Author Archives: therealtamara

For an opinionated woman such as I, blogging is an excellent outlet. This is one of many fori that I use to bloviate. Enjoy! Comment on my commentary.

A gallery

They posted a guard at this site but it’s not this guy.
I wonder what warrants that? This fellow is testing soil.
A fence protects the gap in the skyline.
Isn’t this from the Moonstruck script?
Construction may have begun at 86th and 1st.
These next 3 row houses share common design elements.
It was usual practice for a builder to develop an entire block.
This building is the third of the DNA paired I saw on E 87th.
Lions!
Nice lines on
this facade
This quiet little garden has never had many visitors. In fact the crew working in and around are the first people I ever saw use it at all.

Video blogging

The noise is very photographable on this quiet street.
Incredibly noisy air conditioner.
Check out my articles on the DNA of small buildings at the SidewalkSuperBlog From SidewalkSuper to Walk with me
Likewise as above.
Most of my videos are created by my panning over relative static sights.
These last two rely on the street to provide the action!

Walking and commenting

It’s August 2nd and the Esplanade is still closed. That must be why the sign is still up.
This symbolizes the Sidewalk Superintendent. See: https://sidewalksuperblog.wordpress.com/
Queens Boro Bridge access with water tower.
The other City and Suburban is on 2nd Ave at 64th.
Ed Koch 59th Street Bridge adjacent facilities, some new, some like Karen Horney Clinic, here, dating back to when we called it the Queens Boro(ugh) Bridge.
Premium and Quality is gone now.
No comment
One block in the life of the UES.
This Church is moving to where Jan Hus used to be but the weather vane will likely not go with.

Home decor ✨️

The great sunsets and views that our large windows yield also allow a bright and blinding sun to interfere with our TV viewing.

We have countered this effect by creating a 2-tier living room. There are seats in a front row, but when the sunlight is too strong we retreat to the balcony. We recently added a nice old table to the amenities in the “back of the house.”

There in the 2nd tier we can snack or dine without solar interference. Beats rooting for cloudy days.

One Two Three Four…

Let’s just take a look at what I saw in my walk yesterday.

Look for the details, the fine print, the minute colors, the finite shapes and sometimes the silly.

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1. Taking the picture of the water tower was irresistible. Just a few days ago, I had overheard a guide telling some tourists what a New York thing these were. I knew a fellow once whose company was kind of the first name in water towers. I get the appeal; it just requires looking up.

2. The parked car above was painted 🎨 in groovy patterns over a base of blue. Since it was also a sporty model, finding it there on the street became kind of an event.

3. Many many years ago I was out here photographing the demolition of the Knickerbocker Brewery site. It gave way to the Ruppert Towers and the Knickerbocker Towers which if I recall correctly were mixed use and mixed income. They are now condominium.

4. The linden did what the linden does!

5. While the construction of the Second Avenue Subway was hot news, we would walk up the Avenue to its terminus and just hang out. Feels like forever ago.

Taking root

This tree’s elaborate foundation has taken its roots aboveground.

There should have been a comment in the post where this pop-up popped up. I certainly was impressed by the structure when I passed. Why the silence?

Lack of knowledge. I wondered how it could thrive and survive. And I was in awe!

A short walk

On a beautiful day….

It was about a half century ago that the old brewery was replaced by the Towers on 90th Street.

My friend from high-school lived here with her mother for a while. I think this was the home to which the Jeffersons “moved on up” as well.

There will be thousands of square feet in the structure that will go up here but none for housing the homeless.

One of the few wooden homes is in the landscape pictured above. Very cool.

Water sport

Squaring off 91st between the River and, let’s say, Park Avenue, we have a corridor of gyms with pools.

Starting at the western end, the 92nd Street Y is well-known for its water aerobics.

The New York Sports Club had a decent size swimming pool at their 3rd Avenue outpost before the pandemic. Covid closed down the swimming although the gym still stands.

At York, there are the splendid facilities of Asphalt Green; the pools here are positively Olympian. They also have movable dividers and floors that lower and rise.