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250 Words on Alphabet City

I recently moved into New York City from upstate New York. I lived in Harriman, NY for my whole life. Only one hour from New York City, but it might as well have been worlds apart. It wasn’t until I received this assignment that I realized I barely knew a single thing about the different neighborhoods in the city. My father who spent a good amount of time in his life living in manhattan suggested Alphabet City to me. Not only is it close to my new apartment, but has some pretty interesting factors that make it very “New York” while also distinguishing it from other neighborhoods.

This village used to be home to starving artists as can be seen of the beautiful murals surrounding the neighborhood. It is rooted by generations of families that have owned restaurants and businesses there their whole lives. I think this would be interesting to find a family that has lived their forever and first hand experienced the major changes that the neighborhood has undergone.

 

Another part of this neighborhood which holds a lot of history is Tompkins square park, also known for the Tompkins square park riots. There has been a huge growth in the homeless epidemic here. Some families completely avoid the beautiful park all together because it has become somewhat of a campground for them. Restaurant owners have been coming together to form organizations to feed them. I think interviewing the homeless, the cops in the area and a few business owners can lead to me to a very unique angle and uncover something interesting and unspoken about this neighborhood. I will try understand why there is an epidemic, who is helping it, who is making it worse and any other interesting facts I can uncover when I am there in the streets.

Queens Tourist

Kirk Semple has a very interesting style of writing in this piece. He goes back and forth between the shock of Queens being such a popular travel destination and the reasons why it is getting so much attention. Many people would not believe that Queens was named the No. 1 travel destination in the US for 2015. Semple understands this and talks about what a shock it is while at the same time explaining to the reader why Queens is such a popular destination.

His interviewing techniques are crucial to his storytelling. Each quotation either precedes and supports a statement he is about to make or comes directly after the point he just touched on. Sometimes he uses the interview to show the negative connotation of Queens and then comes back at the quote showing how regardless of the statement tourism is still thriving. For example, “Large swaths of Queens have really bad aluminum siding…’I Invented aluminum siding’?” is followed by Semple stating, “But boosters say those negative characteristics should not be impediments–and may actually be advantages.” (Kemple)

Here is New York Blog Post

1. What is your impression of the opening line of White’s book: “New York bestows gifts of loneliness and the gifts of privacy.” Do you agree or disagree with White? If so, why? If not, why not? How effective is the opening? What does it accomplish, if anything?

In the opening line of White’s book, “New York bestows gifts of loneliness and the gifts of privacy”, I get the impression that he is informing readers what a privilege it is to get these aspects of life in a city most would not expect. The word “gift” lets me know that he is looking at this as a positive. I agree with White about the gift of privacy. As humans this is something we need and something we crave. On the other hand, I personally do not seek or enjoy loneliness. I am very much a social individual whom enjoys the company of others. The opening is very effective in the sense that right off the bat readers can see that he has a new perspective on New York and it might not be what the average would expect. It encourages myself as a reader to keep going and I become thoroughly intrigued. It accomplishes giving the readers an immediate feel about what it means to be in New York without even scanning to the second sentence.

 

 

2. How and why does the writer use lists in this book?

White uses lists in this book rather melodically. Mimicking similar styles of Walt Whitman, White manages to take a sentence that many would read as grammatically incorrect and give it flare and meaning. Each list was hand crafted to prove a point such as how the city has drastic differences yet something to offer to everyone. For example, “..art and commerce and sport and religion and entertainment and finance..” (White 19).