I <3 NY

Last week, reading the New York Daily News every morning was a lot different than reading the Wall Street Journal.  The paper does a great job of catching your eye with big pictures and catchy headlines, enticing you to pick it up off of the rack.  The Daily News has a lot more human interest stories, especially to people living and working in New York City.  One morning when I picked up the paper, the front-page was plastered with headlines and pictures regarding the Jets’ recent acquisition of former New York Giant Plaxico Burress.  Besides the fact that I am a Patriots fan and the headline definitely caught my eye, it was a story that is incredibly relevant to New Yorkers, considering how invested they are in their sports teams.

We traveled to many different parts of the city during our Monday classes, and each of them were different in their own way.  Madison and Wall Street, being hubs for New York businesses, were overflowing with men and women in suits hustling to get to work.  During the Broadway section, we traveled uptown to the Upper East Side, a much quieter area of the city, and spent time in the Theater District, an area of the city overflowing with tourists.  In all of these places, the men and women going to work and the men and women visiting the city were not all American.  It is important to realize that New York City is one of the biggest cities in the world, and one of the most attractive cities to foreigners and international travelers.  In order to be successful living and working in New York City, it is essential to understand not only that you will encounter people from other cultures, but also that you will need to familiarize yourself with those other cultures.  Spending a semester abroad in Barcelona, Spain, I was exposed to many new types of people and ways of life that helped me understand how important it was to become knowledgeable about how other cultures live.  New York City is no different, and you must be open to diversity in order to find success.

My favorite part of the last Monday class was definitely the trip to Hoboken, New Jersey.  Not only was I shocked by the cleanliness and efficiency of the Path train, but I was also impressed by how “cute” Hoboken was.  I have loved living in Manhattan, but sometimes the craziness of the city can get to you.  If I were to live in Hoboken, I would have that craziness of the city when I wanted it, but then be able to retreat to a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere.  And as a foodie I definitely can’t say I hated seeing that the main street was filled with delicious restaurant upon delicious restaurant.

Having lived my whole life outside of Boston, I have visited New York City a few times prior to this summer, but I have never actually lived there.  When I would visit, I would go to the touristy spots of New York, and I really only had the perception that everything was crowded and fast-paced, and that New Yorkers were rude.  This past summer, I can proudly say that Times Square is not what the rest of the city is like–there are so many different neighborhoods that each have their own appeal and vibe.  While the city is fast-paced, it’s definitely a place that I can keep up with, as I have found my New York “stride” this summer.  As for the people being rude, I would say that is just the opposite.  I never ran into a person who wouldn’t mind pointing me in the right direction or offering to swipe their metro card for me when mine ran out.  Basically, New York City is just as amazing as everyone says it is.

A Tour through the Meatpacking District

Follow the link to my website about fun things to do in the Meatpacking District!

The Meatpacking District

Key Findings

This summer, as I have spent my time completing ethnographic research on the Meatpacking District, I have learned about how several factors can lead to the transformation of an area over a particular amount of time.  However, change is not always bad, and although the Meatpacking District is not as true to its name as it used to be, it remains a respected historical location in Manhattan.  Along the way, I discovered that ethnographical research is the perfect balance between historical research and observations.

The Meatpacking District began as a neighborhood for local farmers to sell their produce at the Gansevoort and West Washington Markets.  Soon enough, with the completion of the Gansevoort and Chelsea Piers and the Manhattan Refrigeration Company’s innovative underground piping system, the neighborhood became known as one of the largest districts of wholesale meat, poultry, and seafood distribution.  However, the new infrastructure did not end there—New York Central Railroad’s elevated freeway, The High Line, was completed in 1934.  The High Line improved distribution efforts and created a safer work environment, resulting in an increase in warehouses operating within the neighborhood.  By the end of World War II, about 250 slaughterhouses operated within the small west-side neighborhood, and it became known as the “Meatpacking District.”

