This is a collection of moody black and white photographs taken at dawn with a large-format pinhole camera. There are no people or moving cars but lots of rays of light from the rising sun and brooding clouds. The effect is fantastic. Sometimes the photos look like they were executed in charcoal. The details are mostly very crisp even though the palette is dark.
The major landmarks are all present. Two of Mlle Liberty, 3 or 4 of the Empire State Building, a wonderful shot of the Flatiron Building, etc. (Only 1 of the Chrysler Building, however, and not one of Berts's best.) There are some nice shots of Central Park. He likes the Brooklyn Bridge--and he's good at making large objects like bridges and the Empire State Building look massive. The use of black and white and dawn's early light defamiliarizes the postcard icons and restores them to their original majesty. There are also some nice shots of Little Italy and lesser known buildings, too. This is a great book. If you like it you should check out Light of Paris by the same photographer.
I can't resist offering up one more recommendation, this time for a book that's almost the opposite of The Light of New York in its approach but which is still a wonderful and fun look at the Big Apple: Manhattan Lightscape. Its colors are magnificent.