Tag Archives: juxtaposition

A Million naked citys

4 Replies

Different experiences of New York leads to different perspectives, just because some one has seen something on a particular street and its not there anymore doesn’t make them entirely wrong. The city is always changing and with those changes comes different points of view or routines might change. Its almost as a string is connected to all of the past buildings that use to be there and it always leaves a little part of it self when it leaves. New buildings get made constantly and put under construction rapidly as the city grows as time passes and moves forward. My personal experiences for this city has changed me and made me grow as a person, the city’s not perfect but it is a place I’m use to compared to other states or countrys, I tend to have a bitter sweet feeling twords the city, as much as this place feels like home I cant say I want to live here forever. Sure the attractions and the fast paced lifestyle might be fascinating for some and I can definitely see the appeal, I don’t think I can live my whole life that way.

I’m not going to give you my whole life story on how I see New York or I can explain it a million different times but it will never convey how I truly see this place. I have gotten use to the speed and adjustment of the city on how it works. They’re will be places you love and places you hate, areas you think that will stay there forever in your mind subconsciously even when they disappear. I’ve lived in the city since I was born and have yet to see what it still has to offer but I tend to miss the simplicity of just living in a quiet neighborhood and having the ability to travel somewhere with my friends or family. Everything is so close together that the destination becomes more important then the journey to the destination. I tend to find a lot of the time that I focus more on where I’m going rather then where I am now. Most of the time I am going somewhere I think to myself “where am I going, How will I get there” my mind wants to rush and tell me to get there at an expected time rather then look around me and the changes of  how A place looked when I was younger or what store use to be there. One example is my journey to Barclays Center in Atlantic ave.

It was a rather cold day. I had originally had no plan or location to go to so I decided to just walk straight out of the atrium building exit and just went to where my legs took me. From all I could hear was the traffic passing by me on my left side, walking down Tillary St. As I walk pass McLaughlin park as i start wondering what might have been there before. Its very odd to think about it but to realize how old an area must be and how it holds so much history to it makes me start to realize what this project starts to be about. I then made a right turn down Flatbush ave. and saw that it was more of a fast pace neighborhood and thought how long it must have taken to make it such a place. Because it was so close to Manhattan people are moving both in and out and passing by fair amount of university’s on the way. being close to Manhattan the place must have been similar too it and as you go lower into Brooklyn you start to feel the authentic Brooklyn experience . To me it almost feels like I’m in Manhattan. Once I saw the tall building and the giant odd shaped center I made it to Barclays center and decided this is where my perspective should lie. the place was littered with the noise of cars and people trying to get passed one another on such a busy street. The bright light wrapped around the loop, it was almost like a Manhattan style building. It was festive and full of life then the last time I remembered of it. Brown old warn down residential buildings. It was a lot more dangerous back then it is now with the high crime rate. It was a more dead and un-lively place that always tend to frighten me while I passed by it when I was little. apparently during that time there was a protest opposing the development of said Barclays center for the fear of people losing their houses and businesses. leaving a both positive and negative outlook on the area that sums up my feelings about the city of New York. Just because people say its an improvement twords the area does not mean that people wanted to sacrifice their jobs or living space.

I chose Barclays center as my point of interest because I really find that this was the place I began to understand the message behind the project. I truly find this was the place I started to comprehend the message behind the task. That everybody’s version of New York is distinctive as a result of the experience they have in the city, they create this picture of their own particular perspective of the city one more unique to the last. One persons experience could be the complete opposite of another.I understood its sort of an fascinating thought blended in conclusion and basically demonstrates the people identity towards their feelings over the city. For example Colson Whitehead’s  “city limits” essay at one point explains in the third paragraph: “only skyscrapers visible from your stroller were the legs of adults” that even at an early age an idea of a personal New York can exist. one individual could love the clamor and happiness of the city and consider it to be a place for circumstance, others can be the opposite twords the city and think that its misrepresented and the city does not fit the cliche of what others think. I’m some where in the middle. As much as I enjoy living here there are things I do dislike about it. That is how I see my New York. How crime rate is climed significantly and much of the controversy tends to drive people over the edge, homelessness, addicts, ect. much I would enjoy changing.  Another perspective of New York and the difference between them is also in “City Limits” is a passage found in the second page “There are eight million naked cities in the naked city — they dispute and disagree. The New York City you live in is not my New York City;” further explaining that no ones version of the city is exactly the same and how the city overlaps with one another showing the juxtaposition of the buildings that use to belong there. They may be similar but never the same. The ideas can argue with each other of what New York is really about and to appreciate that we are here and be grateful before our versions of New York change, the city is always having new buildings and tearing down others. That we should not take things for granted.

