ENG2150: Writing New York

The Met Cloisters is a museum located in Fort Tryon Park, Upper Manhattan. This impressive museum has a view to the Hudson River, and its mainly dedicated to celebrating European medieval architecture. The museum has been constructed from French Monasteries and Abbeys that were brought in pieces from Europe and rebuilt in the upper level of the Park. This amazing museum has the power to transport you to medieval Europe while having your feet in New York. There are many pieces of art in the museum to appreciate such as Romanesque style arcs  which combines ancient Roman and Byzantine architecture.There are many different sculptures of saints, The Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, and real mummies. The most interesting piece of art that I believe everyone should go see is  “The Unicorn.” It is a series of hangings that were made between 1495-1505. They believe that Anne, Queen of Great Britain asked someone to make this for her husband Louis XII, king of France. These pieces portray a group of nobles and hunters trying to hunt a unicorn. There are many ways to interpret these pieces of art, but my interpretation after talking to some staff of the museum is that they are narrating the unicorn’s death as the Passion of Jesus. The woman depicted as taming the unicorn can be interpreted as the mother of Jesus, The Virgin. The wanted unicorn can be seen as Jesus who is being hunted by the Romans who were looking for Jesus everywhere to crucify him. To conclude, there are many exciting things to observe at the Cloisters museum. There is a variety of interesting artwork that can teach you about medieval Europe.. It is nice to learn about history, and exploring this hidden museum in Washington Heights is one way of doing so.

oh what memories. Looking at this you can automatically tell you are in NYC. I remember about 4 years ago I would walk around kicking these bikes to see which ones would come out. It was a bad thing but I was young and dumb. Out of every bike parking lane there had to be at least one that would come out when you kicked it. Thankfully I never got caught. I mean there are other bikes accessible to the public in different states, but the city bike is only in the big CITY. Not only do you always see these walking in the city, but it’s a big symbol. When you are in a city and you see one of these bikes, you already know it’s a big busy city where you need to get around quick and easily. Things like these bikes and the halal carts are really the heart of the city. Small things also like the dirty railroads of the MTA, and the packed streets, and rude people. This all makes up NYC.

The Bronx Zoo is a place that anyone who has the pleasure of living in NYC has to go to. Recently, I found out that many New Yorkers haven’t visited the Bronx Zoo or even know that it existed. The Bronx Zoo, according to many zoo rankings, ranks in the top 10 best zoos in america. This zoo has almost any animal you can think of, and guess what? It’s free on Wednesdays. Not only that but it is very inexpensive for a zoo of this caliber. This zoo is home to more than 4,000 animals of 650 different species. Fun Fact: Tracy Morgan, very popular comedian, owns bought the zoo back in 2015. While zoos are extremely controversial in today’s culture, it is important to understand the significance of zoos like the Bronx Zoo, which gives their animals a very large area to roam, and promote the growth of species that are nearing extinction. I’ve gone to the zoo probably a dozen times at this point. Whether it was for field trips, or because my friends wanted to go. Something I cannot say even after numerous visits is that the Bronx Zoo is stale or boring. The Bronx Zoo is extremely fun and it’s much better going with friends. The food there varies from good to great depending on the occasion as well. There is something for everyone at this zoo. I rate the experience a 8.5/10. The only thing I don’t like about the zoo is the smell, but I mean it IS a zoo right? I highly recommend going if you haven’t.

A few days after our last class it struck me: we really are alienated from each other in New York. I did some browsing and saw that it was an actual consensus that New York was a city in which strangers generally remained alienated. I even found out that amongst our many titles, “The Lonely City” is one that no one talks about. But why are we so filled with people yet no one really knows each other? After thinking about it for some time, I believe that it could do with how people don’t want to burden themselves with keeping a large group of people happy, or satisfied. This is because there is a strong sense of work yourself to near death culture in this community. How much harder would like be if you had to talk to every single person you saw and also keep in touch to make sure they are doing fine? In a small community this may be much easier as there is a much smaller group to deal with and that leads us to our “blocks”. In our blocks, most of us know the bodega cook, and some of the elders in the community. We know the kids that run around and cause trouble, and don’t. We know who’s who and how they are like. So I believe that while New York may be “The Lonely City”, it may not be nearly alienating as people may think.

This is about the halal carts we have here in NYC. I’m pretty sure NYC is known for many things and one of those is the halal carts/food. If you are in the city no matter where you go you will find a halal cart on the corner. And most of them will look like that. Don’t get me wrong there are many types of carts in other states. I’ve been to many different states, and there is always a food cart different kind of foods. But I never really noticed a Halal food cart anywhere other than nyc and some in Washington. Many of my friends who come from out of state always tell me they want to go to the city so they can get their habibi food. Most of the time it’s a simple 5-dollar chicken and rice that will fill you up for lunch. I don’t get chicken only, I get both chicken and lamb with rice. Every time I see these carts I always think of why there’re not many outside the state of nyc. I was in 3 different countries this past break and none of them even had ANY food or vending carts outside on the streets. Is it a NYC thing or an American thing? I know definitely halal is a nyc thing. I’m pretty sure almost every one of our friends living in NYC now has had one before. I even come to develop good relationships with the carts near my neighborhood because I am always coming to them and buying food several times a month. I guess if one day all the halal food carts disappeared, people in the city will actually feel some type of way because they became a part of our daily lives and/or lunches. It sounds kind of dumb but it’s true. You always know that cart is outside whenever you’re hungry, no matter rain, snow, cold, or if it’s a holiday. One story I always remember when I pass by one, is when I was 15 years old in times square with a couple of friends, we ordered total of 10 chicken over rice’s, and in the end my friend told me that he didn’t put enough chicken in all of them so, I told them it’s not worth it and we ended up walking away. Only now did I realize how messed up that was.

This is Queens Library and I have been walking past it for almost eight years now. I remembered the last time I went in looking for my book and came out empty handed. So, today I went in hoping to find a book for class, and like a couple years ago, I came out empty handed. Just goes to show how reliable NYC libraries are.

This is the view from my bedroom, and I see this everyday when I wake up and when I go to sleep. Thelight the sunset casts can be really beautiful, and the lights from the windows at nighttime is just as captivating. I adore it.

I took this photo because I admired the organized effort of civilians to preserve an artists work. Banksy has multiple art pieces around the city that have been at risk of being removed.

This picture depicts of how I view NYC. I was walking on the Manhattan bridge and when walking I realized that the view was stunning and I had to capture it’s essence. Ever since that they I view NYC more than a hectic place, but has a beautiful place filled with life and wonder.