john maddente | midwestern clarity

I 've taken business trips to New York City since the Eighties and for me much remains unchanged -- both good and not-so-good.  Times Square street performer John Maddente photo Taxi cabs now co-exist with new competitors like Uber and Lyft giving riders new options, but t he  ride through  decrepit parts of Queens enroute to LaGuardia airport, is still dreary.   The Times Square area remains a crowded kaleidoscope of sounds, sights and smells that probably began to lose its charm in the Seventies.  Thousands of pedestrians mill around a neon backdrop of seedy shops and streets that cry for updates, or at least a protracted power wash.  On the other hand, I'm still captivated by the view looking southward down Park Avenue that terminates at the Met Life Building and Grand Central Terminal, or looking northward down Park Avenue from the other side of these buildings.  Central Park remains a rolling, twisting, verd...