Manhattan: East Side

   I started my day by taking the A Train to Columbus Circle and headed down West 59th Street to Fifth Avenue. The Circle was completed in 1905.  Columbus Circle, named for Christopher Columbus, is a major landmark located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South and Central Park West.  It is the point from which all official distances from New York City are measured.  The monument of Christopher Columbus, which sits in the center of the circle, was erected in 1892 in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the great explorer's voyage to the Americas.  http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/columbuscircle.htm

   I walked into The Plaza Hotel, where one of my favorite chid hood movies was filmed, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.  The Plaza Hotel I have seen many times while visiting Manhattan.  Architect Henry J. Hardenbergh has long been admired for his skill in manipulating the details of its French Renaissance design.  Those details include high roofs, dormers, and rounded corner turnings to create a harmonious whole.  The Plaza is famous for its guests as for its site with views of Central Park and Fifth Avenue, and its luxury.  In the past two decades the hotel has changed ownership several times and has recently undergone a $400 million renovation and the conversion of some of its rooms to condos.
   Across the street I stopped at the Famous Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. Its the only Apple Store in the world open twenty four hour and its entrance is a distinctive glass cube.  http://www.limac.org/5th_Ave_store/site-history.html

   Next to the Apple Store is F.A.O Schwarz was founded in 1862 under the name Toy Bazaar by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz, in Baltimore, where he and his brothers retailed toys from a fancy goods store.  In 1931, the store moved from west 23rd Street to the corner of 58th Street and Fifth Avenue.  The toy store became well known for its unique plush toys and memorable environment and that the philosophy that a store should be an experience for its customers.  http://www.nyctourist.com/faoschwarz1.htm
   The Next stop was The Dakota.  The Dakota was built between the years 1880 and 1884.  The apartment complex is believed to have been given its name because the upper west side of Manhattan seemed, at the time, as remote as the Dakota Territory.  The architecture of the Dakota can best be described as North German Renaissance, the exterior has boasting high gables, balustrades, terracotta spandrels and panels.  The Dakota has also attracted the rich and famous, ever since opening in the late 19th Century.  Famous residents have included Judy Garland, Connie Chung, Leonard Bernstein and Paul Simon.  John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived here until his death in 1980, Ono still lives at the Dakota apartments.  http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/dakota.htm
   After The Dakota, I went to Strawberry Fields which is a 2.5 acre near Central Park.  The name is honor to John Lennon, the songwriter, singer, and member of the Beatles, who was assassinated in the courtyard of the nearby Dakota Apartments.  "Strawberry Fields Forever", one of John Lennon's most popular songs.  Strawberry fields opened in 1985, the site is now one of the most popular destinations for visitors, a shrine where fans from all over the world leave flowers and other tokens of remembrance.

   I headed up Fifth Avenue to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The Met, is the largest, most comprehensive art museum in the world.  Its collections include more than two million objects, whose range includes the whole world and the entire sweep of human civilization.  Every year more than five million people visit.














The last stop was Grand Central Station (My topic for Paper #1).  Remains one of the world's great railroad stations, and enduring symbol of the city.

Welcome to Brooklyn: How Sweet It Is!

   Once a separate city, Brooklyn today still preserves a separate identity and an almost mystical hold on the hearts and imaginations of its admirers.  Brooklyn occupies the western tip of Long Island and is bounded by the East River, the Narrows, and upper New York Bay on the west and north, by the Atlantic Ocean on the south, and the borough of Queens on the east.  For decades Brooklyn struggled with drugs, crime, the decay of the infrastructure, and other urban problems.  Recently things have changed, young professionals and families, priced out of Manhattan or seeking a less frenzied atmosphere, have moved to such neighborhoods as Park Slope and Cobble Hill, where new restaurants, shops, and other upscale businesses have followed them.

    Our first destination to visit in Brooklyn is the famous Coney Island, but to get there we took the F Train from the City which was a very long ride, which thankfully wasn't that packed and we all ended up getting a seat.  I always wanted to take the F Train to Coney Island because I've seen it in a few movies and also I don't live too far from Coney Island, just jump on the Belt Parkway and it's about a ten minute ride.  The ride on the train wasn't bad because of the view along the way.  One of the things I noticed was the Verrazano Bridge and from a distance in Downtown Brooklyn I was able to spot the office building I Interned at over the summer.  Unfortunately the rides were closed and we couldn't go on the Cyclone or the Go-Karts but that was quickly forgotten, because we walked a block up from the boardwalk and ate at the Nathan's Famous, the first Nathan's which opened in 1916.

During the 1920's and 30's huge crowds of people were on the boardwalk or laying on the sand.  But by the 1940's the crowds were thinning, thanks to the rise of automobiles, the development of air-conditioning, and the policies of parks commissioner Robert Moses, who built parks and beaches that would lure people to a more beneficial form of entertainment.
   Our second destination for the day was the Transit Museum located in Brooklyn Heights,  The Museum is built in an actual Subway, located at Court Street.  The Museum is full of historical artifacts of the New York City Subway.  The artifacts include trains from the first operating train to the present trains we ride around New York City today.  Some of the trains used back then look much nicer and are very comfortable, I was thinking they should replace the ones we have now with the older ones. Other exhibits on buses, bridges, and tunnels, but the emphasis is on the subway.

Walking through Brooklyn Heights on our way to the Brooklyn Historical Society, you can see these beautiful buildings that were constructed and built many decades ago, and to see how they are still standing and are in great shape.

