JASON LI

Gentrifying One Block at a Time

August 7, 2014 by JASON LI

“Everything is just shutting down in this neighborhood,” said Solon Ramirez, a local resident.

This has been a common complaint among New Yorkers in Hell’s Kitchen. Owners of local shops were forced to close and pack their belongings to make room for a flashy 38-story hotel.

Hell’s Kitchen is located between 34th Street and 59th Street. Once a low-rise community, it has come to be known as “Clinton” because “Clinton” sounds more modern and the name reflects the sleek, new buildings dominating the area.

Although Hell’s Kitchen has been gentrifying since the 1970s, locals were very disappointed to hear that a city block of markets was forced to move elsewhere during the past two months.

extralarge — *Photo Credit: DNA Info*
MARKET “MEATS” END: The Big Apple Meat Market was relocated at the end of January.

The first victim was the Big Apple Meat Market located on the corner of 41st and 9th Avenue. It had been open for more than two decades and has become a local favorite because of its cheap, good quality meats and other food.

“That’s why I like this place; you get cheap and good food,” said Edward Montilla, who was a regular shopper at that market.

When the market was abruptly closed at the end of January to make room for the New York Hotel, a message from the store was posted on the door.

“I tried everything but at the end we have to move on,” wrote Pat Maddalena, the manager of the meat market.

When locals heard about this news, they were very disappointed. They complained how everyone would have to buy groceries at the Food Emporium and that it would be constantly crowded.

“Now, I have to buy my meats in the Food Emporium and it’s going to be like a war zone inside,” said Michael McKee.

“The Emporium could only do so much,” said Raul Garcia.

One month later, the relocated meat market opened again. The new location is located at 39th Street and 9th Avenue, which is about two blocks away from the original location. However, according to locals, they said it doesn’t see to have the same success as before.

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OUT OF DOUGH: 99¢ Fresh Pizza was relocated this February, just weeks after the meat market was closed.

The second victim was next to the meat market, the 99¢ Fresh Pizza. Like the Big Apple Meat Market, it also was an old-time favorite. It has opened for at least a decade.

“That pizza place was amazing, it was the ideal hangout place after school. The service was quick and the people that worked there was really friendly,” said Daniel Das, a regular customer of the place.

Just weeks after the Meat Market was moved, the pizzeria suffered a similar fate. The pizzeria closed but announced that it will relocate one avenue away.

Today, the pizzeria is experiencing the same amount of success as before but some locals, particularly students said they couldn’t stick around as much as before because of the close proximity to other residential and office buildings occupying the area.

“I can’t hang out there anymore because people from the residential building next to the pizza place don’t want kids blocking their entrance,” said Jay Williams.

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FARMER’S LAST STAND: The beloved farmers market was forced to close. Like its neighbors, it will make way for the new hotel.

But the biggest blow for residents in Hell’s Kitchen was the closing of the Stiles Farmers Market, which was between the meat market and the pizzeria.

The market had been open for 26 years and has gained a remarkable reputation as one of the most popular markets in the neighborhood.

But at the end of February, it was forced to close and was purchased by the Friedman & Landis Group who will use the property as space for the new hotel.

“Best kept neighborhood secret; extremely sad to hear the place is closing for good,” said Kirsten Smith, a regular shopper at the farmers market.

“This was the last cheap place around town,” said Sumto Samin.

Stiles has another location ten blocks away but some shoppers won’t be able to shop as often because it’s too far away.

Regulars who shopped at the original Stiles location noticed that the fruits and vegetables the other location sells aren’t as fresh.

“Not the same as the one near Port Authority. The prices are the same but the produce isn’t,” said Brandon Chang.

Today, local residents still feel the impact of the closed stores. Some have move on while others tried to get people to sign a petition, hoping to reverse the future hotel’s plans. However, they had little success.

“There’s nothing we can do but just watch the neighborhood change before our very eyes,” said Michael McKee.

Modernizing: A New Look for Baruch

August 5, 2014 by JASON LI

See the construction scaffolding above the Vertical Campus?

That’s one phase of a five-year plan implemented by Baruch College, which went into effect last year and will continue to be in effect until 2018. Dubbed the “Strategic Plan,” its mission is to create a brand new way of doing work at Baruch and strengthening the relationship between the faculty and the students. By putting this plan into effect, Baruch College hopes to provide a more collaborative, communicative and enjoyable experience for future undergraduate students.

The ambitious agenda consists of five main goals or phases.

One goal is to expand academic programs including emphasizing various communication fields such as journalism and graphic design.

“I think it’s a good idea because it raises awareness that Baruch is a great example of a high achieving college for intelligent high school students,” said Cheio Santana, a faculty member.

In addition to offering better programs, Baruch would like to strengthen the quality of the campus and its neighboring buildings.

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This is the proposed renovation of the Lawrence and Eris Building. It is part of the second phase of Baruch College’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan.

Many buildings around the Gramercy community are very outdated and in need of proper wiring for technology.

