MTA Horror Story

Public transportation is a part of my daily routine. Although I own a vehicle, public transportation is less expensive and may sometimes get me to my destination much faster. New York City has one of the world’s largest mass transit systems. Our transit system never sleeps. Even under extreme circumstances there’s always a backup plan. I will not get too carried away though because New York City’s public transportation is not always a joy ride for New Yorkers like me.

I work as a parking lot supervisor at John F. Kennedy Airport. Every single day I am required to take a 2 ½ hour train ride, to and from work. Day after day I become a little more convinced that driving to work would be my best way out of the MTA’s horrific service. Not a lot of major events take place during my commute to work. Everything seems to happen at midnight when I am heading home from work, aching and exhausted. I’ve come to think that maybe the MTA has some kind of secret master plan to force everyone to work early.

At exactly midnight I take an MTA bus that departs from the airport which travels to a train station in Queens, NY. Approximately forty-minutes later I arrive at a train station called Kew Gardens and wait for a Manhattan bound train. Once I take that train into the city I then transfer to an uptown train which leaves me in the Bronx. This entire journey can take me anywhere from two to three hours in traveling time. That is of course in a good case scenario.

As the weather gets worse, public transportation becomes more of a nightmare. The train delays get longer, the bus stops grow colder, and the amount of hours I have of rest become shorter. At the end of the day all of the headaches are somewhat worth it. Once I see my paycheck at the end of the week I get a slight reminder of why I continue my employment at the airport. I have faith that one day we will be able to ride public transportation without getting frustrated every time.

Aside from the MTA’s cons, it also has come a very long way. It was only about 150 years ago that the MTA consisted of only a horse and carriage. It wasn’t until 1904 that the first official subway was established (“MTA.info”). From that point on hundreds of bus and train routes have been created. The MTA has made it possible for millions of New Yorkers to get to and from their destinations.

                                   Work Cited

”MTA.info.” New York City Transit-History and Chronology. N.D. February 28, 2014

You Can't Beat New York City.

New York City, when people hear the name a lot of things come to a person’s mind. Some people can have a good view on New York City and for others they have a different view on it. New York City is the best place to live. Even though the rent is high, there is still a lot of ways to make money. There are huge amounts of opportunities in the City from business opportunities to education. New York City is a place where you will never get tired. There is always something to do here, from going to the plays on Broadway to going swimming and going on rides on Coney Island.

            New York City is the best place for a big reason. It is a very safe to live in. According to the website city-data for New York City the average crime rate for 2012 was 256.1. This average included murder, rape, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, and auto thefts per 100,000 people. The Unites States average of crime rate was 298.7 (Crime Rate in New York). This means New York City is doing very well of keeping crime down. Another reason as to why New York City is the best place to live in is because since 2000 crime has been going down significantly. In the year 2000 the average crime rate for that year was 419.7 per 100,000 people. That is a major decline in crime.

            You simply cannot beat New York City. This city is full of life and full of many people that come from different backgrounds that bring in their culture and make New York City a very diverse place. New York City also has the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA for short, and they make commuting very simple and sometimes fast way to get from point A to point B. The MTA can take you to many different places like Times Square to Orchard Beach. You do not a care to travel and that is a good thing because you save money. New York City is the best place to live in and it will only get better

Work Cited:

“Crime rate in New York, New York (NY): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map.”  City-data.com, Advameg, INC. N.d. Web, 28, Feb 2014

Empire state of mind

            There is a famous saying around here, that if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere. In my opinion it means yes the rent sky rockets here, some people are really rude sometimes and people in New York have a very fast paste but we are who we are and we are New Yorkers. In addition no one said it would be easy to make it here but once you get settle in your find New York is an amazing place to live!

             

             In New York there is always something to do that’s why it is called the city that never sleeps, it could go from being at a theater on Broadway to a bar downtown to then eating any type of food you want at five in the morning because of its diverse culture. New York is a concrete jungle of flashing lights because it has the most iconic skyline for example the Empire state and the Chrysler buildings. New York is home and birthplace of Hip-Hop and does it better then any other city, we have rappers like Jay-Z and A$AP Rocky. In addition we have an wide selection of entertainments, in sports were and proud birth place of the New York Yankees, we also have the Mets, in basketball we have the New York Knicks, in hockey the Rangers and Islanders and in football we have Giants and Jets(ny.com). In addition to fantastic sports team we are the birth place of musical theaters.

           

              Beside the fact that we are such a cultural diverse city, great entertainment ego and do to the fact that we are the city the never sleeps, out subways never stop running meaning they run 24/7 and NYC transit’s ranks among the world’s subways systems (mta.info), so to make long matters short we really don’t need cars to get to places.

