In honor of the Snowpocalypse...

Tompkins Square, originally uploaded by Goggla.

Just another wintry day in Tompkins Square Park...

And check out the video to see all the glorious details...

Rainy night on the Bowery

Another rainy night on the Bowery, originally uploaded by Goggla.

Slogging through the cold wind and pouring rain, there it was, lit up like a lava lamp dribbling its liquid light all over the pavement.

Local color

Chico, originally uploaded by Goggla.

One of the very first memories I have of the East Village is of a Chico mural in Alphabet City. Vibrantly colored, his pieces celebrate the neighborhood, drawing out its best qualities in locations that can sometimes seem downtrodden. There are the murals that advertise local businesses, those that liven up a vacant wall, and then there are those that memorialize lost loved ones. These are my favorite as these give us a glimpse of the city not widely known: its vulnerability and tenderness.

The calm before the storm

The calm before the storm, originally uploaded by Goggla.

Sometimes the weather creeps up from behind without warning...

Aerial

Dormers, originally uploaded by Goggla.

I love the jumbly buildings that line the south side of Canal. They resemble a camp photo of gangly teens - varying heights, fragile, bursting with potential, gaudy and awkward. If they weren't propped up against each other, they might all fall like dominoes. Facing the sun, rise to set, they see and experience it all. The ever-present activity on Canal Street - cars, trucks, traffic cops, swarms of tourists, even bigger swarms of street vendors, hustlers, bustlers, vagabonds and tradespeople. The facades are ornate, detailed and worn, bold and fanciful like costume jewelry. Used and abused, often neglected, but still hanging on.