The City That Never Sleeps

The Christmas holidays distort reality in New York City. For a short time, the visitors revel in the holiday spirit, the street performers cater to the holiday cheer and the windows on 5th Avenue are decorated to interest the tourist with a style that is all New York…

Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm 1.8 Pro

But New York has lost its above-ground grit, having been polished, refined and sanitized by the new wealth that has accumulated in the city. There are signs of its once former self (the subway system is always a reminder), facing hardships with its chin out in a bruiser’s fighting stance. But the city has softened, becoming the playground for the global elite of millionaires and billionaires. Residents are seen trying to present themselves in the same fashion, literally, with some of the same fashions. New York (let’s face it, when being referenced, it is always without the word “city” on the end) is less of a melting pot and more of a shallow serving bowl of Beef Bourguignon. 

Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm f1.8 Pro

New Yorkers have always had the backs of other New Yorkers, but the attitudes of those whom visit their pied-á-terre dwellings in the city are rubbing off on the everyday resident. There is a certain indifference which preoccupies many here, and I believe it is born out of a certain mimicry of the wealthy coupled with a fight to maintain everyday necessities of life. This preoccupation seems a type of coping mechanism to help deal with social anxieties and financial anxieties as it ironically creates both. Sure, these concerns are the same as those of every city dweller the world over. But in New York, the grit was the physical evidence of the fight against these challenges, now less visible as it clings to the ornaments hanging from the decorated Christmas trees splashed throughout the city. This year, I felt the disingenuous display of cheer and joy and couldn’t shake it…perhaps I, like everyone else, was too busy taking photos. And while I try my best at sarcasm, there is truth to this statement.

Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm f1.8 Pro

I walked 8 blocks (starting at 50th, heading North) and into Central Park while superficially noticing grit replaced by distractions: self-absorbed chic, young love, youth, shopping, nostalgia, tourism…and of course a photo that has plagued me since taking it. 

Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm f1.8 Pro

I don’t know why I took it, perhaps after witnessing the posture, uncontrollable shaking and bobbing in front of the New York Presbyterian Church, I thought it worth contrasting it with the surrounding displays of wealth and abundance. Did I stop to find help in the Church for this individual? No. Call Health and Human Services to come aid them? No. I, like the surrounding tourists and residents, was caught up with my own concerns. There was NO REASON for me not to do something, yet I made the heartless and callous decision to move on with my walk. There is no excuse for my inaction. This post is my form of confession.

Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm f1.8 Pro

It is not fair to judge anyone in these photos. It would be more appropriate to judge me. We know NOTHING about the people in these pictures. At least, I know nothing about them. But the contrast amongst those within them does speak to me about this short walk that slightly dampened my holiday spirit and think deeply about my own shortcomings, in the city that never sleeps.

Sigma Bf, Meike 55mm f1.8 Pro