You wouldn't believe it from this shot, but this is not some bleak blasted heath in a crack-hell part of town; this is the Philippine Center on swank Fifth Avenue. (I think.) I believe it's undergoing renovation - either that, or someone stole every bit of decoration. I suspect a modern facade was recently removed, revealing the damage done to the original stonework. (The strange orientation of these pictures is due to Distorto-Vision, a process whereby I take street-level shots of buildings and use Photoshop to make them look like they're taken from the second or third story.)