Day 69

In this concrete city

March 8th, 2012



it's easy to forget how much dirt there is, just below the surface.

Day 69

Is that your leg or mine?

March 8th, 2012


Day 69

Never walk and drive

March 8th, 2012


Day 69

Kehila Kedosha Janina

March 8th, 2012



Kehila Kedosha Janina is the only Romaniote (Greek) synagogue in the Western Hemisphere.

Day 69




Businesses in New York are allowed to advertise themselves on their own property fairly freely. But when it comes to selling ad space to other companies, there are many regulations that must be followed, and permits that need to be obtained. This restrictiveness is intended to limit street-level visual pollution by keeping the number of ads plastered on walls to a minimum.

However, there are many, many ads in the city that blatantly violate these regulations: they advertise products and services that are completely unrelated to the businesses where the ads are located, and they have not been issued permits by the Department of Buildings. After the Public Ad Campaign brought attention to this problem by organizing a takeover of illegal billboards, the advertising companies came up with a very clever, and quite evil, workaround. They now add labels to these ads that say things like "Enter our sweepstakes inside for a chance to win these products or related prizes". Even though the ad above, for example, is obviously advertising some HBO movie, the label indicates that it's actually advertising a contest being held at this location — which is a lighting store, by the way — where the prize just happens to be the movie posters on display. Strictly speaking, this ad does not require a permit because it's purportedly advertising a prize you can win at the lighting store, rather than a movie unrelated to the store. It's an ingenious tactic, and it's also a pretty bold show of disrespect for the citizens of this city who may not want to be further inundated by slick sales pitches for crap they don't need.

Day 69

A well-aged machine

March 8th, 2012


Day 69




Much like that of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, the Holland Tunnel's ventilation system provides a complete change of air every 90 seconds!

Day 69



Day 69

Unsung heroes

March 8th, 2012


Day 69




This was the first H-plan skyscraper, designed to bring more light and fresh air into the building. It's currently owned by the city, and provides office space to various government agencies.

Day 69

Surrogate’s Courthouse

March 8th, 2012



Formerly known as the Hall of Records, this building once featured 54 sculptures on its exterior. Most are still there, but some were moved during a nearby construction project in the 1960s.

Day 69

Municipal Building

March 8th, 2012



Housing thirteen public agencies, the Municipal Building is one of the largest government buildings in the world. Automobile traffic once passed through the central arch, but today it's only open to pedestrians.

Day 69




One of the blue chalk variety

Day 69

East River Park bandshell

March 8th, 2012



Home to the first production of Shakespeare in the Park in 1956 (the shows moved to Central Park the following year), this amphitheater fell into severe disrepair for decades, but it's been slowly making a comeback.

Day 69

Mechanics Alley

March 8th, 2012



This tiny, largely unmapped two-block-long street is much closer to the Manhattan Bridge than this picture would lead you to believe.

Day 69

Portal of the day

March 8th, 2012



Coal hole cover! This portal is a remnant of the days when buildings were heated with coal — it leads to a chute running from the sidewalk down to the building's basement, allowing coal to be delivered directly to the furnace room.

Day 69

Lounging Chinese cabbage

March 8th, 2012



There were two other versions of this ornament also on display at this Buddhist temple in Chinatown.

Day 69

Pell Street

March 8th, 2012


Day 69

Columbus Park at sunset

March 8th, 2012