Touring NYC: The NYC Subway Art Tour (Part 5 of 6)

From Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan we ventured under the East River to Brooklyn, affectionately known by some as God's Country.  We arrived at the Jay Street Station for the next stop on the tour. 

Jay Street Station:

What the tiny figures at 8th Street lacked in size was compensated for by the large wall mosaics at Jay Street by artist Ben Snead.  Pictured below are various sorts of native and invasive species found in Brooklyn--fish, birds and insects.

According to the MTA website, the artwork, entitled Departures and Arrivals (2009), highlights "the connections and relationships between dissimilar species" and "features species that have migrated to Brooklyn as well as one species that is departing.  He [the artist] arranges the species in layers that can be seen from left to right: European starling (originally from England), a house sparrow (Europe), Red Lion fish (Indian Ocean), Monk parrot (South America) and Koi (Japan). The Tiger Beetle is represented on a tile background; a local species that is in decline. The result is a bold and graphic set of images that intrigue and delight passersby during their own departures and arrivals."

Interestingly, most people think the name Brooklyn refers is based on the Dutch word "Breuckelen", the name of a town in the Netherlands. In fact, Brooklyn is a native American word that means "Place of the Very Large Fish, Birds and Bugs."  Who knew?

Our brief sojourn in Brooklyn ended and we traveled back to Manhattan. 

Delancey Street-Essex Street Station:

We arrived at the Delancey Street-Essex Street Station and learned about the early history of the area that eventually became the Lower East Side.  As settlement edged northward from lower Manhattan, the De Lancey family established a farm that stretched across Manhattan island from the East River to the Hudson River.  A large cherry orchard was planted on the farm.  

Fast forward about three centuries.  In 2004, artist Ming Fay installed a large mosaic mural entitled "Delancey Orchard" (pictured below).

Delancey Street-Essex Street Station:  Mosaic mural of the De Lancey farm cherry orchard.  The cherry orchard was located not far from the Delancey Street Station, where a modern street now runs.  The modern street's name?  You guessed it:  Orchard Street. 

Delancey Street-Essex Street Station:  Mosaic with cherries.  The bowl is missing.

Elsewhere in the same station, artist Ming Fay installed another mosaic mural, Shad Crossing.  The large fish swim along the walls of the station.  According to the MTA, the "images of Shad Crossing celebrate the return of the once abundant fish to New York and water as a metaphor for 'crossing.'"  Our guide Phil noted that shad were an important part of the settlers' diet and helped settlers through lean times.

Delancey Street-Essex Street Station:  Shad Crossing (2009)

During the tour, Susan snapped a photo of this critter foraging along the subway track.  Could it be Pizza Rat?

Next and last stop:  Part 6--Broadway/Lafayette Street, Bleecker Street/Lafayette Street and Astor Place Stations.