Dear Students:

I walked with the Central group (116th to 106th Streets). Our group saw a number of the large public housing projects on their super-block sites, the barely surviving La Marqueta under the Park Avenue viaduct, and a good number of open spaces. The latter included the community gardens saved by the Bette Midler organization as well as those managed by the NYC Department of Parks, poorly maintained playing fields, lots of parking, and a truck ‘maintenance’ facility that we did not think it prudent to photograph. Something we noticed in particular were the number of closed-up row houses and tenements (their windows filled with concrete blocks), evidence that property owners are holding them as future development sites for more lucrative returns than they would get by continuing to rent them out.

I took a quick look at the photos that have been posted by the North Group. They look good and I enjoyed seeing the chickens. A few of the buildings, such as the library and some of the churches, may need to be re-photographed as you really can’t get a sense of the whole. I look forward to seeing all the groups’ photos accompanied by captions so we can review them with Ms Gregory at the next class.

You also need to post your individual impressions/highlights of the field trip on the blog by next Tuesday. A short paragraph along the lines of Ms Gregory’s comments or mine will do.

If you going up to East Harlem again anytime between now and next Wednesday, you might want to take a look at the exhibit at CENTRO (Center for Puerto Rican Studies), located at its East Harlem Gallery, Silberman School of Social Work, 2180 Third Ave., 119th Street. The exhibit is open to the public weekdays from 1 to 6 p.m. For more information see http://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/about/events/labor-comes-close

Best
Professor Gardner