Although these class days seem long, I was apart of something much greater then class it-self. It was the experience of going into the city and being a tourist that enriched my thoughts. I find myself asking my friends where they would like to go within the city, as I plan more future trips to entice myself in becoming more cultural. Today we arrived at Penn at our usual time and rushed to take the subway to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall. We were exploring lower Manhattan, then walking along the Hudson River through Battery Park, and finally to the artistic mecca of Chelsea, where we will be art gallery hoping. (My least favorite thing to do – Sorry Don!) We unfortunately wouldn’t make it into Battery Park because it was closed off for construction purposes. 

We arrived at City Hall, which was more beautiful outside, then I would have ever imagined. Its Renaissance style architecture made this 1802 building one of the cities most beautiful and historic landmark to date. “City Hall, one of New York’s architectural treasures, houses a notable collection of portraits of city mayors and 19th century celebrities. The most important works in the collection hang in the Governor’s Room on the second floor, though portraits and busts are located throughout the public areas of the building.” [BG pg. 83] The security checkpoint was interesting and thorough as we entered the gates to the City Hall building. Here we waited for our tour guide who, upon arrival, allowed us entrance into the marvelous home of our municipal Government. The tour guide explained that City Hall has 14 Government agencies that hold offices in this building. The offices of our Mayor and the members of City Council also use this building to conduct their operations. Throughout New York City, there are multiple municipal buildings and this was due to the unification of the 5 boroughs of New York in 1898. A single City Hall was simply not enough for the large occupancy of people throughout the growing streets of New York City. “The present City Hall is the third building to house the municipal Government, after the Stadt Huys on Pearl Street and the 18th century City Hall on Wall Street that later became Federal Hall.” [BG pg. 83] Fun fact, the Stock Exchange was designed after the second City Hall of New York. The current City Hall is the oldest City Hall in American to date that still holds in-house Government operations. It also is claimed to be the most beautiful City Hall in America.

Inside, we were able to take a look within the Governor’s Ball Room, which held many infamous nights in history. A notable event took place in this room, the reception party of Abraham Lincoln after his inauguration in New York. George Washington’s original writing desk is stationed in this room as well. After the ballroom, we were brought into the City Council Chamber. This was one of my favorite experiences of the whole course. We actually got to listen in on a Council meeting in which they were discussing community issues within the borough of Queens. (Check out the video!)

From City Hall, we moved onto our small tour of the Woolworth Building. Here we learned that this gothic style building was New York’s first skyscraper. From 1913-1930, the Woolworth Building was New York’s tallest building followed by its successor, the Chrysler Building.  Its nickname is “The Cathedral of Commerce” after, “Rev. S. Parkes Cadman, a Brooklyn minister and radio preacher noted that the building inspired : feelings too deep even for tears.” [BG pg. 79]

St. Paul’s Chapel was our next detour. Although I dislike the feel of many churches, this historic landmark gave off a very spiritually presence. Once inside, the beautiful 9/11-memorial display was a sight to be seen. It radiated emotion as I caught many of my classmates stopping at it to read some notes people left or to commemorate those we have loved and lost due to the tragic events that occurred that day.  “The church was used by George Washington following his inauguration at Federal Hall.” [BG pg. 77] Inside the church is where George Washington’s pew is held and located still to this day. Many famous Americans have also been buried in the St. Paul’s Churchyard facing the exterior of the building.

On our way to the 9/11 memorial tour, we quickly stopped where the, “Occupy Wallstreet” demonstrations were held. Molloy’s own, Mike Russo recently filmed a documentary about these demonstrations that highlighted the events leading up to and throughout the movement. 

Moving forward, we went to the 9/11 memorial exhibit where we had access to the ground level of the North and South Memorial Pools. The entrance to this memorial ground was kept highly secured with an extensive entrance process and had cameras located everywhere. 

