During this project , i spent the most time actually finding the route that i wanted to write about.  I had already written about my walk from city tech to the pier, so now i wasn’t sure what to write. Eventually, after having a better understanding of the project i chose to take the same route. This time however , i choose to focus more attention to my surrounding and what i saw and heard. However, due to the changing weather that was taking place, i wasn’t able to actually take the walk for myself. I relied on memory to write my essay “The Route”. If i was able to take the walk the second time, my essay might have more details and maybe been longer. I think that my pitch and in class presentation could have been improved. i could have given more persuasive detail to the class as to why my walk was interesting enough for them to take it for themselves rather than just listen to me talk about it. I excelled at the actual writing part of project. I like to write and also, i like to improve my writing. However, the part that i feel i didn’t excel at was a part of the project at all and that was my time management. I started off good, but eventually i found myself rushing to get things done. The length of the assignment itself, made it hard for me to keep track.

The pitch”  was the longest and most detailed part of the project. In the fifth assignment for the project we were allowed to revise the pitch. Based on the feedback we got from our peers , we were able to change our essay and also include outside information if need. This project allowed me the ability to change my essay around and revise it to my liking. I believe my walk was very interesting  because there is a lot to look at while you are walking and i believe i clearly explained that in my pitch. I feel like my work could still be improved with ever more detail, adding more descriptive words to give the reader a better visualization of those beautiful Brooklyn streets.

I choose to review Richard Rice’s pitch of his walk of Pierrepont and Columbus Heights. In his pitch he clearly explained that his walk in beautiful , using many different descriptive adjectives to describe everything in the neighbor. He points out the architecture of the buildings and mentions that the neighbor is historically preserved. His pitch doesn’t necessarily make me want to take this walk but, it informs me of what there is to experience in this part of Brooklyn. There are a few grammar error but, i am sure that they will be changed when he write the revised version.

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.

Janet Whitten

Prof. Rosen

ENG 1101-D323

November 24, 2014

Project #4: Aesthetic Mapping

Assignment 1: The Route

At the end of your day at City Tech, instead of racing to the train to head home take a quick detour to the East River. As you walk out of the front doors of City tech make a left and walk to the end of the block, then make a left on Tillary. As you walk up Tillary St , you should pass the Post Office and the Bankruptcy Court. Its pretty loud around this area, all the cars and their horns. However , it isn’t very crowded. The comparison of the amount of people and the volume of the noise doesn’t equate to most parts of Manhattan . There are one or two people coming from out of their apartment complex at the end of the block and a few more sitting quietly in the Korean War Veterans Plaza. Once you reach the end of Tillary, cross the street and walk along side the Park.

Oddly positioned next to the expressway filled with the noise of passing cars , the few people strolling through and even the man sitting with his friend don’t seem to be fazed by it. The park is filled with nature, trees and grass in every corner. Regardless of the noise, the park is calm and content. Turn to your left and cross the street and walk down Clark street. Automatically, things are different. In the shadow of the tall apartments in front, you begin to walk into what look to be an completely different Brooklyn, one that I have only heard of but, never seen. The picturesque streets look like they are straight out of a movie , untouched by time. Winter is coming and nearly all the leaves on the trees have fallen off, leaving the sidewalks filled with colorful leaves. Here , the streets are the closest to quiet i’ve heard anywhere besides my own neighborhood. There are cars on the street but, not as many but not a single horn is heard. The stores here even look different, odd fashioned, reminding me of areas in long island i’ve visit. As you continue to walk straight ahead, the scenery remain the same. Beautiful brownstone apartments and private homes, each very different but, somewhat the same. Each new house design playing apart in the greater community design. As you reach the water, there are no more apartments or homes and Clark street opens up into the Brooklyn bridge greenway that sit on top the highway. As you look out on to the water you can see everything and it all seems so calm and unreal.

