This is the center of life for many New Yorkers and for many visitors who see it for the first unes. it can be compared to the heart of the bcast. It is vital and throbbing with throngs of workers, students, and pleasure-seekers. Noises abound on all sides, first a taxi honks, then a bus, then a policeman blows his whistle and shouts to the crowds dashing across the street. In the distance, church bells toll. Beneath their feet, the rumble of the subway can be heard while the subterranean steam rises from the gratings in the sidewalk to meet the cold air on the street.