Parades in NYC

New York City hosts a lot of parades all over the city.  A lot!

During our year in NYC, we have seen our fair share of parades in Manhattan.  Here are some photos of three of the parades we saw.  

Nigerian Independence Day Parade (October 24, 2015, along Second Avenue):

Greek Independence Day Parade (April 10, 2016, along Fifth Avenue):

Celebrate Israel Parade (June 5, 2016, along Fifth Avenue):

Touring NYC: The United Nations Headquarters (Part 2 of 2)

The tour continues.

Artwork at the United Nations Headquarters:  Artwork contributed by UN member countries can be found throughout the UNHQ. 

A gift from Spain, a mural showing the creation of the UN.  Our excellent tour guide explained the meaning.

A gift from the USA on the 40th anniversary of the UN--a Norman Rockwell mosaic with the Golden Rule

The Hall of the U.N. General Assembly:

Panoramic view of the General Assembly Hall

View of the General Assembly Hall

General Assembly Hall:  one of two enormous murals--abstract to avoid offending anyone.  The artist said that the viewer can see in it whatever he wants to see.  Painted by French artist Fernand Leger. 

The other mural in the General Assembly Hall.  Harry S. Truman:  “I just don’t understand this.  It looks to me to be scrambled eggs,”  

Pop Quiz Answer:  Slaughterhouses.  They were demolished to make way for the UNHQ.

Turtle Bay in 1946, future site of the U.N. Headquarters, with the Queensboro Bridge in the distance

Demolition of the Turtle Bay site to make way for the U.N. Headquarters

Touring NYC: The United Nations Headquarters (Part 1 of 2)

We recently ventured to Turtle Bay, about 10 blocks from our apartment building.  Turtle Bay (yes, there was once a knife-shaped bay along the East River before it was filled in) is the home of the United Nations Headquarters.  We took a guided tour and learned a lot.  

Below are some photos from our tour.  Enjoy.

Pop Quiz:  What was located on the 18 acres before the UNHQ was constructed there? 

The exterior of the UNHQ:

View of the UNHQ, General Assembly Building

Some random dude walking in front of the UNHQ

Nearly 200 flags line the avenue in front of the UNHQ.  192 flags representing the 192 member nations--from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe--plus some other flags.

The seal of the UN.  This  view of the world is seen from the North Pole and is used so as to avoid putting any one country at the center of the image.

Scale model of the UNHQ

View of the front lawn of the UNHQ, from inside the building.

View of the UNHQ, the Secretariat Building

View of the UNHQ's north end near 48th Street, following demolition of a temporary, low-rise office building.  The location will be restored to its original design--"the North Lawn", an expansive green space with a sculpture garden.

The U.N. Security Council Chamber: 

Panoramic view of the Security Council Chamber

View of the Security Council Chamber

Mural in the Security Council Chamber--phoenix rising from the ashes, representing the modern world following World War II

The wallpaper of the Security Council Chamber represents faith (anchor), hope (wheat) and charity (hearts)

Next up:  Part 2, artwork and the General Assembly Hall.

The New York Yankees

We ventured to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx a while back for an evening of baseball.  It turned out that it was Cap Night and we scored two sweet NYY baseball caps.  The game was fun to watch and we enjoyed some dogs and soda.  Good times in the Bronx. 

Yankee Stadium with the Bronx in the background.  The weather was perfect--clear skies, cool temp, low humidity.

Some random dude enjoying a corn dog.

Bastille Day, July 14

We celebrated the 14th of July with a French-American play followed by a meal.at Mon Petit Cafe.

The play, An Attic Full of Hope, was performed at the French Institute Alliance Française near our apartment.  The performers were talented middle and high school students from the Bronx and from Nanterre in Paris.  Nanterre is the Bronx of Paris.  The play is the result of a cultural exchange program program.  Last year, the Bronx students performed the play in Paris.  This year, the Nanterre students performed the play in NYC.  

The play is a collection of vignettes with a loose story line.  The French actors performed their scenes in French and the American actors performed their scenes in English and Spanish.  (Thank goodness for subtitles.)

What struck us about the play was the energy and emotion the actors put into their performance.  They had written many of the stories based on personal experience.  Since some of the stories addressed serious topics (abuse, bullying, poverty, unemployment, immigration), the play was compelling. 

Following the play, we ventured to a French-style cafe and enjoyed cheese and other morsels, with a oui bit of champagne to celebrate. 

Photo of the French-American cast of An Attic Full of Hope

Photo of the cast.  Note the dude with the cool hair.

Photo of Mon Petit Cafe, at 62nd and Lex

P.S.  Sadly, July 14 was the day of the terrible attack in Nice.

Federal Hall

Federal Hall, located on Wall Street, is the site of George Washington's first inauguration.  Below is a photo from an earlier post, showing a statue of Washington commemorating that event.  The statue is located on the steps of the current Federal Hall, which replaced the building where Washington was actually inaugurated.

Federal Hall National Memorial on Wall Street.  Site of the first capitol of the United States under the Constitution.  Site of the April 30, 1789 inauguration of President George Washington.  The current building pictured above replaced the original building and was constructed in the 1830's-1840's.

We recently ventured inside Federal Hall. Below are some photos from our visit.

In the large rotunda of Federal Hall, a photo of columns and the clock with a golden eagle

Photo of Federal Hall's dome and oculus

Photo of a large stone plaque commemorating the first presidential inauguration. 

A scale reproduction of Federal Hall at the time of Washington's inauguration.  If you look closely, you can see President Washington (the tall dude)

On Your Feet

A fun fact.  Many of the Broadway musicals operate daily lotteries of one sort or another.  

You can enter daily for a chance to win to the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets for a performance later the same day.  Some tickets are half-priced.  Others are deeply discounted, like the $10 seats available in the Hamilton lottery   

The Hamilton lottery is especially amazing. The $10 seats happen to be in the front row.  (By the way, winning the Hamilton lottery is about as unlikely as winning Powerball.  At least, there is no fee to enter any of the lotteries.)

We recently won the On Your Feet lottery.  On Your Feet is the story of the Emilio and Gloria Estefan.  It is a well-done jukebox musical.  Aside from the great songs, the story is well told and acted.  Plus, the dancing is wonderful.  If you have a chance to see it, we recommend it.   

Movin' on Up!--Construction Update #4

Construction continues.  In this update, the basement and ground floor are completed.   

June 4, 2016, before and after a big pour.  The basement is being completed with pouring of the basement floors and walls.

Before:  Rebar and forms for pouring concrete walls visible, left and top left (6/4/2016)

After:  Concrete poured to form a basement floor, right (6/4/2016)

June 30 and July 1, moving upward:

Pouring a basement floor/ceiling above the lowest basement floor, left; erecting scaffolds to support the ground level floor, right  (6/30/2016)

After the latest pour, erecting more scaffolding to support the ceiling of the basement and the ground level floor, left and right  (7/1/2016)

Lunch break (7/1/2016)

July 18, 2016:

Starting the big pour of the basement ceiling/ground floor (7/18/2016)

July 20, 2016:

Ground floor, poured and curing (7/20/2016)

So, after more than 8 months of digging downward and building upward, the future 35-story tower has reached the ground floor.