In 1849, Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, was founded in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn...

Over 160 years later, the plant was finally closed for good.

I'm thrilled to announce that, after a little vacation, the pictures are back, and this time, they're here to stay (plus a bunch of new ones to boot!). Be sure to join the Facebook fanpage here to keep up to date on the latest 5 Beekman news! And for...

Not going to the Village Parade? Staying in for Halloween this year? Why not put together a mini-marathon of scary movies set in New York!

Below, I've put together a (nearly) complete list of the best and worst New York horror movies, listed in no particular...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Quick note: every year, I get a bunch of fowarded emails from readers warning me that Halloween is the dreaded "gang initiation night!" I've seen a bunch of variations on what exactly will happen, including:

• Gang members will be driving a silver SUV and have to kill...

On October 9th & 10th, over 350 sites, tours, and events will be made available to the public free for the annual Open House New York program. Open House New York is...well, an open house of New York City! A ton of fantastic options are being offered...

I swear I've gone by the Yakuel cab stand on 12th Street and the Queensboro Bridge a million times without ever looking inside.

Other than the bright new paint job and the...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the impending demise of several Coney Island structures, including the abandoned Coney Island Bank (interior pictures here). While I love the building, I can understand how some might have trouble imagining what could be done to rejuvenate it...

From the ground, you'd never know there was anything special about the building at 409 East 60th Street...

...but, as anyone who's ever walked across the Queensboro Bridge knows, it has a...

After watching the premiere of Boardwalk Empire last night, I was really excited to check out the Atlantic City set for myself, which was built in a parking lot in northern Greenpoint. A locations friend who lives in GP pointed me to a vacant lot on Commercial Street and Clay...

Over the past few months, I've been getting letters from readers about an abandoned school in Garden City, Long Island, called St. Paul's, on the verge of being demolished. Last Friday, I hopped on the train with my bike and camera to have a look for myself.

The Jericho Turnpike, cutting east-west through Long Island, is pretty much a wasteland of strip malls, corporate office parks, and fast food chains...

Do me a favor and stick with this post til the end if you can.

This is 126 Sterling Place in Park Slope. Most likely, you've never paid much attention to it...

On two different movies I've scouted for recently, I was asked to find a genuine "occult store." Of course, by occult, they actually mean cliched movie magic shop ala the curio shop in Gremlins.

I'm always on the lookout for the remnants of old storefronts. You can pretty much find them in any residential area that has gone through a period of economic decline, and Williamsburg is no exception. One in particular I've always wondered about is at the corner of North...

If you believe Hollywood, every single college lecture hall in New York City looks like the one below:

Rows of individual wooden desks and tiered seating...

I saw the coolest thing as I was driving over the Williamsburg Bridge the other day...

Above this building at the end of Delancey Street...

I was walking past this art deco apartment building on East 67th Street yesterday...

...when I noticed a series of really neat animal designs surrounding this side entrance.

I really really love the new New York license plate.

(note: the actual plate is more metallic and sparkly,
not flat like the DMV's Photoshop version above)

I've read a...

You've probably passed 225 Lafayette Street at the corner of Spring Street in Soho a zillion times in your travels and not thought much of it. Built in 1909, it was converted to condos in 1988; a typical unit now goes for over $1.5 million. The ground floor...