Category Archives: New York City

Halloween Postmortem, Part I

Posted on November 3, 2015 by | 20 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Halloween decorations 2015 4Halloween 2015 is over—and it was quite a party! So much so that I didn’t even have time to post my photos of the Halloween decorations—if that is the right word—seen this year in our neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Some of the old favorites made return appearances (here are the photos from 2011, 2012, and 2013), but there were many imaginative, even artistic, new additions. Many of the residents of our neighborhood obviously feel a strong need to keep up with the Joneses, no effort or expense spared, in this department as in many others… The huge crowds of trick-or-treating kids loved it all, of course!

(click on any photo to start slideshow)

Halloween decorations 2015 1
Halloween decorations 2015 2
Halloween decorations 2015 3
Halloween decorations 2015 4
Halloween decorations 2015 5
Halloween decorations 2015 6
Halloween decorations 2015 7
Halloween decorations 2015 8
Halloween decorations 2015 9
Halloween decorations 2015 10
Halloween decorations 2015 11
Halloween decorations 2015 12
Halloween decorations 2015 13
Halloween decorations 2015 14
Halloween decorations 2015 15
Halloween decorations 2015 16
Halloween decorations 2015 17
Halloween decorations 2015 18
Halloween decorations 2015 19
Halloween decorations 2015 20
Halloween decorations 2015 21
Halloween decorations 2015 22
Halloween decorations 2015 23
Halloween decorations 2015 24
Halloween decorations 2015 25
Halloween decorations 2015 26
Halloween decorations 2015 27
Halloween decorations 2015 28
Halloween decorations 2015 29
Halloween decorations 2015 30
Halloween decorations 2015 31
Halloween decorations 2015 32
Halloween decorations 2015 33
Halloween decorations 2015 34
Halloween decorations 2015 35
Halloween decorations 2015 36
Halloween decorations 2015 37
Halloween decorations 2015 38
Halloween decorations 2015 39
Halloween decorations 2015 40
Halloween decorations 2015 41
Halloween decorations 2015 42
Halloween decorations 2015 43

Even more photos are here.

Part II, with photos of the costumes at the Halloween block party itself, is coming soon!

20 Comments

Posted in Art, Culture, New York City

Tagged , , , ,

New York City Celebration

Posted on October 26, 2015 by | 17 comments

By Johna Till Johnson

New York City Celebration

The festival arrives!

People often ask why I live in New York. Yes, it’s crowded. And expensive. And even though the crime rate is way down from the 1980s when I first lived here, it’s still a city—with all the dangers a city brings.

I try to explain, but the truth is, it’s not the cultural richness. Or the wonderful food. Or even the variegated mix of people.

It’s that New York can continue to surprise and amaze me. As it did on a recent overcast autumn day: I’d just finished brunch with a friend and decided on the spur of the moment to walk the three miles home. I made it less than half the way there when I noticed that the density of police officers had picked way up. And then I heard it: Music, and a few green-and-white-clad people dancing in the street.

A few more steps, and I was in the midst of a full-on street festival, with floats, marching bands, music, and dancing. Apparently it was the 55th birthday of Nigeria (who knew?) and celebrants were out in force. (Well, technically, modern Nigeria was founded on October 1, 1960, but close enough…)

I walked the next several blocks with a gigantic grin on my face. The music was infectious, the colors brilliant, and the energy electric. And by the time I got to the end of the festival, my heart was dancing along with the dancers.

At first, just a flash of color…
… Then full-on music and dancing
Green and white sunshine on a gray day!
Singing and dancing
Construction workers take a break to enjoy
Happy birthday, indeed!
Nothing’s complete without a hashtag!
Colorful stiltwalkers
The floats continue on by

17 Comments

Posted in Life, New York City

Tagged , , , ,

Manhattan Ahead as Night Falls

Posted on October 13, 2015 by | 42 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

As we returned from our paddle on Sunday night, the Manhattan skyline glowed in the last rays of the sunset, then grew cool with a myriad twinkling lights—

(click on any photo to enlarge it)

Manhattan ahead 1 Manhattan ahead 2 Manhattan ahead 3 Manhattan ahead 4 Manhattan ahead 5

And here are some GoPro clips of that part of our trip (the water drops on the lens are a distinct nuisance!):

.
The story and photos of the rest of the trip are here.

