I have lived on Bond Street in Manhattan's NoHo district for four decades. Every time I am tempted to complain about the many changes here, I have to remember to look in the nearest mirror; however, there have been a few astonishing and unprecedented sights and sounds recently.  Last Friday morning we were wakened by major squawks from a large raven perched on top of the water tank across the alley.  Doves, pigeons, sparrows and the odd purple finch -- but a raven?

And then there was the most recent film crew -- about the fifth on the block in the past two months or so. This one had the whole block barricaded for the night, and floodlit it with a fervor that resembled the light of a jaundiced moon. As I walked to my corner, a water truck passed, converting the Belgian block paving to shiny elements. The Lafayette Street corner was graced by a fake NYPD cruiser and three orange wheelbarrows full of fake snow awaiting deployment. Crew members were in shorts.  In all fairness, the security woman was nice enough about asking me to get out of view on my own block, but it was all a bit much -- definitely a "there goes the neighborhood" moment.

Film crew, fake snow and fake police car on Bond Street

On a cheerier note, here's a monotype I did last month of the Astor Place subway entrance on the IRT 6 line, uptown side. Originally put up in 1904, restored in the 1980s, this lovely structure is listed on the Register of Historic Places of New York. If you've never seen this gem, it's worth a visit. Inside, on the platform, are wonderful old faience plaques of beavers, commemorating the fur-trade-based fortune of John Jacob Astor.

Astor Place Entance

And for those of us who had never seen unpainted metalwork for this kind of structure, my best street find, from East 20th Street last summer, here's a virgin skylight frame that just been delivered curbside for installation aloft.