Reminiscent of the K.I.D.S. Corner Library we saw last year, this is one of several bright orange book boxes that Urban Librarians Unite set up around the city outside public library branches closed because of damage from Hurricane Sandy. But this one's out of books!

A plaque on the back reads, in part: "Thanks to . . . the Master Sculptor Isabella Slobodoff, for giving her all in the final days of her life, who at 69 years of age, carved the Firefighter's helmet, her last mighty work, deep into the frigid cold of winter here with assistance of her son, artist Roman Slobodoff".

This is the dome of the cupola visible in the previous photograph.

The Rockaways were hit particularly hard by 9/11, with a disproportionately high number of residents killed in the attacks. In an expression of the peninsula's collective grief, this formerly vacant lot was transformed into Tribute Park, with a number of monuments to the victims and a clear view of the altered downtown skyline across the waters of Jamaica Bay.

At the Engine 268/Ladder 137 firehouse

The hundred-year-old Engine 268/Ladder 137 firehouse, landmarked by the city earlier this year

Closed since 1997

AFTERWARDS I WANT ONLY PEACE

That's the translation of a line written by the Dominican poet Pedro Mir; the original Spanish verse is inscribed on the other side of the portal. At left is a list of the home countries(/territories/neighborhoods) of the people who died in the crash. The English portion reads:

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
FRANCE
HAITI
ISRAEL
PUERTO RICO
TAIWAN
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
AND BELLE HARBOR, NY

You can't really tell in this photo, but the gaps between the stones of the memorial provide a view out over the Atlantic Ocean.

On November 12, 2001, two months and one day after 9/11, American Airlines Flight 587 to the Dominican Republic crashed into the neighborhood of Belle Harbor on the Rockaway Peninsula shortly after takeoff from JFK. This monument commemorates the 265 lives lost in that disaster, the second-deadliest aviation accident in US history.

Modular shacks like these, primarily serving as bathrooms and lifeguard stations, were installed a few months ago in different locations along the city's beaches, replacing structures that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. They're a pretty impressive sight, at least until you start to notice the plywood panel, black tarp, and various unidentified dangling things. Some temporary materials were apparently used in order to hurriedly get the structures ready for summer, but the city plans to fix up the units during the off-season.

Things weren't quite so ragged-looking here before the storm hit. And I suspect Mary used to be a bit larger than she is now. Just to the left are a few empty lots where some houses had to be demolished after getting walloped by Sandy.

And they ain't ever coming back.