In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with The George Washington Bridge.
Time and Date of photographs: April 12, 2008, 8am, 9am and 8pm.

When we woke up, you could barely see the bridge. (But it looked great in the fog!)

The sun finally broke through and everything glistened. It looked surreal.

Tonight it was clear, which may [...]

In which The Gay Recluse documents the ruins of Washington Heights and self-referentially quotes an earlier post.
Date of photo: April 6, 2008
Location: 161st Street between Broadway and Amsterdam

This lion is understandably upset by his bad hair and tacky gold paint! (Still, he’s over 100 years old so it could definitely be worse.)
In Washington Heights we [...]

In which The Gay Recluse welcomes the spring garden.
The hellebore is perhaps not the most spectacular flower, but we like it anyway: it’s a dependable friend.

We feel reassured. After months of planning, the first guests have finally arrived and they seem to be having a good time!

The hellebore is thousands of years old but decidedly [...]

In which The Gay Recluse documents the ruins of Washington Heights and self-referentially quotes an earlier post.
Date: April 6, 2008
Location: 161st Street between Broadway and Amsterdam

Hello, friendly lion! 100 years ago, you were not such a big deal, but now you would cost $50,000 at Olde Good Things. We’re glad you’re attached to the building; [...]

In which The Gay Recluse photographs shipwrecks lining the Hudson north of the George Washington Bridge.
Time and date of photographs: March 30, 2008 (afternoon)

As usual, there were those who did not survive the winter.

We tend to look at the wreckage with some disdain: “That could never happen to us!”

Yet! There is a mythological allure to [...]

In which The Gay Recluse contemplates an uncommissioned masterpiece from the walls of an uptown subway station.

Consider the old panels on the subway platform wall, and observe the finely wrought precision with which each strip of peeling paint has by the hands of time been distressed in the subtlest shades of gold and silver, all [...]

In which The Gay Recluse is momentarily disturbed.
Of all the natural vistas we have encountered — desert landscapes, arctic tundra, the badlands — the rooftops of Washington Heights remain one of the most tranquil and undisturbed. Originally carved from the bedrock some 10,000 years ago by the retreating glaciers, the surreal beauty of these structures [...]

In which The Gay Recluse corresponds with Harry, an 80-year-old autistic gay man.
Herewith, for those who asked (and for those who did not):
March 24: It is none my business to know, but! My curiosity is tweaked. Who are you? Have you posted something somewhere to give a more detailed bio? or do I have [...]

In which The Gay Recluse turns forty.
Today we received the following note from Harry, a reader in Washington Heights:
Subj: YOU
Mess: It is none my business to know, but! My curiosity is tweaked. Who are you? Have you posted something somewhere to give a more detailed bio? or do I have to continue to read between [...]

In which The Gay Recluse contemplates an uncommissioned masterpiece from the walls of an uptown subway station.

Consider, if you will, one of the old panels on the subway platform wall, and observe the finely wrought precision with which each strip of peeling paint has by the hands of time been distressed in the subtlest shades [...]

In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with The George Washington Bridge.
Time and Date of photograph: March 31, 2008, 9:48am.
Notes: The gray tone of the sky nearly matched that of the bridge.

“The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the most beautiful bridge in the world. Made of cables and steel beams, it gleams [...]

In which The Gay Recluse explores mythology.
In response to our post on the nasty black smoke seen snaking around the rooftops of Washington Heights, reader David writes:
FYI - asthma is caused more by a bad diet than by the air we breathe.
Love your site, but the “asthma is caused by dirty air” myth should be [...]

In which The Gay Recluse takes pictures and displays ignorance.
First, a note from our new friend and GreenCine film critic James Van Maanen, who writes (with regard to the below shot):
Is that first picture of a hawk, maybe? (I ask, because we are getting a number of here out here in Jackson Heights of [...]

In which The Gay Recluse celebrates Easter.
It was not until eleventh grade — in Mrs. S____’s English class — that we began to appreciate the obsessive and illogical side of literature, which of course is to say we were reading Wuthering Heights. Do you remember Mrs. S____? How thin and small and severe she was? [...]

In which The Gay Recluse does some investigative reporting and follows up with a complaint.
As we’ve documented many times, thick black smoke — a function of improperly maintained or outdated boiler systems — is pretty much a constant of life in Washington Heights. (No coincidence, asthma rates are pretty much through the roof.) Although [...]

In which The Gay Recluse rather quickly gets lung cancer.
Time and date of morning photograph: March 21, 2008, 7:54am.

Time and date of evening photograph: March 21, 2008, 7:34pm

The oily black smoke of 100-year-old boilers disperses daily across the rooftops in Washington Heights, heedless of those who suffer from pneumonia, asthma and tuberculosis. Officials and [...]

In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with The George Washington Bridge.
Time and Date of morning photograph: March 20, 2008, 6:54am.
Notes: Seriously, don’t these clouds look a little “Poltergeisty”?

Time and Date of evening photograph: March 20, 2008, 6:54pm.
Notes: We appreciate the black smoke, which is so good for our asthma.

“The George Washington Bridge over [...]

In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with The George Washington Bridge.
Time and Date of photograph: March 19, 2008, 6:54am.
Notes: A gray morning, but the cats are up. (There’s no going back to sleep.)

“The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the most beautiful bridge in the world. Made of cables and steel beams, [...]

In which The Gay Recluse becomes increasingly obsessed with The George Washington Bridge.
Time and Date of photograph: March 18, 2008, 6:48am.
Notes: It was early, but the blue and orange — i.e., together — was the best part of the day.

“The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the most beautiful bridge in the world. Made [...]

In which The Gay Recluse retreats to our garden in Washington Heights.
As it has done for thousands of years — and not just in our garden — the hellebore has sent forth the most beautiful, delicate blossoms at this improbable juncture, as if to taunt winter into sending one last storm. (Let’s hope nobody is [...]