Bushwick is photogenic as hell. 
Colorful and raw.
A distinct smell pervades.
The contrasts stand out most of all.
Category Archives: new york city
1,200 pounds of Rose Petals Dumped over Statue of Liberty
1,200 pounds of rose petals were dropped from helicopters over the Statue of Liberty to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion in Normandy. 
Blue, red and white water, shot from a nearby fire boat, puffed out as tiny smoke clouds of red wafted from the helicopters, as they hovered closer to Jersey.. 
Not quite the spectacle expected.
Overlooked New York Part III: Banksy Gone
Banksy’s famed New York residency last October drew all sorts of hype, all of which I bought into…and yesterday, visited three of the sites to see what was left behind.
23rd Street, between Lexington & Third Avenues, Murray Hill:
October 2013
May 2014
Staples Street at Jay Street, Tribeca:
October 2014
May 2014
24th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues, Chelsea:
October 2013
May 2014
Not too much going on now.
Overlooked New York Part II: Elizabeth Berger Plaza
Only a block away from New York’s oldest park, Bowling Green, sits Elizabeth Berger Plaza. 
This triangular, nondescript green space sits at the entry to Battery Park Tunnel and is an exit for Rector Street Station for the #1 train. 
Berger Plaza offers potted plants, trees and benches to relax. 
Historic plaques adorn benches. 
These commemorate that the location was once called Little Syria – before being displaced by the construction of the tunnel. 
Undoubtedly a much quieter space then.
Overlooked New York Part I: Tunnel Approach and Tunnel Exit
Forget Wall Street, Park Avenue and Broadway. 
Tunnel Approach and Tunnel Exit Streets, perhaps the most heavily traveled thoroughfares in the city, remain the least visited.
Only a few blocks from Grand Central Station, Bryant Park and the United Nations, to say nothing of the Midtown Tunnel, these aptly named streets give access to the city for some 70,000 cars per day. 
It is true the Tunnel Street sidewalks are narrow.
However there is an abundance of artwork 
Plenty of street food
Even a few wildlife specimens. 
One only has to look beyond changing lanes to see.
Homeless Indifference
While walking home last night, we witnessed a group of low-riding biker kids rocket along the sidewalks of 56th Street. They swerved through the few pedestrians and then around a homeless man asleep against a building. 
“We should jump him!” Two of them spun back while another brought out his cellphone to record. It was an easy jump, and they laughed about that.
I was incensed. “You guys are a bunch of assholes!”
They looked back, half smiling, grunting. What was the big deal? It was just some homeless guy. And off they went.
We thought about calling the police but knew that would get the homeless man in trouble as well. And so that was that.
Here is Where You Aren’t
It’s always where you’re not. 
You try to find it, knowing it won’t be there. Or maybe it is there, an instant, through a crack, sudden and clear. 
And then it isn’t. Like music. You remember and think. You dream of getting back there to how it once was. It’s a disease like that. 
The only trick is to forget.
Reading Camus
They beat it out of you, and by they I mean we. 
It’s us, just us, with our wisdom and cruelty, our dreams of being whole and true, yeah, lying about that. We’re good at that, pretending to be on the subway, losing the call, sitting on our friend’s lap and saying we are laughing when that isn’t inside at all.
It’s our demise, our degrading bodies, our trip into the nothing, not loving, not dreaming, not slimming down our skirts as we sit, but just standing there, thinking we might be something and then remembering we’re not.
Tibet House Benefit 2014
The 2014 Tibet House Benefit, at Carnegie Hall last night, continues to be a musical highlight of the year.
Highlights included the enchanting music of Phillip Glass (accompanied by Nico Muhly & Tim Fain), surprise guest Sufjan Stevens offering two of his Planetarium songs, and New Order front-manned by the raw, seemingly ageless Iggy Pop. 
Not even Patti Smith could ruin the night with her ego and histrionics, grabbing poor Mr. Glass at the end, dragging him into her spotlight.
The good news is that, this time, she didn’t spit on the floor. 
It is a privilege to attend this event. Thank you, Mr. Glass.
New York Through Dirty Windows
I like this city. 
Some say it is dirty and full of garbage. 
Maybe they are right. 
But I still like this city.