Roosevelt Island Autumn Hues

The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge

Trees at the FDR Four Freedoms Park with the United Nations Building (across the East River) in the background

Autumn leaves at the Roosevelt Island Tram Station

The Queensboro/Ed Koch Bridge

Autumn leaves with the Smallpox Hospital (Renwick Ruin) in the background

Roosevelt Island, a narrow island in the East River of New York City, lies between Manhattan to its west and the borough of Queens to its east. The parks on this island, especially the FDR Four Freedoms Park are beautiful and serene all throughout the year. Autumn is a magical time to visit the island and enjoy fall foliage.  

2013 New York City Marathon

Today, the New York City Marathon returned after a one-year hiatus. About 50,000 runners from all over the world raced through five boroughs and passed cheering crowds. Fans again packed the 26.2-mile course. Last year's marathon was canceled because of the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. Security was heightened this time after the bombings at April's Boston Marathon. 

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas (Already) At Radio City Music Hall

This photo of Radio City Music Hall was taken earlier today. This is the home of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, an annual Christmas stage musical that kicks off next week. Produced by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, the show features the women's precision dance team called The Rockettes as well as  Santa, the Nutcracker, and the unforgettable Living Nativity. The show has been a New York Christmas tradition since 1933.

"Bronx Zoo" By Banksy ("Better Out Than In" Day 30)

The penultimate piece by the elusive artist Banksy in his month-long residency in New York City streets is "Bronx Zoo." It is a graffiti painting of a growling wild cat resting on a railing, across the road from the Yankee Stadium. The wild cat is sitting on a pre-existing yellow painted line on a blue wall, located across the road from the New York Yankees stadium. The wild cat has markings are made up of graffiti scrawl and various protest symbols, including the famous Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). It's entitled "Bronx Zoo", it has been suggested the name is a pun on a nickname acquired by the baseball team nearly 40 years ago. The Yankees were referred to as the Bronx Zoo, because of the fighting between George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson. The street art is located at the junction of East 162nd Street and Jerome Avenue. It is part of Banksy's "Better Out Than In" exhibit, in which the artist left his works scattered across the five boroughs, drawing huge crowds, as well as vandals. Each day of October, Banksy unveiled new works of art around New York. The works were then announced on his website and posted to Instagram. 

Halloween 2013

Some of the most elaborate Halloween decorations can be found in Manhattan's Upper East Side neighborhood. The stoop and facade of this East 72nd Street townhouse are guarded by an array of ghostly creatures. The Empire State Building also presented a fantastic Halloween Light Show.

Swoon’s Hurricane Sandy Mural at the Bowery Graffiti Wall

Swoon’s mural at the Bowery-Houston graffiti wall is rather timely, channeling themes of Hurricane Sandy on this day the city and state are marking one year since Hurricane Sandy made landfall. The piece features an illustration of the A train (“rise above the challenge”), an allusion to the suspended subway service to the Rockaways, and a community message of “people helping people.”