Summer at The Battery

A perfect summer afternoon at the Battery at Manhattan's Southern tip. A warm breeze, live music, cherry ice cream and friends.

Under the sycamore trees at the Battery

Historic Pictures of New York

There are several databases which shouldn't be shunned if you ever look for historic photographs of New York. If the newfangled digital Municipal Gallery's server is too busy, here I provide some alternatives.

NYC Municipal Gallery
On April 25, 2012, the NYC Department of records published 870,000 photos online. This is part of a digitization process of more than 2,2 million pictures in the archive reaching back to the midst of the 19th century. Crimes scenes, shot as evidence by police are here, the famous building portraits and photos documenting great projects like the building of the Brooklyn Bridge (by city employed photog Eugene de Salignac who was honored with the exhibition New York Rises at the Museum of the City of New York). Prints can be ordered as well.

NYC Municipal Gallery

NYPL Digital Collections

The vast collections of the New York Public Library contain more than 800,000 pictures alone. More than 51,000 are accessible through the mere keyword New York, but I recommend finer approaches by using the subject search (more than 91,000 results) or the matching keywords around it.

Do absolutely NOT MISS the single collections, there are wonderful troves to be found, like the hundreds of photos Berenice Abbott took for her book Changing New York: Photographs by Berenice Abbott, 1935-1938. Head for the All Collection Guides to see more than a dozen digital collections about New York City alone!

If you prefer to just get bounced around the most intriguing old photos of the city, try NYPL's Pinterest.

New York Public Library Digital Collections

MCNY Digital Collections

The wonderful collection of the Museum of the City of New York can be combed by theme, borough, featured photographer or format. Some of the photographers were honored with specific exhibitions, just recently

Collection of the Museum of the City on New York

Flickr: The Commons

Amongst the many photographic collections on the web which are not just specifically about New York, Flickr Commons should be noted quite at the start of the list. The participating institutions add a never ending stream of historic photos in the public domain for easy access online. The most relevant for the City of New York are probably the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, and the George Eastman House.

Flickr: Commons

Other good photo spots

Other good places to see New York related photography are for example the Jewish Museum, which recently had a great show about the Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936-1951, or the International Center of Photography, which actually shows until September 2, 2012, grim photos in Weegee: Murder is my business.

And then there are countless little museums and galleries sporting New York related photography. But that would lead us astray right here...

NYC Goes Three Ways

Late, waaay late, I know, but it's well worth watching it even these days. Just in case you don't live here and have no idea what I am talking aout: This video shows the recklessness of traffic participants in New York, motorized drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians alike - just on the intersection of 28th St and Park Ave South. Ron Gabriel says about his movie: "By summer 2010, the expansion of bike lanes exposed a clash of long-standing bad habits — such as pedestrians jaywalking, cyclists running red lights, and motorists plowing through crosswalks. The old habits exacerbate attempts to expand ways to use our streets; existing disfunction makes change more difficult." His master's thesis project at SVA focused on one intersection as a case study. "The video aims to show our interconnected role in improving the safety and usability of our streets." The campaign is named '3-Way Street' and is made up of a poster series, a video and website. Comments to this movie can be found on his website - and as one could expect, some of them are just confirming the stupidity of people in New York traffic.

JR in The South Bronx

GWNY150a, a photo by jankor on Flickr.

Paste-up under the Bruckner Highway in The Bronx, New York, NY, by the artist JR for his "Inside Out Project". See more here in my Street Art set.

We know what pain is

... but that doesn't keep us from sailing. For the crew of "Mistral IV" the season starts probably next week.

Steerer

Steerer, a photo by jankor on Flickr.

More New York lingo, this time crook speak!

