Through the turnstyle one last time

The class is over and I'm procrastinating my other work but I felt like this blog needed closure.
With all these observations and conclusions about the feel of the underground world of metaphor.

I think we have forgotten that it is truly something special and the city still depends on this very old infrastructure even more than when it was first built, despite all the technological advances that have sprung forth since the start of the digging of the first track.

I don't know what else to say except goodbye and I hope you've enjoyed my blog. I don't know who else might still be reading it or if anyone actually has- but farewell. Next time you are in the subway- whether its london or chicago or russia or whereever-just think of the history and struggle that must've taken place to achieve such a large task and what the subway means to the city, its feel, and breathe it all in.

The Plastic Bubble

Behind the looking glass:

“Why? Hmm…Girl, if I had that kind of money, I wouldn’t be here right now”, a thirty-something Metro Transit authority employee responded as her co-worker and her talked in the midst of no one had any obvious need or desire for any transportation assistance. Her eyes wander towards the clock in the center of the enclosed plastic box she waits patiently in for hours on end. They drift, her eyes, that is, and stare. Although she wears a watch, and has a cellular phone, she still checks this clock, as if something about it made it more official .When, for a second, she sees that I an staring at her in her activity, she glares at me with a watchful eye. I sit. I stare right back. She then pretends it never happened and she goes back to talking with her friend. I continue to stare at her talking to her friend. She wanders her eye towards me occasionally-wondering when I will be finished.

The original plan was something special. It would’ve been great. The plan was to interview MTA employees about their lives underneath the surface of the city. However, after several persistent attempts, it could not work out. Refusals were most common and those that did consider it for a minute changed their minds in the same minute. But this is only the most direct interview process. By taking an alternative twist, I interviewed them through action. While I could not observe the refusals or mind-changers, I still had several at my eye’s disposal. They would be my subjects and I, the researcher. And so, it began. I felt there wouldn’t be as many variables in the same station-so I chose the 8th Avenue station.
When one conducts an experiment or wants to do some observation, the intelligent thing to do is to analyze the surroundings first. Of course, in class, and in personal other observations, the subway has been torn apart with subjective and sometimes tangential experience. However, I decided to delve into the employee cages they call information booths. The silver metal edges of the booth are encased with walls of plastic. There is a microphone on each side and a small opening for transactions for metro-card change. Maps, papers, cards, a phone, and other useful items are spread across the desks inside with usually two attendants. This is certainly inaccessible. No other person, even if the station is public, is allowed to enter these rooms except personnel. Most of these booths are before the turnstile just in case someone needs directions-the waiting rooms and information booths that used to be in use became inaccessible due to graffiti and other crimes. Perhaps the employees needed a break-room. However, well explore this later. In any case, it is highly noticeable that these booths are not your usual cubicle and the area where these employees work is unique unto itself.

Not everyone works underground eight hours a day. There are of course, sewer and construction workers but still, they come up for air once in a while or bring materials constantly from the surface. These workers are in a box, underground, with limited contact of the outside world. Through their actions, their behaviors, their facial and body expression, it can be seen that the transit workers of the MTA system, face a unique obstacle in their work and how it affects their view of how fulfilled their life is. In the case of three booth workers, life can be tough, boring, and unfulfilling-perhaps even a hellish place to be. While their reactions to time they may not have to work may seem normal, it seems even stronger and more desired than most workers in ordinary jobs. ‘

