Category Archives: Uncategorized

Foner-“From Ellis Island to JFK” (Chapter 8) Response

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It is curious to ponder on how the concept of “whiteness” and acceptance of immigrants as that image will change in the future. I can guarantee that immigration will continue to be a core of American society, however, I cannot guess as to which groups will gain favor and be accepted as the (currently) dominant image of accomplished assimilation and success—“whiteness”. It is curious how Jews and Italian immigrants were considered of a lower tier a century ago and yet are now considered as “white” as any native-born, non-black or Hispanic American (the latter groups continue to be discriminated against). Will the American identity soon become a bastion of multiculturalism or will it continue to be white-dominant for a while?

Are transnational ties still crucial to second and third generation immigrants or are they exclusively a benefit to first-generation immigrants and their communities in their respective mother countries?

Granovetter

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Granovetter dicusses the strong and weak ties in the reading. He gives an example describing a situation in which because A spends a lot of time with B and spends a lot of time with C, B and C will eventually form ties (stronger ties will result if A and B, and A and C have strong ties). He starts that “if strong ties connect A to B and A to C, both C and B, bring similar to A, are probably similar to one another, increasing the likelihood of a friendship once they have met. This in particular stuck out to me because in my experience, that is true, but the “A” or the mutual friend is not present. I’ve met and became friends with people who knew my friends who I had “strong ties” with, even before I knew that they knew my friend. If B and C had somehow met without A being the mediator between the two, I believe that they would become friends even without A’s help, which is true in my case.

The idea with weak ties is understandable. However, I don’t see how it works. For me, I wouldn’t help someone get a job if I only see them rarely. I would rather give the job to someone I know better, because I know their work ethics and whatnot.

The stereotype threat

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Aronson discusses how the interaction between race and education could produce extremely debilitating results for certain groups of students. In particular focusing on stereotypes, which are distorted “facts” about specific races or groups, he discusses how their embedment in our culture affects the academic performance of African American and Latino students for example.

A 6-year-old child is already familiar with most stereotypes about specific groups, and that is the exact age at which the child stars elementary school. Being aware of a stereotype regarding your own race puts an even heavier load on your shoulder in an instructional environment, which is a place where a lot of mistakes are generally made. In fact, for example approaching a test is already a task that is usually accompained by anxiety, fear of failing. For an African American student, that anxiety is doubled by the fact that people think students of his race are stupid and will for sure do less well than White students. That extra anxiety is due to the fact that he will be responsible for feeding the stereotype if he fails. Aronson decided then to do experiments and see if by reducing the stereotype factor (for example by stating that in giving a test to students the only thing measured would have been the ability to approach a question rather than answering it correctly) the performance of these students would have changed. The results showed that African American students did much better if the stereotype factor was reduced.

So our whole educational system is a trap for minority groups affected by stereotype, because the whole end-of-the-semester-big-exam philosophy makes them vulnerable to the effects of the stereotype factor. Since we cannot eradicate stereotypes from our society (that being a whole bigger issue), we can definitely try to modify teaching systems so that these children have the same ability to succeed as everyone else.

Sara Camnasio

Chinatown Interview 3 – Wendy Li, Linda Wong, Lisa Torre

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Jewelry Store Interview

This is an interview with two jewelry store owners in Chinatown.  They spoke to us about their experiences with Hurricane Sandy.  They said they could not open the store because there was no electricity, and they needed lights to display the jewelry.  There was no one in the streets, and it was really dark like a “dead city.”  You would only know people were near you if you bumped into them.  Their business was negatively affected, like after 9/11, when as a result of the disaster there is now little to no business.  The government offered them loans which they would have to pay back, but they did not see these as necessary since they did not lose any of their jewelry like a food store owner would lose his perishables.  They have an apartment in Chinatown and one in Queens, so they were able to stay in their unaffected Queens home.

