New York city is stunning. But not all of it is good.
I love the diversity, i love to see so many cultures mixed together, and all the different styles. The trashy, the ugly and the stylish all combined together creates some kind of a modern mosaic, a city standing on workarounds. No wonder so many artists are living there, there is enough in NYC to inspire me for the next 10 years, observing and questioning life there, filling a sketchbook a day with observations, videos, pictures.
New York is a city of extremes, between riches and poor, each dancing around Manhattan, sharing parts of it. An extreme where advertising is everywhere, where every wall has something for you to buy. People there seem to work only to be able to shop for clothes and hang out in trendy places, maximum consumption seems to be why people are working and living. With people consuming so much, the streets of NYC are constantly filled with trash. Sadly, Manhattan itself must create an island of trash every day. NYC city is a pure chaos when its about cars, and the noise these vehicle create is just impossible to live with – that is maybe why most new yorkers are walking with an ipod.
In a city where are living so many souls, everyone seem to be lonely. People walk around talking to their phone most of the time, like if they just could not stand being alone.
I think new yorkers are just extremely tolerant people, something i could not be. They tolerate the noise, the trash, the loneliness, the pollution, the cost of living there, and the busyness in every corner of town.
They seem to have found their place in a vibrant, colorful daily chaos going on 24-7. I will still be an observer there, this daily chaos is not for everyone.
MC, the New York you see today is a sterile, clean claded city compared to 20 years ago. New York is very much the Disneyland of large cities and I have a hard time seeing any chaos, poverty and pollution now a day. Also, the description you make of the city sounds like you are travelling in almost any other large US cities, or Asia or even some European city. New York city is tame, one of the easiest city to drive around in, not polluted one bit compared to Montreal’s wasteland. Also, maximum consumption is what keeps any American city humming, no need to be in New York to see that. Quite frankly, I think you see the New York you read about, or see in movies. New York is the most conservative liberal city, and when gentrification has set in Harlem almost 10 years ago, no one can even think about poverty in the city. When was the last time you were in New Haven ? or any suburbs of New York ?
sorry to disturb you with my vision of NY, this is what i saw – maybe if i travel around the world in different cities my view will be different, but for now its just like that. maybe you are right and the city is completely different from my observations, then you should write about it on your blog so i could change my mind.
btw, anonymous commenting should not be allowed. daring to expose yourself takes courage these days.