DeborahShapiroPhotos

One huge improvement in city life during the Giuliani and Bloomberg years was the cleanup and restoration of Bryant Park, formerly an open air drug bazaar. Now there’s an open air reading room stocked with books from the New York Public Library; you can tweet the library to let them know what you’re reading. Informal chess tables are always active but there is actually no chess hustling going on, just friendly games. In the picture above, Afro Haircut was playing for pieces but Blue Sweater was playing strategy, and so prevailed. Even with all the activity a man can still catch a nap.