Foner / Chapter 2

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Having visited the Tenement Museum only a week ago, Foner’s descriptions of late 19th and early 20th century living conditions were vivid in my mind.  The lack of basic necessities  including plumbing, ventilation, heating, and bathrooms made immigrant life in the Lower East Side almost unimaginable by today’s standards.  Even for the contemporary immigrant,  what immigrants faced only a century ago, does not even remotely compare to the quality of life expected when arriving in America.

For me, the most interesting aspects of this chapter, and from our tour, are the following:

1.  The difference between the living standards in the 1890’s and the 1920’s were vast.  Partly thanks the new legislation introduced in 1901 that required certain basic housing standards, the tenement experience varied greatly over a time period of only thirty years.  During our tour, the benefits of living in the 1930’s were evident.  We visited two tenements, and even though the family that lived in the 1890’s apartment was more wealthy than the family who lived in the 1920’s tenement, the 1920’s tenement was almost luxurious in comparison.

2.  In our readings we have mostly focused in NYC as a whole in terms of demographic trends.  Although we sometimes delve into specific neighborhoods, the amount of detail Foner provided regarding diversity within only the Lower East Side helped to show just how many “types” of stories there were even in one neighborhood.  Not everyone in the Lower East Side was of the same ethnicity, and even those who were each had individual paths to America, and different outcomes while living here.  Some stuck to religious and cultural traditions, while others assimilated.  Some became wealthier and moved into higher classes, but many were only able to offer social mobility to their children, while still others could not even do that much.

-Victor Rerick

Foner Chapter 1: Two thoughts

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1.   The concept of being “white’ is a general one that is often used to encompass many, mostly European, immigrant groups.  But when the groups first arrived in new York they were rarely considered to be white because they were marked as foreigners as most immigrants are.  It is only through a gradual and subtle process that each group of European immigrants, including German, Irish, Italian, French, British, etc.  become labeled as such.  What is this process?  Does it vary from group to group or is their a consistent process of going from “italian” to “white”  or “german” to “white”.

2.  A complex problem involving highly educated immigrants is their struggle to find high paying and prestigious jobs in America.  Many immigrants, especially those in Foner’s “second wave”, are particularly well educated and in some cases even wealthy.  But many immigrants are forced to forfeit their careers in medicine, government, and law simply because their degrees are not honored in America.  Is there a conceivable solution to this problem that would allow immigrants to more easily integrate into the “white collar” workforce, or will immigrants be forever subject to re-climbing the socio-economic ladder?

-Victor Rerick

Response to Putnam

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Putnam gives a description of the positive and negative aspects of immigration. On the positive side immigrants enhance creativity,winning laureates and academy awards, they are generally associated with rapid economic growth, and help to offset the impending  fiscal effects of the retirement of the baby boom generation. These admittedly were not positive effects I had even really thought about. Usually when I think about the benefits of immigrants, I mainly think about the diversity and culture they bring to America, but immigrants are really rooted in the foundation of America not just socially but politically and economically.

Putnam, however, goes on to explain two theories that explain social capital and interaction. The first is the social contact theory. It says that if two ethnic groups are in contact with each other, they get over their initial hesitations and are more likely to accept and care for each other. The social conflict theory, on the other hand says quite the opposite. It says that if two or more ethnic groups live close to each other, because of reasons including limited resources, the groups will actually be more distrustful of each other and become more confined within their own ethnic group. There is still much debate over which theory better applies, but personally I believe in the social contact theory. Immigrants and diversity is crucial for a country to be successful and progressive. It is important to understand the customs and culture of other countries, and immigrants provide an opportunity to gain this knowledge. We need immigrants. They have become one of the most important influences on American culture, and people will have to learn to accept it.

Emma Park-Hazel

Response to Zhou, Chin, and Kim

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This reading was very interesting because I was surprised to learn that better wages and employment is no longer the driving force behind emigration. Because of the global economic restructuring, immigration to American has not only become a means of escape for many immigrants who are suffering either political or religious turmoil or extreme poverty, but for more complex reasons such as accessing institutionalized credit and insurance markets, educational opportunities for their children, and formal and informal migration networks. A large part of this change is due to the types of immigrants that are coming to this country. Instead of the poor,uneducated masses, a new class of highly-skilled, educated, and even affluent Chinese immigrants are beginning to emerge.

As a result, this new class of Chinese immigrants is taking over neighborhoods in both New York and Los Angeles and gentrifying the neighborhoods. They have created these “ethnoburbs” and in fact made many neighborhoods more diverse. I was also surprised that the different Chinatowns, especially in New York represent different populations of Chinese immigrants. Living in New York CIity all my life and being to both Manhattan and Flushing’s Chinatowns many times I had always assumed the immigrants were largely Cantonese immigrants. However, according to the article, the immigrants that settled into Flushing were mainly Taiwanese who were skilled and educated and thus Flushing became a thriving commercial area.

In the creation of all these new Chinatowns, and other ethnoburbs, a lot of the authenticity of these neighborhoods and not simply assimilating to become “‘indistinguishably’ American or white” is reliant on communication and the ever progressing technology. Immigrating to America no longer means losing connection with family and traditional roots of the emigrated country because most places are only a Skype phone call away.

Emma Park-Hazel

Sewing Women Chapters 5-9

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These chapters focus on the overall structure of the Korean and Chinese factories as well as the hiring practices and working conditions. The Chinese garment factories form a much tighter community since they only hire other Chinese workers. They have similar customs and values. While some of my classmates said that this exclusivity practiced by the Chinese factories is unfair, it made me wonder about how many other businesses hire people of their own ethnic background, espeicially buisnesses run by immigrants. It goes along the same lines as the same ethnic group all mving to one neighborhhod. Coming into a new country is daunting and immigrant workers want to hire other workers who they can trust and have similar values to them. Thus in a country where so much is foreign to you, wouldn’t you want to hire people who are motivated by similar factors to make money and become successful as you as well as build a community? I suspect that it is not only the Chinese whose only hire people from their same ethnic group.

Also, I was pretty surprised at the harsh treatment in the Korean factories. While the Koreans hire workers of other ethnic backgrounds such as Mexican and Ecuadorians, they are also much stricter. The Koreans do not take untrained workers and they only allow workers to do a certain part of the production, the worker does not even make the full garment. The fact that a version of the assembly line is still very prominently used was quite a wake up call for me. Back in the 1900s, one of the big complaints about the factories was the use of the assembly line, and it really hasn’t dissolved even today. Why haven’t people spoken up about the menial assembly line being used in these modern factories?

Hurricane Sandy and Avenue U

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Avenue U Chinatown while only 10 blocks long goes through both Homecrest and Sheepshead Bay. While Homecrest was not badly affected by Hurricane Sandy, Sheepshead Bay suffered critical damage. Sheepshead Bay really had as much damage as Staten Island and the Rockaways and yet relief took even longer to reach Sheepshead than the other two . Not only did Sheepshead Bay experience extreme damage, but it along with a large part of South Brooklyn was looted:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/hurricane-sandy-looting-brooklyn-coney-island_n_2047183.html#slide=1704488

Here is an account of a Sheepshead Bay resident when Sandy first hit:

“At 7:46, the water started coming in,” said Shannon White, 27, standing outside his destroyed house on Stanton Road. “At 8:10, I got out. The water was neck-deep.” He swam to safety with his dog on his shoulders — and then came back. “I got a canoe that washed up on Nostrand Avenue,” he said. “We were oarin’ with two pieces of wood like this,” he said, pointing to a broken fence. “We helped two old couples and a couple kids. I grew up here. This is all like family.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/11/sheepshead-bay-no-homes-no-power-no-relief.html

Here are some images of the damage in Sheepshead Bay area:

Finally here is a video of the aftermath of Sandy on Sheepshead Bay:

Emma Park-Hazel

 

Aftermath of Sandy: Chinatown

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From asking people to doing research, I have learned that during Hurricane Sandy, the Manhattan branch of Chinatown was left completely in the dark.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/hurricane-sandy-chinatown-black-market_n_2050754.html#slide=1708158

This article explains the way the residents of Chinatown dealt with the black skies and black buildings.  Businesses who had power or batteries and other necessities increased their prices greatly in order to stay in open.

This video shows a woman’s perspective of the aftermath of Sandy in Chinatown.   People came to volunteer and help out Chinatown during this time of need, when businesses and houses were in the dark.

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath

Putnam-“E Plurius Unum” Response

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Essentially, increased immigration has two effects on a society, the short-term and the long-term; while in the long run successful immigrant communities enrich their society and foster increased solidarity among their residents, their short-run affects are less than favorable. For instance, tensions and mistrust are greater in such communities at first, and altruism and cooperation within the communities are consequently lower. Putnam focuses on social networks and their importance in these communities, how they form, and what effects they have on a greater scale. For instance, social networks are important for both the people in them, and those around them. He states: “much evidence suggests that where levels of social capital are higher, children grow up healthier, safer and better educated, people live longer, happier lives, and democracy and the economy work better.” Ethnic diversity (increased immigration from various origins) is desirable because it enriches/increases social capital; a good thing too, because needless to say it is pretty much inevitable in the long run. I was curious as to what are other benefits to ethnic diversity besides increased levels of creativity and rapid economic growth?

Putnam Response

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The fact that Putnam responds to the question of immigration with a positive response is refreshing to hear.  Today’s news and talk on the street is only about the negative outcomes of immigration, however I agree with Putnam and the fact that immigration is an asset to a successful and prosperous nation.  Immigration and ethnic diversity has led us to become one of the super powers of the new world.  Immigration supports the increase of funds throughout the city.  Putnam surprised me by telling me the negative connotations of ‘immigration’, for some people may have these feelings of not being able to obtain trustworthiness between the immigrant groups.  ‘The more ethnically diverse the people we live around, the less we trust them.’  This sentence really caught me off guard.  From my point of view, New York City is one of the most diverse places throughout the world, and I don’t see myself distrusting people I am around.  I think it is similar to anywhere else, we have to be cautious, but we do have the ability to walk down the street and not constantly be worrying that anyone else on the street will attack you.  There seems to be a lower confidence in the local government, leaders and news, lower political efficacy and lower frequency of registered voters.  According to recent disastrous events, such as Hurricane Sandy, the local government has helped its constituents, however one can argue that more could have been one throughout the boroughs of New York City.  However as seen with the election of President Obama for his second term shows the increased registration of voters in diverse areas, as well as faith in ones local government.

As discussed throughout the other readings, Putnam discusses the homogeneity of the ethnic groups within a city of large amounts of immigrants.  Examples of this include the Chinatowns within New York City, for example in Manhattan, and Brooklyn and other various boroughs of New York.

Moving On, Moving Along

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The tragedy of September 11, though much more intense and terrible is much like this year’s Hurricane Sandy.  Workers throughout Chinatown could not get to work for the first two weeks and the subway lines were disrupted.  Shops had to close in both instances because they could not put out orders or finish ones that have already been started.  Because workers could not come in and orders could not be fulfilled, these shops were forced to foreclose and claim bankruptcy.  The Chinatown garment industry took many cut backs and was highly impacted by the monstrosities of 9/11.  Within the next two years the garment industry had closed at double the rate of the norm.

1. Will history repeat itself, and the effects of September 11th happen again in the effects of Hurricane Sandy?

Due to September 11th the economy throughout Chinatown diminished, tourism was on the decline because of a lack of way to get to Chinatown and the already weak garment industry was hit hard.  People who worked throughout Chinatown, especially the women, found it very hard to acquire jobs in non-English speaking environments, which would fit their schedules not within Chinatown.  The lack of education among this population was apparent when the Chinese had difficulties finding jobs not within Chinatown.  Many people did not speak English and this handicap made it difficult to find a steady job.  The fear of having an unsteady job also kept many women away from re-entering the sewing and garment industry in 2004, when factories were being started up again.

2. Will these effects also occur because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy?

Homecrest, Brooklyn

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Homecrest Brooklyn is home to a population of 71,132 people. While Homecrest, Brooklyn has traditionally been populated by a large Italian community, it has experienced an influx of immigrants from Latin America, South Asia, Russia, and China. Avenue U  has become New York City’s newest Chinatown. It runs through both Homecrest and Sheepshead Bay areas and is accessible by the B and Q train of the BMT Brighten Line. In fact, Avenue U is considered a second extension of Manhattan’s Chinatown because the Q train directly connects Canal Street, the main street in Manhattan’s Chinatown, to Avenue U.

The population of Homecrest is still mainly Caucasian, however the Asian population is slowly becoming more prominent in the neighborhood, followed by the Hispanic population. 46.9% of the population was born outside of the United States, showing how large of an immigrant population Homecrest really holds.

The average income of Homecrest is $46, 844 which is only slightly higher than Brooklyn’s median income. Homecrest also has significantly less percentage of people below the poverty line, 17.2% as opposed to in Brooklyn’s total percentage below the poverty line being 25.1%.

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Homecrest-Brooklyn-NY.html

Emma Park-Hazel

Homecrest, Brooklyn, NY

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Below is a map of Homecrest, Brooklyn, NY taken from www.city-data.com which clearly defines the borders of the neighborhood. According to the map, Homecrest spans from Coney Island Avenue to Gerritsen Avenue and from Kings Highway to Avenue X, for a total area of about 2.2 miles. The population of Homecrest, Brooklyn at the time of writing of the article on www.weichert.com was just over 71,000 people, with the median age being 40.96 years (see bar graph below). The data represented on this map shows what percent of the population in different parts of Homecrest is Asian. These percentages range from 1% to 54% with the most Asian people living on, or very close to, Avenue U. These percentages are rather low when compared to Manhattan’s Chinatown, where the percent of Asians is approximately 95%, on average, with small portions of the neighborhood falling just below 80% Asian. Although this comparison may lead one to claim that Homecrest should not be considered a Chinatown, one must keep in mind that Homecrest’s area is over twenty times that of Manhattan’s Chinatown (2.189 square miles vs. 0.108 square miles). Additionally, Chinatown’s population density is 82, 417 people per square mile, while Homecrest’s is 32,488 per square mile, so the percentages of Asians in each area are very misleading (www.city-data.com).

MHC 150 Homecrest Map

I live not too far from the section of Avenue U that is within Homecrest, and, over the years, I have witnessed the evolution of the neighborhood into a Chinatown. Over the past decade the number of Asian grocery stores and restaurant on Avenue U has grown significantly. Homecrest has become Brooklyn’s second largest Chinatown and considering the fact that it was born less than two decades ago, we can safely conclude that it has much more potential for development. This large land area, when compared to that of Manhattan’s Chinatown, and the continuing migration of Chinese residents of New York City, especially from other parts of Brooklyn, into the neighborhood, will certainly allow for this Chinatown to become as established as the Chinatown which we call Chinatown.

MHC 150 Homecrest Population Age Distribution

http://www.weichert.com/search/community/neighborhood.aspx?hood=5689

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Homecrest-Brooklyn-NY.html

Sewing Women Chapters 1-4

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As Chapter 3 explains, emigration patterns are quite various, differing based on both country of origin and the time period. While the Chinese have had the tendency to immigrate to the United States with plans of remaining here permanently, Hispanics’ initial plan was often to make some money and then go back home. I feel genuine sympathy for the Mexican woman who had to leave her eighteen-month-old child in order to be able to provide her daughter with a better life. I couldn’t stand to read how the mother said that she cried for three months after leaving. It’s very unfortunate that Mexican immigrants can’t bring their families over more easily, as can the Chinese. The 1989 massacre of Tiananmen Square, jointly with the Immigration Act of 1965, allows the Chinese to apply for refuge to come to the U.S. legally. These legal immigrants can then apply to bring their families over.

