The Pulaski Bridge, crossing Newtown Creek, connects Brooklyn to Queens on a surface street. The…read moresignificance of the bridge is not that of a beautiful structure, which it isn't. Its draw instead is in the historical significance of the area it crosses. Having spent much time staying in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, I became fascinated with the early history of the area. Although the area has become massively gentrified in recent years, the longtime residents of LIC who haven't been priced out are proud of their area's history. Much historical information is available, including early use of the creek by the Dutch settlers. The creek & its tributaries weren't always polluted waterways. The Indigenous Peoples that first lived on the land found it a vibrant source of food and transportation before Dutch explorers claimed the land in the early 1600's. Dutch settlers also looked to it for travel, food & water. The tributary now known as Dutch Kills has significance for me because of my love of history. While spending time in the area now known to many as Dutch Kills, I purchased a Dutch Kills shirt. A bodega across from where I stayed posted pages of history near its cash register. A close pub was named for it. Dutch Kills was well known then & historically cherished. The area has changed a lot in recent years with expansion of the gentrification beyond the LIC waterfront. I hope its history isn't lost to time & "progress". The bridge & its surrounding area have a Revolutionary War history. The bridge itself is named for Polish Revolutionary War Commander Pulaski, since early settlers of the adjoining Greenpoint neighborhood in Brooklyn were Polish. The British tributary is called British Kills. The area was the a headquarters for the British troops. The troops were housed in the Dutch Kills section of LIC I know so well. So when you cross the Pulaski Bridge that you've traveled so routinely in the past, don't think of it as a small ordinary bridge. Think instead of the history of the area it crosses. Step back in time with me.

No toll! It's a short bridge that goes between Long Island City in Queens to Greenpoint Brooklyn. I…read morelike walking across the bridge too. I see people running across as well. The path is narrow just fyi There is a separate path for people who are biking across the bridge. A good option if you don't want to take the G train subway from Queens to Brooklyn.

A fun neighborhood walk that encompasses a 4-6 block perimeter of graffiti street art, featuring…read morefictional characters, music icons, and everyday people. Much of the street art is incredibly detailed, and you can see much of the culture of Brooklyn/Bushwick as you search for hidden gems. Lots of small local businesses and restaurants to check out as well while you walk.

Lovely space and worth it for a visit and to walk around. It's great that the artists are allowed…read moreto tag them selves and have a space where they can express themselves.

East Village Walls are equally my favorite with East Harlem Walls! If you like graffiti and public…read moreart projects like I do, I recommend you follow my friend Tom G. Tom has a real passion for Public Art. I agree with his statement about the art being time limited. I try to get around to photograph as many as I can before they are gone. I'm posting some of my favorites taken in the Lower East Side. I'm hoping to add more soon. I'm recommending you cruise the streets of the Lower East Side and find more classic NYC street art. PS I have the wall locations in my photos if I want to return to check if they are still there.

East Village Walls, @eastvillagewalls is a community organization, that enriches the East Village…read morewith art murals and other projects. They have many art installations, murals in the area and this is just the latest one by artist Ben Keller, @benkellerct I like waking around the downtown just to spots, these, I cry when a favorite is replaced and smile when a new one touches my heart. I think this is one of the best paintings I have seen in a long time, you can just stand in from of the image of an old man and get mentally lost just looking at it.

Since I retired I enjoy walking all the way down to the Bowery to spend the day. The Bowery is a…read morestreet and neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough of Manhattan. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the North. The historic 1.5 mile Bowery is the oldest thoroughfare on Manhattan Island. Long before Broadway became Manhattan's Famous gathering place. Also known as Skid Row I'm very familiar with the neighborhood due to my years working in Human Services. My job took me there many days. When I was growing up my Mother told me stories of visiting the city as a young girl. Once she was very frightened when she came to the city and it became a rainy day. She was lost at night in the Bowery trying to find the train to return home. She and my father warned me that people there would kill you for a quarter. I never forgot these things. I don't go alone at night. Even on a Sunny day I remain vigilant. That's really a given anywhere you go in any city in this current age in America. My Opinion. Right now I'm looking forward to returning. Weather permitting I won't have to wait long. My days in this lifetime are precious. I'm having trouble being everywhere and seeing everything my city has to offer. For now here's a few photos I've taken in Bowery Neighborhood. Don't be any more afraid to visit The Bowery than you would Times Square. There's a lot to do and see in and around this neighborhood.

