“Don’t Fear Love” 20/12/2007
Posted by dlatman in Graffiti, art, food, love, ny, shopping, u.s..trackback
Plywood board spray-painted and stenciled, bolted onto a street sign on Prince Street, located just outside the Apple store. Bears more than a striking resemblance to the style of “Stay Human.” Whoever did this: I want to be your friend.
Fear/hate and love are two of the most important main human emotions, right? But don’t just take my word for it; this guy agrees with me too. Now that my two-month stay in my hometown of New York City is winding down, I’d like to summarize what I love and hate most about New York.
#1: NYC is unique and fun. Let’s start with the obvious, shall we? It’s the biggest city in the U.S., with people coming here from all over the world, creating a multi-cultural dynamic and interesting mix of neighborhoods. New trends in fashion, electronics, food and art come here first, which is pretty exciting; stuff is open late and there’s tons of entertainment available, from low to high brow. You never need to be bored.
#1: Gentrification is boring. Box stores creeping up onto once-sketchy streets. High-end boutiques and restaurants opening in areas once home to drug addicts and homeless people. White people getting on the B train at Church Avenue. Developers buying up low- and middle-income housing projects for $5 billion. All of this is making the city more generic and boring, and it’s a boring topic that people can’t stop talking about. This is so boring, I’m practically falling asleep right now. Zzzz…
“Good for One Fare:” stencil of old-school NYC token located on base of lamppost, West Houston St.
#2: The subway system. You can get anywhere in the city, at any time, for $2 (proposed fare hike notwithstanding). It isn’t always the most comfortable ride, but our excellent subway system integrates the city and makes the city center accessible to everyone. I love the Unlimited MetroCards; remember when they were new? It was like a gift from the city, encouraging riders to explore as much as possible. You never need to buy a car or pump a tank full of war-inducing oil.
#2: Plastic. Yeah, you’ll help the environment by not driving, but throw out tons of garbage every year. New Yorkers produce an inordinate amount of waste, from a multitude of take-out food containers and consumer-based culture. Remember when our billionaire mayor cut the city-wide recycling program a few years back because “there wasn’t enough money,” just when the Fresh Kills landfill was closing? I cringe to think of the garbage produced during that dark period of NY history.
#3: Music, art & movies, oh my. World-class museums. Extensive gallery scenes. A ton of music venues offering shows every night, from tiny little clubs to full-on opera houses. Broadway, off-Broadway and experimental theater; burlesque shows no one would have the cojones to produce in other places. Tiny art-house and indie movie theaters that offer screenings of rare, foreign, classic, etc movies (sure, you could Netflix ‘em, but there’s something special about watching a good movie on the big screen). An amazing array of music, dance and film festivals; this city is rich with cultural and artistic offerings.
#3: $$$$ Rich offerings, sure, but usually with prices only rich people can afford. Living here is like going to eat at a five-star restaurant and ordering the most expensive item on the menu, but for every meal. Rent, food, clothes, transportation, and entertainment cost so much that NY is consistently ranked the most expensive city in the US. In my opinion, this makes it hard for young artistic and creative types (w/out a trust fund) to actually live and create work sustainably here.
#4: New Yorkers have great style. I’m not just talking about the haute couture fancy stuff, although that’s fun to look at too sometimes. What I really love is how everyday people dress: nice jeans, dark coats, cool shoes, different accessories. With all the retail options, new styles really do trickle down to the more affordable stores (like Century 21 and H&M) as well as the plethora of street vendors. I would also argue that commuting patterns influence New Yorkers’ greater style consciousness; by walking and using public transportation rather than driving in a hermetically sealed car, people see each other’s clothes and store windows more often.
#4: New Yorkers can be snobby and spoiled. New Yorkers forget that anyplace else exists, or else they just don’t care. They honestly don’t understand why you would live anywhere else. Have they ever heard of Paris, Jerusalem or Hawai’i? These are all really cool places with their own unique cultures, food and histories. Even small towns in North Carolina have benefits such as clean air, delicious pulled-pork sandwiches, and interesting local music scenes. New Yorkers can also be completely useless when it comes to any sort of practical skill, and they love to complain when their comforts are taken away. Collectively, they’re kind of like that annoying blonde girl on “Punky Brewster”.
#5: Great food. New York is a great place for people who love food. There are restaurants for every type of ethnic food imaginable, even Mexican (Californians who disagree just haven’t been to Los Mariachis). There are also specialty grocery stores with spices and ingredients from around the world, for home-ec types who love to cook themselves. Go here and here to research any and every restaurant you would ever want to dine at in NY.