Coming into the memorial, I was filled with mixed emotions. 9/11 didn’t have a severe impact on my life but it holds a deep root in my pride as a New Yorker. Once inside the memorial grounds, I felt Goosebumps scatter all throughout my body. The raw emotion was so intense as I moved around the two memorial pools and stood next to the survivor’s tree. Unfortunately we were unable to see the WTC visitor center due to construction they had been doing. According to the Blue Guide, the visor center holds “five galleries to recount the story of the Trade Center, beginning with its construction, through its existence as an office building where 40,000 workers spent their days and another 150,000 passed through daily, through the events of September 11 and its aftermath.” [BG pg. 63]

Next stop was Trinity Church. “The present church is the third on the site. The first (1698) was a stone building facing the river. The church was burned in 1776 and remained in ruins until long after the Revolution. A second church (completed 1790) was demolished in 1839 after heavy snowfall damaged the roof. The present church dates from 1846.” [BG pg. 65] Here I learned that the trinity church was the largest building in New York until 1890. In it’s courtyard, many famous people of America’s History are buried; such as, Robert Fulton who invented the steam engine and Alexander Hamilton in addition to his wife as well. 

After the church, the class made our way to Federal Hall, which we now learned was modeled after the second City Hall of New York City. In passing, we went down Wallstreet, which got its name from the Dutch. I stopped in front of the New York Stock Exchange to take a picture. This area was the first New York site to be attacked by terrorists.

Closely located from these attractions is Federal Hall. On the front steps of Federal Hall, stands a huge statue of George Washington that symbolizes the location to where he was inaugurated. In the same building, the American Bill of Rights was signed and now is held in its original location, making this landmark known as a famous American historical museum. “Federal Hall is one of New York’s most important historic sites, although the historical events predate the present building.” [BG pg. 69]

Towards the end of our evening, we made our way for lunch at the Chelsea Market. According to the Blue Guide [pg. 186], Oreos and Mallomars were invented here. This was when Nabisco had it’s factory here from the 1920’s till 1995. “The factory reopened as the Chelsea Market, whose ground floor is filled with shops offering high-quality food, wine, kitchen wares, and flowers.” The market did not impress me. I found it over-priced and tacky as the halls of the market where filled with snobby aristocrats and impatient foreigners. I ate at a soup shop and ordered a sandwich and soup, neither items were to rave about. 

From the Market, we moved onto the High Line. The High Line was originally built as a 13- mile viaduct for freight trains to solve issues around the meatpacking district in the 1930’s. Left to rust due to it being a failed project of the city, the High Line was created when a “local advocacy group defeated proposals for demolition. At the present time, a park was being constructed over the 1.6 miles between West 16th Street and West 30th Streets.” The architecture of the park emulates and highlights the beauty of Chelsea’s skyline. I enjoyed the time we had to walk around the park. It was refreshing and one of the attractions of New York I have not yet seen in my lifetime. I will be going back soon to further enjoy the free public space and gardens it has to offer the cities residents and tourists. 

Our last adventure for today was going to many, many, many, many of Chelsea’s great art galleries. The excitement from the class was emulating as we proceeded forward. (Inserts Sarcasm.) This part of the course was one of the worst parts in my eyes. Although the art was fascinating, the security guards in each gallery made it hard to enjoy the art because of all the hostility and tension they were creating. 

I enjoyed two exhibits. One of my favorites was the Jeff Koons exhibit titled: New Paintings and Sculpture, which was located on West 54th Street in the Gagosian Gallery. This exhibit held various sculptures that were shiny and metallic and emulated a monkey appearance. Everyone was raving about the pieces although not a single one of us could afford them. I also enjoyed Koons’ exhibit because he once worked with Don and I thought that was pretty cool. The second exhibit I enjoyed was the Nancy Margolis Gallery. Located on West 25th Street, these pieces of art stood out to me. There were many political messages in the pieces and I also enjoyed it because it was the opening to the exhibition, so they gave us free, but cheap champagne.

Overall, today was long but still exciting in some aspects. It was a tiring day and we were happy to get home. 

Today was an unusual class day for myself. That was because I would be missing this class session to attend Molloy’s Summer Leadership Conference that was held for three days upstate to help prepare me for my new duties as Resident Assistant in the Fall.

I traveled to the City a few days before we would be having this class session with two of my close friends. They were definitely more excited then myself about our adventure because they are in the city more often then I am but they have never gone in with a set itinerary. The fact that they would be “tourists” for the day made it quite amusing for them. Ultimately they loved the experience and wish they had a city course like this one at their college when they were attending undergraduate schooling.

On our itinerary for the day was traveling to Delancy Street for some ethnic food at the Essex Street Market. Then we will move toward the Tenement Museum, for a tour on the Moore Family. We would stop at the famous Congee Village to have lunch then go through our own walking tour of the Lower East side, The Bowery, parts of Little Italy, and Chinatown. Hopefully we would be ending our day at Ferrara Café, which people rave them as having the best cannoli in all of Little Italy.

