First off: Maryam, way to be awesome.

And to a lesser degree, this week’s readings were pretty awesome too.  It was great to hear the personal accounts of narrators from such diverse backgrounds attest to the unique flavor that immigrants tend to impart on the neighborhoods in which they settle, and to see them so often express the same sort of intense love of neighborhood that we’ve encountered in several of our previous readings.

I found it especially interesting that the deep local-neighborhood attachment felt by long-time residents like Jose and Lucille carries over just as easily to recent immigrants like Maria and Mohamed.  Piri’s focus on his community stands out as particularly indicative of the incredible life-shaping role that home neighborhoods can play for their residents. Actually, for me, this immediately brought to mind our walking tour tour-guide’s fierce devotion to the integrity of East Harlem and her correspondingly fierce opposition to what she saw, in the construction of the East River Mall and overpainting of local murals among other things, as undermining the character of her neighborhood.  If this set of readings has impressed one idea upon me most deeply, it’s that a neighborhood is more than just a set of bounds on a map, and far more to its residents than simply a place where they live.

As many others have already mentioned, a common thread running through each of the readings for this week was the idea of “home”.  No matter the ethnicity, each immigrant group found their place in America and created a new life for themselves, which, much to their surprise, would become a home for them.  The Italians described in Orsi’s novel continue to flock back to their block of East Harlem each year for the celebration of the Madonna, with people even returning from their native countries in many cases.

To answer one of Rebecca’s questions, I do not think that Piri is a bad person, but rather that he is a real product of his environment.  It was so interesting to read his story, and I even found myself feeling so sorry for him at times.  I laughed to myself every time Piri mentioned how he was “keeping it cool” so as not to let anyone see any weakness in him.  How weary one must get after keeping up such a facade for so long!  Piri even mentions how strained the lines in his face had become and how tired he was from acting “cool” all the time.  However, everyone else around him was doing the same thing, so in order to fit in and make a name for himself in his new home, Piri had to act in this way.

I must admit that I was quite shocked at how mean and nasty the Italian boys were towards Piri in his first home!  These Italians are “my people”, so to speak, and I felt ashamed for them and myself!  I was proud of Piri when he stood up to the boys and finally made a place for himself in this setting.  However, it was not long before his family moved and he had to do the same thing all over again.  But this environment of tightly- knit gangs and such was the norm.  It was only natural and even expected of Piri to join in with the other boys in order to survive!

Regarding Sharman’s novel, I admired each of the featured immigrants.  Each one had given up so much to make a better life for themselves or their families, and had become truly changed people because of it.  The way in which Lucille told stories of her childhood made me smile.  I liked the fact that she was able to live in this new place while also having fun at places such as the Jefferson pool.  I especially admired Maria.  She was practically forced into coming to America, and all in the hopes of providing enough money for her mother to build a house.  Maria was the sole traveler from her family, and was dealt a really fortunate hand upon arrival.  I was happily surprised that she was able to accumulate money so quickly, and that she could move away from Delila and into a much better environment.  Where a person is really changes their attitude and perspective on things.  Maria was so unhappy living with Delila and her roommate, dreading each new day in New York.  But once she moved in with Eduardo and his family, things quickly began looking up!  In a similar manner, Piri actually came to long for his home in East Harlem, a place he once resented.  Location is a huge factor in the lives created by new immigrants.

I found Sharman’s reading to be the most enjoyable so far.  Each chapter was so distinct- a unique flavor, mood, and story.  In all of Sharman’s narratives, there are switches between his subjects’ current life, family and their childhood and past.

Like Shirley mentioned, both Jose and Lucille’s accounts brought to light the effects of gentrification, and the lack of connection to new establishments felt by older immigrants.  It was hard to read of Lucille’s struggle, but at the same time, amazing to read of such a strong woman.  The most interesting part of her story was the description of the changes in her community, especially the cultural ones.  It was shocking to hear that even the drug addicts in her time were polite, still retaining a traditional sense of respect.

