New York, New York, The Dichotomous Town
Photos and perspectives from my month-long stay in New York, winter 2019
New York is a city of extremes. It caters to the über rich while keeping many desperately poor. It's full of thick-skinned residents and wide-eyed tourists. It's an epicenter of abysmal failure and unprecedented success.
The limitless contrasts leave little middle ground. Because of this, I find that the ultimate relationship with the city is one of love and hate.
Love: New Yorkers are tenaciously proud of their city.
Hate: They don't respect it. They spit in the streets and litter, to the point that filth is so common it becomes invisible.
Hate: It's overpriced. I paid $40 for a pastrami sandwich, fries, and a Coke at the 2nd Ave Deli.
Love: Good value is euphoric. I paid $8.75 for two meals' worth of decent Chinese food and skipped home like a schoolboy.
Love: New York has world-class taste.
Hate: Few are willing to admit they like anything, afraid they'll be shunned for broadcasting vulnerabilities.
Love: The subway can get you almost anywhere.
Hate: It breaks down, delays, changes tracks, wrong side, unexpected express, cokehead smelly car, slow on weekends, roped off, no explanation, sucks.
Hate: Every few blocks someone's yelling about inconsequential concerns.
Love: Acts of human decency are fully appreciated.
Love: You can intimately listen to music while surrounded by strangers.
Hate: Some blast their music aloud. Or sing along to their headphones as if it were a Broadway audition.
Hate: It's essential to form an emotional callous. To get along you must not only ignore the sirens and the smells and the insanity, but also the people around you. Losing touch becomes an evolutionary adaptation.
Love: The inherent gamut makes life dynamic. It shakes you by the shoulders and demands that you make your time worthwhile.
