Mid-Month Theme: Subway Day

It is mid-month subway theme day again and this month, we have a new guest -- Peter from Paris who is joining us for the first time. We all decided to post similar photos of people entering the subway station at night in our cities.

The mid-month subway theme day is shared by the following blogs:
New York City Daily Photo - PHO (Paris) - Stockholm by Pixels

Table & Chairs

This photo was taken at the Lieutenant Petrosino Square in Nolita (North of Little Italy) where the The Ring Dome stucture was installed last month. Corona, the Mexican beer brand, must have sponsored the event or paid for the tables and chairs at the square because of the advertisements on the chairs.

Recently, the New York City health department started cracking down on bar tenders who used their bare hands to put line wedges on the top of Corona beer bottles, which is how Corona are usually served. Supposedly, bar tenders are required to use a pair of tongs or gloves to handle ready-to-eat items. This caused an uproar among bar tenders who have been serving lime wedges bare handed for many years without any government intervention.

So what kind of beer do you like most? Do you have a favorite brand?

Magnetic Letters

These little hand made magnetic buttons were sold at a street fair in Queens a couple months ago. I thought they were colorful and quite fun, especially the ones with beautiful designs on them.

So do you like street fairs? What do you usually get at the fairs?

Subway Art @ Prince Street

Janet Zweig and Edward del Rosario are the artists who created the ceramic mosaics that are currently installed on the walls of the subway station at Prince Street in SoHo. The ceramic artwork depicts regular New Yorkers going on with their every day lives.

Initially, I was going to post a photo of the ceramic artwork but I found this photo to be more amusing because of my reflection on the vandalized steel plate. To see the photos of the ceramic artwork, click here.

So how often do you look at yourself in the mirror? Do you talk to yourself in the mirror?

Fire Escape 9

Here is another beautiful vase shaped fire escape with ornate iron work on the railings and steps. You cannot see it in this photo but there was an old man leaning out the window just left of the bottom corner staring at me. I think he was either curious or unhappy I was taking a photo of his building. I said HI but he did not respond.

Have you ever had someone stare at you before? What did you do?

Apartment Stoop 8

This is the stoop of the famous apartment (66 Perry Street) where Carrie Bradshaw, a character on the tv-series Sex & the City, supposedly lived. There were numberous scenes in the show where Carrie sat on the stairs leading up to the building while hanging out with her friends or waiting for Mr. Big to show up. Although she lived on Upper East Side, most of the exterior scenes of her apartment were shot here in the Village.

This photo is dedicated to Missy of Norfolk, UK because she is as much a fan of Carrie Bradshaw as I am. So here to you, kid.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

I'm in the Mood for Pizza

Here is another photo of pizzas at a restaurant in Union Square on 14th Street between Broadway and 3rd Avenue. I had posted a photo of an eggplant pizza from the same restaurant a couple weeks ago. The reason I love the pizza here is because they are cooked in a traditional wood burning oven and the crust are super thin and crisp. A slice here goes for about US$3.50.

So when was the last time you had pizza for dinner/lunch? How many slices can you eat at one seating?

Weeds & Wildflowers

I saw these words scrawled on a wooden board in a garden not far from my apartment. I walked past it many times and finally took a photo of it. I like the sense of humor of the author.

No, I'm not going to ask if you have ever smoked weed (marijuana). But I'm going to ask if you have an interesting phrase or poem to share.

Silvercup Studios

This photo was taken from the window of a moving (#7) rain in Long Island City, Queens. The building beyond the elevated highways is the Silvercup Studios where many of the New York City based television shows are filmed. But there is currently a writers' union strike going on right now so all studio work are suspended until further notice. Shows that are affected include Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

So do you have a favorite TV show?

Le Petit Cafe

I love the signs and window decorations on this cute little cafe in SoHo, Le Petit Cafe, which is located on Spring Street between Wooster and Thompson Street, a block west of yesterday's photo. This is a great place to stop for cappuccino and gelato when I'm in the area.

So how do you take your morning coffee or tea?

Wooster Street Market

This corner street market is located on the corner of Wooster and Spring Streets in SoHo. The items sold here are mostly clothes, hats, gloves and jewelries made by independent designers and artists.

But the main reason I took this photo was the faded poster of a little girl on the wall. I was walking up Spring Street and I stopped in front of Wooster Street because of the red traffic light. When I looked up, I saw the poster and I quickly took a photo of it before the light turned green.

