FOURTEEN YEARS.

Hello, dear random visitor. 

This is not the regular kind of blog as you might have noticed – conceived as a daily, it has become …well, annual. Many reasons – travels mostly, and this year also a couple of broken legs…

My love for New York cannot be any stronger than on this day – September 11^th. The day fills you with sadness, and pride, and joy, and frustration, and compassion, and many other contradicting emotions. 

I love New York. I love people who call it home – New-Yorkers. Please, if you don’t live here, come and see for yourself. You will meet the most hardworking and fun-loving crowd. For the most part.

So – today. It started with grey serenity – in the sky and in the mood of the city. And then, as the day progressed, the sun came out, and so did the smiles, and laughter and busy crowds, of tourists and locals.

Every September 11^th I dedicate my post to the local firehouse. Yes, I am partial. I see their trucks every day on the neighborhood streets. I bump into them (firemen, not trucks) in the local Fairway supermarket. My dog used to LOVE their biscuits - they always have plenty for the four-legged neighbors. And! If this was not enough - they are the nicest group of people. Could it be that all the firemen of NYC are like this? I wouldn’t be surprised. So this year again, I am saying here what many people feel, today and every day - thank you! To you and to your families.

And the next time when I see you flying through the streets of neighborhood, I will pretend to mind my own business and not notice you. But the truth is, there will be a heartfelt prayer for your safety coming your way.

THANK YOU!

Blue.

PS. For my friends who are checking if I posted today – oh, have faith in me, people. You knew I would. 

REMINDER AND HOPE.

 

Returning to New York after a long absence is always special. Seeing the lights of Manhattan on my way from the airport late last night, I was taken by the beauty and might of the place that was, again, paying tribute to all those who got affected… from the fallen and their  loved ones to the whole nation. This vision – of the city where every window light represents a person, a family, a life story – gave me a sense of declaration of life itself. Two blue lights, rising into eternity over the city that is alive and strong, made me think of their very humane message to all who saw them: a reminder, and hope.

The quality of the picture is lousy, but the meaning is close to the heart. This post comes with gratitude to those who gave life to save somebody’s husband, wife, mom, dad, son, daughter, friend…

TWELVE YEARS.

 

 

THANK YOU.

For that day, and every day.

http://manhattandailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/ladder-13.html

http://manhattandailyphoto.blogspot.com/2011/09/ten-years.html

http://manhattandailyphoto.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-human-touch.html

WORLD PEACE DAY… same place.

Yesterday, September 21^st, there was the World Peace Day. And today I found myself on the same spot where I took a picture for Peace Day two years ago (http://manhattandailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/world-peace-day.html). To my surprise the wall with the “Love is the Answer” drawing looks different now.

 

Aie...

 

 

But here is a thought … love is still the answer;)

 

 

 

MANHATTAN MOMENT

 

Ray Blue and his saxophone in Central Park on Saturday morning - very New York!

 

I will write about Ray in one of my next posts.

Happy Weekend everybody!

ON A LIGHTER NOTE.

Taking a dog for a walk is never dull, but tonight’s promenade with my pup resulted in much more entertainment than we are used to: Lady Gaga is in the neighborhood! Yep, she is launching her perfume Fame with a black-tie masquerade gala in the Guggenheim Museum, and this is happening right now.

I didn't come too close or stayed for too long - my doggy is a sensitive creature and not a big fan of things loud and sparkly. But I do have to mention that what surprised me the most was the level of noise, or rather absense of it - no music, no... nothing! So even if you were just around the corner you wouldn't know that such an event is taking place right under your nose.



Guests are arriving in costumes ranging from a simple sparkling mask with a feather, to a... well, full blown "bells&whistles". Some are really cool.



Abercrombie has nothing on them!

Hope you all had a beautiful night in your neighborhood;)
Blue.

A HUMAN TOUCH.

It’s Tuesday again on September 11th. Like it was in 2001. And the morning is so beautiful in New York, very reminiscent of the one 11 years ago.

If you were here, you remember. You remember everything. The sunny blue sky, the light wind, and exactly where you were and where were your loved ones. Every person has its own memories. Many have their own losses. However, there is a profound uniting element too in this tragedy. And not only for New Yorkers, but for many others who took this event deeply into their hearts. We learned so much about us, humans. And a lot of what we have learned gives us faith in humankind.

