There’s No Place Like Home: The Sights, Sounds and Smells of New York City
Photo Courtesy of NYCgo.com
I was born and raised in New York City and it is inextricably linked to who I am. Given the assignment on “Sights, Sounds, and Smells” it was a no brainer to focus on my home. I wanted to expand across the boroughs and searched for “Brooklyn” + “sights” which returned 73 results and "Manhattan" + "sights" which returned 34 results. Notably, interwoven within these stories were also stories relating to Queens so the focus of this blog post is: Manhattan, the borough where I was predominantly raised, Queens, where my dad raised us and where my family is living now and Brooklyn.
Photo Courtesy of NY Times
Journalist Ernie Suggs (1967 - ) is a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists, he shares: “The [New York] Yankees were a big part of my life. In the '70s [1970s] the Yankees won the World Series in '77 [1977] and '78 [1978]. So they became a huge part of my life. Coney Island, subway trains, how loud the trains were at that time… I guess the late '70s [1970s] even the kind of the changing of the music in terms of like you know going from soul music to kind of disco music to--which became hip hop. I was kind of there when all that kind of stuff was happening and I remember block parties when people would steal power from the light post to power their turntables and they would just play these disco, hip hop songs. So I remember that kind of coming of age during that period of time which is kind of, pretty cool… So yeah, '77 [1977], '78 [1978] that's when Reggie Jackson came. Reggie Jackson is my favorite baseball player of all time still… Exactly, so the three home runs in '77 [1977] World Series. So yeah so that time, you know, going to Coney Island just being--you know, that's all I knew was New York City.” [1] Ray Chew (1958 - ) who has served as the musical director for “American Idol” adds: “…I rode my bike everywhere 'cause, 'cause we, we didn't have a car and he [Chew’s father; Henry Eugene Chew] didn't, he didn't aspire to get a car… and I'll tell you how far it is, all right? We're in the Northeast Bronx, so to get to the Northeast Bronx, we're doing the train system… the New York City train, subway system, you would have to take the number 5 train almost to the last stop which is--it would take you from Manhattan--it would take you a full hour on the train, all right? Yeah, it's an hour from Manhattan on the train which, which you're halfway down to Philadelphia [Pennsylvania] with that, you know…He didn't aspire to get a car, he didn't, he didn't aspire to drive; he just worked his job. He's like--he's just--"I'm just gon' do my job, I'm gon' do this." It's hard, hard for me to know his mindset because I think it was, it was part of just his personality. I don't think he was quite the way I just depicted that. I think he was--it was just him--"This is what I do and I'm gonna--and I'm gonna do it, and I'm gonna just go on to work every day." And, and it--there was, there was people on our--everybody--almost everybody on the block had some kinda little car, you know--something, right? And I'm like, ‘Man.’”[2]
“that’s all I knew was New York City.”
Photo Courtesy of: Andre D. Wagner
The Honorable Richard W. Roberts (1953 - ) who was named chief of the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division by the United States Justice Department in 1995 instantaneously exclaimed, “Sounds--subway trains. I grew up in New York City [New York, New York]. I went to high school [High School of Music and Art; Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts] in Manhattan [New York] when I was living in Queens [New York]. I commuted an hour and a half each way for a total of three hours' commute. I remember the jingle and jangle of subway cars coming and going. The sights of a mosaic of faces in New York City of a type you probably wouldn't see if you were, let's say, in some European country… particularly in my high school, which tended to draw people from all corners of New York. That was a high school that probably had one of the most unusual blends of ethnicities that I'd seen anywhere. We had black, brown, yellow, red, white, and I'm not sure that there was any single dominant group at that time. ” [3] Toni Fay (1947 - ) who was vice president of Time Warner, Inc also shares of subway trips, “Sounds, I mean, you're living in the city. You hear the car and the buses and the, you know, I loved riding on the double-decker… I learned how to ride the subway very early. And so I remember that because my mother always instilled independence and always said, you're going to school…. you're always gonna be independent. She started telling me that very early… But I learned how to ride the subway to get to dance class. And dance class was on 47th Street. So I was one of those kids who was kind of lucky… I finally learned how to get to dance class, and then she would meet me after that. And I went to a place called the New Dance Group, and that was a place where dancers who were trying to break into Broadway shows and what not, taught dance to little kids during the day, right (laughter). So if I wasn't staying to see rehearsals of some of them dancing, like [HM] Donald McKayle was my favorite dancer… My mother would meet me, and we'd go to shows, the opera, shop, but learning how to ride the subway and being able to do that by myself. I remember once I got lost and I said, oh, I can't tell my mother. But you could walk up to a policeman, you know, you could, you could talk to anyone. They didn't bother any kids. So being able to go from Harlem [New York, New York] or Washington Heights [Manhattan, New York, New York] to Midtown for--my dance class was 47th Street, which is not far from Rockefeller Center, and, and then, you know, I was just culturally stimulated and exposed.” [4]
