Central Park Obelisk Wander

I found out that there is 3500 year old Egyptian obelisk in Central Park. The obelisk was put up in Heliopolis around 1500 BC, and was given to the US in 1881 as a gift from the Egyptian government with the hopes of establishing economic ties. It's the oldest thing in the park, and it's tucked away just behind the MET. I'd walked right past it a couple of times and never noticed it, so the purpose of this wander was to have a look.


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I Started the wander outside the MET at 82nd and 5th.

  

Central Park Foliage Wander

This wander is from early November, 2008 - my first fall in New York. Obviously I had to take a wander through Central Park once the leaves had changed.

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I entered the park on 79th street and headed south toward the Boat Basin.

 

Upper West Side Wander

Going North to South from the Upper East Side is easy. Going west is a bit more difficult. It involves taking a cab or one of New York's notoriously slow cross town buses. After being in the city for over a month, in November of 2008 I decided to take a wander to see what lies on the other side of Central Park; the Upper West Side.

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I started at the Lincoln Center. The central square has been under renovations since I arrived in New York. I think they're supposed to be done soon, so I'll have to make a trip back to get this shot without the giant blue plywood construction barriers.

 

Financial District Wander

After my Coney Island Wander, I hopped on the subway and headed to the Financial District to watch the sun set from Battery Park, and also since I'm an engineer, I had to check out Canstruction 2009 on display in the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center.


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I started the wander by Broadway and Wall Streets. Trinity Church:

 

Coney Island Wander

I had always heard about Coney Island from the movies. When I first got to New York it was actually the only place I'd heard of in Brooklyn. So in November 2008, I decided to make my first trip to the borough and visit Coney Island.
I was expecting a big cheezy amusement park. But when I got off the subway I was struck by what a shithole the place was. Granted, it was November, but I was expecting some sort of life. Everything seemed shuttered and covered in graffiti - maybe I was too used to the Upper East Side. I didn't take many pictures because I was still in a phase of only taking pictures of the tourist attractions. I'm planning on heading out there again now that I've been here a while to see how my impressions have changed, and to get some pictures before the whole place gets redeveloped.

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Atlantic Yards & Brooklyn Flea Wander

In case you haven't been following it, there is a huge 5-billionish dollar development called Atlantic Yards planned on Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn,where the neighbourhoods of Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Fort Greene and Boerum Hill intersect. The centerpiece is the new Barclays Center, where the New Jersey Nets are supposed to move in 2012 (is it just me or is this the least talked about, most uncontroversial professional sports team relocation ever?). Basically an uber-rich developer (Bruce Ratner) wants to tear down a bunch of old dilapidated buildings, 1 bar, 1 nice brownstone, and a homeless shelter, cover over a rail yard, and build the stadium along with a mixed use facility on top . As they always seem to do here, the locals have freaked out about the plan; gentrification of the railyard, box store squeezing out mom and pop, no parking during games, streets unsafe for park slope kids, etc. They sued Ratner about 478 times and tried to perform a citizens arrest. There is an insane amount written about this project, so take your pick if you want to get the details. Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn seems to be the biggest organized opponent.

UES, 42nd Street Wander, & Columbus Circle Wander

My second wander after arriving in New York was through the Upper East Side and into Midtown (Octoberish 2008).

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I started up by 90th and 5th and headed south. The Cooper Hewitt:

Guggenheim: