Anyone in NYC?

[bettsy]

Hi all

I'm new to the forums and I've posted this question on the freelance boards. Thought I'd try here too.

I'm located in Australia and I'm writing a screenplay that takes place mostly in Palm Beach, Florida. I made a trip to Florida last year for research but now there's a scene set in New York. Just the one; and I can't justify travelling to NYC for one scene. I've done all the web stuff I can do but I need someone on the ground there I can ask a few questions of.

The scene is set in Grand Street on the Lower East Side, near the Williamsburg Bridge, on a balmy Fall evening. I just need someone to paint me a picture of the place. Are people indoors or out? Rich or poor? Wall St types or refugees from the Village? Are there trees from which leaves might fall? Does the bridge feature in Eastward views? Is the architecture new or old? How tall are the buildings? What is the residential/business mix? You get the idea.

Even if someone knows of a website with photographs. The latest pics I've been able to find were taken in 1937.

Any and all help very much appreciated.

Cheers
Bettsy

[vig]

east side is a concrete jungle, masses of business suits and wing tips, women in power suits and expensive jacets. Everybody is in a rush for something, and nobody makes eye contact.

it's feels much like an airport where everybody is late for something, checking their watches, double stepping.

east side is about business and commerce. people are out, but nobody is enjoying the day, the trash is piled up on the street and the last of the brownstones look over the streets.

no trees, just brick, concrete and taxi's. east side is the busy area that is becoming more and more expensive.

vig

[JustinoXXV]

I'm a Native New Yorker. The Lower East Side has historically been a poor area, and parts of it are slums. There are some hospitals and treatment centers for heroin addicts there. The area has always had a high incidence of drugs and crime.

No, you will not see the Lower East Side full of business suits. It isn't that kind of a neighborhood.

The Lower East also had a lot of high rise buildings. It sure isn't about commerce.

If you wanted a well off part of Eastern Manhattan, you'd go to the Upper East Side or Midtown East.

Or maybe any part of Downtown.

[vig]

my bad, i was going for upper east side. carry on.

vig

[bettsy]

Phew! I was worried there for a moment.

My character is from Brooklyn and is on Grand at a bingo game (there's one there). Lower East Side is definitely what I'm after.

So, Justino and Vig, can you give me a picture of what the street would look like on a balmy Fall evening? Street cafes or drug deals? Taxis or mobile boom boxes? Is the bridge visible, does it impose itself over the street or are the buildings 80 stories high, making the bridge insignificant? Is the street wide or narrow? Is the street level view brownstone or steel and glass? Noises, smells? Black, white or latino? Italian or Jewish?

My guy is a self made man, dragged himself up from the poor part of town and still plays bingo like he did with his ol' Mom. I'm guessing he'd leave the Porsche at home and grab the subway - yeah?

Thanks for your help.

Cheers
Bettsy

[JustinoXXV]

"Phew! I was worried there for a moment.

My character is from Brooklyn and is on Grand at a bingo game (there's one there). Lower East Side is definitely what I'm after."

"So, Justino and Vig, can you give me a picture of what the street would look like on a balmy Fall evening?"

Same as it goes all year. Ugly brick buildings. Dirty.:) Crowded.

"Street cafes or drug deals? Taxis or mobile boom boxes?"

You'll see Taxis all over Manhattan. I'd say you're more likely to see drugs than street cafes. Still, there are cafes throughout the city. The most common cafe is Starbucks.

"Is the bridge visible, does it impose itself over the street or are the buildings 80 stories high, making the bridge insignificant?"

There are no buildings 80 stories high. The buildings in the lower east side range from maybe 4 o 5 stories at the most to some high rises that maybe 17-20 stories. The bridge id very visible. And if this is the Manhattan bridge you're talking about, both cars and subway trains travel across the bridge. The bridge has 4 train tracks.


"Is the street wide or narrow?"

Depends on the street.

"Is the street level view brownstone or steel and glass?"

Brownstone.

"Noises, smells? Black, white or latino? Italian or Jewish?"

You've all kinds of blacks, all kinds of whites, etc, and all kinds of latinos. I don't think you have the kind of strict ethnic neighborhoods that the city would have had as late as the 70s or 80. A bunch of people moved out of the city, a lot of immigrants moved in, and then a new bunch of young Americans moved in.

"My guy is a self made man, dragged himself up from the poor part of town and still plays bingo like he did with his ol' Mom. I'm guessing he'd leave the Porsche at home and grab the subway - yeah?"

Porsche in the Lower East Side? No one has Porches. First of all there are no houses. Parking an expensive car like this on the street is an invitation for robbers. Some of the high rises do have parking space underneathe. However, there's really no place to Park in Manhattan, unless you work for the Hospitals, Schools, or Police Department. Everyone else takes public transportation. If he's rich enough to have a porsche, he would have likely moved to the Upper East Side.

[bettsy]

Thanks a bunch Justino. That's all a great help. It's difficult to do this from the other side of the world.

I'm sure my guy probably has moved to the Upper East Side - as well as the house in Palm Beach. He goes back to the old neighborhood to play bingo:-)

Cheers and many thanks.
Bettsy

[JustinoXXV]

I didn't answer your questions about the trees, Betsy. Yes, there are trees ,and they do lose their leaves in the fall. Some of them are planted along streets. Others are planted around apartment building grounds. And still others are planted in parks.