Nicole McGuire- Activity 3

Nicole McGuire
2/23/2010
Activity # 3- Public vs. Private

I have walked up and down Chambers Street millions of time because my job is located right on that street. But I have never really paid attention to the different private and/or public places. The street itself is public because no one can tell you that you cannot walk up and down the block. It starts from the River Terrace, Battery Park, goes to the West Side Highway, to Greenwich Street, West Broadway, Church Street, Broadway, all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge. As I was walking past all these streets I started to realize that there were numerous private buildings and places. It was obvious that these buildings were private because there were security guards that you needed to pass before being allowed access inside. There were not to many places open to the public. “This dictated a way of thinking about the community in which private property was everything and the public realm- namely, the streets that connected all the separate pieces of private property- counted for nothing” (Kunstler, 30). This is clearly stating that people are more concerned with private spaces than public because private is restricted for only certain individuals who can gain access to that place. His statement is also very true because these private places were very separate from the public in the sense that you needed an I.D. to get in.

As I started my journey on Friday February 19th, the weather was pretty nice. It was not to sunny but it also was not that cold. I decided to go around 3:30 p.m., since that’s when most people and children are out. As I started walking from near the Brooklyn Bridge I saw that there was a lot of people just walking on Chambers Street. Since the New York City Hall, the Tweed Courthouse, Manhattan Municipal Building, and the New York Surrogate’s court were located right there a lot of people were coming in and out of work. These buildings are private because you could not get in without an I.D. You were not even allowed to sit on the high steps in front of City Hall because the security guards were constantly telling people to get off. Right behind City Hall is a park and its pretty public but the security guards still walk around there guarding what’s going on. “The explosive and implacable manner of New York City’s growth- plus its unique character as an island- had all but completely cut off the population from access to any rural experience” (45). The private building took away from the park and makes it feel more private than open to the public even though anyone can walk through. This was definitely not a gathering space because people were constantly watching you.

Then on Saturday afternoon, February 20th, the whole street was deserted. There were no students really around and the acticity level was pretty low. It was nice outside and the temperature was about in the 40’s. The people mainly walking around were the people who lived around the neighborhood in the huge apartment buildings. As you walk further down Chambers Street there are a lot of fast food restaurants such as Subway, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Quizno’s and other little unknown places such as Bon Chon. These places seems to be a public-private mix because anyone was allowed to come in but only allowed to stay if you were actually purchasing something. There were signs clearly stating “No loitering”, and the manager at Subways kicked this one teenager out because the kid refused to but anything. He wanted to eat lunch with his friends but he was occupying a chair that a buying customer might need to use. When you continue to walk down Chambers towards Battery Park it remains private until you reach Battery Park/River Terrace itself. The elementary school P.S. 234 is completely private and strangers are highly prohibited from being around that school unless to pick up your child. Stuyvesant High School is right down the block and that is also private. There is a bridge that leads you right into the school, and you are not really allowed to walk over that bridge while school is in session but any other time is okay. And then there’s Borough of Manhattan Community College and you are not allowed to sit in front of the school unless you have a BMCC school I.D. card. The security guards are also really strict and there is a station platform for the security guards right in front of the school to the side. Even though it’s considered a public institution, not just anyone is allowed to hang around.

As I reached Battery Park I saw that there were many people walking around or sitting down enjoying the view of the water. There were no security guards around and no one telling anyone that they cannot do something. I saw people gathering around watching a man do some magic tricks and saw some other men playing football on the field. The park was public and people could choose to stay as long as they want, but once again there were a few restrictions. Even a public park that people pay taxes for is not completely private. If you do not follow the rules such as leaving when the park officials tell you that the park is closing, could lead to a problem with the law. “The space between buildings was as important as the buildings itself- did not jibe with American property-ownership traditions, which put little value in the public realm” (39). There will always be a separation between private and public but as time goes on it seems like more and more public places are slowly becoming private without any regard to the public.