New York City Area

The Sanitary Luncheon in Staten Island is really a set from the Boardwalk Empire now in historic Richmond Town.  It was a bustling place back in the 1700’s and by the time Staten Island became absorbed by NYC in the 1890’s it declined but resurged in the late 1950’s as Historic Richmond Town with about 30 historical structures- kind of a Colonial Williamsburg.

 Why did I start this blog in Staten Island?  Because I had never been physically there except when I passed above it on the Verrazano bridge going into NYC.  For years I planned to go there to visit friends I made during a trip to China almost a decade ago.  They facilitated my access to the Captain’s Deck on one of the Ferry Boats going between Staten Island and NYC.

 Above is the shoreline along the Jersey and below the one for NYC.  Why the difference in color between the two images?  For Jersey I had the sun behind me and for NYC the sun towards the NW.  I arrived at the new Ferry Dock that is next to the old one.  No doubt there were better looking buildings in the olden times. Next is a view approaching the old ferry dock that is posterized in Black and White.

 Upon arriving at the Big Apple I walked to the Whitney Museum of American Art to take a look …I was disappointed since it was mostly a museum about “political correctness” disguised as art.  The middle image below was my favorite and appears to me in the style of Van Gogh “Starry Nights.” Next an art connoisseur trying to figure out what the splashes in the canvas mean.

 Walking uptown by the High Line next to the Hudson River observed the cadaver of an old building been devoured to be replaced by modern skyscrapers; NYC never sleeps and always metamorphosing from a Gotham to a Metropolis.  The colorful hoses are really considered a work of art; when I first saw them, I thought they just were old abandoned fireman hoses.

 Bushwick is a neighborhood that suffered from urban decay now been gentrified and what were abandoned old factories are resurgent as fancy apartments for the noveaux rich. I found gold here; I mean graffiti or street art. I go all over the world photographing graffiti, and some of it could be exhibited in the MOMA as art priced in the millions. The one below looks as a prison because of the concertina wire above it. The contrast of the paintings in the two sides of the building is totally different in style; I prefer the one on the dark side (what you see is not what it looks like since I applied HDR changes and darkened the sky.  Below is an active poultry store and if you get close, it really smells like a chicken coop. The third and fourth images are the walls of a rundown apartment but the paint job really makes it appealing. 

 Some of the graffiti has specific messages but if you try to read, it makes no sense and

I leave it at that. What was an artist subculture has become established with unique styles such a “Bubble Lettering” initially associated with crime.  It started as paintings on the side of railroad and subway cars resulting in the authorities “war on graffiti” that eventually migrated to the walls of buildings.  For a time there was legislation controlling the sale of spray paint to ages of 18 to 21.  But the battle against graffiti was lost and it became street art and the defacers became art gallery owners.  

 Bushwick was founded by the Dutch and during the XIX century became a German migrant’s enclave and now is predominantly Hispanic better known as “Latino American”, mostly originating from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Most of them came here to work at the long gone Domino Sugar Refinery and the Navy Yards.

 The original name of the area was Boswijck meaning “little town in the woods” and was revitalized by the Bushwick Initiative and transformed into an art community with numerous artists’ studios, galleries, breweries and outside cafes. The graffiti is being restored and is protected and the streets also used by the movie industry. 

 It is a really friendly hearty place and surprisingly with street parking is readily available…free.

After having a great pizza at the microbrewery accompanied by a strong IPA, it was time to head home as the sun faded.  How did I start in Staten Island and end in Bushwick and named this blog New York City?  Only the IPAs know.

The High Line in NYC

 

 After leaving the elevator that took me to the High Line Park proper, the first sight at the street level below was a bicycle rental post.  These are common in Europe but I believe something new in the USA.

 

 This park was built in the abandoned West Side Line spur of the New York Central Railroad facing the Hudson River.  Whoever came up with this recycling idea is a genius.  Walking the line it was so quiet that I felt removed for activities in the streets below but still connected to it.

 

The elevated railroad tracks were converted into a green park with a concrete walkway including benches, and yes, with trees, grasses and monuments an even a sun deck. Construction began in 2006 and the first section opened in 2009, and the second section in 2011 and it is still an ongoing project. A hotel was built with the park going through and opening in the structures as it crosses in 13^th Street W.

 

This elevated park is an unlimited source of photographic opportunities for amateurs, hobbyists and professionals too.  There are lots of architectural photo opps particularly at sunset when the sun settles above the skyline in New Jersey for silhouettes as well as for the buildings in Manhattan that will be backlighted at sunset, the time that I was there.  This may be the best time to take opportunity of the light and of the citizens just enjoying the open space after a busy day.

 

And the people, such a variety of personalities and mostly, all agreeable to being photographed when asked…those not asked because they were at a distance had their souls robbed too. 

 

There are some cultural items along the walk as artists displaying their creations, children parks with colorful game sets, and sophisticated graffiti that get a higher level of provenance by being called murals.  One of the iconic photograph of the Sailor kissing the girl in Times Square at the end of WWII.

 

And there are also occasions for peeping thru the windows of the various office and residential building that form like brick, glass and steel canyons along the High Line…one really gets a view of a pigeon flying among the buildings… what a treat!!!  There is a website for the park at http://www.thehighline.org/about/park-information worth visiting.  If you give me a choice between a day a Central Park or the High Line, I select the later.

 

At the end of the walk, there are new buildings been constructed and it appears that work goes on 24 hours a day.  I took another elevator here and descended to street level and when walking to an Italian Restaurant for dinner, passed this Martial Arts center...great kick; glad I was not the target.