   Last stop of the day which was the one thing I couldn't wait to do, walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.  The Brooklyn Bridge opened on May 25, 1883, it was considered one of the world's greatest wonders.  Before the Brooklyn Bridge, anyone wishing to cross the East River had to take the Fulton Ferry.    I have driven over it several times, but I heard driving over it and walking over are two completely different experiences.  The first thing you notice is the walkway filled with people who like us were walking across to see a great view and experience something most people haven't.  The others jogging, riding bikes or just crossing over to go to Brooklyn or the direction we were heading, Manhattan.     Crossing over the Bridge I took in the great view of Downtown Manhattan and the construction underway of the One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) where the World Traders once Stood.  On the other side the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn.

While crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge I saw the actor named Noah Emmerich jogging across.  Noah has starred in many films, most recent include Super 8 and out now Warrior and also the new Zombie television show The Walking Dead. It was the first time I had ever seen an actor who wasn't working on a set and just out enjoying the day as we were.

 One hundred twenty-five years later the bridge is still an important part of the city's transportation network, carrying approximately 145,000 cars per day and numerous pedestrians.  I can now say I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge in to Manhattan.  Overall it was a great day, I went to places around Brooklyn that I have never been to and learned a lot about the 

Borough and it's History. 

The Borough I am From: Queens

   When I read that our first class was going to be Queens, I figured most of the places that we were going to visit, I would have already been too or have heard about.  I was wrong about that.
The borough of Queens, the largest in the city, covers 112.2 square miles and is bounded by Brooklyn on the West, the East River on the North, the Atlantic Ocean on the South, and Nassau County on the East.
   We started out by taking the 7 train from Penn Station to Flushing Meadow Park.  I don't live too far from Flushing Meadow Park but I have only been there a few times, and never really noticed how great of a park it is.  For one, the parks history. I would hear stories from my grandparents how they took there kids, my uncle and aunts to the World's Fair at Flushing Meadow Park and how now I'm standing here.  It's great that the park did not turn back into a dump after the World's Fair.  The park is clean and the fields throughout the park which are filled with people jogging, playing soccer, and baseball are very green, which like most parks throughout New York are not maintained properly.

The first major symbol that we saw and learned about was the Unisphere, which stands at the heart of Flushing Meadow Park.  I have seen the Unisphere many times from the two parkways that surround the Park, the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway.  The few times that I have actually stood in front of it, I have never seen it with the water on, which makes it even more of a sight to see.

 The next stop at the park was the Queens Museum, which like the instructor at the Museum said, most people would think what is that building, myself included.  I was amazed when I saw the Panorama of New York City, to think how long and how much precision went into building it.  When you look at it you can't help but to point out all of the places around New York you have been while looking at the Panorama. I actually was able to see the block I live on In Queens as if I was looking out of an airplane window.

After Flushing Meadow Park, we headed towards Jackson Heights to get some lunch at an Indian Restaurant.  I had actually had Indian food for the first time a couple of weeks before the class started, so I knew what some of the food tasted like and which ones to choose from the buffet.
The one thing I was anticipating throughout the day was going to the Queens Museum of the moving Image.  I am a big movie fan and could not wait to see some of the stuff in person that I have seen on the big screen and on television.  Seeing the muppets brought back memories from my childhood.  The first thing that caught my eye was the girl from the exorcist and the props from A nightmare on Elm Street and of course Yoda from Star Wars.

   I played with the sound editing, where I got to put my own track list in the background of some famous scenes, like the invasion of the aliens in Independence Day and the Opening scene from Twister.

One part of Queens that have driven through but never really walked or explored is Long Island City, which is a large industrial neighborhood.  In recent years it has become the center for contemporary art and sculpture.  We stopped at the MoMA P.S. 1, which is a contemporary Art and Sculpture Center.  Since 2001, P.S. 1  has enjoyed a collaborative partnership with MoMA.  The center does not have a permanent collection, but there are several long term installations, including James Turrell's Meeting, a ''Skyspace in an upper room with shapes cut out of the ceiling to open it to the sky, as the sun sets, the choreographed light within the room changes quickly and dramatically.
Next we stopped at the 5 Pointz, where artists come to express themselves though the art of Graffiti.  There are great works of art up on the walls, but like at the MoMA P.S. 1 the art is not permanent, others will come and do there work over it.

 We finished the day at Gantry Plaza State Park, walking along the boardwalk with a great view of New York City and the Queensboro Bridge (59th Street Bridge).

 In one day alone I saw great architectures and beautiful pieces of art, that not many people get too see or experience in there lives.  It was a great day filled with so much too see, I learned a lot of things that I didn't know existed in the Borough of Queens.

NYC- The Greatest City in the World

     For twenty two years of my life, growing up in one of the most famous cities in the world has been quite an adventure.  I grew up in Queens the most populated and diverse borough of New York.  Most of my childhood I would be found playing basketball, baseball, and handball in the park across the street from my house in Tudor Village, Otherwise my parents wouldn't have let me leave the porch.  Tudor is a small neighborhood in Ozone Park where I lived and attended Nativity B.V.M where I would meet my friends who most of my greatest childhood stories in New York would involve.

    After elementary school I would go on to attend Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village Queens where as a young adult I learned the routes of New York through public transportation. While living in Queens not far from the A Train, it would only take about a half an hour to arrive into Manhattan, where to me coming out of the train station was like coming into an entirely different world.  I've always loved the fast pace of the city and how everyone in their on world trying to get to work, see a Broadway show, or catch a cab in one of the most busiest and aggressive cities in the world.  When I get older and well established with my career the one place I have always wanted to live is Manhattan.
     I know my way pretty well in and out of the five borough's of New York City, so one of the reasons I chose to take this class was to see and learn some new things I did not know about New York.