Reaction Paper on the New York Nobody Knows

Gurprit Kaur

MHC 351: The Peopling of New York City

May 10, 2014

Reaction Paper on the New York Nobody Knows

In chapter 5 of “The New York Nobody Knows,” Helmreich expresses the way the people tend to stick with their “own kind.” He explains that many neighborhoods of New York City are organized in a way where the area defines a specific culture or is populated by those of the same financial status. Evgenia, a critic, believes that “Helmreich created too much of a gap between the cultures in NYC. Of course, they are different, but I don’t think that there is such a big divide when it comes to interacting between cultures. In the end, we are all humans. For example, Helmreich mentions that interactions run more smoothly “when groups have more in common” (303). However, I think it’s possible to find similarities among almost every culture, simply because we can find similarities among our fellow humans.” Now I agree that it is not impossible to interact with people of different cultures, rather it is what New York City defines itself with. However, I don’t think that Helmreich is blowing the fact out of proportion that the streets of New York City are structured in a way that people culturally and financially similar stick together.

The grouping of the streets of New York City are depicted through some of the areas in Queens that I have seen myself. The East Asian community densely populates downtown Flushing. Going down Main Street, most of the shops, restaurants and even Laundromats are owned and run by Chinese, Korean or Japanese population. Going further down to Jewel Ave, the neighborhood is greatly of the Jewish community. Jewel Avenue known for the Jewish, is completely shut down during Jewish holidays, explaining the isolation of other cultures. Similarly, Richmond Hill, mainly populated by Indians, also come together through religion, where there is a temple within ten blocks of one another throughout the neighborhood. These are just a few examples of the way New York City’s streets are structured in a way that many cultures come together and “takeover” a specific area.

However New York City isn’t just a bunch of isolated neighborhoods that share similarities within each other. Yes, it is easier to talk to someone that has a similar background as you or someone who is of the same financial status. But with the amount of culture that the people of New York City are surrounded by, people learned to explore and enjoy the culture, for example, through food. People will try Mexican, Chinese, or Indian food and enjoy the authentic foods that they are exposed to, which Helmreich explains in Chapter 7 of the book. This cultural intermingling is evident through the various authentic restaurants throughout the city. This is how New York City is structured, making NYC the melting pot it is.