The High Line is one of our favorite spots in the city, and we are enjoying the last sunny days of fall by exploring the current contemporary art exhibitions on view. The installation “Secondary Forest” by Italian artist Giulia Cenci stands at 24th street, welcoming visitors to investigate the intersection of human forms and organic elements. The sculptures depict animals, plants, and human appendages created from melted down scrap metal to create a forest that has regenerated after human-caused disturbances, much like the Highline itself. In fact, the artist described how the unique location of the exhibit, which hovers above NYC’s Meatpacking District, where slaughterhouses once stood and chic restaurants and shops now line the streets, influenced her work. As the artist explains, “[T]he High Line is a beautiful work itself; I immediately loved the way nature has been growing and devouring a manmade infrastructure. I started to fantasize about an area where different people, animals, plants, machines, and invisible entities are meeting and crossing.” Cenci’s thought-provoking work will be displayed through March 2025.
“Secondary Forest” by Giulia Cenci
A Tribute to Immigrant Veterans
“The Little Mermaid” by Edvard Eriksen
When we were in Copenhagen last week for a gathering of the lawyers of the Rome District Chapter, we sought out this diminutive landmark because it reminded us of an immigration debate from many years ago, could Ariel really make the world her oyster?
Perched atop a rock at the Copenhagen Harbor sits “The Little Mermaid”. Inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a mermaid who gives up everything to fall in love with a prince on land, Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen, known for Carlsberg beer, commissioned Edvard Eriksen to bring the whimsical princess to life in the form of a statute and gifted it to the city in 1913. According to legend, every morning and every night the mermaid swims from the bottom of the sea to the surface and waits on a rock, hoping to see her prince. The Danes have proven to have a welcoming spirit to the migrant princess and she has thrived in Denmark for over a hundred years!
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Día de los Muertos in Times Square




In the heart of Times Square, the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) has unveiled three vibrantly colorful skeleton statutes in celebration of the traditional Día de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead. Celebrated on November 1 and 2 in Mexico, Día de los Muertos celebrates the rich cultural tradition that honors the memory of deceased loved ones and reminds us to appreciate life while we have it.
The installation, which is presented in partnership with the Times Square Alliance, the nonprofit Mi Casa es Puebla, and the Mexican Consulate invites visitors to remember and celebrate the memory of their dearly departed.
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Dinosaur by Iván Argote
Not to be outdone by our friend in London, “Dinosaur” has made its debut on The High Line. The 16-foot-tall aluminum pigeon sculpture is the newest High Line installation, surveying the city from 30th street. The name “Dinosaur” serves as a nod to the humble pigeon’s incredible origins, as the common birds descended from dinosaurs.
Artist Iván Argote noted that when developing the piece, he wanted to make something strange, funny, and provoking. With this installation, Argote places the pigeon on a pedestal, the kind of space usually reserved for leaders, heroes, or historical figures, and by doing so pushes New Yorkers to question who and what we commemorate. Pigeons, like many of the city’s residents, migrated here from abroad, and Argote highlights that “even the pigeon, a New York fixture, migrated here and made the city their home.”
USCIS Starts Online PDF Filing for I-765 Application for Employment Authorization
Consistent with the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government by improving the customer experience, on October 8, 2024, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) introduced an electronic PDF filing option for certain I-765 Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) applicants via their personal USCIS online accounts. Eligible applicants may file Requests for Fee Waiver, Form I-912 in PDF format as well, which marks the first time fee waiver requests can be filed online.
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