The Bowery has a fascinating history in NYC. My experience in the Bowery initially was as a…read morevolunteer at the Bowery Mission. I also shop at the Whole Foods in the area. Or I go with my husband as he shops. Now there are many restaurants and clubs that once housed the homeless. At forgotten NY the Bowery's history is documented. http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/bowery/bowery.html In the 1940s through the 1970s, the Bowery was New York City's "Skid Row," notable for a large concentration of the city's homeless. The Bowery is home to the famous Bowery Mission. http://www.yelp.com/biz/bowery-mission-new-york The Bowery has been expeirencing a gentrification along with the entire lower East Side of Manhattan and specifically the Bowery starting 2005. http://cooperator.com/articles/1697/1/Skid-Row-to-Luxury-Gold/Page1.html The area in my opinion has had the most amazing transformation of any NYC neighborhood in my life time! http://nymag.com/nymetro/realestate/neighborhoods/maps/10117/ It is hardly recognizable as the same place any more. This area needed it even though there are always protests against the gentrification. Some believe the goal is really ethnic cleansing. I hope that is not the case. But I have to say it does seem to be the case in Red Hook Brookyn. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/gentrification-as-benign-ethnic-cleansing/ I personally think this area needed it. However I am also hoping with the gentrification the Bowery Mission is not pushed out of the neighborhood. As some have suffered with the gentrification. http://cooperator.com/articles/1697/1/Skid-Row-to-Luxury-Gold/Page1.html The Bowery from Houston to Delancey Streets serves as New York's principal market for restaurant equipment, and from Delancey to Grand for lamps. The Bowery is home to the Bowery poetry club.http://bowerypoetry.com/ The Bowery has been noted in many movies and TV shows such as__________ Mentioned in the film The Basketball Diaries by Leonardo DiCaprio In the 2002 film Gangs of New York, the Bowery is a mentioned territory of the Bowery Boys, a street gang of the late 19th century, The Bowery, a 1933 film about Brodie A popular B-movie series made between 1946-1958 featured "The Bowery Boys. In the 1949 Looney Tunes short "Bowery Bugs", Bugs Bunny tells an old man an imaginative story about a gambler named Steve Brody who jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886. The sailors are headed across the Brooklyn Bridge and to the Bowery to get tattooed. On the Bowery, Lionel Rogosin's 1956 film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Mentioned many times in the original TV series Kojak (1973). The Bowery is home to the famous CBGB's.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBGB The club closed in October 2006. The Bowery was home to the famous Amato opera until it closed in 2009.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amato_Opera The Bowery is home to the Bowery Ballroom which reopened in 1997 it was built in 1929. http://www.boweryballroom.com/ And of course the famous Bowery Boys. http://theboweryboys.blogspot.com/ Even though I am 48 The Bowery Boys came on TV on a regular basis when I was a child. http://theageofcomedy.com/bowboys01.html I had no idea at the time there was an actual Bowery Boys. I thought it was just entertainment. http://www.amazon.com/Abbott-Costello-Show-Anniversary-Collection/dp/B000GNOGCE Then there is the adventurous Bowery hotel. It opened in 2007 and was an adventurous undertaking at the time. http://www.nysun.com/arts/blossoming-in-the-bowery/47578 It is a fascinating area with a fascinating history.

I knew about Paparazzi Dogman & Paparazzi Rabbitwoman sculpture, but I am now realizing that there…read moreare over a dozen Dogman and Rabbitwoman sculptures installed all over New York. Today I just notice the one called "Table of Love" outside the public Plaza at 237 Park , and they may be more inside the building lobby which I leave for other Yelpers to discover. There are two extra seats at the bronze table to do photo opp. I think why hardy anyone has notice this public art installation is you need to look up and at the building plaza while at the same time walking downhill which in not natural. Dogman is named Marc and Rabbitwoman is named Gille even have a a well done web site with information photos of all the Dogman and Rabbitwoman scupture

Such a lovely couple and they seem to be everywhere in town, I bet they know all the best places…read moreto to eat, shop and just watch the passers by..

Ed U. - not Frankie - says RELAX !…read more This is a most unexpected concrete oasis in the middle of the bustling Theater District. On a small plot of land donated by the neighboring Ritz Plaza Hotel, it was built in 2002 to honor the members of the Engine 54 station, who sacrificed their lives on 9/11. If like me, you struggle after a day of hiking through Manhattan to find a place just to sit down before a performance, this provides a welcome respite with plenty of tables and bench seating. Be forewarned that the steel gate closes at 7PM. Take a load off and give pause to those brave firefighters.

A public atrium that also serves as a firefighters memorial which sits in Ritz Plaza in the Theatre…read moreDistrict, West 48th Street and Eighth Avenue. The entrance is nicely structured with a in-ground commemorative plaque and a fully functional bronze structure water foundation. This water foundation also serves as a plaque inscribed with names of firefighters Engine 54 Station perished on the tragic ill-fated September 11, 2001. There are ample seats and tables for resting to absorb and breathe life one moment at a time. I came here several times for resting prior to Yelp Night's "Clybourne Park", "Peter and the Starcatcher" and my poetry open-mic nearby.

Many memories from my childhood are at City Island. We've been loading the car with family to drive…read moreto the Island for decades. It's not a summer without sitting outside having great seafood with a drink in your hand. Johnnys and Crab Shanty are the top favorites.

Although I've only been to City Island a couple of times, I thoroughly enjoy the seafood and…read moreItalian restaurants out here. A few of the places are nearby each other, however, a couple of places such as Seafood City are walking distance away. I did not encounter any harm or discomfort while hopping from one restaurant to the next. It takes a little while for the bus to arrive while in City Island. Otherwise, absolutely worth taking a trip to at least once.

Love Locks are not exclusive to the Brooklyn Bridge. I've got my own Love Locks on a bridge fence…read moreover the railroad tracks on 97th Street and Park Avenue. It's a Upper East Side Local Love Locks Hot Spot. I'm not one to waste my money on a good lock and put it up on the Brooklyn Bridge or anywhere else. I may have an old lock to hang but I don't have a message to send so why bother. You should check them out wherever they are in Manhattan. It's pretty cool to look at the placement of the locks. Some are congregated together and others off alone. It's artistic in itself. If you feel like you are leaving your mark for posterity then do it. There might be a law against it where you live. Some places consider it vandalism.

Girls (and boys) that are into me give me "Love Looks" but this is not that…read more There's nothing not to love about Love Locks unless you're a killjoy or a whiny jerk, and they're popping up all over the world. They definitely are a timeless and great expression of love and marking the moment, and very much a part of what makes humans human. Maybe people will put locks on a lot of different places, especially Paris, but the ones here in New York haven't gotten to that degree yet, of established other places thus far, but I hope that they do. It's a very romantic notion to add a permanent record of romantic visits to a place so that years in the future, it will still stand (if you can find it). It's very romantic indeed. It should be allowed.