Catch me on a Friday evening after getting my paycheck at Starbucks, and you will hear me roar about how many taxes are being taken out., where is the money going, why me, along with various other gripes. However, I will always say conversely that if some of my money is going towards New York City’s parks and upkeep, I will gladly pay. For how many people live in even just Manhattan alone, the city does an excellent job of providing us with nature in and amongst the most urbanized settings. It often goes unnoticed because of its subtle presence, but even little details like potted plants along Broadway in the Garment District catch my eye and uplift me.
Sometimes I choose to take the long way home from school. just to go through Bryant Park, which is my favorite. By day, the park’s trees match the height of nearby buildings and shade passer-throughs just enough. People rush by on 6th Avenue, but slow down as they pass to enjoy a moment or two of extraction from the concrete, urban world. The grand fountain entices adults and children alike to walk over and toss a coin in, perhaps to wish that all moments in life were as serene as those spent in the park.
By night, however, the park develops a new type of charm, something more unusual, sophisticated, exclusive yet inviting. A restaurant and bar opens late, illuminating the west side of the park with warm yellow lights and hanging lanterns. It quickly fills its tables with all types of New Yorkers, from couples to business men. The lawn is light by a giant set of stadium lights from atop the nearby MetLife building. People cover the lawn, some laying down, others sitting in the chartreuse chairs, others singing and dancing. The park glows with a certain chic, modern ambiance, but it is still very much so a site dedicated to nature. The tall trees encase the little glowing bubble within the midtown skyscrapers.I love the parallels between natural life and city life, and how the two cross over so fluidly, yet only in selective locations. I also love the human ability to move between the two and embrace the aesthetic purity of both. Both the geometry of urban life and the curves of natural shapes heavily influence my designs, often both at the same time in one look or garment.
Perhaps the urban jungle and the real jungle can't truly exist side by side; but New York certainly proved that each can compromise to co-exist in a beautiful, sophisticated way.
