36 replies to this topic

[JBB]

I just returned from my first trip to New York City and I thought I would share a few of the 1500+ pics that I took while I was there.

*Disclaimer - I am a man among boys on this forum when it comes to my photography skills. My pics are far from perfect. I don't use a tripod and, given that I had used my brand new Nikon D40 exactly one time before this trip, the camera might have a button that unfolds a hidden tripod.

Enjoy.

Times Square



MJ's death was all over the place.



The Dakota from Central Park



Flatiron Building



ESB from Madison Square Park



Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge from South Street Seaport



Well armed cops on Wall Street

[JBB]

Trinity Church from Wall Street



WTC site from the World Financial Center lobby



Arch in Washington Square Park, easily one of my favorite spots in the city



Mulberry Street in Little Italy, another area that I really liked



Grand Central at twilight



Chrysler Building at twilight, my favorite building in the city, I was really happy with the way this pic turned out.



Rockefeller Center

[JBB]

Times Square on Friday night as seen from the roof of the TKTS booth, insanity



Empire State Building



Looking south from the ESB, this was easily the clearest day all weekend



Flatiron from ESB



Heavily damaged Sphere from WTC plaza, now in Battery Park



Ten House, across the street from where the South tower of the WTC stood



Organ at St. Paul's Chapel, across the street from WTC site

[JBB]

Chelsea Market, really cool indoor market, Food Network studios are located on upper floors



Chelsea



Tom's in Morningside Heights, Seinfeld fans might recognize this



Morningside Heights, I could spend a week in this area, clean, quiet, no street vendors hawking knock off handbags or comedy show tickets



Central Park East



The Lawn



View from Belvadere Castle

[JBB]

The mothership



Queensboro Bridge from the Roosevelt Island tram station



Engine 7 Ladder 1 in Tribeca, the firehouse featured in the documentary "9/11"



Statue of Liberty from SI Ferry



Chrysler Building peaking through the buildings of Lower Manhattan



Library at Columbia



Library at Columbia

[UncaMikey]

Nice photos, you did fine! Looks like you saw all the sights -- NYC is such a great place to take photos, isn't it? If I were rich I'd move there in a flash.

[stgo2019]

This Firehouse is half a block from my office. You should have gone to Hook and Ladder #8 in Tribeca, just a few blocks north of where you were at. They used it in Ghostbusters.

[longhornz32]

Great pictures. When I was there it was COLD! Man that Flatiron building is sexy. I never knew it had so much detail. It looked like you had a full trip.

[JBB]

The weather was fantastic while we were there. It was warm, but not unbearable. It rained a couple of early evenings, but that just cleared the air and made it cooler.

I enjoyed being there more than I imagined I would. I can't wait to go back when I don't feel so compelled to do "touristy" activities. We did a bus tour (not one of the double decker scams) and the Empire State Building and wasted time in places like Macy's and FAO Schwartz. I also went to Coney Island, a Yankees-Mets game at Citi Field, and went through the Intrepid Museum (worst decision of the trip). That's about 2 solid days of activities that I would bypass on a future trip that would give me more time to explore Central Park and some of the neighborhoods that I had to fly through (Tribeca, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, and Morningside Heights, just to name a few).

stgo - I'm fascinated by the architecture of the firehouses in NYC. Those were the only 2 that I really had the chance to look at.

[Dismuke]

Gee - you shouldn't do that. Now I am "homesick" for a place I have never called home! And some of the photos you took were GREAT. I especially was impressed with the one with the Chrysler Building in the background of the buildings in lower Manhattan.

[stgo2019]

Gee - you shouldn't do that. Now I am "homesick" for a place I have never called home! And some of the photos you took were GREAT. I especially was impressed with the one with the Chrysler Building in the background of the buildings in lower Manhattan.

I felt the same way when I came for a visit.

I can assure you that "living" here is no picnic. I swear they are going to put a toll booth at the end of the driveway of my very small $281 per sqft home. NJ state income tax AND because I work in NYC both my wife and I pay NY state income tax. Much higher food prices, utility prices, sh*&y/congested roads. 9 degrees with high winds in the winter. The people are not friendly and start honking at you to go as soon as the other traffic light turns yellow.
I could go on...

