Chinese Antique Store

There's an antique store on Mulberry Street in Manhattan's Chinatown that's filled with beautiful statues, sculptures, vases and scroll paintings, some of which might pass for museum quality if glimpsed quickly as you walk down the store aisles.

Souvenir Store on W. 33 St.

Not too long ago, I used to pass a souvenir shop aimed at tourists on the corner of 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue. I took pictures of the windows because it had the most unusual juxtapositions of objects. There would be statues with ancient Egyptian motifs next to typical "I Love New York" merchandise.

Midway in the Bronx

On a scruffy patch of land in Bronx Park, between Bronx Park East and the Bronx River Parkway (just east of the Bronx Zoo), a traveling amusement park known as Tommy's Midway gets set up every year to provide rides to kids in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx. On August 19, 2013, I happened to come across this collection of rides as it sat awaiting opening hours. It was late afternoon and I don't know why it wasn't open yet, but I took the opportunity to walk around the empty rides and take pictures.

Central Park in the Snow

The first time I ever took an extended walk in Central Park at night by myself, it was on a night when it was snowing in either the late 1980s or early 1990s. The snow was falling softly and gently and laying down a perfect covering, illuminated by the street lamps in the park. As I walked, I passed a beautiful blond policewoman and I looked at her and managed to get out, "Good evening," and got a lovely smile in return. I stopped at the ice skating rink and watched as the snowfall was lit up by the lights on the rink, creating an ever-changing filtered pattern over the skaters, who seemed to be having a good time. I walked further up and went through the Mall, that long passageway leading up to the Naumberg Band Shell, with trees on either side and the Literary Walk, featuring statues of assorted authors, at its southern end. I was the only one on it and it was just one long breathtaking passage of white snow and snow-covered trees overhead and illumination from the lamps. I then went down the steps to the Bethesda Fountain and stood there for a while in the snow. It was one of the best times I ever had in the park. I had one other evening like this a few years later, but every time after that, whenever it's been snowing like this I haven't been anywhere near the park.

I didn't have a camera with me at either time when I was in the park at night when it was snowing, but I have tried to take pictures of the park in the snow when I could in the years since.

Building Facade on W. 12 St.: Like a Hollywood Set

They've torn down the building that used to be St. Vincent's Hospital on 12th Street and 7th Avenue and they're building condos in its place, but they kept part of the facade of the old building. When I first spotted the site, it looked like this:

Serious Shades of Green

It was on Sunday, June 9th and I believe it was after a big rain, but the New York Botanical Garden (in the Bronx) was as green as I've ever seen it. Most of the tree blossoms (cherry blossoms, magnolias) had come and gone and the Azaleas were nowhere to be seen (they may not have blossomed yet), so there wasn't much in the way of actual flowers, but the tree leaves, bushes and grass were vibrant in their greenness.

This is the path I usually take after entering the Garden and heading north.

Sunflowers on the Subway

Not something I see everyday.

Photo taken on Wednesday morning, June 26, 2013 on the downtown #2 train in Manhattan.