Ironically, what built up the Meatpacking District in the 1900s is what essentially caused it to crumble into what remains of it today.  New infrastructure and new innovations such as the underground piping system, the Gansevoort and Chelsea Piers, and the High Line, are mostly responsible for how successful the Meatpacking District became from the early 1900s until 1980.  There were constant improvements that allowed increased distribution and improved business practices.  Unfortunately for the Meatpacking District, the improvements continued in the form of the interstate highway system’s trucking industry in 1956.  Fiscally the trucking industry was a better option, and the Gansevoort and Chelsea piers saw fewer shipments through the port.  Also a result of the trucking industry was the discontinuation of the High Line.  In 1980, the High Line serviced its last train through the Meatpacking District.  Without infrastructure like The High Line and the Gansevoort and Chelsea piers running, the neighborhood fell victim to drugs and prostitution, resulting in a loss of many of the businesses in the area.

Historically, ethnographic research is cut and dry objective.  You research the facts and understand how the people and culture of an area have been affected by various economic and social factors that have occurred over an extended period of time.  However, ethnographic research is not only objective.  Subjectively, different people have different experiences based on the economic and social factors of the area.  While a meatpacker who lived and worked in the Meatpacking District in the 1960s saw the negative impact of the transformation, a waitress at one of the many lucrative restaurants in the neighborhood now would be thankful for the new business and clientele that frequent the area.  Knowledge is very much based on one’s own experiences, so you cannot say that it is entirely objective.  Because of this, it is the ethnographer’s responsibility to not only research the facts about the history of the area, but to also spend time observing and speaking with different people who understand the area.  Once you have the background information on the area, you can use that information to better direct your observations and interviews.  In order to complete a useful ethnographic study, it is important to complete each step, and not to skip ahead or choose one approach or the other.  After all, research from books and the Internet may be the backbone, but the observations and conversations with real people are the meat.

Interview #3–Sophie

I went to Fig and Olive in the Meatpacking District for a late afternoon lunch with a few friends at the end of July.  I was hoping to catch the end of lunch rush and beat the early dinner rush so that I could talk with the waitress about working in the neighborhood.  Luckily, the restaurant was nowhere near crowded when we arrived around 3 PM, and we were able to snag a beautiful table on the patio.  Sophie was our waitress, a friendly young woman who has been working at the restaurant for the past six months.  She has worked at multiple locations of Fig and Olive over the past two years that she has been in Manhattan, but she likes the Meatpacking District location the most.

“This area is so quaint, we hardly even get any cars going down this street.  My other job is right in Times Square, so when I come down here to work it’s a nice escape,” said Sophie.

As the restaurant is known for its delicious Mediterranean dishes and suave interior on West 13^th Street, Sophie said that she has waited on many interesting people.  Most people pop into Fig and Olive either after a long day of shopping at Diane von Furstenberg or Jeffrey Boutique, or for a swanky date night.  The people who visit the Meatpacking District on a regular basis definitely have money to spend, and it is easy for Sophie to pick out who those people are when she is waiting on them.

“The big shopping bas are a huge giveaway.  No normal person can afford a shopping bag that large from some of the stores in this area,” said Sophie.

The area, since it is deemed one of New York City’s “trendiest” neighborhoods is no stranger to celebrities.  The Meatpacking District has been mentioned or featured in television and movies (most notably Sex and the City) over the past few years, and its shopping and restaurants make it a hot spot for a celebrity to be seen.  Sophie said that for the past two years at the other Fig and Olive locations, she has never run across a celebrity; however, in the past six months at Fig and Olive in the Meatpacking District, she has waited on three.

“Bobby Flay and Kelly Ripa were the nicest.  Chloe Sevigny was rude and left no tip,” said Sophie.

Interview #2–Tom

When I walked into Hogs and Heifers on a Wednesday afternoon, I was expecting to be met with unwelcoming glares.  From the outside, the bar looks like exactly what it is—a dive.  There are stickers all over the concrete walls, and the characters smoking cigarettes outside don’t look nearly as friendly as you would like them to look.  In my initial research of the spot, I discovered that meatpackers from the area tend to gravitate to the watering hole after a long day’s work; however, many reviews warned visitors of the nasty bartender.  Past my better judgment, I stepped into the bar hoping to find a local meatpacker to interview without receiving the third degree from the bartender.  I walked up to the bar to order a beer, and although not overly bubbly or friendly, the bartender was nice enough to leave me alone.  I began drinking my beer and waited for a larger crowd to stumble in.  After finishing half of my beer, a few men began pouring into the bar, one of which sat down next to me.  Tom happened to work at Weichsel Beef Co, just right down the street on Little West 12^th Street.  I began telling him about my project on the Meatpacking District, and he was more than happy to tell me about his job.  As a butcher, Tom usually heads into work around 4 AM, yet he claims he is lucky to not be one of the many in the district that begin their shifts at 11 PM or 12 AM.

