The Fancy Eastside

As I walked to the subway this morning looking at the sky thinking it was an okay day to go on an adventure around “The Fancy Eastside”. I arrived at our usual hang out spot at Penn station as I waited for more of my classmates to come Mike did his morning ritual of getting everyone excited for this beautiful yet raining day. We hippity hopped out of the train station to go to our first stop which was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art or “Met” for short is the largest, most extensive collection of art than any museum around the world. The Met occupies 1.5 million square feet and their collection includes as many as two million objects. (BG, 326) As we finally arrived to the museum everyone including myself took a second shower in this Monsoon type rain. The art professors explained to us about the artists and their art work. As we walked from room to room I really enjoyed the art pieces and the way they painted on the oil canvasses and the way they made such beautiful art work. We then stopped at a Pollack painting which to me and other people around thought anybody do that it looks so easy but to my surprise a professor of ours said, “well my students and I tried to replicate Pollack’s “Autumn Rhythm”.  I saw some of Andy Warhol‘s images of Jackie Kennedy and Skull. The last time I was at the Met it was a few years ago for my art class and I had to write about certain paintings about Pablo Picasso. I then roamed around the Roman, Egyptian, Greek and African exhibits with Scott and Jessie. It was pretty awesome looking at old items that date back so far from the Greek times. 

Then we went back out to the rain to Grand Central terminal to have lunch and relax a bit. Some of us had pizza at Two Boots. From there we had to get back to the information desk. Grand Central Terminal is one of the world’s greatest railroad stations and enduring symbol of the city and it covers three city blocks from 42^nd to 45^th street between Vanderbilt and Madison avenue (BG, 229). Also a little fact I never knew was Penn Station at one time looked a lot like Grand Central and was about to be torn down but it was saved by Jackie Kennedy.

After lunch we visited the New York Public Library at Bryant Park. As we entered, we saw these lions made out of legos which was pretty cool. The library holds about 30,000 books reference books in the main reading hall (BG, 208).  The New York Library is one of the four major research facilities and worlds famous for its collection and much admired for the architecture of its building. (BG, 207) We then went to the Main Reading Room to rest and write down in my notepad.

From the public library we then trotted down fifth avenue we passed by St. Patrick’sCathedral.  St. Patrick’s is the largest catholic cathedral in the US and the 11th largest in the world. (BG, 254) It is also a famous landmark for New York City and it’s a symbol of success of the Irish population. (BG, 254)  After all the sightseeing of all the stores down 5th avenue we ended up at FAO Schwartz where there are tons of toys. Mike told us to find our favorite toy and take a picture with it. I scrambled around the store to find a stuffed animal to take a picture with. There were gigantic stuffed animals, little princess outfits, a large collection of candy (my favorite part of the store J) and the giant keyboard piano.

Although the weather was horrible and I took a second shower in pouring rain but in the end I truly enjoyed today’s visit on the gorgeous East side. I enjoyed the collections that the Metropolitan Museum of Art had to offer, the Grand Central Terminal and the New York Public Library. Next class we are off to the Wild West of Manhattan.

  

        
    

No Sleep til Brooklyn

As I wake in the morning its ridiculously cold out. As I make my way to Penn Station our second class of the course we are going to be exploring Brooklyn. I am excited even though I am sick like a dog. As Mike makes us huddle up and calls out everyone’s names. He tells us that a freshman class is going to tag along with us to Coney Island. We make our way down to 34^th street we spotted Macy’s and other stores. Then we had to hop on the F train and I was an unbelievably long train ride. As we arrived to Coney Island I realized that there were not that many people on the beach but on the boardwalk there were people running, locals chatting by the Nathan’s Famous or shops. Coney Island is an important place for entertainment for New York immigrant population. Coney Island was settled by the Dutch, who named the area as Konijn Eiland because of the vast amount of rabbits found there. (BG, 492)

As I walked the beach with a few classmates all I could think was how it looked like in the 1800s-1900s with all different types of people on the beach. The beach was quiet and amazing I felt like I could stay there all day and not worry about a thing. Then a few of us made our way to Nathan’s Famous and had some hot dogs and french fries. When I think of Nathan’s hot dogs all I think of is when July 4^th comes around and everyone comes to Coney Island to see the hot dog eating contest. One day I would like to experience the rush of excitement of being there and saying, “hey I was there when so and so beat the hot dog record”.

After we left Coney Island we had to hop again on the train and headed towards the New York Transit Museum. At first I thought we were going to ride another train and didn’t realize it was the Transit Museum. I was amazed how there was a two-level subterranean unused Subway station (BG, 468) and how devoted NYC is to keeping the history of the public transportation running. As I walked downstairs to the lower level of the museum my eyes were wide opened with all the different styles of the trains from different decades. I walked around in and out of the trains and just sat in each one and just stared at the advertisements. I would prefer the comfy seats back in the 1900s than the ones we have now.

We then went to the Brooklyn Historical Society it was founded in 1863 as it was formerly named the Long Island Historical Society. (BG,472) As our tour guide told us that the building was recognized as a National Historical Landmark and what I enjoyed most was the library which they had old love letter written by husbands or wives and maps of how some of Brooklyn buildings are still standing.

