5. The Enchanted East Side
September 27th...
On Saturday once again I hopped on the LIRR from RVC to Penn station. Today we would be going to East Harlem, then we would be able to vote on what we wanted do for the remainder of the day. The reputation of Harlem in NY is a very dangerous area filled with a lot of crime. Originally I thought that this class would show us a less beautiful side of New York and focus on a poor area however I was in for a rude awakening. We took the 2 train to Time Square which resembled my commute to work as I worked at 5 Time Square. Instead of going outside we took the Time Square Shuttle, which enabled us to take the 4 train, which we took us to 103rd street, and Lexington Ave.
A little brief history of East Harlem, Morningside Heights, and Harlem is that it was once a rural area before a rail service helped to make travel easier therefore populating the area. The Harlem we see today has “experienced repeated cycles of economic boom and decline throughout their histories, and all are currently experiencing the effects of gentrification, which promises to change the characters of these communities once again” (ENY, 161). Our first stop after getting off the subway, was the Museum of the City of New York, here we saw a short video of the transition and history of NY. This 22 minute short film called “Timescapes”, introduced how the city began and then showed the rapid expansion. It was a phenomenal, well put together film that truly tied all the things we had learned from Mike such as the grid system. After the film, one of the exhibits we were able to see was of Tiffany and Co., which all the girls loved. This jewelry was from the gilded age. That was a time when the rich spent their money on gaudy fashions to show off. The jewelry was garish, extravagant and beautiful. After seeing this museum I figured oh this is all that Harlem has to offer and we’d be moving on to Manhattan…boy was I wrong we hadn't even scratched the surface.
We left the Museum of the City of New York and walked to El Museo de Barrio. “East Harlem-also known as Spanish Harlem or, more colloquially, “El Barrio”-is a uptown neighborhood of Manhattan, the boundaries of which are the Harlem River to the north, East 96th street to the south, the East river to the east, and Fifth Avenue to the west” (ENY, 161). This area was so rich in culture walking down the streets we would see the beautiful murals, the vibrant colors, and the smell of food that would take me back to my friend Maya’s mother who made the best empanadas ever. Here we met with Luke a poet and tour guide who took us through this Spanish museum and explained to us how he likes to interact with the people in the neighborhood because it’s disrespectful to come pass through without acknowledgement.
We stood inside the Museum in a circle and Luke told us to introduce ourselves by name and pick a word that describes how we were feeling, who we are, etc. He was unlike any of our other tour guides and his quirky style began to awaken and interest our class who mostly chose the words hungry and tired. An interesting fact I learned about this museum was that it was actually founded by “a public school classroom in PS 125 by Puerto Rican activists from East Harlem, seeking to preserve their cultural heritage” (ENY, 163). This was amazing to learn because East Harlem was undergoing the beginning stages of gentrification. Most notably seen from the luxury high rise buildings awkwardly placed in the neighborhood. It was phenomenal to see a class take the initiative to not just try and stop the gentrification process in its tracks because change is inevitable, but take a stand in preserving their history so that when the process does occur, the people will have a source of education in the museum to be able to learn about their history.
We were exited by the Museum and walked down 104th street where Luke began to give us some brief history of New York. Our large class made it difficult to hear Luke while walking so he decided to just let us look around as we walked and when we reached our next destination he would speak.Our first stop with Luke was the Spirit of Harlem Mural, a beautiful mural painted on the side of a building. Luke began to tell us that the mural was painted in 1978 and how it “represents the community and the Latin influences on street life" (ENY p, 163). And then how it was redone in the 90’s by artist Manny Vega. Before he could delve further we saw a man walking towards us. Luke decided to say hello and tell him a little bit about who we are, what we were doing, and asked if he had any words for us. Luke stressed the importance of greeting residents and getting their viewpoint because we are in their neighborhood and also getting a sense of real world opinions is important. The man began to ramble and then went in and out in Spanish making it difficult to understand. At one point he actually wouldn’t leave but it just became funny. You could tell he wanted to tell us so much and how excited and lively he was and that really was a something we would see throughout. The people who were walking by were playing lively music that even made Steph (who can’t dance) bust out in some moves, which I most certainly got on video.
After the man left we walked to a small community garden called the Modesto “Tin” Flores Garden. Luke explained to us that every day one of the three key holders would come and open up the garden for all to be able to see. This small beautiful garden had a mural painted on it and a unique fountain in the center. The mural was called "Soldadares" and was a depiction of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos two influential women in their cultures. These two cultures have had hardships in the community but these similar struggles ties them together which is also depicted by their flags and the two women holding hands. Such a powerful piece. Luke asked us what our majors were and majority (obviously being Molloy) most said nursing. He then asked us what we thought the fountain depicted. You may be surprised but a nursing major answered that it resembled a women’s reproductive organs, and they were right! I mean after 3 years at one of best nursing schools in the country I would hope they would have guessed right. Anyway, Luke explained to us that the women in this community were the center. The fountain was created as a homage of strength to the women of this community. What was even more astonishing about this community garden was the “The park was originally a vacant lot and dumping ground when it was converted by East Harlem resident Ernest “Tin” Flores into a garden for the neighborhood’s inhabitants” (ENY, 163). One thing I really love about East Harlem which is now my favorite Gotham class to date, is that there is such a large sense of community. Coming as a second generation Nigerian American my parents strived to make our culture a part of our life. Our church is primarily Nigerian so every Sunday gives our community which is scattered from Stonybrook to Hempstead a chance to eat, worship, and dress in our native culture. No matter where we are America, London, or Nigeria there is always an RCCG Church that acts as a safe haven almost. This is what the residents of East Harlem are doing. With gentrification threatening to change their streets and neighborhoods, they are actively participating in different ventures to “save” their neighborhood. From the museum, to the community garden, to the beautiful murals on almost every building I truly believe that gentrification will have a hard time erasing the spirit of the resilient East Harlem residents.
As we walked through Harlem one theme was very consistent. The numerous murals, paintings, statue pieces were bright, vibrant and colorful and all had a common theme, family, happiness, hard work, and community. Despite all these various artist there was always a common theme. One of my absolute favorite (I feel like I said that for everything) murals was a piece called “Spirit of East Harlem” by Hank Prussing. This piece literally encompassed everything I had been raving about. “Prior to painting this work, Prussing spent several days photographing people in El Barrio and some of these individuals ending up being incorporated into the work” (ENY, 163). This beautiful piece showed everything East Harlem was about, strong women, hard work, family, and community. This embodied East Harlem. The last mural we saw was another piece by Manny Vega who coincidentally was Prussings apprentice. This art vastly differed from the contemporary hard to understand artwork we saw down in Chelsea. This art had so much life you could truly understand just by looking at it what the artist was feeling or trying to express.
