New York

Greenpoint yards /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Yards
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
July 2016

Eight or nine months have gone by since I took these pictures. I remember it was a hot day and I was sad and anxious—sad from the recent ending of a long term relationship and anxious about my rapidly approaching departure from New York. I went for a walk around my neighbourhood with my camera, to look at things outside myself. It seems appropriate that I ended up making a portrait of these sad plants and sad yards.

South Beacon Firetower hike, Beacon /  by Liesl Pfeffer

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Breakneck Ridge, Beacon, NY
October 2015

We hiked up Mount Beacon to the firetower, a steep and very rocky trail with incredible views of Beacon, the Hudson River and the surrounding valley. The trail is a series of switchbacks alongside an old incline railway track, which goes past the remains of the brick building that housed the machinery for the railway, and up to the firetower. I complained quite a lot (that's how I hike) (it was really rocky) (it made my feet hurt!) (it took hours) but the view from the top was rewarding and so was the chocolate Adam brought for me to eat when we rested half way up and the beer we had when we got back down. Ummm, I'm a baby.

City Island, Bronx /  by Liesl Pfeffer

City Island, Bronx, NY
November 2015

Afraid that soon it would be too cold for day tripping, in early November we went on a little adventure up to City Island in the Bronx. It's been on my list of things to do in New York for oh... four years. City Island is a small island (one mile wide and one and a half miles long) with a ship building past and a sleepy old town feeling (you really don't feel like you're in NYC anymore. But you are!) It takes about an hour and a half to get there from Brooklyn (two trains and a bus) so I guess that why it took us a while to get around to visiting. 

On our walk down the main street of the island, we found two church thrift stores. I bought an amazing boat themed sweater for $2 and Adam bought a new-looking pair of Doc Martens for $5. We trawled through a couple of nautical-junk filled antique stores (Nicolas bought small glasses for 50c apiece) and then ended up at the main attraction, Johnny's on the water, at the southern end of the island. We went for the seafood but we stayed for the pina coladas. This place is a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy, with old school signage, baskets of fried seafood and a seagull-filled patio area, and cafeteria tables where leather clad bikers sit alongside old ladies drinking daiquiris. It is as excellent as it sounds. 

Chipmunk Hollow /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Chipmunk Hollow, NY
December 2014

A place with a silly name where I spent the weekend for an office holiday party. It snowed and snowed, as it seemed to do all winter in New York. The surface of the lake froze and I tried to step on it because I have never walked on a frozen lake but the ice broke and my shoe was drenched with cold, cold water. Still learning lessons in America. 

Nicolas in Chipmunk Hollow /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Nicolas, Chipmunk Hollow, NY
December 2014

Nicolas and I went on a photo walk around the house we were staying for the office christmas party. He took my portrait with his twin lens reflex and I worried I was going to waste his expensive film. I accidentally took the top portrait of Nicolas as a double exposure; magic.

Woodstock /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Flea market and mural, Woodstock NY
November 2014

Nothing like bears, crystals and rainbows to get my attention. Sadly the store being advertised in this mural was closed when we walked by. I did get a beautiful Woolrich fair isle sweater from the flea market though! 

Hudson Opera House /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Hudson Opera House, NY
November 2014

The Hudson Opera House is New York state's oldest surviving theatre. Built in 1855, and currently in a pretty tired (but beautiful) state of decline, funds are being raised for its restoration. 

More tacos, this time in Bushwick /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Bushwick NY
October 2014

Our second Taquistadores taco tour took us across to Bushwick. Since it's my old neighborhood I mapped our journey based on a mixture of old haunts, recommendations and positive Yelp reviews. We tried tacos at five different spots:

Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos
Taqueria Sofia 
Taqueria El Paisa (both locations)
Taquerias Izucar Inc

The El Paisa on Myrtle Ave was hands down the best, with their amazing condiments and little extras like fried onions (see the top photo in this post). 

Playing pool in a dive bar in Sunset park /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Sunset Park, NY
September 2014

After eating five tacos at five different taco spots on a very sunny day in late summer, we needed a beer. We stopped at this old Irish bar where we were encouraged to take over the back room, presumably because our youth was killing the old man vibe out front. We proceeded to play some of the worst quality pool of our lives as we crashed off our taco high and felt the heat stroke start to kick in.