Chelsea Day
Did we want to get dropped off in Chelsea or in the Upper East Side? I had no idea. We were guaranteed to get lost anyway, so what did it matter? Chelsea it was.
Traveling on the art bus to New York City, I could hear the guys behind me discussing what museums they wanted to visit and what pieces of art they were anxious to see. Apparently, looking at a picture of a painting is a totally different experience than seeing it in person. They moved on to debate the “true” definition of art and the importance of creativity, skill, and vision in the artistic process. I was completely lost. To me, if you want to call it art, then it’s art; if you don’t, then it’s not. What’s the use in complicating it? Now, I don’t consider myself to be an artsy person at all, so I openly admit that I have little to no knowledge of the art world. My ignorance of this aspect of life had never bothered me before, but on this day, the fact that I was stuck on a bus with fifty art majors made me feel like an absolute outcast.
The neighborhood of Chelsea is located on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches from the Hudson River to Sixth Ave. In the mid-1800s, Chelsea was known for its large population of immigrants. In the eyes of New York’s elite, this neighborhood was considered low-class, undesirable, and unsafe. This was mostly due to the various ethnic tensions between immigrants, as well as a multitude of political and social issues. At that time, Chelsea was not a place for tourists, but rather an industrial zone filled with factories and warehouses.
Recently, Chelsea has become New York’s most promising real estate hotspot, as is apparent by “Million Dollar Listing.” Hoping to cater to some of the world’s wealthiest men and women, new apartment buildings are popping up all over the neighborhood. Equipped with not only the best floor plans, appliances, and furniture, many apartments offer considerable city views, making them all the more valuable. In addition, Chelsea has transformed into New York’s art capital. With over 300 galleries, Chelsea is now considered the hub for contemporary art. Chelsea is also known for its nightlife. With clubs like Marquee, Bungalow 8, and Serena at the Chelsea Hotel, celebrities have been known to spend the night partying it up in Chelsea.
Walking, walking, and more walking. That’s what we had done all day. My friend, Caity, and I had literally walked all over New York City. We started with the High Line, which used to be an elevated rail line, but had since been converted into an urban park overlooking Chelsea. The sun was shining bright and warm on my skin. A slight breeze blew, evaporating the sweat from my brow before it had a chance to really bother me. The cement sidewalk was cushioned between lush plots of green grass and colorful flowers. It was odd to be able to experience nature, while concurrently staring out at massive skyscrapers and a sea of taxicabs.
With aching feet and an annoyed attitude, all I longed to do was sit down and guzzle a bottle of Diet Pepsi. For me, city life was fun for a while, but after several hours of being pushed and bumped by strangers in Times Square, I was ready to go home to my small town. I desperately needed my personal bubble back. Caity and I headed back to Chelsea. I hoped we would find some relief there. As we entered the neighborhood, we passed a playground, and I saw an open bench. At this point, I didn’t care that we probably looked like creepers for hanging out at a playground staring at little kids. I needed a break and some time to collect my thoughts. We sat down on the bench, but after twenty minutes of not moving, my joints started to get stiff. We decided to take advantage of Caity’s iPhone and looked up some graffiti sites in Chelsea. Even though we had found some specific locations, we ended up just walking around Chelsea aimlessly. Eventually, we found our way to PS 11—The William T. Harris School. It wasn’t exactly the hardcore graffiti we were looking for, but the rainbows and fairies made for an interesting and colorful photo shoot.
Strolling through the Chelsea neighborhood, I could smell the scent of blooming lilacs. The streets were calm and peaceful. There was little traffic, and the only people on the sidewalks were moms pushing baby strollers or middle-aged men walking their dogs. The dark brick townhouses rose from the ground with large stoops jutting out in front. Cherry blossoms scattered the earth, sometimes falling into my hair. Spring was in full bloom in Chelsea.
A few days later, I was sitting on the couch flipping through television channels, I stopped on Bravo TV, just as the camera panned across a shot of the Chelsea Piers in New York City. “That’s weird. I was just there,” I thought to myself. I’m not usually a fan of reality TV, but on rare occasions, I can’t help but get sucked in. Apparently, this was one of those occasions. As I continued to watch, I learned that the show was called “Million Dollar Listing New York,” and it’s based on the lives of three New York real estate brokers. Of course, I found the “reality” of these guys’ lives to be quite amusing; it’s funny how three arrogant, high-maintenance real estate agents can talk so many people into spending millions of dollars on an apartment that would be worth half that anywhere else in the world. As I focused on the screen, I realized that many of the shots in the show were of places that I had visited just two days earlier. Ordinarily, I expect to see the Eiffel Tower or the Coliseum on TV, but those aren’t so close to home for me. For some reason, it made me excited to know that I had experienced places that had been deemed cool enough to be included in a hit reality show.
If I ever wanted to live in New York, Chelsea would be the neighborhood I would choose. Although, looking currently at my bank account, this would be next to impossible, but a girl can dream.
With the streetlights flickering on, and the scent of rain in the air, I knew my day in New York had come to an end. As I boarded the bus, I realized that wandering through Central Park or meeting SpongeBob in Times Square was not my favorite memory of my day in the city, but rather it was my time exploring the neighborhood of Chelsea and feeling at home in the midst of one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world
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