Hi, I’m Audrey!

I’m from Ossining, which is 35-45 mins North of the city by train. My parents moved out of Park Slope the day I was born, so, when I was four or five, my older sister used to end arguments by just dropping that fact and walking away (she was a year older than me and doesn’t remember living in Brooklyn). Because I’m from the suburbs, I never really got to explore the city until now, unless I was coming down with friends to go out or seeing a show. 

This semester, I’m excited to focus on the people of New York, and how they create the city around them. Neighborhoods I haven’t really visited, like Bushwick, Inwood, or Jackson Heights, have drawn my attention, largely through social media, word of mouth, or the NYT, but a lot of the trips I’ve planned are collecting dust in my favorites folder, or lost in group chat conversations. This semester, I hope to change that in class, by taking trips around the city and exploring the different social and cultural spaces that exist, but also outside of class, by making a greater effort to see the places that I’ve learned about. I’m also working on a New Year’s resolution of taking different routes back to the dorms, in order to walk through and experience the various intricacies of different parts. 

I’m attaching a picture of the East River Midtown section of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway where I run, because I love listening to the different sounds and bits of conversation as I go. It’s an interesting route, spanning the length of Manhattan with entrances every ~4 blocks or so, and because of that, there are people from all different neighborhoods and backgrounds along the path.