Calling for the End of Outer Borough "Othering"
Yesterday, the blog Tastoria wrote a response to an Immaculate Infatuation review of the M. Wells Steakhouse which said, among other things, “Why else would we venture out to Long Island City to eat a rib eye?” Tastoria knocks the assumptions that traveling to Queens is some far-flung, inconvenient journey and that Queens is a…
Yesterday, the blog Tastoria wrote a response to an Immaculate Infatuation review of the M. Wells Steakhouse which said, among other things, “Why else would we venture out to Long Island City to eat a rib eye?” Tastoria knocks the assumptions that traveling to Queens is some far-flung, inconvenient journey and that Queens is a remote location of New York City. She points out the very real fact that a trip from Manhattan to LIC on the 7 train doesn’t take long at all. The article continues:
Most concerning, however, is the article’s rehashing of the old center-to-periphery relationship, with Manhattan at the heart of the map of food and culture in New York City and the outer boroughs as remote outposts. For example, the article presumes that none of its readers actually live in Queens, as it suggests that for anyone reading this piece, Long Island City would be an exhausting journey.
Food writing that “others” outer borough neighborhoods by locating them at the periphery of the food world in New York City fundamentally misunderstands the way people eat, what we care about, and how we support neighborhood businesses and our fellow resident business owners. It misunderstands pride of place, community, and the sheer joy of dropping into your favorite local joint or having a nice dinner out whether it’s in Canarsie, College Point, Parchester, the West Village or Long Island City.
We completely agree that this view of outer boroughs takes away from the many great things Queens has to offer. On the other hand, it leaves Queens residents with many amazing under-the-radar restaurants, without the incessant hype, rising prices, and growing wait times you’ll find in Brooklyn or Manhattan. What do you think, readers? Are you sick of the borough being written off, or are you happy keeping the secret of Queens?
The Myth of the Trek to Queens: Let’s End Borough Othering [Tastoria]
Photo by David Hogan via Flickr
I also want to point out that my friends, who have been priced farther and farther north in Manhattan, are CONVINCED that they have shorter commutes than me. They have no idea.
The problem, I think, is that so many “Manhattanites” are not even from the city and come here with “Sex in the City” or “Wall Street” dreams so they have no appreciation of the city as a whole. That’s where you get the excess of Manhattan snobbiness from.
But admittedly, its nothing new: “In dress, habits, manners, provincialism, routine and narrowness, he acquired that charming insolence, that irritating completeness, that sophisticated crassness, that overbalanced poise that makes the Manhattan gentleman so delightfully small in its greatness. O. Henry”
When I moved to Queens from Manhattan it took me 3 long years of looking before I became comfortable and really ready to move on from Manhattan. But after 5 great years in Queens I can’t imagine moving back. Queens still reminds me of the NYC I grew up in far more than the “new and improved” Manhattan.
Well, this has been happening forever. It’s weird that it’s an issue now, at a time when the media is finally paying more attention to the “outer” boroughs. That phrase, combined with peoples’ silly insistence to refer to Manhattan as “the city,” only adds to the misperception.
Queens, or at least a large chunk of it, is no less “the city” than Manhattan. If transplants and tourists disagree, that doesn’t make this fact any less true. Sure, Manhattan has fewer millionaires and taller bldgs., but that is irrelevant.
But the question posed is a good one. As a proud life-long Queens man, I am happy keeping “the secret.” I’d rather my neighbors come from other nations than other states. Only insecure fools base their identity on the place in which they live. Queens is already great for so many reasons, and most neighborhoods are already established. As BK and Manhattan become more homogeneous and lose their edge, it’s even more important for Queens to retain its own.
Oops – meant to say MORE millionaires. Many, many, many more.
I am perfectly happy keeping the secret, although I can tell you from experience it takes at least 3 weeks to get a halfway decent weekend reservation at M. Wells.
Last summer some friends and I stopped at the 111th St Station in Corona to go to the Queens Zoo. I was shocked how completely disgusting and decrepit the neighborhood was. It felt like a Third World nation.
It’s not just the leaders at fault but also the landlords and business owners.