Final Words of NYC

 Wow! Our class is done. I must say I had a different emotions practically every week for this class. The first week I was excited and really interested in our entire day but wanted to drop out because I didn't think I could do all that walking. However, I said to my besides that class being completed in seven weeks the real purpose of me joining this class was to learn about NYC as a whole. I've lived in queens and manhattan combined more than I've lived in Long Island, but know more about long island than NYC's five boroughs. I am really glad i did not drop this class. Visiting all these different types of museums my favorite being the Transit museum gave me a different view of of museums could entail. Before I started this class and when the word museum was heard I automatically thought of boring paintings that I've constantly seen during my elementary school trips. Fortunately my perspective on museums have changed thanks to this class.

All the information I have gathered from Mike, Meritta, and some phenomenal tour guides have allowed me to gain a tremendous amount of information. My favorite tour was from the tenement Museum. I always had an interest in learning about how people lived back in the days and how they managed without all the technology that we have now. That type of information you don't learn in your everyday social studies class unless you are majoring in it or you get the information told to you. I am happy that I got the information delivered to me in an interesting way, especially by a person that you could  tell that loved their job.

Another thing that I didn't learn but encouraged me to do even more is to go out to eat in different types of restaurants more often.  I always was a fan of trying to new food and would sometime but lack of time and laziness stopped me from doing it. The meal that really encouaged me was ther thai food especially the plate i ordered the basil chicken and white rice. The food there was not expensive and is able to fit within my budget.

Overall this call has showed me the life of is nyc is way beyond shopping, attending shows or going out just to relax. NYC is very informative for people ages from childhood to the elderly. There so much by not just sitting in a class and viewing it on powerpoint. This class was well thought of when it was decided to make it a walking and interactive class versus an in class lecture. Being able to actually see what you're actually learning about is way more interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQoJiYaZJU8

Immigrant New York

Waking up today I was excited and sad at the same time because this was our last class. Excited because the extensive walking was coming to an end but sad because I really enjoyed learning about the history of New york and also trying the different types of food from various cultures.

Our last classed provided us with a heavy amount of rain but thankfully we were  indoors which helped us avoid all that rain. Our first stop major stop was the Tenement Museum, we got there earlier than scheduled so to kill time we looked our the gift shop there were many things I wanted to buy there but there item were pretty expensive.

It was finally time for our guide of the museum and it was definitely worth the wait. Our tour guide did a great job in explaining the history behind the museum. We went in to one of the apartments that help a family of about eight members and this apartment had only a kitchen bedroom and living room. Supposedly the Mother and father and the infant slept in the bedroom, the two older girls slept in the kitchen and the three boys slept in the living room. Besides there not being enough space to hold a family that large the rooms were so tight and at this time was no electricity and there was only one window which was in the living room, living in heat also was a major problem. There was also no bathrooms located in the house the three toilets that the building were down the stairs outside that had to be stared by the whole building. Clothes had to be washed by hand and the water that one needed to wash clothes and do all their other duties was carried in the building from outside and the dirty water that was used was thrown out the window when it was too tiring to walk down the stairs. Listening to the life that the immigrants had to live made me appreciate life so much more. At that moment listening to that tour guide it made me realize what do I really have to complain about because life could be so much worse.

 

We then made our was to get some authentic food. I was not really a fan of this place what I did enjoy was the sesame chicken and the vegetables but I would not go back nor recommend it.

Our final stop on this final day was a tour given by a college student from Stoney Brook University. The tour consisted of showing us around the Bowery, little Italy and Chinatown.One thing I learned about chinatown is that at one point the Chinese individuals were band from coming into America between the years of 1882 through 1943 until 1943 the law was repealed and this discrimination ended.. Today we also stop by the Yung Wing public school which is named by Yung Wing. Yung wing was the first Chinese individual from China to graduate from Yale University to become a teacher. He married a white woman had two kids but decided after creating a family he wanted to go back to china to help his country. He went back to China and open many school for children in China and this lead to lead to a big change from the time on in China.

