Commutation

A luxury sign in neon. An urban oxymoron.




Unmistakable arches and the road home.




Brooklyn's best-kept secret: Furman Street.

They Lied

I just ate a candy bar for the first time in years.

And you know what? It was totally unsatisfying.

Take a walk down memory lane: more corporate baloney*.

*The author wishes to take a moment to impress upon you the comic significance of the American spelling.

JFK

At the airport, the famed TWA terminal welcomes you.

At the airport, New York's own monorail.

At the airport, my best friend and I went our separate ways.

Is Anyone Paying Attention To This?

"You had to live--did live, from habit that became instinct--in the assumption
that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized."

George Orwell

The New York City Police Department has begun implementing a plan to further secure the city, and Brooklyn is the lucky guinea pig. Out in Bushwick, clearly marked security cameras have been placed overlooking key intersections that well, you wouldn't necessarily want to find yourself walking through at night--or ever. Apparently too, there has been some positive response from the people on the street, shop owners reporting that the bad element who previously spent most of their time loitering in this particular place have all but disappeared.

Well fine. They've vanished from "three consecutive intersections on Knickerbocker," but into thin air? Hardly. So what exactly are we accomplishing here, and at what expense?

It bothers me that in the few weeks since it's been formally announced, no one seems to be talking about it. There was a vague mention of it at Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. I was able to find articles in the New York Post, Newsday, The Daily News, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Wall Street Journal Online, though not all are available now. There's this bit at Brownstowner, but really beyond that, the opinionated world remains largely quiet indicating a complete lack of concern.

I understand that the practice has its benefits in that what self-respecting criminal will engage in illegal activity under a clearly marked security camera? (Wait, don't answer that smart guy.) Thing is, what's a bit disturbing is the way people are calling this latest in Bushwick a "debut", or "just the beginning." Lower Manhattan will soon be spotted with such security that stops just short of surveillance, (as I understand it now, the NYPD will not be sitting on the other end of the picture via a TV, but rather it is being recorded for access later should a need for identification arise). People are likening this move to the "ring of steel" in London, cameras that look something like corporate eye-in-the-sky black balls foisted onto lampposts which gained notoriety after being used to identify the suicide bombers who blew up buses last July. This was an important step in tracing the attacks back to those who aided the terrorists. Let's not kid ourselves either; what's happening in New York is directly related to an international threat and not the police department's concern with everyday crime in crappy neighborhoods.

I don't really know what I am lamenting here, the fact that we are getting closer and closer to a world where nothing is anonymous or the fact that it is a reaction that is going largely unnoticed due to a tangible threat. There is nothing to be done; I'm not even sure I protest the measures being taken as they have the potential to prevent hideous circumstance. However, it is too bad. Tout it all you like, but this isn't Europe, damnit! We aren't supposed to scrutinize every nose-picked and cigarette smoked within a particular block radius. The old "land of the free" line ring a bell?

I have seen a lot of things change here in the past five years including but not limited to the skyline. At times, it is hard to believe this is the same city where I grew up. Though it is certainly a force to be reckoned with still, it feels as though for all its pretention and brimming success, New York is fast becoming a heartless shell where the metrosexual is king.

While Lady Liberty stops to borrow Justice's blindfold for a hanky, let's take a minute and remember the New York of yore, where some folks came to disappear into subway steam and a life lacking recognition.

Sneaking in a Birthday Here and There

Meet Robin.











Robin is a nice girl who has a lot of stress in her life.

Here she is strolling the beach of the Far Rockaways, a favorite pasttime of hers, an attempt to relax but it's hard to let go of the things one worries about from day to day.

Robin is celebrating a birthday. It's a good thing she took my advice and is wearing a helmet. It might save her scalp a little.

Remember, on your birthday, it's nice to have hair.