All posts by Gautam Ramasubramanian

Assignment 4

Flushing Neighborhood Portrait

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As Dane Fearon and I began to walk down Bowne Street, one of the oldest roads in Flushing, we saw a small fenced courtyard filled with old shirts, old pants, old socks, old books and other miscellaneous items. As we wandered in, we saw a Korean woman sitting on a chair with a money box in front of her. Apparently, the items displayed were for sale, and whoever bought them had to put their payment inside the money box. Dane started to talk to the Korean lady, but as the lady couldn’t speak English, she motioned to another lady within the courtyard who knew English. This other lady initially greeted us sternly, with a sharp “How can I help you?” Once we asked her about what was going on, she relaxed her attitude, and said warmly, “We are part of the Jesus Love House Mission. We are hosting a fundraiser to help homeless people living in the buildings close by”. She pointed at the one behind her as an example. They were part of a Presbyterian Church, and this was one of their acts of service. She asked us whether we wanted to buy anything, and when we said no but donated money in the money-box anyway, she bid us farewell saying “You Got Good Love”.

During the 1970s, the economic downturn in the US had an adverse effect on Flushing. Almost 40% of the early immigrants, mostly Irish communities, left to look for better neighborhoods (“NYC2010”). This created a population gap in Flushing, which people from Korea rushed to fill during the 1980s. The first Koreans came in large numbers in search of low rent, un-crowded streets and a close access to Manhattan via subway. Flushing was their natural choice for settlement because it contained all three criteria within one neighborhood. Therefore, the Korean population rose from almost nothing to around 64,000 in a city of approximately 200,000 people – a solid 32-36% percent of the total (Junaid et. al.). The majority of the Korean immigrants are not blue-collared workers as some would think, but are middle-class with a decent education. Yet, their lack of ability to speak English seriously hampered their economic mobility in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Many of them became self-employed, started a whole range of Korean businesses along Union Street, a road in between Bowne and Main Streets. They formed credit unions (‘Gyeh’), a group of business owners who pooled their money into a central community chest, which they could withdraw from if in need of money. This particular practice stems from the East Asian value of filial piety, a sense of giving to the community. For more examples of Korean businesses, I personally remember a Lee’s Tae Kwon Do martial arts school on Union Street, where many children in the neighborhood used to congregate for lessons 10 years ago. It was an example of a small business, teaching local kids Korean martial arts for a fee.

Most of the Koreans who immigrated to Flushing were Christian, which caused the proliferation of Korean Protestant churches during the ‘80s and ‘90s. These churches, to this day, are powerful centers for people to congregate (also a cause of many traffic jams). These churches also provide a variety of services like fundraisers (such as the fundraiser we bumped into), food distributions or English classes for people who don’t speak the language very well. The Korean-town neighborhood of Flushing is located mainly in Union Street and Bowne Street, east of the famous Flushing Main Street.

The Korean population of Flushing is notable in the area just mentioned. Instead, if you go down Kissena Blvd, we get a number of residential buildings with a vibrant South Asian community. Its biggest subgroup is from India, which constitutes around 62% of the total South Asian community (Salvo et. al.). The next biggest subgroup is from Pakistan, constituting 25% of the South Asian group, while Bangladeshis constitute 12% of the group. This group is not as vibrant economically as the Koreans in terms of small businesses, but Indian businesses like Patel Brothers, Chandigarh Fashion, and Dosa Hutt do exist. Patel Brothers is the only place in Flushing to get South Asian food items, South Asian spices, and other commodities. Dosa Hutt serves small scale South Indian food while Chandigarh Fashion sells formal Indian clothing. These two businesses form the commercial spine of this community. Yet, during the early 2000s, based on personal experience, many more Indian shops and restaurants would be open to the public in the area near Patel Brothers, but they all slowly moved away and got replaced.

However, the Indian religious community is very vibrant, thanks to the Hindu Temple in Bowne Street and Holly Ave – a great congregating institution for Hindus not only in Flushing but around New York City (Bloom et. al.). Several other Hindu temples have also sprung up nearby, which become congregation places for their devotees. With these institutions in place, immigrants have a solid way to pass on Hindu traditions to their children. In my case, I have learned Indian Classical Music through a teacher I had gotten to know through the Hindu Temple. These congregations are not limited to the religion of Hinduism. Many Sikh temples and mosques also exist in Flushing, where South Asian Sikhs and Muslims can congregate. In fact, there was a New York Times article in 1983 about a Sikh resident of Flushing who combined his old culture with the new culture he acquired (“INDIANS…” ).

