A Rainy Dusk in Wall Street by Mathilde Poncet & Sumesh Shiwakoty

NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, October 24, 2017, 4 pm
By Mathilde Poncet and Sumesh Shiwakoty

In Manhattan’s Financial District, at the crossing between Wall Street and Broad Street, the market is about to close. Nothing seems to prevent business people in a hurry from catching their train or going to a meeting. Zig-zagging between tourists, people in suits seem to be used to all this animation and do not pay any attention to dozens of people taking selfies and pictures nearby. At the front door of the New York Stock Exchange, people are getting out, one by one or in little groups, armed with umbrellas and suitcases, fleeing toward the subway.

The Big Red One - as he likes being called – is a private security contractor. He did not want to say his name to stay into his character’s skin. Very tall, dressed in a red coat, a hat and sunglasses on, even if it rains, people can’t miss him. He is used to this mix between tourists hanging out and people in a rush. He talks about it with a certain lassitude.

 “Usually people are asking me about the bull. Where is the bull? Where is the bull? I said to them, it is bullshit”, says Big Red One, laughing. He actually refers to the Wall Street statue made by Arturo Di Modica, not far from the Stock Exchange, which has become over time a touristic attraction and a symbol of the neighborhood.

            When business people are not running to catch their trains, they are busy talking on their phones. Except for Tim, who is in the website business. Tim, who chose not to give his last name, does not work in the Financial District and had to go to a meeting in this area. He is sightseeing before catching his train. According to him, “there is too much power and wealth for one single place”.

The majority of people who are seen in the Wall Street can be categorized into two types. First are those with selfie-stick and second with suits. 

Most of the selfie-stick people do not really understand the inside details of the stock market, but they are there because they either watched a movie about Wall Street, heard about Wall Street in political debates or they just want a selfie with the ‘Charging Bull'. The people wearing a suit, on the other hand, are the ones with busiest schedules. The hardest thing in the Wall Street is to find someone in suits who will speak with you. Every single of them would have either meeting, interview or conference call to catch. After requesting around twenty people in suits, Jack Halsey, a corporate attorney by profession agreed for an interview, a walk-and-talk interview. According to Jack, there is not much money left in the Wall Street these days in comparison to the Park Avenue.

“All the new banks and big financial firms are based in the Park Avenue, and that’s where all the money sits,” he said. “Wall Street is just a thing to say”.

            In front of the statue of George Washington that sits next to New York Stock Exchange, Ahmad Ali, an immigrant from Egypt was selling ‘halal food’ in his food cart. “What kind of people usually come to eat here?” With a smile on his face, Ali replied, “All sort of people, from tourists to bankers”. Pointing to tall buildings nearby, he added, “I have few regular customers who work in these buildings.” When asked if his customers wear suits, he answered laughingly, “money can buy you food but not taste”.