Author Archives: susan gerlovina

Public Meeting

Posted on by
Reply

I attended a community board meeting in Sunset Park on Wednesday, February 18th. Representatives from the offices of the DA, state senator and state assemblymen attended this meeting as well. There were many issues discussed at this meeting such as truck traffic, illegal parking, housing and education. Since part of Sunset Park is located near the Gowanus Bridge, many found that the truck traffic raises noise and safety issues. Also under the bridge boats and larger vehicles park for long periods of time illegally in the nearby lot. Even though these are important issues housing and education seemed to be discussed a bit more in depth. What I found out was that some families were forced to go to the Bronx shelter assignment office because there’s a lack of housing. This surprised me because there were a few vacant houses in the area which could be utilized. Furthermore, no homeless people were visible during any of the visits to Sunset Park. However, I did also recall how many people were there, especially around the commercial area. The community stressed this as a vital issue because they want to keep families from Sunset Park in Sunset Park. The thought of sending them to a different location, especially a different borough is unpleasant and destroys their sense of unity within the community. As a result, families double up because of the limitation of space and partake in illegal partitioning (dividing one’s house to illegally rent out that space). One solution that was thought about was building a shelter in Sunset Park. However, this plan isn’t official yet, mostly due to the fact that there isn’t much land to use for this purpose. A direct effect of overpopulation in the area is that many children are attending schools with crowded classrooms or not attending at all. At the meeting, they mentioned that plans to build another public school was in effect. Even though the construction of the school was approved, there are still many obstacles to overcome such as location, land and safety. The proposed location happens to be one of the more dangerous avenues in the neighborhood therefore causing more issues to arise. But, this school would be for new grade and middle school students and contain about six hundred seats. Overall, this was a fairly successful meeting since many important crises were discussed. Unfortunately, in the end the board committee said that this meeting would not be considered official because there weren’t enough people attending that day therefore meeting minutes were not approved. This actually shocked me. Even though this was the first public meeting I ever attending, I still thought there was a sufficient amount of people (about eighteen). Nonetheless, I found this meeting to be a useful source. It served as a reliable insight on the community. Even though I visited the neighborhood, I did not realize these issues existed since I was unable to actually go into the school I saw or one’s house. This meeting gave me an in depth perception of how families live there.

Reading response 3

Posted on by
Reply

These readings focused on public housing. To be honest I found the first reading The Neoliberal City, difficult to understand. While reading all the information seemed to get jumbled up in my head and I found my self confused, especially when the author discussed the various standpoints. The reading regarding De Blasio’s housing was a better read and informed me that something is actually being done. However, as I kept reading I realized that the plan had some flaws. Even though the plans seem helpful they really aren’t because eventually the rich can takeover causing a rise in housing cost as well. Lastly, the reading urging the city and state to act, showed the reader the conditions in which they live in. I was unable to access the Wall Street Journal article without a subscription but I did get the notion that if they sold the public houses they would make more money. After reading these articles it seemed as If we are doomed. Is there really nothing effective we can do to help those who rely on public housing without altering or damaging our economy? How can we change the fact that public housing appears to be useful but actually isn’t ?

Sunset park observation

Posted on by
Reply

Before visiting the Sunset Park community I drove by, a few days prior, around 3rd avenue. My initial reaction was frightening I did not see many people and the area didn’t seem safe. Therefore, I wasn’t too enthusiastic when it came to actually visiting and exploring the area.

When exiting the R train on 53rd street and 4th avenue, the area gave me the same impression. I saw older Spanish people and small older shops such as the dollar stores and delis. I wondered around for a bit orienting myself before proceeding up to 5th avenue. On my way, I noticed an old-fashioned blue taxi car parked on the street and some skillfully spray painted street art. Street art seemed to be fairly common there since I saw some on the precious day, near a schoolyard and once again later on. I also noticed a police camera which furthered my conception that the neighborhood isn’t very safe.

Once I reached 5th avenue and 51st street, I was pleasantly surprised however. The area was highly populated and commercial businesses lined the streets. I was reminded of bay ridge. The population was mainly Spanish and I felt a strong sense of community. There were a few bouquets of flowers that seemed to be for sale, yet there was nobody there selling them. It was just natural that nobody took them. Furthermore, there was catchy Spanish music playing loudly and nobody seemed to complain or find it unusual. The shops were both general such as phone stores, and older community accustomed ones along with some newly build ones. In addition, I noticed some community based drawing on the store windows, such as special tributes that were drawn in the same style probably by the same artist.

Next, I proceeded to sunset park itself. There, children were enjoying their time sledding in the icy snow. Everyone seemed friendly and were interacting with each other. Looking around, I was flabbergasted by the view . Since the park was on an incline I was able to see the city buildings along with a church that stuck out the most. Next, I noticed a dog poop disposal which to me seemed modern. Lastly, I noticed, before exiting the park that the sign describing the park had Chinese and Polish translations. This seemed to reflect the population that lives there even though, I did not encounter or expect polish people to reside there.

Lastly I ventured down to 50th street and 6th avenue. There the shops became less Spanish and more Chinese. I also did not see any graffiti there. It was less populated again yet there we’re still some community places such as the small barber shop.

Overall the housing was both renovated and older. There were vacant houses among the older ones along with some occasionally newer ones. There were many ways that people made use of the community. There was a Chinese laundromat, public school, library(which was closed because it was a Sunday), public park and many shopping and dinning areas.

Reading Response 2

Posted on by
Reply

The reading Criminalizing Homelessness honestly shocked me. I never knew that homeless people were treated so harshly and viewed as criminals. The fact that they are already left with basically nothing seems bad enough why make their life worse by terrorizing them? Furthermore, wouldn’t committing a crime and going to jail, where they will be fed and given a place to sleep, seem like a better option then living on the streets? On the other hand, it is understandable that a city wants to look presentable and clean especially to those out of town.  Reading The Homeless section the situation seemed better and that the issue was being solved in a way. However, Hidden City proved that wrong by providing that the assistance the homeless are receiving actually isn’t helpful at all. This article showed how much money was being spent by the government to keep the homeless in shelters without actually helping them at all. I was once again shocked that there wasn’t an efficient solution for this problem. Is there a better solution to prevent homelessness and help those who already are homeless, since the government can’t just give them money even though they’re spending much more than needed.

Reading response 1

Posted on by
Reply

Both of the readings discussed immigration and urbanization of city life. By analyzing the research conducted and results found by sociologists from Theoretical Perspectives on the City we are able to better understand how urban society functions. I agree with Tonnes that rural communities are more closer and more interdependent since every individual’s job contributed to the community. However, even though urban cities are more independent in a way we still depend on each other in order for society to function properly. The black corona reading gave an insight on race and equality and how it is related to power. In adiittion, that reading related poverty to crime in the “black ghetto.” Their reasoning for acting out is to be heard, does that justify crime? This article made me wonder if we will ever be truly equal? Because even today we are still separated by class and the economy. Are we really equal and free or obliviously ruled by the government. I also found the map within that reading useful in visualizing the location. Overall, what actually makes us a community, our similarities or the way we influence each other and function as one society?