Jilly of Monte Carlo Daily Photo and Menton Daily Photo sent me a beautiful postcard earlier this week. This was the first postcard I have ever received from my blogger friends so now, it sits on a special place in my apartment -- my refrigerator door.
This painting outside the Chelsea Market Building is what was left of the old wholesale flower market in the city. Now the building has been taken over and made into a television studio for The Food Network and NY1, a 24-hour local news channel. There are also numerous gourmet bakeries and grocery stores in the building.
These townhouses on 22nd Street, near 9th Avenue, are some of the more attractive homes in Chelsea. The area is not known for its beauty because it was an industrial/manufacturing district in the early 1900s. Now, it is populated mostly by warehouse size clubs, bars and galleries.
This is a street scene in Tribeca (Triangle Below Canal Street) on a week day evening around 6:00 PM. I was in the neighborhood for a meeting last week and decided to hang out in the area afterwards because I rarely come down this way. 
I was walking through Chelsea last weekend when I saw this vacant retail store. You can see part of a quickly written vacancy sign on the bottom left. Either the realtor had a couple giant plush toys lying around or this used to be a toy store. Nonetheless, I thought this was an excellent display of friendship, even if they were merely toys.
This succulents were available for sale at the Green Market in Union Square last weekend. I love cacti because they do not need a lot of attention. However, my cacti start to grow tall and stringy after a couple of months instead of staying short and plump like these.
Small plate cuisines have taken over the New York City culinary scene. None is as original as the Spanish tapas which are extremely popular here. This photo, taken at Boqueria in Chelsea, shows a tapa chef preparing various dishes in front of the hungry diners.
I saw this REAL tree at Union Square that looked somewhat similar to the STEEL tree by Roxy Paine that I posted last month. I also love the silhouette against the blue sky.
The squirrels at Union Square are definitely well-fed. Notice the empty walnut, hazelnut and peanut shells scattered all over the ground? Someone has been feeding them the good stuff.
These two squirrels were among the dozens of squirrels that live in Union Square. They were socialized to humans hanging around them so they gladly posed for me and a number of other photographers at the park. 
I was at Koreatown (on 32nd Street and 5th Avenue) for dinner earlier last week and this was what I saw as I looked up above me. The triangular shapes on the upper right and lower left corners are store front awnings. The structure on the upper left corner is the building behind me. And right in the middle is the most celebrated building in New York City, if not the country.
Question: What is the proper etiquette for entering the subway train? Answer: Stand to the side and let the passengers exit first -- similar to entering an elevator.
So what etiquette faux pas annoys you most?
The Plaza, which used to be a 4-star hotel, is now a luxury condominium. After almost 2 years of renovations, the landmark building is now open and a one-bedroom apartment costs about $1 million.
SoHo (South of Houston Street) used to be a warehouse district but it has become a highly desirable residential area because of the abundance of huge loft spaces. Lofts are essentially living spaces that are open and bright due to lack of walls separating the rooms. The only enclosed spaces in lofts are usually the bathrooms and closets. 
I was in SoHo last weekend and walked by Ed's Lobster Bar on Lafayette between Spring and Wooster Street. Since it was almost 2 PM and I haven't had lunch, I decided to stop in for a lobster roll, which is basically lobster meat dressed with a little mayonnaise and lemon juice, and served on a hot dog bun. It was delicious.
On Monday, I told you about my trip to the Apple Store to get my friend's laptop analyzed and hopefully, fixed at the Genius Bar. Here is a photo of one of the genuises behind the bar. I believe "these kids" have to pass a certification program before they are allowed to work behind the bar. The Apple store also has a smaller iPod Bar on the corner to analyze and fix broken iPods.
Today is January 15 so it is mid-month subway day again. This photo was taken at the Spring Street subway station. Subway day is shared by the following blogs:
My friend's Apple laptop died suddenly on Saturday so we went to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue and 59th Street to get a diagnosis of what was wrong with it. This photo was taken around 5 PM as it was beginning to get dark outside so the lights from inside the store really lit up the glass cube structure.
Some of the older buildings in New York City still retain the original tin ceilings that were embossed with geometric designs. This photo, taken at an office in Tribeca, is a perfect example of the decorative tin ceiling .
Here is an exterior shot of the La Colombe Cafe from yesterday. Right across the street is the Chinatown Post Office and a few blocks south is the Tribeca Grand Hotel.
I was at Tribeca (short for Triangle Below Canal Street) in downtown Manhattan yesterday for a meeting. After the meeting, I came upon this beautiful cafe on the corner of Walker and Church Street called La Colombe. So I stopped in for a cup of coffee. Here is a photo of my coffee.
This is one of the busiest intersections in Manhattan, on 5th Avenue and 59th Street. On the upper left corner, you can see the beginning of Central Park and right behind me is the Apple Cube store.
This photo was taken from the elevated train station on Queens Boulevard near my apartment. This is the view of the north side of the street and we have a small movie theater, a couple of sushi restaurants, a number of 24-hour Korean grocery stores and a huge $1 store.
This traffic light post at the corner of Lafayatte and Canal is covered with numerous street signs. I thought the structure was interesting because the it resembles a fork on the road -- do you continue in the same direction, turn left or turn right?
This Brazilian restaurant simply known as Coffee Shop is located right next to Union Square on 16th Street. It is a favorite hangout of locals and tourists alike because the food is great and the atmosphere is eclectic. Most of the waiters and waitresses here are struggling actors and supposedly, Sandra Bullock was one of them, before she landed her first major movie role.
I got back from Montreal last night to a cold wet winter weather like this. This photo was taken a couple weeks ago in SoHo.
There are so many photos to choose from but I chose this because (1) it is very New York City, (2) I love night photograhy, and (3) I just love this photo for its color and composition -- personal bias, of course. 