As we walked again we stopped in front of yet another beautiful mural which I immediately made Freddy get a picture in front of because the man depicted looked like he was on a skateboard and Freddy always has his skateboard on him. I always love when art captures something that has relevance in my age group. As we stood and talked with Luke a man came by and stopped to listen. Luke once again introduced himself and explained to him that we were a class from Long island learning about East Harlem. Luke asked him if he would like to share anything about the people of the neighborhood. He stressed that there were good people here. Luke asked him what he thought of the notable high rise building and to my surprise he expressed his excitement for the high rise building, he said that they would bring a lot of good to the neighborhood. He wished us luck during the rest of the class and left.
Before Luke left us he told us he was going to perform one of his poems. I was unprepared for what was about to come out of his mouth. Luke’s poem titled “Girl on the D train” was so amazing it gave me goose bumps. This poem was about a women on the train singing and how he did not wants her to stop singing because her voice was giving other people on the bus a piece of something. Everyone who was able to hear her was gaining something from her beautiful voice. After his performance I looked around the room and everyone was silent, it was easily the most memorable piece of the class. Now feeling invigorated and awake it was finally time for lunch. The three Meg’s, Steph, Taylor and I went to a Spanish restaurant. It was okay but I did regret picking a fancy restaurant over a smaller local restaurant as my other classmates did.
We finally met up with Mike and went to visit Central Park. As we walked through the beautiful Vanderbilt gate a couple was taking their wedding photos there. We saw lots of beautiful things in the park such as the Three Dancing Maidens in a fountain, the Frances Hodges Burnett Memorial Fountain which really interested me because I loved the book the secret garden when I was younger. We then had the option to either finish the park which I said absolutely not because it was so huge, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art which I also didn’t want to do because I didn’t want to be stuck indoors, or last walk through East Midtown, ding ding ding we have a winner! As usual I was able to sway the class in my direction and we began our journey through East Midtown.
We started in Grand Central Station. I personally love Grand Central Station and have been there dozens of times because my best friend from High School Jenny attends Iona College in New Rochelle. I truly dislike using Grand Central and Penn Station in the same sentence because they are incomparable. What I was surprised to hear was that after spending $80 million, Grand Central was almost torn down after cars became the popular mode of transportation. Thankfully the beautiful and fashionable Jackie Kennedy fought to save our now most beautiful train station. Continuing our journey in midtown we saw the Chrystler building, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and GE building. At this point Mike could see we had all mentally checked out so he let us leave early.
As per usual the mad dash to catch the earliest train our groups split up in order to try and get back. People were debating how we would get back walk, train, or cab. I told Steph that this was similar to my work commute and we could take the 1,2, or 3 downtown and that would lead us right into Penn Station. So we left our group and made it in time. Exhausted as usual after getting back to Molloy I took a shower, planned on going out but ended up falling asleep. This was easily the best Gotham class!
On Saturday once again I hopped on the LIRR from RVC to Penn station. Today we would be going to East Harlem, then we would be able to vote on what we wanted do for the remainder of the day. The reputation of Harlem in NY is a very dangerous area filled with a lot of crime. Originally I thought that this class would show us a less beautiful side of New York and focus on a poor area however I was in for a rude awakening. We took the 2 train to Time Square which resembled my commute to work as I worked at 5 Time Square. Instead of going outside we took the Time Square Shuttle, which enabled us to take the 4 train, which we took us to 103rd street, and Lexington Ave.
A little brief history of East Harlem, Morningside Heights, and Harlem is that it was once a rural area before a rail service helped to make travel easier therefore populating the area. The Harlem we see today has “experienced repeated cycles of economic boom and decline throughout their histories, and all are currently experiencing the effects of gentrification, which promises to change the characters of these communities once again” (ENY, 161). Our first stop after getting off the subway, was the Museum of the City of New York, here we saw a short video of the transition and history of NY. This 22 minute short film called “Timescapes”, introduced how the city began and then showed the rapid expansion. It was a phenomenal, well put together film that truly tied all the things we had learned from Mike such as the grid system. After the film, one of the exhibits we were able to see was of Tiffany and Co., which all the girls loved. This jewelry was from the gilded age. That was a time when the rich spent their money on gaudy fashions to show off. The jewelry was garish, extravagant and beautiful. After seeing this museum I figured oh this is all that Harlem has to offer and we’d be moving on to Manhattan…boy was I wrong we hadn't even scratched the surface.
We left the Museum of the City of New York and walked to El Museo de Barrio. “East Harlem-also known as Spanish Harlem or, more colloquially, “El Barrio”-is a uptown neighborhood of Manhattan, the boundaries of which are the Harlem River to the north, East 96th street to the south, the East river to the east, and Fifth Avenue to the west” (ENY, 161). This area was so rich in culture walking down the streets we would see the beautiful murals, the vibrant colors, and the smell of food that would take me back to my friend Maya’s mother who made the best empanadas ever. Here we met with Luke a poet and tour guide who took us through this Spanish museum and explained to us how he likes to interact with the people in the neighborhood because it’s disrespectful to come pass through without acknowledgement.
We stood inside the Museum in a circle and Luke told us to introduce ourselves by name and pick a word that describes how we were feeling, who we are, etc. He was unlike any of our other tour guides and his quirky style began to awaken and interest our class who mostly chose the words hungry and tired. An interesting fact I learned about this museum was that it was actually founded by “a public school classroom in PS 125 by Puerto Rican activists from East Harlem, seeking to preserve their cultural heritage” (ENY, 163). This was amazing to learn because East Harlem was undergoing the beginning stages of gentrification. Most notably seen from the luxury high rise buildings awkwardly placed in the neighborhood. It was phenomenal to see a class take the initiative to not just try and stop the gentrification process in its tracks because change is inevitable, but take a stand in preserving their history so that when the process does occur, the people will have a source of education in the museum to be able to learn about their history.
We were exited by the Museum and walked down 104th street where Luke began to give us some brief history of New York. Our large class made it difficult to hear Luke while walking so he decided to just let us look around as we walked and when we reached our next destination he would speak.Our first stop with Luke was the Spirit of Harlem Mural, a beautiful mural painted on the side of a building. Luke began to tell us that the mural was painted in 1978 and how it “represents the community and the Latin influences on street life" (ENY p, 163). And then how it was redone in the 90’s by artist Manny Vega. Before he could delve further we saw a man walking towards us. Luke decided to say hello and tell him a little bit about who we are, what we were doing, and asked if he had any words for us. Luke stressed the importance of greeting residents and getting their viewpoint because we are in their neighborhood and also getting a sense of real world opinions is important. The man began to ramble and then went in and out in Spanish making it difficult to understand. At one point he actually wouldn’t leave but it just became funny. You could tell he wanted to tell us so much and how excited and lively he was and that really was a something we would see throughout. The people who were walking by were playing lively music that even made Steph (who can’t dance) bust out in some moves, which I most certainly got on video.
