By Mildred Alpern
First published on March 20, 2023.
Signs of spring are popping up, and the best way to spot them in New York City is to casually walk the side streets of a local neighborhood where residents spruce up their settings. Tourists often think of NYC in terms of hectic Times Square, but the city is made up of infinite neighborhoods, each distinctively homey. Surprises abound in the Upper West Side locale where I live. Notable are window attractions. Geraniums grace window sills. They open to the warm sunlight in decorative pots.
On street level of brownstone homes, an outdoor planter filled with pansies adds vibrancy. These flowers have a variety of color in patterns that appear kaleidoscopic. The unfurling petals and bordered edges make their little faces intriguing to shoot. Even a drenching rain adds to the overall beauty when it splashes the pansies with oversized drops that sparkle like Swarovski crystals.
I find that there are always photographic gems to discover, unexpected but visible, within a short distance from home. Unplanned destinations and a lens or two often yield some keepers.
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I had beautiful window boxes one year and my landlord forced me to remove them due to a NYC Fire Safety Code. He claims no windows can be obstructed in case one needs to exit in the event of fire. Curious if any others have experienced this?
I had ONE plant safely sitting in a window on the 2nd floor for a few hours every day and my landlord told me to remove it. I asked why my neighbors were allowed to have have multiple flower pots/gardens on their fire escapes, and I was told they weren’t ‘allowed,’ but they didn’t listen to him, lol.
Here’s what I found online: “In New York City there are certain restrictions on the use of window boxes: they should not be placed at a window leading to a fire escape; the box must be securely fastened to the window frame; the window must be no more than 50 feet above street level.”
https://www.grownyc.org
Thank you for this!
You’re very welcome! hope you’re able to put your window boxes out again!
: )
Plant more trees and flowers on the UWS.
Nice. Who is the window washer? cleanest window I have seen!
Mildred Alpern – what a legacy!
The lead photo of beautiful flowers in pots on a window ledge, won’t be so pretty if one falls on a passerby! Years ago a flower pot smashed on the sidewalk in front of 200W86 about 5 feet ahead of me. To this day I walk near the curb.