Everything looks better at this time. The exposed brick of New York City’s tenement buildings perfectly complement the gleam of early afternoon sunlight. The skeletal frames of the buildings protect the hardworking vital organs of the city – people, New Yorkers. Working class, middle class, upper class, no class and so on.

Visiting a friend yesterday, I ventured uptown from union square to an area where the borders of the west side of Harlem and Washington Heights flirt, losing themselves within each other. Getting off the 1 train on Broadway, I then began walking north. In its finest hours Broadway is one of the most seductive smelling strips in the city. It smells like arroz con everythinggoodyoucaneverthinkof.

Mixed well into the waves of smell are the seasonings of memories; I am reminded of the two years I spent on Broadway, at Roberto Clemente Intermediate School 195. Junior High. That was a little time before the blizzard hit this neighborhood. The snowflakes of gentrification flurry around as I go on my way, my mind shifting gears into the present.

It is very cold outside, blistering.

-Janine
1/5/10