After the man left we walked to a small community garden called the Modesto “Tin” Flores Garden. Luke explained to us that every day one of the three key holders would come and open up the garden for all to be able to see. This small beautiful garden had a mural painted on it and a unique fountain in the center. The mural was called "Soldadares" and was a depiction of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos two influential women in their cultures. These two cultures have had hardships in the community but these similar struggles ties them together which is also depicted by their flags and the two women holding hands. Such a powerful piece. Luke asked us what our majors were and majority (obviously being Molloy) most said nursing. He then asked us what we thought the fountain depicted. You may be surprised but a nursing major answered that it resembled a women’s reproductive organs, and they were right! I mean after 3 years at one of best nursing schools in the country I would hope they would have guessed right. Anyway, Luke explained to us that the women in this community were the center. The fountain was created as a homage of strength to the women of this community. What was even more astonishing about this community garden was the “The park was originally a vacant lot and dumping ground when it was converted by East Harlem resident Ernest “Tin” Flores into a garden for the neighborhood’s inhabitants” (ENY, 163). One thing I really love about East Harlem which is now my favorite Gotham class to date, is that there is such a large sense of community. Coming as a second generation Nigerian American my parents strived to make our culture a part of our life. Our church is primarily Nigerian so every Sunday gives our community which is scattered from Stonybrook to Hempstead a chance to eat, worship, and dress in our native culture. No matter where we are America, London, or Nigeria there is always an RCCG Church that acts as a safe haven almost. This is what the residents of East Harlem are doing. With gentrification threatening to change their streets and neighborhoods, they are actively participating in different ventures to “save” their neighborhood. From the museum, to the community garden, to the beautiful murals on almost every building I truly believe that gentrification will have a hard time erasing the spirit of the resilient East Harlem residents.
As we walked through Harlem one theme was very consistent. The numerous murals, paintings, statue pieces were bright, vibrant and colorful and all had a common theme, family, happiness, hard work, and community. Despite all these various artist there was always a common theme. One of my absolute favorite (I feel like I said that for everything) murals was a piece called “Spirit of East Harlem” by Hank Prussing. This piece literally encompassed everything I had been raving about. “Prior to painting this work, Prussing spent several days photographing people in El Barrio and some of these individuals ending up being incorporated into the work” (ENY, 163). This beautiful piece showed everything East Harlem was about, strong women, hard work, family, and community. This embodied East Harlem. The last mural we saw was another piece by Manny Vega who coincidentally was Prussings apprentice. This art vastly differed from the contemporary hard to understand artwork we saw down in Chelsea. This art had so much life you could truly understand just by looking at it what the artist was feeling or trying to express.
As we walked again we stopped in front of yet another beautiful mural which I immediately made Freddy get a picture in front of because the man depicted looked like he was on a skateboard and Freddy always has his skateboard on him. I always love when art captures something that has relevance in my age group. As we stood and talked with Luke a man came by and stopped to listen. Luke once again introduced himself and explained to him that we were a class from Long island learning about East Harlem. Luke asked him if he would like to share anything about the people of the neighborhood. He stressed that there were good people here. Luke asked him what he thought of the notable high rise building and to my surprise he expressed his excitement for the high rise building, he said that they would bring a lot of good to the neighborhood. He wished us luck during the rest of the class and left.
Before Luke left us he told us he was going to perform one of his poems. I was unprepared for what was about to come out of his mouth. Luke’s poem titled “Girl on the D train” was so amazing it gave me goose bumps. This poem was about a women on the train singing and how he did not wants her to stop singing because her voice was giving other people on the bus a piece of something. Everyone who was able to hear her was gaining something from her beautiful voice. After his performance I looked around the room and everyone was silent, it was easily the most memorable piece of the class. Now feeling invigorated and awake it was finally time for lunch. The three Meg’s, Steph, Taylor and I went to a Spanish restaurant. It was okay but I did regret picking a fancy restaurant over a smaller local restaurant as my other classmates did.
We finally met up with Mike and went to visit Central Park. As we walked through the beautiful Vanderbilt gate a couple was taking their wedding photos there. We saw lots of beautiful things in the park such as the Three Dancing Maidens in a fountain, the Frances Hodges Burnett Memorial Fountain which really interested me because I loved the book the secret garden when I was younger. We then had the option to either finish the park which I said absolutely not because it was so huge, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art which I also didn’t want to do because I didn’t want to be stuck indoors, or last walk through East Midtown, ding ding ding we have a winner! As usual I was able to sway the class in my direction and we began our journey through East Midtown.
We started in Grand Central Station. I personally love Grand Central Station and have been there dozens of times because my best friend from High School Jenny attends Iona College in New Rochelle. I truly dislike using Grand Central and Penn Station in the same sentence because they are incomparable. What I was surprised to hear was that after spending $80 million, Grand Central was almost torn down after cars became the popular mode of transportation. Thankfully the beautiful and fashionable Jackie Kennedy fought to save our now most beautiful train station. Continuing our journey in midtown we saw the Chrystler building, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and GE building. At this point Mike could see we had all mentally checked out so he let us leave early.
As per usual the mad dash to catch the earliest train our groups split up in order to try and get back. People were debating how we would get back walk, train, or cab. I told Steph that this was similar to my work commute and we could take the 1,2, or 3 downtown and that would lead us right into Penn Station. So we left our group and made it in time. Exhausted as usual after getting back to Molloy I took a shower, planned on going out but ended up falling asleep. This was easily the best Gotham class!
6. The Wild West Side (MoMA & Morningside Heights)
October 4th...
The weather was dropping and I think it’s safe to say this would be the last sweaty Gotham class I’d be having. Once again I boarded the RVC train to Penn Station and met up with my class. Unlike my intelligent classmates I forgot to read the website and was not aware of today’s forecast which was…RAIN RAIN RAIN. Such a gloomy day everybody was unexcited about what was to come. We figured we’d spend our day dodging the rain and that’s exactly what we did. As we began walking I told Mike a little bit about how our class had related to my daily life. I went to lunch with my dad on Friday and right next door to our church, which is located on Peninsula Blvd the home of our landlord was being restored. My dad told me that the home belonged to the Episcopalian church and the house is a Landmark. Because it is a landmark it is being restored not renovated. Piece by Piece they were restoring the house although the completed piece still looked old and rustic because they could not make any changes to the house they had to keep it the same. My dad told me to go to the font of the house and once you start walking the modern sidewalk we have today changes into cobblestone. They can’t even change the sidewalk! Engraved in the first step was a plaque that said 1793 because that is when the house was build.
