This Islamic community center occupies the former Colonial Mansion kosher banquet hall.

By and large, NYC's emergency call boxes are a slovenly lot. But there are some notable exceptions, including an even more dolled-up version of the one you see above.

of the stately 62nd Precinct station house, which was apparently once home to the 70th Precinct

a.k.a. Brooklyn

On the other side of this gate is Dyker Beach Golf Course, where just yesterday I saw two red-tailed hawks maybe 250 yards (an easy Tiger Woods drive) from here.

At 8:36 AM, no less.

There are a number of terra-cotta emblems, some visible above, adorning the forecourt of the Columbus. The Santa María is represented on two of the emblems (close-up), as is the Niña, but the Pinta is nowhere to be found!

An inscription on the other side of the entryway indicates that the building was erected in 1926. An ad that ran in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1927 proclaimed the Columbus to be "The most perfect and up-to-date Elevator Apartment House in Brooklyn", and boasted of these features:

Every improvement for convenience and comfort, including solarium on roof and auditorium for socials. Equipped gymnasium in basement with attendant physical instructor.

Italian garden; telephone and radio connection in every apartment; wall safes, incinerators, Otis elevators. A few choice apartments available.

Two blocks from elevated and subway trains to Times Square. Surface cars nearby. Convenient to schools and churches.

This article offers a photo tour of the house's "aggressive" sculpture collection. It also includes a close-up of one of the dragon/"gargoyle" light fixtures installed outside the second-floor door. Prior to today, I believe, we had seen that type of fixture exclusively (not to mention abundantly) at two different Pilgrim Church properties.

Another Bicentennial fire hydrant

Reminds me of something I've seen before...

Ready for Valentine's Day

This fountain stands at the southwest corner of the intersection...

...and this one stands at the northwest corner, just across the street! So who copied whom? Well, if we look back to 2007, we can see that this fountain did not yet exist (Street View: 2007, 2014), while the one across the street did (Street View: 2007, 2014).

This sculpture, which undoubtedly owes its existence to Henry Stern, stands in Patrick O'Rourke Park (named for a man who died from brain damage sustained as a kid during an operation intended to cure bedwetting), the former site of a World War II-era victory garden.

This house (closer look, Street View) is somewhat understated in comparison to its sibling in Rosedale.

Much like the gentlemen we saw gamboling about the excavated soccer field this morning, the tabletop gamers of Milestone Park are not about to let the weather curtail their recreational options.