109th & 3rd Ave [NE Corner] (March 2014)

An abandoned building in East Harlem, its windows cemented shut with cinder blocks. This stretch of "Spanish Harlem" isn't as bleak as it looks in this photo, though. Especially when New JFK Fried Chicken & Pizza offers "Breakfast-Burgers-Pizza-Seafood-Ice Cream-Soda."     CLICK TO ENLARGE

Flushing Ave & St. Nicholas Ave [Bushwick, Brooklyn] (March 2014)

The graffiti / street art scene in Bushwick, Brooklyn is strong to very strong.      CLICK TO ENLARGE

34th & 5th Ave (Then and Now) [1940 and 2014]

"Then-n-Now!"

In 1940, the corner building, directly across from the Empire State Building, housed Fine Bros (which Google doesn't seem to know anything about) and Dr. Scholl's Foot Comfort Shop. It also featured some nice 'eyebrow'-like architectural features on the roof line. In the foreground, the "LON" ledge represents the northeast corner of the Empire State Building. A 1940s man appears to be urinating on that ledge. Today, it is home to Heartland Brewery. And, apparently the Fifth Avenue traffic direction has changed from north (1940) to south (2014).  CLICK TO ENLARGE
[Thanks to David Zar @zarpropertyny for sending this 1940 photo]

Here's a bonus photo of the very beginning of the Empire State Building construction in 1930 (from WiredNewYork)

Broome St & Mott St (February 2013)

Old folks make their way through the snow in Chinatown, near Oro Bakery and Bar.  CLICK TO ENLARGE

8th & Avenue D [NW Corner] (February 2014)

Adames Deli Grocery bodega in the East Village, Alphabet City. In the background: A Con Edison smokestack and the Jacob Riis Houses public housing project.     CLICK TO ENLARGE