New York's Underbelly Lives

I've long been a fan of the city, in all it's glory, and I've been exploring it by bicycle for literally 20 years (holy shit!). I must have ridden thousands of miles throughout most of the boroughs - the bronx and staten island just don't feel like part of the city I live in - and I've uncovered myriad gems in the rough and much rough thats gem-like in itself. The less sanitized parts of the city fascinate me the most because in a city where parts are worth $15 per square inch (that's $2000 per sq. ft. for those without a calculator handy), there seems to be fewer and fewer open areas of uncertain ownership. These areas generally become homeless feifdoms, attack dog training areas, shooting galleries, and art galleries as well. I like all of it. Hell, I love all of it. I love the sense of danger, the startling moment when that lump of rags moves and it's a person and when the rats literally confront you with a 'where the fuck do you think you're going?' look. Untethered dogs are by far the most dangerous aspect - you just can't reason with a dog unless you're holding a t-bone and I generally don't carry t-bones around with me, though it's not a bad idea. Today I started in a very industrial part of a borough which I will not mention because I don't want to just give it to you, budding urban spelunkers. Go out and look - these areas are not hard to find if you know the lay of the land to look for. Here's a look at my stroll through the urban art gallery I was so lucky to find this morning. PS: early morning is a good time to go, the drunks and junkies are generally passed out or just out looking for more. Do not carry anything terribly valuable with you unless you are willing to fight to keep it. Carrying ID is up to you - you're often trespassing when doing this and sometimes you will be questioned or arrested - I've never been arrested. If you have ID, you might get off the hook. If you don't, you'll probably definitely get arrested in post-9-11 New York. Another reason why these wastelands are so intriguing (the 9/11 lockdown has brought more fences and warnings). Anyway: