Learning Places: Understanding the City LIB2205ID ARCH2205 (OL96) Fall 2020

Good morning, it is hard to believe but here is the final discussion thread of the semester. In the usual 100-300 words give us your insights on this Universal Newsreel clip from 1966. As always you have wide range: explain what you think it says about Brooklyn, about New York City, about the United States, or focus perhaps on some aspect of the film footage itself upon which you might wish to expand.

Referring to half of the semester, I can say that my exposure to Robert Moses has been widen. I knew about him from one of my previous classes. However, as it was mentioned in the beginning of class, the class would have a lot of relative talks about Robert Moses and his works.

One of the major things that this class had me realize is how big Robert Moses was throughout New York State and not only in “The City.” Nonetheless, he is a controversial figure in history. Because yes, he was able to achieve a lot of grand schemes but for some it was viewed as a successful sacrifice. Meanwhile, for others he was a person who didn’t really care for the poor at the time since it can be said that he gentrified many places.

It comes as no surprise that Robert Moses may be the person I chose since that is the person whom seemed so concretely founded upon New York States architectural designs.

I’m not sure if Veterans Day is taken in good manner being a holiday. I’m not sure how Veterans might feel about the day. Never really asked how veterans felt about the day. However, I can imagine how some may feel that they at least get a day that is dedicated to them. However, why should a whole nation feel the need to celebrate especially in deviation; many families making it about themselves rather than the true people on reserves.

Now, onto this image I feel like the end of the war is very fresh during this time. So, society may be focusing more on the value of their veterans by showcasing and demonstrating appreciation; in this case throwing them a party. The photo also feels very young which demonstrates how young men were being recruited at the time.

Everyone, here is the penultimate discussion thread of the semester. It is a song by folkie Malvina Reynolds. The song “Little Boxes” was released in the 1960s and is a critique of the suburban lifestyle that emerged in the 15-20 years after the Second World War. In class we have discussed white flight and the prefabricated subdivisions built in Levittown, Long Island and elsewhere. Some consider the song s a biting critique of what they see as the conformity of the era; others think it pretentious and self-congratulatory. We are interested in what you think of the song. Share your thoughts in the usual 100-300 words.

Hello everyone, it is Veterans Day. This observation–I dare not call it a holiday–began as Armistice Day. It was on 11 November 1918–102 years ago today–that the Great War ended. You may recall that Al Smith was elected governor that same week.

The photograph we see here is from the Ursula C. Schwerin Library Archives. It depicts City Tech students at a dance in the years just after the Second World War. These men are either still on active duty or in the reserves. As we know from class City Tech is a GI Bill school, founded after World War II largely to educate returning servicemen. In the usual 100-300 words interpret this photograph however you like. You might focus on the demographics of the people in the image and what that says about Brooklyn at the time in the late 1940s and 1950s, about the notion of a “dance,” about the GI Bill itself, or anything else that strikes you. As always responses are due by 11:59 pm this coming Sunday.

Good morning, everyone. With our first major assignment done and the story of Robert Moses’s New York brought up to 1945 we are at the symbolic halfway point of the class. It’s hard to believe there are just 5-6 more weeks to go. We hope you have been enjoying the class and learning about the history of this dynamic city. For Discussion Thread #7 please share in 100-300 words what has surprised you the most so far. What is something you feel you know now that you didn’t when we began back in late August? Your response might be about a person, an event, a historic structure, or whatever else upon which you might wish to focus. Posts are due by 11:59 pm Sunday 8 November.

The Triborough bridge is a structure I’m not exposed to as much majorly since I’m a Brooklyn resident and never felt the need to traverse any of its pathways. However, I do feel it’s a significant moment in engineering for the city. Having three of its boroughs connected and lessening travel times from one to another is a major accomplishment. I can envision the analogy that Robert Moses had when he said, “This will be an artery of the city.” It really accomplishes that reference from its physical construction to the flow of pedestrians and cars.

The bridge may also play a key component in the progress of the nation and city as it recuperated from the Great Depression.

Now, I’m sure MTA has control of this toll bridge as it does with all the other bridges in NYC and they persistently keep raising toll prices as if it weren’t difficult enough for the average New Yorker. I understand the concept of repaying in taxes and toll fees but the MTA has been known to be an agency that only seeks more profit without providing proper service.

As I profoundly observe the image my mind disperses into various modes. It brings out a reflective sadness by knowing that living conditions nearly a century ago were vastly different. Yet, it also brings out a little worry, as a human being it makes you think, what if our current situation wasn’t so far away from reaching such an extreme poverty and unemployment rates. However, knowing that this is history, it brings reflective thoughts, and it makes me know what and where I wouldn’t want to go as an individual and as a citizen of this nation. On another note, it makes me somewhat upset at the unappreciativeness, ignorance and insensibility that some American citizens become forgetful of where we came from as a nation and the potholes that we have stepped as a nation as well. Because of that, as a nation we also find ourselves just looping upon similar problems that we shouldn’t be in because they already occurred in history or once again have at least given us an example of what not to do and head into a more prosperous direction.

Nonetheless, I must be grateful that we are in different times and different lifestyles from what is shown in the image. One can only imagine what it feels like to be deemed to live in such lifestyle because of unfair circumstances and points in life out of our control.

As someone who has visited Jones beach I can say, “The legacy of Robert Moses, and reasoning of why it was created and monumental impact it had among crowds is still vividly lived today.” It indeed is one of the busiest beaches on the East Coast in my opinion and it’s a beach that has that welcoming appeal and warm feeling towards the masses. I can see and appreciate how the public must have felt when Jones beach first open in the 20th century since it had so many components and amenities for a beachside oceanfront land area. It was something different for the time. and now as it becomes a historical landscape you can still happily visit and appreciate the content the beach has to offer although to a generation of now it might not seem as impressive at first glance.

            Another interesting observation from the video and from the article is the fact that two men despite not having the best relationship among each other, they were both able to overcome their differences and stand up for something they both strongly believed in, and that was the protection of public park. The protection of green spaces which are very ideal in a city.