There is a lot of stuff going on the City, and we can't write about it all. Here are some interesting things some of our friends have written up lately.

• 6sqft ⇒ With Permit to Dig, Elon Musk’s Plan for a 29-Minute Ride Between NYC and D.C. Inches Forward
• Bedford + Bowery ⇒ Forget the Winter Olympics, We’re All About This Extreme Bike-Messenger Race
• Colossal ⇒ Art in Ad Places: A New Book Collects 52 Public Artworks Installed in Pay Phones Across NYC
• Daytonian in Manhattan ⇒ The 1845 63 Barrow Street
• EV Grieve ⇒ A London-Based Hairdresser Is Giving Free Haircuts to the Homeless in Tompkins Square Park
• Free Williamsburg ⇒ Montana's Trail House Is Now Hard Times Christmas Liquors at the Sunset Bar – Free Williamsburg
• New York Times ⇒ Sample New York City’s Best Brews
• Reuters ⇒ Agonizing Subway Ride Lands New York Woman Worst Commute Award
• Thrillist ⇒ The Absolute Best Brunch Uptown
• Untapped Cities ⇒ A World-Class Performing Arts Center Is Coming to NYC’s World Trade Center Site
• Vanishing New York ⇒ Not Responsible

Lower East and Upper West is an interesting new photobook containing the vintage street photography of Jonathan Brand capturing the street life in the Manhattan neighborhoods from 1957 through 1968.

A census taker and later an advertising copywriter, Brand chronicled life as he encountered it on his walks through the city. The book offers 104 striking images of New Yorkers engaged in everyday pursuits, from the Bowery to Riverside Park, juice stands and barbershops to Theatre in the Streets. With an introduction by Julia Dolan, The Minor White Curator of Photography at the Portland Art Museum, Oregon, this is the first book from a photographer who developed his art alongside many of the best-known in his discipline. Brand's photographs capture the energy, odd juxtapositions and intimate moments of life in mid-century New York City.

Grab the hardcover book containing 104 black and white photos for just $27 on Amazon.

Uploaded to YouTube by local amateur videographer actionkid105, this video gives a virtual tour walking down Broadway from Columbus Circle to South Ferry through Times Square, Herald Square, Madison Square Park, Union Square and more. The 2-hour video is equal parts boring and interesting though, so to make it go quicker, be sure to adjust the YouTube playback speed to 2x.