Today we had an agency debrief from our trips yesterday so
that we could learn about all of the other organizations. Those included
another organization about art that was more interested in dealing with graphic
design, and another organization that looked at the rights of street vendors in
NYC. We then had a panel discussion about urban planning and designing –
something that I had never even thought about before. There were three
speakers: The first speaker was a contributor/editor to an architecture
website/blog that is dedicated to improving the way that cities are designed.
He also has traveled around the world making documentaries about other cities
and how they are designed. We also spoke with an architect as well as a
representative from the Friends of the Highline agency that helped to create
the NYC Highline.
For lunch, a few of us went to a diner across the street
because we only had a short amount of time. Then we had a lecture on policing
in NYC and a brief history of the NYPD. It was interesting to hear about the
racial profiling changes that the NYPD has made over the years. We then had our
first class: Urban Politics and Development. We went over the syllabus and our
expectations of each other for the semester. We also jotted down our answers to
questions about poverty that we will be reflecting on towards the end of the
program.
We then had the opportunity to go to dinner with an alumni.
I chose to go to Marlan William’s house. He and his fiancé cooked us an
amazing meal and we stayed at their Brooklyn apartment for over 3 hours talking
about what an amazing experience he had on the program, how it changed him,
what he is doing now, what he and his fiancé are passionate about, etc etc.
They were two of the most intelligent and inspirational people I have ever met.
He told us to come back and visit after the program…which will be great because
I am working in the city all summer!
Wake up at 7:45 tomorrow morning and headed to the
Rockaways. Bed time!!
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