[RD Milhollin]

JBB, very happy to see a modern photo of Mulberry Street. That was the area that newspaper investigator and police reporter Jacob Riis featured in his book "How the Other Half Lives". Riis was one of the most famous of the "Muckrakers," writers who exposed the seamy underside of American urban life around the turn of the last century. He was especially concerned with the abandoned youth of the city and the dangerous, unsanitary tenaments that were allowed to dominate the housing stock in crowded urban areas of that time. I never have visited that part of the city (disclaimer: I once cleared customs and changed planes at JFK) but from Riis' own photos that illustrate his book I think your photo is of "The Bend" that was portrayed by Riis as the most decrepid and notorious section of the street. Fort Worth had "Hell's Half Acre", but the area surrounding Mulberry Street was "Hell's Kitchen."

Here is an online excerpt from Chapter 6 of "HTOSL" in which Riis describes that neighborhood's history and how he saw it in his time. Thanks for the great photos. I WILL find the time to visit NYC someday. One of the places I want to visit there is St. John the Divine, uptown near Columbia U. Do you have a shot or shots from that huge church?

[Dismuke]

I can assure you that "living" here is no picnic. I swear they are going to put a toll booth at the end of the driveway of my very small $281 per sqft home. NJ state income tax AND because I work in NYC both my wife and I pay NY state income tax. Much higher food prices, utility prices, sh*&y/congested roads.

Yes, that's why, as much as I love it up there, I am staying put. The more I looked at the costs and the taxes on top of the assorted hassles I would have to contend with once I was no longer a tourist but had to deal with a day-to-day routine, it became obvious that actually living up there would not be a good thing. And except for certain extremely high paying positions in certain industries where one pretty much must live in places such as New York or London, the difference in wages and income is rarely enough to offset the costs. A higher cost of living equals a lower standard of living.

Of course, the reverse is not always true. A lower cost of living does not necessarily translate into a higher standard of living. There are all sorts of places where the cost of living is low because there is not much of a local economy. But we in the Metroplex and other major Texas cities are fortunate. The local economy is holding up much better than it is elsewhere and the cost of living remains comparatively low. The result is that people of all income levels generally enjoy a higher standard of living here than they do in a great many other areas of the country - and most certainly higher than if they lived in the Northeast. That's why so many people are moving here.

But still, I look at those photos and longingly think: if only........

[JBB]

One of the places I want to visit there is St. John the Divine, uptown near Columbia U. Do you have a shot or shots from that huge church?

As a matter of fact, I do have a shot of St. John the Divine. It is on the same street as Tom's Restaurant, so we walked down the block to get some closeups. It's a gorgeous building. I really wish I had taken some pics of the backside of it from Morningside Park, but I think we were trying to hurry to get somewhere else. I'll try to post some more pics over the next few days.

One thing I thought was amusing about the trip was how I thought that having the technology of the iPhone was going to make getting around much easier. It turned out that AT&Ts 3G service is much more spotty than I ever thought it would be in the city. Frequent dropped calls, very intermittent internet service, inability to connect to download emails. The double-sided hotel concierge paper map that a friend gave me was a lifesaver. I used the subway app on the phone to plan out transfers on occasion, but I did most of our route planning on the paper map.

[Dismuke]

One thing I thought was amusing about the trip was how I thought that having the technology of the iPhone was going to make getting around much easier. It turned out that AT&Ts 3G service is much more spotty than I ever thought it would be in the city. Frequent dropped calls, very intermittent internet service, inability to connect to download emails.

That is similar to the experience I had when I was last there in 2005. I had and still have Verizon as my cell phone provider - and one of the things that keeps me loyal to them is the fact that their network has been rock solid pretty much everyplace I have been (while I hear horror stories from people with other services). But not in New York. During my entire stay there, it was very difficult for me to receive inbound phone calls. My phone would ring showing the caller ID information. But the moment I answered, I just got a busy signal. Fortunately, I had no problem placing outgoing calls so I was able to immediately return such calls. My cell phone at the time had a built in camera which I almost never used as I already had a camera. But since it offered the feature of transmitting photos via email, I thought it would be neat to send a few to friends while I was there. Not a single person received a single photo.