Indian activities, such as the sport cricket, are often held at different parts of the neighborhood. When I was walking with Dane across Kissena Corridor Park, we saw a group of South Asians using the provided field to play cricket amongst themselves. Several times, I have seen cricket being played on the playground next to my building, where small children ran around with toy cricket bats and tennis balls (Although cricket, strictly speaking, is not an “Indian” sport, I consider it to be one in this case because Indian people are usually very, very obsessed with cricket).

It turns out the name Flushing was a mispronunciation of a town in the Netherlands called Vlissingen. The area, during the 1600s, was initially named Vlissingen, after a seaport town in mainland Netherlands, but when the English took New Amsterdam over to make it New York, they named the small town Flushing. But before then, during the time of Peter Stuyvesant, Flushing was known as the home for persecuted Quakers who couldn’t practice their religion freely due to Stuyvesant. Even at that time, Flushing was a symbol for religious freedom. Its 200+ places for worship within a 2.5 square mile area prove that to this day.

During our walk in Flushing, Dane and I managed to get one full interview with a person living in Flushing (and even used to play tennis to prove it) who wasn’t part of the three main ethnicities of Flushing today. His name was Jack Amiot, and he was raised as an Irish Catholic. He moved to Flushing at age 2 during the late 1940s. Interestingly, he was born in Cuba, where his parents were staying for an interim period before coming to America. But since he was raised Irish Catholic, I would like to think of him as a representative of the old immigrants of Flushing – the Irish and Jewish populations. He was a big tennis player and coach before he severely sprained his Achilles tendon, which put him out of action for many years. His ancestors were Jewish – they were one of the very wealthy Jewish Barons of England at the time of King Henry VII. So, was he Jewish too? It was interesting to meet such a person of mixed ancestry in Flushing, as the ethnic groups today traditionally don’t mix in a large scale. More than 2/3rds of the entire population in Flushing are foreign-born, but it is very clear which country they came from and what ethnic group they belong to. To meet a person of mixed ancestry living in Flushing was an interesting experience.

This paper cannot qualify as a neighborhood portrait of Flushing without an assessment of the largest racial group in Flushing now, the Chinese population. The Chinese population is the most recent growth trend of today, and it has brought many changes to Flushing recently. Many of these changes have been good. For example, many new malls have sprung up displaying Chinese food courts, Chinese fashion, Chinese music, etc (Roleke). Many Chinese restaurants have also opened up near the junction between Kissena Blvd and Main Street. At the same time, some changes caused controversy. Many Korean and Indian shops and restaurants were displaced and replaced by giant Chinese supermarkets. The Chinese influx has caused its own “gentrification” of sorts, which have caused problems such as overcrowding and steadily rising rent prices. Korean and Indian populations have recently been declining, at rates such as 33% and 23% respectively. This type of gentrification is not really economic in nature, since Flushing still contains a major proportion of low income residents, indicating that Flushing is not an expensive neighborhood. Yet, this still remains a problem as small Korean shops, Indian Shops, and even (interestingly) American retailers are being replaced by Chinese supermalls.

The Chinese population brings their own flavor into the ethnic mixture of Flushing. Their passion for their children’s education is reflected by their many test prep centers and tuition center that exist around Main Street and Kissena Blvd. The most notable one stands next to my building. Named “ABC-Math”, it took students from all backgrounds to coach them for the SATs, AP courses and other high school classes.

I believe that the concept of Flushing, what Flushing means to those who live there, is a microcosm of New York City in general. Within barely 2.5 square miles of space, we find three major ethnic groups and dozens more minor ethnic groups living together in relative harmony. Yes, there do exist ethnic clashes when a sudden drastic change occurs, such as the dramatic Chinese influx into Flushing, but for the most part, we all get along, and that is the magic of Flushing. What makes Flushing unique is the proliferation of different institutions for different groups built and mixed together in this small space. Flushing has been promoting tolerance and integration ever since the 1600s, when John Bowne opened up his home to allow members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) to practice their religion. In short, “We Got Good Love”.

 

References

“INDIANS IN FLUSHING BLEND 2 CULTURES.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Dec. 1983. Web. 07 May 2014.

Junaid, Muhammad, Sharon Richardson, Annaliisa Gifford, and Patrick Lempert. “Flushing Koreans.” The Peopling of New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.

Roleke, John. “Flushing Chinatown in Queens, New York: A Neighborhood Tour.” About.com Queens, NY. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.

Bloom, Thalia, Shi Giang Ng Tong, Himanshu Pandey, Choong Ye, and Jason Zheng. “Flushing.” The Peopling of New York 2011. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.

Salvo, Joseph J., Arun Peter Lobo. The “Newest”  New Yorkers. New York: , 2013. Document.

