Matthew McLeod

Dr. Russo
ENY Gotham Experience
10/28/14



East Harlem


In todays class we visited East Harlem or what is affectionately known as Spanish
Harlem by New Yorkers. In order to get there we first had to take the 1, 2 or 3 trains
to get to the west side of the city. After getting to the west side, we had to take
either the 4, 5 or 6 trains. These trains run directly into East Harlem. In East Harlem
we took the shuttle and the 4 train to 103
rd
street.

In the 1900s there was a major influx of Puerto Ricans that migrated to this
particular community it was the referred to El Bario. Due to it being so close to
Central Park and extensions of the Upper East Side Projects. Robert Moses started
building the projects to provide adequate housing for the extensive population
growth that was taking place (ENY 162).

Robert Moses decided to construct numerous high rise buildings, which were
financially more affordable for low income families. This extensive population of
poor people eventually caused the crime rate to go up due to lack of employment
opportunities and poor educational conditions. Unfortunately, a majority of these
crimes that took place were homicides.

Upon arriving at the Museum of the City of New York, we went to the exhibit on the
Gilded Age. Here, we watched a brief 25 minute film on all of New York. There was
also an exhibit on the Vanderbilt Family, which we visited as well. This exhibit
mainly focused on their riches and financial background. It was also eye opening to
me when I made the connection that they were also the same Vanderbilts that
owned the mansion in Centerport in my home town.

We then took a walking tour of East Harlem and learned about the culture, mystic
and essence of Harlem, and how it was transformed into what it is today. There
were many different options for lunch. This included a Mexican place, known for
having the best tacos in all of New York City, a Caribbean place and a burger
place. I chose to have the Caribbean food. My meal consisted of rice and peas with
curry chicken and some delicious pineapple juice.

After lunch we then traveled to the northern part of Central Park, where we visited
the French and Italian gardens. In the 1850s New York was in need of a park, it
was Frederick Law Homestead and Voxs who were given the opportunity to design
the park. Everything from the grass to the trees in Central Park was unnatural, due
to the fact that everything was designed. The transverse roads, which run
underneath the park, were once used for carriages, but are now used for cars.

In the 60s, 70s and early 80s also know as the Dark Periods, the grass and many
of the monuments in Central Park were beginning to deteriorate. This caused for
Central Park to become a very dangerous area, making it unsafe to travel through
the park alone at night. The park went on to later be restored and is now one of the
safest parks in America. Our next stop after visiting Central Park was Grand
Central. In order to get here, we got on the 6 train from the 96
th
street subway stop.

Grand Central was a sight to behold. It is massive in size and measures around 2
football fields in length, depicts constellations from Gods perspective on its
ceilings. I also learned that Jackie Kennedy played a pivotal role in fighting to
preserve Grand Central Station as well as revitalizing what was considered to be
almost condemnable at one point.

The next part of our trip consisted of multiple visits to pretty well known buildings,
such as the Chrysler building, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and the General Electric
Building. The Chrysler building is one of the finest skyscrapers in all of New York
City. It has played a major role in being a part of the famous New York Skyline as
we know it today. The World famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel was a truly magnificent
building. Its structure resembles a castle and when you walk in you automatic feel
like royalty. Finally, the detailing on the General Electric building was incredibly
outstanding. When they say The devil is in the details it was clear to see that there
was a vast amount of time and energy put into planning and preparing this superb
building.

After visiting these structures, we concluded the day by walking back to Penn
Station, where we boarded our train and journeyed back to the suburbs which are
only a shadow of New York City.