Our day started with high energy. Kelly and Joe were excited to come along and I was just excited for the long awaited cannoli at the end of our evening. We met at Penn at 10:35 and headed on the F train towards Delancy Street. We walked out from the subway and noted how beautiful the weather was for the day. We headed over to the Essex Street Market.

“The Market is open Monday-Saturday from 8a.m.-7p.m. Built in 1940 to house pushcart peddlers whom Mayor Fiorello La Guiardia legislated off the streets, the market offers food for all tastes—Latino, Jewish, and upscale urbanite: chicken gizzards, nopales (cactus stems), sherry vinegar, fish cheeks, prime cuts of beef, and artisanal cheeses.” [BG pg. 123] The market was filled with a foreign aroma as we entered. Kelly, my friend who is vegan has heard about the market and chose not to go in. To my surprise, I’m glad she didn’t! The Market was authentic and the places that sold fish, sold the actual fish. Where they sold meat, oh boy, you saw meat. Most of the stands looked like they would be business shops held in the early to mid 1900’s. I was so surprised to walk in to such a cultural and diverse market. Anyone who lives in the city has a wonderful area to shop at this location. Here I purchased two items. I had one chocolate pecan truffle that was over-priced but still delicious from “Shoppe Roni-Sue Chocolates,” and I got a piece of pecan cheesecake from “Saxel by Cheese” which was bitter yet authentically scrumptious.

After the indoor street market, we went to the tenement museum to schedule a tour. The tour the class would be seeing which was about the life of the Moore Family was not being held the day my friends and I went. Instead we settled for a $22 walking tour called “Walk the Neighborhood – Outside the Home.” We started off the tour by group introductions. It was awkward when the group got to my friends and I because we didn’t know how to explain why we wanted to go on this boring tour. Anyway, the tour was revolved around seeing the Lower East Side through the immigrants’ eyes. We discovered the towering Jarmulowsky Bank, Daily Forward buildings, the Eldridge Street Synagogue, PS 42, and other spiritual and secular sites that shaped the daily lives of many immigrants for numerous generations. The tour was all outside and we were not permitted inside any of the buildings. After about an hour and fifteen minutes, we left because the tour was drifting into a more boring direction and because we stood outside some old immigrant library for thirty minutes prior, talking about what Time Square was, to foreigners who didn’t belong on the tour to begin with.

After we left the tour, we headed for food because all of us were starving. We ate at Congee Village located at 100 Allen Street. This was an authentic Chinese restaurant and was absolutely amazing! I ordered the general tso’s chicken, Kelly ordered the steamed plate of vegetables, and Joe had the sesame chicken that I tried and was as delicious as my own dish. The restaurant has a sit-down family style atmosphere, which was awkward because we were the only Americans in the whole restaurant. It was very apparent that this was an authentic place because the menu was not in English and we could barely order our food due to the harsh language barrier between our waiter and us. Although it was a different experience for me, I truly enjoyed it and plan on eating there again.

After we ate, we were not ready to begin our little walking tour. I decided to take us to Washington Square Park to relax for a bit and get some ice cream. “In the early 1950’s Robert Moses, the Parks’ Commissioner and always a highway advocate, decided to push a highway over, under, or through the park to ease down-town traffic on Fifth Avenue, a project that Villagers defeated after a decade-long struggle.” [BG pg. 131] Once we arrived I immediately saw some of my NYU friends and they took us around the Stern Business School Campus. From there we got coffee at the elite NYU Starbucks, one that can only be entered if you are a student yourself or have a friend that attends the school. After Starbucks we went back to Washington Square Park and watched a public show of acrobatic woman forming their own bodies into weird shapes and illusions. At the end of the show, which we all loved, we threw money into the hats of the performers and applauded them for their efforts.

Now onto the walking tour we went. First stopping through The Bowery. “Between Grand Street and Delancy Streets. The Bowery houses a discount and wholesale lighting district that arose to supply the nearby theaters with gas fixtures for the stage and front of the house. Further south, between Delancy and East Houston Street, is the wholesale kitchen supply district, which arrived here in the 1930’s.” [BG pg. 153] The Bowery is where Kelly said she got all her furniture when she attended FIT and even went there for special projects she worked on when needing unique material for garment dresses.