A friend who spent the summer there a couple of years ago who has Verizon also had issues with calls being dropped.

I think part of it might be due to the large concentration of tall buildings playing havoc with the signals. But I did learn later that that Verizon has a *228 code that updates the Preferred Roaming List. You are supposed to dial that number from your home area before traveling out of town. What it does is updates the list of towers and alternative carriers available for roaming coverage. But I am not sure that would have been applicable in New York City - presumably Verizon controls its own network there which I would think make anything to do with roaming inapplicable. But I am not sure how that works. I am also not sure if AT&T has anything similar as I think they use a completely different technology than does Verizon. But it is kind of odd that the biggest city in America has such horrible cell service.

[John T Roberts]

You should have taken the tour of St. John the Divine. It is definitely worth the time. I had been in St. Patrick's before, but later that same day, we went to St. Patrick's to compare, and it almost seemed intimate compared to St. John the Divine.

I have been to New York City in three seasons -- Spring, Summer, and Fall. I went the first part of April, so it was kind of cold then, but not too bad. My preferred times to visit are in the Summer or in the Fall. I have not had the opportunity to visit in the dead of Winter. I'm quite sure that I would not enjoy it because of the cold weather.

[jefffwd]

Thank you for posting those pics. Huge Seinfeld fan here - thanks for the shot of Tom's although it was known as Monk's in the TV show. I am going to put a trip to NYC on my "bucket list". Thanks again!

[JBB]

Thanks for all of the comments on the pics. I figured I would share a few more.

Giant billboards in Times Square



These guys were out nearly every night. "A stimulus package for hard times" was a common pitch that they would bark out.



St. Patrick's



Buildings and wicked storm clouds in Little Italy



Grand Central Market

[JBB]

NBC Studios and Radio City



Very cool rooftop terrace to the south of the ESB. Never did figure out what it was.



Sharp looking building near Battery Park



St. John the Divine



The Plaza

[JBB]

New York Times Building



Lower Manhatten from the ferry



Final game of the subway series for 2009



Coney Island from the pier



My lunch. I could have died happy after that.

[cajunmike]

Thanks for the NYC pictures. My friend is there now and I wish he could take some as good as these.

[Brian Luenser]

I was in NY City for a Board meeting yesterday (these people bought 70% of my company and now I work for them) and did not have time to take many pictures. And of course was raining. But here a few shots worthy only by the fact they are fresh.

Driving from Newark Airport


Ground Zero


On the drive


George Washington Bridge

[JBB]

Very nice shots despite the crummy weather. I regret that I didn't get any good shots of the skyline from a distance as I rode in from LGA. I have one from the terminal window as I was getting ready to leave, but the weather and the light were terrible.

[modpod77]

very nice shoot in my opinion
but it would be nicer if there were a bit sunshine

[JBB]

My wife and I took a long weekend trip to NYC a few weekends back and had a great time. It was nice to be able to go at our own pace and not feel compelled to do a lot of expensive and time consuming tourist attractions this time around. What we were not expecting was how hot it would be on this trip. Our previous trip saw temps mostly in the 80s with off and on. It was in the mid-90s this entire trip with one late afternoon of cloud cover. The humidity made it feel just as warm as it was when we left Texas. We made the best of it and had an outstanding trip. Here are some of my pics (I have overexposure problems often, sorry in advance):

The Lower Manhattan skyline on the ride in from Newark



Bryant Park



Bank of America building (3rd tallest in the city if I'm not mistaken)



Chrysler Building



Inside of St. Patrick's Cathedral



We discovered the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood on a morning mission to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Very nice area.



Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade



More of Brooklyn Heights

[JBB]

We took a really nice sunset harbor cruise one night. Very nice and gave a really great impression of the immense size of the city.

