Chinatown, Walker Street Between Broadway and Cortlandt Alley

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Many apologies to those of you who depend on me to post every night. It was Verizon's fault. I'm thinking cable.

The boundaries of Chinatown keep changing because, unlike other neighborhoods, determined by geographic or historical associations, Chinatown is determined by the preponderance of Chinese businesses in the area, which obviously can expand (or contract, though it has not done that yet). Based on these two photos, I'm going with Wikipedia's declaring Broadway to be the western border.

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Tribeca, Walker Street Between Church Street and Broadway

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge




Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

I am hereby repealing the one photograph only per night rule. We have to move a little faster. I'm not going to live forever, you know.

The yellow sign in the lower photo refers to the annual New York International Fringe Festival, now over. Once again, I have failed to get myself to a performance. About 200 companies performed this year at over 19 venues, this being venue #5, walkerspace.

Urinetown was originally performed in the Fringe Festival; I saw it on Broadway and thought it was great. However, I would guess the ratio of good to bad is small. Great to bad even smaller. But it's cheap! $15 tickets. And fun! You may discover the next theatrical genius! Let's all go next year.

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Tribeca, Walker Street Between Church Street and Broadway

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

What a great convention. What a great candidate. And to hear Pat Buchanan call Obama's speech "magnificent," and "the greatest convention speech" topped off the night in a most pleasing way.

Okay, tomorrow, back to regular life.

Luckily I had the foresight to edit this photograph earlier today.

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Tribeca, West Broadway at Beach Street

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge



Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Well, I don't think Bill matched Hillary, but he did all right enough, and then Joe Biden gave his speech and was just wonderful. Don't you love him? Well, not if you're Republican, I guess. Although even if you're Republican, you might have a little secret fondness for him. Yes?

This is Tribeca Park, so called since 1985 to acknowledge the neighborhood's new name (TRIangle Below CAnal), coined by real estate agents in the 70's, but soon adopted by all. Before that, it was called Beach Street Park, a perfectly fine name.

It was a perfect summer day, low 80's, dry, breezy. Bill and I kept congratulating ourselves on our good luck.

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Tribeca, West Broadway at Lispenard Street

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How about that Hillary? Damn. What a pro. Now let's see if Bill, that sonofabitch, can match her. If he does, I'll be saying how about that Bill? Oh, it's a good year to be a Democrat. This is history, folks.

I was going to talk about this restaurant Pepolino and how Luka and I used to go there when she was a smoker because upstairs you could smoke, but now I haven't been there in years, and I'm thinking maybe we should try it again; it's awfully appealing on the outside and so on, maybe a little musing on the passing of time, but all of this seems so trivial given that the fate of our country lies in the balance.

Go Barack!

Just two more nights of this and then I'll return to my normal dry unemotional commentator self.

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Tribeca, Sixth Avenue Between Canal and York Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………click to enlarge



Mary Sargent © 2008 …………click to enlarge

I know, I know, I said it was going to be Chinatown tonight and here I am giving you Tribeca. Sorry. Tribeca on the way to Chinatown, then Chinatown.

I'm late because I was watching the convention. How about that Michelle? I'm happy to be a Democrat for the first time in a long while, and I'm so proud of our country, also for the first time in a long while. (I can say that because I don't plan to run for political office.) And how about Senator Teddy? There was a time I curled my lip at Ted Kennedy, but time passes, things change, and now I have to say he's an all right guy.

So the walk. Bill, my son, was here for a visit, and Friday we went downtown for a photowalk. The plan was to walk around Chinatown and get a late lunch somewhere. We took the A train to Canal, walked Sixth Avenue to Walker and Walker to Canal. When we got off the train at Canal, what is the first thing I see? Construction! Another condominium. One York.

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Inwood, Park Terrace East Between 215th Street and Isham Park

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


Last shot. Tomorrow Chinatown.

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Inwood, Isham Street at Cooper Street

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And now my destination. I bought tomatoes, green beans and whole wheat sour dough bread.




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Inwood, Park Terrace West Between 215th and Isham Streets

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Here's a glimpse of my destination, looking from Park Terrace West down to Isham Street. It's the Inwood Saturday Greenmarket – one of the best things to happen since I moved here in 1995. I know it's been here at least 4 years and now it's open year round. Does anyone out there know exactly when it opened?

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Inwood, Park Terrace West Between 215th and Isham Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

After the first block of apartment houses from 215th Street, going south, Park Terrace West wends its way through Isham Park. It is pretty up here, y'all.

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Inwood, Park Terrace West Between 215th and Isham Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 ………. click to enlarge

I am too tired to write. More tomorrow. Maybe.

Inwood, Park Terrace West at 215th Street

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

To remind you: this walk was taken last Saturday at an uncharacteristically early time; it is now 9:15 a.m. and it seems a few other people are also out and about. In fact, these ladies may be going where I'm headed. Yes, I do have a destination in mind.