At the last street before the reach the east river stands a building, old and worn, but at the bottom of this building is a newly installed Shake-Shack. With it bright lights glancing from its over sized windows, it looks so modern and chic. Everything looks so clean. On the second floor, it isn’t as modern and bright. The red brick walls look like they have began to deteriorate. The red bricks looks like they are turning green and the fire escape looks like its on its last leg and waiting to fall. Its windows are dark, basic apartment windows that look like they have been untouched by time. You can hear construction happening everywhere , along with the horns and passing vehicles. Construction working eating in the shake-shack that they probably built months ago.

The appearance of the juxtaposed building was what was striking to me. It looked perfectly un-perfect. The old top level of the building looks so old and the new restaurant beneath so new. The building seems so perfectly juxtaposed. It tells the story of recreating what was already there. Transforming it into something new and up to date. The entire block was filled with juxtaposed buildings. Old building turned into new restaurants. The old, what looked abandoned building have been turning into new lively hot-spots.  This area in downtown Brooklyn looks untouched by the modernization happening around it. The streets are still cobble stones instead of the flat pavement that we are used to. Strangely enough the old and new in the area works, giving the area a different feel than the rest of Brooklyn. However , surely enough in time all those old worn down buildings will be gone and replaced with something new.

In Colson Whitehead’s “City Limit” , Whitehead says “Thousand of people pass that storefront everyday, each one haunting the streets of his or her own New York, not one of them seeing the same thing”. What about was there before that Shake-shack. People walk pass it everyday, some people never notice that it is even there, while others can’t help but to feel nostalgic every time they walk by.  New Yorkers, or people in general, have a hard time dealing with the fact that something that they loved , something that was a part of them, is now gone and they never got a chance to say goodbye.  When you walk into your favorite store , you never think that one day it might be gone, you simply think it will be there as long as your are.

For some people, this new location of Shake-shack is now a part of their New York, a new building in their skyline, on top of the rubble of what it used to be. Even though what used to be there is gone, someone else’s New York is now there. A building in one person skyline has fallen and another has risen in that very same spot belonging to someone else. However, the memory of what once stand there is forever with you. You experienced what was there and because of that it will still be there to you.

Who knows what was there before or what will be there after , but with each new store that is built in replace of the old, a new persons New York is created and another destroyed. As whitehead stated “You say, it happened overnight. But of course it didn’t.” The plans were set all before anyone was aware that their favorite store was days away from closing it’s doors forever.

Works Cited

Whitehead, Colson. “City Limits.” Introduction. Colossus of New York. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

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My name is Janet Whitten. Born two days after christmas, i believe that i was a gift  not only to my parents but, to the world. Pretty far fetched, i know but, i believe that my talent and love for everything creative will benefit the world. I enjoy fashion, photography, fine arts, typography and basically all things that allows me, as shy and timid as I can be at times, to express myself. All my life I have taken an interest in art. In middle school I was in an art academy and in high school I studied photography, now in college I am studying communication design. I have experience in many different mediums and frequently combined them all into my own creations.

Through out high school , i have changed my “dream job” multiple time from a photographer to a graphic designer. However, i find that i much rather brainstorm and direct the production if my ideas rather than see it through myself. With this in mind, probably after making it through college, i hope to become a very successful creative director. I would like to see my creations everywhere. If all fails and I’m not of creative director, i’d be happy in any artistic position.

My avatar is a representation of the real me. As you may notice my avatar is a cartoon of what is suppose to resemble me. The cartoon effect represents the inner me. On the outside and sometimes by the way i dress, people see me as stuck up , anti-social and maybe a little snobby but, actually i’m the complete opposite. I’m actually quite goofy ,easy-going and nonchalant.

Someone might understand my avater differently than i intended because it is a cartoon. They may think that maybe i like cartoons or even that i want to create them but, neither of these things are true. Yes, i do enjoy watching cartoon every now and then but, nothing major. Animation has never been appealing to me but, The creativity of the many animators around the world never cease to amaze me.

My profile will be an expression of me. Each picture drawing and whatever else will be posted on my profile will be a look at things through my eyes. Viewers will be able to follow me to the step-by-step process it takes to create. This profile Will allow everyone, not only students and teachers at City Tech, to take a step into my creative mind. Also to get to know me without me saying a word. This blog allows my work to be seen criticized and critique