Reading Suketu Mehta’s article, “The Meltingest Pot,” I was amazed by the fact that there exists what is called “melting-pot tracts,” areas as small as apartment buildings where the population is so diverse that there is not one dominating ethnic, religious or racial group. In this one specific building, interactions between neighbors occur that are so admirable. They are admirable simply because they are uncommon and we don’t expect this living in a world where people are somewhat innately racist. The detailed examples Suketu documented of neighborly and friendly gestures made me view the Calloway Château as a quirky realistic sitcom taking place in a hotel that I wanted to be a part of. In a way, it also kind of reminded me of living in the Brookdale dorms. Specifically in the way that many of the doors are open and you can smell different foods cooking on different floors. This is the way of living that makes a group of people feel like a community, when they are open to being with each other. Of course, Brookdale is not as ethnically diverse as the Calloway Château but the residents have varying political beliefs, styles and personalities. I have become so close with some of the people I live with that we could talk about such personal and overly detailed things such as sicknesses and cures without being impolite. Another thought I had while reading this article was about how the residents came to live in Corona, Queens and particularly that block. Many were brought by the need to work and earn money for the family and the diversity fell into place because people from different cultures need the same thing.

Adam Ellick’s article provided me with a slightly different vibe. His investigation of Jackson Heights stemmed from his curiosity of what it was like to be a part of the “melting-pot” tract experience. However, while he didn’t stick out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood, he was not exactly welcomed or assimilated either. Descriptions of jogging like playing Frogger and being racially shunned at the door of a bar made Jackson Heights not seem very inviting despite its interestingness. Ellick also mentioned that few of his friends made the trip out to Queens and I can personally relate to that, not having ventured to the far borough to see friends. I make them all come to me in Brooklyn and they understand. The description of what people out on the street were doing — pushing strollers, running errands — emphasized the purpose of the residents residency. The community revolves more around family care and looking out for others. When the author mentioned that he only passed two other joggers, I thought about my own neighborhood, Park Slope, where there are hundreds of joggers out on the street at any time of day. That made me think about how people here might act as a community but their individual actions look out for themselves.

Joseph Berger’s chapter on Ditmas Park outlined, again, the high level of diversity of residents. However, it seemed evident that families and some individuals moved there to experience the unique combination of neighbors’ backgrounds and cultures. The curiosity of these people inspired me. Even though I have driven through Ditmas Park to pick up campers on the way to Manhattan Beach and been to a Shabbat dinner there, I only noticed white people. I want to experience the neighborhood the way Berger has. However, that is following his footsteps. I further want to discover a neighborhood like this on my own and feel happy when I hear the residents’ stories.

-Lucy Snyder