Unfortunately, the Hispanic don’t have this relative luxury as the tiny immigration quota for their home countries hasn’t allowed for enough legal immigrants to accumulate for a large number of families to be brought over. I understand that increasing quotas would lead to more unwanted competition on the job market and for budget housing, such as that provided by the housing projects in NY. However, I believe that there is likely a way to work something out so that more foreigners could immigrate to the U.S. without leaving members of families who have been here for generations, jobless. Perhaps I am biased because I’m an immigrant myself, but is there really no way to accommodate for more Mexicans and other Hispanics coming to the U.S legally? Many make the trek to come here illegally anyway, occupying jobs that we try to deny them by having a low immigrant quota. So what exactly does the quota actually end up achieving besides allowing employers to pay some Mexican immigrants below minimum wage because they are illegals and won’t be able to complain?

Homecrest Information

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Homecrest, Brooklyn is home to about 71,000 people, and 17,000 households. The majority of these people are in their mid 40s to mid 50s, with an average income of $47,453. However, it is not a bell curve, because the majority of households only earn 0K-10K a year, and the next majority earns 75K-100K, as shown by this graph.

ChartImg

 

Their hospitals include Homecrest Health Center, Coney Island Hospital, NY Presbyterian Community, and Beth Israel King Highway.

Homecrest is New York City’s newest Chinatown and came into creation around 2000. It is in a way directly connected to Manhattan’s Chinatown since both are close to the Q trains. Homecrest/Avenue U came about because of the overpopulating of Sunset Park, as dictated in the NYC/LA Zhou, Chin, and Kim article.

http://www.weichert.com/search/community/neighborhood.aspx?hood=5689

http://combosaurus.com/interest/homecrest-brooklyn

 

Response to Zhou, Chin, Kim

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Class diversity increased within ethnoburbs because family from China would join their relatives and sometimes take on low-skilled jobs. I thought it was interesting that not only did class diversity increase, but over time the ethnic diversity in towns increased as well because the wealthier Chinese did not feel a need to stay in their potentially overcrowded ethnoburbs. As they climbed the ladder, they no longer felt a need to be in a place that was familiar to home.

The statistics for the rate of change of ethnic groups in Flushing and Sunset Park make it seem like the Chinese communities pushed the non-hispanic whites out, which is different from what you usually hear about the middle or upper class white man taking over and pushing out the lower class, such is the case with the gentrification of the Upper East Side.

Sewing Women Chapters 5-9

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After my re-reading my first post regarding Sewing Women, I feel that I focused to much on the benefits of working in the Chinese factories.  Sewing Women makes it clear that despite the family-friendly atmosphere present in the Chinese factories, many workers were exploited by the system.  The benefits of working in the Chinese factories as opposed to the Korean factories were very evident.  The Chinese laborers were working with family members that shared a culture, history, and language.  They also often lived with their own families and were given time to be part of the family-unit.  They were usually unionized, and had more rights as workers.  They could work at home, and could work extra to be payed more.

Given these factors, it would appear that working in a Chinese factory was vastly superior to working in the Korean-owned factories.  Yet, the close relations between workers in the Chinese factories gave rise to numerous problems for employees.  Out of respect for the factory owners, who were of the same cultural heritage and possibly even family members, female workers were unlikely to demand better pay or working conditions.  The Chinese women were expected to train new employees (potential workers in Korean factories would usually not be hired if they were untrained) and they were also expected to find new employees by recommending the factory to family members.  Workers would also be held informally responsible for the performance of the workers that they recommend to their employers.  As part of a union and complex social structure it was also less likely for a Chinese worker to move from factory to factory than it was for a Dominican immigrant working in the Korean factory system.  In many ways, the situation of hispanic workers was actually preferable to that of the Chinese, at least in the sense that they were afforded more freedom in which factory they wanted to work.

