Park Avenue & 42nd Street Public Space
I did not catch the name of this building but this is a public space I referred to in another story when I said that some of these places were depressing shitholes with mystery aromas and stains to explain. At a glance there is little to recommend this space over others. Like Citi, the acoustic swallow the sounds of peoples’ voices, rendering them into muddy blobs of sound. The place evokes sadness. Grey walls, no artwork, stray stains on the floor… A security guard nearby has a walkie-talkie through which I hear desultory snippets of back and forth. This space feels slow.Slowing. Slowed. The crackle of the walkie talkie and the muffled but at times audible words creeping through feel like I am hearing a subliminal message. A radio show I heard some time ago featured suubliminal sounds, and it really scared me for its creepy effectiveness. Talking about a dead person the subliminal voices were of the same people talking in the main channel but they were yelling at each other about closing a coffin and getting enough dirt to throw over it. This place feels like the 190th Street subway station, which has been described as making one feel insignificant, like nothing. Office workers above pass by visible only from the shoulders up. A sleeping man lets his radio headphones play too loud, annoying this writer but not enough to take action and leave. The only aprtial visibility of the office workers above lends to the feeling of statelessness. Walls are a pale teal, black plastic of some sort, and see throughh windows looking into empty, unused space in the basement of this building. Red triangles, an apparent artistic piece, are seen on the 2nd floor, 2 stories up from the basement. This place feels like a basement but its high ceiling and generous air conditioning sweeten the immobility and statis this space possesses.
Just used a California Kitchen gift card I think I’ve had for at least 2 years. There had been a CK location near an N train stop at Lexington Ave but it closed soon after I got the card. Had to trek all the way down to Park Ave. South past 34th Street. Beautiful day for a walk, though, and a great deal on their lunch special. A whole lotta food for $10. Goal is to spend no money, and a stack of gift cards is tempting these days.
