Category Archives: Parks

Merrick, New York, USA. May 24, 2015. Two Kayakers paddle around fishing pier at Levy Park on Memorial Day Weekend (c) 2015 Ann Parry

Memorial Day Weekend at Levy Park 2015

From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (ann-parry.com)
May 28, 2015

Around 3:30 the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, I went to Norman J Levy Park & Preserve. After parking in the crowded parking lot, I headed to the path with the sign “Shortest Way to Top” – since I hoped to get a hilltop view of the Bethpage New York Air Show in progress at nearby Jones Beach.

Merrick, New York, USA. May 24, 2015. At Norman J Levy Park & Preserve, visitor point south to contrails in the sky over Jones Beach where planes are performing in the Bethpage New York Air Show, Memorial Day Weekend.  (© 2015 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Merrick, New York, USA. May 24, 2015. At Norman J Levy Park & Preserve, visitor point south to contrails in the sky over Jones Beach where planes are performing in the Bethpage New York Air Show, Memorial Day Weekend. (© 2015 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Earlier that day, I heard that Jones Beach filled to capacity before the air show even started, so major roads leading there were closed. So I wasn’t surprised to see groups of people scattered throughout the hilltop and pointing south to where planes were leaving contrails in the sky. The performers, too distant from Levy Park to identify, included Thunderbirds, Golden Knights, and GEICO SkyWriters, and more.

Merrick, New York, USA. May 24, 2015. Rev. DAVID YI, of Douglaston, Queens, fishes on the pier of Levy Park & Preserve during Memorial Day Weekend.  (© 2015 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com) 

Merrick, New York, USA. May 24, 2015. Rev. DAVID YI, of Douglaston, Queens, fishes on the pier of Levy Park & Preserve during Memorial Day Weekend.  (© 2015 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com) 

When the show ended, I headed south on the winding trail leading down to the park’s fishing pier.

At the far end of the 500-foot-long wooden pier, I enjoyed the cool breeze and watched kayakers in Merrick Bay, and chatted with fellow visitors Rev. DAVID YI and his parishioners. They had planned to fish at Jones Beach, but finding Meadowbrook Parkway closed, cast their reels at South Merrick’s Levy Park instead.

Memorial Day Weekend 2015:  GALLERY 

Site:  Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach State Park

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Bryant Park Ice Skating Rink, NYC, Nov. 9, 2013

From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (ann-parry.com)
November 17, 2013

When the Nikon D4 class I took with Steve Simon, the Passionate Photographer, finished around dinner time on November 9th, I walked around the block to capture night photos at Bryant Park in Manhattan.

Manhattan, NY, USA. Nov. 9, 2013. Visitors at Bryant Park' look at colorfully lit shops and large fountain. (© 2013 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Manhattan, NY, USA. Nov. 9, 2013. Visitors at Bryant Park’ look at colorfully lit shops and large fountain. (© 2013 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

The Winter Village at Bryant Park has long been a visual and sentimental favorite of mine.

Manhattan, NY, USA. Nov. 9, 2013. Visitors at Bryant Park' look at colorfully lit shops and large fountain. (© 2013 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Manhattan, NY, USA. Nov. 9, 2013. Visitors at Bryant Park’ look at colorfully lit shops and large fountain. (© 2013 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Elegant crystal chandeliers lit many of the shops.

Manhattan, NY, USA. Nov. 9, 2013. At Bryant Park's ice skating rink that night, skaters cast pink and green shadows on the ice. (© 2013 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com

Manhattan, NY, USA. Nov. 9, 2013. At Bryant Park’s ice skating rink that night, skaters cast pink and green shadows on the ice. (© 2013 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Ice skating rink lights cast a lovely pink glow.

Manhattan, NY, USA. Nov. 9, 2013. The ice skating rink lights at Bryant Park cast a lovely pink glow. (© 2013 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com

Manhattan, NY, USA. Nov. 9, 2013. The ice skating rink lights at Bryant Park cast a lovely pink glow. (© 2013 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

I’ll never forget that night, even if I hadn’t captured hundreds of photos, during my hours at Bryant Park.

For – though I didn’t know it until after I had a late dinner and was back home – about 90 minutes after I left the park, a shooter sprayed bullets in the rink and shot two people. On what started as a fun, festive night had turned into a tragic one.


UPDATE MID-2017:  On Jan. 25, 2017, a man was convicted of shooting two people at the Bryant Park ice skating rink late Saturday night, Nov. 9, 2013, when he was 16: After trying to take 20-year-old Javier Contreras’s coat, the teen shot him several times; a stray bullet hit bystander, Adonis Mera, 14, who was paralyzed from the waist down.


FEATURE PHOTO at top of post: Manhattan, New York, U.S. Nov. 9, 2013. At Bryant Park’s ice skating rink at night, the colorful rink is filled with people skating, many with friends.


Bryant Park Ice Skating: my PHOTO GALLERY

Steve Simon’s site: The Passionate Photographer

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