The Arts in New York City
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"Site Observations"
It was a cool and breezy night on Coney Island; large clouds loomed in the sky permitting the almost full moon to shine through only on occasion. Most of the people were exiting the boardwalk to head home, but a small crowd was gathering around the rails next to the beach, anticipating the upcoming fireworks show.
“I can’t believe it’s almost the end of summer.” said Joshua.
“Yeah,” responded Farina, “there was so much other stuff I wanted to do before school.”
“Hey, I’m the wistful, melancholy one, okay? You’re generally more plucky, so what’s up?”
“I just feel like we didn’t do enough, I mean, we don’t have many summer vacations left, you know?” Farina looked across the beach speaking again, “I don’t what’s gotten into me.”
“Kevin, perhaps?” Joshua suggested with a grin.
“Shut up, we’re just friends!”
“Namaste, amigos!”
Joshua and Farina turned toward where they heard the voice, recognizing their friend Caesar approaching. He was born to a mixed family so he had a distinct appearance and was easily confused for Hispanic, South Asian, and various types of Mediterranean. His family moved around a lot when he was a child, too, so he always had trouble answering people when they inevitably asked him what he was or where he was from. Eventually, he realized he had more fun just making up stories drawing from his background and experience; so, he started pretending to be different ethnicities every couple of days or weeks, which was always entertaining to the people who knew him well.
“So, Indian-Mexican today, huh?” Joshua asked.
“Indian-Ecuadorian, actually.” responded Caesar cheerfully.
“Of course.” said Joshua as he chuckled and turned back to beach. Shouldn’t the fireworks have started by now?”.
“I heard there was an accident somewhere on the beach, so they got delayed.” said the man standing next to Farina.
“Some drunk crashed his boat on the shore.” continued an elderly woman sitting on the bench.
Farina stretched and groaned, “If the show ends up being cancelled then he’ll have totally messed up our last night out.”
“That’s pretty mean Fay-Fay,” said Caesar. “Aren’t you worried about the guy or if anyone got hurt?”.
“Of course I am.” she responded earnestly.
“Honesty, I expected you to say that Joshua.” said Caesar while pretending to ignore her.
“She’s been stealing my thunder all night.” sighed Joshua.
“Stop picking on me.” Farina said while pouting, making all three of them laugh.
Joshua reached into his pocket to take out his phone and check the time, but accidently pulled his keychain out with it. It fell to ground and Farina bent down to pick it up, noticing one key in particular.
“Hey Joshy, what’s this?”
“Oh, it’s a handcuff key.”
“A handcuff key?”
“Yes, a handcuff key.”
Farina paused and let out a sigh. “Should I even ask why you have this?”.
“You should,” responded Joshua, as he leaned on the railing, arms crossed over his chest, “it’s a good story.”
A silence passed over the trio. Farina stared expectantly at Joshua, while he didn’t take his eyes off the Parachute Jump in the distance. Caesar looked back and forth between the two of them, not entirely sure of what was happening.
“Well?” asked Farina impatiently.
“Well, what?” answered Joshua calmly.
“Why aren’t you telling the story?”
“You didn’t ask yet.”
Caesar laughed and Farina put her face in her palm, “Just tell us the story.”
Joshua shifted his weight, put his hands in his pockets, took a breath, and started. “It was a few years ago, in middle school. There was this one small store on the corner near the school that my friends and I went to. The owners were jerks and we were stupid, so we would occasionally steal things – snacks, cans of beer, a few lighters. We were browsing the shelves one day when one of the workers picked a friend of mine up and threw him behind the counter before calling the police. The rest of us looked at him, and then at each other, and ran; to the school, to the park, to our homes, anywhere away from the store and without a second thought. We met up in the schoolyard later and saw the friend that was caught. After crying and paying for the stuff he had on him the police and store let him go, but we were all banned from entering the store again. He told us that he really wasn’t trying to steal that time, that he just walked by the door on his way to the cashier. I still don’t know if he was telling the truth or not.”
“But, where does the key come in?” Caesar asked.
“I bought it a few days later and showed it off as something to use just in case we got caught again. I actually don’t know if it works, and even if it did, it wouldn’t do much good while it’s on my chain like it is. I keep it as a reminder of how weak I was then. That I didn’t do anything to help my friend, that I didn’t own up to what I did, that I even involved myself in the first place.”