On the subway one of our classmates spotted actress America Ferrera who has been in countless movies such as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, End of Watch, and How to Train Your Pet Dragon it's nice to see the beautiful people using public transportation! Now back to our class, first we went to a place everyone kept calling MoMA. All throughout the class I kept asking where we were going and everyone said MoMA MoMA MoMA! I was so confused until finally Freddy told me that MOMA was the Museum of Modern Art. I’ve often heard of the MOMA but had never actually been so I was actually kind of excited. I was excited until we stepped foot into the building and I realized everyone, there mom, their grandfather, their cousin, and distant relatives living in Canada decided today was the day they also wanted to visit the MOMA. To check in our bags we waited on a line equivalent to Disney world for about 15 minutes. Then we began our brief tour with Mike as our tour guide. As we walked through the museum our first stop was from the artist Robert Gober. There was a lot going on from things you would see in a bathroom like sinks and toilets, random body parts in weird places, and then a room with male reproductive parts drawn everywhere. I was pretty confused as to the reasoning for the graphic art and ultimately uninterested especially after our last class in Harlem. As we waited for some of our classmates Mike asked us what we thought and we unanimously thought the art was wacky, confusing, and graphic. He explained that this was supposed to me provocative and different as opposed to what we would have seen at other museums. I however was not a fan.
We then went up and began to look at some famous pieces that reminded me of home. The famous “Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh brought me back to my early childhood. In my home in London I remember my mom have two (replica’s of course) paintings of “Starry Night” and “Café Terrace at Night.” I wasn’t sure if the MoMA has “Café Terrace at Night” but we had to leave so I was unable to ask. One piece of art I found particularly interesting… was a piece called "Academy" by Cy Twombly. It truly resembled when I had beige walls and my two younger sisters used to take pens and pencils and draw all over the walls. I wish they had an explanation or little blurb about what the artist was thinking or trying to convey. After this it was time to get our bags which took another 15 minutes. It wasn’t raining as heavily so we decided to take a lunch.
For lunch we went to an amazing Thai restaurant called Yum Yum which was coincidently right next to Yum Yum 1 and 3. I’ve only had Thai food one time and this was for my cousin’s 8th grade graduation and I had the pineapple rice. Determined to try something new I asked everyone if they had ever tried the chill beef and rice. Everyone said no yet nervously I still ordered it and thank God. As everyone’s food came my mouth was watering everything looked so good and I was starting to second guess my choice until it came. It was amazing! It wasn’t too spicy it was perfect! After our meal I was full to the brim. Meg Orlando and Meg Lonnergan decided to ask for some hot sauce. The waitress bought us a liquid sauce and a powdery form one. They both sprinkled it on the sticky rice and almost immediately and in sync spit it out. Meg Orlando turned bright red with almost tears in her eyes that’s how hot it was. Jokingly I dumped a huge amount of the dangerous hot sauce onto the rice and told Steph Meyer to take a bite. No quicker did I say “Hey Steph try this” was my face blasted with water from Meg Orlando spitting her drink out. She thought it was the funniest thing in the world that Steph was about to eat it and could no longer contain her drink. I was literally drenched in water and had to use napkins to wipe my face. The whole table burst out in laughter at Meg. This gloomy day seemed to brighten up.
After lunch we now went to Morningside Heights where we met our tour guide for the remainder of the day Jim and his wife. Our first stop was the General Grant National Memorial. “Ulysses S. Grant was commander of the Union army during the Civil war and President of the United States from 1869-1877” (ENY, 171). This beautiful memorial was also the site of yet another wedding. Honesty if I had a dollar for every bride I saw during this class I could definitely by a 2 for $20 meal at Chili’s. We had a chance to enter the tomb and it was so grand. The entrance level was in a circular shaped and allowed you to overlook the tombs which were massive.
After we left we walked across the street to the Riverside church. One thing I didn’t know was the “it was the tallest church in the United States” (ENY, 172). Coincidently the wedding we saw was actually being held at the church so we were unable to enter. The architecture was Greek revival and right outside the door you could really see the attention to detail in all the sculptures.
Next we journeyed off to Columbia, and what a beautiful campus it was. “Columbia University was the first college established in New York State and the fifth in the United States” (ENY, 169). This campus was huge unlike Molloy. We even got to rub the legendary owl so I’m waiting to meet my future husband. We were also able to visit the beautiful St. Paul’s church but were unable to enter. This was the first building not designed by our friends Mckim, Meade, and White.
Before moving onto our final stop which was St. John the Divine we stopped in the Children’s Sculpture Garden which was located right in front of the cathedral. “In the center of the Garden I the Peace Fountain sculpted by Gregg Wyatt to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Episcopalian Diocese of New York” (ENY, 168). This fountain was really interesting because it had different old children’s stories represented throughout. When we entered the grand cathedral it was breathtaking. My favoritre part was the stain glass windows. We were able to leave after this and Steph and I took the subway back to Penn. As per usual after a long day I was able crawl into bed and sleep.
The weather was dropping and I think it’s safe to say this would be the last sweaty Gotham class I’d be having. Once again I boarded the RVC train to Penn Station and met up with my class. Unlike my intelligent classmates I forgot to read the website and was not aware of today’s forecast which was…RAIN RAIN RAIN. Such a gloomy day everybody was unexcited about what was to come. We figured we’d spend our day dodging the rain and that’s exactly what we did. As we began walking I told Mike a little bit about how our class had related to my daily life. I went to lunch with my dad on Friday and right next door to our church, which is located on Peninsula Blvd the home of our landlord was being restored. My dad told me that the home belonged to the Episcopalian church and the house is a Landmark. Because it is a landmark it is being restored not renovated. Piece by Piece they were restoring the house although the completed piece still looked old and rustic because they could not make any changes to the house they had to keep it the same. My dad told me to go to the font of the house and once you start walking the modern sidewalk we have today changes into cobblestone. They can’t even change the sidewalk! Engraved in the first step was a plaque that said 1793 because that is when the house was build.
On the subway one of our classmates spotted actress America Ferrera who has been in countless movies such as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, End of Watch, and How to Train Your Pet Dragon it's nice to see the beautiful people using public transportation! Now back to our class, first we went to a place everyone kept calling MoMA. All throughout the class I kept asking where we were going and everyone said MoMA MoMA MoMA! I was so confused until finally Freddy told me that MOMA was the Museum of Modern Art. I’ve often heard of the MOMA but had never actually been so I was actually kind of excited. I was excited until we stepped foot into the building and I realized everyone, there mom, their grandfather, their cousin, and distant relatives living in Canada decided today was the day they also wanted to visit the MOMA. To check in our bags we waited on a line equivalent to Disney world for about 15 minutes. Then we began our brief tour with Mike as our tour guide. As we walked through the museum our first stop was from the artist Robert Gober. There was a lot going on from things you would see in a bathroom like sinks and toilets, random body parts in weird places, and then a room with male reproductive parts drawn everywhere. I was pretty confused as to the reasoning for the graphic art and ultimately uninterested especially after our last class in Harlem. As we waited for some of our classmates Mike asked us what we thought and we unanimously thought the art was wacky, confusing, and graphic. He explained that this was supposed to me provocative and different as opposed to what we would have seen at other museums. I however was not a fan.
