Tag Archives: Manhattan

A Foggy Day in New York Town

Posted on December 7, 2011 by | 5 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Here are three images captured by the Statue of Liberty webcams in the foggy weather we’ve been having recently in New York City.

(All three images are from December 5, 2011.)

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Posted in New York City

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A Late-Fall Paddle Along the Palisades

Posted on December 5, 2011 by | 9 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

A week ago, on the last Sunday of November, the weather promised to be clear and mild—perfect for a late-fall paddle. We looked up the current predictions. In the morning, the current was flooding north. So we paddled north—from Pier 40 up the Hudson River along the West Side of Manhattan, under the George Washington Bridge and along the Palisades up to Tonetti Gardens, then returning with the ebb current in the afternoon…

It was a peaceful paddle. There were no exciting conditions, no incidents to report. But it was a beautiful day for a few photos…

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Best of Fall Colors 2011

Posted on November 23, 2011 by | Leave a comment

By Vladimir Brezina

Despite the hiccup of the Halloween snowstorm, Fall has had a long run this year. The colors in New York City’s Central Park have been glorious. But now, in late November, they are finally coming to an end. It’s raining, dark, gray, and the trees are rapidly losing their last leaves.

So, as farewell, here are some highlights of the Fall colors of 2011. Happy Thanksgiving!

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The individual photos, and many others, are here, here, and here.

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Posted in Nature, New York City

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Around the Reservoir: A Photoessay

Posted on November 8, 2011 by | Leave a comment

By Vladimir Brezina

Yesterday I took a walk along the jogging track that encircles Manhattan’s Central Park Reservoir (more properly, I guess, the “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir”).
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On the reservoir side of the jogging track, beyond the black cast-iron ornamental fence, is a steep embankment leading down into the water. In this micro-enviroment, just a few feet wide but 1.6 miles long, fall is in full swing…

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Ghosts, Goblins, Superheroes, and Pricesses Dance on the Upper East Side: A Photoessay

Posted on November 1, 2011 by | 15 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Halloween. But I was stuck at home working. It was clear I wasn’t going to make it to the Halloween Parade in the Village this year.

But around 5 p.m., unusual sounds from the street below began to penetrate my concentration. I discerned excited voices, children’s squeals, and then—the beat of dance music!

When I emerged to take a look, I found that my block of 92nd Street, between Madison and Park Avenues, had been blocked off and the First Annual Carnegie Hill Halloween Block Party was in full swing!

It was mostly for children. Little ghosts, goblins, skeletons, witches, dragons, tigers, superheroes, knights in armor, princesses, pumpkins, bananas, cobwebbed barrels and even tubs of popcorn, some young enough to be held in arms by their parents who clearly were having just as much fun, cavorted in the street. A little later there was a tiny parade, and prizes were awarded for best costumes. Then, the main business of the evening: trick-or-treating from house to house. Many houses in that block have for days been festooned with their own cobwebs, giant black spiders, and grinning skeletons in anticipation.

Here are a few photos.

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Posted in Art, Culture, New York City, Society

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Trees, Surprised by Winter

Posted on October 30, 2011 by | 2 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

The snowstorm that came through New York City a couple of days ago wasn’t much as winter storms go. But it was so early—it’s nowhere near winter yet! New York City has had measurable snow in October only three times previously since records began in 1869, and this storm, dropping 2.9 inches in Central Park, set a new record by far.

The trees weren’t ready. They still had almost all their leaves—the fall colors haven’t even peaked yet in Central Park!—and the weight of the snow accumulating in the foliage brought down branches and whole trees everywhere.

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Posted in Nature, New York City

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Touched By Fire: An Early-Autumn Kayak Trip Along the Palisades

Posted on October 20, 2011 by | 5 comments

By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina

Autumn is a time of melancholy, of dreams and mists. It’s also a time of intense beauty—and a reminder that everything in life is transient.

That’s particularly true when it comes to catching the leaves turning along the Hudson: Bare hints of color one day, blazing the next, and then fading—all in the space of a week or two.

For New York City kayakers with day jobs, the challenge is that the currents are right for a weekend trip up the Hudson only once every two weeks—which means there are only two October weekends to catch this ephemeral color.

The first weekend with a daytime flood current was October 15-16. Either weekend day would have worked, but since I’d just gotten back from an intense week of traveling, Sunday was the better fit. Plus, Saturday’s winds were pretty severe—predicted and ultimately proving to be over 20 knots. So we agreed to go Sunday.

By then, the winds had calmed somewhat. Vlad and I set off on a crystalline, perfect, early-autumn day.

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An Exciting Manhattan Circumnavigation

Posted on October 18, 2011 by | 1 comment

By Johna Till Johnson

Note: None of the four of us remembered to bring cameras, so you’ll have to do with a few similar photos from other trips—and your imagination!

This story begins like all good stories: “It was a dark and stormy night…”

Well, no. Actually, it was a dark and stormy morning. Except it didn’t start out that way, but we knew it was headed in that direction. And it got there with a vengeance.

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Ederle Swim 2011, Round Three

Posted on October 6, 2011 by | 15 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

NYC Swim‘s Ederle Swim, the ~17-mile open-water swim through New York Harbor between Manhattan and Sandy Hook, NJ, has become very popular. This year, there have been no fewer than three of them. And each one set a new record.

First, in June 2011, Liz Fry swam from Manhattan to Sandy Hook and back, becoming the first swimmer ever to complete a double Ederle Swim—and, in the process, setting records for both individual directions as well.

Then in August, Lance Ogren, swimming with a fast ebb current in the wake of Hurricane Irene, shattered Liz’s Manhattan-to-Sandy Hook record by almost an hour.

I was one of the kayakers accompanying both Liz and Lance on these swims (see my writeups and photos here and here).

And now, Round Three! Last Sunday we had the main, yearly Ederle Swim for multiple swimmers—19 swimmers started—but in the other direction, from Sandy Hook to Manhattan. The winner of this race was looking to beat Liz’s other individual record!

This time I was the kayaker for Janet Harris, in her very first Ederle Swim. Here are some annotated photos from my kayaker’s perspective. Janet has posted her own account of her swim here.

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Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Sports

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A Post-Hurricane Swim Into the Record Books

Posted on September 4, 2011 by | 8 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

NYC Swim‘s premier long-distance swim, the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, has become an institution in the world of long-distance swimming.  But its younger sibling, the Ederle Swim between Manhattan and Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is still growing, full of surprising twists and turns.

In October 2010, the top two finishers in the Ederle Swim were Lance Ogren and Liz Fry. This year, each of them went on to swim their own exclusive version of the Ederle Swim. In June 2011, Liz completed an unprecedented 35-mile double Ederle Swim from Manhattan to Sandy Hook and back. In an amazing swim, she set records not only for the overall course but for each of the two individual directions as well.

A few days ago, in August 2011, Lance set out to break the record—now Liz’s record—for the Manhattan to Sandy Hook direction.

I was one of the two kayakers accompanying Lance on his swim. Here are some photos and a brief account.

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