Voices of the Neighborhood
New York City is a place unlike any other in the world because of its sheer diversity. Everything about New York is ethnic. One of the major staples of New York living is the “neighborhood.” These neighborhoods are not typical in any way. I don’t know about you, but traditionally, when I think of neighborhood, I think of a suburban setting. Now try to place that picture of a suburban neighborhood on top of your image of New York City. Doesn’t make much sense, does it? Or maybe it does, in a different way. Everyone you meet is anxious to tell you everything about their “neighborhood,” brag about it and root for it. These little sections are places of pride and family-like relations. Each neighborhood even has its own ethnic identity and ethnic flair. For example, Whitestone is a predominantly Italian neighborhood whereas Hollis and Cambria Heights is a predominantly black neighborhood as is evidenced in these interviews or as can be clearly seen in movies like Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing or Woody Allen’s Radio Days. Each of these neighborhoods, however, make up New York City and what seems to be their ethnic isolation begins to blend and mesh to create the melting pot that we are taught about in school from a very young age. Aside from there being distinct ethnic communities with distinct ethnic flavors, there are parts of the city in which this overlap becomes very apparent. There are many places throughout the city, even in the supposed mono-cultural, or heavily predominant, areas of the city that you can hear a plethora of languages being spoken, accents being used, mannerisms being preformed, and foods being prepared, sold, and eaten.
I think that’s one of my favorite parts about living in New York City: all the different kinds of food. One of the first things that I’ve heard people not from New York City say that they liked best about this city is the diversity of ethnic foods that they would not have otherwise tried. It is incredible to think that you can eat a very satisfying sushi dinner, walk out of the restaurant and pass an Italian, Greek, and Indian restaurant without even crossing the street onto the next block.
New York City is also a place of identity, where people come to be themselves, find themselves, or even in some cases, allow themselves to be found. The people who come here can go and stay in their ethnic niche where they feel comfortable, or they can immerse themselves in a culture that is completely foreign to their own by simply walking a few blocks away. People can come to New York to gain an identity. It’s crazy to think that in a city with over 8 million people, each individual can establish their person and their individuality. They can stand out or be one of the crowd. The possibilities are endless. It can be the backdrop for individual freedoms, strong community relations, or even raising a family in the midst of the diversity and craziness that I like to call my home.
Another thing that I think is very evident in New York City, and especially in these sound clips, is the apparent tolerance of the city. Each of these three people have expressed some kind of understanding between all people that inhabit their neighborhoods, regardless of their ethnic background, age, or socioeconomic background. In this way New York City can act as a kind of middle ground where everyone can, ideally, exist in harmony like a sort of utopia, such as was depicted in Welcome Back Kotter. Though there are definitely many examples of intolerance in New York City, I think that it is one of the most accepting and non-discriminatory places in the world because of how many different kinds of people there are living in such close (sometimes cramped) proximity to one another.