NYC2010. Population Growth and Race/Hispanic Composition. New York: 2010. Document.

Story Pitches

Story Pitch

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My story pitch would be to interview my friend Brian Kissoon. He is a first generation immigrant from Trinidad. He came to America during his teenage years, when he was mature enough to understand the difficulties. He had attended City College to study computer science for a short while. Now he works in Times Square; he daily takes the 6 train to commute from West Bronx. In this story, I want to explore how Brian preserved his trinidadian culture through cooking, how he has assimilated into New York culture, how the neighborhood may have affected his journey, and whether he feels himself successful or happy. This story represents the past, because if Brian feels happy or satisfied with his current situation, the story has happened and resulted in a happy ending. Alternatively, it could also represent the present if Brian still aspires to something higher, indicating that the journey continues. 

Assignment 3

The Walk Home from the Subway Station

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With its characteristic initial jolt, the No. 7 subway train lurched into movement.  The train carriage I was in was surprisingly empty, so I took my favorite seat right next to the door and enjoyed the full view given by the opposite-side window. The train had just left 72nd Street Broadway, Jackson Heights – a well known South Asian community. I saw an ad for a Tag Heuer watch. I stared at it, not because I was particularly interested in Tag Heuer watches, but because the ad featured an Indian movie star in a suit wearing the advertised watch.

            Although there are many things I have respected about Indian heritage and culture, the Indian film industry was not among them. I sneered at the ad, and deeply regretted the choice of celebrity. In my head, I criticized it again and again, until I realized I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  The ad, despite my disgust, had a message for me as to the extent an immigrant group can place their mark on New York. As I thought over it, I realized that very few people outside South Asia would know of that particular celebrity, and the fact that he was in an advertisement in middle of Queens indicated the strong presence of Indian, Bangladeshi, and even Pakistani popular culture. In a flash, I took out my phone and managed to get a picture of the ad before it went out of sight.

              But my destination was not Jackson Heights. I leaned back on my seat and found a comfortable position to contemplate ultimate reality (a.k.a. sleep) and woke myself up when the last stop on the 7 train arrived.

            The last stop. My stop. Flushing.

            Flushing has a completely different look to Jackson Heights. It has the crowded, dirty look of a third world industrial center. Everything is jam-packed together – small businesses in the midst of large shopping complexes, crowds of people jaywalking without shame in the midst of giant ten-wheelers squeezing their way out of small garages, a small park in the midst of the elevated LIRR tracks, and random, classy Asian restaurants in the midst of fast food. The majority of immigrants who lived and thrived here were East Asian, particularly Chinese and Korean. Yet, when I began to walk five blocks down Main Street, I see the famous Indian retail supermarket – Patel Brothers.

            Patel Brothers had always been in Main Street, although ten years ago, it existed on the opposite side of Main Street. I remember how my mother used to take me there during elementary school and how I would have a craving for the Indian variant of Lays Chips. During middle school, my mother had developed a close relationship with one of the cashiers, who happened to have a bread-making business in her home. During that period of time, I was the errand-boy, picking up and carrying home Indian bread for my mom to use in her cooking.

            On the other side of Main Street, further down the block, there is an STI phone card warehouse. I remember a time when our lives used to depend on their services. Ten years ago, before the advent of smart-phones and long-distance communication apps, my father and I used to buy phone cards – each card gave us a certain number of minutes to call long distance.

Buying these phone cards was a monthly ritual for my family. As I reminisced over about it ten years later, I realized how important connecting to family members back in India was to my parents. We weren’t seasoned immigrants yet, we needed some sort of connection to our past experiences in order to keep a portion of it when adapting to New York.

I walked past the phone card store and took a left at Elder Ave. Perpendicular to Elder Ave and parallel to Main St. was Colden St., the place very closely related to my schooling. I remembered during elementary school how all the immigrant parents would cooperate in organizing us, the kindergarteners, to get picked up by the school bus. All of us went to Bayside for elementary school, since all of the immigrant parents collectively thought that it was the better school district. Colden Street was the place where many South Asian children would run around and play tag with children of other ethnicities. There was a small gate which blocked a patch of grass. Kids who were brave enough to break rules would climb over the gate and run around in the grass. The South Asian community was very large during that time, which made it possible for all parents to come together in unity for the sake of their kids. A sense of lonely nostalgia swept over me, and held me fixed to that spot for a few seconds before I shook it off and moved on. 