The fireworks finally began, and Joshua turned to look at them. Caesar and Farina looked at one another, unsure of what to do or say. Joshua looked over his shoulder, smiled, and said, “The fireworks look great, don’t they?”.
“You don’t talk a lot, but when you do it’s some pretty heavy stuff.” said Caesar as he and Farina moved up to the railing.
“You ought to talk more often.” chimed in Farina.
“I’d run out of things to say.” Joshua replied with a shrug. “We’ve got a few more days off, you guys want to go wander around the city or something tomorrow?” Turning to Farina, he continued, “We could invite Kevin.”
“Who’s Kevin?” Caesar asked while laughing.
“No one! Shut up Joshy!” Farina yelled over the fireworks before joining the other two in laughter.
Coney Island and the High Line speak volumes of the diversity in experiences and people one can find in New York. “Conceived more than 100 years apart, these two New York City sites are both products of their times, reflecting different ideas about recreation, culture, and society.” The differences between Coney Island and the High Line suggested in the above statement from our class syllabus put the contrast between these locations mildly. Coney Island is connected to the amusement side of recreation; fun at the beach, the thrill of the rides, a night at the ballpark, the occasional fireworks show, but also to something grittier. Coney Island isn’t exactly clean, in any sense of the word, but that’s a part of the fun, at least in my mind. The High Line used to have a similar feel to it in the city; natural but unruly plant life, the occasional homeless person, but now that it’s been turned into a park it fits in with some of its more artsy surroundings.
I went to Coney Island on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, I can’t remember which. The sky was cloudy and the air was cool; it felt like one of the first days of autumn. I took the Q there instead of the B36, thinking I could get some good photos of the area from the window, but none of them turned out well. Coming out of the station, I walked past Nathan’s and MCU Park before heading to the boardwalk, and from there I went to Luna Park. I’ve been to Coney Island nearly every summer I can remember, so there wasn’t all that much I wanted to do, especially since I went alone. It was coming out of park that I noticed something interesting. Outside of Nathan’s a 
group of motorcyclists had gathered for some kind of small concert. Weaving through the crowd of onlookers, I couldn’t help but think of my uncle. He wore a rather long beard and always had on a pair of dark sunglasses, so he had something of the biker look to him. When he visited Coney Island with my father and I, my uncle and the bikers would sometimes lock eyes for a while or simply nod without saying a word, as though they recognized a kindred spirit in each other.
Going to the High Line was a little more difficult for me. I missed my stop on the way there and almost got on the wrong train when I had to transfer. And once I arrived, it was already raining heavily. The rain wasn’t a total hindrance though, as it did make the park smell fresher, adding to the whole nature experience. I was a little surprised, actually, about how much I enjoyed being there. The plant life provided a scenic contrast with the surrounding buildings, and the view over the streets was wonderful.
What really caught my attention though, were the benches. I’m not entirely sure why, but I really like the way they come out of the structure instead of being separate pieces. Leaving the High I took the first set of steps I saw and got lost trying to find the station. But before I did that, I noticed a piece of graffiti on a building close to the park and took some photos. I would later find out that it was Monsieur Chat that I photographed, a graffiti cat that originated in France. More information on him can be found here.
Not far from M. Chat was another piece of graffiti, one that read RIP High Line. I don’t know what the artist’s intended message was, but what I took away from it was a lamentation of the High Line that had been abandoned, 
but not yet turned into a park, an emotion expressed by Joel Sternfeld, “He would not just like the High Line to be saved and made into a promenade; he would like the promenade as it exists now to be perpetuated, a piece of New York as it really is” (Gopnik). Having known the High Line only as a park, I can’t completely relate, but I can understand the idea as it relates to Coney Island. The renovations it’s received are improvements, but I still feel like they’ve taken away some of the character of the island.
Work Cited
Gopnik, Adam. “A Walk on the High Line.” The New Yorker May 21, 2001: 44-49. Print.