“It’s early, but at least I’m home in time to see my kids after they get out of school, and I get to go to their soccer games,” said Tom.

Tom has worked at Weichsel Beef for the past 30 years and has witnessed the Meatpacking District’s transformation first-hand.  When I asked him about his thoughts on the glamorization of the neighborhood, he replied that he wasn’t fazed by it.  The “hoity-toity” new businesses, as he referred to them, do not affect the fact that he comes in everyday from 4 AM-1 PM and gets his job done.  He said that if anything the transformation has meant good things for businesses, as the safety of the neighborhood is no longer in question.

“I get a kick out of walking into work as everybody is walking out of the clubs.  If you get lucky, you’ll witness a wipeout or two,” chuckled Tom.

Interview #1–Julian Kline

I began speaking with Julian Kline the first week I came to New York City, as I was considering taking on a second internship.  Julian works for the Meatpacking District Initiative (MPIA), an organization devoted to producing and promoting events and public relations campaigns that support the growth and development of the Meatpacking District.  Although I realized that taking on another internship would be too much to handle, I kept in touch with Julian because of his vast knowledge of my neighborhood.  Julian has lived in the West Village his entire life, but has spent his last two years working on developing the Meatpacking District with the MPIA.  He mostly deals with event production and community outreach, so he knows a lot about the area and what it has undergone in the past decade.

When I sat down with Julian to speak about the neighborhood, he walked in to Starbucks in a bit of a fluster.  It was a Tuesday afternoon, July 5^th, and he explained that the MPIA was just two days away from opening one of their biggest events of the summer, “Ascension at Gansevoort Plaza.”  It is one of a few installation exhibits that will be featured in the Meatpacking District leading up to the opening of the highly anticipated Whitney Museum of American Art.  Apparently, one of the pieces needed for the exhibit had broken as they were transporting it to the site, and Julian was struggling to find a suitable person to fix it.  Since the exhibits surrounding the Whitney Museum of American Art will most likely bring in wealthy and elite members of the MPIA, it was crucial that the exhibit be in working condition.

Julian explained to me that although he was very young in the 80s when the Meatpacking District was known as a dangerous area, he believes that the MPIA has been one of the biggest reasons for the turn-around.  The MPIA supports businesses and promotes events surrounding restaurants, retail, and the arts in the area.  From his own perspective, Julian said that the opening of the High Line to the public has increased interest in the Meatpacking District more than anything he has seen in the past.  With the opening of the Whitney Museum in 2015, Julian believes that it will attract even more people to the area, especially those who like to go to Greenwich Village.

E-V-O-O

This past week, as I have been reading the Wall Street Journal and trying to pay a little more attention to the news, it would be impossible to ignore the latest issue revolving around the debt ceiling.  This has been an issue dominating the news for the past few weeks, as most news programs discuss the “countdown” to when the debt ceiling will be reached.  I’m not going to lie, I haven’t been paying much attention to the situation until now.  The debt ceiling has been raised 74 times since 1962, so it’s natural to believe that despite all of the back and forth debate between parties, a deal will be reached and the debt ceiling will once again be raised.  However, with the August 2nd deadline getting even closer, we must realize the potential of the first default in U.S. history.  What would happen if the government literally could not fund any of its programs?  Honestly, I hope we don’t need to find out anytime soon.

While the news of the debt ceiling applies to everyone, I found a few articles about Twitter’s new promoted tweets.  As a Strategic Communications major, I frequently follow news surrounding social media updates and trends.  In the past, Twitter’s promoted tweets showed up on the right sidebar of a user’s news feed.  Now, they are allowing promoted tweets to appear in user’s timelines.  However, unlike facebook, which allows advertisements on the side of eveyrone’s pages, promoted tweets will only show up in user’s newsfeeds if they follow the company.  I think this is a very smart way for Twitter to increase their advertising revenue, while at the same time cater to their users.