At Colden Street, I took a minute to face Elder Ave and thought of another great stamp of Indian culture, which was the Hindu Temple on Holly Ave and Bowne St. The Hindu Temple was originally small, around as big as two apartment buildings, but recently it has renovated considerably, which has made it very large and spacious for the devout. The Hindu Temple could be considered the epicenter of all things Hindu. The community outreach programs that I had participated in and the volunteer work it provided allowed me to meet many other people of similar backgrounds. However, it was festival celebrations that brought Hindus from all around New York to congregate. There were even times when we paraded along Bowne, Colden, Holly and Main Streets – an expression of culture which made its mark on Flushing.

 Although all these things still existed in 2014, I felt that it didn’t have the same magic as it had several years ago. Maybe it is because I grew used to it. Maybe it is because many South Asians chose to move out of Flushing in favor of more suburban areas such as Long Island or New Jersey. Despite that, the shards of Indian culture that remain here are still very valuable to me. As I reminisced over the effects this neighborhood had on me, I turned left onto Colden St. and started to walk home.  

Assignment 2

Which is Better?

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Which do you think is better, America or India?

This particular question has always rung unpleasantly in my head whenever I stop to think about my immigration story. All my relatives, including my parents, have asked me that very question, and I found it disconcerting how everyone seemed to expect one answer or another. I despise this question because it regards “America” and “India” as mutually exclusive elements with no common ground. Do I have to choose one over the other to define my identity?

Which is better?

I was born in Mumbai, India in 1995 although both my mother and father are from South India. Merely four years into my life, I was brought thousands of miles away to Flushing, NY where I would spend the next fourteen years of my existence. The reasons for moving were typical of immigrants: Economic opportunity for my father following the booming American economy of the 90s, and an American education for me.  Life in America was highly regarded.

My earliest memory was that of an experience which occurred after I moved, and it captured the emotional reaction my parents and I had due to immigration. I was sitting in a taxi, and was staring out of the window with childish intensity when I saw my first skyscraper.  Overwhelmed by its magnitude, I gaped at the building with silent awe. I craned my neck, trying to see how far I could see up, whether I could see up to the top. My four- year old brain could not understand the implications of spending life in a new land, but it could understand that skyscraper, its terrifying but awesome form, and it was that skyscraper which made me understand, just a little, how my parents felt that night.

Is it America?

Immigrating to America so young was advantageous for me, as it was easier to assimilate American customs, most notably the language English. I had my entire schooling in New York City, and although I first struggled with the English language, it soon became so natural that it replaced my mother tongue Tamil. There were many small American customs my father and I tried to copy, such as following football, speaking American slang, eating with utensils instead of fingers, etc.

Or is it India?

Yet, despite my relatively seamless integration to American life, I retained a strong hold on my Indian heritage.  Flushing had an extensive Indian community centered around the Hindu Temple located on Bowne St. and Holly Ave. The temple was one of the first institutions my parents used to connect to people of their own background and faith. It allowed me to essentially learn what being an Indian meant.

Which do you prefer?

I honestly cannot choose one over the other. My entire immigration story consists of a series of examples how the Indian and American threads interweave seamlessly to form the cloth of me. I lost my grasp of Tamil, but developed a grasp of Indian Classical Music. I am now an American citizen, but I retained my exotic fifteen letter long last name.  Am I American? Or am I Indian? I prefer not to choose.

I still don’t know.

Assignment 1

Immigration and the Whittaker Family

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When considering immigration to America, the Whittaker family has a story to tell which as interesting as it is complex. My partner, Sasha Whittaker, does not consider herself an immigrant. Born and brought up in Westchester, New York, she has very little trouble finding a niche in the society she knew her entire life. However, Sasha is exposed to and has learned from the trials and tribulations of immigrants due to the experiences of her family. On her father’s side, Sasha’s paternal grandmother immigrated to the U.S. from Italy, and ended up marrying Sasha’s grandfather in Massachusetts, making Sasha a third generation immigrant. However, on her mother’s side, Sasha’s mother was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. She had moved to the U.S. only after marriage, making Sasha a second generation immigrant at the same time. When considering the Whittaker family’s relationship to immigration, there are actually two stories to tell, the stories of Sasha’s mother and grandmother. The two stories reveal the different choices that each made when faced with similar immigrant problems.

Immigrants have to face many of the same challenges and situations when adjusting to life in a new country – the language problem, the culture shock, the food, etc. – but the way these immigrants respond to these challenges and carve a place for themselves gives them individuality. Sasha’s paternal grandmother emigrated from Italy, a primarily Roman Catholic nation, to live in Brooklyn, where her father worked as a consul. She later moved to Massachusetts and married Sasha’s grandfather, an Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an American for many generations. In response to the new environment, Sasha’s grandmother changed herself to fit in to American society. She replaced Italian customs for American ones and even changed her religion from Catholic to Protestant. This decision was probably due to the fact that back in the day, there were very few Italian communities in Massachusetts for her to connect with her Italian traditions after marriage and derive from them a sense of pride. Since she was surrounded by Anglo-Saxon Protestants during her time with her husband, she found it much easier to fit into the community by changing herself and becoming one of them.

