Writing II KMWF

Awa Diawara- Blog 2

I have witnessed the effects of neoliberalism while living in New York. I’ve noticed that over the years, gentrification is becoming more and more common. I’ve noticed that in places like Harlem, bigger corporations are coming in and running smaller businesses out. Even in Chinatown, there’s a campaign going on called “Save Chinatown” because the same thing is going on there. Bigger private companies are buying out smaller companies, forcing them to shut down. I’ve noticed that a lot of new NYC apartment buildings are being built, and only the higher classes can really afford to live there. Smaller communities are being broken up because of this.  Another effect of neoliberalism I’ve witnessed is inflation. For example, potato chips used to be a dollar, but over the years the price is now around 3-5 dollars for a bag. I believe it’s because bigger private companies buy over the smaller ones and increase the cost of production, making inflation occur. I think that this is happening more and more because more people are moving to NYC and with the money, the city gets from this, they want to make the city “better” but they’re just really destroying it and destroying the communities. Around the area where I live, they’re building so many new apartment buildings, that are way more affordable for people, so I guess not everything is so bad. The company that is building these new apartment buildings is owned by the city. I always think of these companies fighting each other. Both the company that is owned by the city and the private companies. The company owned by the city is trying to make people’s lives easier by building affordable housing and providing other things such as free education etc. Private companies make things more difficult by driving out smaller communities and building their own.

4 thoughts on “Awa Diawara- Blog 2”

  1. Hi Awa,
    I agree with you. I have also been noticing much smaller businesses being torn down and being taken over by companies worth millions. Also, I remember when snacks would just cost a dollar or two but the pandemic has made everything much more expensive, and I have a deep feeling that everything will continue to get more expensive.

  2. Hi, I agree with this so much. I have recently moved here and the gentrification is increasing every single day. Also, chips were definitely 99 cents at one point :(, it is not the same anymore.

  3. Hey Awa,
    I loved your writing, it was so easy to understand and relatable. You mentioning chips gave me deja vu to so many conversations I’ve had with my friends about how life was in the ’90s and how it is now, financially. It does make me think about ARIZONA and how they’ve been able to maintain a price for literal generations, my dad drank it, so did I, and so does my niece. It makes you think that there are businesses and companies that remain with the same principle even as times change.

  4. I agree with everything you mentioned but specifically the “save chinatown” campaign. There were many instances where Chinatown restaurants were forced to close including a big famous Dim Sum place called Jing Fong Restaurant had to close because a big company bought the company or land, I forget which, but they were forced to shut down and had to lay off a lot of workers and I know this affected the community greatly. Another example of it is that they are also currently trying to build a “mega jail” in Chinatown and there are many petitions against it.

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