As I walked through Coney Island, I felt at home again. Growing up in Coney Island allowed my childhood to be engulfed in culture, color, and exploration. Everywhere you look, whether you are on the boardwalk, on the streets where the old freak show used to be, or where the first Nathan’s still stands, you will see splashes of color strewed across old amusement park rides, carnival-style food stands, or murals, painted by those that have a profound love for the neighborhood. But one piece of art really spoke to me, the one pictured above. A wall titled “Faces of Coney” presented pictures of people from all different cultures and backgrounds that were either visiting Coney Island or called Coney Island their home. Unfortunately, may of the pictures were ripped off, however the ones still standing reminded me of the richness of Coney Island’s culture. Walking the boardwalk hundreds of times in my life, I remember seeing people of all races, from different cultures, speaking a vast amount of languages. To those visiting Coney for the first time, it is spectacular, with the grand Wonder Wheel or its spectacular beaches filled with joyous friends and family in the summertime. Elderly people come to chat, as they sit on benches and look out into the glittering ocean. Children come to enjoy the rides. Young adults enjoy the nightlife of Coney, especially in the summer. People from all different backgrounds come to jog or just stroll along the boardwalk, enjoying the beautiful and eccentric scenery along the way. The diversity of Coney Island’s activities reflects the diversity of the people that visit. This picture encompasses the memories that people all over the world have shared at Coney Island, and represents the continuous influx of cultures that flows into Coney, leaving it’s everlasting mark for future visitors to see.

For our iMovie project, our group decided to focus on the most original, useful, and under appreciated part of the city: the subways. Although they may cause mayhem for tourists who try to maneuver their way to popular sites, for everyday New Yorkers they are a necessity. Our iMovie project will focus on a person’s journey, both physically and mentally, through the subways. It will focus on the different encounters a person could have on a train whether it be performance, a beggar, a fight, being on a crowded subway car, or being completely alone. I thought it would be very interesting to use the Q train for this assignment. This train connects all the way from Brooklyn to Manhattan and  unlike many trains, we get to see an above ground view of where we are going. The Q is rarely packed, and connects two separate islands to one another. I feel it is perfect for our iMovie because people who use the subways every single day rarely understand the feeling of seeing a whole city pass right before your eyes, considering we are stuck in a metal box for the entire ride. It would be interesting to focus on the different sights, sounds, smells, and views that come from different subway stations. As somebody who goes home many weekends my mother always drops me off at the Q station either in Brighton Beach or on her way to work in Brooklyn. I always look forward to seeing the train cross the bridge and it always elicits feelings of joy and astonishment; I feel like a kid in a candy shop. This feeling needs to be expressed in our iMovie project and this subway line is the perfect line to focus on. It gives a person the chance to really see the city for what it is.

The Plaza hotel capitalizes on the experience of luxe. This luxe is meant to appeal to all ages thus cultivating an almost indelible idea of a calculated opulence. The richness we see around us in this hotel, the richness that captivates us has been perfectly molded to all of our notions of what otium is. Otium is a Latin term describing the very relaxed life of a wealthy person. Nonetheless, this sense of otium is not cold or polarizing. Instead, it is warm and inviting. From the palm trees in the palm court bar to Eloise’s tea party room, it is evident that we are being catered to and welcomed.

As you walk into the Eloise store, there are finely designed, well-tailored, extremely stylish coats, dresses, and berets for young girls. The walls are pink and inviting, with books about a girl living a life of adventure in a suite at the Plaza. The light fixtures are made of pink fabric that has been molded into the shape of a cone. The floors are the same checkered black and white of the floors depicted in the children’s book. Eloise the movie plays in the background, she is having tea in one of the elaborate rooms of the Plaza. As a child, this would have been an absolute dream. Eloise’s life is that of otium to a child. She plays, causes a ruckus, has a room filled with intricate toys and enjoys tea parties. This image of luxury is recreated in this room and thus the Plaza is able to appeal to even a child’s sense of sophistication. The image shown above is one of the tea party section of the store. The tea sets have Eloise’s childish scrawl on them, the tables are pink and the walls are lined with China that has Eloise’s cartoon face plastered upon it. While tea parties and fine china evoke a sense of refinement. This refinement is not stiff as is made evident by the childlike influences within the tea party space. The sophistication here is fun. This reflects the general essence of the Plaza, how its grand architecture and beautiful high ceilings and grand staircases interact with the selling and buying of luxury goods and fine food from all cultures. There is an overwhelming sense of unabashed indulgence that can be viewed as fun.

Our ideas of wealth and indulgence are being shown to us but with a twist of welcoming lighthearted pleasure.

Coney Island has always inspired a feeling of nostalgia for me; like I’d stepped backwards in time and ended up in some twilight zone where the world couldn’t decide if it wanted to move on or stand still. Passing by the old murals by the freak show and gazing up at the coney island hotel gives us a glimpse of what visitors saw and admired decades ago; its jarring to see the Wonder Wheel and know that people have been riding it since 1918. This disconnect between the past and the present is further amplified when you juxtapose the shiny, brightly lit modern rides of Luna Park with the older, less technologically enhanced amusements of Deno’s amusement park just next door. In this photograph, that dichotomy is clear. The Luna 360 stands polished and saturated across from the older and more muted Wonder Wheel. Its colors have dulled over time, and its old-fashioned design recalls a period when it was considered an example of the latest technological innovation. The photograph was taken around ten o’clock on a Sunday morning, so the rides stood deserted in the silence. The only people that were there were the park workers, and us. Occasionally, the sound of air compression from the rides would disturb the still air of the park. It was eerie, to see a place so colorful and fun be separated from the bustle of people and motion that it was meant to be in. I found that I enjoyed having the space to myself; being able to take in everything without distraction was an experience I’d never had at an amusement park. Seeing that space dead-quiet on a crisp Sunday morning made me feel an interesting sort of detachment from the reality of the commitments and responsibilities I had back home, because in that moment they didn’t exist. I was in a separate time, in a separate place where there was no such thing as a midterm paper.

