When we last left off, myself and the rest of the enthusiasts who had gathered for the Honda Collective were preparing to move to our next stop. The Riverside Drive Overpass was a fantastic location to shoot at but we were all looking forward to see what photos we could get in one of New York City’s most iconic locations; Times Square. I had shot cars there in the past but it was always during the late evenings. We had similar gatherings before whenever Wekfest was in town but it had been a few years since we had done a pre-meet in the city. Those photos always came out pretty epic so I wondered how it would be during the day…

Only a few Hondas came along for this stop however, as many were not really that excited about potentially getting stuck in traffic while driving through some pretty rough roads. New York City isn’t exactly known for having the most maintained streets so enthusiasts were worried about breaking an expensive front lip or bending a wheel. I totally understood but there were a select few who were down to take that risk for the sake of getting a memorable photo. It was probably for the best that not everyone came along anyway because having 40-50 Hondas in the busiest part of New York City would surely attract some unwanted attention. Those that were willing to throw caution to the wind gathered, we said our goodbyes to those who weren’t coming, and we set-off to Midtown Manhattan…

There’s just something so cool about seeing a full Mugen-kitted Integra cruising on the highway…

Raff Rivera from N.A.R didn’t have his Integra on him that day but he’s got good friends like Joel Graciani who trusts Raff enough to let him drive his ITR instead…

Just imagine you’re a car guy and driving somewhere early Sunday afternoon and see this line-up in your rear-view mirror…

We thought the city would be less busy during these early morning hours but it turns out that there was a Polish parade happening that Sunday so many of the streets we had planned to cruise through were indeed closed…

I don’t know my way around the city by car but thankfully I was riding with the guys from Prime NYC. They know the city like the back of their hand so they managed to maneuver about until we made our way onto 7th Street near Times Square. We parked on the street in a less than legal area to stop in but there was so much going on that afternoon that the NYPD didn’t seem to care. We got out of the car and waited at the intersection to get photos of the Hondas as they passed by…

As you’d expect, Times Square presented an incredibly scenic backdrop and tourists passing by couldn’t help but watch as Hondas like Willy’s EK4 drove-by…

We don’t often get too many opportunities to get these cars out to this particular part of New York City so everyone took full advantage of it by creeping slowly through the intersection so photographers like me could maximize our time with the Hondas. I wouldn’t say other people in the city were exactly stoked about it but traffic was so heavy that day that we basically blended-in with the rest of the city…

Nicholas Cruz ran into some issues while sitting in traffic where his fans stopped working. As a result, the stop-and-go traffic caused his K24 to start running really hot so there was a city block or two where he was pushing his Integra through traffic. I wish I would have captured it as it must have been quite a sight but eventually he hopped back in when flow of traffic improved…

You wouldn’t think anything had happened to his Integra however, as it looked just fine posted-up at the traffic light. I suppose another positive that day was that it was damp and cold so the fear of overheating wasn’t too bad…

Tito’s New Formula Red S2000 helped to add to the rich color palette of New York City as he coasted by a duo of NY taxis…

Such a cool sight which was only enhanced by the rain…

Even the CL9 chassis got some love with Chris Panchoo’s J’s Racing-front TSX and Steven Duran’s with Mugen front…

I got accustomed to seeing Chris with an Integra so I’m still getting used to the new TSX project. It’s coming along nicely though and has a good collection of parts…

Edwin from Prime giving Carlos Gonzalez some instructions as to where the next stop of our event would be. There were still some others waiting to catch-up anyway so I took a moment to get some more photos…

The group of Hondas that came from Harlem dwindled down which worked out for us because the next stop was a relatively small one compared to the overpass where we came from…

Tony Salcedo from EMOTION eventually found us and stopped at the light for photos. As you can see in the background, the pedestrians at this point caught on to what we were doing and tried to jump into our photos…

It’s not every day where you can see a legit Vogue Silver Metallic EK9 Civic Type R from Japan cruising through Times Square…

After we all got our photos, we made our way to the final stop of the Honda Collective event, located in the Meatpacking District of New York City. This spot was located on a public street but was a section that wasn’t often frequented. There was street parking available up and down the street so our group was able to stop without any incidents…

Joel’s DC2 Integra Type R running a Spoon Sports front lip, Spoon Sports front brakes, carbon fiber hood, Mugen Gen. II spoiler, and 16-inch Regamaster EVOs…

Cruz’s K24-swapped Integra managed to survive Times Square…

The new Fall season brought about some good colors and was a huge departure from the hot summer weather I experienced just a month before when I was out East for Wekfest…

The guys from Prime and I had some pretty good conversations while I was in the car with them. One of the things that pointed out to me was how difficult it was to have a automotive project and live in the city. Most of the Honda owners that I met that day actually resided on the New Jersey side or out in the suburbs of New York where there was space to store their vehicles…

The most interesting tidbit that I learned about Carlos’ EK9 is that it was imported to the U.S. with a NO GOOD RACING decal on the back glass. Judging by the way the car looked, what condition it was in, and what type of NGR decal it had on it, it was most certainly not an actual Civic owned by an active member. It was probably that the previous owner was just a fan or perhaps even a friend who purchased the decal to show support of the infamous Osaka car club…

Tito’s widened front fenders which barely hold the meaty Toyo R888R rubber…

I remember Tony having a pretty nice engine bay when I saw the Type R at Wekfest so I asked him to pop his hood. I wanted to get some photos of it out in the daylight since I didn’t get the cleanest shots of his engine set-up in the dimly-lit NJ Convention Center…

The factory B16B engine remains inside the EK9 but the block itself looked like it had been aesthetically refinished. A custom engine harness removes most of the electrical wires from sight and your eyes are directed at the full catalog of Spoon Sports components in his bay. ..

Spoon Sports radiator hoses, Spoon radiator cap, Spoon wires, and a half-sized Koyo radiator…

Can’t forget the Spoon Sports front strut bar as well to pair with the Spoon valve cover, carbon kevlar wire cover, carbon kevlar intake arm and oil cap. He even has a Optima Yellow Top battery to follow the theme…

Classic Spoon Sports 4-2-1 header on the B16B. Even the dipstick handle is immaculate…

Brian Cardoza has himself a nice Spoon-themed build himself but of the EK4 SiR variety. He’s just getting into this build and it’s fairly new, but I bet he’s glad he has older enthusiasts like Tony Salcedo to look to for inspiration…

One more of Chris’ TSX with that signature J’s Racing front. I feel like he needs a wing now or something in the rear to match the aggressive lines of the front face…

Sometimes the B-roll video angles make for great photos as well so I snapped this shot of Mel’s EG6 in front of Barbuto, a popular Italian eatery in the Meatpacking District…

We all stayed for another 30 minutes or so after I shot my last photo of the day. Afterwards, the majority split-off to do their own thing or spend the day with their families while a couple of us headed to a different part of the city. Raff was pretty adamant about us trying this Korean chicken wing spot so we went spent the rest of the late afternoon there. I went back to my hotel in the evening, took a nap and watched some football before waking up super early to fly back home to California. It was a quick, but incredibly eventful trip. I had such a great time and was thankful that I was invited to attend the Honda Collective. It’s too far ahead in the future to plan but I’d like to come back next year if time permits. Thanks to everyone for looking at these photos and for all who were out there that day to hang. I had a blast. Thanks for looking everyone!!…