New York City Pt 1

We have now been ensconced in NYC for a few (hot!) days and having a hoot of a time. The apartment is all set up and going well. So far we've been down to midtown to visit the High Line and bits of Chelsea, as well as over the East River to Brooklyn Heights. Public transport is easy to use and we've been on subways, buses and ferry's - all of which are efficient. As before, it is amazing how many people there are in the city - any street or park has lots of people, which rather than being oppressive is vibrant and exciting: because its not overcrowded at any particular place, just busy everywhere. This makes it seem comfortable pretty much anywhere you go (at least in Manhattan where we are focussed). The city authorities have made many improvements over the years and the environment is generally well managed and looking good (a bit like London in that respect). But the key take-away is still the extent of 'humanity' on the island of Manhattan (let alone the other 4 boroughs of New York City which tourists hardly visit). It is a world-wonder how many buildings, people and activity occur here - and how it has evolved over time to become what it is. Here are some pics...

This first image is a comparison I've conjured of Manhattan and the Brisbane CBD (at the same scale). The blue line shows the distance from the Riverside Expressway to Teneriffe, being about the same as from the High Line (midpoint) to the bottom of Central Park. Manhattan (as shown here) is over 12km long - the same distance from the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens to the Aspley Hypermarket. Manhattan and NYC are huge....

Central Park, with the more recent slender ('pencil') residential towers reflected. Those typically have one apartment  per floor - going for $10m to $90m....

Random sign from bus down 11th Avenue....

The Vessel in Hudson Yards, a development at the northern end of the High Line. The High Line is a fantastic walk any time. This year we noticed more public art...

After lunch at Chelsea Market (had a fantastic hot asian dish) we went over to Little Island near Pier 57 - this is the view south (highest building is One World Trade Centre)...

Today we headed back across Central Park to the Upper East Side where we caught the Roosevelt Island Tramway, then a ferry to Brooklyn. This is a mansion built for a Vanderbilt back in the day - a fabulous Beaux Arts extravaganza - inside must be amazing. The interesting 'porthole' building to the left (through the trees) is a Synagogue built in 1958 - quite a progressive bit of design...

The short building is The Links Golf Club, one of the most exclusive clubs in NYC. You need 5 member recommendations to get in - plus the ability to pay the fees. Obviously there is no golf course! Established in 1927...

The ferry down the East River is fantastic and we had a great morning for it - although hot. This is the Queensboro Bridge from Roosevelt Island, looking west back to the Upper East Side. The tramway is in the picture top right...

View south-west from the ferry to One World Trade Centre, showing characteristic New York water towers....

Looking north-west toward midtown under the Williamsburg Bridge...

View downtown looking south-west across the Manhattan Bridge....

Downtown across the Brooklyn Bridge...

Brooklyn with the Manhattan Bridge in the background - this area is called Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). We visited a busy flea market here...

Nice shadows around the corner...

Manhattan Bridge...

Walking around Brooklyn Heights is always a treat. It's a large and hugely historic area - surprisingly quiet even on the weekend - but only one stop to Wall Street on the subway. It still has something like 600 pre-civil war (1860's) townhouses, mostly renovated and worth a fortune. This looks like a typical townhouse row but it isn't - the one in the middle is a ventilator shaft for the subway 8 levels below!...

These look like Gone with the Wind, but they are historic townhouses, with ostentatious wooden pillars in front of the facades (set back just behind)...

The tour group on the Brooklyn Promenade looking west toward Downtown across the East River...

There is a variety of building styles - mostly brick but some weatherboard (eg. the grey one)...

Walking west on the Brooklyn Bridge, back toward Manhattan...

We went to a great comedy show tonight in Greenwich Village. On the way we passed this game on a community court in a prime location - lots of spectators and passers-by, and some great play too...