The neighborhood I plan on writing about is my hometown Flushing, Queens. Flushing is known as the “China Town” of Queens due to its heavy Asian population. There are plenty of restaurants and stores in the area and it’s also a big transportation hub. Located right under Main Street is the number 7 train which students, tourists, and workers need to take to travel to Manhattan. Aside from the train there are also multiple MTA bus lines running from Flushing, which is why the streets are often crowded.
The people, stores, and cars there stir up quite a commotion leaving Flushing quite noisy. Around the outer edges of the more gentrified zone lie multiple car repair shops, small factories, as well as large warehouses. Recently new malls have sprung up around the area drawing in even more people as well as traffic. Having lived here for my whole life I’ve seen Flushing go through some changes. It still changes every day from the ongoing construction sites to the closed down stores.
But Flushing is not anywhere near perfect. Just this past July, a patrol officer pulled over the Flushing high school principal and spotted a Ziploc bag of meth in plain sight in his car. Even prominent figures in the Asian Flushing community such as John Liu and Grace Meng have had their equal share in conflicts. Overall Flushing is filled with conflict and stories to be told which is why I think it would be a great neighborhood for me to write about.
-Patrick Chiang
I used to go through Flushing during the summer on my way to work and I’ve always seen protesters on Union Street with signs saying “What does our government really do?” I’m not sure what it’s about, but it could be something you can look into. And speaking of the Asian population, you should pay close attention to the change in numbers in October during the Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival). I personally do not celebrate it, but since there is a high Chinese population in Flushing, you should check it out.
You clearly know much about Flushing already. Try, though, not to write stories that have already surfaced in the news. We know about the principal etc. Instead, try to uncover fresh stories!
As someone from Queens but not Flushing, I visit your neighborhood for its Asian restaurants and supermarkets. I definitely did not expect drug crimes.
Since Flushing is your hometown, I think it would be interesting for you to discover how your experience growing up is different to your experience now. Did the attitude of the locals change? Do you notice certain businesses booming while others fall behind? Or you can focus it on the essence of the Asian culture that makes up the neighborhood. I think this is where history can play a huge part in your article.