NYC Neighborhoods

Changing the Changing City

 II, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, looking west from Seymour Building, 503 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan., Digital ID 1219219, New York Public Library

Seeking further enlightenment into the city we call home, I recently took a class on the literary and cultural history of New York City. Among the many themes common to New York City novels we discussed was the portrayal of the city itself as a character with power to shape the lives of its citizens.

Many of us New Yorkers have felt this pressure in our own lives: we choose where to live based on our budgets, our hobbies, our family situation, and often our ethnic, linguistic or religious origins. The neighborhoods we choose shape our daily lives in ways it is sometimes difficult for those who have never lived in this city to understand. Those with many amenities—such as proximity to work, a doorman, safe neighborhoods and nearby groceries, banks, libraries and schools—have a lighter load than those without. Those without spend significant amounts of their time dealing with aspects of daily life taken for granted by others. Small choices we make out of necessity allow New York to determine the details of our lives in ways great and small.

Sometimes we are content with these choices, but it is not uncommon to meet New Yorkers displeased with their lot, who feel they have a constricted menu of options. This pessimistic view sees the city as a monolithic beast before which we quake as powerless mortals. We are the dispirited Bartlebys and the savage and depraved hoodlums of Last Exit to Brooklyn.

But is this image of the city as a force stronger than its citizens an entirely valid representation? Is it not possible that we shape the city in return?

LaGuardia, Fiorello, H. - Whalen, Grover - Looking at architectural model, Digital ID 1676963, New York Public LibraryFiorello La Guardia, ca. 1939There is the Great Man theory of change, of course, that people like Robert Moses, Fiorello La Guardia, Jane Jacobs, and yes, even Rudy Giuliani are responsible for giving the city a dramatic push towards revolutionary change.

There are also social movements that bring about change—think neighborhood organizing in Harlem, Stonewall Inn and the Gay Rights movement, or the more recent development of bicycling activism.

But when it comes down to it, most of us aren’t mayors, or city planners or social activists. Most New Yorkers live their daily lives in small ways, and yet they still exert what I like to call “unconscious change.” The choices they make—where to shop, where to live and socialize—are like dripping water on a stone.

Immigrant family looking for lost baggage, Ellis Island, Digital ID 79887, New York Public Library

The actions of numerous individuals all making seemingly private, personal decisions with their lives form a stream growing in force until the city is powerless to overturn its onslaught. We see this in myriad ways, from the building of the city ever northwards from the moment it was founded—by individuals setting up shop and constructing homes—to the influx of immigrants during the late 1800s, and the great migrations from the southern states in the early twentieth century. These demographic shifts forever altered the culture, cuisine, religious makeup, and literally the faces of the typical New Yorker. And similar movements continue to do so today.

Not only do new populations remake the larger shape of the city, their complicated ebb and flow alter the look and feel, and even economic status, of neighborhoods. This movement of social or ethnic communities is a phenomenon that has always existed, although today many rail against the form of it known as “gentrification.” However one feels about it—whether you are moving into an exciting “new” neighborhood or being pushed out by rising rents—demographic change traditionally has been THE defining factor of New York City neighborhood history.

Lebanon Restaurant (Syrian), 88 Washington Street, Manhattan., Digital ID 482835, New York Public LibraryRestaurant in "Little Syria"For example, many know that Washington Heights, a predominantly Dominican neighborhood today, was once overwhelmingly German. But few remember that the area around Battery Park City was once called “Little Syria,” due to the Syrian, Lebanese and Turkish immigrants settled in the area. As any long-term resident can tell you, the character of neighborhoods can sometimes change quite drastically, with nary a reminder of their former selves left behind. The only constant in New York is constant change.

So while we may sometimes feel powerless in our daily struggle against the city and its inconveniences, sometimes it’s a relief to think you, too, are leaving behind your mark, one small choice at a time.

For further inspiration on this topic, try these books:

And these photograph collections:

Subject Headings:

Community development. Urban -- New York (State) -- New York
Cultural pluralism -- New York (State) -- New York.
Gentrification. -- New York (State) -- New York
Neighborhoods -- New York (State) -- New York.
New York (N.Y.) -- Social conditions.
New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs.
Urbanization -- New York (State) -- New York

Comments

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BEAUTIFUL NYC PIECE

I am a 43 year old native NYer, born and raised and this piece completely hit home in such a beautiful, nostalgic, honest, true way. I love it! Wonderful, wonderful writing, insights and deeper vision! Bravo!

Barbara, Thank you for such

Barbara, Thank you for such kind words! I'm a NY transplant and have loved the city, while also struggling with parts of it (as we all do!) for a smidgen more than a decade. I am soon to leave NYPL and New York as well, and this was my small goodbye to the city.

Laura, this is indeed a

Laura, this is indeed a wonderful piece. My husband used to work as a librarian for the NYPL and I was a graphic design student at FIT.I have lived in the NYC area for over 8 years, but returned to my home country (Germany) two years ago. I've struggled living in proximity of this beautiful city, but also embraced it as a second heimat. I truly loved the diversity and mix of people from all over the world. The city taught me so much and was an amazing inspiration. I miss it every day and I am looking forward to returning. ‎"New York City is a city of daily irritations, occasional horrors, hourly tests of will and even courage, and huge dollops of pure beauty." - Pete Hamill I wish you all the best on your new adventure.

And, bravo again! Always

And, bravo again! Always keep writing.

Great Piece

This is a great piece. NYTimes worthy! It is amazing how dynamic the city is and that in a generation or two, it can be completely different. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and hope you get to continue writing on such interesting topics. Dagfinn

New York City as a living entity

I enjoyed your piece. I am preparing to return to New York from California, partly because I miss walking around the city. There are so many layers in New York. In other parts of the country, I don't feel the presence of the past. There just isn't as much richness.