42 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City

Tagged , , , , , ,

Paint, Take Two

Posted on October 12, 2015 by | 22 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

As we paddle through the backwaters of NYC’s industrial waterways, we come to close quarters with hundreds of barges and scows, many of which seem to have seen some service.

Colorful barges 1

As we brush past their battered sides, we admire their colorful peeling paint—

Colorful barges 2Colorful barges 3Colorful barges 4Colorful barges 5Colorful barges 6Colorful barges 7

A second contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Paint. The first contribution was here.

22 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Photography

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Paint

Posted on October 9, 2015 by | 11 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Not so yellow submarine...This is how we’ve always before seen the Yellow Submarine of Brooklyn—

—but what a difference a fresh coat of paint makes!

A fresh coat of paint(story and more photos here)

A contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Paint. A second contribution is here.

11 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Photography

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

We All Love the Yellow Submarine!

Posted on October 8, 2015 by | 36 comments

By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina and Johna Till Johnson

Yellow Submarine Paddle 22

In the town where I was born,
Lived a man who sailed to sea,
And he told us of his life,
In the land of submarines.

So we sailed on to the sun,
Till we found a sea of green,
And we lived beneath the waves,
In our yellow submarine…

The yellow submarine isn’t just an invention of the Beatles—it exists for real. And it had gotten a paint job, courtesy of our friend Erik Baard and his HarborLab crew. So we decided it was high time to paddle out and see the results.

Let me back up… in the waters of Coney Island Creek, just off Gravesend Bay, there rests—amazingly, improbably!—a yellow submarine. We’ve told a fuller story here, but suffice it to say that the story of its existence just underscores the crazy sense of possibility that permeated the 1960s.

But it’s closing in on 50 years since the yellow submarine was launched, and it had become somewhat the worse for wear. So when we heard it had recovered its original cheerful coloring, we had to go see.

Continue reading →

36 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Tugboat Race 2015

Posted on September 22, 2015 by | 17 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Tugboat Race 64

Ah, the familiar first signs of Fall: the first crisp days and chilly nights, trees beginning to turn color here and there, migrating geese honking overhead…

And, of course, the Tugboat Race.

Tugboat Race 49Every year on Labor Day Sunday, the Working Harbor Committee brings together, in the Hudson River off Midtown Manhattan, a collection of New York Harbor tugs—those that can spare a rare half-day off work—to engage in

Tugboat Race 73various feats of tugboat strength: a race, nose-to-nose pushing contests, a line-throwing competition, and, for the kids as well as hyper-competitive tugboat captains, a spinach-eating contest.

We’ve attended the last three years, and written quite a bit about the occasion (in 2012, 2013, and 2014). So let’s go straight to the photos of this year’s event, the 23rd Annual Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition!

Continue reading →

17 Comments

Posted in New York City, Science and Technology

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Move

Posted on September 18, 2015 by | 20 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Move!

Move 1

No, you move!

Move 2

In NYC, gridlock doesn’t just happen on land…

Move 3

Scenes from this year’s Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition. Many more photos to come!

A contribution to Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge, Move.

20 Comments

Posted in New York City, Photography, Science and Technology

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Grid

Posted on September 18, 2015 by | 23 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

New York City architecture is ruled by rigid grids. But often the result is surprisingly fluid…

Grid 1Grid 2Grid 3Grid 4

A contribution to this week’s Photo Challenge, Grid.

23 Comments

Posted in Architecture, New York City, Photography

Tagged , , , , , ,

Manhattan Circumnavigation at the Edge of Fall

Posted on September 15, 2015 by | 17 comments

 By Vladimir Brezina

Midtown Manhattan

Under the Brooklyn BridgeOn Sunday, the weather broke. After weeks of hot humid weather, there was suddenly a chill in the air. Morning mist shrouded the higher towers of Manhattan, and later when the sun broke through, the air remained crisp and cool. Here and there, leaves were already turning. Fall had unmistakably arrived.

Perfect weather for a Manhattan circumnavigation!

A look back at downtown Manhattan

Here are some photos:

Continue reading →

17 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City

Tagged , , , , ,