A color photograph that captures a cold morning in Lower Manhattan at Zuccotti Park, where security preparations are underway for the inauguration of New York City's 112th Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, on January 1, 2026. A wide crosswalk with thick white stripes leads into the frame from the bottom left. Several rows of silver metal barriers are positioned across the street, some with "NYPD" stenciled in blue on the vertical legs. Two NYPD officers in dark blue uniforms and high-visibility vests are visible in the distance on the right, managing the setup. To the left and center, the park is filled with rows of honey-locust trees, their trunks and branches wrapped in thousands of glowing warm-white fairy lights. Nestled among the trees is the bottom portion of the "Joie de Vivre" sculpture-a massive, bright red, tripod-like steel structure by artist Mark di Suvero. The ground appears damp, suggesting recent rain or a morning cleaning. The scene is quiet but industrious, capturing the "calm before the storm" as the city prepares for the public block party and swearing-in ceremony at nearby City Hall.
📍 Zuccotti Park
📷 24mm • f/1.8 • 1/245s • ISO 64 • iPhone 17 Pro Max • AVIF HDR
A color, ground-level, medium-angle photograph captures a dense, diverse crowd of people bundled in winter clothing, standing tightly packed on a city street waiting to enter the security screening for the mayoral inauguration in New York City today. In the foreground, individuals wear a variety of beanies, hooded parkas, and glasses, with their expressions ranging from patient to expectant. A woman in a bright pink beanie and another in a black knit hat and glasses are prominent in the lower-middle frame. The crowd fills the street, stretching back into the distance toward an intersection, creating a sea of dark coats punctuated by occasional splashes of color from hats and bags. The perspective looks down Liberty Street toward Church Street in a bustling urban environment. To the right, the sleek, dark architectural facade of the "One Liberty" building rises sharply, its glass windows reflecting the soft, cool daylight. On the left, older stone buildings house storefronts like a Burger King, while bare-branched trees decorated with small white fairy lights line the sidewalk. The clear, pale sky hangs above the narrow canyon created by the tall buildings, and a few city buses and traffic signals are visible in the far background where the crowd eventually thins.
📍 Liberty Street
📷 24mm • f/1.8 • 1/189s • ISO 200 • iPhone 17 Pro Max • AVIF HDR
A color, wide-angle photograph of the urban landscape along Broadway in front of City Hall Park in Manhattan. It is a bitter cold, and the light blue morning sky is illuminating the scene. In the foreground of the image, the dark, slate-grey stone pavers of the sidewalk appear slick and reflective, dotted with patches of melting snow and ice. A metal drainage grate is embedded in the ground to the left, and a bright yellow tactile paving strip runs horizontally across the path toward the right. The damp surface captures the pale blue light of the winter sky. Beyond a black wrought-iron fence, the skeletal branches of winter-bare trees fill the mid-ground, partially obscuring the historic buildings in the distance. A sign with white text reads "City Hall Park". Though a Jumbotron screen is peeking through in the distance from the public inauguration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani taking place just a block away on the steps of City Hall, this corner is still.
📍 City Hall Park
📷 24mm • f/1.8 • 1/473s • ISO 80 • iPhone 17 Pro Max • AVIF HDR