BROOKLYN, New York — It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon, but inside Didi Fresco Tortilla and Chinese Restaurant, Joy is hard at work. She greets every customer who walks into the small storefront. Joy recognizes many of her return customers, and… Continue Reading →
BROOKLYN, New York — The sun is just beginning to set in Midwood, and the streets are beginning to grow quiet. Parents are exhausted from a long work week and gather with their children for Sunday dinner before the work… Continue Reading →
Karim situates himself in a quiet, air conditioned corner of the Hunter College library where he is currently a freshman. Finally, after years of unpredictable adjustments, he has a stable environment where he can focus on his studies. He begins… Continue Reading →
In Queens, there is a neighborhood consisting of a small ethnic enclave of West Indians, more specifically Indo-Caribbean Guyanese and Trinidadian people. This neighborhood is South Richmond Hill, which also spreads into parts of Ozone Park. Guyana is a country… Continue Reading →
New York, NY — It is 3:35pm. The bell rings and students rush out of 615A, home to Ms. Fletcher’s 10th period freshman composition class. While some head up to the 9th floor to grab their jackets from their lockers,… Continue Reading →
New York was not meant to be permanent. Back home, life in Africa was simple and beautiful: it consisted of cattle farming, safe streets, and fascinating wildlife. So when Pimbii decided to move to New York City at the age… Continue Reading →
Walking down the street with Vania, she points to her favorite places to eat: Bareburger on 31 Ave, Martha’s Country Bakery (although it has moved to Ditmars Boulevard). She reflects on how her beloved neighborhood in Queens has succumbed to… Continue Reading →
On a little block in Sunnyside, New York, from the basement of a small row house, an array of noises can be heard: the unfurling of heavy-duty packaging tape, the sharp snip of scissors, and the rumbling of a sewing… Continue Reading →
The alarm screeches and Ishtiaque Mahdi opens his eyes and looks at the clock, 6:00. It was just 3 hours ago that he finally allowed himself to sleep after studying all night for a calculus final. Pulling himself… Continue Reading →
It is another calm Saturday night and Shakeela follows her nightly routine of reading the Bible and praying. She sits in dismay of having to go to work in the morning, knowing that she will miss church because of it…. Continue Reading →
Some people are meant to put everything on the line. They are willing to risk losing what they have or what they’ve created for themselves in order to go somewhere they could have more, create more, and be more. Immigration… Continue Reading →
For many immigrants, the promise of opportunity is one of the greatest motives for coming to America, and for some immigrants, they were dragged along in this quest for success as children, which was the case for Liezl, a Filipino… Continue Reading →
Sitting in the cafe section of the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, looking around the room was like looking at a microcosm of New York City. The students, the nine-to-fivers, the tourists, the homeless, the young, and the elderly… Continue Reading →
1989: Baku, Azerbaijan. Tanks patrol the neighborhood that young Ilona, 20, resides in as a medical student. The streets that were her home and childhood are now overtaken by guards in military uniforms, enforcing their anti-Azerbaijani regime on the citizens… Continue Reading →
“Shanghai, China was a quiet place. It was sometimes too quiet, too boring. Everyone wanted to go away to America, if not, at least to Japan, Australia, Spain or France.” Jane was one of the few people from her neighborhood… Continue Reading →
The conversation lulled. Gerald paused and shifted in his seat, as if he were anticipating another question about his life back home. The battery of his hearing aid had gone out again. I watched curiously as he plucked a tiny metal… Continue Reading →
As she sat sipping bubble tea on her stoop in Elmhurst, Queens, Chaia welcomed me to join her. She began to tell me all about her experiences moving to New York City from the Philippines, and how the immigration has… Continue Reading →
A few days into her two preteens’ spring break, Filia sits next to me. Across the street from her house is P.S. 184 Flushing Manor, the elementary school that both of her children went to. Occasionally she returns to the… Continue Reading →
Amidst the crowded hall on the seventh floor of Hunter College West, I sat down with a distant acquaintance of mine. Clad in plaid with a beige wrist watch decorating his arm, Mark told me his story of immigrating from… Continue Reading →
An arc of seagulls amassed against a gust of wind high above Brighton Beach towards the Atlantic Ocean. Lowering the frame of focus will reveal a boardwalk littered with shops, restaurants, and a powerful Russian cultural influence. The series of… Continue Reading →
“Why New York?” This is the first question I ask Nancy Nagourney. She contemplates at her desk thinking about how she should respond. In her office the plain white walls are easily ignored by the beautiful view of New York… Continue Reading →
For a lot of immigrants coming to the United States of America for the first time, the sight of the Statue of Liberty and the lights of New York is an emotional, joyous occasion, as the prospect of obtaining a… Continue Reading →
A Favor To Return People of New York City May 18, 2018 Final Draft BYLINE: Gazi Ohi LENGTH: 1488 One Happy Family New York City has a certain vibe to it. When you hear it, you hear honking… Continue Reading →
Language has always been a crucial part within a community. From simple tasks such as asking for directions, ordering food, to heavier tasks such as reading the mail, speaking to an authoritative figure, and translating for another person. These were… Continue Reading →
Quadeer sat down with a laugh as he grabbed his steaming chai, a traditional Pakistani tea, and took a long sip. He was a tall middle-aged man that spoke with a heavy accent. He chuckled as he reminisced about his… Continue Reading →
Dashing across the street, Joanna whipped out her Nixon camera in order to catch the perfect shot of taxis and bustling people or what she called the epitome of New York. Joanna was always like this, one moment she would… Continue Reading →
Mushfiqur was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which he stated is “a country the size of New York, but unfortunately with ⅓ the population of the U.S.” In around 2006, at the age of 7, he moved to Brooklyn, New York…. Continue Reading →
Ethan, a now 19-year-old freshman college student from Hunter College, originally came from Carmel, Indiana, a small suburb outside of Indianapolis. He is currently studying Law and Mandarin Chinese, and is part of the Chinese Flagship Program. When he graduates,… Continue Reading →
When David Wang first arrived in Flushing, Queens, it was not what he had expected. Back in Shanghai, China, everyone believed that America was a place of opportunity and luxury. His expectation of a city with sparking streets and a… Continue Reading →
The day after his eighty-seventh birthday, Fuen Yen is opposite me. His arms are folded over a brightly printed vinyl tablecloth. As the rice cooker lets out the last of its steam, he gets up to scoop two bowls of… Continue Reading →
“Same Name, Different Story” Sitting amongst the company of her parents and five siblings, Catherine had basked in the summer sun of her expansive yard in Thessaloniki, Greece. The captain of two hefty vessels, her father had adorned the perimeter… Continue Reading →
Lounging back in her large red recliner, Patricia smiles as she watches out her window as New Yorkers speed walk past her apartment building on the streets of Sanford Ave. Though she has grown to love NYC, she had a… Continue Reading →
“Living American” Warmth. Growing up on the southeastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Irene was perpetually surrounded by warmth. This feeling of warmth radiated from her loving family, whom her grandfather had led back to Limassol, Cyprus from Astoria, Queens when… Continue Reading →
The alarm clock blares its relentless siren at 4:45 AM, every morning without fail. A few seconds of bleary blinking later, Yelena is out of bed and ready to begin tidying the house before leaving for her much-too-early shift at… Continue Reading →
On a cold and blustery night, my friend and I found ourselves squeezed into a warmly lit diner booth listening to the stories of Katherine, an educator and pianist. There were silver dollar pancakes and greasy omelets lining the tables…. Continue Reading →
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