We then went to building named the Kletzker brotherly Assn. This building was first there to help out the Jewish immigration with medical care, help them look for jobs and other things as well.
Right by that building was the Forward building which was the largest newspaper company in that time for the jewish. The paper was written in yiddish by editor Abraham Kahan.However, in the 1970's the newspaper company moved up town and the Foward building was bought by an evangelistic church but later turned into a residential condominium.

Overall I must this today was very informative and all the information presented was delivered really well by exceptional tour guides.

Lower Manhattan & Captivating Cheslea

Today's first stop was by the grounds of World Trade We first entered St.Pauls church. This beautiful church "in pale colors graced by slender Corinthian columns" (B.G. p.78) is the church that was used for firefighters that were helping with the horrific terrorist attack of the World Trade Center. Although I did not lose anybody during that that attack as I entered the church I got a little emotional while seeing all the pictures, posters and memorable items that were placed in remembrance of the lives that were lost on that tragic day. I didn't realize how individuals all over the world really showed their sympathy for all the families suffering. It truly is amazing how this would connects during a crises. 

After that emotional visit we walked down wall street to the Federal Hall National Memorial which is a Neoclassical style building and also the building where President Washington was sworn in. In that building help the Bible that Washington used to get sworn in 1789. Printed in 1767 it was also used president Harding in 1921, President Eisenhower in 1953, President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and President George Bush Senior in 1989.


Our next interesting spot of the day was the Poet's house. This library is filled with books containing poetry. Mike wanted us to find a poem that we enjoyed and this is what I chose.

 

Reading this poem in a quiet relaxing room was very soothing it reminded me why its important to forgive others and not hold regrets cause you will never know when the last day might come for anyone. Although our time there was short I enjoyed the library , unfortunately it is too far from my home but I would definitely recommend it to others to attend. 

Next we headed over to chelsea known as "The Meatpacking District" formerly known as the "Gansevoort Market" (B.G. p.184) It "rapidly gentrified during the 1990's with stylish bars and restaurants, high concept clothing and design stores, and art galleries spilling south from Chelsea" (B.G. p.184) which is exactly what we saw today. Viewing this part of Manhattan it seemed very busy compared to times square which i though was the busiest.

We finally went to go eat lunch, I had a regular burger and fries but I was so hungry that meal tasted like the best meal i ever had we enjoyed every moment inside to rest and get warm because the end of our day was going to end with viewing multiple art galleries. 

When we reached the strip where the galleries were I noticed the streets were so empty which made me feel even colder. However I enjoyed the galleries there were not that many pieces of art so it gave me time to actually analyze each art work. Of course not all the artwork was interesting but most of them were really an eye catcher.

This piece really caught my eye at first from a distance I thought it was a shopping bag but then I realized it was an undershirt. I know this artwork seems so simple but just the shape of it  really attracted me towards it.

This piece also interested me because it resembled a woman suffocating so perfectly. There was also a short film in the gallery that included this lady and Lindsay Lohan. I did not get the purpose of the film but watching the film made you want to stay and sit down and try to find out the purpose. I think it was a film that you had to obtain your own meaning out of it I wish we could of stayed longer in that particular gallery.

Overall the day went went well it was extremely cold but we made it. My favorite part of the day was the Poet's library I enjoy reading other poet's work.