So do you prefer to shop for clothes at a big departmental store or at a small boutique?

N.B.: I have switched the Word Verification mode ON because I received over 50 spam comments in the last week.

Rotisserie Chicken

When I visited in Paris in 2005, I stayed at a small hotel in the Villier neighborhood where there was a daily street market a block away. At the street market, there were vendors selling rotisserie chicken with baby potatoes cooking on a tray directly beneath the roasting chicken. The smell was amazing. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to try them because I did not want to eat it in my hotel room.

Last weekend, I walked by this little charming french bistro called, Le Gamin Cafe on West Houston Street and saw the same rotisserie chicken with potatoes at the bottom cooking outside the restaurant. I was tempted to eat there but I had just came from dinner. Maybe next time.

So have you ever had these rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes?

Halloween Party in the Village III: Blown Away

These two gentlemen have the most original costumes at the Halloween Party on Wednesday. They created a realistic impression of a windy day eventhough the weather was fairly calm that evening. I love the upswept hair in the first photo and the newspapers-and-leaves effect in the second photo. They must be artists or designers to come up with something so spectacular. Incidentally, we are expecting 30-50 mph wind condition tomorrow from the storm that is developing in the Atlantic.

Click on to The Making of New York City Daily Photo to view a R-rated photo collage from the Halloween street party.

So are you an artistic person? Did you excel in art when you were in school?

Halloween Party in the Village II

Here is the second installation of photos from the Halloween street party yesterday. These people were NOT part of the Halloween parade that marched up 6th Avenue from Spring to 23rd Street. They were actually revelers dressed up in costumes and hanging out in the Village or heading to a party somewhere.

There was a huge stadium size spot light at Sheriden Square so I stood there for three hours watching people walk by. As soon as I saw someone interesting, I went up and asked if he or she could step in front of the light so I could take a photo. Most of them gave me three to four poses to photograph.

So would you stop and pose for a stranger?

Halloween Party in the Village

Every year, the city organizes a Halloween parade in the Greenwich Village. So after work yesterday, I went downtown to take some photos of Halloween revelers on the street. I saw a lot of amazing costumes and everyone was willing to pose for me.

So here is the first collage of people and costumes from the street party. Click on the photo to see a bigger version of it. I will post the second and third collages in the next couple of days.

So which is your favorite photo?

Happy Hallloween

This photo was taken at the Halloween Party at Grand Central Station on Sunday afternoon. The event called NYC Goes Orange was held to raise money and awareness of the one million New Yorkers who rely on emergency food from the Food Bank of New York City to feed their families during the holiday seasons every year. People who attended the Halloween Party were asked to donate $5 and all proceeds will go towards the Food Bank, which is a major provider of food items to over 1,000 emergency and community food programs across the city.

Who or what would you dress as if you were going to a Halloween party?

Manhole Cover Doormat

I posted a photo of a manhole cover on Saturday and incidentally, Eliane of NYC posted a great interpretation of it on her blog. Over the weekend, I found this manhole cover doormat at the Posman Books at the Grand Central Station. Apparently, manhole covers are quite the thing in NYC. Who would have guessed?

Do you have a doormat outside your house? What does it say?

Sun Breaking Through the Clouds

The rain began last Wednesday and it poured and drizzled almost non-stop until Saturday afternoon. Then the cloud lifted and the sun broke through. It was a beautiful sight!! This photo was taken at 5 PM Saturday evening as I was standing on the subway platform waiting for the train to arrive. I was going into the city to meet my former colleagues for dinner and drinks. And I didn't get home until 1:15 AM Sunday morning.

So do you still socialize with your former colleagues from your old jobs?

Apartment Stoop 7

Here is a modern interpretation of the classic apartment stoops. This townhouse on 13th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue was probably renovated recently to give it a different look from the rest of the townhouses in the area. This area is considered the gold coast of the Village because of its highly desireable properties and tree lined street.

So how is your weekend so far?

Manhole Cover 2

Here is the second photo for my manhole cover series. This one in the East Village has an interesting but distinct design on it. I always assumed the designs were the somewhat consistent or similar since there probably aren't too many manufacturers out there making these sort of things. But apparently, I'm wrong. The ones I have photographed have been all different.

This weekend I plan to go out and photograph as many of these covers as possible to see if there is a consistency in design or if it is all random.

Have a good weekend.