Sasha’s father was born in New Hampshire to the two grandparents and lived a life as an American, since both grandparents considered themselves Americans, even though the grandmother was foreign-born. Sasha’s father later moved to Indiana for university, where he majored in Slavic studies. For his research, he traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia where he worked with an editor of a publishing office to study Russian literary criticism. Within that time scope, he met the editor’s daughter, fell in love, and married her. Both of them left Russia to settle in Westchester, NY.

Sasha’s mother was born and brought up in St. Petersburg under the Soviet Union regime. During her school days, she was a top student in English and she went on to get a doctoral degree in American Literature. Her concept of the American way of life came from the works of American authors like Hemmingway and Fitzgerald, and her attraction for literature was her attraction to America. It was also a well-known secret that the Soviet youth coveted the American way of life. Therefore, when she moved to America along with her husband after the Soviet regime, it felt like a fantastic dream.

The reality of the situation only struck her when she began to live in Westchester. Sasha’s mother had to get used to a lot of American customs she didn’t anticipate. For example, after decades of living in a communist system, where supplies such as food were rationed to everyone in a centralized manner, Sasha’s mother had to get used to a world that was prolific with different brands, different stores, and different choices. This liberal capitalism that was characteristic of America was strange and confusing to a person who has long since had only one place to go for milk and Sasha’s mother was very flustered trying to memorize store names and the items they sold. Her career opportunities were also a problem, since as an immigrant, she had to start relatively low on the socioeconomic ladder. With a postdoctoral degree in American Literature, one of her first jobs was to scoop ice-cream at Häagen Dazs. It took a long time to move back into a career befitting her education. Another problem she had adjusting to American life was driving. In the U.S.S.R., cars were very expensive; therefore cars were rare – only people who had high paying jobs could afford them. From that state of affairs, the world she lived in now was one where driving was not only very common but very essential. Therefore, she had to learn how to drive with the help of New York State Drivers Education, but driving did not come easy for her. Finally, she felt overwhelmed with American mainstream popular culture, for which she had an excessively high regard for. Needless to say, she struggled a lot.

However, due to the excellent combination of courage, dedication and hard work that is characteristic of all successful immigrants, Sasha’s mother overcame her obstacles and went on to lead a successful life. Now a professor at Lehman College, Sasha’s mother teaches Russian to college students, a career that does befit a PhD. She is now much more comfortable with American popular culture and has lost her abnormally high regard for it, seeing pop culture for what it really is. Driving and shopping in many different stores are no longer issues for her, as her daily routine iterates these actions over and over, stamping away her fear and discomfort. However, unlike Sasha’s paternal grandmother, Sasha’s mother, in her adjustment to American life, retains many Russian customs and traditions. Sasha’s mother still fundamentally considers herself an immigrant. For example, Sasha’s mother had kept her Russian last name after marriage instead of Whittaker, making her Russian connection known across all legal documents. Furthermore, Sasha’s family takes regular trips to Russia to connect them to their heritage. Yet, Sasha herself and her father consider themselves Americans because they are not foreign-born and did not themselves face the same difficulties.

Sasha’s connection to immigration and the lives of immigrants comes from the experiences of her mother and grandmother. Although parts of her family lived in the states for generations, Sasha still feels a connection to Russia because of her mother. However, she does not feel Italian, due to her grandmother’s choice to completely change herself. In this way, these two stories deeply affect how Sasha perceives herself. These two different stories add an interesting insight to the types of problems immigrants can face and the types of ways they can respond to these problems.

Student Introductions

Gautam Ramasubramanian

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I was born in Mumbai, India on 1995 but my ancestors originated from South India. Four years later, I moved to Flushing, Queens where I have stayed for over fourteen years. Despite my time living in New York or my cultural heritage, I really don’t identify myself as being American or Indian. I view these as perspectives you can take to view the world, different colored sunglasses. By not connecting my identity with either perspective I feel I can look with a critical eye at both ways of thinking and see the advantages and disadvantages of each.

However, for a long time, I had considered myself quite Indian. I was brought within a tightly knit Hindu community in Flushing, where I went to the temple, learned holy texts, learned Indian Classical Music etc. However, this upbringing did not really expose me to other cultures as much as living in New York should have. Therefore, I have been trying to step back and delve into the different cultures that make up New York City. I hope this class will assist me in doing that.

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