Visions of Gotham: Topics in NYC from 1945 to Present

On April 18, 1987, Rosemarie Pierre and Delano wed after knowing each other since childhood. About three years later, they gave birth to their first child. On Thursday July 5^th 1990, I was born in Montreal, Canada. My parents’ house, however, was located in Quebec, so this is where we lived. I distinctly remember the big, white two-family house that we resided in. There were three bedrooms, which my parents decided to fill, so on Christmas of 1993 my little sister was born. I never really knew anything outside of Quebec. The furthest my sister and I ever went was the convenience store that my parents owned in Montreal. Besides that and my best friend Vanessa’s house across the yard, school was all I knew. So the transition from Canada, where we were the only black people in the entire neighborhood, to busy and diverse New York City was a big one.

When I was about six, my parents’ store burnt to the ground. They never really speak about it, but I know the financial problems that came with the loss of income and some other family related issues were the cause of the move to the United States. Most of our family members lived in NYC so that was the easiest move. For about the first three years after my move, my family settled with my mom’s sister in Queens. This would probably count as the most uncomfortable living arrangement I have ever experienced. There were about ten of us living in a 2-bedroom apartment. After my aunt’s garage was also burned down, along with almost everything we brought with us from Canada, it seemed like everything was against. However, this came as motivation to my parents to try and start our lives over completely.

By 1998, my father had bought a basically abandoned building in Flatbush, Brooklyn and renovated it. Four tiny apartments took up the top two floors, which he rented out for income, while the bottom floor became his new store. Meanwhile, he also worked at a car garage in Manhattan. In the middle of fourth grade, my family was making enough money for us to move into one of the apartments in the Flatbush building and out of the cramped house in Queens. 

Although we got our wish to be off the dependency of other family members, it was still a struggle to get back. We all complained about wanting to move back to Canada. After all, in those past few years we had made the transition from a gigantic two-family home to a small, cramped apartment. However, my parents continued to work really hard to make a living, and by the time I was in the middle of my tenth grade year we were able to move into a pretty decent house in queens. I lived there until I had to move into another apartment in Brooklyn to be closer to college.

Although I have now been living in NYC longer than I was in Canada, the idea of being “home” never really suck in until I started college. My family did not have the funds that allowed us to be regular kids. My sister and I were pretty much sheltered because of financial reasons. Now that I am able to explore life outside of what I have known most of my life, it has become easier to settle in my own skin and my surroundings. I can now appreciate this wonderful city for what it is.