Oil on canvas
16x12 inches
A new painting of some of the many reflections to be found in the Hudson Yards development on the west side of Manhattan.
One of my guilty pleasures is watching the television program "Million Dollar Listings New York" on Bravo. Being a native New Yorker, I'm astounded, amazed, curious and horrified all at the same time while watching these multi-million dollar listings all around town trying to find buyers - very rich buyers. High powered real estate brokers are frantically coming up with gimmicks to show and sell these properties, many of which do find buyers. Last night's episode featured several apartments in the area dubbed "SoHY" by one of the brokers - short for South of Hudson Yards. Please. Enough already. Many of the buyers of these high-end properties might live in them a few weeks out of the year as they are often bought as investments and are not permanent homes. So much for creating an environment that becomes a tight knit community.
What is interesting is that this area of Manhattan, as with so many others, also contain NYCHA projects and thankfully some really affordable housing. Housing where you find a real diversity of people, all ages from the very young to a large senior population, varied ethnicities, families, young professionals. I'm just sad that more AFFORDABLE housing has become harder and harder to find and that many New Yorker's who were born here can no longer afford to live in their hometown and are forced to relocate.
Anyway, that is the nature of real estate in NYC. I'll keep painting my hometown, always trying to find interest in both the gritty and the beautiful that surrounds us.
