Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge

In December 2010, the city announced that Queensboro Bridge would be renamed in honor of former Mayor Ed Koch. The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge – because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th Streets – or simply the Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River. It was completed in 1909. It connects the neighborhood of Long Island City, Queens with Manhattan, passing over Roosevelt Island where I made the images above. 

Mott Street (Chinatown)

Mott Street is a busy and narrow street in Chinatown that runs in a north-south direction in Manhattan. It is also considered Chinatown's unofficial "Main Street". It is one of the original three streets that formed the core of Chinatown in the mid to late 1800s. Mott Street runs from Chatham Square in the south to Bleecker Street in the north. It is a one-way street, southbound. Like many streets in Lower Manhattan that predated the street grid system, Mott Street meandered around natural features of the landscape rather than running through or over them.

Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside, Queens

This is a section of Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside, Queens. Above Roosevelt Avenue is the overhead subway and train (the Long Island Railroad stops in Woodside). Woodside, a neighborhood in the western part of Queens. This particular neighborhood along Roosevelt Avenue is filled with many cultural restaurants including popular Thai, Filipino, Colombian and Ecuadorian eateries. A "Little Manila" stretches from 63rd to 71st Streets at the strip of Roosevelt Avenue. 

Louis Vuitton Collaborates With Artist Yayoi Kusama - Manhattan Flagship Store Facade and Window Displays On Fifth Avenue Go Polka Dots

Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue flagship store with David Byrne-designed shoe bike rack in the foreground

Louis Vuitton has created splashy facade and window displays for the flagship Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue in honor of the brand's collaboration with celebrated Japanese artist and "Princess of Polka Dots", Yayoi Kusama. The building facade at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street is wrapped in a pattern of black dots in different sizes on a white background. The window displays have three Kusama motifs: “Beginning of the Universe,” ‘’Eternal Blooming Flowers in My Mind” and “Self-Obliteration.”  Recently, Louis Vuitton formally unveiled a new collection created in collaboration between Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton creative director, Marc Jacobs. The theme is bold, graphic polka dots — a signature of the artist — offered in a frenzied series of sizes and colors. The polka dots appear in many items including shoes, handbags, shirts, skirts, sunglasses and accessories. The product launch and building installation coincides with the Whitney Museum of American Art’s new retrospective exhibition of Kusama’s work (see previous post).

Niki de Saint Phalle Sculptures on Park Avenue

Les Trois Graces, 1999

Miles Davis, 1999

Les Baigners, c. 1983

#23 Basketball Player, 1999 (Michael Jordan)

#19 Baseball Player, 1999

Grand Step Totem, 2001

The Nohra Haime Gallery presents a new site-specific installation of the signature sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle on Park Avenue from 52nd to 60th Streets. Ten sculptures made of polyester resin, with mosaics of ceramic, mirror, and stained glass tower above the crowds and traffic at as high as 16 feet tall and 13 feet wide. The internationally acclaimed artist’s sculptural nanas, totems, athletes, and jazz musicians are playful and dynamic, bringing new life to Park Avenue. This exhibition coincides with the ten year commemoration of Niki de Saint Phalle’s passing, celebrating the life and achievements of a monumental artist. Niki de Saint Phalle, born Catherine-Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle (29 October 1930 – 21 May 2002) was a French sculptor, painter, and film maker. The sculpture exhibition continues through November 15, 2012.

Flag Flown At Half Staff For Victims Of Colorado Shooting

An American Flag at Rockefeller Center flies at half staff in tribute to victims of the deadly mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Early Friday morning, 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes allegedly opened fire on theater-goers attending a midnight premiere of the summer blockbuster "The Dark Knight Rises," killing at least 12 and wounding 59, according to police.