The New York Skyline Keeps Changing (Midtown Manhattan)

I had a chance to visit the roof of my office building and was reminded that nearby the construction of skyscrapers in Hudson Yards continues apace. Buildings--especially large ones--always seem so permanent, and yet the massive project, which is taking place over 28 acres in Manhattan, reminds me that buildings come and go. If people are so good at creating cities that reach the sky, why can't we solve world hunger, end poverty, bring everlasting peace? Is it really a defect in human nature or is it just misdirected resources--i.e., if the $20 billion being invested in the Hudson Yards were spent on public health we might be able to, say, end malaria. 

For Short Time Only: A New View (Garment District, Manhattan)

The streets in Manhattan are often compared to canyons, with buildings substituting for mountains. But buildings are not mountains. For one thing, new ones come and go every 50 to 100 years. And when a building is razed, a new vista opens up. Light pours in. Life can be viewed from new angles.

Take, for example, 38th Street between 9th and 8th avenues. In one of those once-in-several-decades moments, a new view has been born, allowing strollers on 38th a little more breathing room, a little more sky and light, and a new perspective on 39th street, a block away.