South Street Seaport, May 2013

It's been over six months since Super Storm Sandy blew through the Northeast (After the Storm) -- causing untold damage to the East Coast.  In downtown New York, where I work, the sounds of construction still abound.  And although our office building is fully back online with the restoration of Verizon service to the neighborhood, the retail space on the ground floor remains unrented.  Sadly, this is not so unusual in downtown Manhattan these days.

At this time last year, on a night like tonight, South Street Seaport would have been bustling with tourists, office workers, and residents all enjoying the soft spring air.  The basic clean up has been done and there are hopeful signs that rebuilding is underway but the Seaport is, for all intents and purposes, a ghost town these days.  It's hard to know when it will be back.  For now, stores and restaurants (with a few lonely exceptions) remain abandoned -- mere shadows of their former selves.  It's still a stop on the ubiquitous city bus tours perhaps for storm tourism or perhaps because it still has some of the most commanding views of the East River.  Dog walkers abound -- heading to and fro the river but there is a lot of empty space where crowds used to hustle and bustle.

Come with me on a short stroll around the Seaport and its environs.  It's a lonely place, I could use the company.