of people with incredible talent, but likely, you will on occasion find the serendipitous meetings to be even more amazing.

On Saturday night, I ate dinner at my favorite local Italian restaurant, Trattoria Spaghetto (as mentioned in my story, Donato), conveniently located on Father Demo Square. It was an exquisite evening. Strolling out and through the small park, I saw a man with an enormous telescope, welcoming all to observe and partake in the wonders of the universe for free. There were no shortage of lookers.

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Not Under the Gowanus, Part 2

I have driven the roadways around this metropolis for decades and, like anyone else who drives highways repeatedly, there are a myriad of familiar structures, most of which one has never actually visited. Over the years, a number of buildings have intrigued me, such as the enigmatic property with illuminated triangular trusses as seen from the Manhattan Bridge. This rooftop haunted me for decades until if finally occurred to me: why not get off the roadway one day, investigate and see what this landmark actually is about? You can find the mystery solved here.

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Moonrise Over Hernandez

It took a trip to Italy to learn that the desire for respite from city life and the countryside was not unique to our time or to New York City. Romans built villas millennia ago. These lavish homes were built by the wealthy elite and were used to escape the city and summer heat. In Florence, the Medicis built villas - country homes that served as alternate living spaces to their urban palazzo. Not so much is new under the sun, particularly in the realm of basic human desires, and I suppose it was rather foolish and ethnocentric of me as a New Yorker to expect that escape from the stresses of urban life and the desire for a more spacious country home with grounds, etc., would be limited to recent times.

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Green-Wood

When you have mausoleums the size of trophy homes, you know you are not in an average cemetery. This National Historic Landmark is enormous - 600,000 graves spread out over 478 acres. It is the final resting place of many of New York City's illuminati: Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Charles Ebbets, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Horace Greeley, et. al.

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Fatu Hiva

I have always had a fascination with and love of islands. At one time, I pursued that interest much more actively. My fascination was fulfilled with many trips to the West Indies, Fire Island, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Monhegan Island (Maine), as well as with readings on islands around the world.

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Have a Beautiful Day

Please Click and Play Audio Clip to Accompany Your Reading: 


Today I'd like to share with you what it's really like here. Not some sanitized, candy-coated, pretty, inspiring view of this city with false promises.

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'Tis a Sight to Behold

I have made another secret discovery.

You could easily find millions of New Yorkers who have no idea that this spectacular structure at 8 Spruce Street exists or that it is the tallest residential structure in the Western Hemisphere. I would be included in that group. However, as I approached the building, I began to recall the media attention surrounding this highly applauded residential tower, formerly the Beekman Tower and currently known as New York by Gehry, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry.

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You Always Find Something

Some years ago, I was visited by a customer who was quite complementary to the manner in which I ran my business and the quality of my products. He had vocalized this on the internet. I thanked him. It is always heartening to hear complements in a world of high expectations.

Conversation ensued, and I was very surprised to learn that the man was a military helicopter pilot. I have no idea of what it takes to earn such a position, but I was reasonably sure that this must be a highly coveted and competitive job for the very skilled with the right stuff. This was an easy opportunity to return a complement, which I did. He did not deny my observations.

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This Is Not New Mexico

The sun and the moon are two of the few natural constants we have in New York City and the moon is one of the very few celestial bodies we can see reliably at night - with the powerful ambient urban light, we do not often have nights where many stars and planets are visible. Such is city life.

Today is the full moon. Last night saw some stormy weather and at the tail end, as skies began to clear, we had some spectacular conditions with fast moving billowy clouds providing a constantly changing canvas.

At times like this it is not unusual to see amateur and professional photographers shooting away. A number of us found a choice spot in Washington Square Park where a few leafless trees provided perfect outlines to frame the moon. It's not the Moon Over Hernandez, but hey, I'm not Ansel Adams and This is Not New Mexico :)

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Close Encounter of the New York Kind

New Yorkers take things seriously. The populace is large enough to support subcultures of every interest imaginable. Interests become obsessions. What better obsession than the things we have so little of - wildlife. Wildlife in a city like New York is limited and dominated by pigeons, rats, mice, squirrels and common birds. So when real wildlife of a different kind appears, it's BIG news.

Perhaps one of the biggest wildlife stories in recent years was the nesting of red tail hawks at 927 Fifth Avenue. The first to make home there was Pale Male in 1991. The nearby boat pond in Central Park was an ideal viewing spot and became a birder's paradise. See my story here. The lineage continues to this day. The interest has spawned international press coverage, films, websites. To this day, 10 years later, birders are still found regularly on location with the requisite telescopes.

