One of my favorite old-school hip-hop songs is “The Bridge” by MC Shan. This song not only captivated me with its soul stirring beats, but it was Shan’s impeccable delivery and lyrics that epitomized New York City. While I suppose Shan was merely trying to idolize the bridge itself because it lends its name to the Queensbridge housing projects where he and many other groundbreaking MCs grew up, that is just part of the story. Queensboro Bridge the monument, aka the 59th Street Bridge, is also a major artery or contributor that connects New Yorkers intrastate, much like the MCs that came from the Queensbridge projects, who make up the greater story of hip hop history.
Like all of the other numerous bridges located throughout the city, the Queensboro Bridge offers one of the most breathtaking views of the city. Expanding between the very center of Manhattan and northern Queens, once you hit the apex, you only have to gaze left and right to get a gander of the full expanse of the metropolis, fictitiously known as Gotham City. Maybe not as well known to outsiders as its cousin the Brooklyn Bridge, it is nonetheless a major contributor to commerce.
It wasn’t until a decade ago that I discovered how little non-natives know about the makeup of NYC. I had invited a friend to visit, explaining that I lived across the street from the beach, a past-time she loved. That’s when she questioned my integrity by telling me that New York did not have any beaches. As a native who grew up going to one or more of our beaches every summer, I became infuriated. Then she cited her sources; a friend (a recent transplant to the city), and movies highlighting Manhattan. Understanding her ignorance, I calmed down then I proceeded to give her a history lesson on NYC. Here is the condensed version of how I schooled her.
New York City consists of five boroughs. They include Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens. In simpler terms, each is its own city that are counties, collectively making up the whole of NYC. Of these five, two are individual islands and another two share an island. In between all of them are a mix of several smaller islands that are also considered part of New York City, yet most people, including New Yorkers, know little about them. So, for those who somehow missed this part of their geography class, New York City sits on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean between New Jersey and Connecticut. It is this mere fact that the entire expanse of the southern shore of Long Island and Staten Island, is all coastal beach land. If it wasn’t for the Bronx being a part of the mainland, it could be said that New York City is an archipelago, a chain or group of scattered islands.
Now wait a minute, something is not adding up. I mentioned Manhattan and Staten Island as stand-alone islands and I said the Bronx was the only borough connected to the mainland, then I discussed Long Island as one long inclusive beach, but I didn’t mention Brooklyn and Queens. That’s because Brooklyn and Queens are a part of Long Island. Depending on how you look at it, Brooklyn is the starting point of Long Island, then it spreads into Queens and the latter two counties of Nassau and Suffolk that have come to be known as Long Island. At the very narrow end of the island are the Hamptons, made infamous by Martha Stewart and Sean “Puffy” Combs, then the final point is Montauk.
There are a few beaches on the northern portion of Long Island and in the Bronx, but these are man-made because they sit off the Long Island Sound and not the Atlantic Ocean. While they offer a beach-like experience, they don’t compare to the real thing. If you are considering visiting the New York metropolitan area during the summer there are several beaches from which people can sunbathe, swim, and surf. Like all east coast beaches, we don’t get the high waves like the west coast, so our beaches don’t exactly attract surfing connoisseurs. We do, however, have a few homegrown surfing stragglers. If you’re ever in the Rockaways, the only beach in NY that legally allows surfing, you might see one or two surfers catching a wave. And no, Manhattan does not have a beach. I guess that’s because it has everything else (smile).
Now let’s recap everything. New York City is made up of five boroughs. Only one, the Bronx, is attached to the mainland. Therefore, to travel anywhere in New York City outside of the Bronx, one must encounter a bridge, a tunnel, or a ferry. If you’re really adventurous, a helicopter. Brooklyn and Queens are a part of Long Island and it all used to be called Long Island. That is why Queensbridge projects are located in Long Island City, Queens and Long Island University, was founded in downtown Brooklyn in 1926. Which brings me back to MC Shan and the song, “The Bridge.” Okay, before anyone gets to barking over the actual lyrics of the song claiming that hip hop started in Queens, calm down. It is undisputed that hip-hop started in the Bronx. That is why “The Bridge is Over,” by Boogie Down Productions, the answer to Shan, is also in my repertoire of favorite hip hop songs. Both songs give the hip hop novice a quick overview of how hip hop got started, in the parks of NYC.
Despite how it is carved up and served, New York City is one collective. Along with its sister cities, Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and what we know as Long Island, they all contributed to the beginnings of a sound that is recognized globally. Just like Queensbridge identifies MC Shan’s beginning in hip hop as a Queens native, so do the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges to those in Brooklyn, the Triboro Bridge to those in Harlem (a part of Manhattan), the George Washington Bridge to the Bronx, and the Verrazano and Goethals bridges to Staten Island. It is these bridges and the symbolic ones that are interwoven into the fabric that gave rise to hip hop music, allowed it to spread and thrive. So, here’s to the bridge or shall I say bridges of New York City.
A Paige from my Book 