The city is always changing whether the residents want it or not it is going to happen, as much as I love the city I also dislike a lot of its features, which is why I cannot see my future in staying in here. my perspective of New York has changed over the years I’m sure but I do not feel like my feelings twords the city will change in the future, in a way it is my first home. Not perfect but a place that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Image result for barclays center

works cited:

Whitehead, Colson. “City Limits.” The Colossus of New York: A City in Thirteen Parts. New York: Random House, 2004. 1-12. Shared Google Doc.

project 3 draft

Leave a reply

A very important part of New York City throughout its history must be Governors Island also called Pagganuck (meaning land of nuts.) Many historic things have happened there, from it being a Native American burial ground when the isle of Manna-Hatta which sat between the twin rivers of Mauritius from the Lenape tribes meaning land of many hills and the river that flows both ways. There are two forts built on Governors island which were used during the Revolutionary war to defend against the British, one named Castle Williams and the other Fort Jay. These buildings still had the armature on the roofs as well as keeping everything else perfectly preserved. After the Revolutionary war the island was converted into a base for the Civil war and had many housing units made for the military that was stationed there, again these are still standing in almost pristine condition. Recently a high school was built on the island called The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School. I attended the school in its first four years on the island and as such had an almost exclusive opportunity to see the island in its untouched state before it was converted into yet another tourist spot.

During the time frame of 2010 – 2014 I attended the Harbor School. At this time many of the buildings were closed and boarded off. Due to having high levels of asbestos. The castle and fort were also closed due to many reports of them being haunted as there was distinct sounds of chains rustling along with moaning going on that could be heard at night time. When I attended the school my friends and I, like any responsible teenager, would go explore the island when we heard that it was off limits and that it was actually federally forbidden from being ventured into. Many of the houses that we entered was molded and had cobwebs absolutely everywhere. The buildings were still in the state that they had been in from the civil war. It was incredibly stunning and beautiful to see. We found books and diaries that were never moved, perfectly preserved beds and dinner sets. In a couple houses were broken as they were never repaired from the cannon fire that happened there. Most of the island was just a field with random bumps in the ground. We later learned that the bumps were actually mounds, made for the burial of the natives as they used the island for their graves.

The most intriguing part of our exploration would be when we explored Fort Jay. We had heard that it was haunted and explicitly forbidden for us to enter. So as responsible teens we snuck into it during one of our overnights we had. Our school had sleep overs rather often as we would sleep on our ships, school and sometimes even in the fields with the mounds. As everyone slept we went into the fort and through some rigorous climbing managed to get into the building. All of us were terrified as it was the most eerie thing, just like everything else on the island, it was perfectly preserved from the civil war. Come to find out, Fort Jay was actually a prison. There were many many jail cells and old looking handcuffs along with anklets with the big balls attached to them. The freakiest part though was… remember earlier when I said there was reports of a haunting? All of us were together just sneaking as quietly as we could when suddenly from the cell next to us, A LOCKED CELL, we heard chains rustling and moving. The amount of speed that overcame us was insane and I will never forget it. We ran to the nearest stairs we could and ran and ran and it turned out we ended up running onto the roof. While we were cursing ourselves for going up instead of down in all the confusion it ended up letting us see something magnificent. There were cannons lined up along the roof with cannonballs piled up next to them all. There also was such a gorgeous view though. We could see all the lights of Manhattan along with the lights of New Jersey and coming over the horizon of the ocean was the sunrise. It was a view that is unforgettable and am grateful for having the opportunity for it.

Recently the island was renovated for tourists, opening in the summer and closing on Labor Day.  All the buildings that were perfectly preserved were torn down and remodeled to be more modern. The mounds were flattened so the ground would have a more uniform appearance and many of the trees were removed to allow space for more buildings and playgrounds to be made. They then boarded up the Fort and the Castle. The last time I was there, I recall that they even had a farm that was growing chickens and pigs there. They added a playground for young children and added a bike stand from which bicycles and quadracycles could be rented. The part of the island that had all the trees was renovated into a golf course. Now the island is becoming a big tourist destination and the history of it is being slowly erased. Most of the people on the island during the summer don’t know that they’re eating on the graves of Native Americans. It would be bad publicity. The don’t know about all the barracks that was there as they’re all gone now. The only remnant is the castle and fort but those have also been changed drastically as they’re all decorated to look pretty and the cannons + cannonballs along with the handcuffs and footcuffs have been removed. The only good news is that according to the park rangers, they have to go in every morning and fix some of the decorations in the cells as they’re constantly being destroyed or changed every day.

All in all, the juxtaposition of these two Governors islands are saddening as the New York that’s being seen now is not my New York. There is no history anymore there is only a money grab.

 

 

 

where is the juxtaposition

Leave a reply

As you walk out of City Tech on the Jay Street and walk towards the a train station, you continue to walk past the train station and continue walking straight until you walk past a deli when you reach Fulton Street and you cross the street so you’re on the side opposite side of the McDonald’s and you keep walking straight. Continuing straight your going to see a slight left turn near the century 21. Then walk past the century 21 you will see an old building that looks as if it is under construction and across the street is a strip of stores that you can signs that have been broken down. The juxtaposition about this area is that although this was a big thing back in the 1990’s and how much of a difference and beautiful piece it was. It will now become a ” SHop Architects-designed mixed-use tower” which is a place that consist of many things such as apartments and restaurants. The picture i took does not really capture the idea because its just the side of the building but it can’t catch it because it is not built as yet but is under construction.