I had not been out of the island since last October, so it was a pleasure to experience much-improved service on arrival at Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA).
As we entered the Arrivals Hall, an immigration official directed visitors to the region to the right and Barbadians and CARICOM nationals to the left.
The winding trail led us to standing areas from where a clearly understandable recorded voice told people in each respective group which immigration booth to go to. Things moved quickly and efficiently and the air-conditioning inside the hall was welcome.
The hall was not as packed as it would normally be in the afternoon during the winter season, so I do hope this standard can be maintained when there is much more pressure on officialdom to process arriving passengers.
But, as one who has in the past criticised GAIA for terrible treatment of people arriving here, I am pleased to say congratulations this time round.
Clearly, a real effort has been made, and long may it continue.
New York, New York: The poor may always be with us, but they are finding new ways to make their presence known both above and below ground in the city.
On the subways, some come alone, others in small groups.
The ones who come alone usually just introduce themselves with a little speech, saying they have fallen on hard times and would appreciate any assistance you can offer. Then they walk the length of the car with a hat or open purse, thanking any givers.
Once, right after one appellant had left the car, the driver played the recorded announcement which stated it was illegal to beg on the subway, and please do not encourage them. Well, I forget the exact words.
The ones who come in groups sing for their supper. A similar announcement is made and then the song is broken into. Really, the performance usually sounds like someone broke into a perfectly good piece of music and rummaged through it, leaving it musically strewn all over the floor. People try not to look.
However, once, one was so good that a person I know gave them a healthy tip.
Above ground you will find many people just sitting or standing on the sidewalk with signs around their necks stating the fact of their homelessness or joblessness, or both. These folks are all in addition to the regulars who play musical instruments above and below ground in hopes of receiving tips.
Times Square, the most wonderfully insane place on earth, is where you go to watch thousands of others just like you watching everybody else do nothing but walk around. It’s a circular experience.
It is the ultimate tourist trap and no sane New Yorker would be caught dead there unless it was required by their job.
All of which is why I love it. At least for half an hour per day.
I heard an English guy sitting behind me the other evening say to his friend, “We’ve got nothing like this in England. Just riots and street fights.”
And if you wonder what all of this has to do with business, a quick read of articles on the rescue of Times Square from the seedy prostitution, drugs and vice den it had become (and this also refers to many of the streets around it, notably 42nd) by the 1970s will bring the point home.
It was big business which saved Times Square, through a combination of government incentives and policies.
Apart from its attractive tax incentives to lure large corporations to headquarter there, the government got rid of the sex-related businesses by declaring them an “economic blight” on the whole area, which apparently you can do in New York.
Disney, AMC and other entertainment companies opened theatres and movie houses and big corporations like Viacom (owner of BET and MTV), Ernst & Young and many others put their corporate headquarters in the middle of Times Square.
It has been a work-in-progress for the past 30 years, but the results so far are stunning.
Last year over 53 million tickets were sold for Broadway’s 50-plus theatres, mainly located in and around Times Square, which is not a square at all but the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Broadway.
The massive old basement where the New York Times used to store its newsprint is now Discovery Times Square, with exhibits on Pompeii and Harry Potter attracting visitors. (I saw a King Tut exhibition there last year.)
The main business of Times Square is tourism, and the New York Police Department, whatever its other failings and controversies, absolutely ensures that you can stroll anywhere in the area well past midnight without fear of being robbed or mugged (I’m sure it does happen, but the rate must be very low).
All of this so tourists like me can go watch the rest of the world go by for a few minutes, sitting at a table in the middle of Seventh Avenue, enjoying a McDonald’s mango-and-pineapple smoothie.
It is completely incredible being able to walk a few blocks from your hotel to see a musical or play, to then join the theatre crowd as it lets out around 10:30 p.m., maybe standing around doors (as we have done) to catch fleeting glimpses of Lady Gaga, Usher or Brooke Shields, or some of the many other stars who now find Broadway a great way to complement their movie careers and improve their acting craft.
In Barbados, we have St Lawrence Gap, but we need to do a whole lot more. Our tourism officials could go to Times Square and get some inspiration on how to create the ambience which encourages businesses large and small (down to the drummer playing on plastic cans) to attract and retain tourists.
Noteworthy: A correction for last week’s column: The address of Standard & Poor’s in New York is 55 Water Street, so-called because the area used to be underwater, thereby giving us yet another reason to be hopeful for our economy.
