Lady Liberty’s magical surroundings: New York City

Hello everyone,

The world has many exceptional cities that have strong and unique personalities, great cityscapes, unique citizens, and marvelous distractions. However, there is one city that, in my opinion, reigns supreme over all others - New York City. I was lucky enough to have lived in this amazing place for seven years. A recent trip to ”the city” reminded me that the Big Apple is indeed my home. The reason is that New York City is not just a city, it is a way of life, it is a culture, it is its own world.

The main difference between New York City and its global city rivals such as London, Paris, and Tokyo is that the Big Apple has little to no associations with its mother, the United States of America. London is till British no matter how many foreigners settle in the English capital. Paris will alway be French, even if Parisians are known to be a bit different than their siblings in other parts of the country. However, New Yorkers are not American, they are ONLY New Yorkers. The residents of this city have not adopted an American way of life, they have carved out their own way of life and have thrown it into New York City’s bag of identities. This is how the magic of the city is created.

There are a myriad of ways that this magic manifests itself but I will only talk about a few: the food culture, the lifestyle choices, the compact geography, the loud-and-proud cultural diversity, and the natural co-existence and integration of very different social classes.

No city in the world can boast the food choice that is available in New York City. You can find any cuisine that you desire. More importantly, you can find a truly authentic version. The reason for this fantastic offering is that New York City has countless nationalities that have decided to settle in this great metropolis. Each foreign settler has made a strong effort to manifest his national culture, a huge part of which is food. Some nationalities do this more regularly than others, notably the Asian and East Asian countries. Others, such as the European settlers, tend to disappear into the society, becoming completely integrated into their environment. In the Big Apple, each country still has its selection of “like at home” dining establishments. The Germans have several Kneipe-type venues such as Zum Schneider, the French have countless Bistrots like Pere Pinard, the Greeks have an entire area of amazing restaurants in Queens, the Italians have a whole area just north of Canal Street and hundreds of other hidden away dining gems such as Supper. If you want great Korean food, hit 32nd street, Brazilian food can be found a couple of streets higher, Indian food is down in the East Village, Swedish food will be a little deeper in the Lower East Side, and I can go on. What is even more wonderful is that you don’t have to spend a fair buck or sit in a restaurant to get mouth-watering authentic foreign dishes. Just wander into Spanish Harlem, around 117th and 3rd and you will encounter cart after cart cooking up some the best tacos you will ever enjoy. A little bit further North near the Cloisters you can pick up some fantastic Dominican chicken at quick-serve delis. The options are endless. New York City is truly the place to go to pamper your taste buds and give a rest to your diet.

The lifestyle choices of New Yorkers are as broad as the culinary options. My girlfriend made a comparison between Torontonians and New Yorkers that defines the New York lifestyle reality perfectly. She said, “In Toronto people try to be, but in New York people just are”. There are a few cities where this attitude is also true such as London, but I bet that they are not more than a hand full. More importantly, you see this individuality in almost all boroughs. Granted some neighborhoods have a higher concentration of these “individualists”, but New York seems to breed this type of person. A few rides in the subway and you will experience the full effect of individual expression. Yes, I am referring primarily to fashion but the visual is the window to a person’s broader world. From ghetto to ultra chic, passing by punk, metro, tribal, and jock, it’s all there. New blends and strains of the different “segments” are evident everywhere. Stores cater to this variety. Hit 5th Avenue to explore upper-end chain stores, Broadway south of Houston for more irreverent clothing lines, interior Soho for flagship fashion retail locations, independent urban culture designers in Brooklyn, etc. It really is true when people say, “if there is anything that you want, you will find it in New York”.

The tight New York geography also has a profound effect on the spirit of this city. Manhattan is not that big a place. Meanwhile, close to 2 million people live there. Now add the commuters. In any given day, millions of people stream in and out of the outer boroughs and nearby States such as New Jersey and Connecticut. This concentration of people creates a unique energy. Not all people will like this vibe. Tempers do flair and the pace of life is fast and furious. However, this tension somehow creates a vibrancy in the air that is held down by the towering buildings that surround a person at all times. You cannot escape New York. Once you are in the city, you will feel its heartbeat whether you want to or not. Many people find this intimacy suffocating, some even become consumed by the pressure and snap. The most unlikely people go nuts. I’ve heard of a well-groomed businessman standing in the middle of the intersection at 42nd and 6th directing traffic. You need to be able to harness the city’s energy. To do so, enjoy the few refuge areas such as the many parks, the wonderful restaurants, the coffee shops, the galleries, etc. More importantly, walk. The tight geography allows you to explore a great deal of the city on foot. I frequently walked from my office at 51st street all the way down to World Trade Center. The real beauty about walking in NYC is that you will see such variety every few blocks. Districts are small and change from one avenue to the next. The curious walker will be treated to a flurry of visuals triggering key moments in history, scenes from movies, passages from great books, etc. If you really want to get the full brunt of this energy and experience overload, fuel up with a few coffees to heighten your senses!

Another product of this tight geography is the strong desire to be heard while uniting with your tribe. The strong food culture is a result of this dynamic. However, the many nationalities find other ways to manifest their backgrounds. Just pay attention to the languages being spoken around you as you walk in any given neighborhood. The hallways of the United Nations seem to extend into the streets of Manhattan. French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Greek, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese - all and so many others echo around you. In select areas you may not even hear that much English being spoken. Newcomers to the Big Apple somehow find their brethren immediately and bond. This collective soul spawns the desire for root seeding. As a result, many foreigners start up small specialty shops with products or services that reflect their country of origin. This entrepreneurialism fuels the elaborate shopping offerings of the city. Beyond consumerism, the various cultures voice their heritage through parades and festivals that seem to consume all weekends throughout the summer. When you think about all the activity, you quickly realize that the city energy that I just spoke about in the previous paragraph is also driving this cultural expression. Isn’t it interesting how all the characteristics of this city play off one another to form a unique aura!

The immigrant history, tight geography, and business sector diversity have created a unique mixture of classes that live side by side in forced harmony. I just spoke about the visual extremes that an alert walker could experience in New York. History plays a great part in this creation but so does class integration. Some middle-class residents have been living in select locations for generations while their neighborhoods have blossomed around them. The Lower East Side is a case in point. You would think that this meeting of worlds would cause friction that could lead to violence. This may well have been the case in the past. It is no longer. Why? Honestly, I am not sure. I can hypothesize, suggesting the Giuliani era and additional wealth. All that I can say for sure is that the friction does not manifest itself too frequently, but merely keeps the city on its toes. Take the blackout of a few years back as an example. There were fears that looting would prevail as it did during the blackout of the 70s. Nothing happened. Granted, 911 had happened only a few years prior. Nonetheless, I believe that Lady Liberty’s city has evolved so that its children are more used to one another.

Overall, New York City is simply a city unlike any on the planet. I encourage everyone to spend a part of their life in the Big Apple. The experiences will mark you for a lifetime. If travel is all that you can offer Gotham, then follow these simple instructions: explore all corners and alleys, look at the world above your head, savour the smells from dim or bright establishments, be mesmerized by the alluring lights from tiny to multi-story stores, wander the grungy and high-brow galleries, take cabs and subways, sip coffees and cosmopolitans, and see the landmarks and landfills. The reason is that the true New York City will not be found through a guide. The true New York City is different for each one of us. Therefore, be curious, have fun, and create your memory. Don’t let it pass away in a New York minute!

~ by fmertens on January 14, 2008.