           

              In my opinion New York is a great place to live, we have a bit of everything, we have great mass transit system, great entertainment and with a population of 8.2 million people and about 800 languages spoken(nyc.gov), we will always find something interesting to do.

                                                                   work cited 

Written by Sarah Bruning, Andrew Frisicano, Ethan LaCroix, Tim Lowery, Marley Lynch, Amy Plitt, Jenna Scherer, Jonathan Shannon and Allison Williams . "50 reasons why NYC is the greatest city in the world.http://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/50-reasons-why-nyc-is-the-greatest-city-in-the-world date posted:Tue Mar 5 2013 publisher: time out editors

    

"Spanky Yankee"

Is New York City a good place to live? Ask all the college students I met in Storrs, Connecticut that want to move to New York City once they graduate.  Or we could ask all the teens of Bridgeport, Connecticut who emulate all the trends of New York City teens or praise someone who migrates from NYC to their city.  New York City is ultimately the place everyone wants to be, except for New Yorkers themselves for some odd reason. 

  

New York City provides top notch services that can not be found in many other cities; for example, transportation.  In an article from USnews.com, it was stated that the Big Apple (New York City) is number one in total number of passenger trips.  It also stated that New York City was responsible for 40% of the whole nation’s transit trips.  New York City provides parents with a huge array of public schools to choose from for their kids at any level of grade school.  Along with well over 200 public schools, private schools, charter schools and a handful of specialized high schools.  New York City is also the home of NYU, and an Ivy-League school Columbia University.  A knowledge seeker will love to live in NYC and raise their kids in the city.  Speaking from experience, when I stayed in Connecticut, I realized it was about 3 public high schools per city.  I see that as a limit.  Limit is not a word NYC is familiar with.

Not only education and transportation, New York City also homes a lot of art and history.  You could visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Natural History, or even take a walk around the South Bronx which is rich in hip-hop culture and history; since New York City did father Hip-Hop.  New York City fathered a Jay-Z to a Donald Trump.  In how many cities can you wake up and take a 15 minute walk to a store to get anything you need?  Beats a 15 minute drive to Wal-Mart where everyone else in the town is at.  

Anyone from an aspiring CEO to an aspiring rap artist to an aspiring film producer comes to New York City for that one of a kind exposure or opportunity.  I could sit here and list all the good things about New York City but this sums it all up:

“…Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of

Theres nothing you can’t do now that you’re in New York”

-Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”

Works Cited

Kurtzleben, Danielle. "The 10 Best Cities for Public Transportation." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 21 Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

We aren't crazy

  Turning, tumbling, flipping, jumping. Are the street full of crazy people? What if instead of thinking 'crazy', you think 'dancers'. I'm a dancer my self, I can't help it but to start dancing in the middle of the streets when I hear music. New York has very good dancers because of good opportunities for the dance industry. They even started to shoot photos of dancers related to the City because of the connection they both have. "Matter has managed to capture dance in a way I have never quite seen before" Catherine L. Tully. My friends go as far away from me as possible when we go into a store like Hollister or Forever 21 where there is always music. In New York specially, is hard to go out and not have a few seconds of music in your ears. In the supermarket, in the restaurants, cars in the streets, even in the train. If you go to any of this places with me, you will definitely see me dancing.

  In dance class, I was the one who always started to randomly dance to any music the teacher would play. When the teacher used to say "stand steal, we're about to start" the first 5 seconds of music we had to stand still, I moved. Except in the very lasts practices we had. She was pretty cool, but when we only had 5 days of practice left, she would turn into a whole different person.

  The only reason I would be sent to the principle's office was because of doing cartwheels in the middle of the hallways. I wouldn't stop. It got to a point where they just didn't want to deal with me. Music has always been a part of my life. Without music, I wouldn't have had all those crazy memories and trouble I got into because of it.


                                         Work Cited

Catherine L. Tully "Dancers Among Us" New York Times. NY Times. Nov 20, 2012. Web. Feb 28, 2014

The Good And The Bad

   There  are  so  many  reasons  why  New  York  City  can  be  the  best  place  to  live  in.  Because  of  the  art,  the  different  cultures,  the  music,  the  food,  and  of  course  the  nightlife.

people  love  summers  in   New  York,  you  can  see  tons  of  concerts  and  performance  art

without  spending  a  dime.  However,  many  good  things  come  from  this  city  like,  rap's

birthplace  the  Bronx  where  we  invented  hip  hop,  and  still  do  it  better  than  any  other  city.

