volante: usa

Five days in Manhattan

Douglas Rimington spends five days in New York, finding his preconceptions shattered
photographed by the author

Expanded from issue 21 of Lucire

I LANDED AT JFK after 1 A.M., realizing as I stood in an empty airport that unlike what American sitcoms had informed me, not all New Yorkers are creatures of the night. Their species do actually require sleep like the rest of us in New Zealand.

After being hustled by a taxi driver (I must be in New York—Lucire recommends getting a taxi from the official cab rank only), I made it to my accommodation, kindly provided by the boutique Hotel 41 in Times Square. Hotel 41 is suited for the busy individual who needs a place to sleep that is clean and very close to the centre of Manhattan’s brightly lit commercial district and a stone’s throw away at Bryant Park.

The staff are extremely friendly and the hotel has the added bonus of letting your pooch stay with you. I didn’t require this particular service but it’s nice to know that the Paris Hiltons of the world are provided for here. The hotel is right near the subway and close to Broadway theatres, restaurants and entertainment centres. Due to its location it is also one of the best places to stay for those attending the infamous New York Fashion Week.

My first pleasant discovery in NYC, after suffering the intense customs of LAX, was to find the people a very welcoming and friendly bunch, with as many of them asking me for directions, as I did of them! Surprisingly, though, New York is very easy to navigate and once you’ve discovered the subway, perfectly situated by my hotel, any distance can be travelled for only US$2. As long as one does not leave the station I found I could travel from one end of Manhattan Island to the other and beyond; costing only US$7 to get back to the airport using the trains!

While in NYC, I really wanted to get a glimpse of what the commercial photography scene was like compared to New Zealand. Thanks to a friend, I was able to sit in and watch a shoot with a female rap star for a hip-hop clothing label. Once it had finished I chipped in, the old Kiwi way, and helped pack away the gear. It felt very similar to the way I conduct my own shoots, just on a much bigger scale using high-end digital cameras, powerful computers and involving far more people.

After this I was dropped off in the south east of Manhattan, an area called Soho (south of Houston). The area is typically known as the hangout for all kinds of rich, arty folk—though it was not always this way. The city is full of seemingly abandoned warehouses, cast iron and cobblestoned streets, a trendy disguise for million-dollar apartments and one-of-akind shops and restaurants. Full of bars and a different kind of nightlife to central Manhattan, I wandered the area, never once feeling like I was going to get mugged, as everyone at home had warned me. New York is filled with stereotypes.

The next day, I embarked on a bit of a tiki tour, starting with the Circle Line Ferry which takes you around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. A little queue contrasted with aggressive security awaited those taking this wee ride—in stark contrast to how Lucire found it in August 2001—but it was a small sacrifice to pay in order to get out of the city and to view the lower Manhattan Cityscape from sea level. After viewing the statue and taking a walk around Ellis Island I arrived back at Battery Park where the ferry originally departs, in which a mighty queue had grown for the next sailings (glad that wasn’t me!).

From this point, it was an easy stroll through to Wall Street into the realm of the big city brokers with their even bigger buildings. The street is narrower than how television has portayed it. Amongst the architectural chaos, I found the Trinity Church, with its steeple struggling to find height against the mighty skyscrapers. It was quite interesting to see how many intricate old churches of various denominations were tucked away in this city, fighting to be seen under the skyline.

A great place in which to view the whole city is not the Empire State Building, as some may think, but the Rockefeller Center. It costs US$20 to get to the top. However, don’t let that thwart you, because once you’re there, you’ll find it half as busy with great views over Central Park and the Empire State Building itself. Sticking around for sunset is well worth it.

Back down at street level, I was shown around Soho by Jason Tuchman of Pistol Studios. In the daylight hours the industrial architecture of Soho really stands apart from the skyline of the central city and Wall Street, which can be seen in the photos. I felt this area had great personality and was definitely a little slower in pace compared to the central city. Here you could actually enjoy a coffee and sit in the sun without being bothered by the plethora of people rushing about and the dust and pollution that is synonymous with a big city.

Along with being home to high-end fashion stores such as Prada and Gucci, the streets are also filled with many art galleries. Artists sell their wares on the streets for top dollar, and there is some serious talent here! The street artists captured the eye of people like myself while I ventured in and out of gallery after gallery, walking throughout the area.

After paying a visit to Ground Zero, I finally understood the overzealous security at the airports and major tourist attractions. I may not be an American but I felt chills when I saw the gaping hole left by the Twin Towers, now extremely busy with the construction of the new Freedom Tower well underway. People from around the world continued to visit the site, and I would return there on the anniversary of 9-11 and be reminded of the poignant events that took place there in 2001. It brought the events home—especially for those of us who had only seen them on television. The experience was emotional.

Finishing up my five days in Manhattan, I wandered around Times Square, grabbing some night shots and spying the many other keen photographers doing similar to me. One of the most pivotal things I noticed was that most of the tourists were Americans from other states, as opposed to people visiting from other countries. Could this suggest a drop in tourism because of the United States’ homeland security, or has it always been this way?

After chatting to a few locals, I’ve come to the conclusion that we owe a huge thanks to Peter Jackson, as everyone now knows the little country called New Zealand! It was Mr Jackson’s films alone that put us on the map; prior to that, New Zealand’s image was nearly non-existent. And that means travelling here as a Kiwi is now easier than ever, with people more than ready to reciprocate our down-home goodness. •

Emma Tate contributed to this story. Visit Douglas Rimington’s site at www.detunephotography.com. Visit Hotel 41 at www.hotel41.com.