Jose described the perpetual conflict brought upon by representational cultural icons!  It was very interesting to read how the presence of one statue of Duke Ellington- or the renaming of one street to a Puerto Rican musician can cause so much unrest.  I really got a feel for the unrest between cultures in East Harlem.  Especially the sense of lose when their museum was moved to a more mainstream area.  The idea of a single street as a division was brought up in Jose’s chapter and it was interesting to see a first-hand view of this in Thomas’ book.

Maria’s chapter was a roller-coaster ride, and Sharman really did her account justice.  Like Lucille, Maria is such a strong woman: to brave such a nerve-wracking journey and make a life for herself.  Her determination not to have children, and take a more masculine role as a provider for her family shows a breaking-away of her culture’s conventional gender roles.   This an example of the necessary absorbing of American culture to make a living that some others had mentioned.

Lastly, Mohamed’s account gave me a feel for the fast-paced world of small business in the city.  Like Maria, his stay in America payed off- he found the stability he needed and found himself stuck here.   In fact, even Thomas’ mother reminisced about Puerto Rico…and while all logic dictates that she returned to a place she yearned for so much, America is a hard place to leave.  Like William mentioned, Thomas wrote that the sense of community is so much stronger in America than it is anywhere else.

These readings were a great compliment to our adventure to East Harlem last week. Now that I have experienced the area in person, I feel like I can see more clearly from the perspectives of Robert Orsi, Piri Thomas, and Russell Leigh Sharman. Although I will never fully understand their experiences because I have not lived in East Harlem myself, I can definitely say that I appreciate the area more than I ever have.

This week’s readings revealed the different flavors of East Harlem’s vast ethnicities. These included Puerto Ricans, African Americans, Mexicans, and West Africans. We also continued to be informed about the more established Old World immigrants from Italy. Like in cooking, each background (ingredient) had its own unique taste and style, and were satisfying to indulge in. However, sometimes the ingredients of flavors did not mix well. Sherman mentions this issue in his work The Tenants of East Harlem. When public housing projects were initiated to combat the “unbearable” slums, the city sought a solution through the desegregation of tenements. Like Shirley has stated, all this did was bring the prominent racial issue from the public streets into the private (or not-so-private) buildings. Nothing was truly resolved.

This racial issue was also evident in Thomas’ memoir Down These Mean Streets. As a young Puerto Rican boy, he found himself confronting Italian juvenile delinquents who claimed the streets to be theirs. Thomas quickly lost his sense of innocence when forced to defend his manhood and show his heart by means of physical violence. He proved himself, but it would not be the only time, however; young Piri then had to confront a life full of discrimination because he had darker skin than his Puerto Rican relatives. This exterior difference gave him a negative association with African Americans.

The shift from Italian Harlem to Spanish Harlem admits the general change of the area’s demographics. This is not a terrible thing – each group of people contributed their own essence and culture to New York City. The changes were animated with life and, in a way, revitalized the area with its fresh, novel qualities. In a short amount of time, many different backgrounds intertwined within a single area. Although these contrasts amongst ethnic groups yielded more than one perspective on community issues (as Maryam pointed out), they all realized something in common: In the end, you can take the soul out of Harlem, but you can never take Harlem out of the soul. Orsi and Sharman both reveal this in their writings. Italians in The Madonna of 115th Street return every year for the traditional festa honoring their sacred Mother. No matter where they move on to in life after Harlem, they found themselves always returning to their “home” in America. Sharman states that José (Puerto Rican) and Lucille (African American) were born, raised, and committed to living in East Harlem, while Maria (Mexican) and Mohamed (West African) migrated to America “temporarily”, but soon found themselves growing with the city as permanent residents.

East Harlem will continue to change in the future. Who knows what ethnicity will dominate the area next? After all, as Thomas stated himself: “You can’t make yesterday come back today” (326).

Back in middle school, my best friend Jillian and I were self-professed PBAs (Prison Break Addicts). Every Monday night at 8:00, she and I would plant ourselves onto our respective couches, telephones in hand, and tune in to watch our favorite criminals: C-Note, Sucre, T-Bag, Haywire, Abruzzi, Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows plan their epic escape from Fox River State Penitentiary. Immediately after the cliffhanger, we would call each other and discuss, in intimate detail, our love for the show. We had nicknames based on our favorite characters from the show and Jill even left me notes in my locker folded into paper cranes (the same medium used by Michael to communicate with his brother Lincoln on the show). Being a PBA, I the first thing that came to mind when Piri Thomas described the prison riots he witnessed was Prison Break!

