New York through my veins...

Breda Photo # KOP

Curious how different North Dakota is from The Netherlands? Find out in the virtual/real life exhibit "Another Streetview' in Breda, The Netherlands. More info here.

STRICTLY DUTCH SORRY GUYS - En dan heeft Suzan Geldhoff (gastcurator KOP) ook nog een heel mooi stukje over mij(n werk) geschreven. Jeuj!

A day outtha my life in NYC.

7.00am woke up cause my 5 year old cousin, where I'm sharing a room with, is mumbling some words…. Is there anybody else in the room? she’s asking. Yeah Me Cate… Ow. She’s asking me this every morning. Actually it’s her room, she let me sleep in her bed while she's having a blast sleeping on the airmatrass on the ground.

9.00am I get ready to take the ferry from Jersey City to Manhattan. Take my bike with of course, everyday.
I meet Jody van den Tillaart from Veghel (The Netherlands) in a bike rental/store at Charles Street Westside. She just moved to NYC half a year ago cause she followed her heart and founded true love. She used to live and work as a journalist in my hometown Eindhoven. We hooked up cause we working on an article about the NYC bike culture for the Dutch mag FRITS. Our plan for today; rent a bike for her and go crisscross to Manhattan to figure out how ‘bikefriendly’ this city really is. Starting to explore the bike line what goes al the way up next to the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan. We have a hard time going around all the runners on the bike line. It must be Saturday cause it’s crowded with people ‘trying to be healthy’ doing tennis, running, biking, skating, soccer, hiking around the river side. Were going ‘offline’ and there starts the war of ‘who owns the road'. If it comes to cabs; NO RESPECT. Hello? Ever heard of mirrors? Use them. Not only for arranging every single hair of your mustache! Streets are every bodies playground so what about sharing them? Jody is riding an imported Chinese bike what was inspired by an old Dutch Oma fiets. AUWW she said, bumpy! NYC roads can be a bit rough on?? your sweet soft butt…

1.30pm heading to Church St West Broadway to check out, I will not say join, a demonstration against building a Mosque close to Ground Zero. Geert Wilders, a Dutch, how should I call him… well my friend Erosie (Eindhoven) hit the spot just right if it comes to a close description; emotionally unstable peroxide dick, is invited to speak. He’s conservative as a can of sour fish produced in the early 60’ and his biggest goal in his pathetic life is; stop the tsunami of Moslims worldwide. Right. And these people are joining our parliament?
Jody and I bumped into a Dutch couple from Amersfoort who where anxious to hear Geert Wilders' speech on their one week vacation in NYC. It's all about priorities in life I guess. I was roaming around with my camera and had a hard time being there and receiving the yells about Moslims, Women, Mosques, USA and so on in my ear. I bumped into my Dutch cousin Elise, she just came over to the US to work as an au pair for my cousins family (they got four young kids)in Jersey City. She was hanging out with a Dutch news reporter of RTL nieuws, Eric Mouthaan. Dutch press was well presented by the way.

2.50pm Jody and I left the block before Geert ever showed up. Screw this. Lets get outtha here and soak up some sun.

3.30pm taking the ferry to Governors Island. Meet up with Tom, Amanda and Robert. The boyfriend and two other friends of Jody. Their from Detroit. Moved 10 years and 5years ago. Why? Cause of opportunities, job wise, who weren’t in Detroit and are in New York City. We’all bike around the Island and I take some shots for the article. Were having a beer with my feet in the white sand of the fake beach with happy coloured plastic palm trees. Enjoying a nice view on Manhattan. It's not gonna be more exotic than the scene I just described. City wise I mean.

6.30pm shipped back to Manhattan as coddle, watched the sunset over the water. Danced on some Cuban beats in Battery Park. Just outside, on the streets. Cause it feels good. I don’t need a bar with silly decoration, a bartender who pours my drinks in a glass. A fancy DJ who spins the wheels or whatever hit some buttons on his laptop. No I go where I go, I stop where I like to stop for whatever what reason is conceivable. 28 years ago I came with a pretty good intern guide. I'm pretty obedient if it comes to that.

