In today’s busy world finding the efficient way around the city is greatly desired, but by choosing this efficient path we miss out on a great amount of sights that the city offers. Getting lost in the city is the only way to discover such sights, but how about getting lost in a area that passes along your commute with deviating too much from your original route? As an example the route that we will get “Lost” in, this route will be from the Jay Street Metro tech train station over to the Dekalb train station.

To begin this trip we will first start from the Jay Street station where the A,C and R trains stop at, from there make a left and head straight until you see Myrtle Avenue head over there and you’ll see a park, this will be our first stop. While heading inside the park area there will be many christmas decorations which while a little early are still rather nice to see, there is also donated art from Poly tech on display to see and if you’re hungry there is many food related franchise to choose from. During warmer temperatures there is lots of life in this area and even in the cold weather you’ll find people just being people. As we proceed straight we will come across a curved road at the end of Myrtle Avenue and from there make a right on Duffield Street to eventually come across something amazing. One of our stops is a landmark or rather landmarks that are most often referred to as the 182-188 Duffield Houses these historical landmarks are remnants of a neighborhood that was eventually replaced by what is now “Tech place” while it does feel out of place that is what gives it it’s mysterious beauty and what can be described as a step back in time, there is also a church with its own set of history as well. As you head to the end of the street make a left on Willoughby Street and continue down this path for a bit. Eventually you will come across the Chase Building and inside it holds a bunch of monitors with a many flashing images (If you have a history of Epileptic seizures or anything similar avoid this stop) that loos as if they belong in a music video. At the end of Willoughby street make a left at the Flatbush exit and head straight from there to eventually come across the Dekalb train station and if you continue to go forward you will eventually hit the Fulton Mall. See? Getting lost isn’t all that bad, was it now?

My route leads from the Jay Street Metrotech station all the way over to the Dekalb train station. Yesterday I had made this walk during the rain with another classmate but I forgot my camera and the experiences will somewhat differ this walk.

Our trip starts off from the Jay Street Metrotech station near college, the one which has the A,C,F and R train lines. Exit from there, make a left ,walk a little in that direction and walk on to Myrtle Avenue, from there walk straight on to the park area. While walking there will be many people walking in and out from restaurants, cafe’s, fast food joints, and another thing you might be able to see is workers setting up the christmas adornments for the holidays. While walking you will definitely be able to encounter some works of art that were donated by people and a statue of a realistic dog that may just fool you from afar. After walking for a bit you will see a street with a unique kind of road that is circular unlike most straight roads, from there make a left on on Myrtle and continue walking straight. As you walk you will be behind the entrance of a tunnel, continue walking and you will find a set of building that are rather out place, a catholic church and what appears to be two residential areas. During heavy rain like yesterday these three building look even more special with the catholic church having an appearance similar to that of wet gouache paint. After walking you will make a left on Dufflefield street.
WARNING: If you have suffered from anything similar to an epileptic Seizure or even anything triggered by quickly flashing bright lights. DO NOT LOOK AT THE TELEVISION SCREENS, I REPEAT DO NOT LOOK AT THE TELEVISION SCREENS.

Go straight for a bit until you spot the chase building don’t worry you can go in, if you suffer from anything triggered by quickly flashing light do not go into the building and walk past it. If you do go inside you’ll be greeted by many old television screens with many images that look like they belong in a music video or some kind of subliminal message in some kind of conspiracy movie, also you will most likely hear buzzing coming from the silent televisions. Now simply continue walking straight until you come across a car wash offering 5$ print out discounts, you can also see some pretty neat cubes as you walk. Now make a right at the car wash and walk straight to eventually encounter LIU college which isn’t in Long Island. As you walk straight you’ll eventually come across the Dekalb train station, if you decide to walk some more you’ll come across more stores and eventually another train station with the 2,3,4 and 5 train lines.

Everyone has an opinion and therefore everyone sees the world in a different way. Everyone has their own New York and will vary from person to person, for someit may be the towering buildings of Manhattan or the beautiful walls of what used to be the 5 Pointz building, whatever it may be they all have one thing in common it’s someone’s New York. Colson Whitehead author of “The Colossus of New York” explains what his New York is and the experiences behind them, Whitehead explains that the moment you start to remember fondly about an old establishment in New York. By Whitehead saying this he implies that everyone’s New York is constantly overlapping one another and that no “New York” is the real “New York”. By walking around the Jay Street area we are able to slowly discover our New York and at the same time discover a little about the many neighborhoods that juxtapose one another and the variety that it creates.

