3rd Ave Between 87th St and 85th St

In the interest of making my job as difficult and expensive as possible, today's photos were shot on film.  Likewise in the interest of making your viewing experience as perplexing as possible, the film used was black and white. 

There's always a build-up of activity as you walk down an avenue approaching a major thoroughfare. 86th St, with it's large retail strip inevitably bleeds over into the surrounding avenues. The retail environment here on Third Avenue seems to be thriving quite nicely during the recession. Plenty of small, local places to eat are scattered around these blocks - with very few large chains. And while there seems to have been some redevelopment in the area, some interesting, older buildings have survived and show no signs of going anywhere.

I really enjoy the quality of some of these black and white shots.  Without context, many of them could seem to be right out of the 1970's – except when you see an Hyundai SUV. Perhaps that's why everyone seems to think NY is getting "Disney-fyed": not enough black and white photos.

View Larger Map