100th St Between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave

With tomorrow being the 100th block documented on the site, I figured I'd throw a curve ball and cover 100th Street today.

With the Triboro (Robert F Kennedy) bridge in clear view, this block is a prime example of redevelopment gone boring. While half of the street still contains old buildings and apartments, the northern side is nothing but new developements and open space. It's an interesting comparison – with half the block being super bright and the other bathed in the shadow of long-forgotten construction canopies.

Despite my mixed emotions above, I rather liked the block, it felt lively and safe. However there isn't much to do here, unless you're going to play baseball.

View Larger Map

80th St Between 3rd Ave and Lexington Ave

Sitting in a world between churches and bars, this stretch of 80th street has plenty for everyone. In a decidedly "nice" part of town such as this, it's not unusual to encounter blocks like this: with a wide variety of apartments, town houses, restaurants and various local hangouts. 

The tree-lined street is a never-ending row of stoops, leading up to big, gated doorways - as if to say "Not only are we better than you, but our entrance is needlessly elevated from the sidewalk". 

The All Souls Church at the end of the street is a real thing of beauty.  So rarely do you find churches in NY that aren't big stone monuments, but rather more humble wooden/brick situations. Whether or not every soul on Earth is inside has yet to be determined.

Overall a very pleasant street with lots to do on either end. Would walk again A+++++++++ </end_lame_ebay_joke>

View Larger Map

68th St Between 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave

In an attempt to get a different perspective on these streets, this week's posts all feature photos taken at night.

This block in many ways reminds me of the stretch of 79th street visited earlier this week. On the north side of things one will encounter a line of fancy high-rise condos, while the south side of the street is made up primarily of small (and beautiful) apartments and homes. Because of the high rise presence here the block is fairly well-lit a night and has a very nice atmosphere.

The Trump building on the west side of the street was a bit jarring (I had never seen an underground parking garage with script signage before) but otherwise a very quiet residential street.

View Larger Map

75th St Between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave

In an attempt to get a different perspective on these streets, this week's posts all feature photos taken at night.

While the two ends of this block are dominated by large, fancy buildings (with fountains!), the middle of the block is a fairly humble ordeal - with rows of low-rise apartments. A handful of local buisnesses line the street, which is fairly dark, while the real hustle occurs on the flanking avenues.

Theres ssems to be a considerable amount of character in the buildings on this street, though like I said it was quite dark when I went - so who am I to say anything?

View Larger Map

1st Ave Between 79th St and 77th St

In an attempt to get a different perspective on these streets, this week's posts all feature photos taken at night.

Walking down this stretch of 1st avenue at night is only marginally different than walking down it during the day. The number of shuttered storefronts is a depressing sign of the times, though I can't say it's all bad. It seems that most of these stores are not in any danger of being sniped off by a Duane Reade or any other large chain. And while this particular location lies dormant, Charlie Mom Chinese Cuisine has moved just a few blocks north.

With that being said, these two blocks do offer a nice variety – from toy stores, to home shops, to retaurants, to clubs. It's also nice to see that most of the block retains it's low-rise buildings, with only two or three high-rises in sight. And here's a ProTip for those of you wanting to use the CitiBank on 79th: The card reader is really far away from the door...like ludiciously so.

View Larger Map

79th St Between East End Ave and York Ave

In an attempt to get a different perspective on these streets, this week's posts all feature photos taken at night.

This, the eastern-most point on 79th Street before the FDR, is exclusively a residential street. For me, the interesting thing is the dichotomy between the north side and the south side of the block. On one hand you have the City and Suburban Homes, built between 1898 and 1915, while on the other you have a collection of miscellaneous high-rise condos, all seemingly built in the last 30 years. It's an interesting comparison, because even though the C&S side could be considered tenements, the character and architectural beauty they offer is far greater than the fancier buildings right across the street. Granted, they're not the most stunning row of beige buildings ever, but the devil's in the details. I found it very interesting how as the block went on, each individual unit had slightly different construction and detailing from the last, though from afar they all seemed to exist as one body.

I should make it clear, I have no problem with newer construction, and there are plenty of new buildings that I really like. But in this particular case it seems to work at a disadvantage for the new ones.

View Larger Map