At 10:30A.M. on a Saturday morning, “ Patricia”, (name unknown but this is for own purposes) a black woman with a sassy wit about her, sits at the desk in the booth going over some paper work and finishes off a line of Metro-card customers. After, she pulls away from the desk, and takes a sip of her morning coffee. She sighs and starts to speak to her fellow attendee. Their conversation is low, not to be heard, but her expressions are clear. She waits and waits, answering customers on directions and giving out cards. Yet, her eyes, are always wandering over to that clock on the wall. When it is finally noon she gets up n an instant and gathers her belongings. She opens the door to the plastic box and laughs. She says, “Well, I’m going to lunch, you want anything? I’m also going to take a walk”. It had been a very sunny day that day. As most workers need to punch out, she went her way to get her coat and bag from wherever the workers keep them and then leaves through the nearest exit, the one that I am near. She runs up the stairs and then finally, at the last step, takes a deep breath of fresh air, adjusts her hat, and walks out of plain sight.
What I can tell from this observation is that a worker cannot wait to get out of the station. Although she might have a friend to talk to and other customers for contact, she seems disconnected from the world. Later on in the day, as I came back to the station to check on her, she seemed very bored, head in hand and after another rush of subway riders and a particular person who could not seem to remember the directions she gave him to get to Queens, became irritated. It was as if all of the day’s frustrations and desire to get out of this underground was being bottled up and slowly was going to explode-but she needs to maintain professionalism so I figured I wouldn’t see anything too hostile. One cannot blame her or anyone else from getting tired from this task of sitting in a booth all day. Legs will get sore and body restless-as Patricia also repeatedly tapped her long pink nails on the desk making a clattering noise to be heard through the microphone as even I went up to get a Metro-card.
The service provided from her compared to asking directions of a conductor or other person in the subway near the track differs because it seems the one near the track that is there for guidance is free to move around is happier. He smiles. He laughs. He greets you with a pleasant demeanor. Maybe he had a good day, or maybe, every day is a good day because even though he has to work and it may not be fun, he feels a bit more comfortable rather than being confined to a single small place for a long period of time during the day.
Anyway, it seems that the space, this underground structure with a plastic box, not only makes other spaces inaccessible but also the people. There are no was to forge a connection with the employees of the Transit. It also seems as though the kinesthetic of the station and the booth holds people captive. Their emotions and energy build up and sooner or later they need to release it. Perhaps if the booth was made more friendly or bigger or even outside above the ground near the light, fresh air (still heated though), and near more people, the employees would feel better.
This notion of how the feel of an area and the accessibility is incorporated in the article, Public Places-Urban Spaces. How the workers feel has to do with their engagement, whether or not it is passive or active. How I became engaged when observing my subject was passive while talking with her was active or “spontaneous interaction” (166). How Patricia feel compared to the other worker is most likely factored on their engagement and the space. Peter, for our uses, the guide near the track, is not enclosed by walls- only the track and steps-but he can still move from person to person and roam the station. Patricia cannot. She is limited in her engagement. Her engagement is also very repetitive. She sells cards- which is superficial. She rarely gives directions in comparison to Peter. She may also forget directions or best ways to get places if the repetitive action of selling the cards put her into the mind set that that is her actual job-not to provide service but a means of getting into the station.
In terms of variability, it may be safe to say that these observations were made on particularly chaotic days (a few days of same-people watching); this would have certainly skewed results, or even the external life of the workers besides the station. But then again, I think it is reasonable to state that the environment, this space that these workers are in, influences their attitudes toward work. The claustrophobic walls and the dark space can make subway riders, but mostly the subway workers who are underground several hours a day, feel as if they are in a different world and disconnected to the world above them. Their quality of life while working diminishes and controls how they may act when in the “real world” above ground.

Finally, it is unfortunate for these observations, that I could not interview any one of them directly due to any personal or legal reason. However, it is fortunate that one can see these qualities and these actions in several of the Metro Transit Authority employees because many work in the booths. There is a pattern and a general feeling of how they think of the underground in which we travel. Hopefully, we can find ways of redesigning the space or improve conditions for these workers so they do not feel like they are cogs within a repetitive, un fulfilling machine full of dirt, rats, despair, and need for repair (especially on the L line).

On the Way

Okay, so this is an original sonnet (with a few other literary and cinematic references) in traditional Shakesperean form. I don't really know if it is perfectly Iambic but hopefully its close and not completely trochaic.
Also, there is a bit of slant rime in there-that is on purpose.
I'm sure you'll pick it apart in class. Enjoy..or not...whatever.


