Marcus insisted! And as I was at pains to complete the last leg of my train trip into Manhattan from JFK airport and had experienced some blocks up to then only to be taken care of by a Travellers Aid volunteer who drew a very visual map; a station attendant who contributed 25 cents to my fare to get me started I took on Marcus! He was clearly on duty not officially of course but it was his way of making a living and I think he was at home, literally in the station. The problem I had was to buy a $2.25 ticket but only had a $20 note and of course the machine would not take such a note. Marcus had a solution, He bought the ticket; I bought some gum from a nearby stand and he asked for $4.00. He lifted my case over the turnstile and was gone, no doubt seeking another client.
Last year Wayne Wescott introduced me to Michael Sorkin and his book ‘Twenty minutes in Manhattan’ Sorkin says, “The walk from my apartment in Greenwich Village to my studio in Tribeca takes about twenty minutes, depending upon the route and whether I stop for a coffee and the Times. Invariably, though, it begins with a trip down the stairs”.
Sorkin who has lived in Manhattan for over 15 years provides a series of anecdotes, architectural and planning insights, but more importantly his own experiences of the fine grain that his city. Sorkin has done a Jane Jacobs and delved forensically into his own life’s meanderings and musings and that of those around him who although nameless provide the sense of place that is ‘home’. His writing reveals the heartbeat and the energy that is Manhattan. I would remind myself of his walks and experiences as I rambled in the heat, haze and humidity around Manhattan. Marcus and others had provided me with their story and I was only a few hours into my rambling!
New York City or to be more precise Manhattan is a city dominated by people and skyscrapers. Sounds obvious but the dimension of both is staggering! And it is also a city where to make a buck comes in all shapes and sizes, and ingenuity and of course amount! The disparity of income and status is obvious as one traverses the City and is no doubt increasing as a result of the global financial crisis
New York City is a city in some decay but definitely not in decline…it has energy, creativity and entrepreneurship reeking from its hustle and bustle but not the financial resources to rebuild fast enough to keep up with the increasing population and the depreciation of its infrastructure. The City has a budget deficit of $5 billion. No wonder many of its roads, buildings and bridges look like they were built in the 1900’s; and they probably were! The steel girders welded with their bolts give some indication of their vintage. The NYCC has a job keeping up with repairs; replacing the infrastructure is slow and almost tedious and certainly messy in a City with a population of over 8 million, 1.2 million live in Manhattan and there are some 30 millions visitors a year! The subway is rundown but still running despite the inadequacy of the tracks and the stations. But the trains are packed; and in fact though the stations are a hot box the air conditioning in the trains is a blessing!
I have rambled through the Village Union Square, Soho, Chelsea, Little Italy, the Meatpacking District, the abomination that is Time Square, have hoteled in Midtown which is well named and rambled up and around Central Park on 5th Ave which is well heeled; car honking in this district attracts a $350 fine. The New York City Council would do well financially to introduce that scheme in midtown for sure! I have visited galleries, diners, cafes and bars and have sweated it out on the streets and in the subway. I have found specialty food, retail, wholesale shops that inspire and titillate the taste and sight senses and been confronted by the homeless and the distressed and distraught who shout loudly at anything or anybody within sight. But New Yorkers move on not in an aggressive or dismissive way but with a shrug as if they too understand that living in New York has its pressures and pitfalls.
This is a city that struggles to keep its head above the choking roads, the crammed footpaths and no doubt the increasing need for energy and water and to rid the city of waste plus the economic and social dimensions of making the city just and liveable. But it is a city that is grappling with those issues and maybe with the ingenuity and resilience played out on the streets and in the villages can overcome what seemingly are insurmountable problems.
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