New York City: A Collage of Cultures is a single-movement programmatic orchestral work that features polytonality, prallelism, sound-mass, micro-tones, polychordal rhythmic ostinato, neo-impressionism, and folk themes and anthems from sundry cultures and nationalities. The simultaneity of contextual material at one point necessitates the employment of three conductors. The composition portrays America as a "melting pot" through its busiest immigration center, itself a microcosm of diverse international elements. This is achieved by the depiction of three different settings: a boat sailing from a foreign port, bound for New York Cty; New York itself in all of its awesome fury; and a capsule image of a conglomerate of turn-of-the-century emigrants and their interaction throughout the voyage.

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The literature suggests that neighborhoods with organized criminal networks would have lower crime rates than other neighborhoods or communities, because of the social control their organization exerts on residents and visitors. The strictly organized Italian-American Mafia seems to have characteristics that would translate throughout the neighborhood: People will not participate in overt illegal behaviors because they do not know who is watching, and the fear of what the Mafia might do keeps residents and visitors to the neighborhood relatively well-behaved. Using crime statistics from the NYPD and census data for neighborhood characteristics, four linear regressions were calculated. The results indicate that low socioeconomic status is the main factor explaining neighborhood crime rate variations in New York City. The percent of the population under 18 and density were also listed as influential factors for some variables. The percent of foreign-born Italians was noted as significant in the correlation models, though it is not yet clear what this might truly indicate. The proxy variable for Mafia presence was not significant, and this can either be due to inaccuracies of the measurement of the variable or a true decrease in the influence of Mafia presence after the string of RICO arrests in the 1980s and 1990s. The results imply that Mafia presence does not influence neighborhood social control, but they do reinforce social disorganization theory. The foundation of this theory is neighborhood stability; the more unstable a neighborhood is, the more susceptible the neighborhood is to crime and dysfunction. Factors like low socioeconomic status and density influence neighborhood stability. Future research should attempt to have more accurate representations of Mafia presence and neighborhood characteristics.

This master’s thesis identifies the potential impacts of planning policies and key stakeholder groups on Red Hook, Brooklyn given current development trends and the neighborhood changes such as gentrification. The premise of this thesis is that through understanding the catalysts and impacts of social and economic change in similar neighborhoods, together with the analysis of current zoning, planning policies, and neighborhood culture and demographics in Red Hook, it is possible to identify how future changes may generate positive outcomes for the neighborhood. A review of planning literature provides a perspective on the disinvestment to reinvestment process seen in many New York City neighborhoods during the second half of the 20th century. The case study research method relying primarily on qualitative data is applied to gain a contextual analysis of the complex urban planning issues in Red Hook. A study of the planning and development impacts on three waterfront neighborhoods in New York City – Battery Park City, the Lower East Side, and Williamsburg – reveals the catalysts of neighborhood change in those neighborhoods and suggests the potential socio-economic impacts of future redevelopment in Red Hook.