Dance in metal Xanadu: Belmont Doll
The Walls move closer as you pirouette
Leg, dream, notion, track: elevated; tall.
This small step takes time: you begin to sweat
Fluid fast air makes way for men with a dream
Pushed by air, your velocity rises
Nothing will work, try again: go with steam.
Death and Deceit: what this tale comprises.
Progress is not what weighs more on the scale
Money oils this dark machine: Beware
Your false friend may push you to the third rail.
Good, extraordinary men are rare.
Calculated aspiration drives this car
Rich history covers you in El tar.

-Dan Schulman

Scribble Scrabble..oh look, i'm picasso.

Graffiti is many things to different kind of people. Some may think it is art in its purest form because it is free expression through a rebellious act. However, it is also viewed (by libertarians such as I am, and other fiscally conservative people) that graffiti marks up a beautiful neighborhood making it look dangerous and full of gang activity-it also takes our tax money to remove it-over and over, and over, and over, and over again. If they want to express their artistic side then why don’t the gangs and independent “taggers”come forth and ask for a specific space to do this-and perhaps they might get corporate sponsorship.

Guaranteed, if offered this opportunity they wouldn’t take it because it would mean conformity to what they rebel against- they always want to be made the victim so they can claim their right to vandalize personal and public property that hard-working people pay for to keep clean.

This sub-culture is based on competition as if a sport. According to Virginia Maksymowicz, graffiti cannot be considered public art because it does not maintained or used by the community, act on the community’s behalf, or open to judgment of all. How it compares to public art is clear- it doesn’t belong to the people. It isn’t functional and used by the people and not everyone can do it. It is purely based on a need to claim territory of a neighborhood that cannot ever completely belong to them. They do not demonstrate respect to leave things be. Compared to the art we saw in the subway station-they are just frivolous words and objects that aren’t of any quality or degree of skill. While some graffiti may, admittedly, be made by someone who has the potential to make it as an artist- it still does not contribute to a sense of community and trigger new and intriguing thoughts or offer social or political criticism.

An Unnamed Post for an Unnamed unclaimed picture.

The artwork that I chose is titled Unknown and the artist is Unknown as well. I must express that I did not try to take an easy way out of the posting assignment by not having research on an artist-but to try and take an alternate analysis on things. For these pieces of art are unique in a way that separate it from the rest. They have no artist that can be judged and they can’t be put into a historical context. The art speaks for itself. Some might argue that this is what true public art is- expression of feelings through art for open interpretation.

The fact that there are no names also suggests public ownership- when an artist signs their name onto a painting it gives an ownership- even when it is posessed by different art collectors or museums and a commission has already been paid, the work of art always belongs to the artist. to not have a name on this suggests that no one owns it but the people. Whatever thoughts may come to mind are yours alone and no one can own that. The art is here for everyone to enjoy.

.

Above are portraits that were most likely done by adults as opposed to the other pictures which were probably done by neighborhood children.


Getting back to the task at hand, the artwork is at the Sterling Street station in Brooklyn found on the IRT line where the 2 and the 5 stop. The previous street is President and the follwing is Winthrop. It was opened on September 23, 1920.

I think that people passing by this art in the station clearly see that it is the work of the community and the students which may give them a sense of hope and a new light in life. to see that the youth of the community cares about the community establishes an affirming faith in the future.

The Average New Yorker sees this as something to look at and ponder upon while waiting for the train. I know that I would probably pay more attention to it then I would one of hte professional pieces because I was involved in a project usch as this when I was young and wanted people to look at my work. These children and other member of the community took their time and effor and love for the community to do it and then decided not to claim it as their own but leave it unknown and unnamed for the purpose of sharing. It definitely is successful as public art.

I'm going to be big broadway star!!!...if only I could be dscovered...oh what a dream..."

So the station of choice for our visit was Times Square. Before I go into what observations my group I made, let’s just start with the facts:

This station is big. What a statement! But in essence it is its size that is so useful to our understanding. The design of the subway system is to accommodate. Because of its location, it is used by mostly every person. It is home to natives and those pesky tourists that take thousands of pictures outside the station; but we’ll get to that.