The oldest building in the campus, the Lawrence and Eris Field Building, hasn’t been renovated since 1929. However, earlier this year, Baruch College announced that a $90 million makeover will take place soon. Antiquated elevators are replaced by modern ones and new glass walls will replace any of the cracked or damaged bricks. This won’t be completed until mid-2015 at the earliest.

“The main purpose of this renovation project is to open up and broaden horizons with a modern look,” said Eric Lugo, the community relations director at Baruch.

Baruch would also like to tackle any weather obstacles. After an especially snowy winter this past year, the president of Baruch, Mitchel Wallerstein, announced that a tent-like cover will be made above the entrance of the Vertical Campus to block the accumulating snow from the trees.

Besides strengthening the quality of the campus, Wallerstein hopes to build connections between the cultural diversity of the student body and the interactions with international students.

“A global perspective will be the hallmark of the Baruch experience,” Wallerstein said in a statement before the plan was introduced.

Another goal in the agenda is to establish a friendlier, more transparent and comfortable place to study and work.

Basically, it means that Baruch will raise the college’s reputation through an array of messages and other sorts of communication such as phone calls, emails or even from notifications in its own Baruch mobile app.

Another phase in the Strategic Plan is to improve the foundation of the campus and strengthen it financially. Wallerstein explained how establishing a sustainable funding plan is the main priority and how oral communication skills are essential for this to work. As a result, a plan can be developed to generate funding and hopefully the plan will provide more revenue opportunities for others.

Photo: Michael Moran — *Photo Credit: Michael Moran*
A 25th Street Plaza and a student center is slated to open in the near future.

The other half of this phase is to “expand space and create place.” According to Wallerstein, one of the projects will “build a new student center and a 25th Street Plaza as an important focus for the Baruch community, while renovating new facilities to improve their appearance.”

However, the Strategic Plan will also have a big impact on the Gramercy community as well. Wallerstein said, “We will recommit to deepening our already strong relationships with the local communities that we have traditionally served in New York: businesses large and small, non-profit organizations, or cultural institutions.”

Baruch is dedicated and committed to work toward these goals every day. Each goal will almost certainly change the face of Baruch and hopefully will raise Baruch to a new level of achievement and success.

See you in 2018, Baruch.

Keeping the Bar Up

August 5, 2014 by JASON LI

BrooklynTech — *Photo Credit: Wikipedia*
Legislators are considering changing the standards of the SHSAT exam, which is the only way to get into Brooklyn Tech, one of the eight elite schools in the city.

A group of legislators has been pushing Albany to increase diversity among the specialized high schools in New York City. On paper, it seems like a great idea for future applicants.

However, to achieve this, the legislators want to change how students are accepted to these prestigious and competitive schools.

“I don’t want them changing the test that gets to Stuy or Tech,” said Kevin Lin, a student that attends Brooklyn Tech.

In their proposal, legislators explained how instead of a single score in the Specialized High School Test (SHSAT) being the determining factor of whether students are accepted or not, there should be multiple factors taken into account. These factors include classroom grades, attendance, and scores from state exams.

This concept seems to make sense because it could broaden the ethnic and racial makeup of the elite schools.

After all, Asians compose about 54% of all students in the eight specialized high schools with whites second at around 30% of the student body. But in New York, Blacks and Hispanics are the two dominant races, combining for 70% of the students attending public schools in the five boroughs.

That’s a stark difference compared to the same races in the students attending these elite schools as blacks and Hispanics were offered seats at a measly 5% and 7%, respectively.

But, if the proposal does go into effect, the special in specialized high school will be nonexistent since anyone could be accepted.

“If people want to get into a specialized high school, they should work for it and the admission test demonstrates if you have the mentality to do so,” said Brandon Chang, a student that attends Stuyvesant.

Also, classroom grades can be biased sometimes because some teachers pick “favorites,” that is they prefer one student to the other. As a result, the “favorite” gets a better grade than the other person.

“The SHSAT is a standardized test that acts like a barrier between the students who have the brainpower to get in and the students who just have high grades from their teachers,” Kevin Lin continued.

Instead of weakening the standards, legislators should find other ways to broaden the racial distribution while maintaining the same high level of excellence.

According to Brooklyn Tech’s school newspaper, The Survey, the alumni suggests increasing expectations and toughening the middle school curriculum in order for middle school students to be able to transition well to high school. They also stressed tutoring as an opportunity for students to keep up and be on the same page.

When the city’s middle schools undergo a makeover and expectations are raised, the number of Blacks or Hispanics in some of the best middle schools should increase. As a result, there would be a better distribution among the races in the city.

According to a news source called ibTimes, many students including Blacks and Latinos weren’t even aware about these testing procedures.

Because of this, a good idea is that all eighth graders should be able to register online automatically in the admission process. Then, they should include an opt-out button for students who don’t want to attend these schools. That way, students are more informed on these competitive schools.

All in all, the SHSAT exam is the only fair way to get accepted because every accepted student has to earn his or her spot in one of the eight elite schools.