Lauren & Jedediah
L: We live in Whitestone
We are American, we don’t identify with anything else really.
J: Oh is this an interview?
L: Yeah.
J: Ok I’m in!
L: We talk to anyone our son sees and wants to play with. We spend the most time at the zoo, the playground
J: Yeah and the merry go round area
I know nothing about them {the pavilion}
J: Yeah well I think they should take it down. Its ugly to look at really. It’s a mess.
L: I’m indifferent to it.
J: They should at least open it for people.
After the couple hears the history of the structure:
L: Maybe if they could do something else with the structure and add a new piece to it and…
J: I haven’t changed my opinion at all. Its even sadder knowing they left it to look like this.
L: Yeah I think they should do something to just update it. Make it a little cleaner looking. I guess.
After being asked if they would attend the Queens Open Night Market
J: Probably not
Yasmine, 33 / Akeelah, 7
The most important part? Uhm I think the zoo is the most important.
Do you know why they won’t open the water? (pointing to the globe)
The buildings are not pretty, es feo. They need to fix it because it’s a little bit ugly
After hearing the history:
I don’t think it looks nice; I think they should take it down and make a ride.
I would go to the night market with my mom.
Patricia C.
I’m Irish American
I lived in Forest Hills all my life but I moved to Astoria when I retired.
I don’t spend any time with people outside of my background. I go to the theater with my girls here. (Gesturing to women next to her)
It (the pavilion) was at the world fair, and now it’s a theater for the arts. I don’t know what it stood for though. But wasn’t it part of the world fair?
After hearing the history:
No the structure has to be restored! It’s a theater! I go here for the theater! It should never be torn down it’s a landmark.
Tzuetanka V., 25
From Richmond Hill New York queens
I’m Bulgarian, which is by Greece Europe.
The people I interact with are all from different places.
I usually go biking or kayaking in the pond or fishing with my dad. We go everywhere in the park.
The pavilion, they are trying to restore it from what I heard, so that they can get the tourists back, and I think it used to be a place where they entertained people and there was a restaurant.
I like the structure. It looks cool and I was actually inside of it once on a tour.
I feel that {after I heard the history} it is very important to the park and that there are a lot of different people that it still brings together.
I would definitely go to the international market because I like to go the events in the park, even though I didn’t even know it was happening. I would go mostly for the food and the people, but I would only go with my friends or dad.
Marcos R. , 30
-Marcos just came from Argentina that morning and is going to be living in Corona, NY.
-Identifies himself as Argentinian, and takes pride in the strong sense of Argentinian community.
-Typically interacts with people who share his Argentinian background or have similar latin origins (Columbians, Peruvians, etc.)
-Spends most of his time at the soccer fields, where he participates in or watches games.
-Claimed to not be familiar with the Pavilion or its purpose in the park.
-When we showed Marcos the Pavilion he reacted negatively to it saying that it was “not nice looking”. He was in favor of knocking down the structure. Informing him about the origin of the structure didn’t change his opinion.
-Does feel like the park is culturally diverse.
-He wouldn’t attend the Queens International Night Market.
Tse S. ,18
-Lives in Flushing
-Identifies as Chinese American
-At this park, do you typically interact with people who share a similar background or people who share a different background? ( i didn’t have the answer to this one written so it might be in the video if not we can bullshit it)
-He mostly plays badminton on any open grassy area in the park, and occasionally “spars”.
-Did not know what the purpose of the pavilion was
– Likes the Pavilion
-After being informed about the history of the structure he maintained his initial opinion, and felt that the structure was important to preserving the history of the park.
-Feels like the park is very diverse. Tse enjoys coming to the park and seeing all different types of people
– He only hangs out with his friends when a group of them come to park , and does not hang out with many other people.
Click on the links below for additional interview content:
Kevin IMG_1780