This weeks reading was both upsetting and extremely entertaining. While Piri’s behavior (cheating on Trina, armed robbery, shooting police officers, shooting up heroin, beating the crap out of the old man at the car dealership and pushing drugs) was pretty deplorable, I found it fascinating to read about. To be inside the mind of a criminal and understand his logic is a point of view that a group of privileged, middle class kids rarely gets to experience. There were several things that I found particularly gripping/upsetting in Piri’s narrative: first was his violent encounter with his father after his mother’s death, second was his detailed description of heroin withdrawal, third was Trina’s willingness to take him back after he cheated on her and knocked up Chino’s cousin Dulcien, and fourth was Piri’s descriptions of Prison life and desire to be let out on parole.

In the first chapter required for this weeks reading (having not read the back of the book), I was totally floored by Piri’s violence, language, and attitude towards his father. While his anger towards his cheating father may be justified, his language (especially towards his father’s mistress) was sort of shocking, especially since four chapters later, Piri turns out to be a cheater himself. In the second chapter, when Piri narrated his cold turkey withdrawal from and dependence on heroin I was disgusted. His willingness to do anything for his next hit was pathetic and reading about how he managed to vomit and shit his pants during withdrawal has successfully deterred me from ever wanting to go anywhere near any form of drugs.

The scene between Piri and Dulcien had me hysterically laughing, especially Piri and Chino’s dialogue DURING the “heat of the moment.” I personally think Trina should have dumped Piri out on his ass after he cheated on her. I was really surprised that she forgave him. Lastly, I was surprised by how badly Piri wanted out of prison. When he refrains from participating in the prison riot, I realized that this was the first time in the entire book where he scarifies his pride and actually thinks before acting.  His machismo attitude and constant use of the verb “to cop” applied to anything from money (“bread”) to women to his illegitimate child made me hate him by the end of the reading.

My questions after reading the chapters from “Down These Mean Streets” are:

1. Is Piri a bad person or just a product of his environment?
2. What makes a person bad or good? Is badness or goodness innate or learned?
3. Is goodness measured solely by a person’s ability to abide to socially constructed rules?
4. What is worth giving up/forfeiting in the name of pride?

Each of the narrators of this week’s readings had a different experience with New York; however, for the most part, they all have one thing in common – once they came, they didn’t want to leave. In her spark, Shirley discusses the different ethnic groups addressed in these readings. Lucille and Mohamed especially, describe their allegiance to Harlem. Lucille was advised by her family to move out of Harlem, but she decided to remain not only in Harlem, but also in the UPACA Gardens, the federal housing she had been living in. As tenants moved out and others moved in (or as she described, more moved in than moved out yielding worse than desired living conditions), she became a tenant patrol of the building and became involved in enforcing the rules and settling disputes between tenants. She concedes that some people couldn’t wait to get out of the overcrowded living conditions, but she was happy in her home.

Similarly, despite the challenges that Piri Thomas faced living in Harlem, he considered it his home. He was almost blinded and was forced to have emergency surgery when some kids decided to throw something in his eye, but still, when he moved to Long Island, he couldn’t wait to get back to New York City. Upon returning to New York City, he became involved in the underground economy, dealing drugs. Not only that, but he became hooked on them. Whether or not it was to his benefit, New York City was his home.

Additionally, West Africans are an important ethnic group in Harlem. Mohamed was the West African immigrant profiled in Sharman’s book. He left Sierra Leone mostly for economic reasons – the economy was on the downturn in Sierra Leone and the currency was becoming devalued. He originally obtained a Visa to stay for a short period of time in America, but after arriving and living for a short while, he didn’t want to leave. Mohamed describes the different types of housing inhabited by West Africans, many of them overlapping with those of other ethnic groups. Mohamed lived in a private apartment with roommates, but others lived in public housing or in the Park View Hotel.

