Day 124

The drive to survive

May 2nd, 2012



Along with a few of its comrades, this tree has clawed its way out of a crevice in this rock wall.

Day 124




Lustre Street in Eastchester is disappearing, and its street sign is apparently following suit.

There are three streets in the area with related names. Dark Street was the original, named after Charles Darke, a mid-19th-century landowner. Then came Light Street, seemingly a playful take-off. Sometime in the 1920s, part of Dark Street was renamed Lustre Street, and has since all but vanished, hidden beneath houses, lawns, and driveways.

Day 124

Look familiar?

May 2nd, 2012



This must be Mary Sendek's rock.

Day 124






i.e., the paint store

Day 124

Villa Norina

May 2nd, 2012



A mysterious trace of the past on a mysterious wall. There's also an ornate pillar in the wall bearing the name "DF Violet".

Day 124




Generally filled with food, clothing, and household items, and often representing months of thrifty purchases, these barrels are sent to relatives back home throughout the year, but especially around Christmastime.

Day 124

The new Red Flower

May 2nd, 2012



Now with delicious food!

Day 124

That just might be

May 2nd, 2012



the worst grocery store name of all time.

Day 124




I've seen a handful of these signs around the borough and have always wondered what they mean. And now I know!

Day 124

Craft Printers

May 2nd, 2012



There are still a few old-timey businesses operating on White Plains Road up in Wakefield.

Day 124

Here’s another one

May 2nd, 2012


Day 124

Ever?

May 2nd, 2012



In case you were wondering, this door belongs to the Kingdom Encounter Church of the Greater Anointing Tabernacle, Inc.

Day 124

Cullen’s Tavern

May 2nd, 2012



A reminder of the large Irish population that once called Wakefield home

Day 124

Rest in peace

May 2nd, 2012


Day 124

This guy again

May 2nd, 2012



He hit several trees in a row on this block.

Day 124

Don’t miss it

May 2nd, 2012


Day 124

Bussing Place

May 2nd, 2012



An oddball block-long remnant of the first postal route between New York and Boston, inaugurated in 1673

Day 124



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This must be the guy

May 2nd, 2012



who steals everyone's curbside garbage cans!

Day 124

Portal of the day

May 2nd, 2012


Day 124



Day 125

Curbside compatriots

May 3rd, 2012


Day 125

Minimum Fine $5000

May 3rd, 2012



And, um, beheading. Yeah, put that up there too.

Day 125



Day 125

Touch of the Caribbean

May 3rd, 2012


Day 125

Chess, anyone?

May 3rd, 2012


Day 125

Portal of the day

May 3rd, 2012


Day 125

Attention, ladies!

May 3rd, 2012



The 8-year-old gentleman in the white shirt asked me to inform you all that he is single.

Day 125




Nikita Khrushchev once wrote this school a letter to be included in its 1959-1960 yearbook, but the Department of Education vetoed its publication. Sousa has been troubled in the years since, and is no stranger to the DOE's list of failing schools. It's had its bright spots though, including an unusual 7 AM Korean class, and it seemed to be headed in the right direction as recently as six months ago. But in a meeting at the end of April, a DOE panel voted to close the school, along with 23 others across the city that have been struggling.

Day 125

Well, almost

May 3rd, 2012


Day 125



Day 125

Hey, new car?

May 3rd, 2012


Day 125

Jungle train

May 3rd, 2012



The Dyre Avenue Line

Day 125

This is why

May 3rd, 2012



you should never build a driveway over a zombie's grave.

Day 125

Welcome home

May 3rd, 2012


Day 125

Cardinal Spellman

May 3rd, 2012



Alma mater of one of the Bronx's newer eponyms

Day 125

Tillotson Avenue

May 3rd, 2012



I was wrong!

Day 125




there are still times when all you can do is tape a note to a door.

Day 125



Day 125

VCR repair!

May 3rd, 2012



In case you can't figure out how to reset the clock after the power goes out

Day 125

A T G I D TR PHI S

May 3rd, 2012



That sure is an unwieldy acronym.

Day 126

Jerome Park Reservoir

May 4th, 2012



This was once the site of the Jerome Park Racetrack (built by our buddy Leonard Jerome), which hosted the Belmont Stakes from 1867 (its inaugural running) to 1889.

The city bought and condemned the racetrack to make way for this reservoir, completed in 1905 and filled with water from the New Croton Aqueduct, which, despite its name, is the oldest aqueduct still part of NYC's water supply system. The reservoir has been used only sparingly since 2008, when the New Croton system temporarily went offline pending the completion of a water treatment plant, but it's expected to be back in action within a year or so, when the aqueduct is reactivated.

Day 126

Fort Independence Park

May 4th, 2012



Its site chosen by General George Washington for the strategic vantage point it provided, Fort Independence was built by the Americans in 1776 and then destroyed a couple of times as it changed hands during the course of the Revolutionary War.

Day 126




Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

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That's an old New York and Putnam Railroad bridge, now used as part of a hiking trail, in the background.

Day 126

Van Cortlandt Lake

May 4th, 2012



with another old NY&P bridge off in the distance

Day 126

Henry Hudson Parkway

May 4th, 2012



As seen from high atop the cliffs of Van Cortlandt Park

Day 126

Portal of the day

May 4th, 2012