Towards the end of our day in Brooklyn we had to make our way to the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge goes from Brooklyn to Manhattan and the crosses the East River. As we made it to the half way mark I started to feel like stopping. I don’t know why maybe it was the cold I had or the meds were kicking in finally. All I could think was can this bridge be any farther away from Manhattan? My answer was YES!!! The Williamsburg bridge is shorter in length that’s just my opinion. Fuggedaboutit we leaving Brooklyn to go to the East Side of Manhattan.

The King of Queens

As I pulled into Penn Station this morning I felt nervous but at the same time I was excited because pretty soon I’m going to be on an exciting fun filled adventure around Queens.  I was overwhelmed with all these people at Penn Station I felt like a lost puppy.  As we left the station, Mike said, that we would be getting off the next stop to take the 7 train to Willet’s Point. The 7 train is also called the international express because every stop there is a different ethnic community on every block (Blue Guide, 493). As we rode on the famous 7 train to Flushing Meadow Park I noticed there are also different types of people who ride this train and it’s so true that the 7train is the international express. I thought to myself so much diversity you can only get this in New York City.

 

As we walked through the park I was surprised that it was so big and beautiful.  As I got closer to the Unisphere I never imagined how big the Unisphere was. In pictures it looks average sized but when you actually see it in person all you can say is WOW!!! The Unisphere is 12 stories high and approximately 120 feet in diameter (Blue Guide, 497). As we went inside the Queens Museum of Arts and into the Panorama I was taken back a bit by how big it was. I was impressed on how they made the building and houses for the five boroughs so small. I noticed the Twin Towers and felt that if they do update it they should keep them up because it signifies New York City.  I am glad that I understand how it all began in Queens. I love knowing the fun facts about Queens and why Robert Moses wanted to have highways rather than street cars so that people can go to parks and beaches for amusement.

After a few hours of walking it was time to eat lunch and today’s menu was Indian food in Jackson Heights at the famous Jackson Diner. I was super excited because I have never had Indian food and I am open to try any type of cuisine and plus I love spicy food. As I was on line I was thinking what I should try first so I put everything that was there after eating everything I went back for seconds. To my surprise the food was not spicy. All I could think was its going to be super spicy but I handled it like a champ.  I would recommend this place to friends and family.

Then we went back on the train to go to Astoria to the Museum of Moving Image. I am from Queens and I never heard of the Museum of Moving Image. So I should have known this place because tourists come here and I feel like I missed out but I am making up for it in this class.

I walked around and saw a Charlie Chaplin silent movie on what it looked like index cards which you had to crank a dial as fast as you could to see the next image. I thought that it was pretty funny. My favorite part was walking around and seeing old fashion televisions, cameras and big lights for filming movies or shows. The museum was filled with Star Trek collections and I saw actual stretches of Sesame Street characters. Then I sat with some classmates watching sesame street shows and I felt like a little kid all over again.

The most anticipated part of the day in Queens was going to Long Island City (LIC) to the 5POINTZ I think graffiti is a way to express how the artist is feeling or what he thinks of the world. Even though some people think that it’s not art or it makes a community look undesirable. I think it beautiful and makes me want to grab a spray can and make me want draw something. These are talented individuals and I am glad that I was able to see this in person. The 5POINTZ is a old factory building were people from everywhere make amazing portraits of famous people like NAS and Ice Cube. Some of these drawings are so life like.

As I ride the J train back to Jamaica I could not believe that eight hours went by so fast. Usually I would be fidgety in a classroom praying that the 1 hour ½   or 3 hour class to be over and go home but I like moving around going to different new places.  Next class were Brooklyn Bound!!!

Thoughts about New York City

New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world. I like exploring the city, but I wouldn't like living here. It's definitely overcrowded and overpriced, but hard to make the argument that's it's overrated. It's highly rated because offers the best of many aspects of urban living.

 Things that I don’t like about the City 

• It has become overcrowded. There are too many people in the 5 boroughs. The gap between the rich and poor is really apparent when you go to the rough parts and the richer or nicer parts. There is also the discreet racism that lives within this city.

• It is too expensive. The cost of living sometimes does not match a person's salary. Housing and transportation are getting more expensive without any improvements.

The 5 boroughs are very diverse, but it seems to me that people remain guarded and generally do not cross lines to befriend others or even live in the same neighborhoods. But with all negative comments that I am writing there is good. There’s every kind of food your craving, from Chinese to donuts to just about anything else, you can find in a short distance walk. No need for an automobile, which saves NYers from the rising gas price.

There are certain areas of the city that I still haven't totally explored. I am really looking forward to going to Brooklyn and Manhattan. Never been to Coney Island and I would like to take a ride on one of the rides and see if I can brave it and eat a Nathan's hotdog at Coney Island. In Manhattan I would like to see some art work in the museums and street artist. I live in Queens and there are some locations that we are going to see during our trip that I haven’t seen in since I was young. I am going keep an open mind in this class looking forward to learning the history of the city because you can read books or watching videos you can only know so much but walking the streets of Manhattan experiencing it is priceless.