-Victor Rerick

NYLA

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What I found interesting was that while the Chinatown community was essentially isolated and confined because of the government’s laws, and this made the community of Chinatown more united. As a result of the confinement, the “old-timers created their own means of survival via ethnic economies and organizations in order to avoid direct competition with native workers while also keeping alive their sojourner’s dream that one day they would return to China with gold and glory” and “such segregated living reinforced their ethnic difference and unassimilability.” As a result of this, the “old-timers” are less likely (even nowadays) to assimilate into American society. Even after all these years, you can still see how closed off the older generation in Chinatown is compared with the younger generation of Chinatown. I still see it all the time, within my own family, when my parent’s friends tell me to “stop being so American”.

The article also talked about the development of Chinese schools that weren’t competing with public schools, but instead supplemented the education. This is relevant even today – if you walk through an Asian neighborhood, there are bound to be at least five different educational institutions for any kind of standardized testing. I, myself, have been to at least 3 different ones. During my years of going there, majority of the kids were Asian. I work at one of these institutions now, and while majority of the kids still are Asian, there are definitely more kids who are not Asian present. This was something I hadn’t seen before, back around five years ago.

Chinatown Description

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Chinatown is the mecca and heart of Chinese culture. It is the home of the first major Chinese enclave in the US. Despite initial acts of discrimination such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Chinese were able to grow and form a strong community. Filled with boutiques full of fashion, souvenir shops, general stores, karaoke lounges and, of course, a plethora of food eateries to satisfy one’s hunger, just about any and everything is available. Yet, such is just a snippet of what Chinatown has to offer.

As both a residential and commercial community, a tourist gets the best of both worlds. Walking up and down anywhere between Broome Street to the North, Allen Street to the East, Worth Street to the South and Lafayette Street to the West, one could get a sense of how the Chinese live, relax and play. If you walk pass Columbus Park you are sure to find the elders engaged in an intense game of chess. For the more “Americanized” Chinese youth you are sure to find them engaged in a game of handball at the Grand St. Park.

And last, but certainly not least, if you are a food avid, shall I just say, if you want to go to your early heaven, look no further than Chinatown. It has the delectable, authentic cuisine of China, minus the long plane ride. Not only is the food delicious but the possibilities unlimited. If you want to make a conservative choice one can simply go with the popular dumplings and bubble tea, might I say, two personal favorites of yours truly. If you want a traditional Chinese meal I would suggest you try a dim sum, a variety.

Then if food is not you thing, although I find such hard to believe, one could simply go to Chinatown to take in its marvelous history. There is Confucius Plaza, the Church of Transfiguration and Five Points just to name a few. Easily accessible from Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan’s east and west side via the 6, Z, D, B, N, Q, R, J,  and M, there is no reason not to go and experience something new, different and historical.

Chinatown Description

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Chinatown, Manhattan, is located near the Lower East Side.  There are about 90,000 to 100,000 people here.  Chinatown encompasses the largest population of ethnic Chinese people outside of Asia.  Residents come from various different parts of China, and they speak different languages (mainly Mandarin, Min, and Cantonese).  Chinatown’s borders are considered Broome Street, Allen Street, Worth Street, and Lafayette Street.  Some of the main things people should see when visiting Chinatown are the Museum of Chinese in America, Columbus Park, Sara Delano Roosevelt Park, and Chatham Square.

After the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 many more Chinese immigrants were allowed into the country and Chinatown’s population greatly increased.  After September 11, 2001, Chinatown suffered because tourism and business slowed for a few years; however, it has increased again.  Higher luxury apartments being built in the area also contribute to this boost.  Chinatown is filled with many businesses as well, including fish markets, jewelry stores, and green grocers.