We then went up and began to look at some famous pieces that reminded me of home. The famous “Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh brought me back to my early childhood. In my home in London I remember my mom have two (replica’s of course) paintings of “Starry Night” and “Café Terrace at Night.” I wasn’t sure if the MoMA has “Café Terrace at Night” but we had to leave so I was unable to ask. One piece of art I found particularly interesting… was a piece called "Academy" by Cy Twombly. It truly resembled when I had beige walls and my two younger sisters used to take pens and pencils and draw all over the walls. I wish they had an explanation or little blurb about what the artist was thinking or trying to convey. After this it was time to get our bags which took another 15 minutes. It wasn’t raining as heavily so we decided to take a lunch.
For lunch we went to an amazing Thai restaurant called Yum Yum which was coincidently right next to Yum Yum 1 and 3. I’ve only had Thai food one time and this was for my cousin’s 8th grade graduation and I had the pineapple rice. Determined to try something new I asked everyone if they had ever tried the chill beef and rice. Everyone said no yet nervously I still ordered it and thank God. As everyone’s food came my mouth was watering everything looked so good and I was starting to second guess my choice until it came. It was amazing! It wasn’t too spicy it was perfect! After our meal I was full to the brim. Meg Orlando and Meg Lonnergan decided to ask for some hot sauce. The waitress bought us a liquid sauce and a powdery form one. They both sprinkled it on the sticky rice and almost immediately and in sync spit it out. Meg Orlando turned bright red with almost tears in her eyes that’s how hot it was. Jokingly I dumped a huge amount of the dangerous hot sauce onto the rice and told Steph Meyer to take a bite. No quicker did I say “Hey Steph try this” was my face blasted with water from Meg Orlando spitting her drink out. She thought it was the funniest thing in the world that Steph was about to eat it and could no longer contain her drink. I was literally drenched in water and had to use napkins to wipe my face. The whole table burst out in laughter at Meg. This gloomy day seemed to brighten up.
After lunch we now went to Morningside Heights where we met our tour guide for the remainder of the day Jim and his wife. Our first stop was the General Grant National Memorial. “Ulysses S. Grant was commander of the Union army during the Civil war and President of the United States from 1869-1877” (ENY, 171). This beautiful memorial was also the site of yet another wedding. Honesty if I had a dollar for every bride I saw during this class I could definitely by a 2 for $20 meal at Chili’s. We had a chance to enter the tomb and it was so grand. The entrance level was in a circular shaped and allowed you to overlook the tombs which were massive.
After we left we walked across the street to the Riverside church. One thing I didn’t know was the “it was the tallest church in the United States” (ENY, 172). Coincidently the wedding we saw was actually being held at the church so we were unable to enter. The architecture was Greek revival and right outside the door you could really see the attention to detail in all the sculptures.
Next we journeyed off to Columbia, and what a beautiful campus it was. “Columbia University was the first college established in New York State and the fifth in the United States” (ENY, 169). This campus was huge unlike Molloy. We even got to rub the legendary owl so I’m waiting to meet my future husband. We were also able to visit the beautiful St. Paul’s church but were unable to enter. This was the first building not designed by our friends Mckim, Meade, and White.
Before moving onto our final stop which was St. John the Divine we stopped in the Children’s Sculpture Garden which was located right in front of the cathedral. “In the center of the Garden I the Peace Fountain sculpted by Gregg Wyatt to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Episcopalian Diocese of New York” (ENY, 168). This fountain was really interesting because it had different old children’s stories represented throughout. When we entered the grand cathedral it was breathtaking. My favoritre part was the stain glass windows. We were able to leave after this and Steph and I took the subway back to Penn. As per usual after a long day I was able crawl into bed and sleep.
7. Lavish Lower Manhattan
October 10th...
A little twist for today Steph and I went to the Friday’s Gotham class instead of the Saturdays Gotham class. The Friday’s Gotham class was much different than our Saturdays class because our morning train was a little more packed, Penn Station was a little busier and our returning ticket would be during Peak hours! Instantly I was spotted out by one of the Friday’s Gotham class members because I was wearing maroon Molloy sweatpants and my maroon RA shirt. I was literally a walking advertisement for Molloy.
Today we would be exploring lower Manhattan. “Lower Manhattan-that section of the island between New York Harbor to the south and City Hall to the north- is where it all began for the City of New York” (ENY, 39). We began our journey by taking the 3 to park place and started in lower Manhattan. We first saw the Woolworth building which was inspired by gothic architecture, it’s also called the cathedral of commerce and was the tallest building in the world until 1930 until the Chrysler building was built. Now they are converting the beautiful building into condos. Another building we saw was the Municipal building, this was another building designed by Mckim, Meade, and White. In 1898 after the consolidation happened this building was built to accommodate everyone. “The building is currently home to thirteen municipal agencies of the City of New York and until 2009 housed the Manhattan Marriage Bureau, where 18,000 people were married each year in the building’s second floor chapel” (ENY, 42).
As we continued to walk along centre street we approached Foley Square. Here we saw a Black granite ship by Lorenzo Pace. This ship was called “Triumph of the Human Spirit” it represented a slave ship that African Americans would take to come to America. What astounded me was that Mike mentioned that this area was built over an African burial ground. To think that the ground we were currently walking over was an area where thousands of people had been buried felt almost wrong in a way. This feeling I felt I would be heightened after we visited the African Burial Ground National Monument.
As we walked Mike also began to tell us about the five points area. Joe Platia a formed student had told me all about the five points and how that was his favorite part of the class. He showed me pictures of the artwork done by graffiti artists. The area had since been painted over so this part was no longer in our curriculum. But what Mike did tell us about it was the five points area was that it was a very dangerous area. This is where Irish gangs had established themselves and would frequently fight and riot. NY ended up leveling out the area to put a stop to all the chaos.
We made a brief stop at Tweed Courthouse. “The creation of the courthouse was the brainchild of William “Boss” Tweed, one of New York’s notoriously corrupt politicians” (ENY, 45). When the Irish came to America to escape the potato famine they were discriminated against. Boss Tweed took advantage of this as well as his group Tamerny Hall in order to help secure votes. Eventually Tweed was arrested and died in prison however in his corruption he pocked over $10 million dollars.
