QUITO ECUADOR – We’re not supposed to be in Quito – we had a 8:30 AM flight to Miami. It was unfortunately delayed for 13 hours so we found ourselves back in Quito for the day. We explored on foot and stumbled onto the National Assembly building. I say stumbled on it because it doesn’t show on printed maps or Google maps. Odd. Perhaps this is a residue of the long-running (60 years) border dispute with Peru in which Peru’s president, Alberto Fujimori, threatened to bomb Quito – a dispute that was finally settled in 1999.
This is Harvey Stein photographing a police show of force in front of the National Assembly building. They were there in response to a demonstration by teachers seeking more funding for education (as far as I could tell with my pidgin Spanish). This is the front gate of the National Assembly. At the rear gate there was a group of film makers and students seeking federal funding for the Ecuadorian film industry. Demonstration - Ecuador National Assembly
QUITO ECUADOR – We’re back in Quito getting ready for the flight home. I woke up early to capture the city waking up in lovely light. The man near the center of the frame is wheeling his shoeshine stand toward Plaza de La Indepenencia where he will set it up for the day.
Shoe shine man
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – While walking on East 68th Street today I stumbled on a fashion shoot in progress – probably for a catalogue based on the wardrobe.:
Catalogue shoot, East 68th Street
NEW YORK, NEW YORK –  Well here we are back at Tom Sach’s statue, Hello Kitty, in the sculpture garden at Lever House. This is a real urban oasis  As I’ve noted elsewhere Hello Kitty is a Japanese toy character owned by Sanrio.  Here’s a link: Sanrio
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Congregation Shaaray Tefila (Hebrew for Gates of Prayer) at Second Avenue and 79th Street.  The current sanctuary of this congregation, which was organized in 1859, was dedicated in 1959.  It was converted from a Trans-Lux movie theater.  I’ve taken the liberty of posting the image twice – once in color and once in gray scale.
Congregation Shaaray Tefila (Hebrew for Gates of Prayer)
