Everyone was their own New York. Each persons New York is different and unique. By taking a walk in New York you’re bypassing someone’s New York. One persons New York might be the busy city with all of the crowds and skyscrapers. Another persons might be a more calm area. Each New Yorker has their own perspective of New York. I took a walk to Court street and discovered a juxtaposition of two different New Yorks right next to each other. No one is wrong in what their New York is, everyone has their own unique view of it.
In the first New York that I saw on Court Street it’s a lot more of a tourist place. There was also government buildings there which added more security to that side of Court Street. Those buildings seem to have been there for several years. I wouldn’t say they went under construction any time recently. The area consisted of a lot more professionally dressed people. There also was not a lot of shops on that side of Court Street. Probably replacing that was Columbus Park. The area was overall more calm and not very crowded.
On the other side of the juxtaposition, I like to call it the commercial Court Street. It was an area that resembles more of the city life. It was definitely more crowded than the other side. The area from a far view and also just walking through it reminds me of Times Square. There were lots of lights that I could see from a distance. The commercial side had much more stores for shopping and food. The area did have a lot more of a food smell within it. There weren’t many trees in this area either. There was also construction there, so I could tell some of the buildings aren’t nearly as old as the government buildings I saw. This also goes with the fact that everyone has their own New York and no ones is wrong. People become New Yorkers and move to different places in New York at different times. Things are constantly changing in New York. You never know when a building that you’ve walked by for years is going to be taken down. Just as Whitehead says in City Limits “I never got a chance to say goodbye to some of my old buildings”. They can disappear any day. There were also a lot more people rushing to places unlike the other side of Court Street, where it was more calm. The area was way louder as well. People also happened to be more casually dressed than professionally dressed.
Although the two New Yorks were very different to one another, they did have a couple of similarities too. In both areas I noticed that that there were not many kids in the area, a lot of adults. This might have been due to me visiting on a weekday though. The buildings in both areas also had similar heights. Looking at these two juxtapositions I can clearly see that it could be two different New Yorks for two or more individuals. They have a lot more differences than similarity, which shows that everyone does have their own New York and they’re all unique. Not all by what you see, but also of your memories in the area, Although some areas may not change much, for example on the side of Court Street with the government buildings. It seems like those buildings have been there for a long time, and probably won’t be going away anytime soon. But even saying that, as Whitehead says again “We can never make proper goodbyes”. Once again we never know when a building is going to vanish. Things are constantly changing in New York. If someone moves to your area just as a new building is being built, their New York isn’t wrong in any way, it’s just more unique to that person.
Overall my juxtaposition of two New Yorks has clearly shown me how several people can have their own New Yorks. Especially seeing the two side by side in person. New York is a large area with constant change happening. Some people just moving in and some moving to another state. All of those people have their own New York in their mind. Just because someone’s may be a newer perspective than another persons doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
