There were a few main smells I kept picking up on that to me incorporated the theme of the Barclay Center and the transition it has made to become what it is today.
The following are the 5 main smells that paint a picture of the Barclay Center area and the emotions or feelings they evoke to helped one associate with the area.
FIELD NOTES ON SMELL
By Batsheva Ettinger
Day 1: Wednesday, March 9
It is a warm, breezy day. The time is around 4:00. At first, I cannot smell much. But then, as we walk past some smokers, the smell of cigarette smoke engulfs me. There is also a strong smell of fried food as we walk past some eateries and pizza shops. On one of the side streets, the sidewalk or road smells like it is being repaved as there is a strong cement smell in the air. The streets contain small, Brownstone houses lined up one after the next with gates on the windows. There are labeled garbage cans in front of each house. As we walk into the heart of the Barclay Center, we walk into Starbucks and I buy an ice coffee. The smell of coffee is obviously pretty strong. Finally, we walk into Artichoke Pizza and the strong smell of pizza overtakes us.
Day 2: Thursday, May 6
It’s windy Thursday afternoon at 4:20 pm. There is a bustle of people of all ages- old, young, and little kids, probably on their way home from school. In particular, one woman leads a whole bunch of children wearing backpacks. The Barclays Center is getting fairly crowded, probably because of Justin Bieber concert taking place tonight. There are carts with “Bieber merchandise” selling all sorts of products. People are selling tickets and the lines are getting pretty long. People in line, mostly teens, are sitting around, some wearing Justin Bieber t-shirts. Some of them are even camped on blankets. Two fans, not in line, are drawing a sign that says “Bieber fever”, and they comment that they don’t think they are too young to be “beliebers”. There is a lot of security and police officers are everywhere. At some point, a rowdy bunch of teens run near us screaming and shouting, followed by cops. This excitement was probably normal for a busy day at the Barclays Center. Some of the main smells I picked up on during this visit were: It smells like coffee garbage and halal from carts that are all over. Something smells burnt- probably meat or bread from one of the carts nearby. It also smells like fuel or cars exhaust. There are lots of cars sitting in traffic, moving along steadily. There is also a lot of construction. It is making the entire area reek of cement and tar.
