Surfing in the city

I didn't brave the board, but it was fun to dip my toes in the water and watch surfers skimming along at Rockaway Beach. Walk down the boardwalk, admire Whalemina (a cetacean covered in raucous mosaic), and grab a coconut smoothie from Caracas Rockaway before heading home on the A train.

Locks of love

They're commonplace in Paris (on, say, the Pont de l'Archevêché and the Pont des Artes) and they show up even farther afield -- in Cologne, Florence, Uruguay, Taiwan. But I haven't before seen any "love locks" in New York.

Is this single lonely lock -- painted purple, pink, and white, and signed with the initials J and G -- affixed midway across Pulaski Bridge the start of a trend? 

LIC Arts Open 2012

Dropped by one of the LIC Arts Opens's "Nabe Nites" -- at 2 Gotham Center, right on Queens Plaza South. Great installations in vacant retail space; also pretty cool because it's an area with such heavy foot traffic -- people on the street couldn't help but poke their heads in to see what was going on, decidedly more democratic than many other city art events.

Tomorrow is the Vernon Boulevard Nabe Nite Out, and Friday's focus is Jackson Avenue. The festival continues through May 20, and there's tons to see. Just a few highlights if you plan on hitting the neighborhood this weekend: a Bill Bollinger retrospective at the Sculpture Center (44-19 Purves Street, on through July 30); the 10x10 benefit auction (Saturday) and exhibition at Art Plus LIC (43-01 22nd Street); a block party on 22nd Street between 43rd and 44th Avenue (Saturday, between noon and 6); and, of course, open studios at PaintCan Studios (10-10 44th Avenue, third floor) and Reis Studios this weekend.

All on the line

People in New York still depend on clotheslines. Well, at least in Long Island City. (Taken May 12, 2012.)

To Flushing

We again embarked on a rather long walk today, heading from Astoria to Flushing. At the end of our walk waited this, the facade of what was once RKO Keith's Flushing Theater. It's still an attraction, in its own way; the plywood and graffiti and the lines of the original building make for a special combination. I don't know much about the building or its history, though it seems that this is what remains of a theater built by architect Thomas Lamb in the late 1920s; cinematreasures.org has a fascinating shot from inside the building, as well as some information on the machinations surrounding its demolition and/or redevelopment. Youtube user cartoonsonfilm also offers an interesting 2009 slideshow of the gutted interior.

Face to face

Loved these "sketches" of faces in black paint on the sidewalks of Greenpoint: but who's the artist? What's the story? Wish I knew.

Keep an eye out

Down in the Village, the walls are watchful.

Right this way

A colorful wall; yes, I suppose taking this turn would be just fine.

Casting a long shadow

The view from the High Line always give me a thrilling sense of omniscience; I was reminded of this again Sunday, seeing both the water towers and the shadows they cast on a nearby building.

Bright berries