Last Monday’s presentations, although all different, were all incredibly informative and inspiring.  Coming into my senior year of college, I have no idea what I want to be doing in the next 9 or 10 months.  We were given a taste of many different people’s experiences in many different businesses–finance, Wall Street, modeling, production, and recruiting.  I loved being exposed to professions that I would have never considered before.  My favorite part of the day was 100% when we visited Rachel Ray’s studio.  If you know me at all, you know that I love to cook, I love the Food Network, and Rachel Ray is one of my favorite people.  To think that I was in the building where her show is created, with the people who help create it, really struck me.  The men and women who spoke to us about production were bubbly, welcoming, and more than willing to answer all of our questions.  After that experience, I can definitely say I tacked on “production” to my long list of things-to-be-when-I-grow-up-in-9-months.  Maybe this week I’ll add some more!

Brisch Meat Company

Brisch Meat Company

Big Bucks of Broadway

For our last week in the Broadway unit, we had the amazing opportunity to visit The Broadway League, the leading Broadway advertising agency Serino Coyne, and the studio of prestigious costume designer William Ivey Long.  I have always enjoyed attending Broadway shows but I have never stopped to think about the business of Broadway.  Last Monday’s session made me realize exactly how much business is involved in putting on a production; after all, it is show business.

Although all of the places we visited interested me and taught me something new, I enjoyed the visit to Serino Coyne the most (and not just because of the free pizza and cookies).  Being a communications major, I could relate to what they do; regardless of my baseline knowledge of the Broadway industry.  During the Madison Avenue unit I visited several advertising agencies; unlike those agencies, Serino Coyne has a very limited budget to work with.  Broadway advertising budgets are not even comparable to Pepsi and Doritos advertising budgets–we learned the average is about $100,000 a week.  I was appalled when they explained to us how expensive advertisements really are, especially in newspapers.  In a time where newspapers are going digital, it was hard to believe that a full open page ad in the New York Times will run you about $200,000.  For one ad.  Realistically, not many Broadway shows (other than the impossible-to-get-a-ticket Book of Mormon) can afford that kind of advertising, so it’s Serino Coyne’s job to get creative and be resourceful.

Broadway advertising is a guessing game.  Do you take your budget and throw all of your money into advertising to tourists during the summer and make your high even higher?  Or do you hold off and throw all of your money into advertising to New Yorkers during the winter months and try to increase your lows?  Do you advertise regionally or do you advertise outside of New York City to encourage tourists to visit?  When you see “Wicked” billboards or subways dominated by the “Book of Mormon,” you don’t stop to think about everything that goes into that one advertisement.  For my last few weeks in the city, I will make sure to appreciate each of those billboards.

Wizzy Woz

When children get old enough, parents often let them dress themselves in what they want to wear.  And most children latch onto a specific piece of clothing that becomes their “go to.”  For me, it was my Dorothy dress and ruby red slippers.  Chances are, you will find this to be true in just about any picture or home video of me.

I loved the dress, but I loved the Wizard of Oz movie more.  Over the period of a week when I was young, I would watch the movie, or “Wizzy Woz” as I called it, at least two times.  It wasn’t the full experience unless I had my dolls alongside with me, so that I could play with them as I screamed at the Wicked Witch through the TV.  Needless to say, Wizzy Woz was a big part of my childhood.

When Wicked debuted in October 2003 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City, I wanted nothing more than to see it.  I knew the songs on the soundtrack and I had even read the book cover to cover (more than once…).  It wasn’t until 6 months ago in London that I finally had the opportunity to see Wicked–it didn’t disappoint.  Nothing, however, could prepare me for the opportunity that we were given this past Wednesday.

Not only was it amazing to see the play a second time just 6 months later, but there is something to be said about seeing the play where it all began at the Gershwin Theatre.  While the London production was just as phenomenal as I had imagined it would be, the production in New York City was spot on.  Everything from the costumes, to the set, to the performers, was of the highest caliber.  It didn’t seem possible that the night could get any better.

Luckily for us, the night got better.  100 times better.  Craig, a longtime member of the Wicked crew, took us behind the scenes of the historic Gershwin Theatre.  As I stood on the stage, the same stage that Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth once stood, I thought back to when I was younger.  I thought back to when the most important part of my day was when I could put on my Dorothy Dress and my ruby red slippers, gather my dolls, and sit in front of the television to watch Wizzy Woz.  And this was so much better than that.