Harlem and a Glimpse of Morningside Heights

First stop of the day was off the 6 train to the Museum of The city of New York. The main point of our visit was to watch a short flim on the history of New York and how it progressed over time. I liked how this specific class fell on this day because while watching the film there were some stuff we learned about that they talked about in the movie such as the Worlds fair and Robert Moses "The master builder". Watching the movie was uninteresting at first but when you start hearing things that you actually learned about  the film then grabs your attention allowing you to hear other information. The movie lasted about 20 minutes then we went to view some artwork around the museum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRTtJsMGT7M

Next, we headed over to Justo Bontanica a store owned by Jose Vargas. This store was filled with herbs and spirituality believed items that supposedly gets rid of anything one would consider bad in their life. Jose mentioned that he has been around for a very long time and almost everyone in the neighborhood comes into that shop on a regular basis. However due to increase in rent he must move to another spot which is not to far but you could tell by his face that he was sad about moving. He explained how everything in his store works for different purposes and nothing was a lie. His store was interesting but I did not enjoy it. I do not believe in other items getting rid of your problems and did not feel comfortable in the store which is why I left once Jose was done speaking. However, many classmates of mine did purchase some items and obtained the meaning behind what they purchased.

 

Next we walked the streets of Harlem and I was really fascinated by the paintings we seen on the street walls.

Most of these paintings were done by an Artist named Manny Vega and fortunately and accidentally we bumped into Manny Vega. Although it was our first day learning about him when I met him I was so shocked as if I've been hearing about him forever. He was a really nice guy and he explained his purpose for doing all his artwork on the street walls. He stated that he enjoys doing all this and the reason he put it on the wall is because once it is on the wall the painting then belongs to the "people" and they get to decide what the artwork means to them.
After that exciting experience we all parted ways for lunch a couple of  us headed to a Spanish restaurant I ordered a plate of white rice, brown bean sauce, chicken and plantains which is nothing new to me because I eat that on a regular. Spanish food is really similar to Haitian food which is my culture the only difference is certain spices that is used.

We then headed over to Central Park and walked through it and met with our tour guide that showed us many landmarks of Harlem and gave us an overall history about it. He talked about some really interesting things that I never knew. First he showed us the building that holds former President Bill Clinton's office which I was glad I found out. It just shows how much Bill Clinton is so involved in African American Community even when he was President in the United States. Next, he talked about the Apollo theater, the theatre that was once only for "whites when the neighborhood was white and largley German Jewish" (B.G. pg.440). Once the neighborhood changed culturally so did the theater many artists got their success started here, artists such "Stevie Wonder and Billie Holliday" (B.G. p 440) and of course many others. Could their success  be contributed to the help of the "lucky tree"? Of course not but their was a routine for all performers to rub a tree bark that was placed in the Apollo theartre which was a sign of good luck. We then walked down to see some brownstone buildings and all these years I drove by those building I never knew they were expensive to live in becasue they do not seem that nice to me. The tour guide explained how one building held one whole German family not like now when it is one family per floor.
As we walked down we saw a television crew casting a t.v show and learned that the producers rent out people's apartment buildings to produce their show.

Our last stop with the tour guide was visiting the Harriet Tubman statue, what really interested was the placement of the statue over a subway station. I thought that was really interesting.

Our last trip of the day was walking up the longest flight of steps I have ever walked on the ended us up in Morning side Heights. I must admit I really felt a burn after walking up those flights. Fortunately, Mike and Meritta had some sympathy for us and ended our day there. They must of saw the tiredness on our face after the mission.
Overall,today was a good day. The most interesting part to me was learning about the history of Harlem. I attended church in Harlem from birth till age 14 and did not know anything historical about this town.

Manic Midtown & Williamsburg

Waking up this morning thinking this class would be cancelled I quickly went to go check the website only to find out the same thing the meteorologist said bring an umbrella! Definitely was not excited about walking in the rain but that wasn't going to stop me from missing class. Put on my rain boots and grabbed my umbrella and off to the city I went. 

