The sights, sounds, smells and the overall feeling of the South Bronx could make anyone appreciate ten times more what they have. I never lived in the South Bronx but have made many visits to my grandmother’s apartment. This place wasn’t the nicest city I have ever been too and definitely didn’t make me feel the most comfortable. When I took those first steps out of my mother’s mini van onto the sidewalk, the smell of beer hits your nose. Then when you take in that first look ahead it is probably at a wall of graffiti. Then there were the sounds of the three o’clock L train that rode above our heads.
When we started to walk towards the apartment complex we pass at least two or three homeless men laying on the sidewalk or bench. When we finally reach the complex there was a playground in front of her building, that I never saw being used. Of course you couldn’t get in the building unless someone in the apartment buzzed in or someone walked out and you caught the door before it closed. We usually went with option two because the little machine that you would use to call the apartment where you party stayed was always busted.
When someone finally let us into the building, the first thing you would notice is the darkness of the lobby area. It was like the lights were practically off. To the right would you see hundreds of mailboxes, and to the left were the elevators. The initial smell when you enter that lobby was that moldy basement smell and the only thing you would hear would be the echo of your own voice. When we arrived to the elevators there would always be one out of order so we would have to wait quite awhile for the other one.
The Term Paper on National building code
This part of the Code deals with safety from fire. It specifies the demarcation of fire zones, restrictions on construction of buildings in each fire zone, classification of buildings based on occupancy, types of building construction according to fire resistance of the structural and non-structural components and other restrictions and requirements necessary to minimise danger to life from fire, ...
As we waited people would pass but didn’t say much to you not hey, hello or any kind of greeting. Finally when the elevator arrived the doors would open up and the only thing you would smell would be pure urine. Also the floors would be a stained yellow and every time you would pass a floor you would catch a hint of alcohol. This must have been one of the slowest elevator rides I have ever been on because it just seemed like it would never end, and you were afraid to breathe in because you don’t want to catch another whiff of the urine. As we start to approach the eighth floor a sense of relief comes over everyone. When the elevator doors open everyone thinks that they are going to be able to breathe, so we all take that deep breath and now we just took in a bunch of garbage aroma.
Next to the elevator was the garbage shoot and it seemed to be jammed with trash. We continued to walk down the hallway to my grandmother’s apartment. It seemed the closer we got to the door the darker it seemed to get. As we would pass other apartments we would hear children crying for their parents or the parents yelling at their children. But you would just mind your business and just keep walking. Finally we arrived to my grandmother’s door rang the bell and she would open the door with a gentle smile and open arms.
As the night was coming to an end and we were heading back to our car to go home, I thought to myself what an experience. I was a little happier and satisfied with my life and where I lived. I continued to thank my parents for moving before I was born to the suburbs. I was happy to visit my grandparents that day but I was also very happy to be heading back home where I felt safe and didn’t have to smell the things that I did in the Bronx.
So all and all I closed my eyes and went to sleep.