Midtown



The new World Trade Center 1 with the World Financial Center





Manhattan Bridge



Times Square. I will never cease to be amazed at the number of people congregating in the area at 11pm on a random Friday night in June. I can't imagine what it looks like on New Year's Eve.



Cathedral of St. John the Divine. I went inside, but my pictures were terrible. This building made St. Pat's look tiny in comparison.





Empire State Building through the Washington Square Park arch



Stock Exchange and surrounding buildings



World Trade Center 4

[JBB]

We visited the 9/11 Memorial on the only cloudy evening of our trip. I'm very impressed with how the area is looking. The surrounding construction and tight security dampen things a bit, but if you remember that is all temporary, you can see the makings of a really enjoyable public plaza.











Late evening dessert at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. This is the 30 minute line at 10:00pm.



Upper West Side



Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle



We ventured out to Coney Island on Sunday afternoon. As you can see, the warm weather brought the crowds out to the beach.



Lower Manhattan through the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial

[ramjet]

Really terrific pictures! I lived in NYC from 1989 to 2002. Hardly a day goes by I don't think about the place and wish I had never left.

[John T Roberts]

Great shots. Please post more. I do remember that St. John the Devine was so dark that it was hard to take a hand held photograph inside.

[Brian Luenser]

Agree with Ram Man and Mr. Roberts. Excellent shots JBB. Really fun to visit all those places with you.

I have an uncle in New York this week. (Mom's Brother). He moved to New Zealand in the 60's. He was there on a 6 month work permit and convinced them to let him stay. (Don't quite understand the concept of a Country controlling their borders) He has not been to New York since the 60's but used to go there frequently. I am anxious to hear his opinion on the 45 year time lapse.

[Ron Payne]

Awesome pictures!

[JBB]

Thanks for all of the comments. I took around 1000 pics and I cut down the pics that I wanted to post to the 30 here. I'll pick out some more when I have time at home to look through them.

I have a few of the interior of St. John the Divine, but it was very dark and none of them really accurately convey the immense size. I really wanted to do the vertical tour that takes you through the upper areas and catwalks of the building, but it was only offered at noon on Saturday while we were there and I already had lunch plans to meet my cousin that lives in New Jersey. Oh well, gives me a reason to go back.

[JBB]

Okay, better late than never, I figured I would throw out some pics of the restaurants we visited in NYC.

We set a goal for this trip to avoid well-known, national chains. We certainly partook in restaurants with more than one location, but for the most part, we stuck to our guns. There were no trips to TGI Fridays or Bubba Gump's. The two exceptions: Ruby Tuesday at the airport on the way home due to a lack of options. And on the day we arrived, we tried out The Counter Custom Built Burgers in Times Square. They have several locations across the country including 2 in Houston. I had heard good things about it, it was close to where we were at, and we were starving. The burgers were okay (not bad, but not worth a repeat visit), but overall the place was as horribly overpriced as anything you'll find in Times Square: $50 for 2 burgers, 1 small order of fries, 2 soft drinks, and a modest tip for spotty service. I went on this trip prepared to spend plenty of money on food, but this was beyond ridiculous. Alright, enough of my rant and on to the pics.

Lansky's on Columbus Ave. just to the west of Central Park and The Dakota. Very good Jewish deli. Both of us had triple decker sandwiches that were massive.



The Meatball Shop in Greenwich Village. I believe this place has been on a show on Food Network at some point. This was the best bang for the buck meal on the trip. 2 small meatball sandwiches and a couple of soft drinks for less than $20.



Palm Court at The Plaza Hotel, sight of their famous afternoon tea. We didn't have it, but I know I'm going to owe this one to my wife on a future visit.



We had "brunch" on Sunday morning at Gray's Papaya at Broadway and 72nd. 4 bucks for 2 hot dogs and one of their famous fruit smoothies.



Italian at Da Gennaro in Little Italy. This was a repeat visit to a place we loved on our first trip. We actually ate at the table on the steps behind the column in the center of the pic. Bird's eye view of the busy street on what turned out to be a really nice night.



