I felt that our presentation on Saturday went pretty well. We attended the first sessions, at 10. We presented in the third floor classroom south along with 3 other groups. Since we had presented twice before and we had been working on the project for the whole semester, I think we mostly knew the information pretty well, so it was easy to present. Most of the other students seemed interested and paid attention to what we had to say. We did not have time during our session for Q & A, so it was only the presentation. Something I noticed and really liked was the variety of topics that were presented. I only saw seven other presentations, but by the titles of the presentations, I could see that they were all different and no other class seemed to focus on mega projects like ours did. Many of the presentations I saw were about a problem that exists in New York City now and policy that could be implemented to help solve it.

One of the presentations that I really enjoyed was “Pollution in Chinatown,” which was presented by a group of three students from City College. I liked it because I have spent a lot of time in Chinatown, and I live in Flushing, which is like Chinatown #2 so it was relatable. I always knew that it is dirty and polluted, but I didn’t really know the extent of it and all the different reasons for it. A big part of the presentation focused on the buses that travel to other cities on the East Cost. I’ve always known about the buses, but I just thought of them as an inexpensive alternative to more costly companies for travel and I never really though about the impact the buses have to air pollution and traffic congestion. As was presented in the presentation, there are arguments for and against the buses, and I can understand bother sides. On one hand, it is a cheaper way for people to travel, especially in an area with many immigrants and elderly. But on the other hand, there are some damaging effects to the neighborhood and environment. I wouldn’t argue for getting rid of the buses, but I just hope it down not expand to other neighborhoods, such as Flushing. Flushing is already crowded and congested and there are buses that travel from Flushing to other places, but I don’t think it is like how it is in Chinatown. Seeing the presentation and the negatives of the travel buses, I really hope that it just stays in Chinatown and doesn’t expand.

Another presentation that I enjoyed was “Homelessness in LGBTQ Youth” by a group of three students. I liked that it focused on one specific sector of the homeless population, one that I think most people, including myself, don’t really think about much even though they make up a higher proportion compared to its population in the country. The main thing I got from the presentation was that sensitivity and knowledge are the biggest is really needed to help LGBTQ homeless youth. It’s simple and a small thing, and is needed not only in the policy to help LBGTQ homeless youth, but also really in everything in life.