“Sounds—subway trains... I commuted an hour and a half each way for a total of three hours’ commute. I remember the jingle and jangle of subway cars coming and going. The sights of a mosaic of faces in New York City of a type you probably wouldn’t see if you were, let’s say, in some European country…”
Photo Courtesy of: Andre D. Wagner
Kenneth Standard (1936 - ) who has been an employment and labor lawyer for over forty years, and served as president of the New York State Bar Association made note of, “Sounds of push carts. We had an alley behind our apartment building on Warren Street, and there would be push carts and peddlers, people grinding scissors, sharpening scissors, people buying junk, people selling fruits and vegetables. They would all come through the alley and people would go down. I also remember the fig trees. We had a number of Italian Americans who lived in the neighborhood, and they would cultivate--they did cultivate fig trees. And I can remember the fig trees being pruned and wrapped in the fall so that they would survive the, the winter… Traffic was very light. There were very few automobiles or trucks. You still had either push carts or horse-drawn wagons… No, I can't remember the sounds of people. I assume there were sounds of kids playing in the streets, but I don't really remember that. I know growing up in Brooklyn, we always played in the streets. We didn't have that many playgrounds nearby and the streets were close.. --so we always played games there.” [4] Sociologist Robert B. Hill (1938 - ) is the author of The Strength of Black Families similarly says, “I mean--everything in New York [New York] you were out in the streets so I mean the sights were people riding bicycles, I mean those were my sights that I knew growing up. Playing games, the girls playing Double Dutch and those were the sights that I saw most. Interestingly smells were kind of interesting because when I say smells, I said I grew up very close to an Italian neighborhood, well they used to have very frequent Italian festivals and so that you ate--that's the smells that I remember much more. You had all those kinds of knishes, all the foods and stuff and so that was really more of the smell that I recall going to those festivals and they even had little rides. You could go on rides and stuff like that. So the sights were whatever it was in the street, playing in the streets those were the sights that were more frequent to me… Oh (laughter) New York I'll tell you what sounds, horns, noise. They say New York is a place that doesn't sleep--it doesn't sleep. In fact you get worried if you're from New York you get worried when you have silence. You--yes it's always noise; it's always noise, sirens, something, and that's endless. That's why it was interesting when I would go south, I'd get a little concerned it's so quiet you just hear crickets and you don't hear these sounds that I heard in New York” [5].
“They say New York is a place that doesn’t sleep—it doesn’t sleep. In fact you get worried if you’re from New York you get worried when you have silence”
Photo Courtesy of: Andre D. Wagner
A handful of HistoryMakers highlighted the contrasting living experiences across boroughs which was deeply insightful. Biologist Scott Edwards (1963 - ) is a well known lead researcher in the field of Ornithology at Harvard shared, “I would say playing in the dirt. In our neighborhood in Riverdale [New York], there were new houses going up in the area, and as they were being built, there was, it was like a little boy's, you know, perfect, you know, array of tunnels and ditches and like a little battlefield. And so we would be throwing dirt bombs at each other a lot…. you know… we lived in Riverdale, but I actually went to school in, in Manhattan, so it was kind of this dual world. And smells, I'll have to think about that, but, yeah, I do have this vivid memory of kind of transitioning from a very urban Manhattan [New York] where I was in school to a much more rural and country-like area, where we lived at home.” [7] Electrical engineer Peter Delfyett (1959 - ) an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society, paints Queens stunningly, “…. it's certainly not like growing up in Manhattan or Brooklyn [New York, New York], which is more brownstone type flavors. Certainly there are areas in Brooklyn which have houses and yards. But many times when people think of Brooklyn, the real, you know, booming era of Brooklyn--and even uptown in Harlem [New York, New York], is the brownstone. Brownstones were basically the houses that most folks sort of grew up in back many, many years ago… But Queens is more residential, if you want to call it that… Right. I certainly--some of the sounds that I remember are the sounds of the Mr. Softy ice cream truck. It's summertime, you know. The Good Humor truck, Bongo Bars, those were sort of the three main ice cream trucks. You know, Mr. Softy, Good Humor and Bongo Bar. So, you just sort of either hear the jingle of this ice cream truck, or the bells that they would ring. Other interesting sights--you know, again, as a kid, going to the New York City World's Fair, as an example.” [8] Mathematician Lloyd Douglas (1951 - ) who served as a mathematician for the U.S. Army Communication and Electronics Command, uniquely displays his Brooklyn pride, “I remember school a lot, those were probably my most vivid memories, going to elementary school and junior high school and high school and sort of a Brooklyn thing where you just thought you'd never leave Brooklyn because you were just--everything you did was Brooklyn. It was sort of like a big deal to even go to Manhattan once in a while. So I played a lot outside when we were allowed to. People in the neighborhood doing various things.“ [9]
“some of the sounds that I remember are the sounds of the Mr. Softy ice cream truck. It’s summertime, you know. The Good Humor truck, Bongo Bars, those were sort of the three main ice cream trucks. You know, Mr. Softy, Good Humor and Bongo Bar. So, you just sort of either hear the jingle of this ice cream truck, or the bells that they would ring.”