 Our first tour of the day was Times Square. Going to the part of Manhattan so often filled with restaurants, stores to shop in and parts of the street to sin down, relax, eat and talk I never realized how much of a bad area this place was back in the  days, and walking around so freely wasn't really an option in every person's mind.
Times square was the place to be for if you wanted big businesses to rise. Many theaters built in the late 1800's such as the "Charles Frohmans's Empire Theatre(1893), The former Metropolitan Opera House (1883), and Oscar  Hammerstein's many theaters, is how many agents and producers got attracted to times square. (B.G. )pg.217. With all these individuals coming in and making shows and attracting tourists business was rising and the city was looking beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUE_ywdth9s

However in the 1970's times square made a complete 180. Individuals were paying for peep shows, crime was on the rise and drug dealing and prostitution was on the streets almost everyday. Although this wasn't shocking for me to hear I just never actually connected all that with the streets of Times square and the history behind it. Thanks to Guliani our streets have improved greatly and is what it is today !

 

Next we made a quick trip to the G.E. Building in Rockefeller Center which is where NBC is located (B.G. pg.248). The most interesting view in that building was the mural created by Diego Rivera. At first this artwork caused a lot of problems because the portrait was of Lenin and when asked to re-do it he said no, the Rockefellers then had it destroyed.

Next we went to visit MOMA the New York Museum of Modern Art. Although I am not  a big fan of museums oddly this museum caught my eye. One paining that caught my eye was The Bed by Robert Rauschenberg. i love the way he incorporated all these items within the "bed". There's  a quote by it that says "Painting relates to both art and life" and I feel like this meaning represents that no matter how hard you try to hide from your problems you must always be aware of it no matter where you are, even in the most comfortable place in your life which for some is their bed, problems are constantly running through one's head until they are solved. Mike mentioned this museum was expensive but I feel that it was worth it.

After visiting the amazing museum we headed to Yum Yum an amazing place to get Thai food. I have never had thai food but when I ordered my basil chicken with white rice I realized that I have been missing out. The chicken was so amazing with the basil flavor and touch of spice I would definitely recommend this to others and definitely try this again. THe only thing I did not like was the thai Ice tea it was to thick for me .

Our next stop was in Williamsburg at a nonprofit museum called City Reliquary.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ6R3CxZNY4. This was not your typical museum with paining and sculptures. This museum was filled with artifacts accumulated over the years brought in by people that collected them. I could not put a finger on one thing the interested me because many things interested me in this museum such as the old bus stop post, the manuel pencil shaperners, the old specimen cups. All these little artifacts showed me how NYc has evolved and it also shows me how I was hear to see the evolution of many things. It just shows that sometimes a person needs to sit back and realize how fast time has gone and will keep on going.

 

Our last stop of the day was the Sketchbook Museum Project at the brooklyn art library . The point of this museum is for artists to get put their work into a book for $25 dollars that goes into the museum. Again i am not a big fan of art but I did think this was good way for artists to get their work out there for others to view it.

Overall besides the rain the day was not that bad my favorite parts was of course the amazing thai food and viewing the paining in the MOMA museum.

EastSiDE

Today our journey was in the Eastside of Manhattan. Our first visit was to the Meteropolitan Museum of Art. Known as the “met” (B.G.p.326) “Founded on April 13,1870” (http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/mission-statement) was intended to promote are to be viewed, studied and expressed in many ways. Of course I have attended this museum many times before but this time I actually appreciated it much more. The art made more sense because I was able to understand the meaning behind it. One artist that caught my eye was Andy Warhol.  Andy Warhol became the king of pop art in the 60’s and was a big icon during that era. Although he had many types of work one specific type of work of his that I enjoyed was silk screening. Silk-screening was a method of art that involved one person or item in the picture that slightly changes throughout every screen.

Next stop, was central park known as the “heartland of Manhattan”(B.G. p.279) which I have never been to before.  This park has so much to do such as bicycling, boating, carriage rides, ice skating and swimming. I feel like the reason why individuals have so much to do is because crime late is really low in this area. Although as Mike mentioned that there was an attack recently central park is considered a safe park. However, as in any other outdoor place it is “unwise to wonder in remote areas of the park or to visit the park at nighttime alone except to attend scheduled event” (B.G. p.279). One thing that I enjoyed the most was watching couples using their park as their scenery to take their wedding pictures.