#5: Bad manners. After living in the South for a few years, where people say “ma’am” and “sir” to anyone perceived to be their elder, and guys hold open doors for the ladies, it was quite a shock to return to the pushing, shoving and jostling that defines NYC street etiquette. What particularly bothers me is when subway riders just shove to get their own seat while very pregnant women or old people are standing right there. It’s like we need to compete for every inch of precious space ’cause this city is so crowded… I hate it.
So I ride the subways a whole, and I gotta disagree with your “very pregnant women or old people” comment. Yes, New Yorkers are pushy on the subways, but I never see people push pregnant women or old people out of the way. And lately, I’ve noticed people have been more giving of seats to those who need them. Did you actually see that happen or are you just referencing long-held stereotypes about New York?
Dear Benjamin,
Thanks for writing. What I wanted to get across is the selfishness of taking a seat for yourself when other people who might need it more are standing right there. It’s an “each man for himself” mentality that I see acted out all the time, and even do it myself sometimes at the end of a long day. When my cousin was pregnant three years ago, she said people would rarely offer her a seat, into her eighth and ninth months.
I, too, have a love/hate relationship with this city, but it’s mostly love. And I also need to disagree with your description of subway riders’ disregard of old people and pregnant women. I don’t have a car and I ride the subway every day. I constantly see people give up their seats for folks perceived as needing them. Just this week I saw an entire bench get up to give an elderly woman a seat. Sure, there are a few jerks on the subway, but the vast majority of straphangers do their best to observe subway etiquette.
Cool! I’m glad to hear so many positive stories of subway etiquette.
I love New York. I was so-called “born” in Los Angeles but I grew up – age 20 when I came – in New York. It is not only the most exciting city in the United States – it is the ONLY city in these United States! We New Yorkers are happy, helpful, ignorant for the most part of “class”, kind and good – check out the wonderful heroism and caring that went on September 11. Yes there are people in a hurry all the time. The infrastructure could be much better but milliions flock to this bread basket every day for what? To be here. in New York. We love to complain but we wouldn’t live in the graveyards around the country for anything. Let them be aware of their air and their sandwiches, etc. They are cow towns in comparison. New York is the greatest city in the world – bar none.
I lived in NYC from age 18 to 26. I wouldn’t trade those ‘formative’ years for anything and I think everyone in the country would benefit from at least a year of the diversity, energy and style of the city. However, now I live in North Carolina and, after 4 years there, I finally feel released from the trap of believing that New York is the only city in the country/world. The world is full of so many other options as to how you can live your life. There’s no need to put up with tiny, roach/mouse-infested apartments with evil landlords/supers. There are amazing restaurants all over the country. There’s fresh air and freedom and clean beaches and space to have a dog and unpretentious people out there.
BUT SUZ, NC AND THE REST ARE NOT NY. YOU MIGHT THINK THE AIR IS FRESH AND YOUR DOG CAN RUN BUT THERE IS POLLUTION EVERYWHERE AND YOU’RE BURNING ALL THAT GAS FOR YOUR “FREEDOM”
hey ! found this blog accidentaly… i will just spit a couple thoughts about NY…
im a 30yo guy from madrid spain… went there for couple weeks… Since the minute 1 i felt like at home. I am the love-big-cities-kind of a guy, having lived in London, Berlin and now Madrid.
I have to say you have a really nice city!! for me the best of ny is the people and the energy of the city… everywhere I went… On those 15 days I really did a lot of things…. from a mad Brooklyn rave, to a posh manhattan party I still dont remember how I got invited…. I even got a boyfriend hahah …
I was surprised how secure the city is… I really was expecting something wilder. Some cities in Europe are much more dangerous than NY, London for example…
Ok… To say something negative!!!! Guys you have to clean the city!! and the government can certainly help!! Have you heard about those big plastic things called containers? Where you put your rubbish bags? I can’t believe they are not in NY!! I’m tempted to go there and make millions selling them. Probably all that rats you complain about would vanish if you just put your bags in containers—like the rest of the world-haha.
Bags…NY is weird about bags. I’ve never been anywhere where I order take-out from fast food and they put the drink in a bag next to a bag with the food inside of another bag, or the liquor store where they put it in a brown bag inside a black bag. Since moving here in May I have been almost unable to keep up with getting rid of the bags lol.
The subways are awesome. Ppl complain about them but except Berlin and London I’ve never seen any system that works as well anywhere, certainly not in the US.
