B and H Cruise Around Manhattan - Circle Line

Circle Line at Pier 83

lower Manhattan skyline (Freedom Tower under construction)

Empire State Building in the distance

Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty

Domino Sugar Refinery

Circle Line cruise, George Washington Bridge in the distance

Little Red Lighthouse (1889), under the GW Bridge

abandoned Renwick Smallpox Hospital (1856 - 1950s) on Roosevelt Island

Manhattan skyline from the Hudson River, with puffy "cartoon" cloud

sailboat on the Hudson River

Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Autumn

Japanese bonsai tree at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Karla, Kat, and Fran at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

lily pads in a rock pool

Autumn outside, Summer inside

orchids at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Madison Square Park area

Museum of Sex, Fifth Avenue and 27th Street

sculpture by Antony Gormley looks north towards the Empire State Building

people stare at Antony Gormley's life-sized sculpture on Fifth Avenue and 26th Street

Gershwin Hotel (next to the Museum of Sex on East 27th Street)

woman checks out Antony Gormley's life-sized sculpture

Around and near Madison Square Park and Fifth Avenue: Sculpture/statues by Antony Gormley, as well as the Gershwin Hotel (the red building with crazy white light fixtures jutting out) and The Museum of Sex (Fifth Avenue at 27th Street).

New York Botanical Garden: Autumn

reflecting pool  at the New York Botanical Garden

Japanese kiku (chrysanthemums) 

children playing in Halloween costumes 

waterfall on the Bronx River within the New York Botanical Garden

Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden

Japanese kiku (chrysanthemums)

Located in the borough of the Bronx, the gardens encompass several hundred acres, including about 50 acres of native forest traversed by the Bronx River. And it's only 20 minutes from Grand Central Terminal on Metro North! The seasonal flower display in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory this autumn is all about Japanese Kiku [chrysanthemums].

Summer in the City

Gramercy Park dressed in green

peaches

cherries

tomatoes

Gramercy Park, and the Union Square Greenmarket - one is a cool, green oasis (and a very private park), while the other is bursting with the colors of summer's fruit and vegetable bounty, available to everyone in this most public of spaces.

Around Midtown (Manhattan)

sky reflected in skyscraper's windows

"twinned" Chrysler Building

Chrysler Building in the fog

a favorite window display

twilight on Lexington Avenue, looking north towards the Chrysler Building

Reflections. They are everywhere, but you have to look, stop, take a few steps forward, backward, until you see just which image you wish to capture in that reflection. Twin Chryslers: I'd like to think that I found an exclusive spot [and I'll never tell where it's located], but who knows? Maybe others have found it, too. Take a close look at the window display: J.Crew on Madison Avenue. Very clever - a series of prints of sky/sea/sand are casually displayed; looks really good.

High Line - section 1 opens

the High Line is straddled by the Standard Hotel

old railroad tracks and wildflowers

part of the High Line has a "viewing" section over Tenth Avenue

view of the Hudson River from the High Line

IAC building, viewed from the High Line

flowers on the High Line

trees and benches on the High Line

expansive views on the High Line

The first section of the High Line - from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street - opened to the public on June 9, 2009. It was an instant success, and became a "must see" part of any New York visit.