100 Days of Summer
I’ve spent three summers pacing up and down the boiling blocks of Brooklyn and the Bronx trying to capture the playful festival-like energy of these New York City streets, and fire hydrants are what best exemplify this energy. When the valves are open, they release an incredible amount of happiness, pride and mischievous ingenuity. Water … Read more
The Freedom Tunnel
Under Manhattan’s Upper West side, runs the “Freedom” Tunnel. Built in the 30’s by Robert Moses, the passage boasts legendary graffiti murals and piles of debris remaining of the past homeless city era. After using it for only a couple of years, Amtrak discontinued the line and left a massive cavern which later became a … Read more
Hasidic Brooklyn
Walking in the Hasidic portion of Williamsburg in Brooklyn is a bit of a surreal and anachronistic relish. I found this isolated neighborhood, home of the ultra-orthodox Satmar community, particularly photogenic as it seems suspended in time and contrasts heavily with the continuous metamorphosis observed in adjacent neighborhoods. On Saturdays, during Shabbat, bearded men wearing … Read more
The Atrium: Abandoned Palace in Downtown NY
After reading that this magnificent 9-story abandoned building will soon become a luxurious hotel called the Beekman Palace, I have decided to contact the developer to see if he would eventually let me in…which he did, after throwing him a couple of bucks. I have to say that legal urban exploration is definitely not comparable … Read more
Le Ciel de New York
I paid the Lady Finger a visit yesterday with the idea to capture “The Sky of New York”. The rooftop of the south elevator tower is the highest point in South Brooklyn and probably gives the best 360-degree view of the big apple. From there, you have a full frontal view of Lady Liberty, the … Read more
The Grain Terminal
On the far side of Red Hook Park’s soccer and baseball fields, locked-up behind a fence made of enormous concrete blocks, lays the last vestige of Red Hook’s industrial grandeur: The New York Port Authority Grain Terminal. This massive 429-foot long and 12-story high beige-colored fortress was built in 1922 for the purpose of washing, … Read more
Lavender Lake
The Gowanus Canal is located in the heart of Brooklyn, bordering the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens and Red Hook. When the canal opened in 1866, it quickly became the nation’s busiest commercial waterway and also the most polluted. The resulting growth of foundries, oil-storage facilities, dye works, printing plants, cement factories, tanneries, coal yards, chemical … Read more
The Berlin Walls
In 2005, Berlin was designated “City of Design” by the Unesco. I looked-up on-line as I was curious to see which criterion and characteristics were taken under consideration by the specialized agency to appoint the distinction. According to them, it is a blend of cultural landscape fueled by design (architecture, urban planning, monuments, public spaces, … Read more
Glenwood Power Plant
Between the Glenwood Metro North station and the Hudson River lies the abandoned Yonkers Power Station of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, a massive building which was constructed between 1904 and 1906 to hold electrical generators to provide power for the electrfication of the railroad nearby. The plant ran into the early … Read more
The Adler Hotel
Sharon Springs, located in the Mohawk Valley in central New York, was once a highly fashionable bath resort town for wealthy New Yorkers, as well as European and Judaic visitors. During the 19th century, this tiny village became world famous by virtue of the therapeutic benefits of its mineral springs, which contain high levels of … Read more
Unnecessary Objects
…the story of a brownfield and a fellow In 1896, a massive multi-story structure was built along the shores of the Gowanus Canal in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. This prominent edifice was once a coal-fired power plant owned by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. But over the past two decades it became a prime spot for … Read more
The Head-Hunters
Head Hunter is an institution here in Brooklyn. It is one of the oldest and most respected barbershop in Bed-Stuy. I heard about it because it is a well known fact in the neighborhood that Notorious B.I.G. used to hang out there. Few weeks ago, Jason “Classic Beatz” Minnis mentionned to me that the shop … Read more
