... then along a deserted street that would have scared me at little, except that there were police standing around at regular intervals. The graffiti was creepily cheerful:
Sensual:
Bursting with life:
Around the corner, I found a nice café. There weren't many people there. And no WiFi. If there were WiFi, would it be full of people? Maybe it's just too early on a Saturday.
Around another corner, buildings encroached, seemingly spanned by a segment of Manhattan Bridge:
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26 comments:
Nic pics. That last picture reminds me of scenes in Moonstruck, a great movie.
hey, welcome to nyc. glad you're getting such a beautiful end-of-summer day here! please take more pictures.
Did you get your permit before taking those snaps?
Mayor Bloomberg may come after you if you're not careful.
And beautiful pics, looking forward to more.
I would like some more bustling crowd scenes also.
That last picture may have also been in "Once Upon a Time in America"
It's a cold rainy early fall day here in Madison. Maybe that's coming your way.
It reminds me of why I moved to Ohio - all available space is spoken for in the city. From my own backyard not an hour ago, Bull Thistle.
No month without a flowering something. All space is left over.
In a week there will be house finches and goldfinches eating there.
The uncertainty of crime and cement.
T-R-A-P-P-E-D
The naming of NYC neighborhoods (think SoHo and Tribeca) went just a touch too far I think when that Brooklyn neighborhood "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass" was dubbed "DUMBO".
Take a cane, and walk hunched over, even though it's bad posture.
Then, when the muggers come, you can go into your helpless old-lady act.
If you try to be strong, confident, and forthright...it will just provoke them even more.
New York has the most interesting graffiti, which I noticed on my trip a couple of weeks back, when taking the e-train in to Manhattan from Queens.
Have a great visit! And keep the photos coming!
Burkean Reflections
Prof A
Photos are gorgeous.
But now I can no longer forward your Mad Wisc photos to my daughter who got her PhD there.
I don't want to hijack your blog with my, um, Remembrance of Things Past so I'll stop writing about it.
But Maxine has just hijacked your peaceable kingdom with her take on muggers & muggees. So I must try to “sway” her with logic by telling her that, with all due respect, she's got it backwards. Li'l “helpless” old ladies who walk hunchbacked on the wrong streets or even on the right streets when there's no one else around are more likely to get mugged & “fade” than a buff 25 yr old woman who's movin' along, in Maxine’s words, "strong, confident, and forthright".
Wait, this sounds like the peace movement vis a vis the US & the rest of the world: Our unilateral disarmament. Strength through weakness. That'll show 'em.
Prof A
May I suggest that you visit the Forgotten New York site on the web: forgotten-ny.com
Click on "Neighborhoods". It's doing photo shoots, with commentary, of various neighborhoods, including so far Dumbo, Red Hook, Vinegar Hill (in Brooklyn, not the one in Manhattan where I was born), & others not right next door to you.
The second photo in FNY’s Dumbo section is similar to your # 6, but, IHMO, presents a better perspective. Not that there's anything wrong with yours!
If you walked from the Brooklyn Bridge over to Dumbo I sure hope you stopped at Grimaldis
Althouse has a lot more to fear than muggers. The Hellman's people are coming after her:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5lgq0jrZ3I&NR=1
Thanks for the link to Forgotten NY. As for those photos, though, they are in dire need of digital tweaking, especially straightening.
BTW people
Picture # 1 includes The River Cafe in the lower right.
Told ya so.
Prof A
You say
"Those [Forgotten NY] photos...are in dire need of digital tweaking, especially straightening."
Picky, picky.
Some of us find them so highly evocative, that we are willing to overlook their lack of 21st Century perfection.
Of course, I thank you for your devotion to 21st Century perfection, which makes your photos more evocative.
Now if you could only get me a photo of...nevermind, keep surprising me.
Maxine you should give it a rest...New York is the safest big city in America...and Brooklyn Heights in paticular is very safe as the police are everywhere as the prof has noted...they are protecting the Brooklyn Bridge and the foot patrols are all over the place...the NYPD will break in the rookies with foot patrols and a new class was just sent out...in fact the Tactical Patrol Force/Emergency Service HQ is on
Red Cross Place about five or six blocks from the photos she posted today...you have a better chance of meeting Ed Gein in Wisconsin than geting mugged on Henry Street.
