New York has overlapping parts to it that you would never notice, which made me want to walk and check out the area around City Tech since I’m going to be here for quite a while. Usually I would spend my spare time at the gym but City Tech’s gym in under construction. So I decided to walk and search for ways to make up for the loss of the gym.
After the third week of class I was shocked to find out City Tech’s gym was being demolished for rebuilding that would take until 2017. So I took it upon myself to find somewhere close to the campus where students can stay physical during their free hours. McLaughlin Park, which is right across from the Midway Building. To get to McLaughlin Park I take my everyday route which is the 4 train to Borough Hall. After I arrive at Borough Hall I usually walk through Columbus Park going towards Johnson Street where you would the U.S. Post Office. After you pass the Henry Beecher statue I would make a right going toward Adams Street and crossover. Now I would be at City Tech where I would continue down Adams Street until I got to Tillary Street and make a right down to Jay Street. Now McLaughlin Park is in plain sight.
The first thing you would see is an area in the park where you have pull-up bars to work on you upper-body strength and durability. The pull-up bars look somewhat old but they will do the job, they have sturdy black poles up to about six to seven feet to support the blue painted pole where you test your strengths. Just next to the exercise area you have a basketball court, my favorite part of the park. Basketball is one of my favorite sports, not only do I get to enjoy myself; I can also work on my cardio and practice. In the middle of the court there’s a City of New York Parks & Recreation logo that is painted green. Along that are the white lines to note the half-court, out of bounds, three-point and free-throw lines. The pavement on the court is coordinate with red and blue, this court also has the luxury of glass backboards and rims that still have their nets. There are blue benches and bleachers in case you just wanted to come to the park just to be entertained by neighborhood’s talents. There is also a handball court where people can play handball and an open grass field. There are plenty of sports you can play in an open field like: football, soccer, baseball etc. Some of my friends that have been at City Tech longer than me say that sometimes McLaughlin Park is dangerous but I say “It’s all hokum… Never listen to what people tell you about old New York…” because this park can do so much for us since our gym is under construction.
McLaughlin Park, if you stood right at the entrance on Jay Street you could kind of see an overlapping view of the park’s perfect venue for exercises. On the handball courts you would be able to work on many different aspects of your body; while playing handball I would be using my arms and legs primarily and adjusting my hand-eye coordination. Next would be the small area where you use to the pull-up bars to work on you upper-body strength and durability; there is also a bench where you can work on your abdomen muscles by doing sit-ups. Just over the gate you have a basketball court where you can unconsciously exercise your whole body playing pick-up basketball games. The last thing I saw was a soccer ball bouncing around in the open grass field where it seemed to be a group of colleagues having fun. Discovering this park just outside my school proves that walking would take you “through parts of the city that most people never notice…” Before I actually walked in the park I didn’t know that McLaughlin Park had not just one but two basketball courts or even the grass field right next to it.
Now that I have found McLaughlin Park I would like to know more about it, like whom is it named after? That could lead to monument to help me understand the meaning of the park and what it means to for it to have been built. The history and making of the park may be interesting and beneficial to my knowledge for future projects. When the park was established is something else I would be interested in knowing also,
After discovering McLaughlin Park I feel like the loss of the school gym isn’t so bad. Also walking isn’t so bad either, prior to the walk I was reluctant to travel anywhere by foot. Now that I know about McLaughlin Park I will visit it more frequently. This was a great experience now that I could play basketball and get exercise routine done.
Bibliography:
– McGrath, Charles. “A Literary Visitor Strolls in from the Airport.” New York Times, December 6, 2006. Web
– Whitehead, Colson. “City Limits.” The Colossus of New York: A City in Thirteen Parts. New York: Random House, 2004. 1-12. Web.
