Lunch Break in Madison Square Park

Cheeseburgers in Paradise. Dozens of “Shack Fans” crowd the tables surrounding the Madison Square Park Shake Shack, the “mothership” of many burger joints owned by New York restauranteur Danny Meyer. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Scenes from the lunch hour in Madison Square Park, a bustling gathering place in the heart of Manhattan’s Flatiron District, where the dog park is always full and the queue of hungry “Shack Fans” never ends. Photos taken on Friday, November 13 and Tuesday, November 17.

Order up! An eager customer retrieves her order — two ‘shroom burgers and an order of cheese-topped fries. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Throwing shade. Light streams through the latest installment of the Mad. Sq. Art program, titled Fata Morgana by New York-based artist Teresita Fernández. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Tail-wagging salutation. A 9-month-old golden retriever takes a walk in the park. “She’s still a little shy,” her owner said. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead! The bronze statue of Civil War hero David Glasgow Farragut stands tall, but the Madison Avenue skyscrapers stand taller. Farragut is remembered for that order in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, which is now a historic cry in U.S. Navy tradition. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Taking it easy. Two park patrons relax on the benches at the base of the Glasgow statue. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Field trip fervor. Students from Jersey City Community School crowd around their teacher after a lunch break in the park. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Feel the breeze in your hair. A biker cruises past the park and through the intersection of 23rd and Broadway. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Marking territory. Riggins, an English bulldog, on the prowl at the Madison Square Park Dog Run. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Mommy & Me. A mother-son duo play tag in the drained pond on the north side of the park. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)

Follow your arrow. A biker pauses for oncoming traffic on 23rd Street. (Sarah Bracy Penn/NYU)