Holiday!

So far the festive holiday stuff that I have spotted around town has been mostly on 5th Avenue. Saks, Henri Bendel, Bergdorf and lots of other stores already have their decorations out. Bloomingdale's on Lexington and 3rd is getting there, and I believe Macy's over on 6th and 7th started decorating first, as I noticed trees (and pumpkins) lining the streets right before Halloween!

There's ice-skating in Rockefeller Center next to the big tree, in Central Park at Wollman's Rink and in Bryant Park at The Pond. I'm not crazy about ice-skating. Too slippery if you ask me, but I'll probably be out and about throughout the winter to watch from the sidelines since there's always tasty food and attractions nearby—especially at the one in Bryant Park!

Cartier, near Saks Fifth Avenue

The exterior of Bergdorf Goodman on 59th & 5th has lots of wreaths!

Wollman's Rink in Central Park

More to come of course...

Coney Island's Mermaid Parade

Since most of my photos from the Mermaid Parade are of topless people (yeah, it was frightful and yeah, there were lots of kids there), I'm going to share some photos of Coney Island and the area/aura of the famous parade.

This parade has been going on for years—since 1983—and happens every year towards the end of June, rain or shine. This year, there was rain. And it was cold. And windy. Whereas last year it was beautiful and warm and bright and sunny. I went with some friends and a fellow photo-taker and ran into some of our other photo friends while there. This is a great event for photography lovers, not because it is a parade—it is not just any parade—it is an outrageous spectacle, an excuse to dress even crazier than you would on Halloween, and a gaurantee that there will be jaw-dropping sights.

Again, most of my photos of the participants contain nudity (they are mermaids, after all), so here are some other pics from the outing!

A rainy view of Coney out of the Q train window



the crowds by the subway station



Lots of guys show up for this event...



Ha! It says, "Free Willie Nelson"



More from last year: here

Museum Mile Festival, 2009 - activities along the way!

One of the activities going on along Museum Mile (5th Avenue from 82nd to 105th Street), was chalk drawing. Yes, it was mostly children participating with their parents looking on, but I wanted to join in too! See below:



For fun I said a little hello from my NYCphotos twitter account, and wrote one of John Lennon's quotes on 5th Ave & 88th Street:



Someone wrote messages and made little drawings all along the way. Here are some...



"awww"



See more here!

Museum Mile Festival 2009

The annual Museum Mile Festival took place on June 9th with the blocks along 5th Avenue that count as "Museum Mile" (82nd-105th) blocked off to cars so that people can walk the mile and participate in activities along the way. The museums were all free admission and two in particular had lines around the block. They were The Guggenheim, where there is a special Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, and The Neue Galerie, where there is an enticing (ha ha) German Expressionist exhibit including works by one of my favorite painters: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

You only had 3 short hours to visit these famous museums, including the Met, Cooper Hewitt and the Museum of the City of New York. I was so exhausted afterwards. Why am I such a museum lover??? I love it so much!

the crowds in front of The Guggenheim

Manhattanhenge 2009!

Manhattanhenge 2009 occurred over the weekend. They call it "Manhattanhenge" because the sun becomes centered on New York City's grid at this time. The City is about 30º out of line with the sun's setting and so the dates of "Manhattanhenge" do not fall on the dates of the spring and autumn equinoxes.

On Saturday, May 30, you could see half of the sun on Manhattan's grid (by looking down a city street towards the West), and on Sunday May 31st, specifically at 8:17 pm, you could see the sun in full.

I originally planned to view the sun setting by looking down 57th Street from the east side of town, but I ended up over in Queens on a dock in Long Island City (off of Gantry Park on 50th Ave & 2nd Street). Besides the view of the sun being centered between the buildings on 33rd Street (below), there were also great views of the East River, Queensborough Bridge and the famous Pepsi Cola sign.

More info here on NewYorkology.com via the Hayden Planetarium of The Museum of Natural History.