Next was Chinatown. We couldn’t actually pass through the location in which Joe wanted to show us because they were filming a movie on that street. I have been to Chinatown plenty of times to shop and bargain my way through great deals. Canal Street is what is known as the popular attraction for those traveling through Chinatown. “Canal Street marks the southern boundary of SoHo, but east of Broadway. The pagoda-shaped kiosk of the Explore Chinatown Campaign, located in the triangle of pavement near Baxter Street was set up after the September 11 attacks to help Chinatown recover from the ensuing economic damage.” [BG pg. 109]

Quickly passing through Chinatown, we ended up at our final location in Little Italy. We were here for FOOD! “Grand Street in Little Italy still retains some Italian food shops and cafes, offering authentic products, including fresh pasta, cheeses, cured meat, and olive oil. The Ferrara Café founded in 1892 at 195 Grand Street advertises itself as New York’s first espresso bar and oldest pasticceria.” [BG pg. 115] This café, Ferrara Café, is where my friends and I ended our day. I enjoyed more pastries then I should have and had a great time in the café as well. Their cannoli was not the best I’ve ever had per-say, but their cream puffs were to die for.

All pooped out, my friends and I traveled back to Penn and onto the Long Island Railroad back home. They had an amazing time with our itinerary an I was glad to have had some company while making up my class. 

Today was it, our last and final class! That means that this is my final journal post. (THANK GOD)

Today we arrived at Penn at our normal time and walked to West 41st street where we held a class pow-wow at Bryant Park. “Bryant Park, named after William Cullen Bryant, editor, writer, abolitionist, and proponent of such projects as Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After deteriorating into a haven for drug dealers and muggers in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the park has been restored, redesigned, and re-landscaped—without the hedges that formerly concealed the interior from the streets. It reopened in 1992.” [BG pg. 210] This park was a beautiful place for Mike to center our emotions and reflect on the past few weeks. We individually shared our feelings for the class and this experience; the majority of the class loved it and wished that there were another class to fill elective requirements.

Pacing with the good weather, the class ended up at the New York Public Library. Mike told us the Lion statues that sit outside are called “Patience” and “Fortitude.” The New York Public Library is often referred to as “the peoples palace of triumphant glory.”

“It is officially the Humanities and Social Sciences Library of the New York Public Library, one of the NYPL’s four major research facilities, world famous for its collections and much admired for the architecture of its building. The library mounts exceptional exhibitions on literacy, artistic, and historic subjects in Gottesman Hall on the ground floor.” This was the first time I entered this library and was amazed with how beautiful it actually was. I would never of thought to go there on a day off even to just admire its complexities.

In the library, Mike made the class write a Haiku about basically anything we wanted to. As the class dispersed, Mike held Jen and I behind. He took pictures of us reading books and got yelled at by security because no photos where permitted to be taken inside the library. But we all know how well Mike likes to play by the rules. Shortly after not obeying, he was yelled at again and sat down where the security woman came over and tried to scare him. The intimidating woman was no match for Mike Russo though.

Once outside the library, we walked to Grand Central Station. This year the station is celebrating it’s 100th year of existence. Mike and Don shed some lite on a little history of Grand Central. They said that by the 1950’s Grand Central Station was to be shut down due to the increase in car sales and little use for the hassle of going to the station. It wasn’t until Jackie Kennedy Onassis stepped in and rallied for the station to remain open, which it did due to her great success. The architecture of the terminal is absolutely amazing. “Directly behind the Main Waiting Room is the famous Main Concourse (120ft wide, 375ft long). Sheathed in marble and simulated Caen stone, it rises to a cerulean elliptical vault, decorated with the constellations of the zodiac.” [BG pg. 229-230] We saw this ceiling masterpiece but it was being reconstructed due to the dirt and usage it had endured over the last several decades.

From Grand Central Terminal came our mini tour of the Chrysler Building. “The beautiful Chrysler Building was built to express both the luxury and mechanical precision of the automobile in its Jazz Age incarnation. Designed both by William Van Alen and completed in 1930, it is o_ne of New York’s finest Art Deco buildings.” [BG pg. 231] Mike had told us prior to the visit, that it had once been the tallest building in the world for six months until the Empire State Building was completed less then a year form the completion of the Chrysler Building.

