Harlem Gentrification

Gentrification in Harlem’s a sticky issue – yuppies vs. longtimers, rich vs. poor, new tastes vs. old favorites. On the corner of Lenox Avenue and 125th Street, old and new have found a way to coexist.

Epicurean Triumph and Culinary Tragedy

This was a weekend of good sights and bad.

On the bright side, Gracie, one of my Midtown East friends, had a nice apron and a good command of the grill.

But sadly, the Best Arby’s Ever, in downtown Brooklyn, has closed.

I Know What You Did This Summer

What have I been up to this summer? Plenty.

 

Going to Panera Bread

 

Staying one step ahead of the cops

Going out to the ballgame

 

Riding in vans with friends

Catching some random music

Holding books hostage (or simply forgetting to return them)

Summer is far from my favorite season because of the heatwaves, the social inconsistency (some people leave, others come for relatively short amounts of time), and (before coming to Trinity Grace) the way that small groups always took three months off, but this summer’s been alright.

Boston Daycation

Hey, guess what? Blog’s back.

I took a daycation to Boston yesterday and got a few interesting, attention-getting shots around town.

 

This shot, of a rambling, boarded-up house on Hyde Park Avenue, cost me 20-some minutes waiting for the next bus. Architectural gem, don’tcha think?

 

Obligatory shot of Boston Common in the late afternoon. True story: hula hooping is not as easy as it looks, as a couple Trinity Grace friends can probably attest.

 

And why settle for one picture of Boston Common when you can have two? The woman in the background might’ve been hurrying off to the Shakespeare performance nearby.

 

This cup of coffee was my daycation companion from 12 noon to 8pm, and I made sure it never stayed empty for long.

Limelight Marketplace

Last Friday, I couldn’t make the worship event at Trinity Grace, so I went to visit the moneychangers instead.

For my many non-native New Yorker friends, the Limelight opened in 1844 as the Holy Communion Episcopal Church, starting in the 19th century. Eventually, the church passed out of the Lord's hands, and housed the notorious Limelight nightclub.
After a season of debauchery and a season of abandonment, the sanctuary enters a season of shopping.

The Late, Great St. Vincent’s

Until last week, this was the ambulance entrance at St. Vincent's Hospital in Chelsea. Now, the doors have been boarded over, and the ambulances sit ready to transport those in need of medical attention to Bellevue or St. Luke's-Roosevelt.

Fun With Power Tools

At the end of Bent Fest tonight, I was asked to lend my “brooming skills” to help clean up a projector. This hunk of WIN was waiting for me at the scene of crime. The final performer had opened his act by chainsawing this projector in half. Unfortunately, I was clear on the other side of the (cavernous) room, and only heard a loud ROAR of applause.