The World According to Henry: New York, New York

–by Henry Huang

Blog Correspondent Henry Huang spent last summer on the East Coast. He attended summer school at Yale studying Political Science. While on the East Coast, Henry travelled to New York City. Thus, “The World According to Henry” continues its journey . . . .

New York–how should I start?

Artists, singers, writers portray the city as the top of the world. Yet, New York, to some others, is an empty dream. New York, to me, is the most interesting place on this earth, a mixture of heaven and hell.

There are copious reasons that a person can hate New York. The stinky subway system isn’t well designed. Everyone knows that someone must have peed in the subway station. The subway service, to be polite, is anti-humanity. There was only one uniformed person in the entire subway station even in Times Square. The signs in the station tell you to go to Uptown or Downtown. Even a New Yorker could get lost in the subway or not know the existence of a line. If you make it out of the Times Square subway station, a crowd is waiting for you in Times Square. It is always crowded, always full of over-priced souvenir shops,making it impossible to meet a friend or acquaintance there. There were even people, more than you can imagine, doing yoga on Broadway. Another infamous about NYC, New Yorkers have a “reputation” for being rude and arrogant. In at least one instance, a waiter in a  cafe was not friendly. In all other cities, customers are like gods, but in New York, sometimes it feels the opposite. And, And, New Yorkers drive like crazy people. If you try jay-walking in NYC, you’ll come in contact with a taxi bumper. Walking in Manhattan’s streets is the same as walking through a battlefield. Everyone is walking as if they are on the way to a fight.

However, New York is still a heaven to many people. The forest of skyscrapers is just a miracle rising through the horizon. At the top of the Empire State Building, the Steel Babylon looks exactly like a jewel in the sun. Sometimes, people criticize New York as an illiterate city. Yet, the ceiling of the Grand Central Terminal was designed based on the Zodiac, everyone in the subways is carrying a book, the New York Public Library houses the Gutenberg Bible and other precious books and documents. The museums in New York are some of the best in the world. The Metropolitan Art Museum holds the largest art collection from ancient Greek to Modern Art, from East to West, from paintings to weapons. What’s more, there are not many cities on earth that can provide such a large public space like Central Park. The vast greenery is a great place for all ages to bike, swim, play baseball, picnic, watch Shakespeare. The street food in New York, whether kebabs or hot dogs, is always a surprise waiting for you. However, I found the most surprising thing in New York is New Yorkers are actually quite friendly (with that one exception in the cafe on Times Square). From a lady waiting for her train in a subway station to a guy who sells kebabs next to MetArt, everyone was willing to give me directions. The quick drivers and the fast-walking people might be crazy, but all those are a symbol of the liveliness of the city! Only in New York could there be so much potential and possibility.

Photos by Henry Huang

–Edited by Chloe Sweeney