Finally out of the building, the class headed for Roosevelt Island. Before that stop, we quickly walked past the famous “News Room” which was built with an art deco style in 1929. This building was unique because it was the first of its kind to have a different top piece to the skyscraper from all its sibling art-deco buildings. We also stopped to look at Tudor City Place. Originally it was called the “great hill” and was one of the first apartment complexes to be built within a skyscraper.

Once we arrived at Roosevelt Island, there was much to see. “Roosevelt Island, its northern tip visible in the East River from Carl Schurz Park, is a two-mile slice of land that was used as a place of exile for madmen, criminals, and incurables. It emerged in the 1970’s as a planned community for people of varying economic backgrounds.” [BG pg. 382] The Queens Borough Bridge can be seen at all angles from Roosevelt Island. As a class we passed by the Small Pox Hospital, which was an awesome sight to see. It was abandoned in the 1950’s and was actually one of the first nursing hospitals in our country. Moving further into the Island, we came across the newly created, Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. This location was beautiful and offered a great view with a peaceful atmosphere around it. This is where the class got to enjoy the nice weather and take pictures of the beautiful scenery. This is one of my favorite spots we had visited throughout this course.  I loved the statue of Franklin D. that was in the park and the quote that went along with it behind the memorial wall.

From Roosevelt Island came time to eat. The class began to complain about Mike’s choice of lunch, which he said he would pay for, which was Indian cuisine. Only a handful of us were brave enough to try it and to be honest, I enjoyed my meal as if it was something I was accustomed to eating. I sat with Stephanie as I watched her break outside her comfort zone and try goat for the first time. To her surprise, she enjoyed it very much and went back for seconds. We were very happy we got a free meal out of the day and I was especially proud that I tried something new for the first time because I am such a difficult eater to begin with.

Lunch was over and we headed to Astoria Queens. Before our departure to Queens, we noticed we lost a few groups of individuals along the way. “The Astoria section of Queens is still the place outside of Greece with the largest number of people of Greek heritage, though today it also has growing Arab and Latino populations.” [BG pg. 499] I was the first group to get to our next destination. Mike let us know that Astoria Queens was always nice. He also said that it used to be the east-coast version of Hollywood, back in the day while becoming a huge cinema district. Popular TV shows are still shot there today such as the ever popular, Sesame Street!

The Museum of the Moving Image was our destination. “The MoMI is one of the biggest attractions in Queens. Its core exhibit, Behind the Screen, looks at the technical aspects of producing movies and TV.” [BG pg. 499] Here they held exhibits that they whole class enjoyed. Some were based on the era and evolution of the film camera, microphones, soundtracks, and many more. My favorite attraction was the actual razor glove from the original Nightmare on Elm Street movie, the mask and costume-makeup exhibit they had on display, and the evolution of the television set.  I learned that in the 1920’s, the first TV receiver was used. Then once the CRT was invented, the TV set industry was revolutionized once again. IN the 1930’s the CRT system perfected the television system.  We ended the tour by relaxing in the William Fox Amphitheater where we got a quick power nap and phone charge before heading out.

From the museum, we made our way to Long Island City and past MOMA PS1. It was the oldest public school in queens but no longer holds its educational status, once it was taken over by MOMA and turned into a gallery exhibit for the public. It was interesting to see rooms and spaces such as the pond exhibit or the ice room exhibit because they were set up in classrooms that were once there to educate children. Overall, they had some good show rooms and some awful ones such as the ice room, and the trash/garbage display. I liked the big architectural piece that was placed outside of the museum but wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it did look cool!

Quickly trying to wrap up the course, Mike and Don showed us Five Pointz, located between Davis and Crane Street, which was a graffiti park. A place where individuals can draw whatever they want on buildings also on stores that allowed them to graffiti on there property. Mostly everyone says yes, which is the beautiful part of the culture that surrounds the art. It was awesome, in my personal opinion. Mike and Don noted that in a year, due to gentrification, this area might not be there because plans for an expensive apartment complex are already being talked about.

From there we finished off strong with a walk down the east river next to the famous Pepsi-Cola sign. From this location we were able to see the Four Freedoms Park that we visited earlier. It was a nice way to end the evening and good way to end the course. Then Katie and me hiked it back to the subway where we went home and passed out. This class was fun and exciting but by the end, I think all of us have had enough walking and enough art seeing.