New York finds itself in a unsettled situation at the moment. It’s still recovering from the terrorist attacks, still wobbling out of its recession and the Republican mayor (an anomaly in this typically Democrat city) is still trying to figure out where he’s heading. However, this self-styled world capital always seems to be able to pull itself out of any slump or hardship thanks to a single-minded belief that it really can do anything it sets its mind to. A city always on the go, New York doesn’t have much time for mood swings. The defining moment of 2001 was followed by a series of downturns: a decline in tourism (which has recently reversed itself), a plunge in the stock market, rampant corporate scandal, which unfolded like a soap opera, and layoffs in nearly every sector. The cost of everything in the city, from parking tickets and subway fares to cinema seats and a decent lunch all seemed to rise in response to the looming financial crisis. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had a tough act to follow in the form of outgoing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, whose hard-nosed, imperious management style was quickly forgiven in the aftermath of September 11th. Rudy, as New Yorkers fondly called him, handled the city’s worst disaster with confidence, gaining respect even from diehard Democrats, who had held his ‘zero tolerance’ policies in the 1990s responsible for the perceived demise of New York’s quirky character. Bloomberg has spent most of his tenure cutting back on everything possible – including rubbish collection, recycling, library hours and even fire houses – in order to get New York’s finances back on an even keel. And the city seems to be responding, albeit slowly. Wall Street has started to rally, jobless rates continue to fall and the weak dollar has lured overseas visitors back to the city. What’s more, although party-going folks complain that the Republican duo have stripped the city of its naturally maverick ways, New Yorkers are living it up in style in all corners of the city. Even Bloomberg’s 2003 ban on smoking inside all bars, clubs and restaurants has failed to stub out New York’s rebellious party spirit. Many social commentators are comparing today’s city to the New York of the 1970s, citing the similar fiscal situation and the reawakening of New York’s identity as a city of artists, dreamers, immigrants and bohemians. Although the free-wheeling 1970s disco days of Studio 54 are long gone, New York is certainly revelling in a rowdier manner as its inhabitants begin to buck against the gentrifying trends of the 1990s. Big nightclubs are reopening, the no-dancing cabaret laws, enforced in many bars since Prohibition days, are being fought aggressively and even a handful of smoking bars are clinging to existence. New York remains one of the most progressive places on earth and its inhabitants seem to gain enormous reassurance from the city’s ability constantly to reinvent itself. Despite the recession, there’s enough construction in progress to keep New York’s makeover obsession alive and well. The futuristic towers of the Time Warner Building are transforming Columbus Circle; the Museum of Modern Art is undergoing a massive facelift that will double its size; the New Museum of Contemporary Art is moving to a much larger home on the Bowery; the formerly seedy and rundown Garment District has numerous new luxury high-rises and even the Lower East Side, known for its former sweat shops and tenements, has gained a sparkling glass designer hotel. Something new is always rising up on the New York skyline that is sure to draw both praise and ridicule. As witnessed in the feuding between architects of the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center, New Yorkers are passionate about their buildings. All this construction work is nothing new, of course. Urban architects have always had a heyday in New York. The city is scarcely 300 years old, a blink of an eye compared to its European peers and it seems almost inconceivable that so much has been built here in such a short time. What’s more, the night-time vision of Manhattan’s skyscrapers shimmering across the East River elicits a tingly feeling in even the most hard-bitten traveller, conjuring a dreamy starlit city where anything is possible. For many hard-working New Yorkers, however, the city’s crammed living spaces, humid summers, clamorous noise, hordes of people and high cost of living are more stress-enducing than inspiring. And yet, New Yorkers have learned to adapt to their ever-evolving city with munificent patience and always with zeal. The blackout of 14 August 2003 was the biggest power outage in the country’s history and a frightening reminder of what life would be like without modern conveniences. But just as in the termath of September 11th, New Yorkers pitched in to get the city back on its feet. Neighbours served food to people on the street, city dwellers offered sofas to commuters stuck in town. The communal feeling throughout the darkened city belied New York’s fast-paced, self-absorbed, cold-hearted reputation. Despite life’s uncertainties, New York still charms with its outrageousness, baffles with its impulsiveness and teases with its romantic lights and flirtatious structures. No other city is so easy to navigate and yet so maddeningly complex, so sociable and yet so boorish at the same time. It’s understandable why New Yorkers take pride in calling their city the capital of the world.
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New-York - £7.99
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