There are a few different kinds of people that I’ve observed in my many years of traveling the subway. Those that know the subway like the back of their hands, those that are adequately intelligent about it but sometimes need a little guidance and those, (clearing of throat-tourists) that absolutely have no idea where they are going. Let me explain how we can distinguish these experts from the umm….not so experts. Typically the experts are wearing suits or some type of employee uniform that gives an obvious indication that they work in the area. They know exactly where to go and do not need to look at the obnoxious signs that hang everywhere. They walk confidently without reproach and are the people that are most willing to give help- well, let me see, they are probably the ones that look decent enough to ask. They give off a vibe of “not going to mug me” or purposely lead me in the wrong direction towards Spanish Harlem (no offense to Spanish Harlem- it’s just that I don’t want to go there and probably never will).


Moving on, the people who make up the category of almost expert are the average New Yorkers. They use the subway, but probably don’t know exactly where they are going because they don’t ride it that often. While someone may think they don’t use the map-they do, which is smarter than not looking and getting lost. They have a purpose and know where they are going but make sure to look at the signs, check route schedules on the walls, and are at the metro card machines because they do not carry the pass because they don’t know when they will use it next. (True New Yorkers should and do walk everywhere mostly; if there is time, you should just walk uptown- don’t be lazy.)

Finally, yes, what we’ve been waiting for- and what Times Square is full of. There are more tourists in this area than actual natives. They don’t all look like the stereotypical bag-carrying, teary-eyed, country bumpkin: but they come close. They always have those mini-cams and try to capture every waking moment of the giant Cup of Noodle soup cup, MTV, and every other flashy, obnoxiously lit storefront. They stop for the music shows, dancing, women with saws, and the boutiques in the stations like Penn or grand Central Station. They spend forever racing back and forth between maps, carry large bags, get on one stop and realize they screwed up and went the opposite direction. It is pitiful but you can’t help to feel sorry for these lost puppies in the wilderness because it isn’t their entire fault. This station is huge, disorientating, and full of confusing paths that take forever to walk.


These paths that connect to different trains are spread all across the station. This is why we may call it a true “hub”. It is an enclosed space that is its own world. With its glitzy sign over hanging adjacent to the flashy McDonald’s across the street, it seems like you are walking down into a trendy club rather than an actual subway station. This gives it an air of glamour. When a friend was with me a few months ago who had never been to the city- she had asked me if it was a restaurant, surprised by the light-bulb sign. To make it seem like it isn’t and to curve the steps so they are not visible-sort of make it, at least in my own opinion- inaccessible. There are people around that try to sell you things as you enter. People just congregate to meet friends-not just a train hub but also a common meeting ground such as the clock in Grand Central Station. This is unusually true in the actual station. While in most stations the environment screams “keep moving or you’ll get trampled”, this station is filled with musicians (or women with saws) that attract tourists and bored people with nothing better to do. This creates a scene and makes people interact with reason to stare- something usually forbidden in the station.
Besides these performances, the square is also a huge place for businesses- whether it is the small newsstands built into the station or outside. It is booming with commerce. The message that Times Square sends is a very corporate one with little warm feeling at all. Even as a native you might get lost. The tourists, although extremely annoying, seem to lose their way. (Maybe they should get their eyes out of the video camera). With the expensive restaurants and the theatre district right there, they may feel like they are experiencing New York by being right there. But really, in essence, they completely bypass what the true New York is like. They stay uptown and instead of opening up their minds for the adventure they hoped to see, they settle for the trampled over road and stay confined to this area.

Furthermore, Time Square has a very wide street. In cases where there is a street as wide as this, it creates an imbalance of community of the people. The streets are always crowded, especially near TKTS, and one feels anonymous-or lost in the crowd. In regards to “the people” trying to take it over again- there are some street vendors and people giving out the Daily News and other promotional offers for locally owned comedy clubs in the area. The people are also selling fake IDs which attract the young community from the other areas of the city where it is cheaper to live in. On that note, Times Square is really not livable at all. There are no local supermarkets or drug stores. There is no library or community hospital. There are no parks for children. Nothing about this area would foster a healthy living environment for children-even without all the drugs and pornography that used to be here.

