Mural and Doorway

Peekskill, New York

The scale in this picture fascinates me. Walking past the building, I took in the oversize figures of the mural. Then I noticed the "miniature" door and chair and nearby stairway. My scale perception shifted and then I realized how much larger-than-life the figures are. I think the effect I encountered in reality is still there viewing the picture.

I didn't stop to talk to anyone, but the sign in the window at the left announces the 2013 grand opening of the New Era Creative Space, which seems to be an interesting organization aimed primarily at enriching young people's lives and experience.

Stores and restaurants, not to mention people, around Peekskill, indicate there is a large Central American and Caribbean population, which I think must be a fairly recent development. Twenty years ago I was a frequent visitor in the area because I did a lot of work for Peekskill Hospital.

Another thing I noticed was that there are taxicabs everywhere—far more than you would expect in a small city with a population under 25,000, on the Hudson River, just over an hour and a half from NYC.  Some months ago I learned, from unrelated research, that an abundance of taxis is a strong indicator for a large population of undocumented workers. It turns out the most dangerous thing an undocumented worker can do—in terms of risking deportation—is to drive a car without a valid driver's license. One of the better jobs for a documented worker is to drive a taxi...