It’s the combination of the jungle that we pave over
And the swamp jungle where our ancestors became soldiers
Struggling to establish a civilization
But when we built it we took away from nature
Like the quilt of the Earth, we tore it
We lost it and became a stranger
But it’s stranger still that we will
Rebuild what’s gone when we can no longer
Stand the sight of giant steel monsters
Bearing their teeth so we took a creation and fostered
A relationship of the past with the present
It was fast when we sent it
And this park built joins those worlds with a vengeance
An old path is where it was created
Underground scheming and calculating, like math, not to have it slated
Debated, whether or not to connect with what we lost
But we never had it, no message inscribed that was faded
And this park is raised like the hopes we have in a vision
To give beauty to this city, and the gray streets that are now hated
With great precision, landscaped with the rail line, as a collision
The two worlds can combine, but what we had hoped for really isn’t
It’s a joke cuz we have failed in our mission
Pretty, from the gritty and gives us peace and serenity
But it’s not natural, not crafted by divinity
Nonetheless, between man and God there was synergy
An energy, something we can grasp and work off of
To revive from the last, one last gasp, at what we all lost
Two of the more exciting places in New York City to visit are Coney Island and the High Line amusement park. Both areas are a magnet for tourists and locals alike, and both are marvels that show the evolution of the city from the early 20th century to the early 21st century. Coney Island developed as a spot that would rival the architectural feats that Manhattan had achieved and act as a place for amusement and leisure in an otherwise busy and unsmiling city. The High Line was established only a few short years ago, and was built on an old railroad line. Many wanted this dilapidated crossing to be torn down, but with the support of many park enthusiasts, this rail line transformed into a place for relaxation and tranquility.
Coney Island is a gigantic beach/amusement park that attracts thousands of visitors in the summer. The old and young all gather to swim, dine, and go on the numerous rides in Luna Park. Coney Island functions as a neighborhood haven, with a family feel to it that one doesn’t necessarily get from going to Disneyland or Six Flags, because of the lack of neighborhood atmosphere. This haven is a landmark that everyone in New York City knows about, and its established legacy makes it almost iconic. In contrast, the High Line Park is relatively new and not as well known. It isn’t as mutually loved as Coney Island is, because there is still a small minority who wish the park wasn’t built, and instead wish that the old railroad was removed. However, the High Line is still widely visited and eventually may become as accepted and as known as Coney Island. The High Line, like Coney Island, provides a means of escape for those in the city. However, unlike the powerful and loud atmosphere that Coney Island has, the High Line is all about enjoying yourself with some peace and quiet.
Coney Island is well known for its boardwalk, but what I found particularly dazzling was the pier near the end of the boardwalk. That pier stretches deep into the water and from afar almost appears to be stretching out infinitely. The pier is special because it allows you to venture into the waters without actually leaving dry land. Once at the end of the pier, I felt as if the main boardwalk was in another world and I was looking out at the happy beachgoers, who were light years away from me. In addition, another rare and amusing oddity in Coney Island was the assortment of trashcans with designs on them. Some cans had a smiling sun, and others had a rainbow sailing past the boardwalk. The idea of creating artistic pieces with something as simple as trashcans was something very Brooklyn in my opinion. It reflected a belief that anything can be made beautiful, even something as simple and unsightly as a trashcan. And at the same time, this is essentially what Coney Island is; taking a drab stretch of beach and filling it up with so many lights that it almost becomes Brooklyn’s Time Square at night.
The High Line didn’t fall short of my expectations, and the beautiful landscaping wasn’t even the best part of the park. Inside were quirky attributes that gave the High Line a very playful touch. One of my favorite things in the park was the water fountain. Well, more specifically, all of the water fountains throughout the park. These fountains all did one thing which I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing anywhere else; they spoke to you. As my friends and I took a drink, a female voice sprung out from the fountain, talking to us about water. I was caught so off guard that I was unable to understand the rest of her message, but the point was clear and simple; the High Line was going to go above and beyond in all possible ways. Along with the water fountains were strange horizontal waterfalls that almost gave a beach-like feel to the park. One woman even dipped her feet in the waterfall to see if it was real. The High Line was already different in its creation because, after all, it had been built from an old railroad line. But with these little quirks, it seemed even more amazing to me.
