The few people who ventured out after hurricane
Sandy’s passage felt that walking in the empty streets was like being in a
horror movie. Ghosts among the ruins replaced the usual crowds. People had
disappeared and all sense of belonging gone. The very soul of the city had been
hurt...
When visiting New York City, one always goes to
Times Square or to a show on Broadway, otherwise the visit would seem
incomplete. These places are crowded party places, part of a modern, joyful,
entertaining New York, a city full of life. That’s how New Yorkers want their
city to appear to the rest of the world. New York wants to live up to its reputation of "the city that never sleeps". New Yorkers follow the tradition, after a
long day at work, of living it up at night, that’s what you do in a great metropolis!
Crowds are important in New York: New Year’s Eve in Time Square, the annual
marathon, and the numerous parades (St Patrick’s, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day,
Halloween, Gay Pride, etc.).
Why is there such infatuation for large-scale
crowded events in a city of eight million inhabitants? Maybe it’s the only way of
keeping this huge and diverse population united. Indeed, this cosmopolitan city
has been and still is open to immigration, welcoming Europeans, Latinos, and,
more and more, Asians, all attracted by the American Dream. Different communities
live in different parts of the City: Chinatown, Harlem, Little Italy, and so
on. There is a need, surely, for places common to all these communities, where citizens
can celebrate belonging to the one city. The City authorities know that these
events help keep the city united and the people content. This feeling of a
common identity must prevail, and all the big events are organized to this end.
