This isn't the ideal shot of the Empire State Building, but on my brief trip, it was the only location I was in twice. I thought you might like the contrast... Plus, you can see the Chrysler building off in the distance. Extremely savvy viewers might be able to estimate my location in these images. For all those of you who haven't been to New York in a long time, I would encourage you to go. These are good times to visit the city. I get the feeling that the true "low point" for New York was in the 1970's. It is a much more pleasant place now, and a great place to visit. The reason why is somewhat controversial. I heard while I was there that since the 1990's, every mayor has made an effort to further "clean up" the city. What this essentially boils down to is that some people believe that the poor folks are intentionally being pushed out of Manhattan into, primarily, the Bronx and Brooklyn. My friend told me that a section of the Lower East Side is really the only poor neighborhood left in Manhattan. As for the city as a whole, it really relies on tourism money coming in, and "gentrification" might be more comfortable for tourists. So, the big question is whether the city's plan to make Manhattan strictly the domain of the well-off fair? Cruel? Wise? True? Discuss.