A Whole New World- That's Where We'll Be.

This post os about public space in the area of Bushwick and Aberdeen .However, before I go into it I would just like to share a little more of my experience- it will be short-I promise. As one might expect, there is more than one way of getting somewhere in the city with all of its subway cars, buses, taxis, and of course, walking. However, it was to my surprise that I would be taking a different route to my particular subway station. The Canarsie L line was shut down and parts of it still are for a short time being. So, instead of the twenty-five minute ride- I had an adventure. I took the FREE shuttle bus from Union Square to 8th Avenue. From there, I waited for the A line and took it all the way to Broadway Junction (see above) and then took another FREE shuttle bus to Bushwick and Aberdeen. Before I start by exploring the public will be relevant:

Instead of finding the same kind of people as I do on the L line, I finally experienced something different. I saw what seemed like middle-class working people who ,to me, were nice and helped me with directions on how to get where I needed. What I thought from my previous experience was that it was a poor area that had no life- but due to a new public space -just a different route- I experienced something different. There seems to be a sense of a community that values its members and tries to promote "brotherhood" of some sort.

As I got off the shuttle bus I found urban art- advertisements and funny experessions.

In the neighborhood, there are a few places where community is meant to be made and it looks as though it is thriving. It is mostly homogenous with a few that may remain from settling in years ago. While it is mostly residential, the area still has some businesses, which are located on the central streets and avenues. There is a surplus of Laundromats and corner store bodegas. The buildings are residential so it can be said that it is really a segregated community, not open for visit. The only reason why you would be there is if you lived there, were visiting someone, or studying the area for an urban studies class. No person would come to the area to “sight-see”.

get quite depressing- On one of the most sunny of days in the With the large, elevated structures for the subway that follow you in most of the streets in the neighborhood, it creates a darkened, more isolated feeling. These structures divide the area up into small sections and you may feel confused or displaced if you aren’t a native. It can actually summer, barely any light will hit you as you walk down the sidewalk which makes it feel cold, deserted, and uninviting. This is opposite to the areas, such as the garden or the park that do have light shining in on them- which makes it more cheerful, inviting, and sociable.

There is a colorful mix of flowers and vegetables growing. The area, most surprisingly, has a community garden that is thriving and is taken care of. are tomato plants and other fresh herbs growing as well. You can also see that there are chairs in a grouped area- this means that people actually socialize when they are in the garden. This public space is used by the public and belongs to the people of the neighborhood. While I was allowed to just walk right in, in terms of completely public space, I think it is not. I would not be allowed to go in and just start planting my own seeds because I do not live there. I am not part of the community.
The area also has two parks in very close proximity of each other. One has a children’s play area with swings and a baseball diamond.


While I was there, there were a couple of people sitting and laughing on the bench and an elderly man reading on the other side. There was very little graffiti on a fence near by and none anywhere else. The second park is where architecture and design play a large role in the community’s space. You can definitely tell that it was designed for the sheer purpose of bringing the community closer. for instance, in the following pictures:

a very large, multi-pupose space that may be able to hold protest interaction between any of the two people that sit there. They have to look at each other and it fosters a sense of community. There are also courts to play handball and basketball and there isThere are several designated areas for people to use. The benches do not just stand alone but also have tables between them and two benches face each other. This is a forced socials, markets, perhaps a concert, or even a small fair. It was designed this way to make the community flexible and able to do what it wishes in terms of interaction.

In terms of privacy, this residential area seems to value it. There are gates and barbed wire surroundings several establishments as well as a church playground I saw. However, the privacy of the public space is very little. For example, there is a residential building that overlooks the park. It has a dark courtyard which faces the park. They get to see the public and the public sees them as well. To live like this is not very private because there is always someone watching someone else. One can also imagine how one can hear everything that is going on in the park, especially at night.