..of course it is hard to educate the bigoted Anti-New York people who are so afraid of the "other"...in Brooklyn we all live together in a big bubbling melting pot with all of our peeps coming from every corner of the globe...so we don't fear walking the streets and don't need to walk bent over...just look them in the eye and say: "Waddya looking at asshole...you gotta problem"...works every time.
Inwood, I didn't notice that those were particularly old photos, just that they are off-kilter. It's very distracting! I know I often deliberately photograph things at an angle, but that's different. I used to throw out a lot of pictures because of this flaw -- failure to hold the camera level -- before I had software to straighten things. But anyway, once you've scanned old photos, you can fix the problem, so I don't understand the argument you're making. I'm only being picky about a mistake that is totally fixable, like a typo in a text.
Trooper York: Thanks for explaining all the cops at the foot of the bridge. And it does seem really safe around here. I certainly feel safe up off the ground in the apt. building, and walking on the street, it's less threatening than Madison. There are many more street people per capita in Madison, and there's no one begging for money as in Madison or loitering in a drug-related way. In Brooklyn, I'm seeing a lot people actually going about looking like they're trying to get things done.
Ann....Brooklyn Heights is a real "old fashioned" neighborhood in Brooklyn, because the Brownstones were alway's very expensive...so there is very little street life...most people go there to do something...hit a bank or Keyspan or hit the Promonade...Jacque Torrez chocolates or the ice cream factory...downtown Brooklyn on Cadman Plaza and Court St is full of hustle and bustle on weekdays because of all the people in the courts for jury duty...but you can check out the farmers market in front of Borough Hall and the Courts on Sunday...they have a lot of fresh produce and baked goods...a little pricey but generally good quality...if you want a more vibrant street scene hit Fort Greene or Prospect Heights or Williamsburg or especially the restaurant row of Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens on Smith St....the Heights is kinda sleepy and dull..but pretty as you pictures illustrate.
Trooper, I walked in the downtown area -- around Macy's. There were lots of people, but they were going about their business, not cavorting or loitering.
Sure because dowtown is where you go to shop...back in the day Macy's used to be A&S and they had a bunch of great stores like EJ Kovettes, Mays, Mcorey's and Martins...most people in New York are in a hurry to get stuff done...it's just the way it is...but trust me there is a whole lot of cavorting going on at this very moment on Smith St...I am going out to cavort away....I might even loiter a little...just cause I like the way that sounds.
Madison: capitol of leftydom and home office of menacing street behavior. Coincidence?
Prof A
I understood your point. But I never said that (except for old photos identified as such to show contrast) these FNY photos were old. I was acknowledging that their tech was not au courant.
These pix were taken in the 21st century by amateur photographers whose only purpose is to wander through neighborhoods & take pictures to accompany their musings. Not art, not meaningful to many, but evocative to some. I've touted many to this site & you're the first to criticize anything on it to me. Perhaps we are old & grey & full of sleep & nodding by the fire as we view these pix, but we're enchanted.
And, while I do truly appreciate your technically proficient & thoughtful photos, no one except FNY is going around forgotten neighborhoods (your environs no longer being forgotten) like they are.
Not deep. That's all I meant. I'm easily satisfied in the nostalgia dept.
I didn't know that it was that easy for them to correct their flaws. Wonder why they don't. In the meantime, there are endless professional pictures of a few well-known places in your area, but few of the streets & buildings you & FNY shot, such as the one which is your # 6 & their # 2.
And, again with all due respect, having been there personally, IMHO, their perspective in that picture is better than yours.
And no, my pix are no better than theirs tech wise.
On a safety note, & I think that Trooper Y would agree with me, while your neighborhood is safe post-Rudy, I assume that you (& I’d say this to a big man also) are always aware of your surroundings when taking your pix. Especially when you have expensive state-of-the art equipment. NYC thieves have a discerning eye. They know good stuff from dreck & act accordingly. Cast a cold eye.
When I had a season ticket to friday night fights at the Felt Forum the ring announcer always told you two things..Bud is the King of Beers...and protect yourself at all times...Now I think the Newcastle Brown is the real king... but I am always aware of what's going on around me...you should always scope out the four corners of your perimeter and do a threat assessment...but in Brooklyn Heights I think the worst thing that could happen is someone will spill a latte on you or run you over with a stroller.
Ouch, I think I killed another thread
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