“sort of a Brooklyn thing where you just thought you’d never leave Brooklyn because you were just—everything you did was Brooklyn.”
Photo Courtesy of: Andre D. Wagner
E. T. Williams (1937 - ) who was the former head of the Fordham Hill Project, the largest eviction co-op conversion in the history of New York City, and was an avid collector of African American art also points us to the undertones of gentrification while maintaining neighborhood essence and community: “I always liked coming out of the subway at Fulton [Street] and, and Stuyvesant Avenue. If you coming out of the subway there, there's a park called Fulton Park [Brooklyn, New York]. And as you right on the other side of the park are these gorgeous brownstone and limestone houses which is the area I grew up in when you come out of the subway… it's a great very peaceful kind of sense and feeling. And the housing there today is as nice as it ever was it's now called Stuyvesant Heights [Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York] because they're all historic houses. And properties are selling well in excess of $1 million… but that was always a great comfort coming, coming and seeing, you know, being back home in your own, in your own neighborhood and a very nice neighborhood at that…. many people just stayed several generations I mean instead of moving to, to St. Albans, Queens [New York], which some of the people did do moving further out to Flatbush [Brooklyn, New York] or something like that.” [10]
Photo courtesy of CitySignal
In closing, a beautiful quote from Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts III (1949 - 2022) who was pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City: “Sights, the East River and the gorgeous view we had from our apartment in the projects, the Domino Sugar plant and… the boats going up and down the river at night, the view of the 59th Street bridge, the Queensboro Bridge; sights growing up, driving down the BQE, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and looking out of the window of the car and seeing Manhattan Island, a wonderful view as you approach the Midtown Tunnel of--probably one of the most gorgeous sights on earth in the evening“ [11].
Ambassador update: As we near the end of my ambassadorship, my focus now shifts to the future weeks and what I want to do in my closing last weeks on campus. I think that I want to center meeting with more student groups such as the Wellesley Asian Alliance that has such a rich history of archiving within their own organization. Additionally, meeting with other student groups such as the Neuroscience Club will help me diversify my reach thus far. We have spring break the week after this upcoming one and then I will have my last few weeks of the ambassadorship. We have 2 official submissions for the Black History Month Digital Archive Contest and I will be corresponding with my judges this weekend to send out thee 2 submissions and thee rubric to them.
[1] Ernie Suggs (The HistoryMakers A2014.073), interviewed by Larry Crowe, February 18, 2014, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 5, Ernie Suggs describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York
[2] Ray Chew (The HistoryMakers A2013.194), interviewed by Julieanna Richardson, July 12, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 13, Ray Chew describes the sights of his childhood
[3] The Honorable Richard W. Roberts (The HistoryMakers A2007.275), interviewed by Larry Crowe, September 28, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 1, The Honorable Richard W. Roberts describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood, pt. 1
[4] Toni Fay (The HistoryMakers A2012.162), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 1, 2012, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 10, Toni Fay describes the sights, sounds, and smells of her childhood in Harlem, New York
[5] Kenneth Standard (The HistoryMakers A2014.003), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, January 14, 2014, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 16, Kenneth Standard describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York
[6] Robert B. Hill (The HistoryMakers A2004.140), interviewed by Racine Tucker Hamilton, August 24, 2004, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 2, Robert B. Hill describes the sights, sounds and smells of growing up in Brooklyn, New York, New York
[7] Scott Edwards (The HistoryMakers A2012.171), interviewed by Larry Crowe, October 12, 2012, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 4, Scott Edwards describes the sights and sounds and smells of growing up
[8] Peter Delfyett (The HistoryMakers A2013.126), interviewed by Larry Crowe, June 4, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 2, Peter Delfyett describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood
[9] Lloyd Douglas (The HistoryMakers A2013.143), interviewed by Larry Crowe, June 19, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 11, Lloyd Douglas describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood
[10] E. T. Williams (The HistoryMakers A2006.167), interviewed by Shawn Wilson, December 13, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 4, E.T. Williams describes the sights and smells of his childhood
[11] Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts (The HistoryMakers A2005.036), interviewed by Racine Tucker Hamilton, February 1, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 1, Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts describes the sights, sounds, and smells of his childhood in New York City
