Greenpoint Warehouse
Just a quick one today. This is one of the coolest warehouse signs in Greenpoint: -SCOUT
Grove Street Surprise
I love being surprised by the city. Living in New York, you somehow adopt a jaded attitude that you’ve seen it all, which makes it even better when something unexpected comes along. As I was going down Grove St today, I passed a bus load of tourists gawking at the apartment used in the sitcom…
Grand Central Rats
Thousands of people go into Grand Central through the Lexington Ave entrance every day. I always wonder how many look up and see the rats also desperately trying to get in. I’m not quite sure I fully understand the symbolism, but, according to Forgotten NY, The Graybar building was once the nation’s focal point for…
Candy, Cobblers, and Revolvers
There are certain places in NYC that people rave about as being “so unique” and “must see.” I’m trying to think of good examples, but the only one that’s coming to mind is Magnolia Bakery, bakers of cupcakes whose recipe consists entirely of ludicrous amounts of sugar, butter, and flour. Don’t get me wrong, they’re…
Skulls, Orgasms, and Dionysis
Back to Manhattan, where I found myself scouting less and less frequently (it costs way less to shoot in any of the other boroughs). I started in the Lower East Side, or LES if you’re feeling lazy. I love the building ad for S. Beckenstein Fabrics, complete with arrows pointing to the door that takes…
Scouting Red Hook
I really don’t know Red Hook. I’ve been down once or twice before for shoots at the shipping docks, but I’ve always thought of it as a no-man’s-land. Among other reasons, there isn’t a subway anywhere in the area (the water taxi is the fastest option to the city), which pretty much kills it as…
Greenpoint Trees and Cobblestones
One of my favorite streets in Greenpoint, where I was scouting today, is Guernsey St. btw. Meserole and Norman. The street is lined with gnarled trees that are all bent over toward the middle, creating a canopy. It’s more impressive in the summer when it’s in bloom, but still pretty neat regardless. I’ve taken about…
East Williamsburg Factories, Sunset Park Warehouses
I spent the earlier part of today trolling through the factories of East Williamsburg/Bushwick looking for interesting blocks that could stand-in for an industrial section of Manhattan. One of the great parts about walking through these otherwise deserted stretches of Brooklyn are the smells. There are lots of factories making various food products, and different…
Tribeca into Soho
In my opinion, Tribeca is one of the more boring places to live in New York – everything seems to close early, almost as an extension of the Financial District, which is too bad because there’s a lot of fantastic old buildings that have been converted into lofts and office space. Some people still have…
Hell’s Kitchen
One of the few perks about film scouting is that they give you $10 for lunch. I ate at Island Burger today, a hole-in-the-wall burger joint in Hell’s Kitchen (west side 40’s), where I was scouting. As I was sitting on a stoop eating my burger, a gust of wind came and blew all these…