Friday is upon us…some random shots from my travels. Hope you enjoy.
See What Eye See…
Tag Archives: Trains
The Wrath of Sandy…See What Eye See…
It is mind-blowing what I have been seeing over these last several days. I have been driving when I can and walking around the city to see what I can see. It is heartbreaking to see people without shelter and basic necessities. The destruction Sandy caused is something I will NEVER forget. It has turned New York, New Jersey and Connecticut into places you would not even recognize. Washed away homes, flooded streets, and trees have been blown from their foundations. Just total devastation. Sandy brought us to our knees. Many people are still without power and running water. The temperature here has dropped to below 40 degrees at night and thousands are without heat. But I will say it could have been so…so much worse. God had mercy on us.
See What Eye See…
Long Gas Lines.
Waiting for gas in long lines.
Total Darkness
No Gas
Selling gas to the stranded.
Here comes Hurricane Sandy…
I had to pull out the camera and take a drive around town to get some shots of the approaching Sandy.
She was a fierce storm. Sandy caused major damage all over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. To see her hovering over my city and feeling her strong powerful winds was something I will never forget. I took shots of the storm approaching from the East River and The Hudson River. The schools are closed, no trains, no buses. Many people are without power for what may turn out to be a week or more.
Me trying not to be blown away
Another Freedom Friday is Upon Us…
Here is Freedom Friday’s lineup…
Greenpoint Brooklyn….
Greenpoint is another neighborhood that has also gone through a major transformation over the years. And still is.
Lovely Tree Lined Blocks
Pool Party and Cookout Brooklyn Style
Greenpoint is one of Brooklyn’s hottest neighborhoods, thanks to an influx of young, college-educated newcomers who are transforming the Williamsburg-Greenpoint-Bushwick section of Brooklyn.
Local Watering Hole
Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at the Bushwick inlet, on the southeast by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and East Williamsburg, on the north by Newtown Creek and Long Island City, Queens at the Pulaski Bridge, and on the west by the East River. Originally farmland (many of the farm owners’ family names, e.g., Meserole and Calyer, still name the streets), the residential core of Greenpoint was built on parcels divided during the 19th century, with rope factories and lumber yards lining the East River to the west, while the northeastern section along the Newtown Creek through East Williamsburg became an industrial maritime reach. There has been an effort to reclaim not only the rezoned Greenpoint/Williamsburg East River waterfront for recreational use, but to extend that effort to include a continuous promenade into the Newtown Creek area.
I came across this awesome furniture store will riding on West Street in Greenpoint. From The Source makes handmade furniture made in Indonesia.
http://www.fromthesourceny.com
The New Williamsburg…
Williamsburg…Williamsburg I remember you from way back when. Now one would hardly recognize you with all your new flare. Tall buildings, parks, bike lanes two lanes wide and tons of new restaurants and shops. Back in the day you could rent an apartment here for under 700 bucks a month; now if you are lucky that will be your share on a 4 way split.
Everywhere you look there are new condos or many more being erected. Prices range from 350K- 2 million.
Once a place with no amenities now…
People relax in the new parks,added to increase the quality of life
People sunning on the lawns that says “keep of the grass”
There is now a pier you can hang out and fish.
The East River Park offers excellent views of the city from Williamsburg side.
See What Eye See…
Grand Central
Grand Central Station is one of the busiest commuter hubs in the world.
A little Wiki info on Grand Central…
Grand Central Terminal (GCT)—colloquially called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a commuter rail terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger rail travel, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms: 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. When the Long Island Rail Road’s new station opens in 2016 Grand Central will offer a total of 75 tracks and 48 platforms. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres.
Some consider Grand Central a place beauty filled with much history and allure.
The Ceiling
In autumn 1998, a 12-year restoration of Grand Central revealed the original luster of the Main Concourse’s elaborately decorated astronomical ceiling.
The original ceiling, conceived in 1912 by Warren with his friend, French portrait artist Paul César Helleu, was eventually replaced in the late 1930s to correct falling plaster.