Our first stop of the day was City Hall. “Completed in 1811, this is the oldest city hall in the United States” (ENY, 41). Hoping to get a picture with Mayor Bill De Blasio every single 6ft man that walked out of the building I had my camera out and ready. Our guide gave us a brief overview of the building and also currently what goes on however I was a bit distracted. Not only was I on the search of the mayor, but there was also a demonstration going on. There were women and men in purple shirts, holding up pictures of presumably their sons, and on their shirts they had Harlem Mothers written. Our guide told us that City Hall is a place where people and different groups can come speak and just that in and of itself holds significant meaning. Once we entered the hall we saw a beautiful winding staircase, and the detail in the ceilings it was all impeccable. We weren’t really allowed to take to many pictures but what did interest me was the City Council Chamber. What was interesting was the NY citizens are allowed to participate in it. This is also where NY state laws are made because it is part of the legislative branch so things like speed limit, e-cigarette age, and the city budget are approved here. Some facts we also learned were that out of the total 51 city council members 48 are democrat and 3 are republicans. Although they meet monthly this is a part time job. Being involved in law is something I’ve always wanted to do however instead of going to law school I decided to be an accountant but this sort of thing still interests me. I decided to Google the benefits and was honestly shocked. As a part time job each council member receives an annual base salary of $112,500. My next question is…where do I sign up? This is definitely something I am interested in and will research further in terms of what type of resume would be needed etc. The last interesting fact before leaving was that Mike asked us why the building faces south. The answer was because New York back then was in front of it. When building, they didn’t think about or realize how fast and far the city would expand to. It was very interesting to see the restoration going on in City Hall because just last class I had just mentioned to Mike that the house adjacent to my church was undergoing a restoration. I love when this class collides with things that happen or that I see on a daily basis.
Our next stop was the African Burial Ground national Monument. There was a short film we were going to watch but we got there early so Mike gave us time to walk around on their own. This was easily the best museum of all the that we had been to. There were life size sculptures of family huddled over a coffin, what was even more depressing was one of the sizes of the coffins was that of a baby. They also had pictures of the graves an corresponding age estimates. They had a map of Africa with the countries these slaves typically came from highlighted and their corresponding flags. Of Nigerian decent most notable to me was the flag of Nigeria. Luckily my grandparents and great grandparents still in Nigeria were not apart of the slave trade however, it is scary to think that this affected the people of my native country. My all time favorite thing that I saw there was a quote by Maya Angelou. It read, “You may bury me in the bottom of Manhattan, I will rise. My people will get me. I will rise out of the huts of history’s shame.” She said this at a dedication memorial in honor of the burial ground. Next we watched a short film documenting the life of what a young family would go through during the burial process. Then we saw the outcry of what happened when the graves were discovered. There was outrage for the lack of respect, which in turn is why the museum was built. The museum was very informative and a really great addition to the day.
Next we went to the 9/11 museums. I had never been but I think it’s safe to say every American especially New Yorkers could tell you exactly what they were doing on that day. “The memorial consists of two one acre pools set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers. 30 foot waterfalls-the largest manmade waterfalls in the United State- descend into the pools draining into a center void. The names of the victims of the 9/11 attacks are inscribed in bonze (sic) around the edge of the waterfalls” (ENY, 49). What was even more beautiful and special about being able to be there was seeing the name of my old suitemates father.
For the remainder of the day we were able to see the charging bull, St. Pauls church, and ended in front of the National Museum of the American Indian. There was little outdoor shops set up and Mike allowed us to explore and make some purchases. It began to rain and Mike decided to let us go and we took the 1 to Penn Station from Battery Park. At first I was nervous going to the Friday class because I didn’t know anyone but from seeing city hall, the 9/11 memorial, and the African burial museum I couldn’t have picked a better class. There was so much that I learned on this day about things that I didn’t even know that happened in this country. That just goes to show you how amazing the city is because with the thousands of museums they all serve a purpose. To educate you on something you weren’t familiar or aware of. Surprisingly after class I wasn’t completely drained so instead I went to movie and let me just say Gone Girl is a must see!
A little twist for today Steph and I went to the Friday’s Gotham class instead of the Saturdays Gotham class. The Friday’s Gotham class was much different than our Saturdays class because our morning train was a little more packed, Penn Station was a little busier and our returning ticket would be during Peak hours! Instantly I was spotted out by one of the Friday’s Gotham class members because I was wearing maroon Molloy sweatpants and my maroon RA shirt. I was literally a walking advertisement for Molloy.
Today we would be exploring lower Manhattan. “Lower Manhattan-that section of the island between New York Harbor to the south and City Hall to the north- is where it all began for the City of New York” (ENY, 39). We began our journey by taking the 3 to park place and started in lower Manhattan. We first saw the Woolworth building which was inspired by gothic architecture, it’s also called the cathedral of commerce and was the tallest building in the world until 1930 until the Chrysler building was built. Now they are converting the beautiful building into condos. Another building we saw was the Municipal building, this was another building designed by Mckim, Meade, and White. In 1898 after the consolidation happened this building was built to accommodate everyone. “The building is currently home to thirteen municipal agencies of the City of New York and until 2009 housed the Manhattan Marriage Bureau, where 18,000 people were married each year in the building’s second floor chapel” (ENY, 42).
As we continued to walk along centre street we approached Foley Square. Here we saw a Black granite ship by Lorenzo Pace. This ship was called “Triumph of the Human Spirit” it represented a slave ship that African Americans would take to come to America. What astounded me was that Mike mentioned that this area was built over an African burial ground. To think that the ground we were currently walking over was an area where thousands of people had been buried felt almost wrong in a way. This feeling I felt I would be heightened after we visited the African Burial Ground National Monument.
As we walked Mike also began to tell us about the five points area. Joe Platia a formed student had told me all about the five points and how that was his favorite part of the class. He showed me pictures of the artwork done by graffiti artists. The area had since been painted over so this part was no longer in our curriculum. But what Mike did tell us about it was the five points area was that it was a very dangerous area. This is where Irish gangs had established themselves and would frequently fight and riot. NY ended up leveling out the area to put a stop to all the chaos.
We made a brief stop at Tweed Courthouse. “The creation of the courthouse was the brainchild of William “Boss” Tweed, one of New York’s notoriously corrupt politicians” (ENY, 45). When the Irish came to America to escape the potato famine they were discriminated against. Boss Tweed took advantage of this as well as his group Tamerny Hall in order to help secure votes. Eventually Tweed was arrested and died in prison however in his corruption he pocked over $10 million dollars.
Our first stop of the day was City Hall. “Completed in 1811, this is the oldest city hall in the United States” (ENY, 41). Hoping to get a picture with Mayor Bill De Blasio every single 6ft man that walked out of the building I had my camera out and ready. Our guide gave us a brief overview of the building and also currently what goes on however I was a bit distracted. Not only was I on the search of the mayor, but there was also a demonstration going on. There were women and men in purple shirts, holding up pictures of presumably their sons, and on their shirts they had Harlem Mothers written. Our guide told us that City Hall is a place where people and different groups can come speak and just that in and of itself holds significant meaning. Once we entered the hall we saw a beautiful winding staircase, and the detail in the ceilings it was all impeccable. We weren’t really allowed to take to many pictures but what did interest me was the City Council Chamber. What was interesting was the NY citizens are allowed to participate in it. This is also where NY state laws are made because it is part of the legislative branch so things like speed limit, e-cigarette age, and the city budget are approved here. Some facts we also learned were that out of the total 51 city council members 48 are democrat and 3 are republicans. Although they meet monthly this is a part time job. Being involved in law is something I’ve always wanted to do however instead of going to law school I decided to be an accountant but this sort of thing still interests me. I decided to Google the benefits and was honestly shocked. As a part time job each council member receives an annual base salary of $112,500. My next question is…where do I sign up? This is definitely something I am interested in and will research further in terms of what type of resume would be needed etc. The last interesting fact before leaving was that Mike asked us why the building faces south. The answer was because New York back then was in front of it. When building, they didn’t think about or realize how fast and far the city would expand to. It was very interesting to see the restoration going on in City Hall because just last class I had just mentioned to Mike that the house adjacent to my church was undergoing a restoration. I love when this class collides with things that happen or that I see on a daily basis.
