An Evening at Grand Central

By Adrienn Keszei

NEW YORK, NOV 17 — People glide relentlessly through the doors of Grand Central Station during the 5 pm rush hour. ”Excuse me” rings all around as harried New Yorkers try to pass quickly  through the terminal and keep out of each other’s way. A lady in the main concourse eyes the departure board anxiously for her delayed train’s gate assignment,  wishing good luck to the reporter but declining to answer her questions. A couple in the Transit Museum store is casually browsing the toys selection as their little son, standing on his toes, is gazing at small trains travel through the model railroad. In front of the Apple store on top of the stairs stand tourists, frantically trying to snap an Instagram-worthy selfie with the astronomical ceiling or the crowd below. From the underpass, paramedics are bringing up an intoxicated, injured lady, warning her to take better care of herself.

 Grand Central is a place where the rich and poor cross paths, a meeting place for the American and the immigrant, the New Yorker and the commuter, the homeward bound and the homeless. To some people it is the station where they beg for money, others change trains for subways here, and for others the trains are irrelevant. Rather, the terminal is the location of Joe’s where they can buy one of New York City’s best cups of coffee. When Gilanie Marion, who collects donations for the Salvation Army, wants a sweet snack, she always stops by Grand Central to get a huge cupcake at Crumbs. But this place also has a more symbolic meaning for her — a rite of passage.

“The only big event was when I was sixteen and I was finally allowed to come to Grand Central by myself to get on the train. I saw that huge clock and I thought, oh my god! Before I got sixteen, my mom was overprotective, in those years there were a lot of rapists and stuff like that. It is safer now...but you still got to watch out.”

There are indeed a lot of security guards, standing almost completely still at all exists of the station. If one also stops for a few minutes to observe the rhythm of Grand Central, the periodical changes of people entering from all sides become hypnotic. As trains arrive, people run through the halls, some listening to music, others still on the phone trying to arrange a meeting or catch their train. Soon the crowd transforms into a softer pattern of people walking slowly towards their destination. Sometimes there are a few precious seconds when things almost seem still for a moment, and then it all starts again, new trains and buses arrive, with new people coursing through the station like veins through a heart.

Diane Ganoga, who used to be a community development worker, highlights the importance of the terminal as a gathering place. 

“I was always about creating perfect places and spaces for communities, so when I see the influx of people and sort of everyone participating in this experience, it is so great, I love it!”

Rick Miner, who moved here in 1974, talks poetically about Grand Central while he is passing time between meetings. 

“This is such a different place than it was 20 years ago. It was horrible, it was dirty, it was very user-unfriendly. They took down a lot of the gross advertising that covered the whole place, and exposed the architectural bones of the facility. They made improvements. It’s a whole different environment, and it’s wonderful to see people using it. It is part of New York rising.”

 

One of the most memorable things for him was when he saw a man walking through here naked, completely drunk.

“It is not an everyday occurrence. But you also see the excitement and the romance of the city. You see couples meeting, people coming in from out of town, and you see frustration when trains are late. Everybody’s running, some people are excited to be going somewhere, others are frustrated, it’s sort of a microcosm of the city, but a nice microcosm.”

Grand Central means something different to everyone, but one way or another, it is part of the excitement of this metropolis. Contrary to first impressions, there is no chaos here - all those people coursing through the terminal’s many tunnels, like veins through the human heart, are tiny components of a well-oiled machine. Grand Central Station, like the clock in its lobby, is pulsating and changing every moment, but it is also a consistent and constant part of New York.

 

Bryant Park on a chilly November night and what it means to New York City

By J.F. Mezo

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 – As winter draws closer and the days get shorter, by 5 PM every day, Bryant Park transforms into an unlikely winter wonderland with little kiosks blinking welcomingly at passers-by, and an ice rink situated at the centre of the maze of narrow paths that zigzag their way through the park. It doesn’t take long to succumb to the spell of the place – just upon entering the park after passing by the renowned New York Public Library, visitors find themselves walking through a dimly lit terrace littered with cast iron chairs and circular tables. Far from the café-like atmosphere the terrace has during the day, it is now mostly empty with the occasional occupant checking their phone time and time again, quite certainly waiting for a friend or perhaps an associate to join them.

‘It’s a good meeting spot for business people’ says David Stein, while slipping his cell phone into the side pocket of his chic trench coat. ‘It’s really convenient – all sorts of people come here’ he adds, now seemingly lost in thought, just before he turns around on one of those cast iron chairs to point towards a further corner of the park, that is engulfed by darkness. ‘Little kids play bocce over there during the summer; you know, the Italian game when you have to throw plastic balls into a circle – it’s kind of like curling.’

But the park’s popularity amongst kids doesn’t decrease during the autumn months, either. Just a couple of minutes of walking away from the terrace, there is carousel sitting at the intersection of two pathways, going round and round in a mesmerising mixture of mellow lights and accordion melodies. Most visitors seem to stop in their tracks for a while, joining the small crowd seated around the area, getting lost in the fantasy. Amongst them are Israeli-born Noa and her young son who is visibly fascinated by the colourful display.

‘We have been coming here for the past two years. Every evening, he just wants to watch the carousel go round and round – he doesn’t want to go up, though. Just watch.’

