The Only Place Where New York Is Still New York

There is a quiet, residual space tucked under some of the city's infrastructure that I visit from time to time. It is a forgotten place, sometimes inhabited by a few of the city's dispossessed and occasionally transited by a curiosity seeker. The gradually deteriorating infrastructure above forms an interesting architectural space. Social commentary has been tagged onto the base of its structures.

Social commentary was written on this space over a decade ago:
THIS MIGHT BE THE ONLY PLACE WHERE NEW YORK IS STILL NEW YORK

The same graffiti is still there today, with little change in the space over the years

ONE DAY IT WILL ALL FALL INTO THE RIVER

Nets have been added to the structures above to catch pieces crumbling off

The water leaking through deposits sediment it has eroded when it drips on the ground below

In recent years, there has been some additional street art added to this space. The large open spaces still remaining suggest that even among artists this is still a little known, out-of-the-way location.

YOU BORE HEADS LIKE COLD CUTS!
(Reference to Boar's Head)

More than a decade ago, when the statement was written that this might be the only place where New York is still New York, the city's artistic enclaves had already been largely priced out. SoHo and the East Village had become too expensive, and DUMBO was well on its way to pricing out any struggling artists. Many of the venues for street artists had also been closed off through a combination of aggressive enforcement, enhanced cleaning technologies, and the redevelopment of marginal areas that had been permissive with the artists.

New York is increasingly tough for artists. From the recent destruction of 5 Pointz in Long Island City to the continuing escalation of housing prices throughout the five boroughs that make it hard to get by on limited and uncertain incomes, the social space that once filled New York's thriving art scenes is at risk of collapse, much like our aging infrastructure. Meanwhile, this space remains untouched, as a reminder of all those other places. Until the structures above finally crumble. Or it all falls into the river. Or it's discovered by some affluent entrepreneurs who clear it out, fence it off, and turn it into some expensive outdoor restaurant with valet parking.