2005-03-27
LIVING ON THE EDGE
George M. Anderson, S.J., an associate editor of America, said of Flophouse
Sometimes, this is a condition placed in by a person him/herself; other times, through circumstances never planned for, and completely beyond one's personal control | In either circumstance, a fundamental acknowledgement must be made by asking, when so many enjoy the benefits of abundant, even wantonly spent, wealth, how is it that places like the flophouse contine to need to exist? | And that, then, raises questions about social justice and the costs of establishing equity | These are questions that so often go unasked | So much more the reason for bringing this to the attention of others |
PHOTO CREDIT: Harvey Wang ©2000 |
Flophouse; Life on the Bowery, written by David Isay and Stacy Abramson takes its readers on a brief journey into the world of the men and women [men, mostly] who live in the increasingly rare single room occupancy "hotels" in America's urban centers | Yes, it's focused on the Bowery, and specifically with four such establishments | George M. Anderson, S.J., an associate editor of America, said of Flophouse
The life experience described here has never been unique to only New York City | Virtually every urban center has had it's flophouses, its' skid rows | Flophouses exist in part to serve those who have experienced misfortunes, and have no place else to go | They are places and areas where some citizens live at the edges of society, outside the fast world, the comfortable world, the monied classes and beyond the opportunities and comforts therefrom afforded those other castes |"A late 1980’s Webster’s dictionary, in fact, defines Bowery as a street characterized by flophouses and saloons. The saloons are long gone, having disappeared before the relentless pressures of gentrification. With real estate prices in the neighborhood already sky high, the days of these hotels are numbered.
"The Bowery’s reputation as a place for jobless and often alcohol- or drug-addicted people notwithstanding, a number of the 50 men whose profiles and photographs are presented here do in fact work. One man does what he calls “independent recycling,” working long days to collect aluminum cans and bottles. In his interview, he speaks of saving up for a van and a storage room as a means of expanding his enterprise."
The lives described are often bleak yet...
"...the... stories [of the residents of flophouses] and the photographs of them and their bleak surroundings, reveal lives marked by a genuine dignity.
Flophouse had its origins, in fact, in a radio documentary based on just one of the hotels, the Sunshine, that premiered on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” The photographs by Harvey Wang,... capture far more than the outward appearance of the men and the hotels they inhabit. Like the interviews themselves, they convey the inner reality of a scene that is rapidly disappearing. We may be the poorer for its loss"
Sometimes, this is a condition placed in by a person him/herself; other times, through circumstances never planned for, and completely beyond one's personal control | In either circumstance, a fundamental acknowledgement must be made by asking, when so many enjoy the benefits of abundant, even wantonly spent, wealth, how is it that places like the flophouse contine to need to exist? | And that, then, raises questions about social justice and the costs of establishing equity | These are questions that so often go unasked | So much more the reason for bringing this to the attention of others |
FLOPHOUSE is available for purchase at NPR |
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