But Noa’s son is not the only one captivated by what Bryant Park has to offer. As one wanders closer and closer to the rink, there is a growing number of vendors offering everything from Christmas decorations to fancy jewellery in the shape of a snowflake. People – tourists and New Yorkers alike – are drawn in by the sparkles and the cheery Christmas tunes in the background, doing a fair bit of window-shopping in the process. As one nears the rink, the booths get sparklier and the music gets louder, until they reach a circle of food kiosks surrounding a fountain that is situated right before the ice rink.

The crowd thickens considerably by that point. Aside from passers-by, many are enjoying their hot beverages by the fountain, while others skate to the holiday songs of Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan. This is the true heart of Bryant Park, with families, couples and individuals chatting and snapping pictures wherever you turn. Amongst them is Paul Sanchez, who quickly declares the park the ‘heart of the city’, while also pointing out how safe the Bryant Park is. ‘The true significance of the place lies in that you can just come here and enjoy yourself. It’s extremely safe’ he says with a smile, while pointing towards the Empire State Building which looks nothing short of a gothic castle with purple lights climbing up its walls and the Moon in the background. ‘It’s also very well connected. You can go anywhere – visit the Empire State Building or the Library.’

And with New York’s very own Grand Central Station just five minutes away to offer convenient connections to locals and visitors alike, Mr. Sanchez might just be right. However, this Tuesday night at Bryant Park is not in the least about the rush. It’s about the magic of gingerbread houses selling sparkly holiday must-haves by dimly lit pathways, young adults buying steaming hot chocolate from the kiosks by the fountain, and families skating together on the ice rink. While life in the city keeps rushing by, Bryant Park is truly a place to forget about the hurry, relax, and soak in the holiday spirit.

Healing the Christian-Pagan divide

By J.F. Mezo

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 – It’s just before 11 a.m. and the annual NY Pagan Pride Harvest Festival has kicked off with an opening circle to celebrate the Autumn Equinox in Washington Square Park. The din of shamanic drums and the rows of vendors offering from jewellery and cauldrons to herbs and incense are a marked contrast to the event that dominated the week here – the visit of Pope Francis, who  just two days ago the Pope held a public mass just 25 blocks north in Madison Square Garden.

The opening ritual of the Pagan Pride Day is a world away from the Church. The first key speaker, Jeff Mach, asks for the crowd’s attention, drawing their eyes to the main stage and the historic Judson Memorial Church behind it. For Pagans, a lot rides on the notion of peaceful coexistence, acceptance and an open-minded approach to different religious beliefs; it’s not just their public image, they explain, but the fact that many of them come from Roman Catholic families that do not take well to their personal convictions.

“People still stare,” says the Tribal Coordinator of the Queens Branch of the Spiral Scouts, who goes by her Pagan name, Gem.. “There are many misconceptions, even within our families.”

When asked about said misconceptions, Pagans have a lot to say. “My students think Wicca [a modern branch of Paganism] equals Paganism and that Pagans are flaky, out of touch, unable to deal with 21^st century life and basically half-crazy” says Chip O’Brien, a high school teacher representing Hekate’s Sacred Temple at the Pagan Pride Day. His  experiences at the Catholic high school he attended left him perplexed by the Church’s unwillingness to adapt and its anachronistic, frozen-in-time approach motivated his search for a different path. He expresses admiration that Pope Francis seems to be bridging the divide between the religious and secular worlds that only seemed to be growing during the reign of his predecessors in the Vatican. 

Some Pagans believe that it will take more than one pope to bring about an era of peaceful coexistence between the Church and the multitude of Pagan religions (Druidism, Wicca, and Ásatrú, just to mention a few). But there is one thing they all appear to agree on: Pope Francis is making a difference.

The Pope has demonstrated never-before-seen willingness to get involved in worldly matters, as he was the first Pope to address the US Congress on Sept. 24 and he has also been very vocal about matters, such as the refugee crisis, the excesses of capitalism or climate change. This, Pagans believe, might eventually help bridge the divide between them and the Catholic Church as protecting and preserving the environment has always been a top priority for many – if not all – branches of Paganism.

“Have you seen the renewable energy booth yet?” says Christabel, a volunteer at the Pagan Pride Day Info tent who gestures towards a small table covered in bright yellow brochures that read “Global Warming/Climate Change Is Here”. The sponsoring organisation, United for Action, has little to do with religion, be it Pagan or Christian, but it wouldn’t be out of place at a  Catholic event these days either – a demonstration of the effect Pope Francis' message is having on previously alienated  communities.

By bridging the divide between the Church and the State by addressing the Congress and in pushing the Church to adapt to the 21^st century when offering forgiveness for the “sin of abortion” during the upcoming Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has already opened many doors. By forcefully engaging the debate on climate change, he may unlock another; one that has been firmly locked since the rise of Catholicism.

“It is great that the Pope promotes some of the same ideas that we have” says Christabel, who comes from a Catholic background. She says she was initially hesitant to join the Pagan community but has been amazed by the openness, acceptance and diversity she encountered within the ranks of this often misunderstood circle. “But the past is still there – we have to let it go.”

And letting go has never seemed easier than now, when Pagan groups can celebrate the Autumn Equinox in public in the wake of the visit of the Pope. In this new era of opening doors, Pagans and Christians are often passionate about the same issues and family members frequently find themselves backing the same causes even though one of them prays to the Lord and the other to Bastet.

“The goal” says Jeff Mach “is to coexist in peace, do good and work together.” And seeing that this year’s Pagan Pride Day book drive collected enough money for the charity City Harvest to feed 1600 people in need, there is hope among the faithful that this is no longer a fantasy.