Good Example Of Essay On The Busy Streets Of Times Square

Times Square is renowned for being one of the busiest places in the world. In a place with so many meetings and gatherings happening simultaneously, it might feel overwhelming to try to tie all this into a single common purpose. But then it's the diversity of New York that makes this city so special and run the way it does. The people of New York City can be divided into three main groups: business employees, laborers and tourists. These three groups are all rather easy to identify, especially when one makes the effort to take a step back and observe this concrete jungle in action. I chose to sit and take notes in the middle of the famous Broadway Street center plaza. This is where the different members of New York City’s community - each with their unique destinations and motives - come to contribute to its hectic nature.
On a Wednesday morning at 7:15am, I walk from my hotel with a notebook and pen in hand to the famous red tables and chairs on the side of Broadway Street to record my observations. Although it's very early in the morning, the streets of New York are already extremely packed. Despite the signs that threaten fines, cars are incessantly honking at one another. On average, I hear a honk every 5-10 seconds. More than half of the cars on the road are taxis, their drivers seemingly competing with each for a foot of space. Hot dog stands are just getting set up. Everywhere I turn, there's a motivated owner preparing for his day. Every corner of every street or avenue reveals a tour guide or salesperson attempting to hand out brochures or to strike up a conversation with whoever every passes them by. Despite all this chaos, the sight of all those business people and employees rushing to get to work is what grabs my attention.
The employees and executives of Times Square are mostly headed in one direction; that is, to the center of Wall Street. Most Wall Street types start work at 7:30am, which is the main reason I made sure to begin my observations at 7:15am. Of course, even among business people there is great diversity. The first group of businessmen I observe are wearing expensive suits, with navy blue or black pants and shiny black shoes. These men usually have expensive watches and bags to match, which help reinforce their status as higher-level employees. In fact, everything they have is only of the highest quality. Their suits have no wrinkles. The men that make up this category usually walk with more confidence and seem to be in less of a rush than their underlings. For some reason, these higher-level employees also tend to walk to work alone.
Suddenly, I notice another group of workers. To my eye, they are younger, low-level employees. Unlike their would-be bosses, these employees tend to have a stressed look on their face. They walk with much less confidence than their superiors. Many of them have Bluetooth devices in their ears so that they can efficiently answer a potential phone call without having to put down their coffee or their last minute, on-the-run breakfasts. Despite looking like they're in a rush, these employees typically arrive later than their superiors. As a woman, I would love to have reported an equal amount of men and women rushing to their Wall Street jobs. But, sadly, there are definitely much more men. In fact, I calculate on average eight men for every two women on average heading for Wall Street. What's also very clear to me is that in this city, all businesspeople are destination oriented. Everyone knows exactly where he or she is going. Everyone is focused intently on the road. Nobody even seems to notice me noticing them.
The one group of people that seems completely free of any specific shackles of destination is NYC tourists. In a city as stressful as NYC, tourists stand out as being carefree. They definitely don't come across needing to get to their destinations. Instead, they take the time to take pictures of costumed characters and the attractive brightly lit buildings around them, either with their phones or selfie sticks. In fact, I often catch tourists make that old “S” shape on the streets. Sometimes they even walk the same road twice or more out of boredom. Their main purpose of existence seems to be to see as many places as they can while taking many pictures as they can. This is why they can be spotted from a mile away. They are in no way immersed in the fast tempo of the city. On the contrary, some often stand smack in the middle of the street to take a good look at all the towering buildings and glitzy stores around them. However, with so much diversity crammed into one street, it's easy to see how one group would interfere with the other. Business people seem to get very frustrated when they aren't able to get to their destination without distraction. This is because tourists do not seem to have any sense of urgency, always managing to get in the way of those who do. For example, approximately every half an hour into my observation, I manage to witness a female tourist tap a middle-aged man on the shoulder to ask for directions. This one man in particular was getting so flustered trying to explain where to go that he ended up having to apologize when the lady got confused, although he never stopped walking while doing so. From this observation, I can only imagine just how frustrated locals must get when tourists interrupt their daily routines. I see another example involving a businesswoman in a black suit with heels, who's rushing to work with her coffee in her hand and her headphones in her ear. Suddenly, one teenager bumps into her shoulder while texting and walking. I see the woman's facial expression morph from neutral/happy to all-out annoyed in the matter of seconds. In the end, while tourists do seem to make life difficult for those locals around them, they still seem to be enjoying the one-of-a-kind city experience places like Times Square and Broadway have to offer.
Last but never least, the last group I observe in Times Square are the laborers. I like to split these into two categories: the police and the construction workers. The NYPD have six police cars lined up on Times Square, parked directly on the pedestrian sidewalk by the red tables where I'm sitting. The police officers remained seated in their parked cars for about 20 minutes until four of them suddenly come out toting huge guns in hand. They stand alert in their own designated area in the middle of the street. They do not seem to be worried about anything out of ordinary happening. They look quite at ease just standing there - reassuring citizens and tourists their city is being protected. I watch as a middle-aged woman asks one of the officers how to get to Bryant Park. He tells her in descriptive detail where to go but it's clear she's still a little confused. He explains again that Bryant Park is only a short walk from Times Square. She seems happier with this new explanation. She says thanks, grabs her daughter and moves along the road the officer has pointed out for her.
Although it seems that every square inch New York has many types of individuals present, the city seems to find a way of unifying all this diversity and allow for peaceful coexistence. In this way, businessmen, tourists and regular New Yorkers seem to function in some kind of harmony, each aware of the others’ existence. In Times Square, where tourists mostly reign supreme in that 20-mile radius, those that I observe seem to deal quite well with those who are traveling through their city. Although the tourists will inevitably interrupt a few seconds of their days, the businesspeople and laborers seem impressively adept at dealing with these types of encounters. In essence, the city's diversity in no way threatens the purposes of its individuals. Businessmen, laborers and regular New Yorkers seem resigned to their duty to respect tourists who do not reciprocate but seem to care only for the number of pictures they take on vacation. This is what creates the diverse and tolerant environment that is New York City.