Dohne Court

I have been living in my parent’s home on Long Island my entire life. The only time we ever moved was when I was only a few months home. My house is one of three in a court that has a long alley just before you actually see the houses. When I open my front door, I can see our neighbor’s house on my right and my other neighbor’s house across from mine. The court is extremely wide and has a grayish/black concrete pavement.

Growing up, there were a few disadvantages about living in a court. First off, my bus refused to come inside my court to pick me up so I had to walk down the end alley, near the cross street, every morning and evening. This would have been fine but winter on long island is just months of ice-cold weather and inches of snow. The second drawback was that I could never go trick or treating around my own house. Since we only had two houses next to us, I was always driven to a friends or cousins house so that we can trick or treat safely around their development. I had houses on the cross street, but my mom preferred me staying in a colony to keep safe. The last hitch was that I did not like riding my bike in circles; this was before I was allowed to ride on the street. Prior to that, I would have to remain in my court so that my mom could keep an eye on me from the house. After riding around in circles ten times, it gets pretty boring and dizzy.

Because I live in the suburbs, I believe my court was designed in a way that resembles the accomplishments of Bob Moses. Bob Moses believed and created “private” housing developments. He was the dominant of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in eastern New York City. Moses believed in having privacy and creating an environment that is safe and creates a community. He helped build around 777 playgrounds and brought life to parks such as adding zoos and skating rinks throughout the entire city. Moses style of creating a relaxed atmosphere is almost exactly what the suburbs are like. To take a break from the fast paced life of the city, the suburbs are extremely quiet and family oriented. My court especially would be valued in Moses’ eyes because of all the free land there is. He would have loved to work with so much free space that is not available in the city.

An interesting fact about the history of my court is that it was named after our neighbor Bob Dohne that owned the entire land. Years ago my court used to be a nursery, Bob Dohne then bought the nursery and then with all that land, transformed it into a court. He built three I identical houses and at the end of the court, a house for him and his family. After completing his project, he decided to trademark his creation by naming it Dohne Court.

Sharon Zukin discusses the concept of “Manhattanization” which signifies; “Everything in a city that is not thought to be authentic: high-rise buildings that grow taller every year, dense crowds where no one knows your name, high prices for inferior living conditions, and intense competition to be in style.” Zukins statement can be true to identify what is authentic on long island as well. Since long island is almost nothing like the city, there are not any demanding or intimidating buildings and everything is very generously priced. Walking distance from my court is my town that is filled with stores, restaurants and bars that keep my town alive.

Over the years, my town has only advanced in expanding and opening up more restaurants, stores etc. By having this low-key yet lively kind of atmosphere, I don’t think my court has lost its soul.

The fact that I have a lively town nearby, can consider my court to be safe according to Jane Jacobs. Jane Jacobs believes that, “a well-used city street is apt to be a safe street. A deserted city street is apt to be unsafe.”  She believes that the three components that make up a safe street are:

1. Clear distinction of public and private space
2. Must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street
3. Sidewalk must have user on it fairly continuously both to ass to the number of effective eyes on the street and induce the people in buildings along the street to watch the sidewalks in sufficient numbers. 

Even though I do not live on a block, I still consider my court to be safe regardless of Jacobs’s beliefs. Jacobs believes the more active a block is the safer it is, but I think that since my court is closed off from the main road, it is safer because it is further away from any sort of crime. It may not have stores or bars on the same block but they are still extremely close by and add soul to the entire town.

The future of my court will probably stay the same. There is enough land to make another house however it would be a little cramped. I think it is the perfect place to live and grow up as with a family.