Why are NYers so sensitive about what visitors call their transport system?
Jul 6th, 2011, 03:08 PM
#61
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P.S. Here's a very funny Jon Stewart video (IMHO), demonstrating several ways in which a New Yorker might use the phrase "no disrespect." Note especially the one at 6:27. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/we...th-crazy-broad
Note:
1. If you're a big fan of Donald Trump, you may not enjoy this so much.
2. The video is NSFW for some bleeped out swearing, and the famous Anthony Weiner crotch shot, which appears for a split second at the beginning.
3. There are some good New York pizza recommendations in here.
Note:
1. If you're a big fan of Donald Trump, you may not enjoy this so much.
2. The video is NSFW for some bleeped out swearing, and the famous Anthony Weiner crotch shot, which appears for a split second at the beginning.
3. There are some good New York pizza recommendations in here.
Jul 11th, 2011, 10:51 AM
#63
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New Yorkers in recent times (say since the 3rd Avenue El moved to Pearl Harbor), refer to the train system as the subway, even for those trains that aren't "sub". It's just what the trains are called. (Those who grew up before the war - and I mean the 1940s - called the elevated trains "the el", but it's all "the subway" now, although just taking "the train" is also said.)
No reason to correct anyone, though - we know what "the metro" means, especially if said with a British or French accent.
No reason to correct anyone, though - we know what "the metro" means, especially if said with a British or French accent.
Jul 11th, 2011, 11:29 AM
#64
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The history of the subway is much more complicated than that. The first underground tube was in Brooklyn. Manhattan had El's on 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 9th Avenues finished some time in the last quarter of the 19th cent. After the Great Blizzard of 1888, they started buiding the lines underground. The first extensive line, opened in 1904, is part of what is now called the Lexington Ave Line. Some of that excavation was used to build City College at 138th and Convent Avenue.
Jul 11th, 2011, 11:47 AM
#65
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Most of Manhattan is granite. There is landfill on the west side below Houston St. Granite is an excellent foudnation for skyscrapers but it also the reason why there is so little undeground parking except under buildings. Because of its hardness it is difficult and expensive to excavate.
Jul 12th, 2011, 08:52 AM
#69
This same bedrock of which Adu writes dips several hundred feet in Greenwich Village, and doesn't rise again for many blocks, which is why there are no skyscrapers (which need bedrock foundations) between midtown and downtown/financial area.
Aug 9th, 2011, 09:58 AM
#72
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If you had ever been to Central Park you would have noticed the granite. There are giant boulders sticking up all ove the park. And yes, that's why NYC can have so many huge skyscrapers. And why it's hilly. (Many people that visit only midtown think NYC is flat - in fact, much of the city is very hilly - and rocky.)
Aug 9th, 2011, 10:05 AM
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I've seen the rocks in C.P. sticking up; didn't have any idea at all of how far they stuck down or what kind of rocks they were!
nytraveler: You're so right about the city's topography. I was walking to Gold Street last week and came across a narrowish tree lined street in Chelsea (I think) that was quite steep. In fact, my Czech friend said it reminded her of a hilly street in Prague she often visited. I see something new everytime I visit NYC.
nytraveler: You're so right about the city's topography. I was walking to Gold Street last week and came across a narrowish tree lined street in Chelsea (I think) that was quite steep. In fact, my Czech friend said it reminded her of a hilly street in Prague she often visited. I see something new everytime I visit NYC.