This new ceiling was obscured by decades of what was thought to be coal and diesel smoke. Spectroscopic examination revealed that it was mostly tar and nicotine from tobacco smoke. A single dark patch remains above the Michael Jordan Steakhouse, left untouched by renovators to remind visitors of the grime that once covered the ceiling.
There are two peculiarities to this ceiling: the sky is backwards, and the stars are slightly displaced. One explanation is that the constellations are backwards because the ceiling is based on a medieval manuscript that visualized the sky as it would look to God from outside the celestial sphere. According to this explanation, since the celestial sphere is an abstraction (stars are not all at equal distances from Earth), this view does not correspond to the actual view from anywhere in the universe. The stars are displaced because the manuscript showed a (reflected) view of the sky in the Middle Ages, and since then the stars shifted due to precession of the equinoxes. Most people, however, simply think that the image was reversed by accident. The ceiling was deliberately[citation needed] painted in reverse by the artist Giovanni Smeraldi.
When the Vanderbilt family learned the ceiling was painted backwards, they maintained that the ceiling reflected God’s view of the sky.[citation needed]
There is a small dark circle in the midst of the stars right above the image of Pisces. In a 1957 attempt to counteract feelings of insecurity spawned by the Soviet launch of Sputnik, Grand Central’s Main Concourse played host to an American Redstone missile. With no other way to erect the missile, the hole was cut so the rocket could be lifted into place. Historical Preservation dictated that this hole remain (as opposed to being repaired) as a testament to the many uses of the Terminal over the years.
See What Eye See…
Koreatown in New York City…
Passed through K-Town today on my lunch and took a few shots of all the different restaurants and karaoke spots I saw.
See What Eye See..
Here is a little history about K-Town…
Koreatown, or K-town as it is colloquially known, is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that is generally bordered by 31st and 36th Streets and Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenues. Its location in Midtown Manhattan is close to the Empire State Building and Macy’s at Herald Square.
It all started with a bookstore and a couple of all-night restaurants that served New York’s burgeoning Korean population—who emigrated to this country in three distinct waves starting in the early 1900s—and who famously ran New York City’s market on late-night grocery stores and delis.
The heart of Koreatown is the segment of 32nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway, is also officially nicknamed “Korea Way.” Though only one city block long, Korea Way features stores and restaurants on multiple stories, with small, independently-run establishments reaching up to the third or fourth floors. The New York City Korean Chamber of Commerce estimates there are more than 100 small businesses on Korea Way.
It’s all about karaoke. But here there’s none of that bar business, where strangers have to suffer through your rendition of “The Rose.” K-town’s got real Asian karaoke—where a reasonable hourly rate gets you a room, a couch, a microphone, a flat-screen TV, a songbook in myriad languages, and, if you’re lucky, a battery-powered tambourine and the ability to BYOB.
Major Construction Underway in Lower Manhattan….
This morning I was in Lower Manhattan headed to a conference and decided to take a few minutes and snap a few shots of all construction and rebuilding going on down there.
On almost every street I ran across some construction being done. Of course the two main projects are The Freedom Towers and Fulton Street Transit Center. Both of these projects are moving along rather slowly if you ask me. And are well over budget.
See What Eye See…
Freedom Tower Buildings
On The Streets of Brooklyn Heights…
The other day I was passing through Brooklyn Heights and stopped to take a few pictures of the marvelous homes I saw there. Brooklyn Heights architecture is absolutely divine. Some of the homes here are well over a century old.
Brooklyn Heights boasts the greatest views of lower Manhattan and brownstone mansions that rival anything on Fifth Avenue. Considered to be the first suburb in America, the Brooklyn Heights of today is much more than a suburb. It has become one of the most desirable neighborhoods for Manhattanites ready to raise a family. It is a Manhattan neighborhood, located on the better side of the river.
Some of the homes have such a suburban feel to them.
See What Eye See…
