Project Share Day 6: New York City
My Dad was born in the Bronx. My Mom was born in the Bronx. I am a New Yorker.
I’ve lived: Bronx, Westchester NY, Budd Lake NJ, Glen Rock NJ, Ithaca, London, Los Angeles (a few places, West Hollywood the longest), Astoria Queens, and I’ve been on the Upper West Side since 2009.
NYC is my home. London, LA, and Ithaca are a close 2nd.
I feel love & affinty towards Manhattan as get a sense of returning home to a place of warmth and acceptance. It’s a melting pot of dreams, exposure, art/beauty, and support. Most New Yorkers are direct and accepting. Sure there are things that don’t work, are unsanitary, and a hassle and that’s just part of any large city.
As I walk down Broadway the buildings are tall and architecture exquisite. The history of the buildings and this city fascinate me. Who occupies this space (past & present)? Will it still look like this 5 years from now? It bewilders me to walk past Humphrey Bogarts childhood home every time I walk to and from the subway.
I have many options for transportation: taxi, bus, train (LIRR & subway), ferry, uber, walking or biking. Cruising down 5th Avenue on a Vespa with the wind at my face; Rollerblading in Riverside Park and Westside Highway while watching a sunset.
My maternal grandparents spent a part of their developing years in the Lower East Side. My grandfather went to a temple on Eldridge Street for prayer. I feel pride and a sense of closeness when I walk around the neighborhood. Participating in the Tenement Museum 2010 SNAPSHOT! Photography Contest was exciting.
Walking around the museum I could feel my family’s presence in the rooms. They were made up as if someone lived there and we were to take photos of what we saw. Tables were set for Friday night dinner, the most beautiful linens were on the beds, laundry hung on the line over the fire escape. I imagine what it was like for a family of 7 to live in a small apartment. I don’t think I could do that now.
The best news, I won the contest! I still feel the goosebumps now as I did then when I won, it was thrilling. I now have an image in the permanent collection at the Museum. It’s an honor to keep my family’s NYC history alive.
