I went to see the Empire State building and then meandered back to my hotel. I always like to take…read morephotos of interesting buildings and this was surely one of them. I like the fact that they had a remembrance photograph from 9/11. This is what I found out about the building. This is the historic Beaux-Arts style firehouse for FDNY Engine Company 65 located at 33 West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. The building was erected between 1897 and 1898 to provide fire protection to the area. It was designed by architects Hoppin and Koen and features terra cotta details, including representations of salamanders, which were historically believed to withstand fire. The firehouse was officially designated a New York City Landmark on October 2, 1990. It was originally built to house four horses needed to pull the company's steam engine and wagon.

This specific art piece is GIGANTIC and fascinating to view it and try to process the juggling of…read moreall of the components with a lot happening all at once! Several artwork pieces are on outdoor display in the open air spaces approaching the 9/11 museum. Each are designed to draw the viewer in with the absurdity and the familiarity of each piece. I appreciate public artwork and especially in the outdoors, so was grateful to see so much of Gillie and Marc. Worth researching each artists' personal story and their mission: Gillie and Marc artwork.

We enjoyed this area after visiting the 9/11 Museum and One World Observatory. Great photo ops!read more

Double Crossed Mural is another cool work of art I had to visit. I love this sort of thing plus I…read moreget lots of exercise running around to each location. I love to take photos too. I'm not going into the story about this artist. If you want more information you can do the research or read Tom's review. I think it's impressive that this artist D*Face has work is all over the world and we have it right here in NYC! It reminds me of Dick Tracy Comic Books from my childhood. I don't care what it all means. I think it's beautiful! I'm so glad I found this location and took a couple photos.

Lots of people shop gentrified SoHo now which I can't afford do myself. So what am I doing down…read morehere you say ?  Well, free street art for one. Since I am still fearful of going indoors to restaurants or shops I walk the city I gotta Yelp don't I. And I was just walking down Broome St & Lafayette and so I look up and see another mural. Oh if only I was an artist what would I do to plain walls. l do a Google hunt I find this mural is called "Double Cross" by an artist that goes by the name of D*Face So looking at the mural I am thinking what's that in her hands, they look like flying mechanical pets, and why she crying? someone please explain, oh well I like it anyway. D*Face is a contemporary British street artist best known for his distinctive graffiti, stickers, and posters placed in various cities around the world and not just New York. Featuring sometimes a punk iconography, D*Face's art is characterized by his bright, graphic aesthetic influences which can be viewed as early New York City subway graffiti, Pop Art as it's the root.

Since I live in the Yorkville area next door to Spanish Harlem I love walking up here on a nice…read moreday. Many are reluctant to walk through this neighborhood, or see no reason to but there are many hidden gems here from delicious food, to shopping, to art. We'll walk through El Barrio on our way to Costco and nosh on street food and flavored ice from the carts you'll find on the corners. View some amazing art and graffiti on sides of buildings and park areas. Plus, there are plenty of cheapo stores here to pick up things for the kitchen and bathroom. There's a lot of history and culture up here, so don't be fearful of exploring the area.

Spanish Harlem or El Barrio, is in Upper Manhattan. It's general boundaries are from East 96th…read moreStreet up to East 142 Street and from Fifth Avenue to the Harlem River. In 1960 Ben E. King sang a song 'Spanish Harlem'. The neighborhood is one of the largest predominantly Latin Communities in New York City, made up of Puerto Ricans, Dominican, Cuban, and Mexican Immigrants. The community is noted for its contributions to Latin and Salsa Music. East Harlem also includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, very few remnants of a once predominantly Italian Community remain. I have spent many a beautiful day walking miles through East Harlem. This community is full of beauty and culturally diverse activity. Schools and children were plentiful early in the morning. While they are in school the streets fill with shoppers and elderly attending community programs. This area has many Government Funded Housing Complexes. There are lots of city Parks and Community Centers. The schools are colorful and plentiful. You will see all ages in the streets busy with their daily life. I love finding new small businesses during my walks. Baked goods and fried chicken are two of my favorites. On the West Side of East Harlem along Fifth Avenue there are Museums. Museo Del Barrio being my favorite. There's Lots of Food in this neighborhood consisting of many cultures! You're hurting yourself if you can't find something to eat. Read the Yelp reviews. When the weather is nice you'll see me traveling through this community. The Graffiti is fantastic. I love to photograph the beautiful art work. If you're in Manhattan and want a steak at Ricardo's, Mexican Tacos, French Pastry, Soul Food, Chinese and don't let me forget Halal, you'll find it here. I'm not a food, culture or community expert. If I'm speaking out of turn about this community please let me know. Better yet add your own review. All I know is I have a heck of a good time every time I spend the day here!

Being an artist I seem to notice things that others miss. Walking through this part of New York I…read morenoticed these golden figurines. Here is what I found out about them on the web. The Golden Dancers are a set of whimsical, gilded figures installed along the facade of 24 Bond Street in New York City's NoHo neighborhood. The sculptures were designed by Bruce Williams, an artist who lived in the building. Williams created them between 1997 and 2010 for his home and wife's residence York Avenue. The figures are made of gold and are arranged to cascade down the building's iron and brick exterior.

