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MAIN STREET, POUGHKEEPSIE, NY: In recent years, entrepreneurial Latino immigrants have started many businesses in depressed downtowns of small-town America, as evident here in New York State’s Hudson Valley. The money-transfer service, advertised on the cowboy leather shop, suggests that many immigrants are from Central America. (Photo by B.Godfrey)

#poughkeepsie #new york state #hudson valley #immigration #latinos #central america #bjg #cowboys #leather #el salvador #guatemala #honduras #street photography

ETHNIC NEW YORK CITY: A Chinese-Hispanic grocery indicates the multicultural experience on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. (Photo by B.Godfrey)

#new york city #nyc #ethnicity #ethnic geography #lower east side #les #photography #street photography #bjg #highlight

LOWER MANHATTAN SKYLINE: Note the changing visual profile of downtown since 9/11, particularly with the loss and rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex. I took these photos from the Staten Island Ferry and harbor cruises over the years I have lived in New York City.

On May 10, 2013, the final piece of the spire was lifted to the top of One World Trade Center, bringing the tower to its full height of 1,776 feet (541 m), and making it the fourth-tallest building in the world, as well as the tallest in the city, surpassing the 1,454-foot (443 m) Empire State Building.

At the time of their completion in 1973, the "Twin Towers"—the original 1 World Trade Center, at 1,368 feet (417 m); and 2 World Trade Center, at 1,362 feet (415.1 m)—were the tallest buildings in the world.

One World Trade Center would no longer hold its lofty designation, however, under a developer’s plan to supersize a 57th St. residential skyscraper. Gary Barnett wants to raise the top of the spire at his proposed Nordstrom Tower to 1,795 feet (547 m) — 19 feet taller than the one atop 1 World Trade Center.

Although the angles are slightly different in the three photos, I have tried in sizing them to keep the proportions constant with reference to the older buildings in front. Clearly Lower Manhattan has filled out a lot since 2001. There are many new highrise buildings, most notably One World Trade Center, which is slimmer but 408+ feet taller than the the old Twin Towers.

So there really has been a lot of change over the last two decades. as Lower Manhattan now booms with new construction. Creative destruction continues unabated in NYC: stay tuned in the highrise race to the sky!

#lower manhattan #highrise #skyscrapers #nyc #new york city #manhattan #1 world trade center #twin towers #nordstrom tower #favorites #bjg #highlight

WELCOME TO YIMBYTOWN: Yes In My Backyard!

The San Francisco Bay Area has long served as the cultural hearth of edgy social movements, but the latest one seems oddly against the accustomed liberal/left political mold. But the Bay Area’s notoriously high-priced housing market has given rise to a budding movement of pro-development “Yimby” (yes in my backyard) groups that advocate for building more housing in hopes of easing exploding rents and home prices. Today a group of 200 or so activists from around the country, as well as Britain and Canada, convene in Oakland for the “Yimbytown” conference.

The conference is another sign of momentum for the Yimby movement, which has clashed with the Bay Area’s liberal establishment. A year ago most Yimby groups were tiny ragtag operations, but today they are pushing bills in Sacramento and have attracted enough money from Silicon Valley and elsewhere that many activists have been able to quit their day jobs to do politics full time. Scott Wiener, the state senator from San Francisco who is pushing a bill that aims to force California cities to ramp up housing production, is scheduled to speak at the conference on tomorrow.

Read more: The New York Times (14 July 2017)

#yimbytown #yimby #pro-growth movement #pro-development #housing #neighborhoods #san francisco #San Francisco bay afea #favorites #highlight #bjg

WORLD HERITAGE: Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site

On July 9, 2017, UNESCO inscribed Brazil’s twenty-first World Heritage Site – Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site in Rio de Janeiro, where up to 900,000 enslaved Africans arrived in the Western Hemisphere. It was most active during the early 19th century, then buried under landfill for over a century before being rediscovered in 2011. Subsequently Valongo was added to UNESCO's "Slave Route project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage” in 2013.

Yesterday I revisited the site and happened upon an Afro-Brazilian celebration of the Valongo's enduring importance as a place of memory. UNESCO calls the site "the most important physical trace of the arrival of African slaves on the American continent." It was a joyous celebration, featuring drumming, music, and dance by the Filhos de Gandhi (Children of Gandhi) Afro-Brazilian cultural and spiritual group.

The Valongo Wharf heritage site still needs more development to explain its importance - what UNESCO calls "a holistic interpretation concept to communicate the multi-layered character of the property..." But it is a good beginning! An adjacent Museum of Slavery and Freedom is projected to complement the archeological site, along with other facilities to highlight this important place of memory.