Despite the less than opportune living and working conditions experienced by those living in Harlem, many people were resolved to stay. Many African Americans came up during the Great Migration to work in factors and to escape the segregation in the South. Many Puerto Ricans faced discrimination and the infant mortality rate was high. Still, the residents of Harlem, at least within their own ethnic groups, lived and worked as a community.

The pull to America is greater than to any other place. Coming to America, people could find work and a way to support their families. It was an opportunity to start a new life, in a seemingly better place. To come to America meant to come to a place of freedom and acceptance. Whether people intended to stay for a month, a year, or the rest of their lives, America was their choice. In New York it was possible to find, as mentioned in previous sparks, African Americans, Italians, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans all within the same neighborhood of East Harlem.

As Shirley and William point out, the interactions between people within a single society help establish that community. Thomas’ description of the boys playing in the street, as mentioned before, depict a lively attitude and a friendly and playful air about the town. The joining together of these people created a welcoming atmosphere that many people enjoyed being a part of.

The example of Jose and Lucille serves to identify different cultures of a single community embodied within a single person. Both Jose and Lucille were the children of immigrants, making East Harlem their home without a doubt. Since they were there since birth, they are able to see the changes occuring around them, changing everything that was once familiar to them.

Maria and Mohamed however, both immigrated to East Harlem, and although neither wanted their visit to be permanent, both ended up planting their roots in the area they would now call home. Since they are both newer to the city, they aren’t as able to see the changes that are taking place. They only see what they’ve come into. As Shirley says in her blog, once they are there for a longer time, they will begin to see the changes more.

The majority of people who immigrate to New York City feel a sense of belonging even after a short time, which is what grounds them to the area. However, people come and go, and this causes the shift in demographics; the shift from Italian Harlem to Spanish Harlem. Wherever you go in New York City, you’re bound to see a huge mixture of different cultures and nationalities, because this is where everyone comes to be themselves and to start their lives anew.

Like Shirley said, from our readings it can be seen that immigration does provide life into a neighborhood. I think at times the immigration of ethnic groups are definitely what makes neighborhoods alive and more interactive.  I think of Piri Thomas in Down These Mean Streets, where his area of Spanish Harlem was filled with life.  Boys playing games in the streets, getting together truly shows how fun the neighborhood was. Although these neighborhoods were divided by ethnicity, it is where one would see the greatest sense of community with one another.  I know in my neighborhood now, activities like what was in the readings never goes on; everyone does their own thing and does not take the time to get together.  Yet in the readings, no matter what was happening people would strive to get together with members of the same ethnicity as one community.

As Maryam said in her spark, America was not what it seemed once immigrants arrived.  No matter the ethnicity, people migrated or immigrated from certain regions in order to have some sort of opportunity to achieve the American Dream.  People wanted to have prosperity, opportunities, and take care of their families.  This is why people wanted to come to the United States but once arriving it was not what it seems. Many groups being looked down upon just because they did not fit the WASP norm and people being given lower wages was definitely against the immigrants belief of the ideal American Dream. As we see in Tenants of East Harlem and  Down These Mean Streets immigrants were sent to the poorest conditions of housing but they still had such joy in all circumstances. The people of the Tenants of East Harlem are prime examples of this just by their ability to remember with such detail their experiences in the neighborhood.  Lucille remembering her fun times in the pool and Piri devoting an entire autobiography to his neighborhood experience can truly show how significant the neighborhood was to them.

No matter the circumstance, the immigrants in our readings enjoyed  their situations. Even Maria and Mohamed, although determined to leave as soon as possible, still remained in America for several years.  Despite the adversities they have faced in these neighborhoods, it was a place where the greatest feeling of community was felt.  When I think of the feeling of community and how attached immigrants were to their neighborhoods, I think of Piri Thomas’ times in jail and realized the connection to Spanish Harlem. Piri was in constant longing to break free from jail in order to return to El Barrio and it was always on his mind.  Americanization could not have a hold on the tenants of East Harlem because these neighborhoods were filled with a feeling of community and this is what accounts for the dynamics of East Harlem.