This urban valley was actually 7th Street between Broadway and Lafayette Avenue in the East Village. The sun was setting and it created a beautiful silhouette of buildings against the golden sky.
This is the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The artificial waterway, completed in 1867, used to be an important commercial harbor until the 1960s when large container ships became too big to navigate up the canal. It was also one of the most polluted waterways in the area with heavy sewage clogging the flow of water.
This photo shows a renovated parking complex (it was probably a warehouse before) across the street from Cinema Village on 12th Street between 5th Avenue and University Place. I was standing outside the small movie theater when I saw this interesting light-and-shadow image of the building. Also, the sky has this perfect blue that was just breathtaking.
The young man on the left is a preacher and the man on the right with a microphone was an audience member asking a question. This sort of Q&A sessions or public forums are fairly common in NYC, especially at Union Square where freedom of expression is embrassed wholeheartedly. 
I saw this interesting mural on the side of a small supermarket on 16th Street between Park and 3rd Avenue a couple weeks ago. I thought it was interesting and especially appropriate since New York City is considering a proposal to increase the number of licences for fresh fruits and vegetable vendors in the city in an effort to combat the epidemic of obesity among inner city residents.
This photo, taken on Prospect Park West (9th Avenue) looking north at the Grand Army Plaza, reminded me of the fame Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées in Paris. The Grand Army Plaza is a oval shaped island with an arched structure in the middle of it. It also serves as a focal point of 5 avenues radiating out from the middle. 
After dinner with a friend in Cobble Hill (Brooklyn) last night, we came upon this sign outside PJ Hanley's, a restaurant bar on the corner of Court Street and 4th Place. It was a sign advertising the dinner special for the day: lobster roll and piss clams. PISS CLAMS? It doesn't sound very appetizing, does it?
This is Sammy's Halal, winner of the 2006 Vendy Awards for the best street vendor in New York City. Mr. Samiul Noor sells his chicken and lamb with rice combo in a cart on the corner of Broadway and 74th Street in Jackson Heights.
This is the ceiling of the atrium at Borders Bookstore by Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. My friend's fiancé had a meeting in the area yesterday afternoon so she and I met up at the bookstore to hang out until he was done. Then all three of us went to dinner later in the evening.
I happened on this fashion shoot on Lafayette Street in SoHo recently. The weather was pretty warm but the two male models were dressed in Fall/Autumn weather attires -- leather jackets, long sleeved shirts and jeans. Interestingly enough, they did not sweat at all despite the heat. They posed by the Vespa scooters without moving for the 5 minutes or so that I stood there watching them work.
I was in Astoria last week for an appointment with the ophthalmologist and decided to visit my favorite Greek supermarket on 34th Street between 31st and 30th Avenue called, Mediterranean Foods. It has some of the best feta cheeses, marinated olives and almonds I have ever tasted.
This Ciao Bella gelato truck was parked at the corner of Park Avenue, at the end of the street fair that stretched from 28th down to 18th Street last weekend. The weather was comfortably warm but dry so the crowd was out in full force. You can see the lines of people waiting to get their gelati (plural of gelato -- something I learned after googling the word).
This ubiquitous 'Open 24 Hours' sign can be seen in many restaurants/diners in the city. When I lived in Astoria (northwest of Queens) in the late 1990s, there was a wonderful, spiffy Greek diner a few steps from my apartment where I could order one half of a roast chicken with garlic mash potatoes and a side salad (for less than US$10) at 3:00 AM in the morning.
I came across this interesting sign outside one of the buildings in my neighborhood. Apparently, someone had been feeding stray cats outside this resident's window and he/she isn't too happy about it. I can understand the sentiment because the smell of cat's pee is something that is almost impossible to eliminate, assuming that is the main reason of the resident's objection.
These luxury apartment buildings, east of Union Square, are some of the most beautiful and expensive real estate properties in the city. The dark red color of the facade looks especially breathtaking when the sun sets and everything is aglow in crimson.