More New York lingo, this time quoted from the peculiar Almanac for New Yorkers, 1939 (p. 123), edited by the Federal Writer's Project:

Underworld Lingo

When crooks talk out of the corners of their mouths the words issuing there from might puzzle or frighten a good citizen. For the underworld speaks a sort of code lingo of its own intended only for use by the boys in the family. The words are vigorous, highly descriptive, often contemptuous. "Cow-simple" means to be in love. A "tomato can" is a policeman's badge. However, up-and-coming criminals must learn the lingo the hard way, for crime syndicates are not known to distribute textbooks on the subject. Here are a few pointers:

Alvin: a rustic; a hick; an out-of town visitor
Boob: a jail
Booster: a shoplifter
Cannon: a pickpocket
Case the joint: to inspect the scene of a proposed crime
Chop suey: shut up
Cow-simple: girl crazy
Cush: a wallet
Ding: to beg on the main street
Dummy racket: beggar pretending that he is deaf and dumb
Finger: a pickpocket
Five specker: a five-year term in prison
Gay cat: a tramp who works occasionally
Glue: to take, steal
He's away: he's in prison
Jiggers: shut up, look out, be careful
Johnson: a tramp
Junk: dope
Lamister: fugitive, escaped convict
Mickey: a bottle
Mope: walk
Mug: cop, detective
Prowler: a house burglar
Riffler: a beggar
Roscoe: a gun
Rumbled: detected while committing a crime
Screw: a prison guard
Shiv: a knife
Slang: watch chain
Steerer: crook who introduces victims to a gang
Super: a watch
Tomato can: policeman's badge
Topped: executed via the chair or gallows
Twist: a girl
White Line: alcohol

Example: "The steerer got an alvin. We took his super and cush-some mugs rumbled us, flashed the tomato cans, and now we're in the boob with a five specker."


See also my quotes of New York lingo from the 1938 issue of the Almanac in the picture Whatchawaidinfoar?

Squirrel!

Whatchawaidinfoar? New Yawk Tawlk isn't that easy to accomplish - especially if you don't want to give away that you are not from here (unlike the real local pictured above I recently met in Madison Square). This problem isn't new - and was addressed already in the olden times. If you check out the 1938 Almanac for New Yorkers (14.5 MB, p. 114 f.), you'll find some extraordinarily funny descriptions of the local way to speak. Do you mind if I quote?


In a manner of Speaking.......

IT IS FUTILE to quibble with academicians who deny that New Yorkers speak English, since herewith is presented sufficient evidence to prove that New Yorkese, however the savants may classify it, is at least as fruity and full-flavored as ever proper English could be.

Braykidup, braykidup: Policeman's suggestion to any group of loiterers.

Wazzitooyuh? Delicate rebuff to an excessively curious questioner.

Wannamayksumpnuvvit? Invitation to a brawl.

Tsagayg: Sophisticated expression of polite incredulity.

Wattitcha? To a gentleman with facial contusions or (colloq.) a shiner.

Oppkar-goynop: One third of the vocabulary necessary to operate an elevator.

Donkar-goyndon: Another third of the vocabulary necessary to elevator operators.

Ollowayback-Jayzagate: The remaining third.

Takadiway: "Please remove it from sight immediately."

Domebeeztoopid: Expressing specific disagreement, with undertones of disparagement.

Statnylant: The place on the horizon where good ferries go.

Whuzzup? Request for information, any information.

Waddadajintzdoodisaft? "Did the New York National League baseball team win today, I hope?" (Except in Brooklyn)

Ladderide: Warning not to pursue the subject further.

Hootoadjuh? "Please give the source of your information."

Whyntchalookeryagoyn? Rhetorical expression of relief used (by motorists esp.) after a near-collision.

Filladuppigen: To a sympathetic bartender. Eventually elicits the response ....

Toovadanuffbud: From the same sympathetic bartender.

Duhshuh-ul: An underground railway connecting Times Square and Grand Central Terminal.

Domeblokadoor: An usher, or guard, in full cry.

Sowaddyasaybabe or Hozzabotutbabe: Prelude to romance.

Steptiddyrearidybuspleez: Bus driver's request whenever two or three passengers are gathered together.

Nyesplayshagottere: On first looking into a friend's apartment.

