That’s the price the Dutch paid for Manhattan back in 1626. A hell of a bargain by today’s standards! Our party of four rode the commuter from Trenton, New Jersey, arriving at Penn Station about 8:30 AM, making very little impact on the 1.6 million people who already populate Manhattan. Passengers arriving at the station were in a big hurry, like bees leaving the hive going out to gather nectar. It was organized chaos in its finest form. The city was in a hurry up offense (football metaphor) and remained that way throughout the day.
Yellow cabs, like giant beetles, crowded the already narrow streets. A cacophony of horns provided a background of blare that would rival the worst elevator music that Muzak ever created. Pedestrians cross walked, jaywalked, and fast walked into and around the constant crawl of traffic, while consuming their morning breakfast of coffee and a Danish. Armani suits and DKNY ensembles mingled with jeans and cutoffs; cutting edge fashion coexisted with the common folk, as Manhattan greeted the new day. We’re in the heart of Manhattan, standing on the sidewalk at the Winter Garden Theatre (Mama Mia is playing) waiting to start our tour of this amazing city.
Our van leaves the curb and is absorbed into the yellow beetle traffic pattern that is the gridlock that plagues Manhattan. As we inch our way through the narrow streets, I contemplate “how do people live in this city?” We pass old brick tenement housing (formerly known as Hell’s Kitchen) where I’m told, a third-floor walk-up, one bedroom, without AC, rents for $2,200 a month plus utilities. That would translate to a salary of $100,000 a year to afford and maintain a one bedroom apartment! No one in their right mind owns a car in Manhattan, so what are the cumulative costs of subways, cabs, and buses? Do a lot of Manhattanites have too much month left at the end of their money?
Let’s move further down the economic scale, past the 100 K people, into the world of the minimum wage; that necessary tangent of people that dispenses the fast food, washes the dishes, and performs dozens of mundane tasks that keep the city running. These men and women probably board a bus at 4 AM, make two or three transfers, before arriving at their Mcjob in downtown Manhattan, work their shift, and reverse their bus trip for the long ride home to the burbs. It’s a very long day to toil for a whopping 7.25 an hour!
We end our day at the Carnegie deli, consuming a huge hot pastrami on rye that requires two people, working in concert, to finish. Next, the return to the labyrinth that is Penn Station, to catch our commuter train back to Trenton, New Jersey. We have experienced the great city of Manhattan! Like it’s counterparts in Europe, Manhattan stands alone. Rome has the Coliseum and Vatican City; London has Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Manhattan has Yankee Stadium, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, plus the Empire State building and the Waldorf Astoria! It’s a city that is alive with energy and purpose, and the tragedy of 9/11 will never dim that essence!