Tom's Restaurant in Morningside Heights for breakfast one morning. Most will recognize this as the restaurant used for exterior shots of Monk's on Seinfeld.



Serendipity 3 on the Upper East Side. I had never heard of this place, but my wife was fired up to go. Their calling card is frozen hot chocolate for dessert. There was an hour and a half wait for a table and their waiting area was just slightly larger than the 5 x 8 entry way in my house. We burned off a lot of wait enjoying the air conditioning at Bloomingdale's and we were seated within 10 minutes of returning. The food was outstanding. I had a cream cheese french toast concoction and the frozen hot chocolate delivered. It was basically cocoa, sugar, milk, and ice blended and served in a giant fish bowl. Pretty good even for such a simple dessert. I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of it.

[JBB]

Teresa's in Brooklyn Heights. Another good stop for breakfast on the patio. We could see the East River from our table.



Galaxy Diner in Hell's Kitchen at 9th and 46th. Very nice post Broadway show meal. This area is packed with restaurants and I would like to spend more time tracking down some of the better ones on a future trip.



Happy Days Diner, another outstanding breakfast stop in Brooklyn Heights. It looked like a place you would see in a movie.



And last, but far from least, Ellen's Stardust Diner on Broadway, easily our favorite restaurant on the trip. It was highly recommended by a friend and she described it as "a place where the waiter's sing while you eat." I'm thinking that they periodically break out into karaoke type numbers. Far from it. The waitstaff is comprised of aspiring Broadway performers and, with the exception of about 2 minute breaks between songs, someone was singing the whole time we were there. I'm always skeptical of places like this because the service tends to take a backseat to the entertainment, but our server was outstanding (she never performed, but I saw all of the servers that performed working tables). The food was really good and it was priced in line with other restaurants in the area. I would definitely recommend it even if it sounds touristy and cheesy.







And this was our hotel, the Doubletree in the Financial District. A little out of the way from the action, but there were 3 subway stops within a 2 block walk and it was a very nice hotel that would have run 100-150 a night more if it were located near Times Square.

[JBB]

Had a chance to go to NYC again this weekend.  Weather was pretty nice except for a few showers and a loose agenda allowed us to have a nice, relaxing trip.  Here's a few pics.  Cloud cover made for less than ideal photography conditions for much of the trip.  Enjoy:

 

Looking south from an outcropping of bedrock in Central Park.  The tallest building under construction is One57, the tallest residential building in NYC.

 

 

St. Patrick's Cathedral.  The exterior and interior are completly covered with scaffolding.  It's quite the mess.

 

 

iPhone panorama of the city from Brooklyn Heights.

 

 

One World Trade through the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge

 

 

City Hall park

 

 

The Calatrava transit hub under construction at WTC

 

 

One World Trade

 

 

Yankee Stadium

 

 

Yankee Stadium, another iPhone panorama

 

[JBB]

The editor on this forum software is goofy, so I can't fix my mistake in the last post.  The pic of the skyline is from the SI ferry.

 

More:

 

Cathedral of St. John the Divine:

 

 

For this trip, I booked one of the vertical tours of the building that takes you up into the overlooking balconies and onto the roof.

 

 

 

 

This is a shot in the attic showing the support structure for the ceiling:

 

 

The skyline from the roof:

 

 

This was a fascinating tour.  Well worth the $15 ticket price.

 

McSorley's, the oldest continually running bar in NYC.  They served dark ale and light ale, nothing else.  No liquor, no wine.

 

 

While we were standing at the bar, I noticed a FW Police patch pinned to the wall.  Really bad iPhone pic.

 

 

Times Square at 10pm on Sunday night

 

 

I went to a minor league baseball game on Staten Island on Sunday.  Nice view from the stands.

 

[JBB]

A little union protest at a construction project on the Upper West Side.  Like something straight out of The Sopranos.

 

 

Central Park from the Rockefeller observation deck.

 

 

 

 

Flatiron Building

 

 

Odd looking Midtown hotel

 

 

Empire State Building

 

 

Grand Central and the Chrysler Building