Author: BRIANNA LEVY

 

A Fountain for Survivors is an art exhibit that debuted at Times Square on Thursday, October 14th. It will be on display everyday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. until December 8th. As the name implies, it is a homage to female survivors of all kinds. The large room-like structure resembles that of female genitalia, and it’s exterior is made entirely out of colorful acrylic nails. The inside has a fountain, which also explains the name.

According to the artist, Pamela Council, she wanted the fountain to be safe and meditative, which is why she put the fountain inside of a structure instead of just leaving it by itself. I think this will lend itself to a visual and emotional story, and it will likely be easy to find people to interview and to use the tripod rather than freehand, since it is currently a large attraction at Times Square, which is crowded, but has reasonable standing room.

Indecision about Developments in the Lower East Side

HOST: Student Journalist Brianna Levy visited Pier 35 on October 16th to attend a protest against new developments in the Lower East Side. The “Two Bridges Towers” would be developing in the Two Bridges, New York City, the area on the southernmost part of the Lower East side.

TRACK: On Saturday, October 16th, I attended the Two Bridge protest on Pier 35, the southernmost part of Chinatown and the Lower East Side, right on the water. 

AMBI: (Crowd cheering)

TRACK: The protest was hosted by CAAAV, GOLES, and TUFF-LES. The Lower East Side is an incredibly diverse area, with Asians, blacks, and Latinos dispersed throughout the region. Many are immigrants who speak another language. For this reason, the organizers of the protest had 3 announcers and fliers with 3 languages: English, Spanish, and Mandarin. 

TRACK: Spanish announcer: (Spanish announcer speaking passionately about what he wants for the neighborhood)

TRACK: In the previous audio, the Spanish announcer lists what he wants for the Two Bridges Community. “Yo quiero, yo quiero, yo quiero.” I want, I want, I want. While some may associate this part of the Lower East Side with Asians and Asian-Americans alone, all three demographic groups exist here and are susceptible to the harmful effects of gentrification. 

ACT: English announcer: They are trying to displace our families and suck the life out of our communities. We must fight to stop them.

TRACK: Everyone at the protest was against “The Towers,” a luxury development approved by the City Planning Commission in 2018. It has faced a number of lawsuits since then. If the developers succeed, 3 luxury buildings will be built in the Two Bridges community—which will likely lead to higher prices, dislocation, and gentrification in a region already facing pressure from its wealthier neighbors.

ACT: Crowd and English announcer: Boo!…Are these towers for us? No! No!

TRACK: But certain voices and opposing opinions aren’t being highlighted in the conversation. NYCHA rent increases need to be approved “not less than 60 days prior to the effective date of the lease agreement,” according to Section 8 Owners Frequently Asked Questions. This complicates their say, but doesn’t remove it. When looking at all voices, opinions can go from this:

AMBI: (Crowd booing)

TRACK: To this

ACT: Xin Yi Liu: I think a lot of us younger people find it really cool to have a new place to hang out.

TRACK: I met with a NYCHA resident and Baruch student in the Two Bridges Community. She lives with her grandparents, father, and younger brother.

ACT: Xin Yi Liu: My name is Xin Yi Liu, and I am a student at Baruch College. I have lived here for about a decade, since around 2012.

TRACK: Liu has noticed other examples of gentrification in Two Bridges, but she’s not bothered by it.

ACT: Xin Yi Liu: I have noticed some gentrification during that time. For example, on Delancey street, there’s a new mall…but also a new cinema, and that wasn’t there before. 

TRACK: She’s not worried about rent increases either, although NYCHA sees its fair share of them. 

ACT: Xin Yi Liu: I don’t think we will be displaced…I mean we might, or rent might raise a bit, but, I don’t think we’ll be very much affected.

TRACK: Back at the protest, City Council Nominee Chris Marte showed up and faced questions from the English announcer, but things went left as the organizations and crowd were not pleased with his answers.

ACT: English announcer: Will you fight for the Two Bridges Community with us?

ACT: Chris: I will fight with you, but we have to make sure, we can’t pit these communities together

AMBI: (Crowd booing)

ACT: English announcer: Chris, thank you for your time coming here today. This is a year or no question. Will you fight for the Two Bridges community plan?

ACT: Crowd member: Whose side are you on? 

ACT: Another crowd member: We can’t wait!

TRACK: The protesters found these answers vague and unsatisfying, wanting something more straightforward.

ACT: I’m on the side of the community, I’ve been fighting against these towers for years.

TRACK: A protester yells a simple 3 word question at the councilman: “yes or no?” Marte does not answer with either. It seems that the Lower East Side, from its civilians to the office holders, can’t come to an agreement. This is Brianna Levy for Baruch College.

Photoville photos

In late October I went down to the Lower East Side to see the exhibit presented by Photoville and the First Street Green Culture Park titled “Walking Tour of Taxi: Journey Through My Windows 1977-1987, with Joseph Rodriguez.” Joseph Rodriguez was a taxi driver who photographed his customers during the late 70s and 80s. I chose this exhibit because when I saw some of the photos on the Photoville website I felt as if they were nostalgic, even though I have actually never been in a yellow cab before. I think the fact that these photos are in black and white are what made them feel nostalgic to me initially, but I realize it was also the fact that Rodriguez mainly photographed people of color. This is not something I am used to seeing after having somewhat Manhattan-centric curriculum for the first two years of college, and it was an element of this art work that allowed me to feel the connected to the New York City-born and raised artist.

