Fresh off the wild ride of the election, and with finals beginning to slowly creep upon students, this is an emotional time for many across The New School. As we cope with recent events, and not-so-great grades, therapeutic actions are being explored and to some that means going outside and crying.
This handy list will give you some of the best places to grab a MetroCard and venture out to sob.
1: Walking up Riverside Drive
A hidden gem tucked away north of 59th Street on the west side, Riverside Drive is a serene street stretching up the Hudson River to Washington Heights, offering beautiful views of the river and the West Side Highway. It’s a route mostly devoid of people, so it offers a great opportunity to think over what’s on your mind. The stretch between 79th and 96th street is a perfect spot as it is the quietest part of the whole stretch.
Bonus: Riverside Park makes up most of the length of the walk, and has a pretty nice view of New Jersey.
2: Aboard the R Train
The bane of many Queens commuter’s existences, the R train has a reputation of being late, slow and infrequent, earning the nickname “Rarely.” Should the R ever show up while you’re waiting at Union Square, the slow ride and emptiness of the train is the perfect for letting out those tears; the long and grueling local route from Forest Hills to Bay Ridge doesn’t attract many riders, as it’s intended crowd tends to hang out more on the N, Q, E and F lines. The older subway cars that the R usually has are dimly lit and give off a depressing vibe, however some new models are seen on the line that give the opposite effect.
3: The Staten Island Ferry
The SI Ferry is a completely free 24-hour service that runs every 30 minutes from the South Ferry/Whitehall Street station to St. George in Staten Island. The interior of the ferry is a very old school, 70s style, with lots of free space and nice viewing angles. It’s also got some old-school advertisements masking the walls along with dim lighting. If you’re feeling adventurous, take a late night round-trip ride on the ferry and go out on the balcony. Let the breeze hit you as your tears fall into the ocean viewing the lit Manhattan skyline, offering a memorable moment.
4: Along Greenpoint Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
With mediocre transportation options, Greenpoint is a very quiet place to wander. Since there is an abundance of empty streets and lack of sentient human beings to disturb you, this is a good place to let it all out. A walk along Greenpoint Avenue demonstrates the quiet, industrial part of the Queens-Brooklyn border, a pseudo-desolate wasteland that’s devoid of the usual business around campus. It’s a place that awaits your tears to fall on it’s ground.
5: Along 12th Avenue
At the far west end of Manhattan is 12th Avenue, perhaps the least populated avenue in all of Manhattan, largely due to the lack of transportation access the other avenues enjoy and the abundance of cars travelling this section of the West Side Highway. On one side you have Chelsea Piers, and on the other you mainly have galleries and warehouses. The waterfront side is great for emotional strolls that has the added bonus of a view of New Jersey, but wherever you choose to wander, crying here will be a sweet experience with the strange absence of people around here.
6: Chambers Street on the J line
This place has a reputation for being the subway station in the worse conditions. There are years upon years of dirt on the closed off platforms, and lighting feels like it’ll stop working any second. The walls look as if this station has never been cleaned before. Once a shining relic of the early subway system, this station is in a great state of disrepair. With low Manhattan ridership of the J train past this point south, this isn’t a bad spot to cry. What’s funny is that your tears could actually wipe off the years of dirt that have accumulated here.
7: Manhattan Bridge Pedestrian Walkway
This is a nice option if you’re not afraid of heights or the sensation of moving trains every five minutes. Due to the higher popularity of the nearby Brooklyn Bridge and the movement of subway trains on both sides of the bridge, this is a serene, albeit noisy, place to let out with a nice overhead view of the East River, and if you’re in certain spots, the other East River bridges, as well as all the boats on the river. Plus, it’s blue.
8: Walking along the Coney Island Boardwalk
You might think this is a weird place to be during the colder months, but the emptiness of the boardwalk over at Coney Island is a nice place to just walk around and cry as you’re reminded of happier summer times, where the concept of school assignments are nowhere to be found. The (currently) closed amusement park, around the Ford Amphitheater as well as near the showers overlooking the beach, there are a bunch of empty spaces to cry here. It’s a long ride, so try not to waste your tears on the way over. And try to enjoy the chilly breeze, too, if it isn’t too cold.
9: Roosevelt Island
A former home to insane asylums and run down hospitals, this island is a quiet place between Manhattan and Queens. With a population just shy of 12,000 with a single subway stop, there are ample spaces to express your feelings on this island. You can lay on the grass right near the Queensboro Bridge and think about life, or you can go to the reverse side of the island and express your emotions while looking at the borough of Queens. Wherever you are, enjoy the view from this seemingly little town in the middle of the East River.
10: The Great Lawn in Central Park
There’s no better place to relax than laying down on the grass over at Central Park. Once you traverse the insides of the park, you will find the Great Lawn, and ample sunlight shining down on the grass. It’s a great place to cry because the of the vast, open field; it’s a beautiful place to be in all times of the year (maybe not after a blizzard). Going on a weekday to avoid all the families playing around is advised to have optimal time to rethink your life on a grassy field. Just don’t get lost trying to find the place, okay? Central Park is a huge place that stretches from 59th to 110th streets, though signs will generally point you in the direction of the Great Lawn.
Whether or not you choose to abide solely by this list is up to you, but remember there is no shame in wailing it out. So go ahead, venture out and have a good cry on the streets of NYC!
Illustrations by Alex Gilbeaux