On February 7, 2007, I photographed a red-tailed hawk feeding on the remnants of a pigeon on my air conditioner overlooking Washington Square Park. At this rare opportune moment, I was able to capture a photo through my window from only inches away. The photo received tremendous traffic as would be expected. See the photo and story Hawk Fest here.

Since that time a number of red-tailed hawks have been sighted around the park. The coup de grâce, however, was the recent nesting of a hawk on the windowsill of the Bobst Library building. The window chosen was none other than that of the president of New York University himself, John Sexton. Many speculate the roost was chosen for the same reason it is the location of the president's office - the 12th floor perch affords sweeping views of the entire park, perfect for a bird of prey.

The real story here however, is the nesting and mating of Violet and Bobby (violet is the official NYU color and Bobby after the Bobst library) and the birth of offspring. Yesterday, during a Be Fit NYC event, the parks department had set up a telescope for viewing of the hawks. I was able to capture a photo with a camera up against the scope.

The New York Times set up a webcam to keep an eye on the family. The cam provides a live stream, free and 24/7. Check it out here for a Close Encounter of the New York Kind :)

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Serenity, Tranquility, Peace

Although technically in the borough of Manhattan, I have always felt it was almost a little undeserving for any New York borough to take claim to something so special as the Cloisters - it is located at the northernmost end of the island, as far as one can get from Uptown, Midtown, Downtown or any other area of that one would typically associate with New York City. Apart from the small number of residents in Washington Heights/Inwood, this area is really a destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike.

The Cloisters is a museum of medieval art and architecture, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Everyone loves this extraordinary complex - it's a close as you are going to get to genuine French architecture in the city. Germain Bazin, former director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, described the Cloisters as "the crowning achievement of American museology."

The museum buildings were designed by Charles Collens and constructed from elements salvaged from five cloistered abbeys in France: Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigorre, and Froville. The sections used were disassembled brick-by-brick, shipped to New York City and reassembled between 1934 and 1938. From the Cloisters website:

Three of the cloisters reconstructed at the branch museum feature gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and poetry, garden documents and herbals, and medieval works of art, such as tapestries, stained-glass windows, and column capitals. Approximately three thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from the ninth to the sixteenth century, are exhibited in this unique and sympathetic context.

Located on four acres overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park, the Cloisters is a world apart from the glitter, glamour, hustle bustle and frenetic energy of the city. For most New Yorkers, Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters is a country getaway, a mini vacation. Visit the Cloisters if you want a small vacation from the city and Serenity, Tranquility and Peace :)

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Uptown

The territory north of 14th Street truly is a world apart. There is much behind the downtown mantra, I never go north of 14th Street. There is a stoic pride and conviction that virtually anything one needs can be found downtown and it is not far from the truth.

I cannot speak for other downtown residents, but I go north for specific purposes and so infrequently that going uptown is like a small vacation. I literally feel like a tourist. I walk a neighborhood, often craning my neck and standing in wonderment at the massive stone, steel and glass edifices built on the island's bedrock of Manhattan schist.

The advent of the Internet had greatly facilitated price shopping for most products and services, including New York City hotels. Since that time, my family has been able to snag deals at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which has become their residence of choice when visiting the city. I enjoy traveling and visiting the hotel during their occasional stays.

Next door to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel is the General Electric Building. The building is sometimes referred to as 570 Lexington Avenue to avoid confusion with the GE Building built later at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The 50-story, 640 foot Art Deco masterpiece was designed in 1931 by John W. Cross of Cross and Cross. Unable to lease the building profitably, in 1993, GE donated the building to Columbia University, gaining a $40 million tax deduction. Find more on the building here.

The base contains elaborate masonry, figural sculpture. On the corner above the main entrance, a conspicuous corner clock with the curvy GE logo and a pair of silver disembodied forearms. On August 25, 2006, I featured the lobby of the building - you can see it here.
Christopher Gray of the New York Times describes the building as a "suave fantasy of polished marble and modern metals."

Its signature crown of lacy radio-wave figures is a well-known midtown landmark, but the decoration of the lower floors is just as startling. Here a shrouded mechanistic figure huddles in a modernistic cloister, there an armored fist grabs an electric bolt. The entire facade is of a lightly variegated orange brick, which plays to St. Bartholomew's Church next to it on the Park Avenue corner.
See my photos of the church here.

When I visit the area, I am never able to resist stepping into Mr. K's restaurant, an upscale Chinese establishment located at 570 Lex. The plush banquette seating, the lush art deco interior, soft lighting all seem so befitting of the building it is in. For a little vacation, I just take the 6 train. Uptown.

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