SoHo Flaneurs: Activity #8-Johanna Kelly

Johanna Kelly
Activity 8.1 & 8.2

On the group field trip, I organized my group’s part of the trip to the East Village in Manhattan. Since I live in the East Village, I knew great places to show to my group and the other group, Urban Fever, accompanying us. We all met on Astor Place by the giant cube that has been there for many years. I then led the group towards St. Marks Place since it is such a famous street to visit in the East Village. Since it was a gorgeous day, there were a lot of people hanging out on the street. St. Marks Place was very crowded because a lot of people were shopping around. There are foreign men who stand there with tables out selling hats, sunglasses, and other accessories. Later on we walked over to alphabet city, which is consisted of the letter avenues. I decided to take the group to Tompkins Square Park. The park was crowded with adults and children. Not only is it a park for humans, there is also a little space designated for the dogs. According to Jane Jacobs, Tompkins Square Park would be considered a neighborhood park. I remember while growing up, I associated Tompkins Square Park as the one located near my home. Thus, it is considered a neighborhood park to me. “Even the same person comes for different reasons at different times; sometimes to sit tiredly, sometimes to play or to watch a game, sometimes to read or work, sometimes to show off, sometimes to fall in love, sometimes to keep an appointment, sometimes to savor the hustle of the city from a retreat, sometimes in the hope of finding acquaintances…” (Jacobs, 103). Tompkins Square Park is considered to be mostly where the people from the neighborhood go. It is not perceived as a park for tourists to visit, such as Central Park.

After we walked through the park, we encountered some beautiful community gardens located on Sixth Street and avenue B. This was very nice to see in an urban space. Usually when we think of a city, we imagine busy and noisy streets with cars and lots of people. However, we did encounter a serene spot in the East Village where there were gardens and people could actually sit there and relax. However, we noticed that the gardens were considered a private space. The garden most likely belonged to the community who lived near it. Later on we passed by a Roman Catholic Church belonging to a Polish Parish. This Polish Parish is the only one that remains in Manhattan and thus Polish people all over the borough travel to that only one Polish church. Outside the church, there were candles lit for the Polish President and other victims who died in the tragic plane crash. After passing by the church, we walked through a street of all Indian restaurants. The shift was incredible how we were first surrounded by the Polish culture and then moved on to an Asian culture.

The second part of the field trip consisted of crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was such a pleasant day to spend outdoors and enjoy the beautiful views. After we crossed the bridge, we took a walk through various neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It was a completely different setting than it was in the East Village. The neighborhoods were quiet and empty. Then we came across an area that seemed like a frontier neighborhood. This was because the neighborhood was made up of the projects, which is apartment buildings owned by the city. Thus, this is a frontier neighborhood because it was built in order to help out lower class people. Surrounding the projects, there were a lot of factories. There were also playgrounds; however they were empty. Even though we were in a different borough of New York City, it felt as if we were not in the city anymore. The atmosphere seemed very quiet and calmer. There were not a lot of people on the streets. While when we were in Manhattan, different people, restaurants, and stores surrounded my group and me. Overall, the trip turned out to be very fun and engaging. Thanks to this trip, I was able to visit Brooklyn, a place that I rarely go to. It was also my first time crossing the Brooklyn Bridge by foot. I learned to appreciate this trip because I was able to experience new parts of the city that I never saw before.