one easily notices on any street those signs directing the traffic of cars; the one above conducts the traffic of bodies. part of the initiative to beautify the image of new york for the tourist eye, these signs coerce movement to rid streetscapes of beggars and the homeless. another instrument to ward off otherness in chance encounters.
similarly, the marriott marquis (currently hosting the 50th annual convention of the international studies association) averaging around $200 – 300 a night, makes good on its promise to ‘bring manhattan to your door.’ as kathy ferguson observed while looking for a place to sit, the hotel’s common areas conspicuously lack any seating arrangements. as such, they are not places for extended reflection and socialization, but liminal spaces for transit. the streets of manhattan run through the marriott as so many nodes of this urban society of control forcing the movement of bodies.
[addendum]
on the final day of the conference, noah and i sat on the floor near the conference room in which we would present our panel in about half an hour. a hotel orderly tasked with policing the hotel-order ordered us elsewhere because no one’s allowed to sit on the ground (no reason given).
