New York Experiences #5

#3 in the "You know you're in Chinatown when..." Series


New York has this wonderful habit of crossing subcultures. Here, you see the crossing of those who don't eat meat and those who like to eat samples of various Chinese foods.


In the first photo, I was attempting to stand in front of this example of New York Juxtaposition. More and more, as I learn more of the city's history, I spot interesting juxtapositions of buildings, such as Two-story Federal style buildings from around 1800 on cobble-stone streets next to sixty-two-story glass buildings, etc. In the first photo, the actual building was a bit left of where I was standing. But I captured it in the second: a tiny six-story brown building at the bottom left, below a monstrous modern glass building. Both beautiful in their own way.


One of the deserts at the Penington. Delicious!


On my first day at my new job, I walked out onto 8th avenue, planning to look all around for a good restaurant. I didn't have to look far! The second one I looked at was Pita Grill, a place which apparently had just opened and which was a beautiful sight to someone like me who enjoys mediterranean food. I ended up with the vegetarian platter, pictured here, with falafel, hummus, babaganoush, and dolma on top of lettuce and some tasty little tomatoes (I love tomatoes). Made for one heck of a first-day lunch at my new job!


A few shots from inside my office. The first one is the sitting area, where the wall on the left is a huge plate of glass with water trickling down it for some peaceful sounds. The second one is a shot looking at the start of the cubicle rows.


My clothes, fresh from Chips Cleaner's. That stack represents every piece of clothing I own, except for my suit, overcoat, and the clothes I had on that day. There's actually a towel and a jacket hiding in the stack too.


It's fascinating watching people wait for this incredibly slow elevator which takes them one floor. I'm sure a lot of them have good reason for taking it. Right?


Anna, Katie, Kathy, and Holly from the Penington. I talked them into joining me for Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day. They didn't put up much of a fight.


My first work meeting. The woman in the center-right of the middle photo is my boss' boss, Regina. She controls the budget. I was the only person who wasn't behind a wall of old-school laptop--I was pimpin' my slate Tablet PC!


As I sat in the Winter Garden between Two World Trade and Three World Trade (the two rightmost buildings in this photo), a little boy boldly sat next to me and kept asking "whatcha doing?" in a thick accent. His parents smiled and spoke things to him in another language. At one point he opened a small package and pulled out a seaweed smelling treat which he gleefully ate while frequently saying "eat! eat!".


The woman on the left here was up to no good. A minute before, her seat had been occupied by a weasely-looking guy in a suit. He was so weasely-looking, that I couldn't help but watch him out of the corner of my eye. As a result, I was probably the only person who observed him get up from his seat and walk to another seat a little ways away, ostensively tapping something into his PDA on the way. Additionally, I was probably the only person to watch the woman I photographed sit down in the guy's old seat and slide his red duffle-bag underneath herself. Basically, it looked like some sort of big money or drug exchange.


This guy was playing a hip-hop/rap song on a flute. Strange, but very interesting.


Living here has certainly been the first time I've stayed in an 11th floor hotel room and opened the window to this!


Yes indeed. Spotted at a garden show in Union Square (different from the Farmer's Market held there every other day).


If you look closely, someone scaled the statue of George Washington and hung a flower basket from it. Those cooky gardeners...


I take interest when I walk out of the front door and see this. Turns out, there was a huge anti-war protest going down Broadway. It made page 41 of the Metro Times... I guess anti-war protests are old news.


The anti-war protest on Broadway in SoHo. Look who's leading this section of the parade, fellow Quakers! (I live in a Quaker residence and share many views).


The old police headquarters, built right in the middle of the then-worst area of Manhattan. The idea was to put it right in the middle of the crime. It was designed to be very impressive looking, to let the criminals know the police were on the job. It didn't work.

Now, the police headquarters are in a new building, and this old headquarters? You guessed it, luxury condominimums. Cindy Crawford and a few other big names have lived there.


A building in Greenwich Village. Apparently, after a building burnt down, they pulled the bricks from the rubble and used them in the reconstruction. Very cool!


Manhattan's narrowest rowhouse. This building was originally built in an alleyway, and at one point served as a candy factory! Formerly lived in by Edna St. Vincent Millay, famous for penning the quote "burning the candle at both ends", a phrase which is still in common usage today.


Former residence of Aaron Burr.


During a tour of Greenwich Village, we passed some camera men on our way to talk about the Stonewall Tavern, a gay bar where, in 1969, eight NYPD officers raided it. Only this time, the clubgoers fought back, which sparked a three day riot which is considered by many to be the beginning of the gay rights movement. What's odd though, is that as Tim was telling us the story, the camera men came over and set up right behind him. Then an old guy walked up next to Tim and started blowing smoke at him. He went on with his tour as if nothing was happening, but I can't help but feel like we were on a modern version of Candid Camera.


Guess who officially resides at the Penington?


Bad lighting, but that's a photo of a statue of Gandhi in Union Square.


A man walking his very old cat. They took so long to cross the street that the light changed halfway across. They didn't mind though, they just kept on walking.