Manhattan  is  where  we  have  the  most  iconic  skylines  like  the  Empire  state  building  and

much  others.  The  giant  globe  in  Queens,  is  a  major  symbol  located  at  the  Flushing

Meadows  Park.  And  I  heard  that  Brooklyn  has  the  best  pizza  ever!   oh,  and  when  it  comes

to  the  food  in  New  york  you  can  find  pretty  much  anything  at  any  time.  I  believe  we  are

the  only  country  that  has  all  types  of  food  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  world  like,  India,

china,  Latin  America,  Italy,  and   finally  the  Caribbean  but,  when  I  say  we  have  everything

I  mean  just  everything!     

   Furthermore,  aside  from  all  the  good  things  New  york  has,  it  also  has  it's  bad  things.

For  example,  the  weather  can  be  cruel  especially  when  it  snows.  And  when  it  gets  cold, 

you  barely  feel  your  body.  The  transportation  here  is  the  worst  thing  ever  like  the
overcrowded  trains  we  need  to  take,  and  the  subway  rats  we  need  to  see.  New  york  can  be

type  dirty  at  times,  people  don't  like  picking  up  after  their  pets  or  even  their  garbage,  as  a New  Yorker  those  are  things  i  can't  stand  seeing  because  this  is  our  home. Even  because  of

the  pros  and  cons  people  believe  that  New  York  is  the  best  city  in  the  world. 

                                                                           Work  Cited

 

Elite Daily The 50 Worst Things About Living In New York http://elitedaily.com/envision/50-worst-living-new-york/ Friday, February 28th, 2014

The Art of A Doll

Art is New York. Every nook and cranny has a piece of art that represents the people. Manhattan, for example, has buildings, statues, paintings, and murals scattered all over the area. When I was a child, I loved Manhattan, especially Grand Central. I used to get exited whenever my mother even hinted at Manhattan. I could stare at the city in awe and never tire because the art was just that amazing.

In high school, my favorite subject was art. The museums that I went to were the best moments in high school. I remember going to the MoMa [Museum of Modern Art]. I was captivated by the unique style that other traditional Artist did not have. One of the pieces that I stumbled upon was called the “Untitled (Bébé Marie)”. It was one of my favorites because of its eerie appearance. The artist, Joseph Cornell, placed a doll inside a box, with withered flowers and twigs on each side of the doll.

But why was I so captivated? It was a doll inside a box- nothing special. The answer perhaps was deeper. Joseph Cornell was known as an artist who had a great fascination for beautiful artifacts that were thrown and forgotten over time (Cornell). Usually, people connect dolls with infancy. When I saw the doll I felt a strange detachment. The box put a wall between the toy and I.  The withered flowers and the color scheme served as an amplifier to the already existing detachment.

The problem is that people usually forget their favorite toys as they get older. They throw them into a box, let them wither and rust and discard them after they find them a few years later in the same corner of the closet where they last placed them.

Art is a wonderful way of communicating with the community. New York connects different styles of art and brings it to its people. I will never forget the day I saw Joseph Cornell’s art work. I started appreciating art on a whole new level. Every time I go to a museum, I find new art styles, new designs. They are rare, lovely, and unique and it’s all part of New York.  

• "Cornell, Joseph." WebMuseum:. Nicolas Pioch, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cornell/>.
• Untitle (dBébé Marie). Museum of Modern Art:. 682.1980. Museum of Modern Art. 2014. Web.  Feb 2014. <http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=81784>.

Nothing Like New York City

                        Bright lights, Tall builds, Full of excitement, Never sleep; sounds like New York to me. New York is not a hard place to learn, and if your out going you can get to enjoy the city. Everything that you want and need you probably wont need a car to get there. There are groceries stores on every corner if not every three to four blocks, depending where you live at. A school next to every community also hospital fire station. If a person don't have a car that's ok, there is other transportation such as trains which other states don't have. There's also buses and cabs that drive around all day. On a regular weekday a person probably wont have to call a cab to pick them up, they would probably would be able to flag one. Especially in the city because it never sleeps.
                        New York City is a place for opportunity. People come to New York to change their lives, and to make a better life for them selves. According to Editors Choice New York City had a record 52million people visit in 2012 two years ago. Editors Choice also  said "tourism generated $55.3 billion in economic impact." New York City is a beautiful place to be there's museums full of history, and great hang out spots, and most of what some tourist don't leave with out seeing is the Empire State building. The Empire state building is a beautiful sight when you go up to the top and its an experience a person wont forget.
                         A person who lived in New York City for a long period of time might not find New York City that amazing and interesting, As for as other's who come from a different state or country. Most of the time that's how it always is, For instance there's people who live in Vegas and might think its just a regular place. But to people who never been there or going just to visit might find it to be amazing and a one in a life time experience. Just as the tourist people who come to New York City.

