Lyd writes 12 Mar 2007 04:54 pm
Did we move to the suburbs?
Ironically, the thought occurred to me while sitting in a Barnes & Noble.
I ducked in to kill an hour and survey the many tables full of NYC-focused books. This time I settled on Suburbanization of New York, a collection of essays by New Yorkers on the subject. I had spent the earlier part of my day in Midtown with some old friends – Macy’s, Express, Victoria’s Secret. I went there because I figured I’d feel safe and calm among the familiar standbys. So it was fitting that I ended my day reading about the very mall in which I’d just wandered.
A few of the authors lamented the loss of the gritty, more polarized aspects of the city (a lament I don’t currently share, considering I value feeling safe where I live). But the underlying theme that really hit home with me was that this entire place is so consumer-driven. Duh, it’s the financial/commercial center of the universe. But isn’t it also the cultural epicenter?
Apparently during a big push by contemporary NYC mayors – Giuliani included – to clean up the city, a lot of the esoteric, eccentric features of the city were washed over and homogenized to draw in the yuppies and make them feel safe. Enter Curtis and Lydia.
Park Slope was recommended to me – and I chose it – because it is safe, clean and comfortable. But there I was, sitting in a Barnes & Noble (probably located on the very spot where a cute indie bookstore was once family-run for generations), reading about the expulsion of culture and diversity in a city that prides itself on cultivating those ideals. Did we come to NYC expecting a hardcore metropolitan lifestyle (I don’t mean bullets whizzing past our heads) and end up in the suburbs?