For the Neighborhood Ethnography project, there are two general neighborhoods that I am thinking of exploring:
1) Upper West Side – Being the location and neighborhood in which I reside in, I’d like to research about my neighborhood’s demographics, particularly the influx of minorities within a neighborhood that is generally deemed predominantly “white”.
2) Harlem – I’d also be interested in researching and crafting an ethnography on West Harlem (perhaps East Harlem as well), as with the Upper West Side, I’d like to learn more about the influx of different minorities within Harlem as well, because I know that it’s not as predominantly African American neighborhood anymore.
I find Staten Island’s Fresh Kills neighborhood interesting because it had a long history as one of the most notorious landfills in the US. Also, unlike many other landfills, Fresh Kills is located near predominately white communities so I want to find out why they chose to live there. What caught my eye the most is that Fresh Kills is being transformed from a landfill into an ecological park. I want to explore the demographical differences between the people living near Fresh Kills back in the days when it was a landfill and the people living near Fresh Kills now. I could also explore the community myself and talk to people who currently live there about their views of the landfill and the prospective Fresh Kills Park.
For my ethnographic project, I am particularly interested in Chinatown, especially the change in demographics, how recent immigrants are influenced by the established social code of Chinatown, how people attain jobs and houses, and how new immigrants are interacting with American-born Chinese.
Since I live in Flushing, it would be equally interesting studying the neighborhood you settle in. This neighborhood is particular in its huge diversity of ethnicity. Rather than solely occupied by Chinese, Flushing is made up of Asians (majorly Chinese and Korean), Indians, Hispanics, and Caucasians. How different ethnic groups converge together would be my interest.
A community that has piqued my interest is the community that surrounds the Fresh Kills landfill located in Staten Island. Not only does this place have a killer name, but also it definitely seems like a topic that could likely be controversial and complex in nature. Something about the name and the concept associated with it just grabs my attention. I am also a bit curious what kind of people live in the area and why they have chosen to live in such a residential area that does not seem very appealing.
I want to look into Staten Island’s North Shore community. It’s contains the site of an old warehouse that was once used for part of the Manhattan project. The island has also been exposed to tank and oil spills. Several areas of the island have been labeled as Superfund sties. Fresh Kills is one community that is being cleared of pollutants and turned into a park. I want to research the impact the spills and projects have on each community. I’ve lived in the community for most of my life and I would like to learn more about its history and the current dangers it faces.
For my neighborhood project, I want to do one of these two neighborhoods:
1) Tribeca: I want to look into the history of the neighborhood from its development to its rise as one of the most expensive neighborhoods in New York City. Its residents include some of the most notable celebrities and businessmen. I hope to also explore the architecture of the neighborhood which is very interesting and unique. Lastly, I want to research the impact that 9/11 had on Tribeca.
2) Williamsburg: I think Williamsburg is one of the most interesting neighborhoods in NYC because of its evolution. Once a raw industrial center cut off from the city, Williamsburg has transformed into an artistically rich residential neighborhood. I am curious of the impact of rezoning and gentrification and also of the various ethnic groups along with artists and musicians.
1) Sheepshead Bay: I have grown up in this neighborhood my whole life and never lived anywhere else. My parents have lived all over this neighborhood before finally settling in the house we live in now. Unfortunately, I’ve never gotten the chance to really learn about the history of the neighborhood except in elementary school because afterward, I have always gone to school in another neighborhood. I have been told Sheepshead Bay used to have a race track and some of the stable boys’ families still reside in the area. I would really like to look into that because there is no evidence of a race track ever being in Sheepshead Bay. Plus, the Bay is significant to the neighborhood and certainly has had an impact (ie: Hurricane Sandy).
2) Gravesend: I technically reside in Gravesend, but am much closer to the heart of Sheepshead Bay. I’d love to explore the other parts of the neighborhood I technically “live” in. Plus, there also appears to be a lot of diversity in the neighborhood.
Roosevelt Island- I’ve always wanted to explore this part of New York City, as it seems like an often forgotten part because of it’s location and size. I would want to learn more about it’s history and what the architects/business men had in mind when deciding to populate this very small island. With this, I plan to find out more about the first race(s) to live on the island and how that’s changed to present day. I also would like to show how this is connected, if at all, to the changes in Manhattan, especially since Roosevelt Island began to populate after the main city. Though small, I believe it holds interesting and significant history, especially through the opening and closing of the insane asylum many years ago.
Greenwich Village- This neighborhood is one of my favorites to explore, and after reading more about it from our reading of Sidewalks, I want to discover more about the role race has played in growing this neighborhood into one of the most popular and unique ones in Manhattan. It’s changed greatly over the years, especially with the presence of New York University bringing in many international students. I also want to learn if the architecture has to do with the presence of certain races, as there are much less larger apartments in this neighborhood than others, and more brownstones and small houses.
For my neighborhood project I have chosen the area of Brooklyn inhabited by the Sephardic Jewish community. This community is considered one of, if not the most successful and united Jewish community in the world. This community has literally been built from the ground up. The leaders of this community came with absolutely nothing in their pockets, and have worked tirelessly to set the foundation and build an amazing community that continues to thrive today. Both community schools and countless synagogues continue to keep this community together. We will research how this community became so successful and how it continues to stay true to its age-old roots despite the fact that it is among NYC, which is a melting pot of various different cultures.
For my neighborhood, I’m thinking about doing Astoria. Like much of NYC, Astoria is a major melting pot of cultures. It used to be primarily Greek (my heritage), but it is becoming more and more ethnically diverse each year. I would like to focus on the different immigration patterns. I know many people that live in Astoria, young and old, so I think this could help me with my project.
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