 

Coney Island Description

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coney_island_map

 

The neighborhoods that are often considered part of Coney Island include Sea Gate, Coney Island Proper, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach.  Coney Islands identity is rooted in its history as a resort.  Its beaches, amusement parks, and restaurants are well-known throughout the city.  Following WWII, the park faced a decline as the infrastructure of the area was neglected.  Though still a prominent tourist destination, the area is in need of significant capital investment.  This need was only amplified by Hurricane Sandy, which wrought destruction on the area’s famous boardwalk and amusement park.

This website is similar to social explorer but it lacks the fancy graphics.  It provides a coherent breakdown of Coney Island’s area code in terms of finances, marital status, ethnicity etc.  The website is actually intended for real estate to give potential buyers an idea of the neighborhood they are considering moving into, but the information serves our purposes well.

Some quick stats:

-Median age is 43

Ethnicity:  Majority White but also large Asian, Hispanic, and Black populations.

-Total Population (including Sheepshead Bay) :  roughly 286,000

-Most common educational level is a bachelors degree

-Median household income of $52,000 (according to this website but varying on others).

_In a significant number of crime rates Coney Island is above the “national average”.

http://homes.point2.com/Neighborhood/US/New-York/New-York-City/Brooklyn/Coney-Island-Demographics.aspx

-Victor Rerick

Foner Response

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From a social science perspective, Foner’s decision to frame her research on a city-scale, rather than a national one, allows her to focus on what makes immigration patterns in New York so unique.  She discredits the notion that the nation state should serve as the unit of analysis when measuring immigration.  Rather than using the “city as a constant” method,  she compares and contrasts the institutions between cities that determine the nature of the immigrant experience in each.  For example,  she demonstrated the impact of the City University of New York on the education opportunities provided to new immigrants in New York.  The massive, and relative affordability, of this specific institution, has allowed millions of immigrants passing through New York to obtain higher education levels.  Apart personal enrichment, this allows the immigrants to pursue careers with higher wages, provide for their family, and stimulate the city’s economy.  The absence of a city-wide university with a mission of affordability in other cities such as Chicago prevents low-income students, a demographic that most immigrants fall into, to move to that city and pursue their desired education.

Apart from eduction, their are several institutions including law-enforcement, medical, and judicial systems that cause a vast disparity in every American city’s “openess” to immigrants.  New York has historically placed an emphasis, through both its social institutions and economic budget, on encouraging immigrants to travel to the city.  The fluctuation of immigrants in and out of the city, as Joe Salvo observed in his talk, lends an important energy to the city.  Certain groups leave neighborhoods and a new   ones emerge to take their place, changing the cultural fabric of an area seemingly overnight.  Although this transition of immigrants in and out of New York is expensive for the city, it is essential to maintaining the cultural diversity that makes New York a unique city on both a national and global scale.

-Victor Rerick

Klinenberg Response

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1. As Klinenberg described how certain group such as the elderly and the African American community were basically abandoned and helpless in the heatwave because they either did not have the accommodations to survive or did not have enough of a community to ban together and survive, it reminded me of Hurricane Katrina. The ones who were most affected were poor African Americans who could not get out of New Orleans before the hurricane hit. After Sandy, it occurred to me how this pattern keeps happening over and over again and there needs to be more programs for disaster protection of these poor and helpless neighborhoods so the cycle doesn’t continue.

2. I really liked the fact about the latino community. They were less affected because they were more of a tight knit community and were able to help each other. In a sense, they did not forget about each other, so the media and the government and aid did not forget about them either.

Emma Park-Hazel

Foner Reading

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1.  I recently watched a documentary about interracial children and how they identify themselves. Foner brings up the census and the limited options of what to choose when picking race. So many races are either not represented or misrepresented such as the light skinned Cubans. This is a dilemma that these interracial children in the documentary faced. They did not know what ethnicity to check off and it made them very insecure about their own biracial status.

2. I liked when Foner was talking about CUNY and how students of all different ethnicities are able to come together there. In my sociology class. we talked about how students of all ethnicities feel the ability more to be themselves and represent their culture as opposed to a private college where many students who come from ethnic backgrounds feel like they have to change to fit in.

Emma Park-Hazel