Are you relatively new to this bustling metropolis? Don't be shy about it, everyone was new to New York once upon a time, except, of course, those battle-hardened residents who've lived here their whole lives and Know It All. One of these lifers works among us at Gothamist—publisher Jake Dobkin grew up in Park Slope and still resides there. He is now fielding questions—ask him anything by sending an email here, but be advised that Dobkin is "not sure you guys will be able to handle my realness." We can keep you anonymous if you prefer; just let us know what neighborhood you live in.
This week's question comes from a transplant who thinks native New Yorkers suck at giving directions.
Dear Jake:
Over my 15 years of living in NYC, I realized that many NYC-born and bred residents, people on the street, college-educated friends, roommates, don't seem to know their cardinal directions.
Me: "I'm on the north side of a Canal Street."
Friend (a Stuyvesant High School alum & world traveller): "Huh?"
Me: In front of the Starbucks with the pagoda at the top.
Friend: "Oh, okay."
Jackson Heights-born, NYU-educated Roommate: "Look at that light over there, it's so bright. Is that real?"
Me: "Yeah, what's going on tonight? Oh wait, there's the US Open."
Roommate: "Oh, Flushing is that way?"
Me: "Yeah, Manhattan's that way west, Flushing's that way east, LaGuardia Airport's north. Have you the seen the planes flying low, getting ready to land at LaGuardia."
Roommate: "Ohhh, I'd like to take a helicopter ride over NYC one day, so I can figure out where places are, like Manhattan, Jackson Heights, Flushing."
Me on the 4: "Do you know on which side of the road I can catch the Bx26 towards the Botanical Gardens?"
Man on the 4: "When you get out of the station, the bus stop is right there."
Me: "On which side of the Avenue, towards Co-op City or towards..?"
Man: "It'll be Right. There. You'll see it."
Me: "But which side of the street? I need to go east, to Mosholu parkway to the Gardens, not west. (Me using hand directions) Is there a store that the bus is in front of?"
Man: "It's right there, you can't miss it...to Co-op City"
Me: "Do I have to cross the street, or stay on the same side of the street?"
Man: "It'll be right there."
Me: "Same side, heading towards Co-Op city?"
Man: "Yes"
I realize that these situations may not directly be cardinally-related. Recently I learned that Driver's Ed isn't free for NYC 16-year-olds (obvious why it wouldn't be), and it seems like NYC public schools don't have a strong Geography component. Or can I blame it on the all-encompassing "city is the center of the world" or "we're working class NYers who don't travel much" mentality? NYC is actually tipped on the compass, so it's not like going Uptown or "North" is the "real North," is that why it's confusing? Am I an overly judgmental privileged suburbanite/urbanite who took Driver's Ed at 15, went for my roast test on my 16th Birthday, learned to navigate NYC solo, am a need descriptive language OCD person?
Yours,
North south east West
A native New Yorker responds:
Dear North South,
Congratulations on your good sense of direction! During your formative years you got a good idea of the broad layout of the city from driving in from the suburbs. While you were taking in the view from the L.I.E., we natives were focused on learning a more personal geography—like what block you shouldn't walk down around 3 p.m. if you wanted to avoid getting jumped by the John Jay High School kids, or what subway exit was best to use when you were taking the train to school but wanted to save yourself from getting jumped by the high school kids, or which pizzeria was least likely to be filled with the high school kids who just jumped you.
A young Jake Dobkin hangin' on Nut Path corner. (Courtesy Jake Dobkin Private Collection)
Sure, there's also some NYC chauvinism—this is a city of neighborhoods, and most of us feel like the neighborhood where we live is the best one to live in, so why waste too much time learning the others unless absolutely necessary? Likewise, we lifers all agree that this is the greatest city on earth, and maybe that slightly reduces the tendency to explore elsewhere, and thereby diminishes our general geographic skills. But in their place we have great local geographic skills—the preternatural ability to tell you how to find the closest Post Office, subway entrance, or ATM.
Each native has an interesting personal geographic map of the city stored inside their head. Ask them about it! There are always fascinating gaps—like the first time I ever walked on St. Mark's Place was when I was 20 years old. I don't think I really understood where Williamsburg was until after college. And forget Queens or Staten Island—besides the airports and the Staten Island Mall, it was all terra incognita to me until we started Gothamist and I had to look up crime locations. On the other hand, from growing up in Brooklyn, going to school in Manhattan, and having grandparents in the Bronx, I knew those boroughs pretty well.
No human mind can know New York city completely. Some people get closer than others, though. Delivery guys, taxi drivers, helicopter pilots, for instance. Or transit enthusiasts! My son, who's 6, knows all 422 subway stations and how to get from one to another—I think he probably has a much better sense of where Kew Gardens or Tottenville is than I do. Or anxious people; I've noticed the more nervous and O.C.D. you are, the more likely you are to know your way around. So when in doubt, follow your most high-strung friend.
So what do we natives do when we find ourselves in an unfamiliar area of the city? Or in one of the Bermuda Triangles, like the West Village, or the intersection of 30th Ave and 30th Street in Long Island City, or way downtown by Beaver Street where everything goes in circles? First, we look for landmarks. You can almost always see a tall building like 1WTC, or the Empire State Building, or else a river, one of the bridges, etc. If you don't see anything like that, look for the sun: here in the northern hemisphere it's always in the southern half of the sky, towards the east in the morning and towards the west in the afternoon. Or walk a few blocks, because the familiar grid, with its helpful signs, is always close by.
Of course, in this age of technology, the native wayfinding skills are quickly dying out. With your phone's Google Map connected to an Apple watch that buzzes to signal when to turn left or right, soon geography skills will be totally unnecessary, a vestigial talent you can use to impress your friends when you stumble drunk out of a bar at night, but not much good beyond that.
N.B.: From a Zen perspective, it's not where you're going, but where you are at that's important, man.
N.B. 2: The city has spent a lot of money improving its wayfinding systems recently. Still, every day I discover lost tourists looking for the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. I try to help them, but I'm just one man—please do your part to help our lost visitors get where they're going!
Ask a Native New Yorker anything via email. Anonymity is assured.
