AT THE THRESHOLD OF LIFE

SUBWAY IMPROVEMENTS

Photo: RDinNYC

I'm glad they're constantly fixing it up. You don't want an unpainted door sticking out like a sore thumb. How would that look?

Good Riddance to Bad Rubble?

The big ugly yellow building is gone at last! Thanks to E.V. Grieve for the photos from above. From the ground, it looked like the end of an error.

Alas, the Great Wall that is slated to take its place looks like something out of a horror movie.

Archaeology in Central Park: Digging Up the Remains of an African-American Village

Before there was Central Park, there was Seneca Village, largely African-American.

I knew there were displaced communities, but did not know that!

Turns out, they've dug up some artifacts, and they will be looking them over now that the digging's done.

There's a great deal more about this village here, courtesy of Columbia University. Learn something new today.

Mourning for demolition of history 35 Cooper Square

I was there yesterday. A rather somber gathering, and speakers vowing to preserve and landmark the rest of the Bowery, invoking its history.

Nice report here. Scroll down to see my hand holding an artwork sign showing the block before the bulldozers.

Sad we don't have a proper landmark review process in the city. I'm not for halting all development. In many cases, the historic sites can be integrated and repurposed. It's about keeping a sense of history and character, valuing what the past leaves us, not about stopping time.

We move toward a city that attracts people without keeping what attracted them here to begin with.