This is Park Terrace West, a new street for this blog.

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Inwood, 215th Street Between Park Terrace East and Park Terrace West

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This is the Northeastern Academy of the Seventh Day Adventists, a small religious high school. I have lived close by this school for 13 years and paid little attention to it but now I am consumed by curiosity and can find almost nothing on the web. Their web page is still under construction. I'll have to interview a student or two when school resumes.

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Inwood, 215th Street Between Park Terrace East and Park Terrace West

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Across the street from last night's deserted building are the prized Park Terrace garden apartments, so-called, not because of the lovely plantings around the outside, but because of the interior green space which is for the sole use of its residents. See below. Note it was shot from outside of the fence.

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Inwood, 215th Street at Park Terrace East

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I did something very unusual this morning. I woke up at 8:30 and instead of stretching, rolling over, and going back to sleep, I got up, got dressed, grabbed my camera and went out. I didn't even feed the cats. Well, they're not used to getting fed before 11:00, anyway.

It was a lovely morning, about 72°. It was actually pleasant being out that early. Quiet. I could stand in the middle of the street and shoot. You should try it. Right after you take that boat ride.

This is the side of this building we've seen before.

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East River

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Okay, now are you going on a boat ride? I mean those of you who have access, of course. If you're in some landlocked place, far from bodies of water, find yourself a plashing fountain and sit there and watch the sky grow dark. That's good, too. A glass of wine would only add to it.

That's the lovely Chrysler Building on the right, and the manly Empire State building on the left, of course.

This is the last shot of the boat ride. I hope I get out tomorrow for a photowalk. I hope it doesn't storm.

East River

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


And now, finally the waterfalls. The first two photos are shot at the Brooklyn Bridge and the third one at Pier 35 on the east side of Manhattan. The other two waterfalls are at Governors Island and the Brooklyn Piers.

You must imagine being on a boat on a balmy summer evening.

Upper New York Bay

Back from vacation. It was wonderful despite the bruises from a full body fall and the sliced finger from getting careless with a mandoline. I don't mean sliced off, although that could have happened. Luckily, they didn't happen on the same day. I try to look on the bright side.

And so, home again and back to the boat ride of over two weeks ago. I'll try to get up to date soon.



Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Now we have turned around and come down into the Upper Bay so that we could see the Statue of Liberty and other landmarks. I took a number of photos of Miss Liberty and this is the only one that wasn't too blurry to show. What with the long exposures required because of the darkness and the movement of the boat, I consider it a miracle that I got this one.

Hudson River, West Side of Manhattan

LAST POSTING UNTIL WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13

I'm going to upper Michigan to visit Tom and Jeni and Nathan, Carrie and Ellen, where the weather is sunny and in the 70s, and the cooking is good and the wine is fine. See you in a week! Don't forget!


Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

I think it was about here that Barbara noticed we were traveling up the Hudson away from the waterfalls and leaped to the (correct) conclusion that we'd boarded the wrong boat.

This is lower Manhattan, but I don't know where. Does anyone recognize it? Let me know.

East River at South Street

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

And now for something completely different. Not a walk at all. Saturday evening, nine days ago, Barbara and I set out to see the waterfalls of Olafur Eliasson – we had tickets to the 8:30 thirty minute waterfall boat trip from pier 16 at the South Street Seaport. It's so nice to be on a boat on a summer night, leaning against the railing, watching the sky gradually darken, feeling the breezes.

After a while it began to dawn on us that we weren't seeing any waterfalls and we'd already been out at least 30 minutes and, uh, we were probably on the wrong boat. But they took our tickets and let us on! Well, what could you do? We just leaned on the railing and enjoyed the ride and, after about an hour we did tour the waterfalls.

This is at the beginning, when the boat had started south down the East River (not a river), and this is the Staten Island Ferry. The last time I took a ride on the Staten Island Ferry was in the olden days when the fare was 50¢ and now it's free! Unbelievable. You should go. I should go.

Times Square, 48th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 ………. click to enlarge

And now at the end of the block, it looks like a typical residential street, so familiar and comforting.

After this shot, I sped up Ninth Avenue to Chez Napoleon (two blocks) and was exactly on time. We had a splendid dinner to celebrate Ilana's birthday; I had quails, Ilana had steak and Carolyn had, I think, duck a l'orange, all delicious.

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Times Square, 48th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


This is a piece of the Belvedere Hotel, built in 1930. Above the first story, it's nothing to give a second glance at, but this first story – well, now that I think of it, it could be a setting in the fairy tale I started telling last night.

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Times Square, 48th Street Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

This enchanted scene was shot through the bars of the Marian S. Heiskell Garden. It is not for mortals to enter. But maybe if you choose your clothes carefully, they will make an exception for you, as they seem to have done for the couple on the right. The beauty on the left is telling them, don't be afraid, come this way. She is not mortal.

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