In Delirious New York, Koolhaus talks about Coney Island and how it was meant to be a pleasure center for visitors. One look at Coney Island made it clear that everything built there was to excite and enthrall anyone who came. In addition, Koolhaus mentions that Coney Island is an artificial world built for those who can’t go out and experience it firsthand. On page 37 he notes: “…the ability to ride a horse is a form of sophistication not available to the people who have replaced the original visitors [inhabitants]”, when explaining the creation of Steeplechase Park. When visiting Coney Island, this description comes to mind. The fishing games remind me of those who would visit the park to experience a life that they couldn’t enjoy in the city, a life of fishing and hunting for themselves. In addition, the fire truck ride in the current Coney Island seemed to be homage to the midget firefighters who battled the flames that brought down Coney Island in the early 20th century. This ride provided one of many links of the old Coney Island to the new.
Gopnik and Goldberger both talked about the High Line and its connection with nature, because after the rail line became untouched, it eventually grew into a literal urban jungle. One of the themes of the High Line was to preserve the natural feel while still creating a new park for everyone to enjoy. I felt that the park did some justice to this notion, because the rail lines and some of the natural foliage remained, but overall it had become more artificial than not. And that, in a way, symbolizes both Coney Island and New York in general. This entire city is artificial, and in our struggle to return to a more natural state of living we’ll either mock it, as the rides in Coney Island do, or we’ll tear down natural greenery and plant other vegetation, just to achieve a natural feel. In essence, we can never truly return to nature while still inhabiting the city, although it seems people will constantly develop new means of doing so.
Goldberger, Paul. “Miracle Above Manhattan.” National Geographic April 2011: 122-137. Print.
Gopnik, Adam. “A Walk on the High Line.” The New Yorker May 21, 2001: 44-49. Print.
Koolhaas, Rem. Delirious New York. New York: Monacelli Press, 1994. Print.
The site observation assignment asks you to integrate material from at least one of three assigned readings. When you quote from your chosen work(s) in the essay, include MLA-style in-text citations where appropriate, and include a Works Cited listing at the end of your blog post. We’re cheating a bit because two of the pieces were magazine articles originally in print, but they were provided to the class as PDFs. For this assignment, if you make use of the Goldberger or Gopnik articles, your in-text citation is fine just listing the author’s name without specific page number. However, if you are quoting from Kohlhaas, please include page number(s). An example:
Interest in developing the High Line site increased after September 11, 2001, as people turned to the project as something positive which could be done in the wake of the attacks (Goldberger).
Here is the correct Works Cited format for each work:
Goldberger, Paul. “Miracle Above Manhattan.” National Geographic April 2011: 122-137. Print.
Gopnik, Adam. “A Walk on the High Line.” The New Yorker May 21, 2001: 44-49. Print.
Koolhaas, Rem. Delirious New York. New York: Monacelli Press, 1994. Print.
One of my favorite things about my first visit to the High Line last year was the artwork shown to the left – “Autumn on the Hudson Valley With Branches,” by Valerie Hegarty. (You can click the image to the left to see it in a larger size.) The work was a combination of different things – part painting, part real tree, part fake tree – and was hung on a fence, surrounded by an assortment of plants which had either grown or been planted there. (There are places at the High Line where it’s obvious that the plants have been added by landscaping, but in other spots, you can’t be too sure.) The canvas for the painted portion looked like a torn, throwaway tarp, and must have been waterproof to protect it from the elements. The style of the painted portion recalled the types of landscapes seen in works by the mid-19th century school of American painters known as the Hudson River School. This connection is both appropriate and witty because of the High Line’s close proximity to the Hudson River. The Hudson River School idealized nature, and it’s interesting to think of this idealization of nature (with its implicit criticism of civilized settlement) in contrast to the subsequent commercial and industrial development along the river, which includes the commercial activity the High Line was associated with for much of the 20th century. Nature has returned to the High Line, but with an irony which Rem Koolhaas would appreciate. The restoration is more planned than natural, and seems partially intended to bring landscaped recreation to its visitors in much the same way that Central Park was intended to do for New Yorkers of the mid-19th century. With real nature no longer available, the best we may be able to hope for is the Irresistible Synthetic – in these cases, a succession of nature-based urban theme parks. A write-up on Hegarty’s work can be seen on the High Line website here.