When beginning my journey I had an easy time finding things that juxtapose one another but my main issue was finding experiences that actually meant something to me because of this I was able to find the location but not the meaning or feeling that such a walk should have. After a couple of days it clicked to me my New York was my friends that I’ve made here in college but my friends aren’t a location rather the places we went to are the locations that make up my New York and will continue to do so as I spend time with them here in City Tech. The location of these places are pretty simple to follow, one must first start off by exiting out of the Johnson side of City Tech upon doing so you should be greeted by sounds of construction and the sight of a yet unfinished project, make a left and keep on going straight you should cross a train station with connections to the A,C and R trains. As you walk for a minute or two you will see a concession stand with people at times however there is another train with connection to the number lines, head over there but do not go in the train instead head straight through the trail with trees. Once you encounter the Five Guy’s restaurant make a left and walk. Upon walking the Juxtaposition should start to become evident with the buildings starting to look a little more run down and less new than they are in Jay Street.  Continue walking straight and a few things you will see are the Asa Learning Center, a blood donation center if you walk even further you will eventually come across the Fulton Mall. My original journey was slightly longer but had no real attachment to the area since I had no memories that were particularly important to me, however once I made a few friends and went around making a few friends I see that my New York is slowly but surely becoming evident.

My location lies between Fulton mall and Lawrence Street to me this a rather unique juxtaposition it shows a small section that in a sense is slowly being consumed by it’s surroundings, the name of this place is Willoughby street. Change is always constantly happening and Whitehead experiences this with many of the buildings he never got to say goodbye to “I never got to say goodbye to some of the old buildings. Some I lived in… I thought they would always be there.” Willoughby Street looks rather old compared to the scenery around it, everyone here was mostly casually dressed and seemed to be of a somewhat normal income with the occasional professional who is by making their way to work. The Willoughby area is saturated with small stores like 99c stores, corner stores and raggedy looking restaurants however there is also some chain restaurants like Tio Pio here and there but oddly enough no franchises such as  Mcdonalds, at least where I walked through. As for the sounds I heard it ranges from voices to car noises with the occasional construction here and there which in a way serves to remind that Wiloughby street is slowly disappearing. As it begins to be consumed by it’s surrounding it makes me wonder is it really such a good thing? Will I, just like Whitehead not be able to say goodbye to my New York?

On the other side of the spectrum in the Fulton Mall is much more varied with people of all walks of life, age and cultures . Unlike Willoughby street Fulton mall is full of franchises that are otherwise not found in Willoughby street. The way one feels upon entering Fulton mall is like entering a whole new world with such the drastic change in scenery. As far as noise goes it  buses are now thrown into the mix and are constantly making noises as they pick up passengers, not to mention the many people shopping and chatting as they walk. When I look at the Fulton Mall I can’t help but wonder what this place looked like before and whose New York did it used to belong to? Such as how Whitehead remarked on how the Pan Am building and how others who refer to it as the Met Life building are wrong ” I still call it the Pan Am building…that titan squatting over grand central is the Met life building….She is wrong of course” which is contradictory to what Whitehead implied about no New York being the real one. The way this juxtaposes with Willoughby is really evident not only in the way it looks but how it feel as you walk through what seems to be this new world, Willoughby feels old and in a sense a step back in time while the Fulton Mall seems more progressive in the way it looks, yet this experience could be the complete opposite of what someone else feels.

The surroundings we live in change constantly change and shape our ideals, the same applies to our own New York. By being able to see the juxtaposition in every neighborhood one can see the difference in lifestyles for each person, someone in a suit in the Jay Street Metro-tech area could be an intern or a student off to college level classes while those in the Fulton Mall area could be anyone that is simply looking to shop. Many things affect the way a person see something from the experiences they have to what they deal with on a daily basis. Everyone has their own New York and no one New York is truly correct, the only thing everyone can all agree on is that their New York belongs to them.