This was revellers answer to the cancellation of the annual Hoboken St Patrick's Day parade…read more Celebration of St Patrick's day minus the parade in the lively hood of Hoboken. There were thousands of people who turned up for this gathering. All the revelers were carrying the spirit and tradition of the annual Hoboken St Patrick's Day festivities. The event started early in the day with people dropping into different bars across downtown as early as 9.00 AM in the morning. People were dressed up in full Leprechaun garb and in other Irish festive gear. This event was publicized mostly through facebook and by word of mouth. Me and my friends tried a couple of bars during our bar crawl session. It started getting crowded later in afternoon and some bars were taking advantage of that by charging cover charge of as much as $50 bucks which was insane. It was a nice event and kudos to the local police/authorities for making the entire event successful.

For the past few years I've made an annual " Brooklyn Neighborhood Exploration" list. Each year,…read moreI've designated a Brooklyn neighborhood that I want to explore more in depth; Williamsburg and Greenpoint have been two spots that I have explored heavily and am continuing to do so. This year Bedford Stuyvesant is now my focus. After reviewing history of Bed Stuy, as it is colloquially referred to, there is a lot to explore! Here is a neighborhood snap shot: 1. Compass: Bed Stuy borders on Flushing Avenue (North), Classon Avenue ( West) , Broadway ( East) and Atlantic Avenue ( South) 2. Main Shopping: Fulton Street 3. Architecture: Victorian, 8800 buildings built @1900 and many beautiful brownstones can be found here 4. Films: Spike Lee's " Do The Right Thing", great film and filmed on Stuyvesant Street now renamed "DTRT Way" and another fave, "French Connection" 5. Famous Folks: Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Lena Horne, Chris Rock to name a few 6. Landmarks: Brooklyn Tabernacle, 6x Grammy winning choir, originally Loew's Metropolitan Theatre, Bed Stuy Historic District, Billie Holiday Theatre, Bed Stuy Walls, Shirley Chisholm Circle 7. Restaurants: Peaches Hothouse, C'mon Everybody, David's Brisket House, Ursula, Fan-Fan Doughnuts 8. Community Gardens: there are a wealth of these and most are free to access via NYC Parks Access Green Thumb. So far I've passed Quincy Street Community Gardens ( so lovely) and Madison Hall. No wonder Bainbridge, Macon and Chauncey were named greenest streets. And a wealth of parks: Saratoga and Fulton. 9. Mass Transit: A, C and G with the G stopping at Bedford- Nostrand Avenue station. Bus: B7, B15, B47 10. "Bed-Stuy represents something of a paradox: one of the largest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, it is practically a city within the borough, yet offers an intimate, slow-paced, small-town vibe." There's so much to discover and the rest of the year to do it. Bed Stuy, I'm ready for ya! More to come!

Indianapolis is my home and one of my favorite places, however since my brother and his wife moved…read morehere about three years ago I am quickly falling in love. Bed-Stuy is an amazing area of Brooklyn with a rich history, one certainly worth studying. Without going on a tangent the brownstones and buildings are beautiful. Looking at people's decorations during different holidays is always fun. The public art murals are awesome, I wish I had some talent but I am just a happy spectators There's so many different tasty restaurants the variety is amazing and I can say I've never had a bad restaurant experience when I visit. I know my perspective is just one from quick visits, but I wanted to share my love of this area and I look forward to exploring and learning more about this area.

My hood. My place. My life for the past 25 years…read more It's come a long way since the rough and tumble area it once was. Back in the past we were warned to stay away from 1st Ave above 86th street at night, and it was justified as at times we saw fights in bodegas, gun shots, cops chasing thugs, and more. It has developed since then to be safe community offering many terrific restaurants, bars, shopping, museums, even speakeasies and some fun nightlife options. With the Q subway line now here on 2nd Ave, the best line in the city, it offers easy access to all parts of Manhattan down to Coney Island. There is a nice mix of old and new here, along with affordable apartments if you hunt a bit. It's really more of a residential area with plenty of parents with kids, schools, dogs, and a few minutes walk to Central Park, and the East River Esplanade. Its also a great place for younger single folks to live as its very walkable too with enough bars and spots to mingle.

Yorkville is my neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Its…read moresouthern boundary is East 79th Street, its northern East 96th Street, its western Third Avenue, and its eastern boundary is the East River. Yorkville is one of the most densely populated city subdivisions in the world, and the most dense of such in the U.S. Yorkville is part of Manhattan Community District 8, and its primary ZIP Codes are 10028, 10075, and 10128. It is patrolled by the 19th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. I'm adding my neighborhood to Yelp because it's my home and I'm trying to save my businesses. We are a close community of residents and businesses. Recently when Yorkville Bagel Cafe closed every business in the neighborhood was upset and talking about it. Our community of businesses survived the Second Avenue Subway Construction for years. Then we had a rough go with the COVID outbreak trying to survive by changing our behavior. Businesses spent a lot of money and followed regulations for outdoor dining. Anything to keep us safe. I'm glad I live in my Yorkville Zip Code. I'm so proud of my neighborhood I used to take visiting Yelp friends on what I called my "Yorkville Tour." I'm highly recommending this neighborhood for young and elderly alike. We take care of each other in Yorkville.