riverside / 12th / west ave

8.68 miles

for my first walk, i wanted to travel down an avenue so that i could see lady liberty. perhaps i shall begin with the poem engraved on her pedestal:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus

it was a gorgeous albeit sweaty walk with views of the parks, piers, and the hudson. this is certainly one of the more walked (run, biked) streets of the city. here are some of the sights:

a mother on a bench nursing a newborn baby; a very tanned, shirtless, middle-aged man; a man wearing no pants; a stylish woman taking her own photo with an iphone tripod; a stereotypical hipster bro complete with film camera and cuffed pants; scaffolding; air conditioning drips; an older couple, powerwalking, but six feet apart (?); a father and his pig-tail sporting daughter; multiple horse statues; small dogs, big dogs, red dogs, blue dogs; a sweetgreen delivery biker; three tweenage boys carrying tennis rackets and walking like they owned the world; an eleanor roosevelt monument; bright yellow crocs; one world trade center looming in view for many tiring steps; and of course, lady liberty herself.

unable to decide between buildings and park/river, i zigzagged between the east and west sides of the streets, also depending on where the most shade was at that time of day. some geography: riverside drive ends at 72nd, where a little to the west, riverside blvd begins, but shortly ends at 59th to become 12th avenue. here we start seeing the piers, and things are generally more industrial and less pleasing to the eye (two buses honked at me, i believe, thinking i was lost). 12th avenue merges into 11th avenue at 22nd, and somewhere around here a lush bike path emerges (this entire route is a picturesque and convenient bike ride as well).

right before 12th becomes 11th, there is a lovely little triangular park called Chelsea Waterside Park, where i saw bikini-wearing sunbathers, picnics, and a backflip. there were less masks seen as i made my way south, though perhaps that is because there were more runners, bikers, and small gatherings. it was a sunny day; people were definitely out.

seeing so many people made it understandable how covid spread in this city (and any city) so quickly, but one can also see how a city might recover more quickly. with more people and more signs, there is more pressure to wear a mask, to social distance, etc etc, and there are some aspects of a city that make for greater amounts of solidarity than in a suburb.

of course, in a city, there is also a more visible stratification of wealth. one sees a homeless man lying on a bench only feet away from a gaggle of toddlers and teachers wearing masks and bright pink life vests. i imagine in-person education is running even more expensive then usual these days. i see the day laborers and construction workers and doormen and couriers— these are physically demanding jobs, and it feels luxurious that as a student, i can simply walk.

but walking is not the same for each person. as a young, short, asian woman, i am aware of my surroundings constantly. it may have been 2pm, but there was a moment where i made sure my purse was zipped, though more so i felt the simple stares of men, perhaps unkind but perhaps simply curious why i was walking alone. i wonder what it is like to walk as a woman who is curvier, of a darker skin tone, black, white, with a boyfriend, showing more skin. i wonder what it is like to walk around as a black man. as a white man. to walk and to not think twice is a luxury as well.