Work Cited

 

 

CNN Travel staff, "New York sees record number of tourists in 2012." Edition.cnn.com. 1st January,2013. LLC Web. Turner Broadcasting System. inc. LLC Web. 2013.

Maybe it's nice, maybe it's not

New York City is a nice place to live at, if you’re living in the right area. I actually like living in New York City, but I rather live in California because I enjoy warm weather. I hate the cold, the snow and wearing puffy coats. I enjoy the warm nights at 42^nd street with a cup of ice cream glued to my hand, the bright lights kissing my face. Two dollars and fifty cents is all that costs to take me to Times Squares, to SoHo or somewhere miles away from my shoebox size apartment. New York City is a place filled with surprises

            I remember one summer evening, I took a walk with a friend in Central Park and we ended up sitting by the lake, looking at the ducks interact. Later on, a man holding a fishing rod sat next to us and asked us if we knew how to fish. My friend didn’t know how to fish and I never touched a fishing rod; the old man decided to teach us how to fish, and instantly I caught a fish. I threw the fish back because I didn’t want to have him for dinner nor did I want to kill the poor fish. I caught a couple of fishes, so did my friend; after we finished fishing, I wondered why do people fish if they’re just going to throw the fish back into the water.

            According to Census Bureau, New York’s population is 19,651,127. A bunch of people live in New York City, it doesn’t mean they love living here. With the good things comes, the bad things about New York City. Sometimes, there is a lot of rude strangers and will unleash their nasty attitude if you accidentally bump into them. Crowded trains and buses are the worst; especially when you’re seated and somebody’s hovering over you, melting your face with their stinky hot breath. New York City has pros and cons, some people love it and others don’t.

Works Cited

“State and County Quick Facts: New York City.” United States Census Bureau. 7 Jan. 2014. U.S Department of Commerce. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

            

The best place to live!

      To me New York City is a great place to live in! New York City is home to many people, with about 8.3 million(NYC.gov). Because of the large population New York City is a very diverse place to be in. You can take a 40 minute train ride into another country and you can immerse yourself with different cultures. This is a great experience for people looking to try new things because new things are around every corner. You can stop by and check Chinatown or go down the block and see little Italy. These are just some example of the diversity in NYC.

       I also love living in NYC because it has one of the best ways to travel, The MTA. Although at times the MTA can be a pain the in rear, It has it good points too. New York City transit is top 10 on how many rider a year are on it, about 1.3 billion people(infoplease.com). You don't need a car to go anywhere in NYC. Taking the train is the most efficient way of going anywhere in NYC. If you take a car or a cab you'll only become frustrated and regret not taking the train.

       In my experience in living in New York, I think it is wonderful. You can meet difference people from different places. There are a lot of job opportunities in NYC. It is also one of the best places to have fine dinning. NYC has almost everything you can need. But, it all depends on what you prefer. If you are looking for a upbeat life style then look no further NYC is the place for you. If you are looking for a place to settle down and have a somewhat calm life then NYC is not the place for you. Again it all depends on what you looking for. But what I believe is NYC is the BEST place to live no matter what!

Work Cited

Urban, Jane. "World's Largest Subway Systems."Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

"Population - New York City Department of City Planning."Population - New York City Department of City Planning. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

The Sound of Life

Moods and feelings can easily be summed up by a little piece of music, even though it will take lots of words to explain them fully. Music is not only the combination of instruments and vocals together to form a harmony. “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent”. (Victor Hugo) Music can be used as a form of expression, and it’s also used to have fun.

                My experience with music has been a great one.  I’ve always had a passion for music, and I listen to it everywhere I go. When I was younger I used to sing in churches and weddings, and this is how it started. Then, with the time I learned how to play the guitar as well as the piano. The experiences I’ve had are beautiful, and I always thank God for the talent he has given me. When I was in High School, they used to do talent shows and I always participated with the school’s band and I always won first place.

                The majority of composers write music about their history experience, love, culture, and more. Sometimes, we experience difficult moments in our lives and we get rid of them by writing. I’ve written music and I’ve record a few songs of my own. Each composer has their own unique style and expression to music. Music and its melodies can bring us memories, both good and bad.

                Some people find the meaning in lyrics, while others may prefer its rhythm and beats. Music is always there for you, it tells stories, hold memories, and even though you can’t touch music, music can touch you. “Some teachers believe that coping with performance anxiety is an essential part of a classical music education”. (Tindall, Blair) Therefore, music is a good way to cope with anxiety, and is a good way to relax.

