These are granite borings from the curb on the west side of Eighth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets. A block above the Port Authority this stretch is a heavily trafficked pedestrian corridor. During the Giuliani administration (1994-2002) the city put fences to keep people from overflowing into the street. I was living in Times Square at the time and asked the workers if I could have some of the borings.

The fences were a bad idea, and came down in 2017 when the city added 9 feet of walking space in the street, but they took the old granite curbs away in the process. replacing them with concrete. One block north the curbs are still granite though.

Found in Hell’s Kitchen.

Street cleaning truck’s curb broom. Found 51 Street and 11th Avenue, Hell’s Kitchen.

A series of photos of a fire on West 51st Street, west of 11th Ave, 1977.

Taken by my neighbor Dorothy Alexander. Plucked from the trash with permission.