This is Bibimbop, a popular Korean dish that I love and order every chance I get. It is basically a cold dish made with a mixture of raw and/or lightly stir-fried julienned vegetables, a fried (or raw) egg and ground beef (optional). And it is usually served with rice and some spicy sauce.
I was waiting for the train at the Queens Plaza station last weekend when I spied this man, on the opposite platform, looking somewhat confused. He was reading the bulletins next to the subway map and trying to figure out which trains to take that day. 
Here is a macro shot of an echinaecia flower from the City Hall garden. Echinaecia (I don't know which part of the plant though) is frequently used/consumed as an alternative medicine to help the body to fight an infection. 
This installation art piece entitled, Tumbling Mirages by Dennis Oppenheim is one of the many public art projects sponsored by the Union Square Partnership and NYC Parks & Recreation department. The three 15-foot orbs, constructed from steel and fiberglass with multicolor panels, will remain at the southeast corner of the park until November 2008.
If you have fear of height like I do, this will not be a comfortable climb down the stairs for you. The stairwell constructed with glass (or plastic) gives the feeling that one is floating on air. This staircase was installed just inside the entrance to the Apple Store on 14th Street and 9th Avenue (otherwise known as the Meatpacking District). 
I saw this mural depicting one of Leonardo da Vinci's work, The Creation of Adam on the side of a building on Lafayette near Bond Street in Nolita (North of Little Italy) last weekend. The interesting thing about this mural is that both Adam and God were drawn as black men here.
I noticed this Van Leeuwen Artisanal Ice Cream truck parked outside Trader Joe's on 14th Street between Lafayette and 3rd Avenue last weekend. There was a long queue for the ice cream and the flavors sounded interesting. Even the sign board was arty and distinctive.
When the weather gets hot and humid like it has been the last couple of days -- "tropical like weather" as the weatherman called it last night -- where does one go to relax and cool off? The third floor of Barnes & Noble on 17th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue is the place to be. I would pick up some interesting magazines, grab a seat at one of the tables and happily sip my iced tea from the cafe inside the store.
I saw this little guy at an animal adoption booth on the corner of Broadway and 17th Street in Union Square recently. I'm not sure if this group is affiliated with the ASPCA and I will do some investigation on it later this week.
The election for the new President of United States is only a few months away (November 4) and one of our presumptive candidates is, of course Mr. Barack Obama. This is a historic event for the country because Mr. Obama is the first African-American/black person who has come this far in the presidential race. In addition, Hilary Clinton was the first woman candidate to reach the final two nominations for the Democratic party.
Strangetastes of Saint Louis Daily Photo and his lovely bride visited me in NYC yesterday morning (Saturday) with their nephew, Michael. We went on a 30-minute cruise on the East River to view the Waterfall Exhibition by Olafur Eliasson. I think we all managed to have fun exploring the city despite the foggy and wet weather.
This is a Saturday night scene on the corner of 7th Street and Lafayette in the East Village. Notice the yellow taxi parked at the bottom left of the photo and another on the adjacent street before the traffic light junction. According to the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC), there are over 13,000 yellow taxicabs in New York City. The cost of a taxi ride starts at $2.50 upon entry and $0.40 for every 1/5 of a mile of travel or 60 seconds of sitting in traffic congestions. A quick ride uptown from lower Manhattan can easily cost $12 to $20 (before tips) depending on the time of the day and traffic on the street.
Earlier this week, I saw a group of marchers protesting on the street at Union Square Park. This is not an uncommon sight since Union Square is the place for most demonstrations of political and social agendas in the city.
This photo was taken at the boardwalk by South Street Seaport near Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. I was there to pick up the tickets for a 30-minute cruise around the city to view the waterfall installation by artist, Olafur Eliasson this coming holiday weekend. A fellow daily photo blogger is visiting NYC so we are going to meet up and go on this cruise with his family.
Meet my new neighbor Charlie, a 4-month old pug whom I met during his afternoon walk recently. It was very warm and humid outside and poor Charlie was exhausted so he plopped down under a shade and decided to rest his poor feet. His owner tried to coax him up but he refused to move so she had carried him home in her arms. What a lucky guy!
