Bayonne Bridge Appreciation Society (S.I. Chapter)

The "heat dome" has evaporated, or whatever heat domes do, leaving cooler evenings. I was accosted a few weeks ago by my parking spot neighbor. He tapped on my window. I rolled the window down (or pushed the button that did so). "Do you know which bridge this is?" he asked pulling out a photograph from an envelope. I blanked for a few seconds before coming up with answer. "People should know the bridge they can see from their balcony," he continued. "It's a beautiful bridge," I said. "Did you know it's the sister bridge of the Sydney Harbour Bridge? Everybody knows about that bridge but nobody cares about this one."

He's right that you can find lots of fan sites for the SHB on-line, including "20 Facts About the Syndey Harbour Bridge," which don't mention it's New York-New Jersey model. The BB opened in November 1931 (months ahead of schedule!), nearly a year before the SHB (more here). Maybe it would have gotten more respect if it had been called the Kill Van Kull Bridge (KVKB).

Sugar Donut

Already steamy at 7:30, I dropped off the car at the Honda service place and walked a few blocks back to Hylan Boulevard to check out the Royal Crown Bakery. Not clear which crown the name refers to since it turns out to be a traditional, and fine, Italian bakery. I settle on an ice coffee and a sugar donut. Sitting on the patio, I watch the traffic on Hylan Boulevard. A woman in a dress sprints for a bus. I hope she makes it, especially in this heat.

My father maintained a life-long quest for a good old-fashioned donut. He would have enjoyed this one. Though I'm sure he would have been here 15 minutes before the service center opened, rather than 15 minutes after.

Bridge to Bridge

Another afternoon on the Staten Island ferry, another fast-moving storm.

Leaving South Ferry. Brooklyn Bridge receding into fog.

Like boats in the mist...

At anchor.

Arrival in St. George. Clearing over the Verrazano Bridge.

Woodhaven Runs on Dunkin'

A full service Dunkin' Donuts off Cross Bay Boulevard.

I See a See-Saw

31st Ave. near St. Michaels Park under the BQE in Woodside.

Bumper to Bumper

Triumph TR4 on a Chelsea Street.

Blue Boat

The road is rough but the car is smooth.

Many streets of Staten Island are getting a summer make-over. Now it's Forest Avenue's turn (at Richmond Road).

High Art

The new Whitney offers a great view of the West Side Highway and the Hudson River.

Somehow, the vaunted High Line is less impressive from above.

The fine Danny Lyon retrospective, Message to the Future, includes quite a few photographs from Civil Rights era protests, including this one from Georgia 1963 used as a poster by SNCC. 51 years later, and the question lingers.

Walking the Dog

A billboard-size painting greets cars on Van Duzer Street from inside the friendly confines of the Serpentine Art and Nature Commons. The Commons was mentioned in the Times Real Estate section profile of Grymes Hill, Staten Island. The artwork is by Class 5-306 at PS42 in Eltingville.

Dappled Things

The retaining wall of the BQE, on Friday morning, provides a nice canvas for shadows of the solid and the not so solid.

How to Make a Harbor Donut

It's pretty common to see Coast Guard gunboats accompanying the Staten Island Ferry. Yesterday, one off the Brooklyn (starboard) side of a South Ferry-bound boat elicited from tourists such a flurry of "oohs," pointing, and cellphone photographs that I thought someone had sighted a whale in the harbor. Earlier in the week, from the same spot, I made these photographs of what should be a pretty fun maneuver as the boat cuts back to cover the other side of the ferry.

Red Rite and Blue

Feeling very patriotic on the BQE. Happy

Fourth of July!

Signs of the T-Times

Trump Links, at the foot of the  feels a long way from Balmedie.

A fan on Manor Road, Staten Island. Hoping my vote offsets his...