Jay Maisel's New York

Maisel can best be categorized as a corporate mystic, in business for his heart and soul as well as his wallet. His photographs are equally at home in big-stakes advertising, private collections, annual reports, galleries and magazines. Still, there is no gainsaying Maisel's commitment to his craft, and this collection continues his palatable work on cities like Jerusalem and San Francisco. Maisel's clean and colorful shots run from panoramic aerial sweeps to more intimate closeups, including a head shot of Lady Liberty herself, which, predictably enough, serves as the cover shot. A dozen approaches to the skyline give way to the placid facades of gentrified East Village apartment buildings. Pigeons, cops, Gay Pride marchers, kids, ball players and hanger-outers Maisel finds on the streets round things out. Although the Brooklyn-born photographer gets about as close to New York as the average episode of Friends, his enthusiasm is palpable, and it saves the book from being just a well-catalogued calendar. (Oct. 31)