Photo by myself in Bryant Park, at 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue.
What looks like an intense battle of killer chess was actually a good-natured game between acquaintances.
I was truly surprised by how friendly and light-hearted the crowd at Bryant Park was. People seemed to know each other and were having a good time. The instructor told me that the same players convene every day during the summer months.
Below, a rapid fire game, where each player had three minutes on the clock. At one point, it was a flurry of hands.
For the Bryant Park chess page, click here.
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Photo by myself in Bryant Park, around 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown.
What better exercise than skating around, with the Empire State Building in the background?
The outdoor rink in Bryant Park is open free to the public 8am-10pm every day, until March 1st. All you need to bring are your skates and fancy footwork.
Yes, it is kind of cold here, but it's not so terrible. People walk around in hats and scarves and long underwear, while knowing that in the grand scheme of things, 'it is not so bad'. That is, we're not suffering through hail, piles of snow or bitter winds. It could be worse.
For the Bryant Park ice rink website, click here.
Related posts: And the Crowd Roared, in Bryant Park, Skating, Under the Empire State, and Skating In-Line, in Prospect Park.
Photo by myself, around 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown.
Above, the universal stance used when taking a picture of a tall building with one's phone.
There is a glut of tall, glass buildings along Sixth Avenue. Behind me, Bryant Park provides a welcomed relief from all the pavements and other hard surfaces. You can see some of the park trash cans, painted light green and resembling plant life.
There is no lack of food stuffs, food kiosks and food carts. You will never go hungry here, as long as you have a buck or twelve.
On the left, a kiosk for 'Wichcraft, a chain of restaurants owned by Tom Colicchio, one of the judges on Top Chef. The 'wich' part is from 'sandwich', as in 'high end sandwich with a mix of snazzy ingredients'.
It's Labor Day weekend, in the States. Everyone is enjoying an extra-long weekend. Hooray!
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Photo by myself in Bryant Park.
An absolute no-brainer idea of the times - a solar-powered charging station that is free to use. Its solar panel is smartly angled south. I'm sure these exist in other cities too, though possibly not outside?
Currently there are only 45 of these in the five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island). I'm surprised there aren't more.
For a map of charging station locations in New York, click here.
ps: We've had the least humid August here, ever. Usually it is absolutely unbearable, but this year, August feels like how October 'should' feel.
Is it the same in your neck of the woods?
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Photo by myself in Bryant Park, around 40th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Nestled among trees on the south side of Bryant Park, sits a carousel. It's the carousel of your dreams, with carved animals to sit on and lights and music. A couple kids were excitedly anticipating their ride, Thursday evening.
Tickets are $3 each. Just steps away, there were 3-minute chess games going on, a book reading, some people practicing hula hoops, and the usual many, many clusters of people chatting or just enjoying the evening.
This park is surrounded by buildings and is widely used, year round. During lunch time, the lawn is filled with office workers taking lunch hour. After work hours, there are free movies playing on a giant screen, and various free activities, ranging from yoga to bocce.
We've been having glorious weather recently, which is unheard of for August in the city, with sunny days and very low humidity. TGIF everyone!
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Photo by myself around 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue.
The Empire State Building was lit up purple, last Friday night. Its reflection was cast on a building near Bryant Park, which is behind me to the right.
As you can see, there are piles and piles of snow still leftover. Since the piles are located far from the curb, they're refreshingly white. Normally, the piles along the street are much grungier and littered with trash. Ick.
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Photo by myself in Bryant Park, in Midtown.
Throughout this summer, Bryant Park has hosted special evenings with 'Accordions around the World'. The night I was there, I think there were thirteen accordion players scattered around the park.
Every Thursday evening, you can hear accordions playing every sort of tune. Accordion players from Norway, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan...you name it. Playing gypsy music, jazz, klezmer tunes...and so on!
There are two more Thursday nights to the summer left. For a description of this event on the Bryant Park website, click here.
Happy Friday, everyone!
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Photo by myself in Bryant Park, in Midtown.
Scores of yoga enthusiasts were on their mats and stretching, in Bryant Park. In the rain, no less!
Apparently this public yoga has been going on for ten years now, on Thursday evenings. It's one of the many free events going on in this relatively small park.
The yoga instructor had a microphone, so everyone could hear his instructions broadcast on large speakers.
For a schedule of events, click here.
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Photo by myself, in Bryant Park.
The lawn at Bryant Park is all set for the summer - all grown in and freshly mowed. The main branch of the New York Public Library sits at the east end of the lawn.
I took this photo last night. As you can see, this space is well lit. Several strong lights sit on top of a tall office building across the street on the west side, behind where I'm standing.