Welyecut: Antiphonal response for host and hostess.

Saddy: Last day of the week.

Sumpmscroowie: A note of suspicion.

Plennyaseatsnabalkny: Optimism outside a motion picture theater; not entirely trustworthy.

Scramltoowisydafrench: a short-order is given.

Onnafyah: A short-order is being prepared.

Wahgoozidoo? Cynical dejection.

Assawayigoze: Philosophical interjection for conversational lulls.
(C. D. H. & J. R.)

Thanks to Shawn Chittle for this peculiar find!

Listen yourself

Rocketboom New York spoke with dialect designer and dialect coach Amy Stoller to find out about NY's lingo secrets:



And ya can imagine, therawre plenty moar funny vids of howta acquire da rite accent...

New York Panoramas

Long time no posting - there were plenty of things to do recently and I couldn't make any time for this. But now - here are some dozen pictures from New York in stretched formats, showing that New York can also be horizontally intriguing, not only vertically. Enjoy - either in the New York Panorama set on my Flickr page or here at Flickriver!

Who owns the East Village?

A much disputed new blog heats up the discussion between East Vilage residents on the one side and the New York Times and New York University on the other side.

Follow the discussion at E.V. Grieve's blog in the commentaries of the noteworthy After helping ruin the East Village, NYU turns its attention to covering it. All necessary links are in the article.

NY Times press release: NYTimes.com to Collaborate with New York University for 'Local' East Village Community Site

Some short snippets of reactions here on Curbed

Flickring again

At a crossroads
After nearly two years I started posting on Flickr again. Check out the two new series:
I ♥ New York: Variations about the famous slogan
Guess Where in New York?: For active co-guessers and in addition to my book, here you can join the fun of guessing what's where in the city.
Or just check out my Flickr page anyway.

I LEGO NY

How in the world could I have missed I LEGO NY by Christoph Niemann?

Tudor City limo

Tudor City with a twist

Winter Returns to the City

February 10th, winter returns to the city. After missing the predicted Snowmageddon some days earlier which put Washington DC under a fat layer of snow, New York got its equal share on Wednesday. Here are some impressions from Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Enjoy.

Catching some snow balls on the dog run

Dotted camouflage on Ave A

Blue and white serendipity

There's more yellow in the city than that of cabs.

Nothing is as hard as life is.

Boy, am I happy about this fence

I ♥ New York: Rats

On rats, ha. Or mangafied. Or in trees. Or traffic lights. Nevertheless: I ♥ New York

I ♥ New York: Mangafied

Mangafied pasteup on newspaper box.

I ♥ New York: Hearts in Trees

The city of hearts in trees, or elsewhere

xmasstressed

I feel just slightly stressed out. Schreibt ein Freund: "Du hattest schon immer viel um die Ohren. "

Yep. Die letzten 3 Tage:

60 Birdland Years

It has been a good year for Lee Konitz: Just four years after starting his professional career, he just had teamed up with the Miles Davis group to record Birth of the Cool, he started out as a band leader on his Subconscious-Lee on Prestige Records. The thing he reportedly regrets: He turned down an opportunity to work with Benny Goodman.

Now this year comes to an end. On December 15, 1949, Konitz is about to get ready for a concert in Midtown Manhattan, precisely said at 1678 Broadway, just north of 52nd St, also known as Swing Street. Lee Konitz joins the opening celebrations for a little jazz club which is named after one of the greatest: Birdland.

Our house - 1920!

Yeah, time's flyin'. Just found our house in a picture from 1920! It's the little white one just left and behind the smokestack in the foreground.


It's just a magnified crop from a picture of the P.S. 122 on E 9th St & 1st Ave. This picture was taken in 1920 and is available through the New York Public Library's Digital Collections. What a treasure box.

Google streetview censored again?

Looking for a picture of New York's smallest Pakistani Deli, (Lahore @ 132 Crosby St.)I switched to Google streetview - and found this:

Check out this streetview and you'll find out why.