Our next stop was the African Burial Ground national Monument. There was a short film we were going to watch but we got there early so Mike gave us time to walk around on their own. This was easily the best museum of all the that we had been to. There were life size sculptures of family huddled over a coffin, what was even more depressing was one of the sizes of the coffins was that of a baby. They also had pictures of the graves an corresponding age estimates. They had a map of Africa with the countries these slaves typically came from highlighted and their corresponding flags. Of Nigerian decent most notable to me was the flag of Nigeria. Luckily my grandparents and great grandparents still in Nigeria were not apart of the slave trade however, it is scary to think that this affected the people of my native country. My all time favorite thing that I saw there was a quote by Maya Angelou. It read, “You may bury me in the bottom of Manhattan, I will rise. My people will get me. I will rise out of the huts of history’s shame.” She said this at a dedication memorial in honor of the burial ground. Next we watched a short film documenting the life of what a young family would go through during the burial process. Then we saw the outcry of what happened when the graves were discovered. There was outrage for the lack of respect, which in turn is why the museum was built. The museum was very informative and a really great addition to the day.
Next we went to the 9/11 museums. I had never been but I think it’s safe to say every American especially New Yorkers could tell you exactly what they were doing on that day. “The memorial consists of two one acre pools set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers. 30 foot waterfalls-the largest manmade waterfalls in the United State- descend into the pools draining into a center void. The names of the victims of the 9/11 attacks are inscribed in bonze (sic) around the edge of the waterfalls” (ENY, 49). What was even more beautiful and special about being able to be there was seeing the name of my old suitemates father.
For the remainder of the day we were able to see the charging bull, St. Pauls church, and ended in front of the National Museum of the American Indian. There was little outdoor shops set up and Mike allowed us to explore and make some purchases. It began to rain and Mike decided to let us go and we took the 1 to Penn Station from Battery Park. At first I was nervous going to the Friday class because I didn’t know anyone but from seeing city hall, the 9/11 memorial, and the African burial museum I couldn’t have picked a better class. There was so much that I learned on this day about things that I didn’t even know that happened in this country. That just goes to show you how amazing the city is because with the thousands of museums they all serve a purpose. To educate you on something you weren’t familiar or aware of. Surprisingly after class I wasn’t completely drained so instead I went to movie and let me just say Gone Girl is a must see!
8. Impeccable Immigrant New York
October 18th...
Finally I had made it! This was the last day of class for Steph and I. While we had gone to the Friday class last week our Saturday classmates had class cancelled due to rain so they would have to make it up next week for the rain date. Also in an additional twist we would start today at 9 as opposed to our usual meeting time at 11. Our last journey to the class we caught and earlier train from RVC to Penn Station where we met our class. No surprise here many of our classmates had forgotten we would be meeting at 9 instead of 11.
We first took the F train to Delancy St and went to the Essex Street Market. This market reminded me a lot of the markets they have in London. “For much of the early 20th century, the Lower East Side was filled with pushcarts, with vendors selling everything from fruits, vegetables and meat, to clothing and households items” (ENY, 67). In 1933, due to the unsanitary condition of the carts they were eliminated. Mike allowed us to walk around for a little and I stopped by a place that sold cake pops. I bought 3 red velvet ones and they were amazing!
We then began our journey to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The museum was located on Orchard Street. “During it’s almost 80 year history, 97 Orchard Street been home to an estimated 7,000 people from over 20 countries- the majority coming from Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe” (ENY, 67). We split up into groups for the tour.
Our group started from the top of the building. We weren’t allowed to take pictures due to the conditions of the building. The tenement building is where Irish and German families would live; there would be over 20 families in one building. These buildings were seen as an upgrade compared to where most Irish families would live. During our tour we followed one family. We saw where they would live and it almost wasn’t half bad for that era. The rooms however were tiny but there was a bedroom, kitchen, and parlor. In the Parlor we saw a make shift wake for one of the small children in our family that had passed away. There was music playing, and drinks. Someone asked why there was so much celebration and drinking if it was a wake, then our tour guide had asked us if we had ever been to an Irish wake. Over the summer my best friends brother had passed away and I joined in paying my respects at the wake. After the church service we went to her other brothers house where there was drinking games being played, music, etc. Our tour guide told them that this is how the Irish typically hold their wake services. We also heard a song called "No Irish Need Apply" written by John F Poole. This old Irish song detailed the struggle of the Irish looking for work and the discrimination they faced, but how proud they were despite all of this their culture and heritage. The discrimination did not stop them nor did they hide who they were, they continued to be themselves. After the tour we went outside. There is where the bathrooms were located and the tour guide told us the story of how the building had been dug up and there they found different artifacts that enabled them to piece together the history.
For the next part of the day we were to explore Chinatown by ourselves broken into groups. “Chinatown in recent years has grown to become a sprawling 55 block area that has taken over many of what was formerly Little Italy and the Lower East Side” (ENY, 73). Most notably we visited canal street. Tourist and New Yorkers all know the famous canal street as a place where you can buy cheap knock offs of designer items. Chinatown was a very busy area with lots of food shops located all around. Our group stopped for some Bubble Tea but I didn’t want any, after that we came back to Cognee Village for lunch. I was excited for lunch but disappointed because I literally had 2 pieces of chicken and 3 spoon fulls of friend rice.
Later we met up with Jim who was our previous tour guide. We went to a store called Economy Candy, I decided to wait outside because I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and spoke to Jim. I told him I was an accounting major and I had worked in the city over the summer but that was the extent to my city life. He told me that he was actually a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He told me prior to retirement he worked at Deloitte & Touche. This interested because Deloitte & Touche is one of the big four accounting firms and I also interned at one of the big four EY. I told him this and we began to talk about how the much the CPA exam has changed and I also was able to ask him for any advice. His life was quite interesting he told me after working for Deloitte he went to work for a client. I ended up picking his brain a little more and then our classmates were finished touring the candy store.
