53rd St Between 1st Ave and York Ave

    

A major block if only because it marks the end of Sutton Place (York Avenue) on the east side, this segment of 53rd Street also acts as an exit ramp for the south bound FDR Drive. The street is mostly home to some pricier apartments and condominiums. Other than that, only a florist and an antique shop call this stretch home.

The primary beneficiaries of the FDR's exit here are perhaps the three competing parking garages. The one on the north side of the street has an ever-present attendant waving people into the bowels of his parking empire every morning. The other two seem a bit more laid back about their operation, content to let the remaining automobiles choose between them. Because God-forbid a person make it all the way to 1st Avenue without paying $45.00 to park first.

1st Ave Between 42nd St and 45th St

    

Thanks to the United Nation's dominating six-block stretch, every street from 43rd to 47th end abruptly at 1st Avenue. Being a popular tourist destination it's a shame to see the U.N. under such constant construction and change. Lately the front of the main tower has begun to be shrouded with hanging scaffolding while the front parking roundabout seems to be undergoing some modifications of its own.

To accommodate for the many street closures that occur here for security reasons, 1st Avenue splits into a lower and upper roadway – the latter of which can be isolated when delegates and dignitaries need some extra protection. This split looks interesting when you view it from up and down the block. For several miles in each direction you can see the tunnel entrances and exits when you look towards this area from any sort of elevated location (the Roosevelt Island tram, for instance).

On the west side of the street are the looming brick facades of Tudor City. While the fronts of these buildings are quite beautiful, it seems very little attention was paid to the reverse side when they were built. South of here a large empty lot that has sat for years continues to be one of the most startlingly undeveloped plots in the city.

1st Ave Between 53rd St and 51st St

   

With cars streaming off the FDR Drive and onto 53rd Street, this can be a slightly busier intersection than others found along First Avenue. Despite the increased vehicle traffic, these blocks are still very residential and welcoming. With a few exceptions, almost all the businesses here are locally-owned…including three different florists, a cheese shop and a seafood shop.

Off in the distance you can see the underpass which runs for several blocks in front of the United Nations Headquarters – it makes for a rather cool sight from up here. Of course, whenever there are large events occurring at the U.N., the entire section of First Avenue is subject to maddening closures and barricades. Driving or even walking becomes a huge ordeal.

Over the past few years I've watched the corner of 53rd and 1st transform from a rundown address which suffered from broken windows and burnt-out street lamps to a hopping after school learning outpost for Kumon – whose logo looks like a confused or depressed child.

38th St Between 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave

    

Besides being home to a very imposing Verizon building, this street has very few notable features. One of the only exceptions is the fact that it's intersected by my favorite named streets in the city: Tunnel Exit Street. With such a functional name, the no-frills street, which is nothing more than an off-ramp for I-495 and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, doesn't even attempt to welcome other cars or pedestrians on to it. As you look down the block you can almost see the individual plots and buildings it destroyed when it was built – of course that was over 70 years ago.

3rd Ave Between 40th St and 42nd St

Feeling cold and unwelcoming – just as midtown should – these blocks are riddled with wide sidewalks, bus stops (and now bus lanes), public spaces with benches for lunching, and curiously-enough, green lampposts. It's a quirky feature of midtown that I've never understood that all the lampposts and signs have forest green color scheme. I guess the idea is that while the rest of the city must endure the (supposed) treachery of gray and silver street furniture, midtown enjoys these specially painted pillars of class and sophistication.

The metal-clad Mobil Building rises from the corner here, blocking what would otherwise be a perfect view of the Chrysler Building. However, to be fair, any building here would block that view, and in its further defense, I find the Mobil Building to be quite handsome. With its glossy blue-tiled base and its repetitive tower, it's an instantly recognizable structure – despite being overshadowed by nearby landmarks.

48th St Between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave

You'd never think that just steps away from the United Nations that you'd have such a hum-drum street, but sure enough, here it is. Though I admittedly didn't look very hard, there didn't appear to be any consulates – a typically common sight for east side blocks.

The open-air atmosphere that surrounds first avenue is quickly engulfed by a series of massive buildings, including the Trump World Tower. The remainder of the block is completely consumed by the midtown offices which dominate the neighborhood.