We then breezed through some known businesses after lunch which was Tiffany’s, Plaza Hotel and my favorite of the day F.A.O. Schwarz. F.A.O. Schwarz was an interesting store that I have never been to before having a bunch of colorful candy, many stuffed animals and cute little outfits; this is a store I definitely plan on taking my daughter pretty soon most likely after my semester is over. I believe Mike said this is the last store that this company has open because they filed for bankruptcy. I really hope this store stays open because it’s one of those stores that make you feel like a kid at any age.

Our day then ended by New York Public Library. Unfortunately we did not get to go in because they were closing at the same time. Overall this day was okay not as interesting as the other class but it was not all bad.

BrooklyN

Our second Class! Today I woke up excited about our next journey but not excited at the same time just thinking about the walk we are about to encounter. Our first stop Coney Island! Surprisingly this summer was the first time I have been to Coney island so today made it my second .I was disappointed that the park was closed for the season because there was not much to do there besides enjoy the food particularly Nathans hotdogs and purchases a couple of items at the flea market which was not a disappointment at all.

 

 

 

After living in Long Island for so long what I never knew that this class taught me is that “Brooklyn occupies the western tip of Long Island “ (B.G. 461) which makes long island and Brooklyn literally neighbors. The Dutch were the first to help Brooklyn gain its name. They first “settled in the 17^th century buying land from the Carnarsie Indians” (B.G. 462). 

Walking through Brooklyn I always wondered what older people meant by “Brooklyn use to be good back in the days” thinking to my self what went wrong. I know realize it was not until after 1955 is when Brooklyn struggled with “drugs, crime, the decay of the infrastructure, and other urban problems” (B.G.p.463). After jobs were being lost because of the setback of the Depression major businesses and large neighborhoods became “derelict”(B.G. p.463).

Next stop, was the F train to the transit museum. When I first was walking down the stairs to enter the museum I thought we were hoping on another train not realizing it was the Transit Museum. This place really amazed me by the way it was built so precisely. From the turnstile, subways, to the actuality of each subway according to the year it was used in, everything in that museum caught my attention.  First open to the public in 1976 this museum was open to show the past, present and potential future of the transportation system that we all use today. After listening to the tour guide one interesting fact I learned was “the creation of the first line that had 28 stations took four years today” and now “it takes four years to build one station” (tour guide). That’s amazing to me it goes to show easier ( obviously not labor wise) it was to get the creation of a train line to make progress.  However, although it did take 4 years to make 28 stations I have learned  to have gained so much respect for the workers that built it because of their long, extraneous work hours and the heavy load of debris they had to push away from their work site. I tried just lifting it and it was extremely heavy to me. We should be so grateful for the technology and modern day equipment that allows and to move debris and make our work day that much easier. 

After leaving that amazing museum we went to visit the Brooklyn Historical Society. That place did not catch my interest at all. Yes, a lot of information was given to us about many historical figures and sites but our tour guide did not present the information in a pleasing and somewhat exciting tone.

Finally our walk over the Brooklyn bridge! Never did it cross my mind that I would be walking that bridge I literally thought Mike and Meritta was kidding around when they mentioned that.  It was not until I saw the bridge and the length of it I realized this was no joke.  However, I the walk was not as bad as I thought it would be I would actually do it again. It amazed me how many people were walking the bridge using that as their means of transportation.

Opening on “May 25^th 1883” (B.G. p.464) and costing “15 million dollars to build” (B.G. p.464) the end result  of this bridge was created by a woman the wife Colonel Washington Roebling and daughter law of John A. Roebling. The planning of this bridge was done by John Reobling but then he contracted tetanus and died and then his son Colonel continued his work but then he contracted caisson disease so his wife was the messenger to the workers while Colonel laid in his bed watching from his window the building of the Brooklyn bridge.

Overall, today was another good day intensive walking again but still a very informative day.