We walked past the Wiliamsburg Bridge which Mike said he would take the class next week on. Fun fact, Jim told us this is where famous artist Jay Z got his name because the J and Z trains run over the bridge and he used to take it often. We also stood outside the Bialystoker Synagogue. “ This synagogue was founded in 1865 by Jews who came from the town of Bialystock in Poland” (ENY, 68). We also stopped by the Henry Street Settlement, and the Eldridge Street Synagogue. After this Mike had let us go. It was around 3 and we were excited to be getting home in the daylight, Mike told us to take the train to 33rd Street. Unfortunately this left us a bit below fifth avenue so we had to speed walk to our trains. Luckily we made it in time and that was it for my last class!
Finally I had made it! This was the last day of class for Steph and I. While we had gone to the Friday class last week our Saturday classmates had class cancelled due to rain so they would have to make it up next week for the rain date. Also in an additional twist we would start today at 9 as opposed to our usual meeting time at 11. Our last journey to the class we caught and earlier train from RVC to Penn Station where we met our class. No surprise here many of our classmates had forgotten we would be meeting at 9 instead of 11.
We first took the F train to Delancy St and went to the Essex Street Market. This market reminded me a lot of the markets they have in London. “For much of the early 20th century, the Lower East Side was filled with pushcarts, with vendors selling everything from fruits, vegetables and meat, to clothing and households items” (ENY, 67). In 1933, due to the unsanitary condition of the carts they were eliminated. Mike allowed us to walk around for a little and I stopped by a place that sold cake pops. I bought 3 red velvet ones and they were amazing!
We then began our journey to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The museum was located on Orchard Street. “During it’s almost 80 year history, 97 Orchard Street been home to an estimated 7,000 people from over 20 countries- the majority coming from Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe” (ENY, 67). We split up into groups for the tour.
Our group started from the top of the building. We weren’t allowed to take pictures due to the conditions of the building. The tenement building is where Irish and German families would live; there would be over 20 families in one building. These buildings were seen as an upgrade compared to where most Irish families would live. During our tour we followed one family. We saw where they would live and it almost wasn’t half bad for that era. The rooms however were tiny but there was a bedroom, kitchen, and parlor. In the Parlor we saw a make shift wake for one of the small children in our family that had passed away. There was music playing, and drinks. Someone asked why there was so much celebration and drinking if it was a wake, then our tour guide had asked us if we had ever been to an Irish wake. Over the summer my best friends brother had passed away and I joined in paying my respects at the wake. After the church service we went to her other brothers house where there was drinking games being played, music, etc. Our tour guide told them that this is how the Irish typically hold their wake services. We also heard a song called "No Irish Need Apply" written by John F Poole. This old Irish song detailed the struggle of the Irish looking for work and the discrimination they faced, but how proud they were despite all of this their culture and heritage. The discrimination did not stop them nor did they hide who they were, they continued to be themselves. After the tour we went outside. There is where the bathrooms were located and the tour guide told us the story of how the building had been dug up and there they found different artifacts that enabled them to piece together the history.
For the next part of the day we were to explore Chinatown by ourselves broken into groups. “Chinatown in recent years has grown to become a sprawling 55 block area that has taken over many of what was formerly Little Italy and the Lower East Side” (ENY, 73). Most notably we visited canal street. Tourist and New Yorkers all know the famous canal street as a place where you can buy cheap knock offs of designer items. Chinatown was a very busy area with lots of food shops located all around. Our group stopped for some Bubble Tea but I didn’t want any, after that we came back to Cognee Village for lunch. I was excited for lunch but disappointed because I literally had 2 pieces of chicken and 3 spoon fulls of friend rice.
Later we met up with Jim who was our previous tour guide. We went to a store called Economy Candy, I decided to wait outside because I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and spoke to Jim. I told him I was an accounting major and I had worked in the city over the summer but that was the extent to my city life. He told me that he was actually a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He told me prior to retirement he worked at Deloitte & Touche. This interested because Deloitte & Touche is one of the big four accounting firms and I also interned at one of the big four EY. I told him this and we began to talk about how the much the CPA exam has changed and I also was able to ask him for any advice. His life was quite interesting he told me after working for Deloitte he went to work for a client. I ended up picking his brain a little more and then our classmates were finished touring the candy store.
We walked past the Wiliamsburg Bridge which Mike said he would take the class next week on. Fun fact, Jim told us this is where famous artist Jay Z got his name because the J and Z trains run over the bridge and he used to take it often. We also stood outside the Bialystoker Synagogue. “ This synagogue was founded in 1865 by Jews who came from the town of Bialystock in Poland” (ENY, 68). We also stopped by the Henry Street Settlement, and the Eldridge Street Synagogue. After this Mike had let us go. It was around 3 and we were excited to be getting home in the daylight, Mike told us to take the train to 33rd Street. Unfortunately this left us a bit below fifth avenue so we had to speed walk to our trains. Luckily we made it in time and that was it for my last class!
“One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.”
― Tom Wolfe |
9. My Radiant Reflection
Wow I made it to the end! Honestly being able to sleep in on a Saturday is something I have been looking forward to. This Gotham class opened up my eyes unto a snippet of what New York has to offer. Prior to taking this class I knew almost nothing about the history and beginning of New York. The numerous museums offered a brief history lesson coupled with real-time comparisons because so many of them had been preserved homes. Unfortunately I was not able to learn the subway system as I had so hoped but I still have years for that.
This experience truly showed me that New York City is a place like no other, where people are so wiling to come up to you and share their story as we saw in East Harlem. There is always a place to find a connection whether it be your tour guide who has worked in a field that your currently majoring in, or a museum where you are able to see piece of history from your native country. Whatever the connection New York was built heavily on immigrants and despite gentrification those cultures are still seen today in many different neighborhoods that express themselves with their street art, poetry, and community gardens. One of the biggest take away from this class is the opportunity to learn about things I knew nothing about. Seeing the touristy side of New York and the famous contemporary artworks uninterested me. This is surprising because one of the things I raved about when going to the city was being in Time Square, going to a Broadway play, or ice skating in Rockafeller Center. These things don’t even scratch the surface of what New York has to offer. It is almost a façade. Taking this class has opened up the true history and the struggle of the people such as African Americans, and Irish Americans who literally built this city up, in addition to our friends Mckim, Meade, and White. So much was learned from architecture and significant places that I can look at New York differently.Tying this all together not only is this a city with a fascinating history, but a strong prideful nation. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 meant to destroy a community, city, and nation did the complete opposite. It bonded and solidified what New Yorkers truly stand for family, community, and strength. I was able to see family in East Harlem depicted in the beautiful murals, Community in Chelsea & the Village in form of the community gardens, and strength in the 9/11 memorial where the victims were honored. No matter how big New York is it’s great to see no matter where you are you can find your own community whether it be based on religion, nationality, or interest there is always a group of people who share something in common with you. New York is a strange place where you can come, but once your here you instantly belong. I’m so glad I chose to take this class because I was able to not only learn history, and current events but I was able to see how these things effect what goes on today and also how things I learned in the class overlapped with my real life. All in all there is a reason people visit, take pictures, and write songs about our city. There is simply no place like it! Until next time New York, Indigenous Ife New York Native |