There is no way I would not post on this day.
I've abandoned the blog due to my crazy travel schedule, but I always knew that I would get back to it today. And this morning, stopping by the firehouse to bring flowers, I thought that I would like to tell more about these people. For me one of the most significant points of heroism that the world got to witness eleven years ago lies in a simple fact – this is what they do: they save lives for a living. Heroes? You bet. On many more days than one.

So once again, here are the pictures of my neighborhood’s firehouse. This time I also took some pictures inside. In the future I will make a point to talk about their everyday work. And for now I will just repeat– thank you.

The FDNY lost 343 of their firefighters in September 11th attacks. So thank you to those men who gave their lives on this day eleven years ago, and to those who – every day – are serving this beautiful city and extending to us, New Yorkers, their human touch, literally and figuratively speaking.
I’ll keep sending them my “good luck” whenever I see fire trucks rushing through the neighborhood with sirens.

 

ready to be jumped in...

Please take a look at the World Trade Center Commemorative Time-Lapse Show created by an EarthCam. It is a short movie, just under a minute and a half, but what a tribute to Manhattan: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5_oQfhHLYY

PS. This is my third post about 10th Battalion (Engine 22. Ladder13). I talked about them on September 11th 2010 : 
http://manhattandailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/ladder-13.html
and on September 11th 2011:
http://manhattandailyphoto.blogspot.com/2011/09/ten-years.html

Have a beautiful day everybody.
Blue.
:)

TEN YEARS

People stop by just to say:
"We remember"

Another year has passed.

And nope, time doesn’t heal. However, it offers more and more distance for a reflective thinking.
Here is once again a picture from the 10^th Battalion Firehouse.

I am partial to this particular Firehouse – every day I see their fire trucks with numbers 22 and 13 rushing through the neighborhood to save lives.  

Nine of their firefighters lost lives in the World Trade Center attack ten years ago. Last year I posted their pictures on the September 11^th blog: http://manhattandailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/09/ladder-13.html.

As last year, I am at a loss for words. Firemen saved 20 000 people on that day. 
So I will just say “Thank you”.

...AND SOME MORE SNOW...

Usually full of traffic, Park Avenue is a Winter-land today

We got snowed in! No fun if you have to go to the office today. Much better situation for those who could work from home or just took a day off.  Central Park is full of kids, and there are snowmen of all possible shapes and styles everywhere. 

And it seems that everybody had a sled ready!

LET IT SNOW...

I know, I know – many of you in Europe got to witness a rather damaging and disruptive side of it lately. But for New York it is the first real snow of the season.

It has started in the early afternoon today. That's when I took this picture in Central Park, right behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The “Beatles” group with umbrellas are obviously tourists. I hope they went promptly to change - they would be in a bad shape promenading in Central Park in heels under this snowfall.

 For those of us who have either children or dogs (or both) the first snow is a special sort of joy. You all know what I am talking about.

 I want to use this very appropriate picture and sort of appropriate day (ok, a bit late) to wish you all a very happy Christmas. I had a really wonderful celebration, so I have a good excuse for posting my holiday wishes late. But the wishes are still the same – for you and your loved ones to live in peace, in love, in joy and in a constant discovery of many wonderful sides of each other. Happy Christmas!

SANTA , DEFINE NAUGHTY…

They see you when you are sleeping; they know when you are awake…

I bet you had no idea there is a Santa Claus Convention… But there is one, and very appropriately it is happening in New York. Voilà!

Do you have more than one Christmas wish? Not a problem (and welcome to the club!). Many Santas are willing to help.

OK, I am a horrible blogger. I travel way too much to keep my finger on the pulse of only one (even if the most exciting one) city. But I love New York with all my heart, and whenever I am lucky to get back home, I am thrilled to share the energy of this city with those who love it from afar. I will do my best to be more consistent (it looks like I've just decided on my New Year resolution!!) :)

Wonderful to be back – to NY and its people, to my camera and the blog, and to those who are still checking in – THANK YOU!

MAX ROACH IN THE MAKING

This kid was so much into the whole thing - the play, the show, the attention... So fun to watch!