Work Cited

Tindall, Blair. “Better Playing Through Chemistry” The New York Times. Oct 17, 2004 the NY Times. Web. Feb 27, 2014

Dream City

New York City is a great place to live with many different places to visit it is impossible to get bored. No matter what season or how the weather is outside there is still somewhere to go. In the winter, the best places to visit are movie theaters, ice skating rinks, and museums. In the summer, there are many parks with beautiful views, beaches, and pools to visit. Not only are there great places to visit In New York City but there are also many different types of people. New York City is much diversified, no matter where you are from and what language you speak you will feel welcome.

 Living in New York City is also good because there are many different jobs and benefits for the unemployed and the low waged employees. There are many free public schools with good programs for students to learn new things. New York City also has great and affordable transportation that can take you anywhere around the city, and according to, the average travel time to work for people aged 16 and older is 39 minutes.

 To me, living in New York City has been a great experience, I was born and raised in the city and I love it. I get to meet many people from all over the world and listen to their stories about their countries and I get to go to school and accomplish my goals. Although, I love living in the city there are certain things I dislike about the city. I believe New York City needs more safety and a higher wage because it is kind of expensive to live in the city. Other than that, I would recommend anyone to live in New York City; it is a beautiful free city.

Works Cited

“State and County Quick Facts: New York City.” United States Census Bureau. 7 Jan. 2014. U.S Department of Commerce. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

It All Comes Down To You

New York City is it a good place to live? I have mixed emotions when it comes to living in New York. The reason I say this is because New York is a great place to experience new things but it also can be a little too much at times. New York City is considered to be the place that never sleeps. It’s true that you can experience lots of thing wild living in New York but I liked to believe it all comes down to expenses.  To rent an apartment in New York City you have to be prepared for rent increases. According to a New York Times article, “rent increases of 4 percent on one-year-leases, and 7.75 percent on leases of two years (Navarro).  New York can be very unpredictable when it comes to rent increases, and if you don’t make lots of money than you will not be ok that every year your rent increasing. The rent is very important to making the decision to making the decision to living in New York but don’t let it be your only one.

New York City is considered to be the place that never sleeps.  I believe it does own up to the saying, living in the Big Apple could be one of the best experiences you would ever have, from living in the city you would be exposes to different foods, culture, people, religion, and fashion. In the Big Apple you will never be left out, you will not feel segregated because he people in New York City are very opened minded. In New York there’s a place for everyone if you like the night life, or the outdoors their not much wild life, but they are great parks and zoo and gardens. The greatest thing about living in New York is the sense of community we all stay together, and we fight for what we believe is right. So in my opinion New York City is a great place to live but you have to be strong minded and a hard worker.

Work cited

Navarro, Mireya and Moynihan Colin, “Rent Board Approves Higher Increases Than in ’12” The New York Times. June 20, 2013. The New York times. Web. February 27, 2014  

Meeting new people

            As a young kid in middle school, my mother frequently took me on vacations to Dominican Republic to understand my culture background. Growing up in the Bronx and frequently going to Dominican Republic I learned both English and Spanish. But as I graduated the 8^th grade, my mother sent me to DR for a year to study, in which I meet a young guy named Jack Lefroun.

            

            Jack Lefroun was an Haitian fellow who I didn’t understand quite well do to that fact that he spoke Creole (A French based language) and very little Spanish in addition he could speak English which astounded me a bit, but it was limited. When I spoke with lefroun it was never a normal conversation, we spoke two languages at the same and sometimes three with creole but it’s a very interesting to see.

           

            As a young kid and very innocent minded kid in DR, people let me believe that Haitian are bad people, which in the case of Lefroun wasn’t true. He became like family to me he showed me his culture and his language while I sowed him mines. Lefroun showed me his very rich tradition of music and dances, some of the dances were Congo and Danse Kango. In addition he showed me how to heal many stuff with leaf, he was an herbal specialist know as a leaf doctor in his country. I also learn from him the value of money and bad is poverty in his country, he showed me how hard was for him to earn money to support himself.

           

            I learned so much form his culture diversity, he was a great guy hard worker and a very great guy to talk to. After my experience with him, I wanted to keep meeting new people and getting to know different languages and different cultures after meeting Jack Lefroun.

                                                                work cited:

  T. S CHWARTZ timothy. "Countries and their cultures, Haiti".http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Haiti.html : date posted: N.D Seen Feb 09,2014 publisher: Advameg, Inc.