Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• McNamara, Robert P

Titel

SEX, SCAMS, AND STREET LIFE. THE SOCIOLOGY OF NEW YORK CITY'S TIMES SQUARE

Erscheinungsjahr

1995

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Sociological Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A collection of articles using an ethnographic approach to focus on the street life of New York City's Times Square from different angles & perspectives in an attempt to document what Times Square is & what it is becoming. A primary goal is to provide theoretical knowledge on how communities emerge, are shaped, & change; another is to highlight the problems of conducting social science research in this type of setting. An examination of the redevelopment history of Times Square offers a comprehensive view of the problems relating to the planning & implementation of large-scale strategies. Times Square is presented as an ideal ethnographic laboratory because of the richness & diversity of behavior contained within its boundaries; it is the only place where hundreds of different worlds that comprise New York City meet face-to-face. Times Square is also seen as a meeting place for events of significant social importance, such as the dropping of the Times Square Ball at midnight on New Year's Eve, & celebrating US military victories. The major importance & significance of Times Square is seen as the people who use the area. Broadway stars, tourists, passersby, prostitutes, drug dealers, & a host of others are thrown together with funny, dramatic, & sometimes deadly results. It is concluded that Times Square, & the way in which the area is perceived, may be undergoing a fundamental transformation. Following an Introduction, the book is organized in III PARTS, containing 10 Chpts. PART I - RESEARCH AND TIMES SQUARE - offers (1) William Kornblum & Terry Williams -- Methodological Notes for a Times Square Field Station; & (2) Stephen J. Sifaneck & Robert P. McNamara -- An Exploration in Visual Ethnology. PART II - THE SOCIAL LANDSCAPE: HUSTLERS, MERCHANTS, AND PEEP SHOWS - includes (3) Robert McNamara -- The Nature of Male Prostitution in Times Square; (4) Stephen Duncombe, Stephen J. Sifaneck, & Andras Szanto -- The Incense Merchant on Times Square: The Black Muslim Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism; & (5) Robert McNamara -- Dramaturgy and the Social Organization of Peep Shows. PART III - THE CHANGING FACE TO FACE OF TIMES SQUARE - presents (6) Shane Newmark -- The 42nd Street Development Project; (7) Gretchen Dykstra -- The Times Square Business Improvement District and Its Role in Changing the Face of Times Square; (8) John Feinblatt & Michele Sviridoff -- The Midtown Community Court Experiment; (9) William H. Daly -- Law Enforcement in Times Square, 1970s-1990s; & (10) Marie P. Bresnaham -- Taking It to the Streets: Outreach to Youth in Times Square. 1 Table, 4 Figures, 21 References. V. Rios, Jr.