Aquatic tour, aerial observation provides perspective to city 

Following the previous day’s five-hour flight and a day exploring the streets of New York City, the 2018 NYC Feather team saw the Big Apple from a morning nautical tour and witnessed the sunset skyline from atop the Rockefeller Center, March 12.

The staff embarked on a nautical sightseeing tour, given by Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises. Since 1945, the company provides 60 million passengers with a sightseeing cruise of New York Harbor.  

Cruise commentator David Parker states that on the cruise, viewers see a third of Manhattan’s landmarks. He explains why Circle Line Sightseeing cruises are unique to other tours.

“It’s live; it’s not a tape,” Parker said. “My own personal philosophy is ‘If it’s in the news that day, it’s in the tour.’ Because we are very different tour guides individually, every trip is different. The speed of the boat is never the same. If your closer to one shore than another, your sights actually fall into a different order. I might give a different tour based on what is provided to me.”

On the tour, Parker commentated on Ellis Island, The Empire State Building, the One World Trade Center, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty along with many other Manhattan and New Jersey landmarks.

After the 90-minute tour on both the Hudson and East rivers, staffers visited the Chelsea Market for lunch. The market offers its six million annual commuters with food and products from 35 different vendors.

Local emporium, Pearl River Mart, offers Chelsea shoppers Asian cultural goods. Senior associate and social media coordinator, Tiffany Liu narrates the company’s history.

“Pearl River Mart gets its name from the Pearl River near Canton which is now modern day Guangzhou,” Liu said. “It is a very important river in the history of China as well as the history China in terms of foreign trade. When the opium wars started, the British were able to enter forcibly through the Pearl River. We are uplifting a history of trade, not just a violent one, but also a history of friendship of being able to share our culture with other people, and to build bridges.”

Ken Nethng, Pearl River Mart store manager, enjoys Chelsea’s diversity of food vendors and the opportunity to share Asian culture with others.

“I’m just happy to be here and share the Pearl Mart experience with Chelsea market and all of the tourists that come from different areas of the world,” Nethng said. “We are very happy to be over here in the Chelsea market where we can get the exposure to different areas and bring the happiness and the Asian culture to everybody. I enjoy the variety of foods (at Chelsea Market). Especially when you want to try different things everyday.”

After lunch, the group took pictures and hung out in front of the Flatiron Building, purchasing drinks from the nearby Eataly.

Juniors Kyle Friesen and Sam Cross chat about the iconic #Flatiron Building before being distracted by a clock. #thefeather @CSPA @fresnochristian #FeathertakesNYC pic.twitter.com/525uE7SbYr

— The Feather Online (@thefeather) March 12, 2018

The Flatiron is a mid town Manhattan triangular, steel-framed landmark, completed in 1902, as one one of the tallest buildings of its era at 20 stories tall (later 22). It is frequently the backdrop for movies and TV shows.

NYC transit services allows for faster travel across the city. The team utilized the subway to travel from the Flatiron Building to the Rockefeller Center. Photojournalist Bethany Pouliot, ‘19, recounts her anxiety during her first New York subway ride.

“It (the subway) was organized chaos,” Pouliot said. “I was so nervous because of the constant movement but it turned out being fine. There’s a lot of commotion in NYC. Transportation here is different then come considering there’s always people. At home (Fresno), there’s never people riding bikes or walking but it’s normal here and I think it’s great.”

Students observed the New York skyline at dusk from the 70th floor of the observation decks of Rockefeller Center called The Rock. Last year, Feather NY teams visited the One World Trade Center observation floors.  

Feather video journalist, Kyle Friesen, ‘19, shares his thoughts on what he saw at the Rockefeller Center.

“It was awesome. We got to see the whole city,” Friesen said. “When you get that high up, you can see all the buildings. You can get a great perspective on the whole city because you can see where everything is in comparison to each other. It was easily one of the greatest things I have ever seen.”

After watching the sun slip below the horizon, the girls partook in dinner at Olive Garden and the boys enjoyed Italian dishes at Don Antonio Pizza. Follow the Feather staff in NYC tomorrow as they will visit the Tenement Museum and learn more of Manhattan’s immigration stories of the Lower East Side. The Feather will also continue to publish from Fresno as more the half the staff is still in school this week. On March 14-16, The NYC Feather staff will attend the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s (CSPA) 94th  annual Spring Scholastic Convention before returning to Fresno on St. Patrick’s Day. 

For yesterday’s recap, read The Feather takes NYC 2018: Day 1 Recap. For more articles, read Fresno Christian hosts the 35th annual auction.

Sam Cross can be reached via Twitter and email. 

Feather video journalists retell the story of the day. 

The Feather Takes NYC: Day 2 Recap from The Feather Online on Vimeo.

Feather photojournalists compile a slideshow showcasing activities throughout the day. 

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