Tuesday, June 2, 2009

power to the pedestrians



Took this last Monday, Memorial Day (in the same spot as 
yesterday's photo), as everyone was trying to get used to
the idea of this stretch of Broadway (42nd to 47th Streets) 
now being a pedestrian mall.  It's not exactly Piazza Navona, 
and the area could use a few classy outdoor cafes to replace 
all the schlocky souvenir emporiums—but everyone seemed 
to be enjoying this space where formerly you could barely
walk down the sidewalk, and the taxis would just as soon mow 
you down as pick you up.  Hey, it's a start.

8 comments:

  1. Amazing view !
    First I though it was just on a special occasion like Memorial Day !
    All the chairs are identical, a gift from the city ? Or the shops around ?
    That's one place I'll be happy to visit again next September, I won't be afraid to be hit by a car when taking pictures this time ! Good news !!

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  2. That’s great. Thanks for the news and the view.

    A number of people seem to be taking in something behind the camera. It would be just like a photographer of your growing caliber to find the scene we are looking at more interesting than the “spectacle” behind us. Did I say “behind” us? Don’t tell me it was The Naked Cowboy shaking his booty. Or, now that he is an ordained minister, could he be performing a marriage rite for one of our Navy men from yesterday? Why steal a single kiss for a slap when you can have a whole bag full?

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  3. Hurray! Am definitely looking forward to strolling there.

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  4. so...i was thinking this morning...our blogs are like the city mouse and the country mouse...:)

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  5. Sounds practical! Looks shambolic at the moment but I'm sure people are plotting to overthrow the schlocky souvenir emporiums as we speak...

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  6. I don't actually know where the chairs came from. Probably rejects from Mayor Bloomberg's beach house.
    Also can't quite imagine what these folks are finding so fascinating—basically, they're looking at what you can see in yesterday's photo.
    Hey, I didn't know the Naked Cowboy is now an ordained minister. But what bride would want to risk being upstaged by the (naked) guy performing the ceremony?
    The cabs are nearby, on 7th Ave, which runs close to and parallel to Broadway here.

    Bee-Bee: you're right, and weren't they cousins too?

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  7. OMG, I just posted a similar photo of the Times Square scene. I was there on Sunday evening after dinner because the weather was solo beautiful.

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