This short film tells the story of several people in Astoria and their relationship with the Kaufman Studios. For some the new movie studio has helped their businesses grow and introduced the neighborhood to new movie theaters and restaurants. Others are unhappy about changes that have been made to their neighborhood, which includes the closing of a street and a rocky relationship with film crew workers. Residents in Astoria feel as though they were uninformed about the drastic changes made to their neighborhood, but in reality many new measures were openly voted on in a public council meeting. Many feel as though the changes are taking away from Astoria’s authenticity, but Kaufman Studios has an elaborate history dating back to Hollywood’s Studio Era. And of course the big question of everyone’s mind is: has Kaufman Studios gentrified Astoria? For now it is too early to tell, but within 20 years Astoria will be radically different.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzWBu4jfhMI
Our research project aims to capture how the individual perceives and is affected by CCTV surveillance in Astoria of Queens, New York. Through qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and participant observation, we found that all respondents were unanimously in support of CCTV surveillance. Security cameras have become a norm in the public spaces of urban environments, where people see it as a means to deter crime and expect to be surveyed by CCTV systems, unseen or seen.
Little Egypt is a multiethnic neighborhood in Steinway St between 28th Ave and Astoria Blvd in Astoria, Queens. In conducting various interviews with storeowners and employees, we discovered that age and ethnicity affects the level of importance given to language within neighborhood interactions. That is, when older generations interact with different ethnicities they tend to use a common language, which differs from their own, only when it is absolutely necessary. They tend to interact with people depending on their ethnicity and not their ability to communicate in a common language. The younger generations however, cross this linguistic and ethnic barrier by using English as a means to interact with one another. For this age group, ethnic and linguistic differences are undermined by the fact that they endeavor to communicate with one another. Nevertheless, strong ethnic identity and pride most often obstruct interactions in general, even when everyone is capable of speaking one common language.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A0z7X5Afn4?rel=0]*Abstract by Odette Colangeli, Sara Clemente
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKnVD_oSDO0&w=560&h=315]
Since the tragic events of 9/11, Muslim and Arab communities in the United States have experienced increased scrutiny from local law enforcement agencies. Tensions between law enforcement officials and Muslim citizens have been especially high since the NYPD’s Muslim surveillance program was exposed to the public in 2011. The program, which was instituted in 2002 under the provisions of the Patriot Act, involved the infiltration of Muslim communities and mosques by undercover police officers tasked with gathering intelligence on potential terrorist plots. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effect of this program on community relations, our research team traveled to a small Muslim community in Astoria, NY, known as Little Egypt.
