Janet Whitten
Prof. Rosen
ENG 1101-D323
November 24, 2014
Project #4: Aesthetic Mapping
Assignment #2: The Pitch
As a New Yorker, it is instilled in you, from birth it seems, that when moving from place to place you must move swiftly through the tons on people that full the street everyday trying to get to where you have to be. No one wants to be late and in New York, the only way to avoid that is by traveling using the quickest form of transportation. However, even though the route we choose to and from our destination is the quickest , is it the prettiest? Most New York would say no or “ I don’t know” , seeing only the glances on the neighborhoods they travel through from the windows of a bus , an elevated train or their car. Many New Yorkers have yet to experience the real beauty New York and isolate themselves to the same streets everyday.
It is late fall and almost all the leaves have fallen from the trees , leaving the sidewalk in Cadman Plaza filled with color. Bright yellows and oranges add color to the park and many may not pay it any attention. Each season , whether filled with snow , or leaves , the plaza has its aspects of beauty. The plaza is isn’t the quietest but, somehow it is quite relaxing. You can witness the beauty by sitting on a bench and maybe even on the grass. You can ever sit in the Korean war memorial park across the street. Even though it isn’t as green as Cadman plaza , it is still filled with bench allowing you to take a moment to embrace your surroundings.
My walk includes different levels of quiet. Maybe Cadman plaza or the Korean war memorial park was too loud for you, if you continue on the route i designed, maybe you will find that quiet relaxing spot you’ve been looking for. Under the arc lending you onto Clarke st. is where you may notice how much different this areas is. The design on the historically reserved homes only add to the relaxing setting. The brown and red stone homes on streets filled with orange, red and yellow leaves create a warm atmosphere. Some homes included beautiful patterns that are pleasing to the eye, adding to your experience and give you something to look at as you travel along the streets.
While traveling down Clarke st., You don’t expect your path to be interrupted by a greenway. Somewhat of a surprise ending to your to your walk, you come to Brooklyn Bridge greenway. However , it isn’t the quietest here. Being that the greenway is placed on top on the passing car and trucks underneath, you can hear the commotion coming from beneath your feet but, that doesn’t take away from the view. In front of you can see the Statue of Liberty , the East River , Manhattan, and the Brooklyn Bridge. There are a line of benches along the fence so you can sit for as long as you want to watch the water and the water taxi doing it usual back and forth across the water.
As pretty as the water may be, most new Yorkers have never seen it because it isn’t in their path, not taking a extra few mins to explore the area they are in. If one day the trains weren’t working or the bus not running, many would be lost. They miss their stop of the train and suddenly they become lost. Instinctively, they pull out their phone to figure out where they are and how to get to where they have to be, never taking the time to explore and figure out where they are on their own. The directions are simple to the greenway are simple, a left on to Tillary St. , a right on Cadman Plaza W , a left on Clark St. , and walk straight until you can’t walk any farther but, it is isolated. There isn’t any reason someone could accidentally discovered it on their way to work. There isn’t but one train station near by on Clark street , two blocks away. Unless you work in the area, the greenway is something new to you. Without exploration many beautiful stores, restaurants and attractions would be left undiscovered. In order for you to find the beauty in New York you have to look for it , it isn’t always in your path.