September/October are full of business travels. It makes me appreciate even more every time I get to spend several days at my "base" - my Manhattan island.

Have a great week everybody!

Washington Square Park

WORLD PEACE DAY

LOVE IS THE ANSWER

I took this picture yesterday on my way to a meeting. It is from the West 4th Street in the West Village. This morning I realized that today is the World Peace Day. Very appropriately, and with a great timing, this picture says it all. Love is the answer.

Wishing you a day… week… month … make it LIFE! - full of love:)

BOYS OF SUMMER

Sun is back:)

Wishing you a great week, everybody!

EAST VILLAGE

BLOOMBERG'S HEADQUARTERS.

Taking a day off after a super-charged week, I found myself in the midtown.

 Despite its central location, I don’t get to pass this building often. This is Bloomberg’s Headquarters.

 Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York. He is also a talented and successful businessman. And I happen to like him a great deal. Whether you are his fan or not, you would be for sure impressed with this building. Here and here are the links to some information about it.

The building has a clean, modern, light, even elegant vibe. The openness of it apparently creates a positive and collaborative feel among the employees. Can’t say anything about that, but it definitely an interesting architectural sight. In any case if you have to spend the whole day in the office, this looks quite inspiring!

IN THE EYE OF A STORM.

This is a crazy busy week. I am sure many of you feel the same once (twice?) in a while: stretching to the max in all the possible directions.

This morning I just HAD to get some peace. Ah, thankfully I live in just the right place. I took my favorite partner in crime (my dog of course) for the longest walk in the Park.

Can I just tell you? It was the best possible thing I could do for myself (and my dog of course)!
Central Park was so quiet, serene and so breathtakingly beautiful!

And then the day went absolutely insane. We even had a deadly storm (hurricane?) in Manhattan! Yep. The only reason I was able to maintain myself on a sane side is because I took time to breath this morning.

The moral of this story: get a dog, of course!

MINI ME

After seeing this, I am so tempted to spend a day in the World Financial Center building, taking pictures of whoever sits down with this huge photograph on the background. The results that I have seen were quite comical!

WHITE GHOST

The gloomy colors of rainy weather made this sculpture to stand out even more.

This is White Ghost by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara. The Ghost has found its temporarily home on Park Avenue and 67^th street. There is another one on Park and 70^th.  

The locations are not accidental – there is Yoshitomo Nara’s retrospective at the Asia Society  (Park and 70^th) and the open studio residency of the artist at the Park Avenue Armory at the 67^th street. While in New York, you can also see his work in the MOMA museum.

END OF RUNWAY

The New York Fashion Week continues. And I have decided to give it another post.

We are so used to seeing pictures of models walking the runway at the fashion shows. But here is the look at how those pictures are taken.

ENGINE COMPANY 22. LADDER COMPANY 13.

It’s been nine years. It is so incredibly sad and it still hurts. What do I even write today? I feel like I should say all or nothing. So I leave you with a vision that tells more than any words would.

Every district in Manhattan has its own fire department. The closest to where I live is 10th Battalion (Engine 22. Ladder13). I have a special place in my heart for the brave people who work there.

On September 11th of 2001 they lost 9 firemen. They, and those who lost their lives to save others, deserve to be known, appreciated and never forgotten.

There was a time when the world asked ordinary men to do extraordinary things

SPRING STARTS HERE

According to Mayor Bloomberg, fashion industry is the second-largest in New York. It supports 175,000 jobs and $10 billion in wages. Apparently, New York has twice as many companies related to fashion than any other city in the world.

September 9th is the first official day of fashion week in New York. This is when we find out what the world will be trying to wear in the spring. It is THE craziest time for thousands of people involved – from designers, to production, to media people, to retailers, to models – and of course, for those aspiring to be any of the above. I saw so many model-looking girls on the streets this afternoon that finally I gave up and got out my camera.

Whether these two girls are walking runway this week or just playing wishful thinking, doesn’t really matter. They contribute to a special mood in Manhattan, a very particular to the Fashion Week. It is the mood of celebration, of anticipation, of looking into the future and of appreciation for all the hard work that goes into every little detail of this frivolous on the outside business.