This architectural thesis challenges the conventional perception of cities as horizontally sprawling realms dominated by towering edifices and skyscrapers. Inspired by Rem Koolhaas' influential book "Delirious New York," which argues that each block represents an independent fantasy, which creates a more cohesive and united version of the city (Koolhaas, 1994). This thesis introduces a groundbreaking outlook that envisions cities as complex networks of functions, neighborhoods, and pathways within an immersive three-dimensional framework. The proposed approach seeks to merge the established city of Manhattan with a new counterpart, driven by enhancing residents' quality of life and addressing the challenges of metropolitan areas. Three key factors underscore the significance of this approach. Firstly, there is a current dearth of connections between buildings and floors, impeding the cohesive fabric of urban life and hindering social interaction and community engagement. Secondly, the rapid population growth in Manhattan has strained the city's surface, leading to challenges in space availability. Additionally, there is a significant lack of public spaces that cater to the community's needs for socializing, outdoor recreation, and access to nature. Moreover, the looming threat of rising sea levels amplifies the urgency of these challenges. By addressing these key factors, the proposed approach aims to revolutionize the urban fabric, creating a more interconnected, sustainable, and resilient cityscape that elevates the well-being of residents and harmonizes with the dynamic nature of urban life. To address these issues, the thesis examines specific components such as existing voids, the street network, and building elements. Through reimagining and redesigning these elements, the goal is to create a unified and sustainable urban environment that aligns with current trends and harnesses emerging technologies. The ultimate aspiration is to achieve a cohesive urban milieu that enhances and reshapes the well- being of residents while adapting to the dynamic nature of urban life / Master of Architecture / This architectural thesis challenges our traditional view of cities as sprawling landscapes dominated by tall buildings. Taking inspiration from Rem Koolhaas' exploration of Manhattan's unique block fantasies in "Delirious New York,". This thesis presents an exciting new perspective. It envisions cities as vibrant hybrid networks, blending various functions, neighborhoods, and pathways within a three-dimensional grid. The proposed approach seeks to merge and integrate the existing city of Manhattan with a new one, aiming to improve the overall quality of life for its residents while addressing the challenges of metropolitan areas. Three significant factors justify this approach. First, there is a lack of connections between buildings and floors, which limits the cohesiveness of urban life. Second, Manhattan's surface is strained due to population growth, demanding innovative solutions. Public spaces encouraging socializing, outdoor activities, and access to natural environments are also insufficient. The rising sea levels add an extra layer of concern. To tackle these complex issues, the thesis explores specific components such as underutilized spaces within the city, streets, and existing buildings. Through imaginative redesign and reimagining, the goal is to create a more harmonious and sustainable urban environment that responds to current trends and technologies. By integrating these elements, the thesis aims to shape cities into vibrant, inclusive, and interconnected spaces that cater to the needs of their communities.

Between 1895 and 1925, social movements in New York City focused on improving the lives of the urban working classes. Progressive reformers maintained that the environment of the city, growing industry, and systems of exploitation threatened the personal sovereignty of the individual. I argue that the visual culture of the period marshaled documentary photography and styles of realism to comprehend such systemic problems through familiar, recognizable forms. By visualizing overcrowding and oppressive labor conditions on working-class bodies, these realities could be comprehended and reformed. Each chapter investigates a social movement—the playground movement, the consumer movement, and the birth control movement—in which artists and photographers mobilized pictorial evidence in targeted reform efforts. Period discourses from these movements infiltrated the aesthetic preoccupations of urban realist artists who embraced questions of individuality and artistic identity when depicting the working class. This dissertation takes as its secondary objective the rehabilitation of work by women artists. At the turn of the century, the gendering of realism as masculine by critics and male artists excluded women. Nevertheless, women artists pursued realist styles, not for their “masculine” flavor but for realism’s utility in illuminating humanistic concerns. Chapter one examines the playground movement and how immigrant children became symbolic figures for reformers and artists alike and a locus for anxieties about preserving individuality in the automated city. Whereas reformers presented in photographs the orderly playground as a cradle of independence, artists—William Glackens, George Bellows, Jerome Myers, and Abastenia St. Leger Eberle—imagined the freedom of the disorderly city and celebrated a child’s uninhibited exploration of its perilous topography. The second chapter analyzes Lewis Hine’s photographs of tenement homework for the National Consumers’ League and National Child Labor Committee. Such photographs educated middle-class female consumers on the unsavory origins of consumer products and their discounted prices. In contrast, Ethel Myers’s sculptures of unapologetic fashionable women resisted the era’s progressive critiques of female consumerism. The third chapter focuses on the birth control movement, which employed publicity photographs, film, and political cartoons by Lou Rogers to argue for contraceptive reform through representations of the working-class mother. / 2024-12-31T00:00:00Z

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<p>Infectious diseases spreading in a human population can occasionally exhibit sudden transitions in their qualitative dynamics. Previous work has been very successful in predicting such transitions in New York City's measles incidence rates using the standard SIR model (susceptible, infected, recovered). This work relied on a dataset spanning 45 years, which we have extended to 93 years (1891-1984). We continue previous research in transition analysis on this larger dataset, and compare resonant and transient periods predicted to exist in NYC's measles incidence rates with those observed through a continuous wavelet transform of the data. We find good agreement between SIR predictions and observation, and in particular note the likely existence of previously unobserved hysteresis early in our new time-series.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)