I do get tired of constantly being asked for change and people attempting scams (the hold-the-door-for-change trick, etc), though that is sort of a Bushwick/B’klyn thing I guess, and the prices are ridiculous, especially until figuring out that going to the same stores for the same things can drop the cost of small items quite a bit.
Food, well, in Manhattan, if you have some extra cash, it’s great. For normal folks on a budget the food options in the neighborhood can be depressingly one-note. I’ve said before living in B’klyn is like another city entirely. Manhattan has a range of things in easy distance; here, it’s mostly neighborhoods so it’s more like living in a small city in Mexico or whatever. No one can convince me of the greatness of NYC food when something as simple as a box of Triscuits required a four-store adventure.
And I put in a word about New Orleans. Haven’t been there since Katrina, true, but the visits there impressed me how great of a city that is, especially in food for my tastes beats New York hands-down. But I grew up in the South and I like Cajun, so far, haven’t found much of anything exciting here in that genre. The best fried chicken I’ve had in NYC is Popeye’s, everyone else seems to forget to season it.
The hardest thing about NYC is living in a place with eight million people, most of them trying to avoid each other. It’s very cold and impersonal from a meeting-up standpoint, completely opposite of the friendliest cities I’ve been to, A’dam, London, Berlin.
i live in cleveland now–almost 4 years and I miss new york. The people, the energy, the stuff to do. I have a car–but there’s no place to go. The subway went everywhere. Do you know how dangerous it is here? I feel unsafe to walk the street–and in ny–i was out to every hour and rarely felt afraid. The time between thanksgiving and new year’s was my favorite–the city dressed bright and almost everyone in a good mood. I loved walking through the sidewalk christmas tree stands and breathing in the smell of pine. So–for me–take it all in–i wish i was there.
great insight. the best list I have read ever about the city.
I appreciate everyone’s input. J-Me, I agree that every place has pollution; for example, hog farming is such a major part of the economy in NC that certain rural areas stink of pig sh*t. Luckily, Suz and I live in different places where the air really does smell clean. Friends of mine have visited from NYC and have taken several deep breaths upon arrival, to experience the clear oxygen their lungs have been deprived of for years.
Doug, restaurants really do use too many bags. Have you seen the canvas bags that read “I’m not a plastic bag”? They were originally designer merchandise, but now street vendors are selling them for around $10-13. http://gothamist.com/2007/07/18/im_not_a.php
And I definitely agree about the food in New Orleans! The music too. Where else can you see a zydeco band in a bowling alley one night, and a Kentucky bluegrass band the next, along with an all-female opening act that uses toy instruments?
Nina: I used to live in Cleveland too! It is a dirty, scary, disgusting place, but still holds a warm place in my heart. Do you ever go here: http://www.cia.edu/academicResources/cinematheque/filmSchedule.php?action=upcoming?
Also, my mom just informed me that the venerable Brooklyn pizza place DiFara was named Time Out NY’s top eating spot of the year! Go DiFara! Go Brooklyn! Everyone should eat there immediately, health code violations notwithstanding http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/difara_pizza/
Just discovered your blog, dl: LOVE THE STENCIL STREET ART!
I live near Cleveland-grew up here, and have bounced back and forth
from other places (Columbus, Houston, Minneapolis, etc.) I know what Nina’s saying, but EVERY place has its good and bad points….
and they’re all different from each other!
Cleveland’s pretty parochial, but there are still some cool neighborhoods-it just depends on your age and interest and needs.
Explore! and don’t be afraid….
A fabulous New Year to all of you! and thanks for the blog, dl…
Thanks, Treena. Have you ever been to the “A Christmas Story” house? Here is the website: http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/index.shtml
You see once you make one false comment it affects your whole article and we get the feel that you are basing your article on cliches and stereotypes. I ve been living in NYC for over 14 years, and I think you are dead wrong on the subway claim! Riders were almost competing to give their seats to my wife when she was pregnant. Now when I get on the train carrying my 2 year old daughter everyone, again, offers his / her seat! So please don’t make false comments… You aboviously, like so many other people don’t simply don’t know this city. I suggest you live in it to really know it…. Beacuse if you are living anywhere else you’re missing out!
Howdy, Radouane. That’s awesome that people are nice to your wife and child, I just wish everyone could exhibit those good manners all the time. Alas, in a crowded, fast-paced city of 8 million people, it’s simply not possible.
Thanks for visiting the site!