Washington Square East Between 4th St and Waverly Pl

The construction which has dominated Washington Square Park for the past few seasons continues here on the eastern side, which leaves this short street with an overflow of people who must walk around to the north or south in order to enter the park. Normally a very charming place to walk around, your best views are now tarnished with chain-link.

The six perfectly-square blocks which extend eastward from the park create a unique little ecosystem for NYU. Feeling disconnected from the rest of Greenwich village, it's almost like the University grants us simple folk the right to walk on their grounds, rather than the other way around.

Bridge St Between Water St and York St

A rather striking change from the Dumbo neighborhood, Vinegar Hill is far more industrial and hasn't yet received the "chic" makeover that's been working its way around the borough over the past few decades. The street is lined with mostly industrial buildings, but you can hear construction all around you as the surrounding streets make their gentrification known. It's got a few trees and a corner market, but beyond that there isn't very much to do here, besides leave.

8th St Between University Pl and Broadway

   

On the outer boundaries of NYU's village campus, this street of endless stores has always stuck me as out-of-place. While much of neighborhood is filled with local shops and unique storefronts, this entire stretch may as well be known as Logo Lane. Sure, a few of the places along here are non-chain stores, and there are even slight signs of regression (Johnny Rocket's recently vacated a location here), but otherwise the endless parade of glowing signs is rather disheartening.

This overloading of retail has created a mini Times Square out of 8th street – a grim sign of what could happen to St. Mark's Place a few blocks to the east if development continues unabated.

Adams St Between Sands St and York St

   

The neighborhoods of DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights and Vinegar Hill can often be a confusing mess of streets for pedestrians. Even when following a map, you can find yourself faced with an impassable intersection thanks to the spaghetti of on- and off-ramps leading to the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge and the BQE. With all these ramps and bridges, some parts of the area can be very dark, especially when coupled with all these new high-rise buildings.

Adams Street manages to get a fair amount of natural light thanks to the dearth of buildings (save for The Watchtower which sits right here), and the fact that the bridges are still low to the ground at this point. Also helpful are all the well-groomed patches of grass which seem strangely out-of-place, but still wholly welcome.

79th St Between York Ave and 1st Ave

Yesterday I complained a bit about one's inability to cross 1st Avenue on the Upper East Side during the New York City Marathon. It's an admittedly sore point amongst the locals, feeling a bit trapped in their own homes. However, an interesting and somewhat pleasant side effect (at least for pedestrians) are the multiple street closures which surround the race route. Being able to walk down the center of 79th Street is a rather unique feeling, especially later in the day when the crowds of race fans have subsided and you're left with a mostly-desolate stretch of road.

Meandering from curb to curb I still find myself looking over my shoulder, expecting to see either a car barreling down the street, or someone yelling at me to get out of the way. Luckily I was delusional.

The block is lined with fancy apartments and condos with doormen guarding the entrances of their respective fortresses every few feet. In between a few older buildings have managed to survive including a rather beautiful church on the northern side of the block. There appears to be an attached rectory right next to the church. This street also features a rare non-Cemusa newsstand which has been able to retain much of its vintage charm and grit.

1st Ave Between 77th St and 75th St

Walking down 1st Avenue last weekend was a bit of a lost cause in terms of documenting its more mundane elements. Every year the New York City Marathon does a tremendous job of holding hostage those who live east of 1st Avenue between 57th and 125th streets, so my options for block documentation were a bit limited. I figured it'd be as good a time as ever to check out the runners since I had never experienced the marathon in person before.

As I walked down the block, going against the current if-you-will, the infectious and constant roar of the crowd at mile 16 was unlike anything I had ever encountered. Passing by local stores I had seen dozens of times before it was difficult to imagine the street under normal circumstances, which bummed me out a bit since I like my photos to represent blocks at their most ordinary. However I still couldn't get over the spectacle of the race. The good cheer brought by the anonymous volunteers and spectators brought a party atmosphere to the street. If only I could cross it.