Appellate Courthouse near Madison Sq. Park NYC

[IllJoe]

Madison Square Park 01 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Canon EOS T1i
24-70mm/f2.8
Exposure: 1/20, 1/125, 1/50
Aperture: f7.1
Focal Length: 32
ISO: 200
Exposure Bias: AEB +1.33, 0, -1.33
Tripod

Post-Modificaiton: Photomatix, Lightroom 2

I'm pretty happy about how this shot came out. The only thing I don't really like are the tree branches creeping in on the lower left. I think if I could of composed a shot eliminating them or including more of them, I would have had a better shot.

Also, I used Photomatix for this particular shot and feel it worked well given the light conditions. Normally, I try to stay away from it, mostly because I have a few friends that abuse it.

I'm pretty new to this, so here are my questions?
Composition? Would it have been better to include a little bit more of the environment?

Clouds? I personally like them, but then again, my eyes aren't as trained as more experienced people. Any suggestions on how YOU would improve them?