Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Downtown Sunday


We took a ride on the bike path beside the Hudson on Sunday --a beautiful sunny afternoon. I had inadvertantly put my camera on some weird setting so the photos are a bit fuzzy --anyway....


there really is a great deal of water between Manhattan and Jersey. People have been talking about the possibility of storm barriers like in London, but since Manhattan is an island this seems a rather Quixotic idea.




The Freedom Tower continues to grow and, architecturally, is much more attractive than the Twin Towers ever were, though obviously it would be better if we still had them.


Lots of tourists on boats in the harbor.


And a fisherman looking out to Lady Liberty.


A panorama of the above.


A pier that they have been fiddling with for 13 years at least!


Birds atop the depressing sculpture about drowned people.


South Street Seaport is utterly wrecked. There are lots of disaster aid trucks under the FDR Drive. This one from Texas.


And this one from Wyoming. (Don't think I ever saw a Wyoming plate before.)


as above.


All the shops in the Seaport area are closed including Abercrombie and Fitch and Ann Taylor and the Yankee Store and all the restaurants.


Not to mention the beer place.


A work crew arrives at two on a Sunday afternoon


while aways up the street it is business as usual at Starbucks.


On the way home we went past St Paul's Church. You can see the Freedom Tower in the background.



17 comments:

  1. Hello Elizabeth:
    This is all rather sad making and one feels so terrible for all those who have lost so much in and as a result of the recent disaster. The sculpture of 'the drowned' is, we feel, somewhat depressing, more so in the circumstances.

    We leave shortly for Venice, and a period 'off air', where, or so we understand, the flooding is terrible. Poor, poor world.

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  2. Great photos. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Your camera setting produced quite interesting looking images (I always cringe when I look at picture that have been oversharpened, love yours way better)!

    Such sadness, all those people and places suffering from Sandy's wrath. I wonder how many of those Starbucks customers are sitting there because they have no power at home. Interesting that most use Macs!

    Driving from Tennessee up to Washington DC the Sunday when Sandy was zooming in on the coast already, I saw one long parade of trucks from all over the southern States on their way to help the good people of NJ and NY. It was still heard to fathom how much distraction that storm would bring!

    Right now the Italian peninsula is under the weather. Rome's watching the Tiber rise to threatening leavels.

    Hugs,
    Merisi

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  4. P.S.: Please pardon my mistakes - hit publish instead of preview.

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  5. Elizabeth, I also like the seeing this softer side of our city, even if some of the views show harsher reality.

    I admire your bike-riding courage!

    The picture of the FT behind the church reminds me a bit of seeing London's Gherkin suddenly loom over historic rooftops. Like a spaceship landed. Softly?

    xo

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  6. I kind of like the soft look. But the important question is, where can you get your smiling pumpkin ale now with the beer place closed?

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  7. kinda like the big trucks, a lot. i used to dream of driving those along the highways, then realized reversing semis ain't no piece of cake...

    sunny day and sea (well, any kind of water) make wonderful pictures, yours look like they're paintings rather than pictures, cool effect. hope you took note of the setting!

    bike ride does sound like a great idea.


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  8. Cant believe how the freedom tower is coming along. We hope to revisit NY again once it is complete.Hope everything is getting back to normal.X

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  9. Although the camera setting was a 'mistake', the photos are just right for the day-- hazy but clear in some areas.
    While I am sobered and saddened by the situation in NY, I had to laugh at the photo of 'business as usual' at Starbuck's. The white Macs all in a row--so predictable. Steve Jobs would be proud.

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  10. Thanks for showing us your New York and glad you are safe. The k]last time l was in new York was before the towers were hit!xxlynda

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  11. Fabulous pictures. I quite like what your camera setting did too! So interesting to see NY for real; not just the touristy bits, albeit in awful circumstances. So glad you're okay.

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  12. So many of the places you visit I can recognise from where I have been. Some I have never seen and would like to one day - and others I presume I will never see, if, for example, South Street Seaport is completely wrecked. I never made it there.

    I trust everyone benefits from the aid trucks and not only the touristy areas.

    Fuzzy photos = happy accident!

    Comment for your previous post: Here's to long (and interesting posts)! Taking photographs while riding a bike - now that's impressive....!

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  13. your fuzziness is more like a dreamy quality
    it's pretty

    I forgot the Seaport got ruined
    so much destruction!
    all those jobs right before the holiday

    oy!

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  14. Love the Starbuck's photo especially! The fuzziness lends a certain ambience, like something is not quite normal, which sort of fits the unhappy situation left behind by Sandy.

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  15. We have been looking at images from your stricken city, the most interesting ones from blogs and social media which bring home the terrible damage to property and lives. Scary times.

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  16. Greetings, earthling!! Shouldn’t be long, gottawanna run back to Heaven; however, in the meantime, take anything and everything you wanna from our wonderfull, plethora-of-thot to write the next, great masterpeace -if- I can but kiss your gorgeous, adorable feets and/or cuddle withe greatest, ex-mortal-girly-ever to arrive in Seventh Heaven. Think about it. Do it! Get back with me Upstairs, k? God bless you, doll: pleasure-beyond-measure is waiting in the Great Beyond for you and eye …thewarningsecondcoming.com

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  17. Recognised the same spot on the waterfront as you posted prior to the hurricane hitting.

    Hope you have a good weekend Elizabeth.

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I look forward to hearing from you!