Our location for the iMovie is The Plaza Hotel. We went there pretty late in the evening so we had a full view of the night life. It was glamorous and could be described as a social scene for the elite. The picture shows a bar, which is accessed right after entering the lobby. The ceiling is made of glass with vine-like designs. Around the rooms are towering plants and at the centerpiece is a ginormous vase of flowers. In the background, you can see greek-like statue columns. There are also large windows that almost reach the ceiling. However, they are not real windows since the panes are just mirrors. The decorations give the room an air of exoticism and the bar almost seems like a greenhouse. People lounge around the bar in suits and dresses as they sip their drinks and make small talk. Everything in the picture shows how ostentatious and luxurious the Plaza Hotel is.

On the night that we went to see the site, there seemed to be a masquerade ball. As we stood around taking photos, women in gorgeous dresses and mysterious masks passed by. Men in dark suits trailed behind as the employees directed to the ball room a floor above. We could hear the sounds of the party wafting down the stairs. The mysterious atmosphere was only enhanced by the Plaza Hotel. There were plush rugs and marble floors. There were chandeliers in every hallway and well dressed employees in every corner. Art hung on the walls, enhancing the architecture which was looming and grand. In addition, there were various floor to ceiling windows that were actually mirrors, giving the rooms in the Plaza the illusion of being bigger. Everything (the masquerade ball, the architecture, the glamorous people) solidified the Plaza as a social setting for New York’s elite.

When the ground was disrupted in 1991 and 419 sets of remains were excavated and studied, the African American community was outraged and maintained that the excavation was disrespectful. The African people fought for the stories of their ancestors to be respected and memorialized. Later, researchers and government officials realized that the preservation of this site meant that every artifact should stay with the people the artifacts were buried with and that the people should remain untouched. Excavators returned the remains. It was because of this realization that the African Burial ground was born.

The monument was covered in symbols: letters representing Islam, peace, nature, guardianship, the signature of the spirit, divinity of mother earth, imperishability and endurance and the supremacy of God. On each side of the ship, on the floors and across the monument are these African symbols that were hand carved in African countries. There was this implicit feeling of hope and it makes sense because that was all these Africans had when they were enslaved in New York. The symbol pictured is the Asase Ye Duru which stands for Divinity of Mother Earth. It literally means that the Earth has no weight. The symbol emphasizes the preservation of the planet and how people have an obligation to respect the grounds they walk on. It’s particularly fitting because it is everything the African Burial Ground stands for- the preservation of African stories. 

Our group decided to observe the Roosevelt Island Tram for our iMovie project. The easily identifiable red car, that seems to float seamlessly carrying its passengers between the island of Manhattan and the much smaller Roosevelt Island, was something that I had looked at from a distance countless times before. I would stare at it through the car window as I’d drive into Manhattan to visit my family, though I’d never actually been on it before. Even after all of those times that I’d watched from afar, I never stopped to consider that this was, just like the bus and the subway, a method of commuting for so many New Yorkers.

The view from the tram, as depicted here, is one of the major aspects of this space that sets it apart from the aforementioned methods. It provides a picturesque escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, allowing the passenger to admire the beauty of the skyline against the East River. The view is definitely worth the waiting for the tram to arrive (which for me was around 15 minutes). It is far quieter than the subway, which we can hear coming down the tracks from a distance away. It is a smoother ride than on the bus, as it does not stop every few hundred feet. The Roosevelt Island Tram seems to be a forgotten part of commuting, with the exception of those who take it regularly and know all about what it has to offer. The red car strays from the expectations that those who aren’t from New York have; have you ever seen a New York City postcard adorned with a photograph of this feature? I surely haven’t. Although this space does not receive much recognition, it certainly is an important part of the New York aesthetic, and deserves a visit.

My photograph above captures the Wonder Wheel, a well-known attraction in Coney Island in another perspective, one that is empty and calm rather than filled with a long line of people waiting to get on the ride or waiting to play at the arcade stands on the sides.

It was an early Sunday morning when my group and I visited Coney Island. Rather than being packed with families and friends on the beach, amusement park, and boardwalk, it was quiet and most of the stores were still closed. It was a stark contrast to the crowded beaches that I was used to seeing in the summer, when everyone was out from work and school. During the summer, the amusement park would be filled with kids running around with hot dogs and shish-kebobs, and the beaches would be filled with families and couples that covered every inch of the sand and laid scattered by the water. The atmosphere was loud and joyous, which would continue through the night, especially on days when fireworks appeared. However, on this day, the early morning carnival vibe was peaceful and slow-paced. Rather than seeing teenagers and families to my right and left, I saw elders, joggers on their morning run, and moms with strollers walking along the boardwalk as they chatted about the weather. Instead of the usual sea of people on the beach, the beach remained empty and quiet. Most of the stores were still closed except for Nathan’s, where we could smell hot dogs and cheese fries and hear some music as we walked by.