7.10pm my stomach starts talking. Ow wait a sec, what did I eat today? A slice of bread and a piece of fruit for breakfast. So yeah ready to get some food. But what and where? I roam around for a little bit. Discover this guy begging for something at the entrance of a restaurant. Hi, how are u doing today? I'm okay. What about yourself? Not too bad. Are u hungry? Yeah, me too. Let’s get some food.
What?! this guy said, do I need to buy you dinner? No silly, I buy you dinner, you just have to point me to a descent place cause I don’t know a shit in this neighbourhood. Oh okay he said, with a pretty confused look in his eyes. So what do u want for dinner? A slice of pizza will be good. What do u want on it? Pepperoni, that’s a good choice, I’ll stick with that too. So stay here, I'll be back. Okay he said. Wait! He yelled when I jumped on my bike. What? Can I get 2 slices?

He pointed me to an authentic Pizza place. Some Middle Eastern guys who having a hard time trying not to be too friendly are staring at me. What do u want? Well, don't know yet, what is‘a baby’ by the way? One guy pointed me this little mini pizza. Well that doesn't really look like a baby too me I said. Trying to defrost these guys. Not impressed at all. So I ordered 2 pepperoni babies and a Bud 16oz. 10 minutes, the pizza guy said. Sure, good food needs time…
I returned to the corner with the food and of course, Ron, was still there. He’s disabled so really nowhere to go in that shortta time. Let’s find a descent spot to eat these little babies. A bench? No benches around. A stoup? Yeah a stoup will be good. He was carrying a crate, so I turned it up side down and put it between us. As a table. Put the pizzabox on the table, I opened it and he goes; WOW that’s looks good! After he eat one slice he was waiting. Are you full already? No. Can I have another slice? Sure it’s yours, the whole baby. Oh really? Thank you. After the second slice he was waiting again. I told him again it was his baby. Thank you he said. You wont believe me but after the third slice he asked me again…

So I sit with him for a little bit in the (nice) warm output of an air condition, told him a little bit about Detroit, Holland and North Dakota. He told me about his place. I pay $ 165 a month. That's a good deal I said. Not for a room in a Ghetto though... 133W 144 th St Harlem.
$5000 tickets $ 2000 credit cards $548 rent for new app in Newark.
He likes to take pictures too he said. I'll write you a letter and I include some photographs of New York in the envelop. You want the Twin Towers he asked. Sounds good to me. You take care of your bills now! Okay I will, he said.

9.00pm In a doubt of taking the path train back home or hang out in the city for a little bit. It's a nice evening though and I just realized that this will be my last Saturday night in New York. Oh and sleeping, that's what you do in your grave for a long long time, right?
Normally I hop on the path train at WTC to go back home. It's in the middle of the Financial District so a bit boring to hang out in the evenings. But today, today is different. Today is 9/11. Means lots of people around Ground Zero. I feel a different atmosphere. A lot of photographers around, hate stumble over their tripods... What are they capturing by the way? Some lights? Obvious. 2 tall skinny lights are raising up to the sky in front of me. Jeez. What in the world? Never seen something like that... Same moment a guy is asking what these lights are for and if they shine from the ground into the sky or inverse. Well what do you think buddy? God or, even better for the story, the victims of 9/11 is/are holding a hughe flashlight and shines it down on us?

9.15pm Having a beer with this 'buddy' in The Dubliner. Mister Kins from Bombay, India. In New York to studie for being a director. Film. Daddy is big in Bollywood. Ha! he was funny. The way how he said 'Rupees' made me laugh. Pretty surprised to hear one of Bon Ivers most beautyfull songs - Skinny Love in the Dubliner. Realizing that exactly one year ago I was making pictures of him on stage when he was singing this song at the Lowlands Festival in Holland. Turn up the volume.
Sweet. Is also the taste of my Jameson - Ginger Ale.

1.00am Off we go, lights are still shining, peoples are still around. Always. Somebody pinned a light on me. Flashy. Now I'm part of the 911 memorial too. Bumped into Teddy raised in East Berlin. Do you have another light like that? No but take this one, where do u want it? Here he said. Here my angel.

Goodnight City of a Little bit of Everything. U satisfied me. More than that.

2.38am try to enter Cate's room as quiet as possible. She's mumbling... I don't like it when people switch off the lights, she said. We'll leave it on for you sweet little pumpkin...

Detroit

pregnant woman playing with the water