Assignment 8- Field Trip Lorraine O'Connell

The field trip was an amazing experience. I wouldn’t think that a five hour day with people you don’t really know and in areas you aren’t familiar with would be so much fun. We started our field trip in St. Mark’s Place and Alphabet City. This place was beyond gorgeous; the streets were packed with people upon people. The streets were very busy with the many stands, the Sunday farmers markets and just because the weather was impeccable. Group 4, Soho Flauners took us on a tour of St. Mark’s place and Alphabet City. It was interesting because I had been there once before but I had never seen it the way I saw it today. The street poles were covered in a mosaic style which I found so absurd but in a good way. I thought to myself that if I would I would totally do that to my street poles but sadly I am not allowed. Another aspect that I loved about the neighborhood and the tour was when we went into Thomkin Square Park, I believe it was called. It was a pretty park that allowed for dog lovers, families, teenagers and every person to come to a safe place to enjoy life. The park was extremely full and it provided people with a sanction in the nice weather. What I found extremely interesting was the breakdown of the neighborhood. Each block was dedicated to a different culture; we saw Polish, Armenian, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and so much more. That was new to me, yes I live in Queens the most diverse part of the city but there aren’t streets of just one culture it would normally be neighborhoods. But this was a great experience I loved seeing the impact different cultures have on the creation and upkeep of a neighborhood and its impact it has on the people who live there. But it wasn’t all beauty, from what we learned a lot of restoration projects occurred within the area. They knocked down old buildings only to build large skyscrapers that towered over the other buildings, leaving it in an awkward place and sticking out within the neighborhood. I think this is what upset me the most about the area, that the government got the better of it and but skyscrapers within the area. We also saw Avenue C where what we were told to be the projects of the neighborhood was located. But the hopeful part of this area was the Community Garden they had, this one was a lot more advance and more elaborate then ones I have seen before and this was a great inspiration. Other aspects of the area that intrigued me was the art. Every street had a different story through the art that was placed on the buildings walls. It is terrible to think that these artists are sometimes suppressed from expressing themselves when they show so much promise in the art field. We ended this tour to have lunch at a Falafel place, which was amazing since it was my first time eating that food, I would totally eat it again!
Our second tour was my group’s trip and it started at the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked from the Manhattan part of the Brooklyn Bridge, walked across it to the opposite side which was Brooklyn. We took them to the DUMBO area of Brooklyn and toured the industrialized inspired streets to end up at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory on Old Fulton Street and Water Street I believe. It was a very nice walk across the Brooklyn Bridge especially since it was a few of the people’s first time across it so it was nice to see how they reacted. But once we got off the bridge we ended up in a very deserted area of DUMBO where all the old factories turned art studios were located. There was such a drastic difference between St. Marks Place and DUMBO. St. Marks Place was busy, cultured, up kept buildings and colorful while DUMBO was industrialized inspired, dull, parts of it were rundown, but it was cultured but not broken down in blocks. I love DUMBO honestly I think it has such history and unseen beauty. The walls are covered in graffiti, an art form I find inspiring. There were a lot of people doing photo shoots and filming within the area which also added interest to the area. We walked all the way to the Ice Cream Factory and waited in line for the Brooklyn famous ice cream which turned out to be very good. It was a very nice boardwalk like area. As we sat there observing the area a few of us realized the influence of urban studies in the way people were reacting. No one would stand in the middle of the shared area which we found extremely interesting and funny. So a few of us decided it to the perfect time to change things up and sit directly in the middle of the shared space, which did not go over well with some people. We sat there on the floor talking away as we watched people walk past us giving us weird and interested facial expressions. They were probably wondering what possessed us to sit in the middle well if any were to ask, which no one did, we would’ve said Urban Studies did.
The trip was amazing and an interesting experience that taught me a lot. The people were a great company and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to share my time with. We got to learn about one another, about urban studies, and about the city we all live in and share. The drastic difference in areas added extra fun to the adventure and it allowed us to see different city set ups in a matter of only five hours.