Sutton Place

A contemplative gentleman with his hands in his pockets seems wholly unaware of the traffic swirling beneath his shoes. This scene takes place at 1 Sutton Place South, a verdant jewel atop Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive between 56th and 57th Streets, New York City. It was taken from a helicopter by Pulitzer-prize winner photographer Vincent Laforet and published in the Metro section on July 6, 2003, in an article asking readers if they could identify parts of New York from the top down. “These views are normally denied to all but pilots, winged creatures and National Security Agency satellite-map sleuths,” The Times reported, “A pigeon, aloft, may have a fuller sense of New York’s native geometry than the city’s populace has.”