ABC Wednesday—S is for "skyline"

. . . and I think I can brag that ours
 is one of the world's best!
I took this shot of midtown Manhattan
 (with a looong lens) from a friend's
terrace in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Nice view

It's not my view, but I do get to enjoy
it from time to time—as long as
I'm willing to hang out this 10th-story
window, that is.

[Linking back to Weekend Reflections
and to Skywatch Friday.]

Thursday Challenge—"night"

Something new(ish) on the New York skyline: the tall,
skinny condo in the middle (which is now
pretty much completed) is 432 Park Ave., the 3rd-tallest
in NYC at 1,396 ft. (425.5 m) and the tallest
residential building in the Western Hemisphere.
It mostly comprises what they call "ghost apartments,"
occupied for only a few weeks a year by über-millionaires
—I hear that the penthouse has already sold for $95 million. 
(P.S. — you couldn't pay me to live up there.)

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

Iconic

The NYC skyline is always evolving,
but the Empire State Building still takes
pride of place in this view (one I
never tire of on my morning commute).

[It's Skywatch Friday. To see more go here.]

ABC Wednesday—X is for "Xmas"

"At Christmas, all roads lead home."
—Marjorie Holmes

Here's one of my hometown's most iconic
symbols (still), all lit up for the holidays.  If 
you're celebrating Christmas tomorrow,
I hope you're already just where you want 
to be, with the people you love.

[To see more ABC posts—and I bet a lot
of them are "Xmas"—go here.]

Tina's Picstory—"pointed"

New York City's quintessential pointed thing:
The Empire State Building (taken at dusk
with a very loooong lens).

[To see more pointy, spiky things, visit Tina's Picstory.]

Congrats to the Grads

On this particular night (May 16), the
Empire State Building was lit up with a
pattern of blue/white/blue lights in honor
of the Columbia University commencement.
They're in the process of replacing the 400
standard lights they have now with 1,200
LED fixtures. See here. Now they'll be able
to create even more colors, and patterns too.

[It's Blue Monday. To see more, visit Smiling Sally's meme.]

New York at Night (13)

Took this shot a couple of weeks ago—
when the Empire State Bldg. was
all lit up in red, white, and blue
in honor of Veteran's Day.

Empire State

Not the first time I've shown the Empire State Bldg.,
but I took this from the window of a friend 
(who lives about 40 blocks south) the other night and 
was struck by how beautiful it looked in the "blue hour."
Right after I took this shot, they lit up the top—
with green lights (but I like it better like this).

They do!

Given the historic legislation passed last week, Sunday's Gay Pride parade 
was one big celebration—and it was huge!  (And forced me to be 
uncharacteristically pushy to get these shots.)  I loved those guys 

with the sign that read, "Thirty Years Engaged. Let's Get Married!" 

They got a wonderful, warm response from the crowd.
[I'm linking back to That's My World. To see more of the world, go here.]

No, I did not take this photo.  A lot of people
thought this was done specifically after the
passage of the Marriage Equality Act—
but the Empire State Building was lit
up like this all week for Gay Pride.

Skywatch Friday

Happy New Year from the Big Apple!  No Times Square, 
but here's the one building that says "New York" more 
than any other.  All the best to my wonderful
 blog pals—those I've met, those I've yet to meet, 
and everyone who passes by here.
Hope that 2011 is a wonderful year for us all!

[See more skies from around the world here.]

Skywatch Friday

Looking down 8th Avenue at sunset—

probably most of the cars you see are taxis,

 and at this hour probably most

of them are already taken (why real

New Yorkers use the subway 

or their own two feet).

[See more Skywatch here.]

That's My World Tuesday

The brick buildings on either side are part

of the Governor Alfred E. Smith Houses—12 

buildings on about 22 acres, with 1,931 apartments 

and almost 6,000 residents.

This may be the projects (council houses),

but with the Brooklyn Bridge close by on one side 

and that tall-ish building on the other, 

they have some million-dollar views!

[Go here to see more of the world.]

framed

As you know if you've come by lately, now

that the weather is nicer I've been interrupting

my subway commute with a walk across the

Brooklyn Bridge on my way to work—and home.

• A monthly subway pass = $89.

• The iPod on which I upload free NPR

podcasts of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me"

to listen to as I hike the mile+ over

the bridge = $150.

• This incredible view of the Empire

State Bldg. framed by a stanchion of the

Manhattan Bridge = priceless.

[This post is part of That's My World Tuesday.

See more of the world here.]

medieval Empire

While walking up on the High Line, I looked
to the northeast at just the right moment to
see this unusual lineup.

39th & Lex.

You can stand here and look north 

to see the Chrysler Building,

 then turn about 45 degrees to
face west—and there's the Empire State.
A person could get whiplash on this corner!

homeland security?

Sure hope it never comes to this!

(Actually, I took this shot of the

Empire State Building from across

the river, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.)

tallest

Had to run an errand yesterday, and just

before I went back down in the subway,

I happened to look up. Strange to think

you could forget this is here.