A Walk Around The West Village
MONDAY, AUGUST 3RD 2009
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Whilst waiting for the subway today I overheard Bésame Mucho played on a Chinese string instrument, and it made me smile.

I sauntered around the West Village neighborhood today, moving slowly in the heat of the afternoon and wishing I could afford a fancy lunch at one of the attractive restaurants in the area. After satiating myself with a granola bar I stopped by Yoya and Yoyamart. The former is sweet boutique for infants and tots, filled with modern baby objects, such as Scandinavian minimalist highchairs, posh toys and designer clothes. The latter store is an edgier space for toddlers and adults, the walls stacked with urban vinyl toys and racks lined with pricey graphic tees and hoodies.

From there I wandered down Bleecker Street, poking my head into the occasional boutique and antique store, of which the street has plenty. The shots above are from streets close to the Hudson River, quiet and almost suburban. The window display is from an apothecary I passed.

Later I stood behind a foreigner at Starbucks that was requesting a "medium"-sized coffee, and the barista kept correcting the man with "grande" and he was so confused that eventually he walked away, sans coffee. Stupid elitist Starbucks drink sizes.

A Walking Tour of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
THURSDAY, JUNE 25TH 2009
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When exploring Williamsburg west of Bedford Avenue you will find that it is very easy to stray from the beaten path and find yourself surrounded by seemingly abandoned warehouses and factory buildings. However, if you look carefully you will see hidden hangouts, houses and glamorous warehouse lobby entrances. The streets are sunny and quiet, with the passing of an occasional hipster. The combination of building types and graffiti momentarily made me feel like I was back home in Cleveland.

Red Hook, Brooklyn
SUNDAY, JUNE 21TH 2009
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Once again I ventured to Brooklyn to visit Ikea, but this time I had the bus drop me off at the intersection of King Street and Van Brunt Street so that I could explore. My opinion of the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn is mixed. It looks abandoned no matter what time or day you visit, lined with dilapidated storefronts and trash, and I am not sure I would ride my bike by myself through the area. It explains the cheap land for Ikea, though!

Among the wreckage there are a few gems. Some boutique and thrift stores pop up here and there. Baked, a delicious little bakery livens the street with its orange storefront, Saipua has a new interior that is fresh and charming, Chelsea Garden Center offers some garden basics as the end of the street and it is adjacent to the large Fairway Market.

I didn't take pictures of any of this.

At the very tip of Van Brunt Street, extending out into the water is the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition, which houses a 25,000 square foot gallery in a Civil War-era warehouse. I elected to wander around the fascinating building rather than go inside. It was an overcast day and it seemed appropriate for the forgotten waterfront. I have another close up of the beautiful numbered doors here.

Oh, and that cute kitty was sleeping on a table in the window of a closed thrift store. Cute, cute, cute.

The New York Public Library
FRIDAY, JUNE 19TH 2009
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The New York Public Library sits majestically at the corner of 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. Honestly, I did not know that this was going to be on my Fifth Avenue walk, which only reinforces the importance of my "walk every street" mission. I forgot to take exterior photographs (duh). The interior shots were difficult to manage in low light, but I did my best and had to forgo any detail shots.

The NYPL had its official dedication ceremony in 1911 - sixteen years after the first document was signed in agreement to build the library by its founders. It was not the first library in NYC, but the two branches before it were struggling with funding and did not offer a circulating collection of books. The library as it stands today was devised as the first public library for both research and circulation.

The total cost to build was approximately $9 million at the time. Between 30,000 and 50,000 visitors streamed through the building the first day it was open. Today, The NYPL is visited and used annually by more than 15 million people. There are 1.86 million cardholders. The branch system has grown to include 87 libraries, with collections totaling 6.6 million items!

This particular location and collection is still publicly accessible, but for research purposes only and offers no circulating books. It has reading rooms, exhibition spaces, a library shop and guided tours [floorplan]. I walked through two exhibits: Between Collaboration and Resistance: French Literary Life Under Nazi Occupation and 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation. I was allowed to take photographs in the latter. An excerpt from the exhibit:

"The year 1969 was a flashpoint in the history of LGBT civil rights struggles, marking a paradigmatic shift in the ways that gays and lesbians saw themselves and fought for their full inclusion within American society. In the wake of the Stonewall Riots on June 28 of that year, gays and lesbians in New York City radicalized in an unprecedented way, founding activist groups—Gay Liberation Front, the Radicalesbians, Gay Activists Alliance, and Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries—that created a new vision: Gay Liberation."

Brooklyn Architecture
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17TH 2009
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I was in love with Brooklyn as soon as I stepped off the subway. The architecture was exquisitely detailed and had "room to breathe" on wide, tree-lined suburban streets with sidewalks void of subway grates (which can be quite hot and stinky in the summer). The busier side streets with retail and restaurants weren't cluttered with gaudy signage and people were generally in less of a rush.

When it comes to NYC and the surrounding boroughs, I keep reminding myself to "always look look up" because that is where some of the loveliest architecture hides. My camera simply cannot capture the fantastic details that I can spot so clearly with my eyes.