Yet another use for one of these oft-ignored sidewalk fixtures

I often see metal streetscape components that were cast in India, China, and Harrison, New Jersey, but this is the first time I've noticed one from Thailand. Maybe I just haven't been paying enough attention to the tops of fire hydrant bollards!

A kind of clever but mostly just weird name for a lingerie store

Despite the name and the freakish appearance of the fruit, these flowers are delightfully fragrant. The thick growth of the vines conceals what's on the other side of this fence: a long and narrow, densely planted vegetable garden tucked in between 62nd Street and the parallel tracks of the N Train, running almost the entire length of the block between 10th and 11th Avenues. (Aerial view here.) It's nearly half an acre in area, and there's a tremendous amount of stuff growing back there, but I saw no indication that it's a community garden. I wonder if someone's just leasing the property from the MTA for use as an urban farm.

on the N train

"Distinguished as one of the most enduring neighborhood movie palaces in New York", the Walker (named not after the noble pedestrian, but rather the scandal-tarred former mayor) was open from 1928 until 1988, although it spent its last few years as a four-screen multiplex. You can see some old photos of the beautiful interior here.

Today's walk set a new record for me: I saw at least 50 fig trees as I navigated the streets of Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst. (Brooklyn's Italian neighborhoods are known for their abundance of figs.)

A 2004 inductee into the National Barber Hall of Fame

and donuts

of the fourth annual Maureen Henry Walk of Hope. I just happened to stumble upon the start here in Sunset Park.

at the Sunset Park Recreation Center