I liked that the emotions and vastly different lives he was able to capture in these photos show the multifaceted nature of this city. I also enjoyed the artwork in the rest of the First Street Green Culture Park, which I saw first because I got lost while looking for the Photoville exhibit. I have pictures of both in the Google Slides I pasted above. (I put these all in a Google Slides doc to avoid awkward formatting on this site).

Rodriguez worked hard to capture these photos, and through this viewers can clearly and easily see the human element so vibrantly placed in this black and white photos, displaying lives from sex-workers to church goers.

https://soundcloud.com/br-sky-lvy/malina-interview-multimedia-reporting-fall-2021/s-pm1iGGnUUfD?si=bfd7ae1f5ad242c58a65899922c40155

HOST: Student journalist Brianna Levy spoke to her classmate Malina Seenarine, who uses she/they pronouns, about her interests outside of school. They dive deeper, covering topics like creativity, vulnerability, and how we see ourselves as the interview continues. Both are juniors at Baruch College.

TRACK: I’m here with my classmate Malina Seenarine for a multimedia reporting assignment. We found a cozy nook on the 6th floor of the Newman Vertical Campus—the mathematics department. We begin our conversation talking about her hobbies. 

ACT: MALINA: I enjoy fashion, writing, creative writing, poetry. I like hanging out and enjoying new foods.

TRACK: When it comes to creative writing, she often focuses on her emotions.

ACT: MALINA: I like to write a lot about my feelings. Right now I mostly write about people that I know, my anxiety, my despair, yeah, those are the things I write about.

TRACK: But she wants to do more with her writing.

ACT: MALINA: I would also like to write about communities, like journalistically, also, and poetry, but I haven’t gotten there yet.

TRACK: The 21-year old journalism major enjoys both kinds of writing, equally. 

ACT: MALINA: I don’t have a preference because I feel like both of them need the same amount of creativity. You know, on one end, journalism, the writing, you usually have all the content, and then you write. But in poetry it’s like, you have all the feelings and then you write. So, one is more like: ‘I’m directing this to a specific audience’—journalism—and poetry’s more like ‘this is for me, but I would also like other people to see it.’

TRACK: While she likes to write, having others read her writing is a different story. 

ACT: MALINA: I hate when people see my writing, regardless if it’s, you know, for a class or just friends, I don’t know. I just get scared.

TRACK: Why, you may ask? Seenarine cited something that scares us all: vulnerability.

ACT: MALINA: I don’t like to appear vulnerable. I prefer to feel, well—look—as intimidating as possible. Even though, like, I don’t know, it’s like a disconnect. ‘Cus it’s like, yeah, I want people to be my friend and enjoy the things I like and talk to me, but then, I also don’t wanna seem weak. I wanna seem intimidating. 

TRACK: It’s an age-old dilemma isn’t it? Trying to find the balance between opening up and closing ourselves in. Both can hurt us if we aren’t careful. Seenarine says she likes being intimidating. She cites different parts of her personality and character as what she uses to appear this way.

ACT: MALINA: The way I dress, I don’t know, maybe just like, my demeanor? I’m very somber, I’m just straight-faced most of the time.

TRACK: We wind down by talking about her writing once again. This time, we focus on her creative process. Sometimes she’s spontaneous with her poetry.

ACT: MALINA: Creative process…so, honestly sometimes it just comes as a spur, like, I’ll be walking down the street and I’ll think of something and I’ll write it in my notes…

TRACK: And at other times, she’s more intentional. 

ACT: MALINA: …but other times I’m like ‘I wanna write, I wanna write right now.’ So what I’ll do is like, I’ll go to a cafe, maybe like a Starbucks or, I don’t know, any of these coffee shops around here, and I’ll sit down with my journal—which I usually bring everywhere with me—and I’ll just start writing how I feel, and yeah, that’s just pretty much how it starts.

TRACK: For Baruch College, I’m Brianna Levy

For my pitch I plan to speak to an organization that opposes gentrification in the Bronx because there was a recent purchase in the South Bronx that was hailed as “the most ambitious gentrification project in the Bronx” and I hear that that was a contentious topic. I might also go to a Tag Up Bronx event, which is for young rappers, singers, and audio engineers. If neither of these work out I might also interview a cannabis company (or two) that started during the pandemic.

https://medium.com/@bribrilevy1/resilience-underestimated-215edb153eb9

For my photo essay, I will be covering Japan Fes 2021, an annual festival celebrating the rich culture of Japan through its cuisine. The event takes place on September 19th from 10 am to 6pm, so I hope to get shots all throughout the day with different kinds of lighting. I hope to get action shots, such as chefs plating their dishes and topping their meals with garnishes. I also hope to get personal and moments of decision, such as people enjoying music, dancing, looking at food, or about to take a bite from their food. I think many pictures with a low depth of field will be used here.

This is timely because it is an annual event that could not occur last year because of the pandemic. I think it is also powerful to see the congregation of people of Asian descent celebrating their culture proudly after the rise in Asian hate crimes last year.