Chrystie St Between Houston St and Stanton St

The first time you catch a glimpse of Sara Roosevelt Park from Houston Street, there's practically no way of knowing just how long it stretches. While it doesn't hold a candle to Central Park or Prospect Park in terms of size, it's still an impressive piece of land, spanning 7 long blocks. The variety of features that you can find here is rather encouraging. For such a narrow patch of land, they sure do squeeze a lot in.

The further south you venture on Chrystie Street, the more run-down the buildings opposite the park get. While a shiny new glass box sits on the corner of Houston, it offers nothing to the neighborhood in terms of character. The remaining buildings are unfortunately more desolate than vibrant. Still, the saving grace remains the park; overflowing with trees, plants and people.

Centre Market Pl Between Grand St and Broome St

This is a single block which features a very different experience depending on which side of the street you opt to walk on. The west side is dominated by the previously-mentioned former police headquarters. It's now apartments. The opposite side is a mixture of much smaller buildings, but they all bring their own charm to the stretch.

Some of the smaller buildings have been renovated recently and clearly demand a high price on the market; one even has an all-glass gate out front. A few of the other buildings seem rather ordinary, though I'm sure they're nothing one would call affordable.

This is actually one of those rare short blocks that has enough history that there's an entire Wikipedia article devoted to it. Quite frankly it does a better job of describing it than I ever could.

Lafayette St Between Spring St and Broome St

    

When I popped out of the Subway at Spring Street, there was an immediate and unavoidable rush of people with which I got dragged along. The police barricades and cones were of no help in protecting me from this unidentified and unstoppable throng of people. I eventually made my way to the sidewalk where I was reminded that this was all for Summer Streets. For a few days in August the city closes down a stretch of road starting with Lafayette downtown, up to 4th Avenue and continuing along Park Avenue to the Upper East Side, allowing people to roam the street freely. This only happens for a few hours at a time, but it's all a bit confusing if you're unaware of what's going on. All the signs I saw had a posted end time of 2pm, however at 1pm it looked as though the police were already getting prepared to re-open for traffic.

The small triangular park formed by Centre Street on the other side is known as Petrosino Square and recently saw a full renovation. Sitting on the edge of  NoLita and SoHo it's not surprising to see how trendy this small block has become – as evidenced by One Kenmare Square and its wavy, glassy front.

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that Squarespace, the tremendous blogging platform which hosts NYC Grid is headquartered on the corner of Broome and Lafayette. Hi Guys!

Crosby St Between Spring St and Prince St

    

Resting along the border between SoHo and NoLita, Crosby Street exhibits a bit of character from each neighborhood (or is it NeigBorHood?) Featuring a mix of posh upscale architecture (embodied by the new Crosby Street Hotel) and rundown industrialism (embodied by all the other buildings rotting away across the street), the block is a perfect example of what seems to attract so many yuppies down to SoHo– all the grit, none of the grime.

Street art seems to have held on to a prominent place in SoHo culture, despite the rampant redevelopment of the past 30 years. Every building along here that didn't have a doorman was covered with all sorts of interesting pieces ranging from nonsensical to political. I wonder how many people really stop to take notice of the vast culture outpouring that can be found on streets like this. Years from now, it wouldn't surprise me if pieces like these find mainstream exposure as lost relics of a forgotten era in expression.

Mott St Between Broome St and Prince St

Simultaneously industrial and residential, these few blocks take you through a myriad of different environments. Within a few hundred feet I found myself dodging trees, construction barriers, boxes of tomatoes and moms with strollers. Much of the street feels like classic NY, with short buildings and narrow streets – though a few new projects have snuck in recently.

The neighborhood, NoLita, is a relatively-recent (10-15 years or so) invention of the real estate industry; an attempt to brand the area as something high-end, like SoHo. While there are plenty of luxury brands that call the area home, you really don't see produce wholesalers lining the block in SoHo like they do here. It's nice to see these vestiges still calling lower Manhattan home.