On Monday nights during the summer months, free movies are played outside. The lawn is packed with people. Usually people go very early to stake out their spots.
Edit: To my horror, I posted another very, very similar photo a month ago, before the grass had grown in. Egad. You can see it here.
Related posts: Dusk in Bryant Park, Under the Canopies in Bryant Park, and Free Flicks in Bryant Park.
Photo by myself in Bryant Park, at 41st Street and Sixth Avenue, in Midtown.
The view of Bryant Park at night is a peaceful one.
Wednesday night we finally had nice weather. No icy winds. No rain. Hurrah!
At the East end of the park lies the main branch of the New York Public Library. A large fountain spouting water was all lit up.
Photo by myself in Bryant Park, in Midtown.
Monday night, the Empire State Building was all lit up in green and blue. This photo was taken in Bryant Park, about seven blocks north.
During the winter, there is a raised area for seating and an ice rink. People were out skating while 'Grease' was being shown on a giant movie screen.
The colors for the Empire State Building are scheduled well in advance, and the colors often have symbolic meaning. These are LED lights, so technically, the color selection is limitless.
According to the ESB website, Monday's green and blue symbolized 'the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy and International Corporate Philanthropy Day'.
Ha.
For the schedule of light colors, click here.
Related posts: The Empire State Building, Bathed in White, The View from Bryant Park, at Dusk, and Under the Canopies, in Bryant Park.
Photo by myself in Bryant Park, at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue.
My favorite time of day is just before darkness, when all the street lights turn on.
There is something European about Bryant Park. Perhaps it's the formal squares of planting, or the little cafe chairs spread about? In any case, surrounded by tall buildings, the park is a welcome relief to the hard edges of Midtown.
A shoeless fellow napped while witting on a cafe chair, in Bryant Park. It must have been perfect napping weather.
This photo is from the stash. Bryant Park is the ideal place to nap, under the cover of tall trees. In the background is the carousel, which runs pretty much all year.
A fellow sat with his envious little Yorkshire Terrier in Bryant Park, Tuesday afternoon.
The fellow was eating something delicious, while listening to his i-device. Meanwhile, his little dog was licking her chops.
The lawn was out of frame to the left, where office workers were already lying about. We've been having cool-ish and damp weather lately, but that hasn't stopped anyone from enjoying the outdoors.
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Some photos from the stash show a couple things: the cliche about New Yorkers being overworked may be true after all, and that Bryant Park serves as a convenient rest stop.
Bryant Park is surrounded by tall-ish office towers. In the warmer months it's difficult to find a seat, let alone a spot of grass on the lawn.
During lunch, I have seen men take off their ties, shirts and undershirts to tan. Egad.
We had a gorgeous Spring-like day earlier in the week, and it seemed quite magical at dusk.
Bryant Park is not a large park, surrounded by tall office buildings. A lawn is circled by paved terraces and plantings. In the summertime during lunch hour, the lawn is usually packed with people, in various stages of undress.
A large fountain is located at the western end, out of view. On the eastern end, behind and to my right, is the main branch of the New York Public Library.
Photo by myself in Bryant Park.
One of the many scheduled activities in Bryant Park is juggling.
For not a large park, Bryant Park is very busy. Besides fencing, petanque, chess, ping pong, movies and musical performances, you can learn how to juggle every Tuesday evening, free of charge (!).
I met Alex, the instructor (above left), the other day. He was super-friendly and offered to teach me how to juggle. I opted to watch, as Alex and a visitor talked about juggling tricks.
Alex can juggle up to 5 objects and professed the largest thing he ever juggled was a basketball.
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Photo by myself in Bryant Park.
The ice rink is all set up in Bryant Park. It was packed with people, Friday night.
From now til February, you can skate for free, if you bring your own ice skates. A huge Christmas tree stands at one end of the rink. In the background, you can see the Empire State Building, which is just a few blocks south.
Many little kiosks are arranged around the rink selling gifts and food for the holiday season. There are even outdoor seating areas for groups to sit and have hot cider. There are restaurants and outdoor bars.
In the last few years, Bryant Park has made an incredible transformation. It used to be that there was no real place to hang out in Midtown. 'Going downtown' after work meant going out to eat or have fun. Not any longer.
For more about the activities in Bryant Park, click for their website here.
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Photo by myself near Bryant Park, at 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue.
Here's a night view, just across the street from Bryant Park. The park would be to the right.
An atrium space with a high ceiling is just ahead. Above and out of view is the rest of the building, which is a tower, at least 25 stories high.
To the right is the view down Sixth Avenue. You can see other tall buildings lining the street.
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